Tuesday, December 12, 2006

AL IMRAN 181-185


لَّقَدْ سَمِعَ اللّهُ قَوْلَ الَّذِينَ قَالُواْ إِنَّ اللّهَ فَقِيرٌ وَنَحْنُ أَغْنِيَاء سَنَكْتُبُ مَا قَالُواْ وَقَتْلَهُمُ الأَنبِيَاء بِغَيْرِ حَقٍّ وَنَقُولُ ذُوقُواْ عَذَابَ الْحَرِيقِ

{181}

[Yusufali 3:181] Allah hath heard the taunt of those who say: "Truly, Allah is indigent and we are rich!"- We shall certainly record their word and (their act) of slaying the prophets in defiance of right, and We shall say: "Taste ye the penalty of the Scorching Fire!





ذَلِكَ بِمَا قَدَّمَتْ أَيْدِيكُمْ وَأَنَّ اللّهَ لَيْسَ بِظَلاَّمٍ لِّلْعَبِيد
ِ {182}

[Yusufali 3:182] "This is because of the (unrighteous deeds) which your hands sent on before ye: For Allah never harms those who serve Him."





الَّذِينَ قَالُواْ إِنَّ اللّهَ عَهِدَ إِلَيْنَا أَلاَّ نُؤْمِنَ لِرَسُولٍ حَتَّىَ يَأْتِيَنَا بِقُرْبَانٍ تَأْكُلُهُ النَّارُ قُلْ قَدْ جَاءكُمْ رُسُلٌ مِّن قَبْلِي بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ وَبِالَّذِي قُلْتُمْ فَلِمَ قَتَلْتُمُوهُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ
{183}

[Yusufali 3:183] They (also) said: "Allah took our promise not to believe in an messenger unless He showed us a sacrifice consumed by Fire (From heaven)." Say: "There came to you messengers before me, with clear Signs and even with what ye ask for: why then did ye slay them, if ye speak the truth?"





فَإِن كَذَّبُوكَ فَقَدْ كُذِّبَ رُسُلٌ مِّن قَبْلِكَ جَآؤُوا بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ وَالزُّبُرِ وَالْكِتَابِ الْمُنِيرِ
{184}

[Yusufali 3:184] Then if they reject thee, so were rejected messengers before thee, who came with Clear Signs, Books of dark prophecies, and the Book of Enlightenment.





كُلُّ نَفْسٍ ذَآئِقَةُ الْمَوْتِ وَإِنَّمَا تُوَفَّوْنَ أُجُورَكُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ فَمَن زُحْزِحَ عَنِ النَّارِ وَأُدْخِلَ الْجَنَّةَ فَقَدْ فَازَ وَما الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا إِلاَّ مَتَاعُ الْغُرُور
ِ {185}

[Yusufali 3:185] Every soul shall have a taste of death: And only on the Day of Judgment shall you be paid your full recompense. Only he who is saved far from the Fire and admitted to the Garden will have attained the object (of Life): For the life of this world is but goods and chattels of deception.
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181
Verily God has heard the saying of those, namely the Jews, who said, 'Indeed God is poor, and we are rich': they said this when the verse, who is he that will lend God a good loan [Q. 2:245] was revealed, adding that, 'If God were [truly] rich, He would not be asking us for loans'. We shall write down, We shall order that it be written, what they have said, in the scrolls containing their deeds so that they will be requited for it (a variant reading [for active naktubu, 'We shall write'] has the passive yuktabu, 'it shall be written') and, We shall write down, their slaying (read accusative qatlahum or nominative qatluhum) the prophets without right, and We shall say (naqūlu, also read yaqūlu, meaning God [shall say]) to them by the tongue of the angels in the Hereafter, 'Taste the chastisement of the Burning, the Fire.

182
When they are thrown into [the Fire], it will be said to them: That, punishment, is for what your hands have sent before: 'hands' are used to designate a human being because most actions are performed with them; for God is never unjust towards His servants, punishing them without them having sinned.

183
Those (alladhīna, an adjectival qualification of the previous alladhīna, 'those who' [Q. 3:181]) same who said, to Muhammad (s), 'God has already made covenant with us, in the Torah, that we should not believe in any messenger, accepting his truthfulness, until he bring us an offering to be devoured by fire', and so we will not believe in you until you bring us this [offering], namely, of grazing livestock or other [kind of animal] one offers [in sacrifice] to God. If it is accepted, a white fire will come down from the heaven and consume it, otherwise it will remain as it is. Such a covenant was made with the Children of Israel, but not in the case of Jesus and Muhammad. God, exalted be He, says, Say, to them in rebuke: 'messengers have come to you before me with clear proofs, with miracles, and with that which you said, [messengers] such as Zachariah and John, but you slew them: the address here is for those living at the time of our Prophet Muhammad (s), even though the deed was their forefathers', for they [their descendants] are content with it. Why did you slay them, then, if you are truthful?', about [the fact] that you would believe if it [the offering] were brought [to you].

184
But if they deny you, so were denied messengers before you who came bearing clear proofs, miracles, and the Scriptures, such as the scrolls of Abraham, and the Illuminating, the lucid, Book, that is, the Torah and the Gospel (a variant reading establishes the [prefixed preposition] bā' in both [words, sc. bi'l-zubur wa-bi'l-kitāb l-munīr, 'with the Scriptures and with the Illuminating Book']), so be patient as they were.


185
Every soul shall taste of death; you shall surely be paid in full your wages, the requital of your deeds, on the Day of Resurrection. Whoever is moved away, distanced, from the Fire and admitted to Paradise, will have triumphed, he will have attained his ultimate wish. Living in, the life of this world is but the comfort of delusion; of inanity, enjoyed for a little while, then perishing.

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

AL IMRAN 176-180


وَلاَ يَحْزُنكَ الَّذِينَ يُسَارِعُونَ فِي الْكُفْرِ إِنَّهُمْ لَن يَضُرُّواْ اللّهَ شَيْئاً يُرِيدُ اللّهُ أَلاَّ يَجْعَلَ لَهُمْ حَظًّا فِي الآخِرَةِ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ

{176}

[Yusufali 3:176] Let not those grieve thee who rush headlong into Unbelief: Not the least harm will they do to Allah: Allah's plan is that He will give them no portion in the Hereafter, but a severe punishment.





إِنَّ الَّذِينَ اشْتَرَوُاْ الْكُفْرَ بِالإِيمَانِ لَن يَضُرُّواْ اللّهَ شَيْئًا وَلهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ
{177}

[Yusufali 3:177] Those who purchase Unbelief at the price of faith,- not the least harm will they do to Allah, but they will have a grievous punishment.





وَلاَ يَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ أَنَّمَا نُمْلِي لَهُمْ خَيْرٌ لِّأَنفُسِهِمْ إِنَّمَا نُمْلِي لَهُمْ لِيَزْدَادُواْ إِثْمًا وَلَهْمُ عَذَابٌ مُّهِينٌ
{178}

[Yusufali 3:178] Let not the Unbelievers think that our respite to them is good for themselves: We grant them respite that they may grow in their iniquity: But they will have a shameful punishment.





مَّا كَانَ اللّهُ لِيَذَرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَلَى مَا أَنتُمْ عَلَيْهِ حَتَّىَ يَمِيزَ الْخَبِيثَ مِنَ الطَّيِّبِ وَمَا كَانَ اللّهُ لِيُطْلِعَكُمْ عَلَى الْغَيْبِ وَلَكِنَّ اللّهَ يَجْتَبِي مِن رُّسُلِهِ مَن يَشَاء فَآمِنُواْ بِاللّهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَإِن تُؤْمِنُواْ وَتَتَّقُواْ فَلَكُمْ أَجْرٌ عَظِيمٌ
{179}

[Yusufali 3:179] Allah will not leave the believers in the state in which ye are now, until He separates what is evil from what is good nor will He disclose to you the secrets of the Unseen. But He chooses of His Messengers (For the purpose) whom He pleases. So believe in Allah. And His messengers: And if ye believe and do right, ye have a reward without measure.





وَلاَ يَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذِينَ يَبْخَلُونَ بِمَا آتَاهُمُ اللّهُ مِن فَضْلِهِ هُوَ خَيْرًا لَّهُمْ بَلْ هُوَ شَرٌّ لَّهُمْ سَيُطَوَّقُونَ مَا بَخِلُواْ بِهِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَلِلّهِ مِيرَاثُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ وَاللّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِير
ٌ {180}

[Yusufali 3:180] And let not those who covetously withhold of the gifts which Allah Hath given them of His Grace, think that it is good for them: Nay, it will be the worse for them: soon shall the things which they covetously withheld be tied to their necks Like a twisted collar, on the Day of Judgment. To Allah belongs the heritage of the heavens and the earth; and Allah is well-acquainted with all that ye do.

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176

Let them not grieve you (read yuhzinka, or yahzunka from [1st form] hazanahu, 'he made him grieve', an alternative expression to [4th form] ahzanahu, 'he made him grieve') those that vie with one another in unbelief, succumbing to it promptly by supporting it, namely, the Meccans or the hypocrites: in other words, do not be concerned for their unbelief; they will not hurt God at all, by their actions, only hurting themselves. God desires not to assign them any portion, any lot, in the Hereafter, that is, in Paradise, and that is why God forsook them; and theirs is a mighty chastisement, in the Fire.



177


Those who purchase unbelief at the price of faith, that is, taking it in place of it, they will not hurt God at all, with their unbelief, and there awaits them a painful chastisement (alim means mu'lim, 'painful').

178

And let not the disbelievers suppose (read la yahsabanna, 'let them not suppose', or la tahsabanna, 'do not suppose') that what We indulge them in, that is, [that] Our indulging [them], in extending their [terms of] life and deferring them [their death], is better for their souls (in the case of the reading yahsabanna, 'let them [not] suppose', anna [of anna-ma] and its two operators stand in place of the two objects, but only in place of the second in the case of the other reading [tahsabanna], 'do [not] suppose'). We grant them indulgence, We give [them] respite, only that they may increase in sinfulness, through frequent disobedience, and theirs is a humbling chastisement, one of humiliation, in the Hereafter.


179

It is not God's purpose to leave, to abandon, the believers in the state in which you, O people, are, where the sincere are intermingle with those otherwise, till He shall distinguish (read yamiza or yumayyiza), [till] He separates, the evil one, the hypocrite, from the good, the believer, through the burdensome obligations that will reveal this [distinction] - He did this on the Day of Uhud. And it is not God's purpose to apprise you of the Unseen, so that you could recognise the hypocrites from the others, before the distinguishing; but God chooses, He selects, of His messengers whom He will, apprising him of [some of] His Unseen, as when He apprised the Prophet (s) of the position of the hypocrites. So believe in God and His messengers; and if you believe and guard against, hypocrisy, then yours shall be a great wage.

180

Let them not suppose (read la yahsabanna, 'let them not suppose', or la tahsabanna, 'do not suppose') those who are niggardly with what God has given them of His bounty, that is, with His obligatory almsgiving, that it, their niggardliness, is better for them (khayrun lahum, is the second direct object; the pronoun [huwa, '[that] it is'] is used to separate [the two statements]; the first [direct object] is bukhlahum 'their niggardliness' implicit before the relative clause [alladhina] in the case of the reading tahsabanna [sc. wa-la tahsabanna bukhlahum, 'do not suppose their niggardliness…'], or before the pronoun [huwa, 'it is'] in the case of the reading yahsabanna [sc. wa-la yahsabanna lladhina…bukhlahum huwa khayran lahum, 'let them not suppose, those who…that their niggardliness is better for them']); nay, it is worse for them; what they were niggardly with, namely, the obligatory almsgiving of their wealth, they shall have hung around their necks on the Day of Resurrection, when he will have a snake around his neck biting viciously at him, as reported in a hadith; and to God belongs the inheritance of the heavens and the earth, inheriting them after the annihilation of their inhabitants. And God is aware of what you do (ta'maluna, also read ya'maluna, 'they do'), and will requite you for it.

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

AL IMRAN 171-175



يَسْتَبْشِرُونَ بِنِعْمَةٍ مِّنَ اللّهِ وَفَضْلٍ وَأَنَّ اللّهَ لاَ يُضِيعُ أَجْرَ الْمُؤْمِنِين
َ
{171}

[Yusufali 3:171] They glory in the Grace and the bounty from Allah, and in the fact that Allah suffereth not the reward of the Faithful to be lost (in the least).





الَّذِينَ اسْتَجَابُواْ لِلّهِ وَالرَّسُولِ مِن بَعْدِ مَا أَصَابَهُمُ الْقَرْحُ لِلَّذِينَ أَحْسَنُواْ مِنْهُمْ وَاتَّقَواْ أَجْرٌ عَظِيمٌ
{172}

[Yusufali 3:172] Of those who answered the call of Allah and the Messenger, even after being wounded, those who do right and refrain from wrong have a great reward;-





الَّذِينَ قَالَ لَهُمُ النَّاسُ إِنَّ النَّاسَ قَدْ جَمَعُواْ لَكُمْ فَاخْشَوْهُمْ فَزَادَهُمْ إِيمَاناً وَقَالُواْ حَسْبُنَا اللّهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ
{173}

[Yusufali 3:173] Men said to them: "A great army is gathering against you": And frightened them: But it (only) increased their Faith: They said: "For us Allah sufficeth, and He is the best disposer of affairs."





فَانقَلَبُواْ بِنِعْمَةٍ مِّنَ اللّهِ وَفَضْلٍ لَّمْ يَمْسَسْهُمْ سُوءٌ وَاتَّبَعُواْ رِضْوَانَ اللّهِ وَاللّهُ ذُو فَضْلٍ عَظِيمٍ
{174}

[Yusufali 3:174] And they returned with Grace and bounty from Allah: no harm ever touched them: For they followed the good pleasure of Allah: And Allah is the Lord of bounties unbounded.





إِنَّمَا ذَلِكُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ يُخَوِّفُ أَوْلِيَاءهُ فَلاَ تَخَافُوهُمْ وَخَافُونِ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِين
َ {175}

[Yusufali 3:175] It is only the Evil One that suggests to you the fear of his votaries: Be ye not afraid of them, but fear Me, if ye have Faith.

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171
Joyful in grace, in the reward, and bounty, in addition to it, from God, and that (read wa-anna as a supplement to ni'matin, or wa-inna to denote a new clause) God does not let the wage of believers go to waste, but rewards them.

172

Those who (alladhina, is the subject) responded to God and the Messenger, [to] his call to set out for battle: when Abu Sufyan and his companions wanted to resume [hostilities] they agreed with the Prophet (s) that the encounter would be at the [annual] market-fair of Badr a year from the date of Uhud; after the wounds had afflicted them, at Uhud - (the predicate of the subject [alladhina] is [what follows]) for all those who were virtuous, by obeying him, and feared, to disobey him, shall be a great wage, namely, Paradise.

173
Those to whom (alladhina, substitutes for the previous alladhina, 'those who', or an adjectival qualification [of it]) people, that is, Nu'aym b. Mas'ud al-Ashja'i, said, 'The people, Abu Sufyan and his companions, have gathered, their multitudes, against you, in order to exterminate you, therefore fear them', and do not go out to [encounter] them; but that, saying, increased them in faith, in their belief in God and in certainty, and they said, 'God is sufficient for us, He will deal fully for us with their affair; an excellent Guardian is He' , the One to whom the matter is entrusted. They thus set out with the Prophet (s) and arrived at the market-fair of Badr, but God had cast terror into the hearts of Abu Sufyan and his followers and so they did not turn up. They [the believers] had merchandise with them, and so they traded and made profits. God, exalted be He, says:

174

So they returned, from Badr, with grace and bounty from God, safely and with profit, and no evil touched them, from any slaying or wounds; and they followed the beatitude of God, by obeying Him and obeying His Messenger, when they [agreed to] set out [for the battle]; and God is of bounty abounding, for those that obey Him.

175

That, namely, the one saying to you, 'The people [have gathered against you]' to the end [of the verse], is only Satan making, you, fear his friends, the disbelievers, therefore do not fear them; but fear Me, lest you abandon My command, if you are, truly, believers.