Surah Al-isra in english | The night journey

Verse 99

Have they not seen, realised, that God, [He] Who created the heavens and the earth, with all their immensity, has the power to create the like of them?, that is, [the like of] these human beings, [especially] given their smallness? He has appointed for them a term, until [the time for their] death and resurrection, whereof is no doubt; yet the wrongdoers insist on disbelief, on denial of such [a term].

Verse 100

Say, to them: ‘If you possessed the treasuries of my Lord’s mercy, [those treasuries] of provision and rain, you would surely withhold [them], [you would] stint, for fear of spending, fearing that they would be depleted if [one] spent [from them] and [that] you would then become impoverished; and man is ever niggardly’.

Verse 101

And verily We gave Moses nine manifest signs, clear [signs], namely, [those of] the hand, the staff, the flood, the locusts, the lice, the frogs, the blood and the obliteration [of their possessions, cf. Q. 10:88], the years [of dearth] and scarcity of fruits [cf. Q. 7:130]. Ask, O Muhammad (s), the Children of Israel, about this (a [rhetorical] question meant as an affirmation for the idolaters of your sincerity; or [it means that] We said to him [Muhammad, s], ‘Ask’; a variant reading has the past tense [fa-sā’ala, ‘and he asked’]), when he came to them, Pharaoh said to him, ‘O Moses, I truly think that you are bewitched’, duped, your mind deceived.

Verse 102

He [Moses] said, ‘Indeed you know that none revealed these, signs, except the Lord of the heavens and the earth, as proofs, lessons; however, you are being stubborn (a variant reading [for ‘alimta, ‘you know’] has ‘alimtu [‘I know’]); and I truly think that you, O Pharaoh, are doomed’, [that you] will be destroyed — or [it, mathbūran, means that Pharaoh has been] turned away from [all deeds that are] good.

Verse 103

And he, Pharaoh, desired to scare them, to expel Moses and his people, from the land, the land of Egypt; so We drowned him and those with him, all together.

Verse 104

And after him We said to the Children of Israel, ‘Dwell in the land; but when the promise of the Hereafter, namely, the Hour, comes to pass, We shall bring you [gathered] in mixed company’, all together, you and them.

Verse 105

With the truth have We revealed it, that is, the Qur’ān, and with the truth, it comprises, has it been revealed, in the way it has, unaffected by any alterations; and We have not sent you, O Muhammad (s), except as a bearer of good tidings, of Paradise, for those who believe, and as a warner, of the Fire, for those who disbelieve.

Verse 106

And [it is] a Qur’ān (qur’ānan is in the accusative because of the verb governing it [which is the following]) that We have divided, that We have revealed in portions over 20 or 23 years, that you may recite it to mankind at intervals, gradually and with deliberateness so that they [are able to] comprehend it, and We have revealed it by [successive] revelation, one part after another, according to what is best [for mankind].

Verse 107

Say, to the disbelievers of Mecca, ‘Believe in it or do not believe, as a threat to them; indeed those who were given knowledge before it, before its revelation, namely, the believers from among the People of the Scripture, when it is recited to them, fall down in prostration on their faces,

Verse 108

and say, “Glory be to our Lord, exalting Him above [the claim] that [His] promise [of sending a prophet] had not been fulfilled. Indeed (in, softened) Our Lord’s promise, of its [the Qur’ān’s] revelation and the sending of the Prophet (s), is bound to be fulfilled”.

Verse 109

And they fall down on their faces, weeping (yabkūna is a supplement [to yakhirrūna, ‘they fall down’] also containing an adjectival qualification [of those falling down]); and it, the Qur’ān, increases them in humility’, in humbleness before God.

Verse 110

The Prophet (s) would often say, ‘O God, O Compassionate One’. So they said, ‘He [Muhammad, s] forbids us to worship more than one god, and yet he calls upon another [god] together with Him [God]’. The following was then revealed: Say, to them: ‘Invoke God or invoke the Compassionate One, that is to say, invoke Him by either of these [Names] or call upon Him by saying, ‘O God! O Compassionate One!’, whichever (ayyan is conditional; mā is extra), in other words, whichever of these two [Names], you invoke, is beautiful — this [predicate, ‘beautiful’] is indicated by the following [statement]), to Him, to the One called by these two [Names], belong the Most Beautiful Names’, these two [Names] being from among them; and they [the other Names] are [the following] as [mentioned] in hadīth: God, there is no god except Him, the Compassionate, the Merciful, the King, the Holy, the Peace, the Securer, the Controller, the Mighty, the Compeller, the Sublime, the Creator, the Maker [out of nothing], the Fashioner, the [ever] Forgiving, the Almighty, the Bestower, the Provider, the Deliverer, the Knower, the Seizer, the Extender, the Lowerer, the Raiser, the Glorifier, the Abaser, the Hearer, the Seer, the Arbiter, the Just, the Subtle, the Aware, the Forbearing, the Tremendous, the Forgiver, the Thankful, the High, the Great, the Preserver, the Conserver, the Reckoner, the Majestic, the Generous, the Watcher, the Responsive, the Embracing, the Wise, the Loving, the Glorious, the Resurrector, the Witnessing, the Truth, the Guardian, the Strong, the Firm, the Patron, the Praiseworthy, the Numberer, the Initiator, the Restorer, the Life-giver, the Death-maker, the Living, the Eternal Sustainer, the Originator, the Magnificent, the One, the Single, the Everlasting Refuge, the Powerful, the Omnipotent, the Advancer, the Deferrer, the First, the Last, the Outward, the Inward, the Ruler, Exalted, the Benign, the Relenting, the Avenger, the Pardoning, the Gentle, Master of the Kingdom, One of Majesty and Munificence, the Equitable, the Gatherer, the Independent, the Availing, the Restrainer, the Harming, the Benefactor, the Light, the Guiding, the Innovator, the Enduring, the Inheritor, the Reasonable, the Patient, as reported by al-Tirmidhī. God, exalted be He, says: And do not be loud in your prayer, when you recite [the Qur’ān] therein, lest the idolaters hear you and curse you, as well as the Qur’ān and the One Who has revealed it; nor be silent, do [not] murmur, therein, so that your companions might [be able to hear it and] benefit [therefrom]; but seek between that, loudness and silence, a, middle, way.

Verse 111

And say: ‘Praise be to God, Who has neither taken a son, nor has He any partner in sovereignty, in divineness, nor has He [taken] any ally, to assist Him, out of, because of [any], weakness’, that is to say, He would never become weak and thus need an assistant. And magnify Him with magnifications [worthy of Him], extol Him with a perfect extolling above that He should have taken a son or a partner, and [above] any weakness and [above] all that does not befit Him. The arrangement whereby ‘praise’ is [invoked] together with this [statement] is meant to indicate that He is the One worthy of all praise, because of the perfection of His Essence and the fact that He alones possesses those attributes of His. Imam Ahmad [b. Hanbal] relates in his Musnad [by way of a report] from Mu‘ādh al-Juhanī [who heard it] from the Messenger of God (s), who used to say, ‘The “glory” verse [in the Qur’ān] is: Praise be to God, Who has neither taken a son, nor has He any partner in sovereignty … to the end [of the above-mentioned sūra, 17:111]’, and God, exalted be He, knows best.
The author of this [commentary] says, ‘This [last commentary] constitutes the end of my complement to the commentary on the Noble Qur’ān composed by the inquisitive scholar, the shaykh, Imam Jalāl al-Dīn al-Mahallī al-Shāfi‘ī, may God be pleased with him. I have expended every effort in it and reflected throughout it exhaustively, [especially] in those precious things that I have deemed, God willing, to be profitable. I composed it [this commentary] in the same length of time appointed for the one spoken to by God [sc. Moses] and I have made it a means to attaining the Gardens of Bliss. It [this commentary] actually draws on the work which it complements, relying and depending on it for [an understanding of] those allegorical verses. May God have mercy on one who examines it with impartiality, chances upon an error and informs me of it. As I have said:
“I praise God, my Lord, for He guided me in what I have expressed despite my incapacity and weakness; for who [other than God] is there to avert me from error and who is there to accept from me even a single letter”.
In fact, it never occurred to me to embark upon such [a task], knowing that I was incapable of delving into such issues. Perhaps God will make it of ample profit [to others] and through it open sealed hearts, blinded eyes and deaf ears. I have the impression that I am before those [sort of readers] who would prefer works of prolixity, refraining from [referring to] this complementary work, rejecting it outright, tending to obvious obstinacy [regarding it], without addressing its intricacies with any understanding: And whoever is blind in this world shall be blind in the Hereafter [Q. 17:72]. May God thereby provide us with a [way of] guidance to the path of truth, with success, an awareness of the subtle intricacies of His words and with an ascertainment. May He thereby also make us with those to whom God has been gracious from among the prophets and the truthful and the martyrs and the righteous — and excellent companions are they! [Q. 4:69]. He [Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūtī] completed the composition of this [work] on Sunday, 10th of Shawwāl, in the year 870 (AH) [1465 AD], having commenced it on the first Wednesday of Ramadān of the same year. He completed the fair copy [of this work] on Wednesday, 6th of Safar in the year 871 (AH) [1466 AD], and God knows best. Shaykh Shams al-Dīn Muhammad b. Abī Bakr al-Khatīb al-Tūkhī said: my friend the erudite shaykh Kamāl al-Dīn al-Mahallī, brother of the above-mentioned shaykh of ours, shaykh Jalāl al-Dīn al-Mahallī, may God have mercy on both of them, that he saw his brother, the above-mentioned shaykh Jalāl al-Dīn, in his dream: before him stood our friend the inquiring erudite scholar shaykh Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūtī, compiler of this complement. He [Mahallī] had this complement in his hand and, perusing it, he was saying to its above-mentioned compiler [Suyūtī], ‘Which of the two is better, my composition or yours?’. He [Suyūtī] said, ‘Mine’. He [Mahallī] then said, ‘But look at this …’, and he showed him parts of it, politely pointing out to him his objections thereto. Each time he [Mahallī] brought something up, the compiler of this complement [Suyūtī] would respond to him, while shaykh [Mahallī] would smile and laugh. Our shaykh, the imam, the erudite scholar Jalāl al-Dīn ‘Abd al-Rahmān b. Abī Bakr al-Suyūtī, compiler of this complement said: What I believe, and what I am absolutely certain of, is that the part composed by shaykh Jalāl al-Dīn al-Mahallī, may God have mercy on him, in his section [of the commentary] is actually better than mine by far. How [could it be otherwise], when most of what I have written here draws on his work and relies on it? I have no doubt about this. As regards what was seen in the above-mentioned dream, then perhaps it is the case that the shaykh meant to point out those few places in which I disagreed with what he had written on account of some little comment [that I had made therein]. But these [instances] are very few and I do not think that they add up to more than ten such instances. Among these is where shaykh [al-Mahallī] comments in sūrat Sād: ‘The Spirit is a delicate organism (jism latīf) that gives life to a human being by permeating it’. I followed this [opinion] at first, but then I remembered the restriction [made by God] while [working on the commentary] at sūrat al-Hijr; and so I erased it because of where God says, And they will question you concerning the Spirit. Say, ‘The Spirit is of the command of my Lord. And of knowledge you have not been given except a little […]’ [to the end of] the verse [Q. 15:85]. For, it is explicit, or almost explicit, in stating that the [true nature of the] Spirit is of God’s knowledge [only], exalted be He — we do not know it. Thus, it is better that we should refrain from trying to define it. For this reason also, shaykh Tāj al-Dīn b. al-Subkī says in [his work] Jam‘ al-jawāmi‘ (The compendium of compendiums’): ‘As for the spirit, Muhammad (s) never spoke about it and we should [also] therefore refrain [from speaking about it].’ Another [instance] is where the shaykh says in [his commentary to] sūrat al-Hajj [Q. 22:17], ‘The Sabaeans (al-sābi’ūn) are a Jewish sect’. I mention this in [my commentary to] sūrat al-Baqara [Q. 2:62], where I added the following [gloss] ‘or [they are] a Christian [sect]’, in order to point out a variant opinion, generally acknowledged, particularly by our colleagues, the [Shāfi‘ī] jurists, and [also acknowledged] by the Minhāj (‘The Method […]’), where it is stated that the Samaritans opposed the Jews and the Sabaeans [opposed] the Christians [respectively] over the fundamentals of their religion. In his [Mahallī’s] Sharh (‘Commentary’), al-Shāfi‘ī, may God be pleased with him, is reported to have said that the Sabaeans were a Christian sect. At this moment, I cannot recall a third instance [of Mahallī’s objections]. Perhaps these are the sort of examples which the Shaykh, may God have mercy on him, was pointing out [in the dream]. And God knows best what is correct, and to Him is the return and the [final] resort.

Verse 1

Praise — which is the attribution [to a person] of that which is beautiful — is established [as something that], belongs to God [alone], exalted be He. Now, is the intention here to point this out for the purpose of believing in it, or to praise [God] thereby, or both? All are possibilities, the most profitable of which is [to understand] the third [as being the intention behind this statement]; Who has revealed to His servant, Muhammad (s), the Book, the Qur’ān, and has not allowed for it, that is, [He has not allowed that there be] in it, any crookedness, [any] variance or contradiction (the [last] sentence [wa-lam yaj‘al lahu ‘iwajan] is a circumstantial qualifier referring to al-kitāb, ‘the Book’);

Verse 2

[a Book] upright, (qayyiman is a second circumstantial qualifier for [added] emphasis) to warn of, to make, by this Book, the disbelievers fear, severe chastisement from Him, from God, and to bring to the believers who perform righteous deeds the good tidings that theirs will be a fair reward,

Verse 3

wherein they will abide forever, and this [reward] is Paradise;

Verse 4

and to warn those, from among the disbelievers, who say, ‘God has taken a son’.

Verse 5

They do not have, in this, in this saying, any knowledge, nor did their fathers, before them, who [also] used to say this. Dreadful, grave, is the word that comes out of their mouths (kalimatan, ‘word’, is for specification and it explains the unidentified [feminine] person [of the verb, kaburat, ‘dreadful’]; and that which is the object of censure has been omitted, and that is their above-mentioned saying [that God has taken a son]). They speak nothing, thereby, but, an utterance of, lies.

Verse 6

Yet it may be that you will consume, destroy, yourself in their wake — following [your being with] them, that is, after they have left you — if they should not believe in this discourse, [in this] Qur’ān, out of grief, out of rage and anguish on your part, because of your eagerness that they believe (asafan, ‘out of grief’, is in the accusative because it functions as an object denoting reason).

Verse 7

Truly We have made all that is on the earth, in the way of animals, plants, trees, rivers and so on, as an adornment for it, that We may try them, that We may test mankind observing thereby, which of them is best in conduct, therein, that is, [to see which of them] is the most abstemious of it.

Verse 8

And indeed We shall turn all that is therein into barren shreds, that produce no plants.

Verse 9

Or did you think, did you suppose, that the Companions of the Cave, the cavern in the mountain, and the Inscription, the tablet wherein their names and lineages had been inscribed — the Prophet (s) had been asked about their tale — were, with regard to their tale, a [unique] marvel from among, the entirety [of], Our signs? (‘ajaban, ‘a marvel’ is the predicate of [the defective verb] kāna [sc. kānū], the preceding [min āyātinā, ‘from among Our signs’] being a circumstantial qualifier). In other words, [did you suppose] that they were a marvel exclusively from among all [Our] other signs, or that they were the most marvellous among them? Not so.

Verse 10

Mention, when the youths took refuge in the Cave (fitya, ‘youths’, is the plural of fatā, and denotes a mature young man) fearing for their faith from their disbelieving people, they said, ‘Our Lord! Give us mercy from Yourself and remedy for us our affair through rectitude’, [through Your] guidance.

Verse 11

So We smote their ears, that is, We made them sleep, in the Cave for several years, for a [fixed] number of years.

Verse 12

Then We aroused them, We awakened them, that We might know, a knowledge of direct vision, which of the two parties, the two groups in disagreement over the length of their stay [in the cave], was better in calculating (ahsā is [of the pattern] of af‘al, meaning ‘more precise’]) what they had tarried (li-mā labithū is semantically connected to the following) in [terms of the] length of time (amadan, [in the accusative] denotes purpose).

Verse 13

We relate, recite, to you their story with truth, that is, truthfully. They were indeed youths who believed in their Lord, and We increased them in guidance.

Verse 14

And We strengthened their hearts, to [enable them to] speak the truth, when they stood up, before their king, who had commanded them to prostrate to idols, and said, ‘Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth. We will not call on any god besides Him, that is, other than Him, for then we shall certainly have uttered an outrage, in other words, [we shall have spoken] a statement that contains shatat, meaning one of extreme disbelief, were we, hypothetically, to call on any god other than God.

Verse 15

These (hā’ūlā’ is the subject [of the sentence]) our people (qawmunā is an explicative supplement [to the subject]) have taken gods besides Him. Why [if what they claim is true] do they not bring some clear warrant, some manifest argument, regarding them? regarding worship of these [idols]. And who does greater wrong — in other words, no one does greater wrong — than he who invents a lie against God?, by ascribing partners to Him, exalted be He. Some among the youths said to the others:

Verse 16

And when you withdraw from them and from that which they worship except God, then take refuge in the Cave. Your Lord will reveal for you something of His mercy and prepare for you in your affair some comfort’ (read mirfaqan or marfiqan), that is to say, something for you to find comfort in, in the way of lunch or supper.

Verse 17

And you might have seen the sun, when it rose, inclining (read tazzāwaru or tazāwaru) away from their Cave towards the right, side of it, and, when it set, go past them on the left, avoid them and pass over them, so that it does not fall on them at all, while they were in a cavern therein, in an ample space inside the Cave where the coolness and the gentle breeze of the winds reached them. That, which is mentioned, was [one] of God’s signs, [one of] the proofs of His power. Whomever God guides, he indeed is rightly guided, and whomever He leads astray, you will not find for him a guiding friend.

Verse 18

And you would have supposed them — had you seen them — awake, that is, conscious, because their eyes were open (ayqāz, ‘awake’, is the plural of yaqiz), though they were asleep (ruqūd is the plural of rāqid). And We caused them to turn over to the right and to the left, lest the earth consume their flesh, and their dog [lay] stretching its forelegs, his paws, on the threshold, at the opening of the cave: whenever they turned over it would turn over just like them, both during sleep and consciousness. If you had observed them you would have turned away from them in flight and you would have been filled (read la-mulli’ta or la-muli’ta) with awe because of them (read ru‘ban or ru‘uban, ‘awe’): [it was] through this awe that God protected them from anyone entering upon them.

Verse 19

And so, just as We did with them that which We have mentioned, it was that We aroused them, We awakened them, that they might question one another, concerning their state and the length of their stay [in the cave]. One of them said, ‘How long have you tarried?’ They said, ‘We have tarried a day, or part of a day’: [he said this] because they had entered the cave at sunrise and were awakened at sunset, and so they thought that it was [the time of] sunset on the day of their entry. Then, they said, unsure about this [fact], ‘Your Lord knows best how long you have tarried. Now send one of you with this silver coin of yours (read bi-warqikum or bi-wariqikum) to the city — which is said to be the one now called Tarsus (Tarasūs) — and let him see which is the purest food, that is, which of the foods of the city is the purest, and [let him] bring you a supply thereof. Let him be careful and not make anyone aware of you.

Verse 20

For indeed if they should come to know of you, they will [either] stone you, kill you by stoning, or make you return to their creed, and then, if you do return to their creed, you will never prosper’.

Verse 21

And so, just as We aroused them, it was that We disclosed them, [to] their people and the believers, that they, that is, their people, might know that God’s promise, of resurrection, is true: by virtue of the fact that One Who has the power to make them sleep for [such] a long period of time, or sustain them in that state without nourishment, also has the power to resurrect the dead; and that, as for the Hour, there is no doubt, no uncertainty, concerning it. Behold (idh adverbially qualifies a‘tharnā, ‘We disclosed’) they were disputing, that is, the believers and the disbelievers, among themselves their affair, the affair of the youths, with regard to building something around them [as a monument]; so they, the disbelievers, said, ‘Build over them, that is, around them, a building, to cover them up; their Lord knows them best.’ Those who prevailed regarding their affair, the affair of the youths, namely, the believers, ‘We will verily set up over them, around them, a place of worship’, for prayers to be performed therein. And this indeed took place at the entrance of the cave.

Verse 22

They will say, that is, [some of] those disputing the number of the youths [of the cave] at the time of the Prophet (s), in other words, some of these will say that they [the youths] were: ‘Three; their dog the fourth of them’; and they, some [others] among them, will say, ‘Five; their dog the sixth of them’ — both of these sayings were those of the Christians of Najrān — guessing at random, in other words, out of supposition, not having been present with them [at the time], and this [statement ‘guessing at random’] refers back to both sayings, and is in the accusative because it is an object denoting reason, in other words, [they said this] for the reason that they were [merely] supposing it. And they, that is, the believers, will say, ‘Seven; and their dog the eighth of them’ (the sentence is [part of] the subject clause, the predicate of which is the adjectival qualification of sab‘a, ‘seven’ [namely, thāminuhum, ‘the eighth of them’] with the additional wāw [wa-thāminuhum], which is said to be for emphasis, or an indication that the adjective is [semantically] attached to that which it is qualifying). The qualification of the first two sayings as being ‘random’, but not the third, is proof that [the latter] is the satisfactory and correct [number]. Say: ‘My Lord knows best their number, and none knows them except a few’: Ibn ‘Abbās said, ‘I am [one] of these “few” [described]’, and he mentioned that they were seven. So do not contend concerning them except with an outward manner [of contention], [except] with that which has been revealed to you, and do not question concerning them, do not ask for opinions [from], any of them, [from] the People of the Scripture, the Jews. The people of Mecca asked him [the Prophet] about the story of the People of the Cave, and so he said to them, ‘I will tell you about it tomorrow’, but without adding [the words], ‘If God wills’ (inshā’a’ Llāhu) and so the following was revealed:

Verse 23

And never say regarding something, that is, for the purpose of [doing] something, ‘I will indeed do that tomorrow’, in other words, [I will do something] at some future [point] in time,

Verse 24

without [adding], ‘If God will’, in other words, unless [firmly] adhering to the will of God, exalted be He, by saying, ‘If God will’ (inshā’a’Llāh). And remember your Lord, that is, [remember] His will, making [things] conditional on it, if you forget, to make [things] conditional on it: mentioning it after forgetting [it] is the equal [in validity] to mentioning it at the time of the statement — as al-Hasan [al-Basrī] and others have said — as long as the person is still in the [same] place [in which he made the statement]. And say, ‘May be my Lord will guide me to [something] closer [in time] than this, [closer] than the story of the People of the Cave, as an indication of [the truth of] my prophethood, by way of guidance, and God indeed did so.

Verse 25

And they tarried in the Cave three hundred (read [with tanwīn] thalāthami’atin) years (sinīn is an explicative supplement to thalāthami’atin, ‘three hundred’): these three hundred years in the case of the People of the Cave were solar years; but for [the number of] lunar ones, the Arabs add nine years thereto, and this is mentioned in His saying: and add nine, that is, nine years; in other words three hundred solar years, while three hundred and nine lunar ones.

Verse 26

Say: ‘God is more knowledgeable of how long they tarried, [more knowledgeable] than those contending over this [issue] — and this [fact] has already been mentioned [above, verse 19]. To Him belongs the Unseen of the heavens and the earth, that is, [to Him belongs] the knowledge thereof. How well He sees!, namely, God — this form is for [expressing] amazement [at something]. How well He hears!, likewise [for expressing amazement]. These two [expressions] are being used metaphorically. What is meant is that nothing can escape God’s sight or hearing. They, the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth, have no guardian, someone to assist [them], besides Him, and He makes none to share in His rule’, for He is Independent, without need of a partner.

Verse 27

And recite that which has been revealed to you of the Book of your Lord. There is none who can change His words. And you will not find, besides Him, any refuge.

Verse 28

And restrain yourself, detain [yourself], along with those who call upon their Lord at morning and evening, desiring, through their worship, His Countenance, exalted be He, and not any of the transient things of this world — and these are the poor; and do not let your eyes overlook, turn away [from], them — these [the eyes] are being used to refer to the person [addressed] — desiring the glitter of the life of this world. And do not obey him whose heart We have made oblivious to Our remembrance, that is, [to] the Qur’ān — this was ‘Uyayna b. Hisn and his companions — and who follows his own whim, by attributing partners [to God], and whose conduct is [mere] prodigality, excess.

Verse 29

And say, to him and to his companions that this Qur’ān is, ‘The truth [that comes] from your Lord; so whoever will, let him believe, and whoever will, let him disbelieve’ — this is [meant as] a threat to them. Indeed We have prepared for the wrongdoers, that is, the disbelievers, a Fire, and they will be surrounded by its pavilion, [by] that which encloses [the Fire itself]. If they cry out for help, they will be succoured with water like molten copper, like thick [burning] oil, which scalds faces, because of [the intensity of] its heat, if it is brought near them. What an evil drink, that is, and how ill, is the Fire [as], a resting-place! (murtafaqan is a specification derived from the agent of the verb, in other words, vile is the person choosing to rest thereon; and this is in contrast to what He will say next about Paradise: How fair a resting-place [below, verse 31]. For, indeed, what resting-place can there be in the Fire?

Verse 30

Truly those who believe and perform righteous deeds — indeed We do not leave the reward of those of good deeds to go to waste (this [last] sentence is the predicate of the [previous] inna’lladhīna, ‘truly those who’, and in it an overt identification [of the recipients of the reward] has replaced the [would-be] pronominalisation, in other words, it is ‘their reward’ [which shall not be left to go to waste], and We will reward them with what it [the reward of good-doers] comprises).

Verse 31

Those, for them there shall be Gardens of Eden, as a [place of] residence, underneath which rivers flow; therein they shall be adorned with bracelets of gold (min asāwir: it is said that min here is either extra or partitive; it [asāwir] is the plural of aswira — similar [in pattern] to ahmira [for himār] — which is the plural of siwār) and they shall wear green garments of fine silk (sundus) and [heavy] silk brocade (istabraq is that [silk] which is coarse: [God says] in the verse of [sūrat] al-Rahmān [Q. 55:54], lined with [heavy] silk brocade); reclining therein on couches (arā’ik is the plural of arīka, which is a bed inside a [curtained] canopy, and is also a tent adorned with garments and curtains for a bride). How excellent a reward, a requital, is Paradise, and how fair a resting-place!

Verse 32

And strike, coin, for them, for the disbelievers together with the believers, a similitude: two men (rajulayn is a substitute [for mathalan, ‘a similitude’] and constitutes, together with what follows, an explanation of the similitude), to one of whom, the disbeliever, We had assigned two gardens, orchards, of vines, and We had surrounded them with date-palms and had set between them [a field of] crops, from which he acquired [his] food supplies.

Verse 33

Each of the two gardens (kiltā, ‘each [of the two]’ is a singular [noun] that indicates a dual [number]; and [the entire clause] is the subject) yielded (ātat is the predicate thereof) its produce, its fruit, without stinting, diminishing, anything thereof. And We caused a stream to gush forth therein, to run through them.

Verse 34

And he had, together with his two gardens, fruit (read thamar, thumur, or thumr, [all of which constitute] the plural of thamra, [sing.] ‘a fruit’, similar [in pattern] to shajara [pl.] shajar, khashaba [pl.] khushb, or badana [pl.] budn) and he said to his companion, the believer, as he conversed with him, boasting before him: ‘I have more wealth than you and am stronger in respect of men’, in respect of clansmen.

Verse 35

And he entered his garden, [taking] with him his companion, accompanying him all around it, showing him its fruits — God does not say [here] his ‘two gardens’, because what is meant is the beautiful [part of the] garden (rawda); or because [to mention just] one suffices — having wronged himself, through [his] disbelief. He said, ‘I do not think that [all] this will ever perish, become non-existent.

Verse 36

Moreover, I do not think that the Hour will ever come; and [even] if I am indeed returned to my Lord, in the Hereafter, according to your claim, I shall surely find better than this as a resort’, as a [place of] return.

Verse 37

His companion said to him, as he conversed with him, responding to him: ‘Do you disbelieve in Him Who created you of dust — as Adam was created of it — then of a drop of fluid, [of] semen, then fashioned you, made you upright and gave you the form of, a man?

Verse 38

But lo (lākinnā is actually [made up of] lākin anā, ‘but I … ’, where the hamza vowel has [either] been transferred onto the nūn [of lākin], or omitted [altogether] with the nūn assimilated with the like of it) He [is] (huwa, this is the pronoun of the [subject] matter [to be stated] and is clarified by the sentence that follows it: the meaning [in other words] is ‘[But, it is that] I say that [He is]’) God, my Lord, and I do not ascribe any partner to my Lord.

Verse 39

And if only when you entered your garden, you had said, upon admiring it, ‘This is “What God has willed. There is no power except in God”. In a hadīth [it is stated that]: ‘Whoever is given something good in the way of family or wealth and upon receiving it says, “What God wills [comes to pass]; there is no power except in God” (mā shā’a’Llāh lā quwwata illā bi’Llāh), he will never experience any ill therefrom’. If you see me (anā is a pronoun separating two direct objects) as less than you in wealth and children,

Verse 40

maybe my Lord will give me [something] better than your garden (this is the response to the conditional clause [beginning with lawlā, ‘and if only’]) and unleash upon it bolts (husbān is the plural of husbāna), that is to say, thunderbolts, from the heaven so that it becomes a bare plain, a [piece of] smooth ground upon which no foot can stand firm;

Verse 41

or [maybe] its water will sink [deep] down (ghawran functions in meaning like ghā’iran, and it constitutes a supplement to yursila, ‘He [will] unleash’, but not [a supplement] to tusbiha, ‘it becomes’, because the sinking of water [deep into the earth] does not [necessarily] result from thunderbolts) so that you have no means of acquiring it’, no possible way of reaching it.

Verse 42

And his fruit was beset, through the curbing measures mentioned above, [it was beset] together with his garden by destruction and were thus ruined, and so he began to wring his hands, out of regret and anguish, because of what he had spent on it, on the cultivation of his garden, as it lay fallen, [having] collapsed, on its trellises, those supporting the vines, so that [first] these collapsed and then the vine-grapes collapsed [after them], saying, ‘O (yā is for exclamation) I wish I had not ascribed any partner to my Lord!’

Verse 43

But there was no (read takun or yakun) party, [no] persons, to help him, besides God, at the moment of its destruction, nor could he help himself, at the moment of its destruction, [all by] himself.

Verse 44

There, that is, [on] the Day of Resurrection, [all] protection (walāya; if read wilāya, then [it means] ‘sovereignty’) belongs to God, the True (if read as al-haqqu then it is as an adjective qualifying walāya [or wilāya], or [if] read as al-haqqi, then it is an attribute of [God’s] Majesty). He is better at rewarding, than the rewarding of any [person] other than Him, if such [a person] were [in a position to] reward; and best in consequence (read ‘uquban or ‘uqban), [He is best] in terms of the consequence for believers (both [thawāban, ‘rewarding’, and ‘uqban, ‘consequence’] are in the accusative for [the purpose of] specification).

Verse 45

And strike, draw, for them, your people, the similitude of the life of this world (mathala’l-hayāti’l-dunyā constitutes the first direct object) as water (ka-mā’in, the second direct object) which We send down out from the heaven, and the vegetation of the earth mingles with it, [the vegetation] multiplies by the sending down of the water; or it is that the water mixes with the vegetation such that it is nourished and flourishes; and it then becomes, the vegetation becomes, chaff, dried up, its [various] parts [broken up] in fragments, scattered, strewn and dispersed, by the winds, which then blow it away. The import is: [the life of] this world is likened to flourishing vegetation which then becomes dry, is broken up and scattered by the winds (a variant reading [for riyāh, ‘winds’] has rīh). And God is Omnipotent, Powerful, over all things.

Verse 46

Wealth and children are an adornment of the life of this world, [adornment] with which one arrays oneself therein. But the enduring things, the righteous deeds — and these are: ‘Glory be to God’ (subhāna’Llāh), ‘Praise be to God’ (al-hāmdu li’Llāh), ‘There is no god but God (lā ilāha illā’Llāh), ‘God is Great’ (Allāhu akbar); some add [the following] ‘There is no power or strength except in God’ (lā hawla wa-lā quwwata illā bi’Llāh) — [these] are better with your Lord for reward and better in [respect of] hope, in other words, [they are better] in terms of what a person hopes for and desires from God, exalted be He.

Verse 47

And, mention, the day when the mountains shall be set in motion — they shall be removed from the face of the earth and become ‘[as] scattered dust’ [Q. 56:6] (a variant reading [for tusayyaru’l-jibālu] has nusayyiru’l-jibāla, ‘We shall set the mountains in motion’) and you will see the earth exposed, manifest [in full view], with no mountain or anything else on top of it. And We shall gather them, believers and disbelievers, such that We will not leave out anyone of them.

Verse 48

And they shall be presented before your Lord in ranks (saffan is a circumstantial qualifier) in other words, ranged so that every community is in a row [on its own], and it shall be said to them: ‘Verily you have come to Us just as We created you the first time, that is to say, individually, barefoot, naked and uncircumcised; and it shall be said to the deniers of the Resurrection: rather you claimed that (a [of allan] is an, softened in place of the hardened one, in other words [it is to be understood as] annahu) We would not appoint for you a tryst’, for resurrection.

Verse 49

And the Book shall be set in place, the Book of every man — in his right hand, if [he is from] among the believers, and in his left hand, if [he is from] among the disbelievers. And you will see the guilty, the disbelievers, apprehensive, fearful, of what is in it, and they will say, when they observe the evil deeds [recorded] in it: ‘O (yā is for exclamation) woe to us!, [O this is] our destruction! (this [form waylatanā] is a verbal noun, but in this form it cannot be [conjugated as] a verb) What is it with this Book that it leaves out neither small nor great, from among our sins, but [instead it] has counted it?’, enumerated it and fixed it [in the record] — they are stupefied by it in this respect. And they shall find all that they did present, fixed [in writing] in their [individual] Book. And your Lord does not wrong anyone, He does not punish him [if he is] without guilt, nor does He diminish [anything of] the reward of a believer.

Verse 50

And when (idh is dependent because it is governed by [an implicit] udhkur, ‘mention [when]’) We said to the angels, ‘Prostrate before Adam’, a prostration involving a bow, not placing one’s forehead down [to the ground], as a greeting to him; and so they prostrated, [all] except Iblīs. He was [one] of the jinn — some say that these [creatures] are a species of angels, in which case the exceptive clause [illā Iblīs, ‘except Iblīs’] is a continuous one; but it is also said to be discontinuous, since Iblīs is [considered] the progenitor of [all] the jinn, having offspring who are mentioned alongside him further below; angels, on the other hand, do not have offspring; and he transgressed against his Lord’s command, that is to say, he rebelled against obedience to Him by refraining from [performing] the prostration. Will you then take him and his offspring — this address is to Adam and his progeny (the [final pronominal suffix] hā’ in both words refers to Iblīs) for your patrons instead of Me, obeying them, when they are an enemy to you?, in other words, [when they are your] enemies (wa-hum lakum ‘aduwwun is a circumstantial qualifier). How evil for the evildoers is that substitute!, of Iblīs and his offspring, in obeying them instead of obeying God.

Verse 51

I did not make them a witness, that is, Iblīs and his offspring, to the creation of the heavens and the earth, nor to their own creation, that is to say, I did not make any of them present at the [moment of the] creation of the other. Nor do I take misleaders, devils, as [My] support, as assistants in [the process of] creation, so why do you obey them?

Verse 52

And the day (yawma is in the accusative because it is governed by [the implicit] udhkur, ‘mention’) when He will say (yaqūl, or [it may be] read as naqūl, ‘We will say’), ‘Call those partners of Mine, [those] graven images, as you used to claim’, let them intercede for you in the way you used to claim; and then they will call them, but they will not respond to their call, they will not answer them, and We shall set between them, between the graven images and those who worship them, a gulf of doom — a valley from among the valleys of Hell, in which they shall all be destroyed (the term [mawbiq] derives from [the verb] wabaqa meaning halaka, ‘he was destroyed’).

Verse 53

And the criminals will behold the Fire and realise that, are certain that, they are about to fall into it. And they will find no means of avoiding it, of circumventing [it].

Verse 54

And verily We have dispensed, We have explained, for mankind in this Qur’ān [an example] of every kind of similitude (min kulli mathalin is an adjective qualifying an omitted clause, in other words, ‘[We have dispensed therein] a similitude from every kind of similitude), that they may be admonished. But man is most disputatious, [he is] most contentious in matters of falsehood (jadalan is a specification derived from [al-insān, ‘man’] the subject of kāna) in other words, the meaning is that the disputatiousness of man is what can be found in him most.

Verse 55

And nothing prevented people, that is, the disbelievers of Mecca, from believing (an yu’minū is [after al-nāsa, ‘people’] constitutes the second direct object clause) when the guidance, the Qur’ān, came to them, and from asking forgiveness of their Lord, without that there should come upon them the precedent of the ancients (sunnatu’l-awwalīn constitutes the subject of the verb) that is to say, Our precedent of dealing with them, which is the destruction decreed for them, or that the chastisement should come upon them before their very eyes, in front of them and for them to see — which was their being killed on the day of Badr (a variant reading [for qibalan] has qubulan, which [in the accusative] is the plural of qabīlin, meaning, ‘of various kinds’).

Verse 56

And We do not send messengers except as bearers of good tidings, to believers, and as warners, as threateners to disbelievers. But those who disbelieve dispute with falsehood, when they say that, ‘Has God sent a human as a messenger [from Him]?’ [Q. 17:94] and the like of such [statements], that they may refute thereby, that by way of their disputing they may invalidate, the truth, the Qur’ān. And they have taken My signs, namely, the Qur’ān, and that whereof they have been warned, in the way of the Fire, derisively, in mockery.

Verse 57

And who does greater wrong than he who has been reminded of the signs of his Lord, yet turns away from them and forgets what his hands have sent ahead?, what he has committed in the way of disbelief and acts of disobedience. Indeed on their hearts We have cast veils, coverings, lest they should understand it, that is, lest they should comprehend the Qur’ān, in other words, and so [as a result] they do not comprehend it; and in their ears a deafness, a heaviness, and so they do not hear it; and though you call them to guidance, they will not be guided in that case, that is, given the casting [of veils] mentioned, ever.

Verse 58

And your Lord is the Forgiver, Full of Mercy. Were He to take them to task, in this world, for what they have earned, He would have hastened for them the chastisement, therein; but they have a tryst, which is the Day of Resurrection, from which they will not find any escape, any refuge.

Verse 59

And those towns, that is to say, the inhabitants of those [towns], such as ‘Ād and Thamūd, as well as others, We destroyed them when they did evil, [when] they disbelieved, and We appointed for their destruction (a variant reading [for mahlikihim] has muhlakihim) a tryst.

Verse 60

And, mention, when Moses, son of Amram (‘Imrān), said to his lad, Joshua son of Nun (Yūsha‘ bin Nūn), who used to follow him around, serve him and acquire knowledge from him, ‘I will not give up, I will not stop journeying, until I have reached the juncture of the two seas — the point where the Byzantine sea and the Persian sea meet, beyond the east, — though I march on for ages’, for a very long time before reaching it, if it be far.

Verse 61

So when they reached a juncture between the two, between the two seas, they forgot their fish — Joshua forgot his luggage [leaving it behind] at the moment of departure, and Moses forgot to remind him — and so it, the fish, made its way into the sea, that is, it formed it — through God’s forming it — by burrowing, that is, like [through] a burrow, which is a passage that is long and enclosed; this was [so] because God, exalted be He, held back the flow of the water [preventing it] from [engulfing] the fish and it [the water] withdrew from around it [the fish] and remained thus like a cleft without closing, and what was beneath it [the cleft] stood still.

Verse 62

And when they had made the traverse, of that location, having journeyed until the morning of the following day, he, Moses, said to his lad, ‘Bring us our breakfast, (ghadā’) that [meal] which is consumed at the beginning of the day. We have certainly encountered on this journey of ours much fatigue’, exhaustion, which took its effect [on them] after the traverse.

Verse 63

He said, ‘Do you see? — in other words, remember, when we sheltered at the rock, in that location, indeed I forgot the fish — and none but Satan made me forget (al-shaytān, ‘Satan’, substitutes for the [suffixed pronoun] hā’ [of ansānī-hu]) to mention it (an adhkurahu, an inclusive substitution, in other words [it should be understood as] ansānī dhikrahu, ‘he [Satan] made me forget the mentioning of it’) — and it, the fish, made its way into the sea in an amazing manner’ (‘ajaban constitutes the second direct object), that is to say, Moses and his lad were amazed by it, because of what has already been explained concerning it.

Verse 64

Said he, Moses, ‘That, namely, our losing the fish, is what we have been seeking!’, what we have been after, for it is a sign for us of the presence of the one whom we seek. So they turned back, retracing their footsteps, until they reached the rock.

Verse 65

So [there] they found one of Our servants, namely, al-Khidr, to whom We had given mercy from Us — according to one opinion this [mercy] was prophethood; according to another it was authority, and this [latter] is the opinion of the majority of scholars — and We had taught him knowledge from Us (‘ilman is the second direct object), in other words, some knowledge of unseen things; al-Bukhārī reports the [following] hadīth: ‘Moses was delivering a sermon among the Children of Israel and was asked, “Who is the most knowledgeable of people?”, to which he [Moses] said, “Myself”. God then reproached him for not having attributed [his] knowledge as [coming] from Him. God then revealed to him the following: “Truly, there is a servant of Mine at the juncture of the two seas; he is more knowledgeable than you”. Moses then asked, “My Lord, how do I reach him?” He [God] said, ‘Take a fish with you and place it in a basket and [the place] where you lose the fish will be [the place] where he is.” He [Moses] took a fish and placed it in a basket and departed together with his lad Joshua son of Nun until they reached the rock. [There] they placed their heads back and fell asleep. The fish began to move about in the basket, until it escaped from it and fell into the sea, and it made its way into the sea in an amazing manner. God then held back the flow of the water [preventing it] from [engulfing] the fish, forming a kind of arch over it. When he awoke, his companion [Joshua] forgot to inform him of [what had happened to] the fish, and so they journeyed on for the remainder of that day and night until on the morning [of the second day] Moses said to his lad, ‘Bring us our breakfast’, to where he says, and it made its way into the sea in an amazing manner’. He [Bukhārī] said, ‘For the fish, it [the way into the sea] was [by] ‘burrowing’ (saraban), and for Moses and his lad it [this way] was ‘amazing’ (‘ajaban) …’ [and so on] to the end [of Bukhārī’s report].

Verse 66

Moses said to him, ‘May I follow you for the purpose that you teach me of what you have been taught [in the way] of probity?’, namely, [something] of right conduct through which I might be rightly-guided (a variant reading [for rashadan] has rushdan, ‘probity’); he asked him this because to increase [one’s] knowledge is [something which is] always sought.

Verse 67

Said he, ‘Truly you will not be able to bear with me.

Verse 68

And how can you bear with that whereof you have never been informed?’: in the above-mentioned hadīth [of Bukhārī] after this verse [there is the following statement]: ‘O Moses, I possess knowledge which God has taught me and which you do not have, and [equally] you possess knowledge which God has taught you and which I do not have’. (His saying khubran, ‘informed’, is a verbal noun meaning that which you have never encompassed, in other words, the truth of which you have never been informed of.)

Verse 69

He said, ‘You will find me, God willing, patient, and I will not disobey, in other words, and [you will also find me] non-disobedient [towards], you in any matter’, with which you charge me. He [Moses] made this [statement] conditional upon the Will [of God] because he was not confident of himself in what he had committed himself to. Indeed, this is the custom of prophets and saints, namely, that they do not put their trust in themselves for a single moment.

Verse 70

He said, ‘If you follow me then do not question me (lā tas’alnī, a variant reading has lā tas’alannī) concerning anything, that you might find objectionable in what I do, according to your [limited] knowledge, and be patient, until I [myself] make mention of it to you’, in other words, [until] I mention it to you with [an explication of] the reason for it. Moses accepted his precondition bearing in mind the respect which a student should exercise in the presence of a teacher.

Verse 71

So they set off, making their way on foot along the coast of the sea, until, when they embarked on the ship, which was carrying them, he, al-Khidr, made a hole in it, by destroying a plank or two on the starboard side with an axe after they had sailed into deep waters. Said he, Moses, to him, ‘Did you make a hole in it to drown its people? (li-tughriqa ahlahā, ‘for you to drown its people’; a variant reading has li-yaghraqa ahluhā, ‘so that its people might drown’). You have certainly done a dreadful thing’, that is, a grave and reprehensible thing — it is reported that the water did not [actually] penetrate it.

Verse 72

He said, ‘Did I not say [that] you would not be able to bear with me?’

Verse 73

He said, ‘Do not take me to task on account of that which I forgot, that is, [on account of the fact that] I was not mindful of submitting to you [in the matter] and of refraining from showing disapproval of your actions, and do not exhaust me, [do not] charge me, in this affair of mine with difficulty’, [with] hardship during my companionship of you, in other words, treat me throughout it with forgiveness and indulgence.

Verse 74

So they set off, after leaving the ship, making their way on foot, until, when they met a boy, who had not yet reached puberty, playing with [other] boys, among whom his face was the fairest — and he, al-Khidr, slew him, by slitting his throat with a knife while he lay down, or by tearing his head off with his hand, or by smashing his head against a wall, all of which are [different] opinions (the coordinating fā’ [of fa-qatalahu, ‘and he slew him’] is used here because [it indicates that] the slaying took place after the encounter; the response to idhā, ‘when’ is [the following statement, qāla …]) — he, Moses, said, to him: ‘Have you slain an innocent soul, that is, a pure one that had not reached the age of [legal] responsibility (a variant reading [for zākiya] has zakiyya), [one slain] not in retaliation for another soul?, in other words, one that has not slain any soul. Verily you have committed an dreadful thing’ (read nukran or nukuran), that is to say, an abomination.

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Hizb 30 | AL-ISRA 17:99 -> AL-KAHF 18:74

Surah 17 AL-ISRA

Surah 18 AL-KAHF

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