Verse 46
And do not dispute with the People of the Scripture unless it be with that — in that manner of disputation, bettering the most virtuous way, such as calling [them] to God by [reference to] His signs and pointing out His arguments; except [in the case of] those of them who have done wrong, by waging war and refusing to accept [to pay] the jizya-tax: dispute with these using the sword, until such time as they submit or pay the jizya-tax; and say, to those who have accepted [the imposition upon them of] the jizya-tax, should they inform you of something stated in their Scriptures: ‘We believe in that which has been revealed to us and revealed to you — and neither believe nor disbelieve them in that [which they tell you] — our God and your God is one [and the same], and to Him we submit’, [to Him] we are obedient.
Verse 47
Thus have We revealed to you the Book, the Qur’ān, in the same way that We have revealed to them the Torah and other [scripture]. And so those to whom We have given the Scripture, the Torah, such as ‘Abd Allāh b. Salām and others, believe in it, in the Qur’ān, and of these, people of Mecca, there are some who believe in it; and none denies Our signs, after they have been manifested, except disbelievers, namely, the Jews, and those for whom it was apparent that the Qur’ān was the truth, and that the one who brought it was truthful but still denied it.
Verse 48
And you did not use to recite before this, namely, [before] the Qur’ān, any [other] Book, nor did you write it with your right hand, for, had you been reciting [something] and writing, then those who follow falsehood, the Jews, would have had doubts, about you and would have said, ‘What the Torah states is that he will be unlettered (ummī), unable to read or write’.
Verse 49
Nay, but it, that is, the Qur’ān which you have brought, is clear signs in the breasts of those who have been given knowledge, namely, the believers, who preserve it [in their hearts], and none denies Our signs except wrongdoers, namely, the Jews — they denied them after they were manifested to them.
Verse 50
And they, namely, the disbelievers of Mecca, say, ‘Why has not some sign been sent down to him, [to] Muhammad (s), from his Lord?’ (āyatun, ‘sign’: a variant reading has āyātun, ‘signs’) such as the she-camel of Sālih, or the staff of Moses, or the Table of Jesus. Say, to them: ‘Signs are only with God, and He sends them down as He will, and I am only a plain warner’, making manifest my warning of [the punishment of] the Fire for disobedient people.
Verse 51
Is it not sufficient for them, regarding what they have demanded, that We have revealed to you the Book, the Qur’ān, which is recited to them? — as it constitutes a ongoing sign that will never terminate, in contrast to the signs mentioned. Surely in that, Book, is mercy and a reminder, an admonition, for a people who believe.
Verse 52
Say: ‘God suffices as a witness between me and you’, of my sincerity. He knows whatever is in the heavens and the earth, including my circumstances and yours. And those who believe in falsehood, namely, all that is worshipped besides God, and [who] disbelieve in God, from among you — those, they are the losers, in their bargain, for they have purchased disbelief in return for faith.
Verse 53
And they ask you to hasten the chastisement. Yet were it not for an appointed term, for this [chastisement], the chastisement would have come upon them, before long, but it shall assuredly come upon them suddenly while they are unaware, of the time of its coming.
Verse 54
And they ask you to hasten the chastisement, in this world. And lo! Hell shall encompass the disbelievers,
Verse 55
on the Day when the chastisement shall envelop them from above them and from under their feet, and We shall say, thereat (read [the verb] as naqūlu, in other words, ‘We shall command that it be said; or [if read] yaqūlu, ‘he shall say’, namely, the one in charge of [meting out] chastisement), ‘Taste now what you used to do!’, that is, [taste] the requital for it, as you will not be able to elude Us.
Verse 56
O My servants who believe! My earth is indeed vast. So worship [only] Me, in whichever land worship is possible, by emigrating to it from a land in which worship is not possible — this [verse] was revealed regarding the oppressed Muslims [living] in Mecca, who were constrained to manifest [their] Islam in it.
Verse 57
Every soul shall taste death. Then to Us you shall be returned (turja‘ūna; or yurja‘ūna, ‘they shall be returned’) after resurrection.
Verse 58
And those who believe and perform righteous deeds, We shall surely lodge them, We shall give them residence (a variant reading has nuthwiyannahum, [derived] from thawā’, ‘residence’; the transitive link to the indirect object ghurafan is made without [the preposition] fī, ‘in’) in lofty abodes of Paradise, underneath which rivers flow, to abide, decreed for them to live forever, in them — excellent is, this reward as, the reward of the toilers;
Verse 59
they are, those who are steadfast, in [enduring] the harm inflicted [upon them] by the idolaters, and in [enduring] the Emigration, in order to make manifest the religion [of Islam], and who put their trust in their Lord, so that He provides for them whence they do not expect.
Verse 60
And how many (ka-ayyin means kam) an animal there is that does not bear its own provision, on account of its inability [to do so]. Yet God provides for it, and for you, O Emigrants (al-muhājirūn), even when you carry with you neither supplies nor substance. And He is the Hearer, of your sayings, the Knower, of your consciences.
Verse 61
And if (wa-la-in: the lām is for oaths) you were to ask them, namely, the disbelievers, ‘Who created the heavens and the earth and disposed the sun and the moon?’ They would assuredly say, ‘God.’ So how then are they turned away?, from affirming His Oneness after affirming that [God created them].
Verse 62
God extends provision, He makes it abundant, for whomever He will of His servants, by way of a test, and He straitens, He restricts it, for him, after having extended it, that is, for whomever He will to try. Truly God has knowledge of all things, among them the occasion in which [it is appropriate for Him] to extend or to straiten.
Verse 63
And if (wa-la-in: the lām is for oaths) you were to ask them, ‘Who sends down water from the heaven, and therewith revives the earth after its death?’ They would assuredly say, ‘God’: so how can they ascribe partners to Him?! Say, to them: ‘Praise be to God!’, that the proof has been established against you. Nay, but most of them do not realise, their contradictiousness in this respect.
Verse 64
And the life of this world is nothing but diversion and play, whereas closeness [to God] pertains to concern for the Hereafter, since the fruits thereof will be revealed in it. But surely the Abode of the Hereafter is indeed the [true] Life, if they only knew, this, [then] they would not prefer this world to it.
Verse 65
And when they board the ship, they call on God, making their supplications purely to Him, in other words, they do not call on any other besides Him, suffering distress which only He is able to remove; but when He delivers them to land, behold! they ascribe partners, to Him,
Verse 66
that they may be ungrateful for what We have bestowed on them, of graces, and that they may seek enjoyment, in consenting to worship idols together (a variant reading [for the purposive wa-li-yatamatta‘ū] has wa’l-yatamatta‘ū, ‘and let them seek their enjoyment’, as an imperative denoting a threat), for they will soon know!, the consequences of this.
Verse 67
Or is it that they have not seen, [have not] realised, that We have appointed, their town of Mecca to be, a secure Sanctuary, while people are snatched away all around them?, by being killed or taken captive, except for them? Is it that they believe in falsehood, [in] the idol, and are [wont to be] ungrateful for God’s grace?, when they ascribe partners to Him?
Verse 68
And who — in other words, there is none [who] — does greater wrong than he who invents a lie against God, by ascribing partners to Him, or denies truth, be it the Prophet or the Book, when it comes to him? Is there not in Hell a lodging, an abode, for the disbelievers?, in other words, there is such [an abode] therein and such [a person] belongs with them.
Verse 69
But as for those who struggle for Our sake, for Our truth, We shall assuredly guide them in Our ways, that is, the means to come to Us, and truly God is with the virtuous, the believers, assisting and helping.
Verse 1
Alif lām mīm: God knows best what He means by these [letters].
Verse 2
The Byzantines — who are among the People of the Scripture — have been vanquished; the Persians vanquished them, and they are not people of a scripture, but worship graven images. The Meccan disbelievers rejoiced in this [defeat of the Byzantines] and said to the Muslims, ‘We shall vanquish you as the Persians vanquished the Byzantines’;
Verse 3
in the nearer [part of the] land, that is, in the Byzantine land [that lies] nearest to Persia in Mesopotamia (al-Jazīra). There the two armies met and the Persians were the ones who had begun the invasion. But they, that is the Byzantines, after their vanquishing (ghalabihim: the verbal noun [ghalab] has been annexed to the direct object [hum], in other words, ghalabatu fāris iyyāhum, ‘the Persians’ vanquishing of them’) shall be the victors, over the Persians,
Verse 4
in a few years (bid‘, [usually means] between three and nine or ten years). So the two armies met again seven years after this former encounter and the Byzantines defeated the Persians. To God belongs the command before and after, that is, before the defeat of the Byzantines and thereafter, that is to say, the Persian victory at first and the Byzantine victory later were [the result of] God’s command, in other words, His will, and on that day, the day when the Byzantines will be victorious, the believers shall rejoice
Verse 5
in God’s help, to them against the Persians. They [the believers] indeed rejoiced in this, as they came to know of it on the day that it took place, on the day of [the battle of] Badr, when Gabriel came down with this [news] thereon, in addition to their rejoicing in their victory over the idolaters on that [same] day. He helps whomever He will; and He is the Mighty, the Victor, the Merciful, to believers.
Verse 6
The promise of God (wa‘da’Llāhi is the verbal noun substituting for the [full] verbal construction; it is actually wa‘adahumu’Llāhu al-nasr, ‘God promised them victory’). God does not fail His promise, of such [help], but most people, namely, the disbelievers of Mecca, are not aware, of His promise to help them [to victory].
Verse 7
They know [merely] an outward aspect of the life of this world, that is to say, its various means of [securing] livelihood, such as commerce, agriculture, construction and cultivation and so on; but they, of the Hereafter, they are oblivious (this repetition of hum, ‘they’, is for emphasis).
Verse 8
Have they not contemplated themselves?, so that they might emerge from their oblivion. God did not create the heavens and the earth, and what is between them, except with the truth and an appointed term, for that [creation], at the conclusion of which this [creation] will perish, and after which will be the Resurrection. But indeed many people, that is to say, [such as] the Meccan disbelievers, disbelieve in the encounter with their Lord, that is, they do not believe in resurrection after death.
Verse 9
Have they not travelled in the land and beheld how was the consequence for those before them?, of [past] communities, which was that they were destroyed for denying their messengers. They were more powerful than them — such were ‘Ād and Thamūd — and they effected the land, they tilled it and churned it up to sow crops and cultivate [trees], and developed it more than these, the Meccan disbelievers, have developed it; and their messengers brought them clear signs, manifest proofs, for God would never wrong them, by destroying them without being guilty, but they used to wrong themselves, by denying their messengers.
Verse 10
Then the consequence for those who committed evil was evil (al-sū’ā is the feminine form of al-aswa’, ‘the worst’; [it may be read as] the predicate of kāna if one reads ‘āqibatu, in the nominative; or it is the subject of kāna if read as ‘āqibata, in the accusative; and so what is meant is Hell [in the former reading], or [according to the latter reading] simply their evil actions) because they denied the signs of God, the Qur’ān, and made a mock of them.
Verse 11
God originates creation, in other words, He produces the creation of mankind, then He will reproduce it, that is, the creation of them, after their death, then to Him you shall be returned (read turja‘ūna; or yurja‘ūna, ‘they shall be returned’).
Verse 12
And on the Day when the Hour comes, the sinners will be dumbfounded, the idolaters will be fall into silence, as their [line of] argument can no longer be continued.
Verse 13
And none from among those partners of theirs, those whom they ascribed as partners of God, namely, the idols, to intercede for them, shall be intercessors for them and they shall disavow these partners of theirs, in other words, they shall dissociate from them.
Verse 14
And on the Day when the Hour comes, that day (yawma’idhin, is [repeated] for emphasis) they, believers and disbelievers, shall be separated.
Verse 15
As for those who believed and performed righteous deeds, they shall be made happy in a garden [of Paradise].
Verse 16
But as for those who disbelieved and denied Our signs, [namely] the Qur’ān, and the encounter of the Hereafter, the Resurrection and other matters, those, they shall be arraigned into the chastisement.
Verse 17
So glory be to God — in other words, [so] glorify God, meaning: perform prayer — when you enter the [time of the] night, in which there are two prayers, the sunset one (maghrib) and the later night one (‘ishā’), and when you rise in the morning, in which there is the morning prayer (subh).
Verse 18
And to Him belongs [all] praise in the heavens and the earth — a parenthetical statement, in other words, the inhabitants in both of these [realms] praise Him — and as the sun declines (wa-‘ashiyyan is a supplement to hīna, ‘when’ [of the previous verse]), in which comes the afternoon prayer (‘asr), and when you enter noontime, in which comes the midday prayer (zuhr).
Verse 19
He brings forth the living from the dead, as in the case of the human being [who is produced] from a sperm-drop and a bird from an egg, and He brings forth the dead, a sperm-drop or an egg, from the living, and He revives the earth, with vegetation, after it has died, dried out. And in such [a manner], of being brought forth, you shall be brought forth, from the graves (read [either as] the active takhrujūna, ‘you shall come forth’, or the passive tukhrajūna, ‘you shall be brought forth’).
Verse 20
And of His signs, exalted be He, indicating His power, is that He created you, in other words, your origin, Adam, of dust, then lo! you are human beings, of flesh and blood, spreading, across the earth.
Verse 21
And of His signs is that He created for you, from yourselves, mates — Eve was created from Adam’s rib and the remainder of mankind from the [reproductive] fluids of men and women — that you might find peace by their side, and become intimate with them, and He ordained between you, all, affection and mercy. Surely in that, mentioned, there are signs for a people who reflect, upon God’s handiwork, exalted be He.
Verse 22
And of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth and the differences of your tongues, that is, your languages, such as Arabic, non-Arabic and so on, and your colours, such as white or black or otherwise, even though [all of] you are [originally] the offspring of the same man and woman. Surely in that there are signs, indications of His power, exalted be He, for all peoples ([this may be vocalised either as] li’l-‘ālamīna or li’l-‘ālimīna, so [it means] either rational creatures, or people of knowledge [respectively]).
Verse 23
And of His signs is your sleep by night and day, by His will, as a repose for you, and your seeking, during the day, of His bounty, in other words, your going about [freely] in order to seek a living [is] by His will. Surely in that there are signs for people who listen, listening in a way so as to [be prompted to] reflect and take heed.
Verse 24
And of His signs is His showing you lightning to arouse fear, in the traveller, of storms, and hope, in the one not travelling, of [the coming of the] rain; and He sends down water from the heaven and with it He revives the earth after it has died, that is, [after] it has dried out, so that it produces vegetation [once again]. Surely in that, mentioned, there are signs for people who understand, [a people who] reflect.
Verse 25
And of His signs is that the heaven and the earth remain standing by His command, by His will, without any supports; then, when He calls you [to come] out of the earth, when Isrāfīl blows the Horn for the raising from the graves [to commence], lo! you shall come forth, from it alive. Thus your coming forth out of it by a call constitutes one of His [many] signs, exalted be He.
Verse 26
And to Him belongs whoever is in the heavens and the earth, as possessions, creatures and servants. All are obedient to Him.
Verse 27
And He it is Who initiates the creation, of mankind, then brings it back, after their destruction, and that is [even] easier for Him, than the initiation — from the perspective of those addressed for whom to repeat something is easier than doing it for the first time — otherwise, in God’s case, exalted be He, both are just as easy. His is the loftiest description in the heavens and the earth, the most sublime attribute, namely that ‘there is no god except God’. And He is the Mighty, in His kingdom, the Wise, in His creation.
Verse 28
He has struck, He has coined, for you, O idolaters, a similitude, that is [actually drawn], from yourselves, and it is [as follows]: do you have among those whom your right hands own, that is to say, among your servants, any partners, of yourselves, [who may share] in what We have provided for you, of property and so on, so that you, and they, are equal therein, fearing them as you fear your own [folk], [just as you fear] those free men like you? (the interrogative is meant as a negation) in other words, ‘your servants are not partners of yours in what you own, so how can you make some of God’s servants partners of His. So We detail the signs, [so] We explain them in such detail, for people who understand, [a people who] reflect.
Verse 29
Nay, but those who do evil, through idolatry, follow their own desires without any knowledge. So who will guide he whom God has led astray?, that is to say, he will have none to guide him. And they have no helpers, [no] protectors against God’s chastisement.
Verse 30
So set your purpose, O Muhammad (s), for religion, as a hanīf, as one inclining to it — in other words, devote your religion, you and whoever follows you, purely to God — a nature given by God, upon which He originated mankind, and this [nature] is His religion: in other words, adhere to it. There is no changing God’s creation, His religion, that is to say, do not change it by becoming idolaters. That is the upright religion, the belief in God’s Oneness, but most people, namely, the Meccan disbelievers, do not know, [anything of] God’s Oneness —
Verse 31
turning, referring, to Him, exalted be He, concerning what He has commanded and what He has forbidden (munībīna, ‘turning’ is a circumstantial qualifier referring to the subject [of the verb] aqim, ‘set up’, in other words [addressing the third plural person] aqīmū, ‘set up’) and fear Him and establish prayer and do not be among the idolaters,
Verse 32
[of] those (mina’lladhīna is a substitution [for al-mushrikīna, ‘idolaters’] using the same operator of the oblique [min]) who have divided up their religion, by being at variance over what they worship, and have become [dissenting] factions, sects divided over this [matter], each party, among them, rejoicing, delighting, in what they have (a variant reading [for farraqū] is fāraqū, in other words, ‘of those who have parted with the religion to which they have been commanded’).
Verse 33
And when some distress, some hardship, befalls people, that is, [people such as] the Meccan disbelievers, they call on their Lord, turning, returning, in penitence to Him, alone. Then, when He lets them taste mercy from Him, by way of rain, lo! a party of them ascribe partners to their Lord.
Verse 34
Let them be ungrateful for what We have given them (this is [an imperative] meant as a threat). ‘So take your enjoyment. Soon you will know’, the consequences of your enjoyment (there is a shift away from the third person address to the second).
Verse 35
Or (am: the hamza here is meant for denial) have We revealed any warrant, any argument or scripture, to them which might speak, a token speech, of what they associate with Him?, in other words, commanding them to associate others with God? No!
Verse 36
And when We let people, that is, [people such as] the disbelievers of Mecca and others, taste some mercy, some grace, they exult in it, an exultation of arrogance. But if some evil, some hardship, befalls them for what their own hands have sent ahead, behold! they despair, of mercy. It is in the nature of a believer to give thanks in times of grace and to hope [for mercy] from his Lord in times of hardship.
Verse 37
Have they not seen, [have they not] realised, that God extends, He makes abundant, His provision to whomever He will, as a test, and straitens?, and He restricts it for whomever He will, as a trial? Surely in that there are signs for people who believe, in them.
Verse 38
And give the relative what is his due, in the way of dutifulness and kindness, and the needy and the wayfarer, the traveller, [give] voluntary alms — the Prophet’s community must emulate him in this respect. That is better for those who desire God’s Countenance, [who desire] His reward, in exchange for what they do; those, they are the successful, the winners.
Verse 39
And what you give in usury — such as when something is given as a gift or a present for the purpose of demanding more in return; it [the practice of usury] (ribā) is referred to by the same noun denoting that [illicit] ‘extra’ (ziyāda) requested in the [financial] transaction — that it may increase the wealth of the people, giving it, does not increase with God — there is no reward in it for those who give it. But what you give as alms (zakāt), as voluntary alms (sadaqa), seeking, thereby, God’s Countenance, such [of you who do so] — they are the receivers of manifold increase, in their reward for what they sought (there is here a shift of address away from the second person).
Verse 40
God is the One Who created you, then provided for you, then makes you die, then gives you life: is there anyone among your associates, of those whom you have associated with God, who does anything of the kind? No! Glory be to Him and exalted be He above what they associate, with Him.
Verse 41
Corruption has appeared on land, in the wastelands, because of the rain being withheld and the vegetation diminishing, and on sea, in lands near rivers because of their waters diminishing, because of what people’s hands have perpetrated, of acts of disobedience, that He may make them taste (li-yudhīqahum; or [may be read] li-nudhīqahum, ‘that We may make them taste’) something of what they have done, that is, the punishment for it, that perhaps they may repent.
Verse 42
Say, to the Meccan disbelievers: ‘Travel in the land and behold how was the consequence for those who were before; most of them were idolaters’, and so they were destroyed because of their idolatry, and their dwellings and habitations lie [desolate] in ruin.
Verse 43
So set your purpose for the upright religion, the religion of Islam, before there comes the inevitable day from God, namely, the Day of Resurrection. On that day they shall be sundered (yassadda‘ūna: the original tā’ [yatasadda‘ūna] has been assimilated with the sād), that is, they will be split [into separate groups] after the Reckoning [destined] for Paradise or the Fire.
Verse 44
Whoever disbelieves, [the consequence of] his disbelief shall upon him, that is, the evil consequences of his disbelief, which will be [his being punished in] the Fire, and those who act righteously, they will be paving the way for [the salvation of] their own souls, preparing their places in Paradise,
Verse 45
that He may requite (li-yajziya is semantically connected to yassadda‘ūna, ‘they shall be sundered’) those who believe and perform righteous deeds out of His bounty, [that He may] reward them. Indeed He does not like the disbelievers, in other words, He will punish them.
Verse 46
And of His signs, exalted be He, is that He unleashes the winds as bearers of good tidings, meaning, so that they may bring you good tidings of rain, and that He may let you taste, thereby, of His mercy, namely, [in the way of] rain and fertile soil, and that the ships may run, thereby, by His command, by His will, and that you may seek, [that you may] request of, His bounty, provision, by way of commerce at sea, and that perhaps you might [then] give thanks, for these graces, O people of Mecca, and so affirm His Oneness.
Verse 47
And verily We sent before you messengers to their people and they brought them clear signs, plain proofs of their sincerity concerning their Message to them, but they denied them. Then We took vengeance upon those who were guilty, We destroyed those who denied them, and it was ever incumbent upon Us to give victory to the believers, over the disbelievers, by destroying these and delivering the believers.
Verse 48
God is the One Who unleashes the winds which then raise, stir up, clouds, and He then spreads them across the heaven as He will, in small or large quantities, and He forms them into fragments (read kisafan or kisfan: ‘scattered pieces’) then you see the rain issuing out of them, that is, out of the midst of them. Then when He drops it, the rain, upon whomever of His servants He will, lo! they rejoice, they are happy because of the rain.
Verse 49
Though indeed before it was sent down upon them, before that (min qablihi is [repeated] for emphasis) they had been despondent, despairing of its sending down.
Verse 50
So behold the effects (a variant reading has [singular] athar, ‘the effect’) of God's mercy, that is, His grace in giving [them] rain, how He revives the earth after it has died, [after] it has dried out, so that it produces vegetation [again]. Surely He is the Reviver of the dead and He has power over all things.
Verse 51
But if (wa-la-in, the lām is for oaths) We unleash a [different] wind, that damages vegetation, and they see it turn yellow, they would begin (la-zallū is the response to the [conditional] oath) after that, that is, after its turning yellow, to disbelieve, to deny the grace of [having been given] rain.
Verse 52
And so you cannot make the dead hear, nor can you make the deaf hear the call when (read al-du‘ā’a idhā, pronouncing both hamzas, or by not pronouncing the second one [that comes] between it and the yā’) they go away with their backs turned.
Verse 53
Nor can you guide the blind out of their error. You can only make hear, in a way so as to understand and accept, those who believe in Our signs, [in] the Qur’ān, and have thus submitted, sincere in their affirmation of God’s Oneness.
Verse 54
God is the One Who created you from [a state of] weakness, [from] a ‘base fluid’ [cf. Q. 32:8], then He ordained after, a second, weakness, which is the weakness of [the period of] childhood, strength, that is, the strength of youth, then after strength He appointed weakness [again] and grey hair, the weakness of old age and the grey hairs of decrepitude (read [vocalised as] du‘f, ‘weakness’, in all three places). He creates what He will, of weakness and strength, youth and grey hairs, and He is the Knower, of how to manage His creatures, the Omnipotent.
Verse 55
And on the Day when the Hour comes the guilty, the disbelievers, shall swear that they had not remained more than an hour, in the grave. God, exalted be He, says: That is how they use to be deceived, [how] they used to be turned away from the truth — the Resurrection — similar to the way in which they have [now] been turned away from the real truth about how long they had remained.
Verse 56
But those who have been given knowledge and faith, of angels and others, shall say, ‘You have remained according to God’s decree, in accordance with what He had decreed [for you] in His prior knowledge, until the Day of Resurrection. This is the Day of Resurrection, which you rejected, but you did not know’, that it would come to pass.
Verse 57
So on that day their excuses, for denying it, will not profit (read lā yanfa‘u or lā tanfa‘u) the evildoers, nor will they be asked to make amends (yusta‘tabūna means ‘they will [not] be asked for al-‘utbā’, which denotes ‘a return to that which pleases God’).
Verse 58
And verily We have struck, We have coined, for mankind in this Qur’ān every [kind of] similitude, as a way of cautioning them. And if (wa-la-in, the lām is for oaths) you, O Muhammad (s), were to bring them a [miraculous] sign, such as the staff or the hand in the case of Moses, those who disbelieve, from among them, will certainly say (la-yaqūlanna: the indicative nūn has been omitted because of the other nūn coming after it, and likewise the wāw [replaced by the damma in lu], because of two unvocalised consonants coming together and it indicates the plural person), ‘You — in other words, Muhammad (s) and his Companions — are nothing but followers of falsehood’.
Verse 59
Thus does God seal the hearts of those who do not know, [anything of] God’s Oneness, in the same way that He has sealed the hearts of these [aforementioned individuals].
Verse 60
So be patient. Surely God’s promise, to give you victory over them, is true. And do not let them cause you to be inconstant, those who are uncertain, of the Resurrection, in other words, do not let them cause you to succumb to inconstancy and frivolity by abandoning patience, that is to say, do not abandon it.
Verse 1
Alif lām mīm: God knows best what He means by these [letters].
Verse 2
Those, namely, these signs, are the signs of the wise Book, the Qur’ān, the one containing wisdom (the genitive annexation [āyātu’l-kitābi’l-hakīm] has the [partitive] meaning of min, ‘from’);
Verse 3
it is, a guidance and a mercy (read nominative rahmatun; the popular accusative reading [rahmatan] would make it a circumstantial qualifier referring to āyāt, ‘signs’, the operator of which being the implicit demonstrative import of tilka, ‘those’) for the virtuous,
Verse 4
who maintain the prayer (alladhīna yuqīmūna’l-salāta, an explication of al-muhsinīna, ‘the virtuous’) and pay the alms and who are certain of the Hereafter (the repetition of hum, ‘they’ [here translated ‘who’] is for emphasis).
Verse 5
Such follow guidance from their Lord and it is they who are the successful, the winners.
Verse 6
And among people there is he who purchases idle talk, in other words, that [part of it] which diverts [people] from its [true] significance, that he may lead [people] astray (read li-yadilla; or li-yudilla) from the way of God, the religion of Islam, without knowledge and take it (read [subjunctive] wa-yattakhidhahā as a supplement to yudilla, ‘that he may lead astray’; or [indicative] wa-yattakhidhuhā as a supplement to yashtarī, ‘who buys’) in mockery, as something to be mocked. For such there will be a humiliating chastisement, one of abasement.
Verse 7
And when Our signs, in other words, [in] the Qur’ān, are recited to such [a one] he turns away disdainfully as though he never heard them, as though there were a deafness in his ears (both comparisons constitute two circumstantial qualifiers referring to the subject of [the verb] wallā, ‘turns away’; or it is that the second [comparison] is an explication of the first). So give him tidings of, inform him of, a painful chastisement. The use of [the expression] ‘good tidings’ meant derisively against such [a person] — this was al-Nadr b. al-Hārith. He used to visit al-Hīra for commerce and purchase books containing the stories of the non-Arab peoples and then recount these to the people of Mecca. He would say, ‘Muhammad recounts to you the stories of ‘Ād and Thamūd, whereas I relate to you the stories of the Persians and the Byzantines!’ They would thus [go to] enjoy his stories and neglect to listen to the Qur’ān.
Verse 8
Surely those who believe and perform righteous deeds, for them there shall be Gardens of Bliss,
Verse 9
abiding therein (khālidīna fīhā, is a circumstantial qualification [of a future status]), in other words, their abiding therein will have been ordained once they enter it — a promise of God in truth, that is to say, God promised them this and realised it in truth; and He is the Mighty, Whom nothing can overwhelm and so prevent Him from fulfilling His promise and His threat [of chastisement], the Wise, the One Who assigns all things to their rightful places.
Verse 10
He created the heavens without any pillars that you can see (‘amad is the plural of ‘imād, which is an ustuwāna, ‘a column’) — this is the truth since there are no actual pillars — and cast high mountains into the earth, lest it shake with you, and He dispersed therein all kinds beasts. And We sent down (there is a shift from the third [to the second] person) water from the heaven and We caused to grow in it of every splendid kind, [every] fair specimen.
Verse 11
This is God’s creation, in other words, what is created by Him. Now show me, inform me, O people of Mecca, what those [you worship] besides Him, [those] other than Him, have created, namely, your gods, so that you have associated them with Him, exalted be He (mā is an interrogative of denial and a subject; dhā has the significance of alladhī, and what follows it of the relative clause is the predicate [of the subject mā]; arūnī glosses ‘the action’, and what follows it stands in place of two direct objects). Nay (bal, is for transition) but the evildoers are in manifest error, [error] that is evident because of their ascribing partners to God: and you are like them.
Verse 12
And verily We gave Luqmān wisdom, comprising knowledge, religiousness, and right-mindedness in speech; his many wisdoms are well-known. He used to give legal opinions [in matters of religion] before David was summoned [to prophethood], but lived on into the latter’s summoning. He then took to acquiring knowledge from him [David] and refrained from giving [any more] legal opinions, explaining this thus: ‘Should I not be content if someone [like the prophet David] has spared me the trouble?’ He was once asked, ‘What is the worst kind of person?’ He said, ‘The one who does not care that people should see him doing evil’. In other words, [We gave him wisdom] and We said to him: ‘Give thanks to God, for the wisdom that He has given you. Whoever gives thanks only for his own sake, because the reward for his gratitude shall be his, and whoever is ungrateful, for a grace, then surely God is Independent, [without need] of His creation, Praised’, in what He does.
Verse 13
And, mention, when Luqmān said to his son, when he was admonishing him, ‘O my son (yā bunayya is an affectionate diminutive [of yā ibnī]) do not ascribe partners to God: idolatry is truly a tremendous wrong’, so return to him [in repentance] and submit [to Him].
Verse 14
And We have enjoined man concerning his parents, We commanded him to be dutiful towards them — his mother bears him, and weakens, in weakness after weakness, that is to say, she is weakened by the pregnancy, the pains of labour and the delivery; and his weaning is in two years, and We said to him [to man]: ‘Give thanks to Me and to your parents. To Me is the journey’s end, the return.
Verse 15
But if they urge you to ascribe to Me as partner that whereof you have no knowledge, that accords with [any] reality, then do not obey them. And keep them company in this world honourably, in other words, with decency: dutifulness and kindness — and follow the way of him who returns to Me [in penitence], with [acts of] obedience. Then to Me will be your return, and I will inform you of what you used to do, and requite you for it (the [entire] sentence containing the ‘enjoinder’ [verse 14] and what comes after it constitutes a parenthetical statement).
Verse 16
‘O my son! Even if it, namely, the evil trait, should be the weight of a grain of mustard-seed, and [even if] it be in a rock, or in the heavens, or in the earth, in other words, in the most concealed place therein, God will bring it forth, and He will call [that person] to account for it. Truly God is Subtle, in bringing it forth, Aware, of its location.
Verse 17
O my son! Establish prayer and enjoin decency and forbid indecency. And be patient through whatever may befall you, as a result of such enjoining and forbidding. Truly that, which is mentioned, is true constancy, in other words, that is one of those necessary things regarding which one must have firm resolve.
Verse 18
And do not turn your cheek disdainfully from people (tusa‘‘ir: a variant reading has tusā‘ir) do not turn your face away in disdain, and do not walk upon the earth exultantly, in other words, with haughtiness. Truly God does not like any swaggering braggart, strutting in his step, [boasting] in front of people.
Verse 19
And be modest in your bearing, being moderate in it, neither dragging slowly nor rushing, but peaceful and dignified, and lower your voice; indeed the most hideous of voices is the donkey’s voice’, beginning [its hideous bray] with an exhalation and ending with an inhalation.
Verse 20
Do you not see, do you [not] realise, O you who are being addressed, that God has disposed for you whatever is in the heavens, such as the sun, the moon, and the stars, that you may benefit from them, and whatever is in the earth, of fruits, rivers and animals, and He has showered, He has made abundant and made complete, His favours upon you, [both] outwardly, namely, [by giving you your] wholesome form, even limbs and otherwise, and inwardly?, that is, [by giving you] knowledge and so on. Yet among people, that is, [people such as] the Meccan disbelievers, there are those who dispute concerning God without any knowledge or guidance, from a messenger, or an illuminating scripture, revealed by God, rather [they dispute] by [blindly] imitating [others].
Verse 21
And if it is said to them: ‘Follow what God has revealed’, they say, ‘We will rather follow what we found our fathers following’. He, exalted be He, says: What! Would they follow such [things], even though Satan were calling them to the chastisement of the Blaze?, that is, to what will bring it about necessarily? No!