Verse 47
To Him devolves [all] knowledge of the Hour — when it shall come to pass, none other than Him knows this. And no fruit (thamaratin: a variant reading has [the plural] thamarātin, ‘fruits’) emerges from its sheath, its receptacle (akmām, the plural of kimm), except with His knowledge, and no female bears [child] or delivers except with His knowledge. And on the day when He will call out to them, ‘Where [then] are My associates?’ they will say, ‘We proclaim to You, we now apprise You, that there is no witness amongst us’, that is, a witness [who can testify to the allegation] that You have an associate.
Verse 48
And what they used to call on, [what they used] to worship, before, in this world, of idols, has forsaken them and they suppose, they will be certain, that there is no refuge for them, no escape from the chastisement (the negation in both instances comments on the operation [implied in the nouns of actions; also the negation stands in place of the direct objects in both instances).
Verse 49
Man never wearies of supplicating for good, in other words, he never ceases to ask his Lord for wealth and good health and other [good] things, but should any ill befall him, such as impoverishment or hardship, then he becomes despondent, despairing, of God’s mercy — this and what follows relates to [the attitude of] disbelievers.
Verse 50
And if (wa-la-in: the lām is for oaths) We let him taste, [if] We bestow on him, mercy, [such as] riches or good health, from Us after the harm, the hardship or tribulation, that had befallen him, he will surely say, ‘This is my due!, in other words, [it is] on account of what I do. I do not think that the Hour will ever set in, and even if (wa-la-in: the lām is for oaths) I am returned to my Lord, I will indeed have the best [reward] with Him’, namely, Paradise. But We will assuredly inform those who disbelieve of what they did, and assuredly We will make them taste a harsh chastisement (the lām [prefixed] in both verbs is that for oaths).
Verse 51
And when We bestow graces upon man (insān, the generic noun [is meant]), he shows disregard, of giving thanks, and turns aside, turns his head in arrogance (a variant reading [for nā’a] has na’ā); but when ill befalls him, he makes prolonged supplications.
Verse 52
Say: ‘Consider [this]: if it, the Qur’ān, is from God, as the Prophet says, and you disbelieve in it, who — in other words, none — will be further astray than one who is in extreme defiance?’, of the truth (this [third person singular address] is used instead of ‘[who will be further astray] than you’ in order to point out their status [as disbelievers]).
Verse 53
We shall show them Our signs in the horizons, [in all] the regions of the heavens and the earth, in the way of the luminous [celestial] bodies, [the varieties of] vegetation and trees, and in their own souls, in the way of the exquisite craftsmanship and unique wisdom [inherent in their creation], until it becomes clear to them that it, namely, the Qur’ān, is the truth, revealed by God, informing of the Resurrection, the Reckoning and the Punishment, so that they [realise that they] will be punished for their disbelief in it and in the one who has come with it. Is it not sufficient that your Lord (bi-rabbika, governs the verb yakfi, ‘sufficient’) is witness to all things? (annahu ‘alā kulli shay’in shahīd, substitutes for bi-rabbika). In other words, is not sufficient proof of your truthfulness that nothing whatsoever can be hidden from God?
Verse 54
Nay, verily they are in doubt about the encounter with their Lord, because they deny the Resurrection. Nay, verily He, exalted be He, encompasses all things, in knowledge and in power, and so He will requite them for their disbelief.
Verse 1
Hā mīm
Verse 2
‘ayn sīn qāf: God knows best what He means by these [letters].
Verse 3
Thus — in other words, in the same [manner of] revelation — does He reveal to you and, did He reveal, to those [who were] before you, God (Allāhu, is the agent of [the action of] revelation) the Mighty, in His kingdom, the Wise, in His actions.
Verse 4
To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth, as possession, creation and servants, and He is the Exalted, above His creatures, the Tremendous, the Great.
Verse 5
The heavens are well-nigh (read yakādu, or takādu) rent asunder (yanfatirna: a variant reading has yatafattarna) from above one another, in other words, [well-nigh] is each one torn away from above the one below it because of the magnitude of God, exalted be He, and the angels glorify with praise of their Lord, in other words, they are continuously engaged in praise [of Him], and ask forgiveness for those, believers, on earth. Verily God is the Forgiving, to His friends, the Merciful, to them.
Verse 6
And those who have taken besides Him, namely, idols [as], guardians, God is watchful over them, He keeps count [of their deeds], that He may requite them; and you are not a guardian over them, in order to secure what is demanded of them: your duty is only to deliver the Message.
Verse 7
And thus — in the same [manner of] revelation — have We revealed to you an Arabic Qur’ān, that you may warn, [that you may] threaten, the mother-town and those around it, namely, the inhabitants of Mecca and all other people, and that you may warn, [all] people, of the Day of Gathering, the Day of Resurrection whereat [all] creatures will be gathered, of which there is no doubt. A part, of them, will be in Paradise and a part will be in the Blaze, the Fire.
Verse 8
And had God willed, He would have made them one community, in other words, following one religion, and that is Islam; but He admits whomever He will into His mercy, and the evildoers, the disbelievers, have neither guardian nor helper, to ward off the chastisement from them.
Verse 9
Or have they taken, idols [as], guardians besides Him? (am, ‘or’, is disjunctive, functioning with the sense of bal, ‘nay, but’, the one used to denote a shift [in the subject matter]; the hamza is for denial, in other words ‘those who are taken’ [as guardians] are not [in fact] guardians [of anything]). But God, He [alone] is the Guardian, in other words, then One who helps believers (the fā’ [of fa’Llāhu] is merely for coordination) and He revives the dead, and He has power over all things.
Verse 10
And whatever you may differ, with disbelievers, in, of religion or otherwise, the verdict therein belongs, it will return, to God, on the Day of Resurrection; He will judge between you. Say to them: That then is God, my Lord; in Him I have put my trust, and to Him I turn penitently.
Verse 11
The Originator of the heavens and the earth, the One Who created them [without precedent]. He has made for you, from your own selves, pairs, when He created Eve from Adam’s rib, and [also] pairs, males and females, of the cattle: He multiplies you (read yadhra’ukum) by such [means], by the mentioned ‘making’, that is to say, He multiplies you through this [means] by way of propagation (the [suffixed] pronoun [-kum in yadhra’ukum, ‘He multiplies you’] refers to both human beings and cattle, but predominantly [to humans]). There is nothing like Him (ka-mithlihi: the kāf is extra, as there is no likeness of Him, exalted be He). He is the Hearer, of what is said, the Seer, of what is done.
Verse 12
To Him belong the keys of the heavens and the earth, the keys to their storehouses of rain and vegetation and other things. He extends provision, He makes it abundant, for whomever He will, as a test [of their gratitude], and He restricts [it], He straitens it for whomever He will, as a trial. Truly He has knowledge of all things.
Verse 13
He has prescribed for you as a religion that which He enjoined upon Noah — for he was the first of the prophets [sent] with a [Divine] Law — and that which We have revealed to you, and that which We enjoined upon Abraham, and Moses, and Jesus [declaring], ‘Establish religion and do not be divided in it’: this is what has been prescribed and enjoined upon [those mentioned above], and what has been revealed to Muhammad (s), and it is the affirmation of [God’s] Oneness. Dreadful is for the idolaters that to which you summon them, in the way of affirming the Oneness [of God]. God chooses for it, for the [task of] affirming [His] Oneness, whomever He will, and He guides to it whomever turns penitently, [whomever] applies himself to obedience of Him.
Verse 14
And they did not become divided, that is, the adherents of the [monotheistic] religions [did not become divided] in religion — so that some affirmed the Oneness [of God], while others rejected it — except after the knowledge, of His Oneness, had come to them, out of [jealous] rivalry, on the part of the disbelievers, among themselves. And were it not for a Word that preceded from your Lord, to defer requital [of them], until an appointed term, [until] the Day of Resurrection, it would have [already] been judged between them, to chastise the disbelievers in this world. And indeed those who were made heirs to the Scripture after them, namely, the Jews and the Christians, are truly in grave doubt concerning him, Muhammad (s).
Verse 15
So to that then, [to that] affirmation of [God’s] Oneness, summon, O Muhammad (s), people, and be upright, in [summoning them to] this, just as you have been commanded, and do not follow them in their desires, to abandon it. And say: ‘I believe in whatever Book God has revealed. And I have been commanded to be just between you, in passing judgement. God is our Lord and your Lord. Our deeds concern us and your deeds concern you, and so each [one of us] will be requited according to his [own] deeds. There is no argument, [no] dispute, between us and you — this was [revealed] before the command to struggle [against them]. God will bring us together, at the [time of the] Return to decide [definitively] between us, and to Him is the [final] destination’, the [ultimate] return.
Verse 16
And those who argue, with the Prophet, concerning, the religion of, God after His call has been answered, through faith, on account of His miracle having been manifested — and they are the Jews — their argument stands refuted, [is] invalid, with their Lord, and [His] wrath shall be upon them, and there will be a severe chastisement for them.
Verse 17
God it is Who has revealed the Book, the Qur’ān, with the truth (bi’l-haqqi is semantically connected to anzala, ‘revealed’) as well as the Balance, Justice. And what do you know — perhaps the Hour, that is, its arrival, is near! (la‘alla, ‘perhaps’, comments on the verb describing the action, with what follows it functioning as two direct objects).
Verse 18
Those who do not believe in it seek to hasten it: they say, ‘When will it come?’, as a presumption on their part that it will never come; but those who believe are apprehensive of it and know that it is the truth. Nay, but verily those who are in doubt, those who argue, concerning the Hour are indeed in extreme error!
Verse 19
God is Gracious to His servants, both the pious and the profligate, for He does not destroy them through hunger, despite their acts of disobedience. He provides for whomever He will, from among each of the two [classes of individuals] whatever He will. And He is the Strong, in [effecting] what He wants, the Mighty, Whose way [always] prevails.
Verse 20
And whoever desires, in return for his actions, the harvest of the Hereafter, in other words, its gains, and that is reward, We will enhance for him his harvest, by multiplying in it the good deed up tenfold or more; and whoever desires the harvest of this world, We will give him of it, without multiplying [any of it], [giving him] only what is his [preordained] share; but in the Hereafter he will have no share.
Verse 21
Or have they, the Meccan disbelievers, associates — these being their devils — who have prescribed for them, for the disbelievers, a religion, a corrupt [religion], which God has not given permission for?, such as idolatry and denial of resurrection? And were it not for a [prior] decisive word, in other words, a prior decree to the effect that requital will take place on the Day of Resurrection, it would have been judged between them, and the believers, by chastising the former in this world. Truly the wrongdoers, the disbelievers, will have a painful chastisement.
Verse 22
You will see the wrongdoers, on the Day of Resurrection, apprehensive because of what they had earned, in this world, in the way of evil deeds, lest they be requited for these; and it, that is, the requital for these [deeds], will surely befall them, on the Day of Resurrection, inevitably; but those who believe and perform righteous deeds will be in the lushest Gardens, in other words, in the best of these [Gardens] in comparison with the other ones. They will have whatever they wish near their Lord; that is the great favour.
Verse 23
That is the good tidings (read yubshiru or yubashshiru, from bishāra, ‘good news’) which God gives to His servants who believe and perform righteous deeds. Say: ‘I do not ask of you any reward for it, for delivering the Message, except the affection for [my] kinsfolk (illā, ‘except’: this represents a discontinuous exception, in other words, ‘but I do ask of you that you show affection for my kinship [with you], which at the same time is your kinship’; for he [the Prophet] had kinship ties with all the subdivisions of the [tribe of] Quraysh). And whoever acquires a good deed, an act of obedience, We shall enhance for him its goodness, by multiplying [the reward for] it. Surely God is Forgiving, of sins, Appreciative, [even] of little [good], and so He multiplies it [manifold].
Verse 24
Or (am here is like bal) do they say, ‘He has invented a lie against God?’, in ascribing the Qur’ān to God, exalted be He. For if God will, He can seal, He can fortify, your heart, with patience to endure the hurt they cause [you] by such sayings and otherwise — and God did this. And God will efface the falsehood, which they speak, and vindicate, confirm, the truth with His words, [the ones] revealed to His Prophet. Truly He is Knower of what is in the breasts, of what is in the hearts [of people].
Verse 25
And He it is Who accepts repentance from His servants, and pardons evil deeds, those from which repentance has been made, and knows what they do (yaf‘alūna, may also be read taf‘alūna, ‘you do’).
Verse 26
And He answers those who believe and perform righteous deeds, He grants them what they ask for, and He enhances them of His bounty. And as for the disbelievers, for them there will be a severe chastisement.
Verse 27
For were God to extend His provision to His servants, [to] all of them, they would, all of them, surely become covetous, in other words, they would become tyrants, in the earth; but He sends down (read yunzilu or yunazzilu) of provisions, in the measure that He will, thus extending it for some of His servants to the exclusion of others — and from [such] extending [of provision to some] emerges tyranny. Surely He is Aware, Seer of His servants.
Verse 28
And He it is Who sends down the [saving] rain after they have despaired, [after] they have given up hope of its being sent down, and unfolds His mercy, He extends His rain, and He is the [true] Patron, the Benevolent towards believers, the Praised, by them.
Verse 29
And of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth and, the creation of, whatever He has scattered, [whatever] He has divided and spread, in them in the way of creatures (dābba: this denotes all those [creatures] which tread [yadubbu] upon the earth, whether human beings or otherwise). And He is able to bring them together, for the Gathering, whenever He will (rational beings as opposed to others predominate in the [suffixed] pronoun [-him of jam‘ihim, ‘to bring them together’]).
Verse 30
And whatever affliction, [whatever] misfortune or hardship, may befall you — [this is] an address to the believers — is on account of what your [own] hands have earned, that is to say, [for] the sins that you have committed — the use of ‘hands’ to express this is because most actions are effected by them. And He pardons much, of these [sins] and does not requite them, for God’s kindness is greater than that He should [for example] double the requital in the Hereafter; as for those who do not commit [grave] sins, then what befalls them in this world [of hardship] raises their degree in the [reward of the] Hereafter.
Verse 31
And you, O idolaters, cannot escape, from God, by fleeing, on earth, and thus elude Him, and, besides God, that is to say, other than Him, you have neither protector nor helper, to ward off His chastisement from you.
Verse 32
And of His signs are the ships [that run] on the sea [appearing] like landmarks, like mountains, in terms of their magnitude.
Verse 33
If He will, He stills the wind, whereat they remain, they become, motionless, fixed, not moving, on its surface. Surely in that there are signs for every steadfast, grateful [servant] — this is the believer, who is steadfast during hardship and grateful in [times of] comfort.
Verse 34
Or He wrecks them (yūbiqhunna, a supplement to yuskin, ‘He stills’), that is to say, [or] He sinks them, including their passengers, by sending violent winds [upon them], because of what they, that is, the passengers of these [ships], have earned, of sins. And He pardons much, of such [sin] and does not cause those who have sinned to drown.
Verse 35
And that those who dispute concerning Our signs may know (read [indicative] wa-ya‘lamu, ‘and [they] know’, beginning a new sentence; or [subjunctive] wa-ya‘lama, ‘and that [they] may know’, as a supplement to an implicit reason, in other words: ‘He drowns them in order to exact vengeance against them and so that they may know that …’) they have no refuge, no escape from the chastisement (the negation represents two direct objects of [the verb] ya‘lamu [or ya‘lama], ‘[they] know’; the negation is also a comment on the [implied] action [of ‘escaping’]).
Verse 36
So whatever you — [this is] an address is to believers and others — have been given, of the luxuries of this world, is [but] the enjoyment of the life of this world, enjoyed for the duration of it but then perishes. But what is with God, of reward, is better and more lasting for those who believe and put their trust in their Lord (li’lladhīna āmanū wa-‘alā rabbihim yatawakkalūna, is supplemented by [the following clause]),
Verse 37
and those who avoid grave sins and indecencies, those [acts] that require [the implementing of] the prescribed legal punishments (hudūd) ([the supplement above is] an example of supplementing the part to the whole) and [who], when they are angry, forgive, they let it pass;
Verse 38
and those who answer their Lord, [those who] respond to what He has summoned them in the way of affirming His Oneness and worship [of Him], and observe prayer, maintaining it regularly, and whose courses of action, those [courses of action] that seem good to them, are [a matter of] counsel between them, in which they consult one another and do not act hastily, and who, of what We have bestowed on them, expend, in obedience to God — such mentioned [individuals] constitute one category;
Verse 39
and those who, when they suffer aggression, injustice, defend themselves — these are another category — that is to say, they retaliate against those who wrong them in the same manner in which the latter wronged them, as God, exalted be He, says:
Verse 40
For the requital of an evil deed is an evil deed like it: the latter is [also] referred to as ‘an evil deed’ because in [outward] form it resembles the former; this is evident in what concerns retaliation for wounds. Some [scholars] say that even if another were to say, ‘May God disgrace you!’, then one should respond [equally] with, ‘May God disgrace you!’. But whoever pardons, his wrongdoer, and reconciles, the amity between himself and the one pardoned, his reward will be with God, that is to say, God will give him his reward without doubt. Truly He does not like wrongdoers, that is, those who initiate acts of wrongdoing and so merit His punishment.
Verse 41
And whoever defends himself after he has been wronged, that is to say, after the wrongdoer has wronged him — for such, there will be no course [of action] against them, no blame [on them].
Verse 42
A course [of action] is only [open] against those who wrong people and seek [to commit], [who] commit, in the earth what is not right, [what are] acts of disobedience. For such there will be a painful chastisement.
Verse 43
But verily he who is patient, and defend himself [by retaliating], and forgives, excuses [the wrong done to him] — surely that, patience and excusing, is [true] constancy in [such] affairs, that is to say, it is one of those [courses of action] for which one must have firm resolve, meaning those which are required [of the believer] by [God’s] Law.
Verse 44
And whomever God leads astray has no protector after Him, that is to say, none to take charge of guiding him after God has led him astray. And you will see the wrongdoers, when they sight the chastisement, saying, ‘Is there any way, any route [by which], to return?’, to this world.
Verse 45
And you will see them being exposed to it, namely, the Fire, submissive, fearful and humbled, by abasement, looking, at it, with a furtive glance, a slight look, stealthily (min [of min tarfin khafiyyin, ‘with a furtive glance’] is to indicate inceptiveness, or it functions with the sense of a bā’, ‘with’ [sc. bi-tarfin khafiyyin]). And those who believe will say, ‘Verily the [true] losers are those who have lost themselves and their families on the Day of Resurrection, for being condemned to abide forever in the Fire and for not being able to attain [the blissful company of] the houris prepared for them in Paradise had they been believers (the relative clause [alladhīna khasirū ..., ‘those who have lost …’] constitutes the predicate of the particle inna, ‘verily’). Truly the wrongdoers, the disbelievers, will be in lasting, everlasting, chastisement — these [words] constitute God’s speech, exalted be He.
Verse 46
And they have no guardians to help them besides God, that is to say, other than Him, to ward off His chastisement from them, and whomever God leads astray has no course [of action]’, no route to the truth in this world or to Paradise in the Hereafter.
Verse 47
Answer your Lord, respond to Him by affirming His Oneness and worshipping [Him], before there comes a day, namely, the Day of Resurrection, for which there is no revoking from God, in other words, one which when He brings about He will not revoke. On that day you will have no refuge, in which to seek refuge in, and for you there will be no [way of] denying, your sins.
Verse 48
But if they are disregardful, of answering [God], We have not sent you as a keeper over them, to keep [track of] their deeds by securing what is demanded of them. Your duty is only to deliver the Message — this was [revealed] before the command to struggle [against them]. And indeed when We let man taste from Us some mercy, some grace, such as wealth and good health, he exults in it; but if some ill, [some] calamity, befalls them (the pronoun here refers to ‘man’, on the basis of the [plural import of the] generic noun) because of what their [own] hands have sent ahead, [because of what] they have offered [of deeds] — the expression refers to ‘the hands’ because most actions are effected by them), then lo! man is ungrateful, for the grace.
Verse 49
To God belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth. He creates whatever He will; He gives to whomever He will, in the way of children, females, and He gives to whomever He will males.
Verse 50
Or He combines them, that is to say, [or] He makes them, males and females; and He makes whomever He will infertile, such that she is unable to conceive or he cannot have a child. Surely He is Knower, of what He creates, Powerful, in [bringing about] whatever He will.
Verse 51
And it is not [possible] for any human that God should speak to him except, that He should reveal to him, by revelation, in sleep or by inspiration, or, except, from behind a veil, where He makes the person able to hear His speech but without seeing Him — as was the case with Moses, peace be upon him; or, except, that He should send a messenger, an angel, such as Gabriel, and he, the messenger, then reveals, to the person to whom he has been sent, that is to say, [and then] he speaks to him, with His permission, that is, God’s, whatever He, God, will. Truly He is Exalted, above the attributes of created beings, Wise, in His actions.
Verse 52
And thus, in the same way that We have revealed to messengers other than you, have We revealed to you, O Muhammad (s), a Spirit, namely, the Qur’ān, by which hearts are revived, from Our command, that [command] which We reveal to you. You did not know, before revelation came to you, what the Book was, [what] the Qur’ān [was], nor faith, that is, its ordinances and [ritual] ceremonies (the negation comments in place of the verb on the action, and what has come after it constitutes two direct objects); but We have made it, namely, the Spirit — or the Qur’ān — a light by which We guide whomever We will of Our servants. And verily you guide, you are summoning [people], by means of what is revealed to you, to a straight path, [a straight] way: the religion of Islam,
Verse 53
the path of God, to Whom belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth, as possessions, creatures and servants. Surely with God all matters end [their journey], [all matters] return.
Verse 1
Hā mīm: God knows best what He means by these [letters].
Verse 2
By the Book, the Qur’ān, that clarifies, the one that manifests the path of guidance and what one needs of [the prescriptions of] the Law.
Verse 3
Lo! We have made it, We have brought the Book into existence [as], an Arabic Qur’ān, in the language of the Arabs, that perhaps you, O people of Mecca, may understand, [that you may] comprehend its meanings.
Verse 4
And it is indeed, fixed, in the Mother Book, the source of all the scriptures, namely, the Preserved Tablet, [which is] with Us (ladaynā substitutes [for fī ummi’l-kitābi, ‘in the Mother Book’]) [and it is] indeed exalted, above [all] the scriptures [that came] before it, wise, containing excellent wisdoms.
Verse 5
Shall We turn away, [shall We] withhold, from you the Remembrance, the Qur’ān, utterly, an utter withholding, so that you are then neither commanded nor forbidden, because you are a profligate, an idolatrous, folk? No!
Verse 6
And how many a prophet did We send among the ancients!
Verse 7
And never did a prophet come to them but that they used to deride him, in the same way that your people deride you — this [statement] is intended to comfort the Prophet (s).
Verse 8
So We destroyed those who were mightier than them — than your people — in prowess, strength, and [already] there passed, there has been mentioned in previous verses, the example of the ancients, the description of how they were destroyed, and thus the sequel for your people will be the same.
Verse 9
And if (wa-la-in: the lām is for oaths) you ask them, ‘Who created the heavens and the earth?’ they will surely say (the indicative nūn has been omitted because of the other nūn coming after it, and likewise the wāw [replaced by the damma in -lunna], because of two unvowelled consonants coming together), ‘The Mighty, the Knower created them’ — [this would have to be] their eventual response, that is to say, God [created them], Lord of Might and Knowledge. God, exalted be He, adds:
Verse 10
He Who made the earth a cradle for you, a flat resting-place, like a child’s cradle, and placed for you therein ways, routes, that perhaps you may be guided, to your destinations during your travels;
Verse 11
and Who sent down water from the heaven in measure, that is to say, in the measure that you require thereof and did not send it down in a deluge, and We revived with it a dead land. Thus — like this revivification — will you be brought forth, from your graves, alive;
Verse 12
and Who created the pairs, the species, all of them, and made for you ships and cattle, such as camels, on which you ride (the referential pronoun has been omitted here for brevity; it is genitive in the case of the first, that is, fīhi [sc. tarkabūna fīhi, ‘you ride in them’] and accusative in the case of the second [sc. tarkabūnahā, ‘you ride them’]),
Verse 13
that you may sit, that you may find a firm position, upon their backs (He has made the [suffixed] pronoun a masculine plural and rendered zahr, ‘back’, plural because of the particle mā and its [plural] import); and then remember your Lord’s grace when you are settled on them, and say, ‘Glory be to Him Who has disposed this for us, and we [by] ourselves were no match for it, [not] capable [of it].
Verse 14
And indeed it is to our Lord that we shall return’, [to Him that] we shall depart.
Verse 15
And they assign to Him from among His own servants a part, when they say that the angels are God’s daughters — for a child is a part of its parent — even though the angels are [like them] servants of His, exalted be He. Man, [such as the one] who says the above-mentioned [words], is verily a manifest ingrate, one whose ungratefulness is manifest and clear.
Verse 16
Or (am has the significance of the hamza of denial; the ‘saying’ is implied, in other words, a-taqūlūna, ‘[or] do you say that …’) He has adopted, from all that He has created, daughters, for Himself, and preferred you, privileged you, with sons? — that which is the necessary inference from what you claim and which by itself is an abomination.
Verse 17
And when one of them is given the good tidings of that which he has attributed to the Compassionate One, [of that which] he has likened to Him by the ascription to Him of daughters — for a child is likened to its parent; in other words, when one of them is informed that a daughter has been born to him, his face becomes darkened, transformed into one laden with anguish, and he chokes inwardly, filled with anguish: so how can such a person then attribute daughters to Him? Exalted be He high above such [claims].
Verse 18
What! (a-wa contains both the hamza of denial and the conjunctive waw, ‘and’, in other words, ‘do they ascribe to God …’) one that is brought up amid trinkets, ornaments, and is incoherent in a dispute?, [unable] to argue clearly because of an [inherent] inability [in this respect] as a result of [that person belonging to] the female sex.
Verse 19
And they have made the angels, who are themselves servants of the Compassionate One, females. Did they witness, were they present at, their creation? Their testimony, to the effect that they are females, will be written down and they will be questioned, about it in the Hereafter, wherefore punishment will ensue for them.
Verse 20
And they say, ‘Had the Compassionate One [so] willed, we would not have worshipped them’, the angels: therefore our worship of them happens by His will and so He must be satisfied with it. God, exalted be He, says: They do not have any knowledge of that, which is said of His being satisfied with the worship of these [angels]; and they are only surmising, inventing lies in this [respect] and so punishment will befall them as a result thereof.
Verse 21
Or have We brought them a scripture before, that is, [before] the Qur’ān, that they should worship other than God, so that they are holding fast to it? In other words, this never happened.
Verse 22
Nay, but they say, ‘Lo! we found our fathers following a [certain] creed and we are indeed, proceeding, in their footsteps to be guided’, by them, for they used to worship other than God.
Verse 23
And thus We never sent a warner before you into any city without that its affluent folk, those of comfortable means, said, the like of what your people say: ‘Lo! we found our fathers following a [certain] creed and [so] we are indeed following in their footsteps’.