Surah 11. Hud, Ayah 117
| وَمَا كَانَ رَبُّكَ لِيُهْلِكَ الْقُرَىٰ بِظُلْمٍ وَأَهْلُهَا مُصْلِحُونَ |
| Transliteration | : | wa- maa kaana rabb -ka li- yuhlik al- quraa bi- z.ulm wa- 'ahl -haa mus.lih.on |
| Pickthall | : | In truth thy Lord destroyed not the townships tyrannously while their folk were doing right. |
| Asad | : | For, never would thy Sustainer destroy a community148 for wrong [beliefs alone] so long as its people behave righteously [towards one another].149 |
| Malik | : | It is not possible that your Rabb would destroy the towns unjustly while their habitants were to mend their ways. |
| Yusuf Ali | : | Nor would thy Lord be the One to destroy communities for a single wrongdoing if its members were likely to mend. 1621 |
Note - 148See surah {6}, note [116].
|
Note - 149This passage connects with the concluding clause of the
preceding verse, "and lost themselves in sinning".
According to most of the classical commentators, the term
zulm (lit., "wrong" or "evildoing") is in this context
synonymous with "wrong beliefs" amounting to a denial of
the truths revealed by God through His prophets, a
refusal to acknowledge His existence, or the ascribing of
divine powers or qualities to anyone or anything beside
Him. Explaining the above verse in this sense, Razi says:
"God's chastisement does not afflict any people merely on
account of their holding beliefs amounting to shirk and
kafr, but afflicts them only if they persistently commit
evil in their mutual dealings, and deliberately hurt
[other human beings] and act tyranically [towards them].
Hence, those who are learned in Islamic Law (al-fuqaha')
hold that men's obligations towards God rest on the
principle of [His] forgiveness and liberality, whereas
the rights of man are of a stringent nature and must
always be strictly observed" - the obvious reason being
that God is almighty and needs no defender, whereas man
is weak and needs protection. (Cf. the last sentence of
28:59 and the corresponding note [61].)
|
Note - 1621There are different shades of interpretation for this
verse. According to Baidhawi, zulmin here means "a single
wrong". He thinks that the wrong referred to is shirk.
|
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This passage connects with the concluding clause of the preceding verse, "and lost themselves in sinning". According to most of the classical commentators, the term zulm (lit., "wrong" or "evildoing") is in this context synonymous with "wrong beliefs" amounting to a denial of the truths revealed by God through His prophets, a refusal to acknowledge His existence, or the ascribing of divine powers or qualities to anyone or anything beside Him. Explaining the above verse in this sense, Razi says: "God's chastisement does not afflict any people merely on account of their holding beliefs amounting to shirk and kafr, but afflicts them only if they persistently commit evil in their mutual dealings, and deliberately hurt [other human beings] and act tyranically [towards them]. Hence, those who are learned in Islamic Law (al-fuqaha') hold that men's obligations towards God rest on the principle of [His] forgiveness and liberality, whereas the rights of man are of a stringent nature and must always be strictly observed" - the obvious reason being that God is almighty and needs no defender, whereas man is weak and needs protection. (Cf. the last sentence of 28:59 and the corresponding note [61].) |
