Surah 57. Al-Hadid, Ayah 25
| لَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلَنَا بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ وَأَنْزَلْنَا مَعَهُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْمِيزَانَ لِيَقُومَ النَّاسُ بِالْقِسْطِ ۖ وَأَنْزَلْنَا الْحَدِيدَ فِيهِ بَأْسٌ شَدِيدٌ وَمَنَافِعُ لِلنَّاسِ وَلِيَعْلَمَ اللَّهُ مَنْ يَنْصُرُهُ وَرُسُلَهُ بِالْغَيْبِ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ قَوِيٌّ عَزِيزٌ |
| Transliteration | : | la- qad arsalnaa rusul -naa bi- al- bayyinaat wa- anzalnaa maca -hum al- kitaab wa- al- mezaan li- yaqom an- naas bi- al- qist. wa- anzalnaa al- h.aded fe -hi ba's shaded wa- manaafic li- an- naas wa- li- yaclam 'allaah man yans.ur -hu wa- rusul -hu bi- al- ghayb 'inna 'allaah qawey cazez |
| Pickthall | : | We verily sent Our messengers with clear proofs, and revealed with them the Scripture and the Balance, that mankind may observe right measure; and He revealed iron, wherein is mighty power and (many) uses for mankind, and that Allah may know him who helpeth Him and His messengers, though unseen. Lo! Allah is Strong, Almighty. |
| Asad | : | Indeed, [even aforetime] did We send forth Our apostles with all evidence of [this] truth; and through them41 We bestowed revelation from on high, and [thus gave you] a balance [wherewith to weigh right and wrong], so that men might behave with equity; and We bestowed [upon you] from on high [the ability to make use of] iron, in which there is awesome power as well as [a source of] benefits for man:42 and [all this was given to you] so that God might mark out those who would stand up for him and His Apostle,43 even though He [Himself] is beyond the reach of human perception.44 Verily, God is powerful, almighty! |
| Malik | : | Surely We sent Our Rasools with clear signs, and sent down with them the Book and the Scales of Justice, so that men may conduct themselves with fairness. We also sent down Iron, with its mighty strength and diverse uses for mankind, so that Allah may know those who will help Him, though unseen, and help His Rasools. Surely Allah is All-Powerful, All-Mighty. |
| Yusuf Ali | : | We sent aforetime our apostles with Clear Signs and sent down with them the Book and the Balance (of Right and Wrong) that men may stand forth in justice; and We sent down Iron in which is (material for) mighty war as well as many benefits for mankind that Allah may test who it is that will help unseen Him and His apostles; for Allah is Full of Strength exalted in Might (and able to enforce His will). 5313 5314 5315 5316 5317 |
Note - 41Lit., "with them".
|
Note - 42Side by side with enabling man to discriminate between
right and wrong (which is the innermost purpose of all
divine revelation), God has endowed him with the ability
to convert to his use the natural resources of his
earthly environment. An outstanding symbol of this
ability is man's skill, unique among all animated beings,
in making tools; and the primary material for all
tool-making - and, indeed, for all human technology - is
iron: the one metal which is found abundantly on earth,
and which can be utilized for beneficial as well as
destructive ends. The "awesome power" (ba's shadid)
inherent in iron manifests itself not merely in the
manufacture of weapons of war but also, more subtly, in
man's every-growing tendency to foster the development of
an increasingly complicated technology which places the
machine in the foreground of all human existence and
which, by its inherent - almost irresistible - dynamism,
gradually estranges man from all inner connection with
nature. This process of growing mechanization, so evident
in our modern life, jeopardizes the very structure of
human society and, thus, contributes to a gradual
dissolution of all moral and spiritual perceptions
epitomized in the concept of "divine guidance". It is to
warn man of this danger that the Qur'an stresses -
symbolically and metonymically - the potential evil
(ba's) of "iron" if it is put to wrong use: in other
words, the danger of man's allowing his technological
ingenuity to run wild and thus to overwhelm his spiritual
consciousness and, ultimately, to destroy all possibility
of individual and social happiness.
|
Note - 43Lit., "those who succour Him and His Apostle", i.e.,
those who stand up for the cause of God and His Apostle.
The meaning is that only they who put God's spiritual and
material gifts to right use can be described as "true
believers".
|
Note - 44See note [3] on 2:3.
|
Note - 5313Three things are mentioned as gifts of Allah. In concrete
terms they are the Book, the Balance, and Iron, which
stand as emblems of three things which hold society
together, viz. Revelation, which commands Good and
forbids Evil; Justice, which gives to each person his
due; and the strong arm of the Law, which maintains
sanctions for evil-doers. For Balance, see also xlii. 17,
and n. 4550.
|
Note - 5314"Sent down": anzala: in the sense of revealed to man the
use of certain things, created in him the capacity of
understanding and using them: cf. xxxix. 6: "sent down
for you eight head of cattle in pairs".
|
Note - 5315Iron: the most useful metal known to man. Out of it is
made steel, and from steel and iron are made implements
of war, such as swords, spears, guns, etc., as well as
instruments of peace, such as ploughshares, bricklayers'
trowels, architects' and engineers' instruments, etc.
Iron stands as the emblem of Strength, Power, Discipline,
Law's sanctions, etc. Iron and steel industries have also
been the foundation of the prosperity and power of modern
manufacturing nations'.
|
Note - 5316In xxi. 49, I have translated "in their most secret
thoughts" for the more literal "unseen" (bilgaibi).
Perhaps the more literal "unseen" may do if understood in
the adverbial sense; as explained in xxxv. 18, n. 3902.
The sincere man will help the Cause, whether he is seen
or brought under notice or not.
|
Note - 5317To help Allah and His messengers is to help their Cause.
It is to give men an opportunity of striving and fighting
for His Cause and proving their true mettle, for thus is
their spirit tested. As explained in the next line, Allah
in Himself is Full of Strength, Exalted in Power, and
Able to enforce His Will, and He has no need of others'
assistance.
|
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Side by side with enabling man to discriminate between right and wrong (which is the innermost purpose of all divine revelation), God has endowed him with the ability to convert to his use the natural resources of his earthly environment. An outstanding symbol of this ability is man's skill, unique among all animated beings, in making tools; and the primary material for all tool-making - and, indeed, for all human technology - is iron: the one metal which is found abundantly on earth, and which can be utilized for beneficial as well as destructive ends. The "awesome power" (ba's shadid) inherent in iron manifests itself not merely in the manufacture of weapons of war but also, more subtly, in man's every-growing tendency to foster the development of an increasingly complicated technology which places the machine in the foreground of all human existence and which, by its inherent - almost irresistible - dynamism, gradually estranges man from all inner connection with nature. This process of growing mechanization, so evident in our modern life, jeopardizes the very structure of human society and, thus, contributes to a gradual dissolution of all moral and spiritual perceptions epitomized in the concept of "divine guidance". It is to warn man of this danger that the Qur'an stresses - symbolically and metonymically - the potential evil (ba's) of "iron" if it is put to wrong use: in other words, the danger of man's allowing his technological ingenuity to run wild and thus to overwhelm his spiritual consciousness and, ultimately, to destroy all possibility of individual and social happiness. |
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Lit., "those who succour Him and His Apostle", i.e., those who stand up for the cause of God and His Apostle. The meaning is that only they who put God's spiritual and material gifts to right use can be described as "true believers". |
| |
Three things are mentioned as gifts of Allah. In concrete terms they are the Book, the Balance, and Iron, which stand as emblems of three things which hold society together, viz. Revelation, which commands Good and forbids Evil; Justice, which gives to each person his due; and the strong arm of the Law, which maintains sanctions for evil-doers. For Balance, see also xlii. 17, and n. 4550. |
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"Sent down": anzala: in the sense of revealed to man the use of certain things, created in him the capacity of understanding and using them: cf. xxxix. 6: "sent down for you eight head of cattle in pairs". |
| |
Iron: the most useful metal known to man. Out of it is made steel, and from steel and iron are made implements of war, such as swords, spears, guns, etc., as well as instruments of peace, such as ploughshares, bricklayers' trowels, architects' and engineers' instruments, etc. Iron stands as the emblem of Strength, Power, Discipline, Law's sanctions, etc. Iron and steel industries have also been the foundation of the prosperity and power of modern manufacturing nations'. |
| |
In xxi. 49, I have translated "in their most secret thoughts" for the more literal "unseen" (bilgaibi). Perhaps the more literal "unseen" may do if understood in the adverbial sense; as explained in xxxv. 18, n. 3902. The sincere man will help the Cause, whether he is seen or brought under notice or not. |
| |
To help Allah and His messengers is to help their Cause. It is to give men an opportunity of striving and fighting for His Cause and proving their true mettle, for thus is their spirit tested. As explained in the next line, Allah in Himself is Full of Strength, Exalted in Power, and Able to enforce His Will, and He has no need of others' assistance. |
