Surah 8. Al-Anfal, Ayah 28
| وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّمَا أَمْوَالُكُمْ وَأَوْلَادُكُمْ فِتْنَةٌ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ عِنْدَهُ أَجْرٌ عَظِيمٌ |
| Transliteration | : | wa- iclamo 'anna-maa amwaal -kum wa- awlaad -kum fitnah wa- 'anna 'allaah cinda -hu 'ajr caz.em |
| Pickthall | : | And know that your possessions and your children are a test, and that with Allah is immense reward. |
| Asad | : | and know that your worldly goods and your children are but a trial and a temptation, and that with God there is a tremendous reward.28 |
| Malik | : | You should know that your wealth and your children are, in fact, a test for you, and that Allah is He with Whom is your mighty reward. |
| Yusuf Ali | : | And know ye that your possessions and your progeny are but a trial; and that it is Allah with whom lies your highest reward. 1201 |
Note - 28Inasmuch as love of worldly goods and a desire to protect
one's family may lead a person to transgression (and,
thus, to a betrayal of the moral values postulated in
God's message), they are described as fitnah - which, in
this context, is best rendered by the two words "trial
and temptation". This reminder connects with verse {25}
above, "beware of that temptation to evil which does not
befall only those who are bent on denying the truth,"
since it is acquisitiveness and a desire to confer
benefits on one's own family which often tempt an
otherwise good person to offend against the rights of his
fellow-men. It is to be borne in mind that, contrary to
the New Testament, the Our'an does not postulate a
contempt for worldly attachments as a pre-requisite of
righteousness: it only demands of man that he should not
allow these attachments to deflect him from the pursuit
of moral verities.
|
Note - 1201A big family-many sons-was considered a source of power
and strength: iii. 10, 116. So in English, a man with
many children is said to have his "quiver full": Cf.
Psalms, cxxvii. 4-5: "As arrows are in the hands of a
mighty man, so are the children of thy youth. Happy is
the man that hath his quiver full of them; they shall not
be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the
gate." So with property and possessions: they add to a
man's dignity, power, and influence. But both possessions
and a large family are a temptation and a trial. They may
turn out to be a source of spiritual downfall, if they
are mishandled, or if the love of them excludes the love
of Allah.
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Inasmuch as love of worldly goods and a desire to protect one's family may lead a person to transgression (and, thus, to a betrayal of the moral values postulated in God's message), they are described as fitnah - which, in this context, is best rendered by the two words "trial and temptation". This reminder connects with verse {25} above, "beware of that temptation to evil which does not befall only those who are bent on denying the truth," since it is acquisitiveness and a desire to confer benefits on one's own family which often tempt an otherwise good person to offend against the rights of his fellow-men. It is to be borne in mind that, contrary to the New Testament, the Our'an does not postulate a contempt for worldly attachments as a pre-requisite of righteousness: it only demands of man that he should not allow these attachments to deflect him from the pursuit of moral verities. |
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A big family-many sons-was considered a source of power and strength: iii. 10, 116. So in English, a man with many children is said to have his "quiver full": Cf. Psalms, cxxvii. 4-5: "As arrows are in the hands of a mighty man, so are the children of thy youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate." So with property and possessions: they add to a man's dignity, power, and influence. But both possessions and a large family are a temptation and a trial. They may turn out to be a source of spiritual downfall, if they are mishandled, or if the love of them excludes the love of Allah. |
