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Surah 11. Hud, Ayah 7

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وَهُوَ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ فِى سِتَّةِ أَيَّامٍ وَكَانَ عَرْشُهُۥ عَلَى ٱلْمَآءِ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا ۗ وَلَئِن قُلْتَ إِنَّكُم مَّبْعُوثُونَ مِنۢ بَعْدِ ٱلْمَوْتِ لَيَقُولَنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوٓا۟ إِنْ هَـٰذَآ إِلَّا سِحْرٌ مُّبِينٌ
Wahuwa alla th ee khalaqa a l ssam a w a ti wa a lar d a fee sittati ayy a min wak a na AAarshuhu AAal a alm a i liyabluwakum ayyukum a h sanu AAamalan walain qulta innakum mabAAoothoona min baAAdi almawti layaqoolanna alla th eena kafaroo in h atha ill a si h run mubeen un
And He it is who has created the heavens and the earth in six aeons; and [ever since He has willed to create life,] the throne of His almightiness has rested upon water.10 [God reminds you of your dependence on Him] in order to test you [and thus to make manifest] which of you is best in conduct. For thus it is: if11 thou sayest [unto men], "Behold, you shall be raised again after death!" - they who are bent on denying the truth are sure to answer, "This is clearly nothing but an enchanting delusion!"12
  - Mohammad Asad

The expression la'in (lit., "indeed, if...") appearing here as well as in each of the next three verses is meant to stress the typical - i.e., recurrent - character of the situation to which it refers. In my opinion, it is best rendered as "thus it is: if...", etc.

The term sihr, which is often used in the sense of "sorcery" or "magic", denotes, primarily, "the turning of something from its proper [i.e., natural] condition of being into another condition" (Taj al-'Arus); hence, it signifies any act which causes something that is false or unreal to assume the appearance of reality. Since, however, the Qur'anic statement that "you shall be raised again after death" is not - as has been pointed out by Razi - an "act" in the proper connotation of this word, it would be illogical to assume that this statement could be characterized as "sorcery" even by those who do not believe in it. On the other hand, it is obvious that they dismiss it contemptuously as a mere "enchanting delusion" intended to prevent those who are able to do so from enjoying their worldly life to the full (Razi) or, alternatively, to induce the poor and unfortunate to remain passively satisfied with their miserable lot on earth: and this is the meaning of sihr in the above context. (Cf. 10:2 , where the epithet sahir - in the sense of "spellbinder" - is applied by unbelievers to the Prophet Muhammad.)

As regards my rendering of ayyam (lit., "days") as "aeons" and 'arsh as the "throne of [God's] almightiness", see surah {7}, note [43]. The symbolic reference to "the throne of His almightiness resting upon water" would seem to point to the God-willed evolution of all life out of water - a fact clearly brought out by the Qur'an (see 21:30 and the corresponding note [39]) and in modern times confirmed by biological research. This tentative interpretation is strengthened by the mention, in the preceding verse, of "living creatures". My interpolation, between brackets, of the phrase "ever since He has willed to create life" is in accordance with the views advanced by Rashid Rida' in his lengthy commentary on this verse (Manar XII, 16ff.).

He is the One Who created the heavens and the earth in six periods - at the time when His Throne was rested on the water - so that He may test to find out which of you is the best in deeds. Now if you tell them:" You shall indeed be raised up after death," the unbelievers would certainly say: "This is nothing but sheer magic!"
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
He is the One Who created the heavens and the earth in six Days1- and His Throne was upon the waters- in order to test which of you is best in deeds. And if you 'O Prophet' say, 'Surely you will 'all' be raised up after death,' the disbelievers will certainly say, 'That is nothing but pure magic!'
  - Mustafa Khattab

 See footnote for 7:54.

And He it is Who created the heavens and the earth in six Days and His Throne was upon the water that He might try you, which of you is best in conduct. Yet if thou (O Muhammad) sayest: Lo! ye will be raised again after death! those who disbelieve will surely say: This is naught but mere magic.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
He it is Who created the heavens and the earth in six Days and His Throne was over the Waters that He might try you which of you is best in conduct. But if thou wert to say to them "Ye shall indeed be raised up after death" the Unbelievers would be sure to say "This is nothing but obvious sorcery!" 1501 1502 1503 1504
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

See n. 1031 to vii. 54.

It is scientifically correct to say that all life was evolved out of the waters, and this statement also occurs in the Qur-an, xxi. 30. Some such meaning, I think, also attaches to the Gen. i. 2. The past tense "was" refers to the time before life developed in solid forms, on land and in air.

The Creation we see around us is not idle sport or play (in Hindi, Lila) or whim on the part of Allah. It is the medium through which our spiritual life is to develop, with such free-will as we have. This life is our testing time.

The Unbelievers, who do not believe in a Future life, think all talk of it is like a sorcerer's talk, empty of reality. But in this they show their ignorance, and they are begging the question.

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