Surah 14. Ibrahim

Alif. Lam. Ra.¹ A DIVINE WRIT [is this - a revelation] which We have bestowed upon thee from on high in order that thou might bring forth all mankind, by their Sustainer's leave, out of the depths of darkness into the light: onto the way that leads to the Almighty, the One to whom all praise is due -

  - Mohammad Asad

See Appendix II; also surah {11}, note [1].

Alif L'am Ra. O Muhammad! This is a Book which We have revealed to you so that you may bring mankind out of utter darkness (ways of ignorance) to the light; by the leave of their Rabb, to the Way of the Mighty, the Praiseworthy (Allah),

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Alif. Lam. Ra. (This is) a Scripture which We have revealed unto thee (Muhammad) that thereby thou mayst bring forth mankind from darkness unto light, by the permission of their Lord, unto the path of the Mighty, the Owner of Praise.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

to God, unto whom all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth, belongs. But woe unto those who deny the truth: for suffering severe

  - Mohammad Asad

the One to Whom belongs all that is in the heavens and the earth. Woe to the unbelievers, for they will be sternly punished.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Allah, unto Whom belongeth whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth. And woe unto the disbelievers from an awful doom.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

awaits those who choose the life of this world as the sole object of their love,² preferring it to [all thought of] the life to come, and who turn others away from the path of God and try to make it appear crooked. Such as these have indeed gone far astray!

  - Mohammad Asad

According to Zamakhshari and Razi, this is the real meaning of the verbal form yastahibbun in the above context - implying that such an all-absorbing, exclusive love of the life of this world leads inevitably to a denial of moral truths.

They are the ones who love the life of this world more than the hereafter, who debar others from the Way of Allah and seek to make it crooked: they have gone far astray into error.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Those who love the life of the world more than the Hereafter, and debar (men) from the way of Allah and would have it crooked: such are far astray.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

AND NEVER have We sent forth any apostle otherwise than [with a message] in his own people's tongue, so that he might make [the truth] clear unto them;³ but God lets go astray him that wills [to go astray], and guides him that wills [to be guided] - for He alone is almighty, truly wise.⁴

  - Mohammad Asad

Since every divine writ was meant to be understood by man, it is obvious that each had to be formulated in the language of the people whom the particular prophet was addressing in the first instance; and the Qur'an - notwithstanding its universal import (cf. note [126] on 7:158 ) - is no exception in this respect.

Or: "God lets go astray whomever He wills, and guides whomever He wills". All Qur'anic references to God's "letting man go astray" must be understood against the background of {2:26-27} - "none does He cause to go astray save the iniquitous, who break their bond with God" (regarding which latter expression, see surah {2}, note [19]): that is to say, man's "going astray" is a consequence of his own attitudes and inclinations and not a result of an arbitrary "predestination" in the popular sense of this word (cf. surah {2}, note [7]). In his commentary on the above verse, Zamakhshari stresses this aspect of free choice on the part of man and points out that "God does not cause anyone to go astray except one who, as He knows, will never attain to faith; and He does not guide anyone aright except one who, as He knows, will attain to faith. Hence, the [expression] 'causing to go astray' denotes [God's] leaving [one] alone (takhliyah) and depriving [him] of all favour, whereas [the expression] 'guidance' denotes [His] grant of fulfilment (tawfiq) and favour.... Thus, He does not forsake anyone except those who deserve to be forsaken, and does not bestow His favour upon anyone except those who deserve to be favoured." Commenting on the identical phrase occurring in 16:93 , Zamakhshari states: "[God] forsakes him who, as He knows, will [consciously] choose to deny the truth and will persevere in this [denial]; and...He bestows His favour upon him who, as He knows, will choose faith: which means that He makes the issue dependent on [man's] free choice (al-ikhtiyar), and thus on his deserving either [God's] favour or the withdrawal of [His] aid...and does not make it dependent on compulsion [i.e., predestination], which would rule out [man's] deserving anything of the above."

We have not sent any Rasool except that he speaks the language of his own people, so that he could explain to them clearly. Then Allah leaves in error whom He will and guides whom He pleases: He is the Mighty, the Wise.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And We never sent a messenger save with the language of his folk, that he might make (the message) clear for them. Then Allah sendeth whom He will astray, and guideth whom He will. He is the Mighty, the Wise.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And [thus], indeed, have We sent forth Moses with Our messages [and this Our command]: "Lead thy people out of the depths of darkness into the light, and remind them of the Days of God!"⁵ Verily, in this [reminder] there are messages indeed for all who are wholly patient in adversity and deeply grateful [to God].

  - Mohammad Asad

In ancient Arabian tradition, the terms "day" or "days" were often used to describe momentous historical events (e.g., ayyam al-'arab as a metonym for the inter-tribal wars of pre-Islamic Arabia). However, in view of the frequent Qur'anic application of the word "day" to eschatological concepts - e.g., the "Last Day", the "Day of Resurrection", the "Day of Reckoning", and so forth - and, particularly, in view of 45:14 , where the expression "the Days of God" unmistakably points to His judgment at the end of time - it is only logical to assume that in the present context this expression bears the same significance: namely, God's final judgment of man on the Day of Resurrection. The use of the plural form ("the Days of God") is perhaps meant to bring out the idea that the "Day" of which the Qur'an so often speaks has nothing to do with human time-definitions but, rather, alludes to an ultimate reality in which the concept of "time" has neither place nor meaning.

We sent Musa with Our signs, saying: "Lead your people out of utter darkness into light, and remind them to learn lessons from the Days of Allah (Divine history)." Surely there are signs in this for every steadfast, thankful person.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

We verily sent Moses with Our revelations, saying: Bring thy people forth from darkness unto light. And remind them of the days of Allah. Lo! therein are revelations for each steadfast, thankful (heart).

  - Marmaduke Pickthall