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

And, lo,⁶ Moses spoke [thus] unto his people: "Remember the blessings which God bestowed upon you when He saved you from Pharaoh's people who afflicted you with cruel suffering, and slaughtered your sons, and spared [only] your women⁷ - which was an awesome trial from your Sustainer.

  - Mohammad Asad

For this rendering of the particle idh, see surah {2}, note [21].

Cf. 2:49 : also Exodus i. 15-16 and 22.

Recall! When Musa said to his people: "Remember Allah's favor to you when He delivered you from the people of Fir'on (Pharaoh), who subjected you to cruel afflictions, putting your sons to death and sparing your females, and in this there was a tremendous trial from your Rabb."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And (remind them) how Moses said unto his people: Remember Allah's favor unto you when He delivered you from Pharaoh's folk who were afflicting you with dreadful torment, and were slaying your sons and sparing your women; that was a tremendous trial from your Lord.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And [remember the time] when your Sustainer made [this promise] known: 'If you are grateful [to Me], I shall most certainly give you more and more;⁸ but if you are ungrateful, verily, My chastisement will be severe indeed!'"

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., "even more than you deserve".

Remember that your Rabb had forewarned: "If you are grateful, I will bestow abundance upon you, but if you are ungrateful (then you should know that) My punishment will be terrible indeed."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And when your Lord proclaimed: If ye give thanks, I will give you more; but if ye are thankless, lo! my punishment is dire.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And Moses added: "If you should [ever] deny the truth - you and whoever else lives on earth, all of you - [know that,] verily, God is indeed self-sufficient, ever to be praised!"

  - Mohammad Asad

Musa said: "If you and all the dwellers of the earth become thankless, you should know that He does not stand in need of any of you, surely Allah is the Self-sufficient, Praiseworthy."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And Moses said: Though ye and all who are in the earth prove thankless, lo! Allah verily is Absolute, Owner of Praise.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

HAVE THE STORIES of those [deniers of the truth] who lived before you never yet come within your ken - [the stories of] the people of Noah, and of [the tribes of] 'Ad and Thamud, and of those who came after them? None knows them [now] save God.⁹ There came unto them their apostles with all evidence of the truth - but they covered their mouths with their hands¹⁰ and answered: "Behold, we refuse to regard as true the message with which you [claim to] have been entrusted; and, behold, we are in grave doubt, amounting to suspicion, about [the meaning of] your call to us!"¹¹

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., they have disappeared from the face of the earth, and none save God knows today how many they were and how they lived. See verse {14} and note [18] below.

Lit., "they put their hands into their mouths" - an idiomatic phrase indicating one's inability to refute a reasonable proposition by cogent, logical counter-arguments: for the out-of-hand rejection of the apostles' message by their recalcitrant compatriots cannot by any means be regarded as an "argument".

See surah {11}, note [92]. It is to be noted that whereas in 11:62 this reply is placed in the mouth of people of one particular community - the Thamud - and is phrased in the singular ("thy call to us"), it appears here in the plural ("your call to us") and represents the gist of the answers given by various communities to various prophets. This generalization, underlying the entire subsequent account and containing echos of several Qur'anic narratives relating to the experiences of individual apostles of earlier times, is obviously meant to bring out the symptomatic character of the attitude referred to: the stubborn attitude of people who either deny God altogether, or- while not consciously denying His existence - yet feel compelled to interpose all manner of imaginary "mediators" (thought to be divine or semi-divine) between themselves and Him, thus denying, by implication, His omniscience and omnipotence.

Have you not heard the information of those who passed away before you, the people of Nuh (Noah), `Ad and Thamud, and those who came after them? Allah Alone knows them. Their Rasools came to them with clear signs; but they bit their hands with their mouths and said: "Certainly we reject the Message with which you have been sent and certainly we strongly doubt the faith to which you invite us."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Hath not the history of those before you reached you: the folk of Noah. and (the tribes of) Aad and Thamud, and those after them? None save Allah knoweth them. Their messengers came unto them with clear proofs, but they thrust their hands into their mouths, and said: Lo! we disbelieve in that wherewith ye have been sent, and lo! we are in grave doubt concerning that to which ye call us.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Said the apostles sent unto them:¹² "Can there be any doubt about [the existence and oneness of] God, the Originator of the heavens and the earth? It is He who calls unto you, so that He may forgive you [whatever is past] of your sins and grant you respite until a term [set by Him is fulfilled]."¹³ [But] they replied: "You are nothing but mortal men like ourselves! You want to turn us away from what our forefathers were wont to worship: well, then, bring us a clear proof [of your being God's message-bearers]!"

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "their apostles".

I.e., "until the end of your life in this world". This is, I believe, an indirect allusion to the calamities which are bound to befall, even in this world, "those who are bent on denying the truth" (see the last paragraph of 13:31 and the corresponding note [57]) - implying that they who consciously respond to the call of God, conveyed through His prophets, would be immune to this kind of suffering and would be graced with abiding spiritual happiness (cf. 13:29 ).

Their Rasools responded: "Are you doubting the existence of Allah, Who is the Creator of the heavens and the earth? He is the One Who invites you so that He may forgive your sins and give you respite till your appointed term." They said: "You are nothing but a human like us! You only wish to turn us away from the worship of those deities whom our forefathers used to worship. Bring us some clear sign."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Their messengers said: Can there be doubt concerning Allah, the Creator of the heavens and the earth? He calleth you that He may forgive you your sins and reprieve you unto an appointed term. They said: Ye are but mortals like us, who would fain turn us away from what our fathers used to worship. Then bring some clear warrant.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall