Surah 17. Al-Israa

Behold how We bestow [on earth] more bounty on some of them than on others: but [remember that] the life to come will be far higher in degree and far greater in merit and bounty.²⁵

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "greater in degrees and greater in the bestowal of bounty (tafdilan)"-but since the latter term obviously comprises, in this instance, the concept of "merit" as well, a composite rendering would seem to be indicated.

See how We have exalted some over others, and certainly the hereafter is more exalted and greater in excellence.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

See how We prefer one above another, and verily the Hereafter will be greater in degrees and greater in preferment.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

DO NOT set up any other deity side by side with God, lest thou find thyself disgraced and forsaken:

  - Mohammad Asad

Do not associate another deity with Allah, lest you sit back, condemned, forsaken.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Set not up with Allah any other god (O man) lest thou sit down reproved, forsaken.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

for thy Sustainer has ordained that you shall worship none but Him. And do good unto [thy] parents.²⁶ Should one of them, or both, attain to old age in thy care, never say "Ugh"²⁷ to them or scold them, but [always] speak unto them with reverent speech,

  - Mohammad Asad

Whereas God is the real, ultimate cause of man's coming to life, his parents are its outward immediate cause: and so the preceding call to God is followed by the injunction to honour and cherish one's parents. Beyond this, the whole of the present passage - up to and including verse {39} - is meant to show that kindness and just dealings between man and man are an integral part of the concept of "striving for the good of the life to come".

In Arabic. uff- a word or sound indicative of contempt, dislike or disgust.

Your Rabb has decreed to you that: You shall worship none but Him, and you shall be kind to your parents; if one or both of them live to their old age in your lifetime, you shall not say to them any word of contempt nor repel them and you shall address them in kind words.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Thy Lord hath decreed, that ye worship none save Him, and (that ye show) kindness to parents. If one of them or both of them to attain old age with thee, say not "Fie" unto them nor repulse them, but speak unto them a gracious word.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

and spread over them humbly the wings of thy tenderness,²⁸ and say: "O my Sustainer! Bestow Thy grace upon them, even as they cherished and reared me when I was a child!"

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "lower for them the wing of humility, out of tenderness (rahmah)" - a metonymical expression evocative of a bird that lovingly spreads its wings over its offspring in the nest.

You shall lower to them your wings of humility and pray: "O Rabb! Bestow on them Your blessings just as they cherished me when I was a little child."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And lower unto them the wing of submission through mercy, and say: My Lord! Have mercy on them both as they did care for me when I was little.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Your Sustainer is fully aware of what is in your hearts. If you are righteous, [He will forgive you your errors]:²⁹ for, behold, He is much-forgiving to those who turn unto Him again and again.

  - Mohammad Asad

This interpolation gives the meaning of the above elliptic sentence (Tabari, Baghawi, Zamakhshari, Razi).

Your Rabb knows best what is in your hearts. If you do good deeds, certainly He is most forgiving to those who turn to Him in repentance.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Your Lord is best aware of what is in your minds. If ye are righteous, then lo! He was ever Forgiving unto those who turn (unto Him).

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And give his due to the near of kin,³⁰ as well as to the needy and the wayfarer,³¹ but do not squander [thy substance] senselessly.³²

  - Mohammad Asad

In this instance, "his due" evidently refers to the loving consideration due to one's relatives (Zamakhsharl and Razi); those of them who are in a state of want are included in the subsequent mention of "the needy" (al-miskin).

Regarding this expression, see surah {2}, note [145].

Lit., "with [utter] squandering" (tabdhiran) i.e., senselessly and to no good purpose. It is to be borne in mind that the term tabdhir does not relate to the quantity but, rather, to the purpose of one's spending. Thus, Ibn'Abbas and Ibn Mas'ud (both of them quoted by Tabari) defined tabdhlr as "spending without a righteous purpose" or "in a frivolous (batil) cause": and Mujahid is reported (ibid.) to have said, "If a man were to spend all that he possesses in a righteous cause, it could not be termed squandering; but if he spends even a small amount in a frivolous cause, it is squandering."

You shall give to your relatives their due and to the needy and to the wayfarers. You shall not be a spendthrift

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Give the kinsman his due, and the needy, and the wayfarer, and squander not (thy wealth) in wantonness.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Behold, the squanderers are, indeed, of the ilk of the satans - inasmuch as Satan has indeed proved most ungrateful to his Sustainer.³³

  - Mohammad Asad

Since squandering - in the sense explained in the preceding note - implies an utter lack of gratitude for the gift of sustenance bestowed by God upon man, the squanderers are described as being "of the ilk [lit., "brethren"] of the satans". Regarding the deeper meaning of the terms "satans" and "satanic", see surah {15}, note [16].

- as spendthrifts are the brethren of shaitan and shaitan is ever ungrateful to His Rabb.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Lo! the squanderers were ever brothers of the devils, and the devil was ever an ingrate to his Lord.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And if thou [must] turn aside from those [that are in want, because thou thyself art] seeking to obtain thy Sustainer's grace and hoping for it,³⁴ at least speak unto them with gentle speech.

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., "because thou art thyself in want, and therefore unable to help others".

You shall speak courteously to needy persons if you are waiting for your Rabb's bounty and you lack the means to assist them.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

But if thou turn away from them, seeking mercy from thy Lord, for which thou hopest, then speak unto them a reasonable word.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And neither allow thy hand to remain shackled to thy neck,³⁵ nor stretch it forth to the utmost limit [of thy capacity], lest thou find thyself blamed [by thy dependents], or even destitute.

  - Mohammad Asad

A metaphor signifying miserliness and, in particular, unwillingness to help others (cf. a similar expression in 5:64 ).

You shall neither tie your hands to your neck (be miserly) nor stretch them forth to their utmost reach (be prodigal), lest you sit back, blameworthy, destitute.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And let not thy hand be chained to thy neck nor open it with a complete opening, lest thou sit down rebuked, denuded.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Behold, thy Sustainer grants abundant sustenance, or gives it in scant measure, unto whomever He wills: verily, fully aware is He of [the needs of] His creatures, and sees them all.

  - Mohammad Asad

Surely your Rabb gives abundantly to whom He pleases and sparingly to whom He wills, for He is aware of the condition of His servants and observes them closely.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Lo! thy Lord enlargeth the provision for whom He will, and straiteneth (it for whom He will). Lo, He was ever Knower, Seer of His slaves.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Hence, do not kill your children for fear of poverty:³⁶ it is We who shall provide sustenance for them as well as for you. Verily, killing them is a great sin.

  - Mohammad Asad

Historically. this may be a reference to the pre-Islamic Arabian custom of burying unwanted female children alive (see note [4] on {81:8-9}, as well as to the occasional - though much rarer - sacrifices of male children to some of their gods (see Zamakhshari's comments on 6:137 ). Beyond this, however, the above prohibition has a timeless validity inasmuch as it relates also to abortions undertaken "for fear of poverty", i.e., on purely economic grounds.

You shall not kill your children for fear of want, for it is We Who provide sustenance for them as well as for you; surely killing them is a great blunder.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Slay not your children, fearing a fall to poverty, We shall provide for them and for you. Lo! the slaying of them is great sin.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And do not commit adultery³⁷ - for, behold, it is an abomination and an evil way.

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "do not come near adultery", thus intensifying the prohibition. It is to be noted that the term zina signifies all sexual intercourse between a man and a woman who are not husband and wife, irrespective of whether either of them is married to another partner or not; hence, it denotes both "adultery" and "fornication" in the English senses of these terms.

You shall not commit adultery; surely it is a shameful deed and an evil way (opening the door to other evils).

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And come not near unto adultery. Lo! it is an abomination and an evil way.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And do not take any human being's life - [the life] which God has willed to be sacred - otherwise than in [the pursuit of] justice.³⁸ Hence, if anyone has been slain wrongfully, We have empowered the defender of his rights [to exact a just retribution];³⁹ but even so, let him not exceed the bounds of equity in [retributive] killing.⁴⁰ [And as for him who has been slain wrongfully -] behold, he is indeed succoured [by God]!⁴¹

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., in the execution of a legal sentence or in a just war (see {2: 190} and the corresponding note [167]), or in individual, legitimate self-defence.

This refers to the legal punishment for homicide, termed qisas ("just retribution") and explained in {2: 178} and the corresponding notes. In the present context, the term wali ("protector" or "defender of [one's] rights") is usually taken to mean the heir or next of kin of the victim. Zamakhshari, however, observes that it may also apply to the government (as-sultan): an interpretation which is obviously based on the concept of the government as the "protector" or "defender of the rights" of all its citizens. As regards the expression qutila mazluman ("slain wrongfully"), it is obvious that it refers only to cases of willful homicide, since the concept of zulm applies in the Qur'an exclusively to intentional and never to accidental wrongdoing.

Thus, the defender of the victim's rights (in this case, a court of justice) is not only not entitled to impose a capital sentence on any but the actual murderer or murderers, but may also, if the case warrants it, concede mitigating circumstances and refrain from capital punishment altogether.

I.e., he is avenged in this world by the retribution exacted from his murderer, and in the life to come, blessed by the special grace which God bestows on all who have been slain without any legal or moral justification (Razi). Some of the commentators, however, relate the pronoun "he" to the defender of the victim's rights, respectively, to the latter's heir or next of kin, and explain the above phrase as meaning "he is sufficiently helped by the law of just retribution (qisas) and should not, therefore, demand any punishment in excess of what is equitable".

You shall not kill anyone whom Allah has forbidden, except for just cause under the law. If anyone is killed unjustly, We have granted the right of retribution to his heir, but let him not carry his vengeance too far in killing the culprit through taking the law in his own hands, as he is supported by the law.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And slay not the life which Allah hath forbidden save with right. Whoso is slain wrongfully, We have given power unto his heir, but let him not commit excess in slaying. Lo! he will be helped.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And do not touch the substance of an orphan, save to improve it, before he comes of age.⁴² And be true to every promise - for, verily, [on Judgment Day] you will be called to account for every promise which you have made!⁴³

  - Mohammad Asad

See surah {6}, note [149].

Lit., "every promise shall be asked about" or "investigated".

You shall not go near the property of an orphan, except with the good intention of improving it, until he attains his maturity. You shall fulfill your pledges; surely you shall be held accountable for your pledges.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Come not near the wealth of the orphan save with that which is better till he come to strength; and keep the covenant. Lo! of the covenant it will be asked.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And give full measure whenever you measure, and weigh with a balance that is true:⁴⁴ this will be [for your own] good, and best in the end.

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "straight" (mustaqim)-a term which in the Qur'an has invariably a spiritual or moral connotation. Hence, as in the similar phrase in {6: 152}, the above injunction applies not merely to commercial transactions but to all dealings between man and man.

You shall give full measure, when you measure, and weigh with even scale; this is the best way and will prove to be the best in the end.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Fill the measure when ye measure, and weigh with a right balance; that is meet, and better in the end.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall