Surah 24. An-Nur

INDEED. from on high have We bestowed messages clearly showing the truth; but God guides onto a straight way [only] him that wills [to be guided].⁶⁴

  - Mohammad Asad

Or: "God guides whomever He wills onto a straight way". The rendering adopted by me in this instance seems preferable in view of the preceding, intensive stress on the evidence, forthcoming from all nature, of God's creative, planning activity and the appeal to "all who have eyes to see" to let themselves be guided by this overwhelming evidence.

We have indeed sent down revelations demonstrating the Truth, and Allah guides to the Straight Way whom He pleases.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Verily We have sent down revelations and explained them. Allah guideth whom He will unto a straight path.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

For, [many are] they [who] say, "We believe in God and in the Apostle, and we pay heed!" - but then, some of them turn away after this [assertion]: and these are by no means [true] believers.

  - Mohammad Asad

They say: "We believe in Allah and the Rasool and we obey," but no sooner do they utter these words than some of them turn their backs; these are no believers.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And they say: We believe in Allah and the messenger, and we obey; then after that a faction of them turn away. Such are not believers.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And [so it is that] whenever they are summoned unto God and His Apostle in order that [the divine writ] might judge between them,⁶⁵ lo! some of them turn away;

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., in order that the divine writ - which is implied in the preceding expression "God and His Apostle" - might determine their ethical values and, consequently, their social behaviour.

When such people are called to Allah and His Rasool that He may judge between them, behold! A party of them decline to come.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And when they appeal unto Allah and His messenger to judge between them, lo! a faction of them are averse;

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

but if the truth happens to be to their liking, they are quite willing to accept it!⁶⁶

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "if the truth happens to be with them, they come to it willingly": cf. {4:60-61} and the corresponding notes, especially note [80].

However, if they have the truth on their side, they come to him voluntarily.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

But if right had been with them they would have come unto him willingly.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Is there disease in their hearts? Or have they begun to doubt [that this is a divine writ]? Or do they fear that God and His Apostle might deal unjustly with them?⁶⁷ Nay, it is [but] they, they who are doing wrong [to themselves]!

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., by depriving them of what they choose to regard as "legitimate" liberties and enjoyments, or by supposedly preventing them from "keeping up with the times". As in verses {47} and {48} (as well as in verse {51} below) the expression "God and His Apostle" is here a synonym for the divine writ revealed to the Apostle.

Is there a disease in their hearts? Either they are skeptical, or else they fear that Allah and His Rasool will deny them justice. Nay! In fact they are the ones who are the wrongdoers.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Is there in their hearts a disease, or have they doubts, or fear they lest Allah and His messenger should wrong them in judgment? Nay, but such are evil-doers.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

The only response of believers, whenever they are summoned unto God and His Apostle in order that [the divine writ] might judge between them, can be no other than,⁶⁸ "We have heard, and we pay heed!" - and it is they, they who shall attain to a happy state:

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "The only saying of the believers... is that they say"- i.e., without any mental reservation. The term qawl (lit., "saying") has here the sense of a genuine spiritual "response" in contrast to the mere lip-service alluded to in verse {47} above.

The response of the true believers, when they are called to Allah and His Rasool that he may judge between them, is only to say: "We hear and we obey." Such are the ones who will attain felicity.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

The saying of (all true) believers when they appeal unto Allah and His messenger to judge between them is only that they say: We hear and we obey. And such are the successful.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

for, they who pay heed unto God and His Apostle, and stand in awe of God and are conscious of Him, it is they, they who shall triumph [in the end]!

  - Mohammad Asad

Only those who obey Allah and His Rasool, have fear of Allah and do good deeds, are the ones who will be the winners.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

He who obeyeth Allah and His messenger, and feareth Allah, and keepeth duty (unto Him): such indeed are the victorious.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Now [as for those half-hearted ones,] they do swear by God with their most solemn oaths that if thou [O Apostle] shouldst ever bid them to do so, they would most certainly go forth [and sacrifice themselves].⁶⁹ Say: "Swear not! Reasonable compliance [with God's message is all that is required of you].⁷⁰ Verily, God is aware of all that you do!"

  - Mohammad Asad

This is an allusion to the ephemeral, self-deceiving enthusiasms of the half-hearted and their supposed readiness for "self-sacrifice", contrasting with their obvious reluctance to live up to the message of the Qur'an in their day-to-day concerns.

This elliptic phrase alludes to the principle - repeatedly stressed in the Qur'an- that God does not burden man with more than he can easily bear.

They solemnly swear by Allah that if you command them, they will go forth leaving their homes. O Muhammad tell them: "Do not swear; your obedience not your oaths will count; surely Allah is fully aware of what you do."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

They swear by Allah solemnly that, if thou order them, they will go forth. Say: Swear not; known obedience (is better). Lo! Allah is Informed of what ye do.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Say: "Pay heed unto God, and pay heed unto the Apostle." And if you turn away [from the Apostle, know that] he will have to answer only for whatever he has been charged with, and you, for what you have been charged with; but if you pay heed unto him, you will be on the right way. Withal, the Apostle is not bound to do more than clearly deliver the message [entrust-ed to him].

  - Mohammad Asad

Say: "Obey Allah and obey the Rasool. If you do not, the Rasool is still under obligation to fulfill his duty, as you are under obligation to fulfill yours; and if you obey him, you shall be rightly guided. Note it well that the responsibility of the Rasool is only to deliver Allah's message clearly."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Say: Obey Allah and obey the messenger. But if ye turn away, then (it is) for him (to do) only that wherewith he hath been charged, and for you (to do) only that wherewith ye have been charged. If ye obey him, ye will go aright. But the messenger hath no other charge than to convey (the message), plainly.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

God has promised those of you who have attained to faith and do righteous deeds that, of a certainty, He will cause them to accede to power on earth,⁷¹ even as He caused [some of] those who lived before them to accede to it; and that, of a certainty, He will firmly establish for them the religion which He has been pleased to bestow on them;⁷² and that, of a certainty, He will cause their erstwhile state of fear to be replaced bv a sense of security⁷³ - [Iseeine that] they worship Me [alone], not ascribing divine powers to aught beside Me.⁷⁴ But all who, after [having understood] this, choose to deny the truth - it is they, they who are truly iniquitous!

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "cause them to be successors on earth"-i.e., enable them to achieve, in their turn power and security and, thus, the capability to satisfy their worldly needs. This Qur'anic reference to God's "promise" contains an oblique allusion to the God-willed natural law which invariably makes the rise and fall of nations dependent on their moral qualities.

Cf. 5:3 -"I have willed that self-surrender unto Me (al-islam) shall be your religion". Its "firm establishment" (tamkin) relates to the strengthening of the believers' faith as well as to the growth of its moral influence in the world.

Lit., "exchange for them, after their fear [or "danger"], security". It is to be noted that the term amn sigifies not merely outward, physical security but also - and, indeed, originally - "freedom from fear" (Taj al-'Arus). hence, the above clause implies not only a promise of communal security after an initial period of weakness and danger (which, as history tells us, overshadows the beginnings of every genuine religious movement), but also the promise of an individual sense of inner security - that absence of all fear of the Unknown which characterizes a true believer. (See next note.)

I.e., the believer's freedom from fear is a direct outcome of his intellectual and emotional refusal to attribute to anyone or anything but God the power to shape his destiny.

Allah has promised those of you who believe and do good deeds that He will most surely make them vicegerent in the earth as He made their ancestors before them, and that He will establish for them their religion, the one which He has chosen for them, and that He will change their present state of fear into peace and security. Let them worship Me Alone and not to commit shirk with Me; and if anyone rejects faith after this, it is they who are the transgressors.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Allah hath promised such of you as believe and do good works that He will surely make them to succeed (the present rulers) in the earth even as He caused those who were before them to succeed others); and that He will surely establish for them their religion which He hath approved for them, a will give them in exchange safety after their fear. They serve Me. They ascribe no thing as partner unto Me. Those who disbelieve henceforth, they are the miscreants.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Hence, [O believers,] be constant in prayer, and render the purifying dues,⁷⁵ and pay heed unto the Apostle, so that you might be graced with God's mercy.

  - Mohammad Asad

The specific mention of the "purifying dues" (az-zakah) in this context is meant to stress the element of unselfishness as an integral aspect of true faith. According to Zamakhshari, the above verse connects with, and concludes, verse {54}.

Therefore establish Salah, pay Zakah and obey the Rasool, so that you may be shown mercy.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Establish worship and pay the poor due and obey the messenger, that haply ye may find mercy.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[And] think not that those who are bent on denying the truth can elude [their final reckoning even if they remain unscathed] on earth:⁷⁶ the fire is their goal [in the life to comel - and vile indeed is such a iournev's end!

  - Mohammad Asad

For an explanation of the above sentence and the words interpolated by me, see note [39] on a similar phrase in 11:20 .

Never think that the unbelievers can frustrate anything in the land. As for them, the fire shall be their home, and that is an evil abode.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Think not that the disbelievers can, escape in the land. Fire will be their home, a hapless journey's end!

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

O YOU who have attained to faith!⁷⁷ At three times [of day], let [even] those whom you rightfully possess,⁷⁸ as well as those from among you who have not yet attained to puberty,⁷⁹ ask leave of you [before intruding upon your privacy]: before the prayer of daybreak, and whenever you lay aside your garments in the middle of the day, and after the prayer of nightfall:⁸⁰ the three occasions on which your naked-ness is likely to be bared.⁸¹ Beyond these [occasions], neither you nor they will incur any sin if they move [freely] about you, attending to [the needs of] one another. In this way God makes clear unto you His mes-sages: for God is all-knowing, wise!

  - Mohammad Asad

In pursuance of the Qur'anic principle that the social and individual - as well as the spiritual and material-aspects of human life form one indivisible whole and cannot, therefore, be dealt with independently of one another, the discourse returns to the consideration of some of the rules of healthy social behaviour enunciated in the earlier parts of this surah. The following passage takes up and elaborates the theme of the individual s right to privacy, already touched upon in verses {27-29} above.

Lit., "whom your right hands possess" - a phrase which, primarily and as a rule, denotes male and female slaves. Since, however, the institution of slavery is envisaged in the Qur'an as a mere historic phenomenon that must in time be abolished (cf. notes [46] and [47] on verse {33} of this surah, as well as note [146] on 2:177 ), the above expression may also be understood as referring, in general, to one's close dependents and to domestic servants of either sex. Alternatively, the phrase ma malakat aymanukum may denote, in this context, "those whom you rightfully possess through wedlock", i.e., wives and husbands (cf. 4:24 and the corresponding note [26]).

I.e., all children, irrespective of whether they are related to one or not.

The term zahirah (lit., "midday" or, occasionally, "heat of midday"), which occurs in the Qur'an only in this one instance, may have been used metonymically in the sense of "day-time" as contrasted with the time after the prayer of nightfall and before the prayer of daybreak: hence my tentative rendering as "middle of the day".

Lit., "three [periods] of nakedness (thalath 'awrat) for you". This phrase is to be understood both literally and figuratively. Primarily, the term 'awrah signifies those parts of a mature person’s body which cannot in decency be exposed to any but one’s wife or husband or, in case of illness, one’s physician. In its tropical sense, it is also used to denote spiritual "nakedness", as well as situations and circumstances in which a person is entitled to absolute privacy. The number "three" used twice in this context is not, of course, enumerative or exclusive, but is obviously meant to stress the recurrent nature of the occasions on which even the most familiar members of the household, including husbands, wives and children, must respect that privacy.

O believers! Let your servants and those children who have not yet attained puberty ask your permission before coming in to see you on three occasions: before Fajr Salah (dawn prayer), at noon when you put off your clothes, and after the Isha Salah (night prayer). These are your three times of privacy. At other times, there is no blame on you if you, or they, go around visiting one another. Thus Allah makes His revelations clear to you, for Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

O ye who believe! Let your slaves, and those of you who have not come to puberty, ask leave of you at three times (before they come into your presence): Before the prayer of dawn, and when ye lay aside your raiment for the heat of noon, and after the prayer of night. Three times of privacy for you. It is no sin for them or for you at other times, when some of you go round attendant upon others (if they come into your presence without leave). Thus Allah maketh clear the revelations for you. Allah is Knower, Wise.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Yet when the children among you attain to puberty, let them ask leave of you [at all times], even as those [who have reached maturity] before them have been enjoined to ask it.⁸²

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "have asked it": a reference to the injunction laid down in verses {27-28} above. My interpolation, between brackets, of the phrase "who have reached maturity" is based on Zamakhshari's interpretation of the words "those before them".

And when your children reach the age of puberty, let them still ask your permission as their elders do. Thus Allah makes His revelations clear to you, for Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And when the children among you come to puberty then let them ask leave even as those before them used to ask it. Thus Allah maketh clear His revelations for you. Allah is knower, Wise.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

AND⁸³ [know that] women advanced in years, who no longer feel any sexual desire,⁸⁴ incur no sin if they discard their [outer] garments, provided they do not aim at a showy display of [their] charms. But [even so,] it is better for them to abstain [from this]: and God is all-hearing, all-knowing.

  - Mohammad Asad

This conjunction is, I believe, meant to indicate that the verse which it introduces is connected with certain previously revealed passages, namely, verse {31} above and 33:59 , both of which allude to the principle of modesty to be observed by Muslim women in the matter of dress: hence, it must be regarded as a separate "section".

Lit., "who do not desire [or "hope for"] sexual intercourse" - the latter evidently being the meaning of nikah in this context. Although this noun, as well as the verb from which it is derived, is almost always used in the Qur'an in the sense of "marriage" or "marrying", there are undoubtedly exceptions from this general rule: for instance, the manner in which the verbal form yankihu is used in verse {3} of this surah (see the corresponding note [5] above). These exceptions confirm the view held by some philologists of great renown, e.g., Al-Jawhar' or Al-Azhari (the latter quoted in the Lisan al-'Arab), to the effect that "in the speech of the Arabs, the original meaning of nikah is sexual intercourse (al-wat')".

There is no blame on such elderly women who have no interest in getting married, if they lay aside their cloaks without displaying their adornment, but it is better for them if they do not discard. Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

As for women past child-bearing, who have no hope of marriage, it is no sin for them if they discard their (outer) clothing in such a way as not to show adornment. But to refrain is better for them. Allah is Hearer, Knower.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall