Surah 37. As-Saffat

Thus do We reward the doers of good-

  - Mohammad Asad

Thus do We reward the righteous.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Lo! thus do We reward the good.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

for those two were truly among Our believing ser-vants.

  - Mohammad Asad

Surely they were two of Our believing devotees.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Lo! they are two of our believing slaves.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

AND, BEHOLD, Elijah [too] was indeed one of Our message-bearers⁴⁸

  - Mohammad Asad

The Hebrew prophet Elijah (Ilyas in Arabic) is mentioned in the Bible (I Kings xvii ff. and II Kings i-ii) as having lived in the Northern Kingdom of Israel during the reigns of Ahab and Ahaziah - i.e., in the ninth century B.C. - and having been succeeded by Elisha (Al-Yasa' in Arabic). The above stress on his, too, having been "one of the message-bearers" (min al-mursalin) recalls the Qur'anic principle that God makes "no distinction between any of His apostles" (cf. 2:136 and {285}, 3:84 , 4:152 , and the corresponding notes).

Ilyas (Elias) was surely one of Our Rasools.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And lo! Elias was of those sent (to warn)

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

when he spoke [thus] to his people: "Will you not remain conscious of God?

  - Mohammad Asad

Behold he said to his people: "Have you no fear of Allah?

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

When he said unto his folk: Will ye not ward off (evil)?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Will you invoke Baal and forsake [God,] the best of artisans⁴⁹ -

  - Mohammad Asad

As regards this rendering of ahsan al-khaliqin, see surah {23}, note [6]. - The term ba'l (conventionally spelt Baal in European languages) signified "lord" or "master" in all branches of ancient Arabic, including Hebrew and Phoenician; it was an honorific applied to every one of the many "male" deities worshipped by the ancient Semites, especially in Syria and Palestine. In the Old Testament this designation has sometimes the generic connotation of "idol-worship" - a sin into which, according to the Bible, the early Israelites often relapsed.

Would you invoke Bal (their invented god) and forsake the best of the Creators

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Will ye cry unto Baal and forsake the best of Creators,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

God, your Sustainer and the Sustainer of your forebears of old?"

  - Mohammad Asad

- Allah - Who is your Rabb and the Rabb of your forefathers?"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Allah, your Lord and Lord of your forefathers?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

But they gave him the lie: and therefore they will most surely be arraigned [on Judgment Day],

  - Mohammad Asad

But they denied him, so they will certainly be called to account,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

But they denied him, so they surely will be haled forth (to the doom)

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

excepting only [those who were] God's true servants;

  - Mohammad Asad

with the exception of sincere devotees of Allah.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Save single-minded slaves of Allah.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

and him We left thus to be remem-bered among later generations:

  - Mohammad Asad

We left his good name among the later generations.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And we left for him among the later folk (the salutation):

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

"Peace be upon Elijah and his followers!"⁵⁰

  - Mohammad Asad

The form Il-Yasin in which this name appears in the above verse is either a variant of Ilyas (Elijah) or, more probably, a plural - "the Elijahs" - meaning "Elijah and his followers" (Tabar', Zamakhshari, et al.). According to Tabari, 'Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud used to read this verse as "Peace be upon Idrasin", which, apart from giving us a variant or a plural of Idris ("Idris and his followers"), lends support to the view that Idris and Ilyas are but two designations of one and the same person, the Biblical Elijah. (See also note [41] on 19:56 .)

Salutation to Ilyas.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Peace be unto Elias!

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Verily, thus do We reward the doers of good

  - Mohammad Asad

Thus do We reward the righteous.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Lo! thus do We reward the good.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

for he was truly one of Our believing servants!

  - Mohammad Asad

He was surely one of Our believing devotees.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Lo! he is one of our believing slaves.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

AND, BEHOLD, Lot was indeed one of Our mes-sage-bearers;

  - Mohammad Asad

Lut was one of Our Rasools.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And lo! Lot verily was of those sent (to warn),

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[and so,] when [We decreed the doom of his sinful town,⁵¹ ] We saved him; and his household,

  - Mohammad Asad

See {7:80-84} and {11:69-83}.

Behold, We delivered him and his whole family

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

When We saved him and his household, every one,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

except an old woman who was among those that stayed behind;⁵²

  - Mohammad Asad

As is evident from 7:83 and 11:81 , that woman was Lot's wife, who had chosen to stay behind (cf. note [66] on 7:83 ).

except an old woman who was among those who remained behind,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Save an old woman among those who stayed behind;

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

and then We utterly destroyed the others:

  - Mohammad Asad

and We destroyed the others.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Then We destroyed the others.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

and, verily, [tO this day] you pass by the remnants of their dwellings⁵³ at morning-time

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "you pass by them", i.e., by the places where they lived (see 15:76 and the corresponding note [55]).

Surely you pass by their ruins by day

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And Lo! ye verily pass by (the ruin of) them in the morning

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

and by night. Will you not, then, use your reason?

  - Mohammad Asad

and by night. Will you not use your common sense?

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And at night time; have ye then no sense?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

AND, BEHOLD, Jonah was indeed one of Our mes-sage-bearers

  - Mohammad Asad

Yunus (Jonah) was surely one of Our Rasools.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And lo! Jonah verily was of those sent (to warn)

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

when he fled like a runaway slave onto a laden ship.⁵⁴

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., when he abandoned the mission with which he had been entrusted by God (see surah {21}, note [83], which gives the first part of Jonah's story), and thus, in the words of the Bible (The Book of Jonah i, 3 and 10), committed the sin of "fleeing from the presence of the Lord". In its primary significance, the infinitive noun ibaq (derived from the verb abaqa) denotes "a slave's running-away from his master"; and Jonah is spoken of as having "fled like a runaway slave" because - although he was God's message-bearer - he abandoned his task under the stress of violent anger. The subsequent mention of "the laden ship" alludes to the central, allegorical part of Jonah's story. The ship ran into a storm and was about to founder; and the mariners "said everyone to his fellow, Come and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us" (The Book of Jonah i, 7) - a procedure to which Jonah agreed.

When he ran to the laden ship,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

When he fled unto the laden ship,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall