Surah 38. Sad

[But] there it is: any and all human beings, however [strongly] leagued together,¹⁵ are bound to suffer defeat [whenever they refuse to accept the truth].

  - Mohammad Asad

The collective noun jund, which primarily denotes "a host" or "an army", has also the meaning of "created beings", in this context obviously human beings; in combination with the particle ma, "any number of human beings". The term hizb (of which ahzab is the plural), on the other hand, denotes "a party" or "a group of people of the same mind" or "people leagued together", i.e., for a definite purpose.

Their faction is no more than an army who will be beaten right here.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

This is just another 'enemy' force bound for defeat out there.¹

  - Mustafa Khattab

 This verse alludes to the defeat of the Meccan pagans later at Badr.

A defeated host are (all) the factions that are there.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

But there will be put to flight even a host of confederates. ⁴¹⁵⁸

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Of course they cannot frustrate Allah's Purpose. In that world-they will be ignominiously routed, even if they form the strongest confederacy of the Powers of Evil that ever could combine. Cf. the last clause of verse 13 below.

To the truth gave the lie aforetime¹⁶ Noah's people, and [the tribe of] Ad, and Pharaoh of the [many] tent-poles,¹⁷

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "before them", i.e., before the people who opposed or oppose Muhammad's message.

In classical Arabic, this ancient bedouin term is used idiomatically as a metonym for "mighty dominion" or "firmness of power" (Zamakhshari). The number of poles supporting a bedouin tent is determined by its size, and the latter has always depended on the status and power of its owner: thus, a mighty chieftain is often alluded to as "he of many tent-poles".

Before them the people of Nuh, `Ad and Fir'on, the man of spikes, denied their Rasools,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Before them, the people of Noah denied 'the truth', as did 'Âd, Pharaoh of the mighty structures,¹

  - Mustafa Khattab

 i.e., pyramids and obelisks.

The folk of Noah before them denied (their messenger) and (so did the tribe of) Aad, and Pharaoh firmly planted,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Before them (were many who) rejected apostles the People of Noah and `Ad and Pharaoh the Lord of Stakes. ^{4159 4160}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

In their day, Noah's contemporaries, or the 'Ad and the Thamud, so frequently mentioned, or Pharaoh the mighty king of Egypt, or the people to whom Lot was sent (cf. xxxvii. 75-82; vii. 65-73; vii. 103-137; vii. 80-84) were examples of arrogance and rebellion against Allah: they rejected the divine Message brought by their messengers, and they all came to an evil end. Will not their posterity learn their lesson?

The title of Pharaoh, "Lord of the Stakes", denotes power and arrogance, in all or any of the following ways: (1) the stake makes a tent firm and stable, and is a symbol of firmness and stability; (2) many stakes mean a large camp and a numerous army to fight; (3) impaling with stakes was a cruel punishment resorted to by the Pharaohs in arrogant pride of power.

and [the tribe of] Thamud, and the people of Lot, and the dwellers of the wooded dales [of Madyan]: they all were leagued together, [as it were, in their unbelief:]

  - Mohammad Asad

So did Thamud, the people of Lut and those of Aiykah (the people of Median) - all divided themselves into factions;

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Thamûd, the people of Lot, and the residents of the Forest.¹ These were 'all' enemy forces.

  - Mustafa Khattab

 i.e., the people of Shu’aib (ﷺ).

And (the tribe of) Thamud; and the folk of Lot, and the dwellers in the wood: these were the factions.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And Thamud and the People of Lut and the Companions of the Wood; such were the Confederates. ^{4161 4162}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Companions of the Wood; see xv. 78, and n. 2000.

Cf. above, verse 11, and n. 4158.

not one [was there] but gave the lie to the apostles - and thereupon My retribution fell due.

  - Mohammad Asad

all charged their Rasools as liars, so just was my torment of annihilating them.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Each rejected their messenger, so My punishment was justified.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Not one of them but did deny the messengers, therefor My doom was justified,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Not one (of them) but rejected the apostles but My Punishment came justly and inevitably (on them). ⁴¹⁶³

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. xv. 64, n. 1990; and xxii. 18.

And they [who now deny the truth-they, too,] have but to wait for one single blast [of punishment to overtake them]: it shall not be delayed a whit.¹⁸

  - Mohammad Asad

Sc., "beyond the term set for it by God".

These people also await nothing but a single mighty Blast - the one which none may retard.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

These 'pagans' are awaiting nothing but a single Blast that cannot be stopped.

  - Mustafa Khattab

These wait for but one Shout, there will be no second thereto.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

These (to-day) only wait for a single mighty Blast which (when it comes) will brook no delay. ^{4164 4165}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. xxxvi. 29, n. 3973.

Fawaq: delay, the interval between one milking of a she-camel, and another, either to give her a breathing space or to give her young time to suck,-or perhaps the milker to adjust his fingers. Such interval will be quite short. The derived meaning is that when the inevitable just punishment for sin arrives, it will not tarry, but do its work without delay.

As it is, they say [mockingly]: "O our Sustainer! Hasten on to us our share [of punishment even] before the Day of Reckoning!"¹⁹

  - Mohammad Asad

Cf. 8:32 . This mocking "demand" of the unbelievers is mentioned in several other places in the Qur'an.

They say: "Our Rabb, hasten our doom for us before the Day of Reckoning."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

They say 'mockingly', 'Our Lord! Hasten for us our share 'of the punishment' before the Day of Reckoning.'

  - Mustafa Khattab

They say: Our Lord! Hasten on for us our fate before the Day of Reckoning.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

They say: "Our Lord! Hasten to us our sentence (even) before the Day of Account!" ⁴¹⁶⁶

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. xxvi. 204 and n. 3230. Those who do not believe in the Hereafter say ironically: "Let us have our punishment and sentence now: why delay it?" The last verse and the next verse supply the commentary. As to those who mock, they will find out the truth soon enough, when it is too late for repentance or mercy. As to the prophets of Allah, who are mocked, they must wait patiently for Allah to fulfil His Plan: even men who had worldly strength and power, like David had to exercise infinite patience when mocked by their contemporaries.

[But] bear thou with patience whatever they may say, and remember Our servant David, him who was endowed with [so much] inner strength! He, verily, would always turn unto Us:

  - Mohammad Asad

O Prophet, have patience at what they say, and remember Our servant Dawood, the man of strength, who was frequent in turning to Allah for guidance.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Be patient 'O Prophet' with what they say. And remember Our servant, David, the man of strength. Indeed, he 'constantly' turned 'to Allah'.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Bear with what they say, and remember Our bondman David, lord of might. Lo! he was ever turning in repentance (toward Allah).

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Have patience at what they say and remember Our Servant David the man of strength: for he ever turned (to Allah). ⁴¹⁶⁷

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

David was a man of exceptional strength, for even as a raw youth, he slew the Philistine giant Goliath. See ii. 249-252, and notes 286-87. Before that fight, he was mocked by his enemies and chidden even by his own elder brother. But he relied upon Allah, and won through, and afterwards became king.

[and for this,] behold, We caused²⁰ the mountains to join him in extolling Our limitless glory at eventide and at sun-rise,

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "We compelled" or "constrained".

We made the mountains join him in Our praises at evening and the sunrise.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

We truly subjected the mountains to hymn 'Our praises' along with him in the evening and after sunrise.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Lo! We subdued the hills to hymn the praises (of their Lord) with him at nightfall and sunrise,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

It was We that made the hills declare in unison with him Our Praises at eventide and at break of day. ⁴¹⁶⁸

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

See n. 2733 to xxi. 79. All nature sings in unison and celebrates the praises of Allah. David was given the gift of music and psalmody, and therefore the hills and birds are expressed as singing Allah's praises in unison with him. The special hours when the hills and groves echo the songs of birds are in the evening and at dawn, when also the birds gather together, for those are respectively their roosting hours and the hours of their concerted flight for the day.

and [likewise] the birds in their assemblies:²¹ [together] they all would turn again and again unto Him [who had created them].

  - Mohammad Asad

See surah {21}, note [73].

And the birds, too, with all their flocks, join in singing with him.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And 'We subjected' the birds, flocking together. All turned to him 'echoing his hymns'.

  - Mustafa Khattab

And the birds assembled; all were turning unto Him

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And the birds gathered (in assemblies): all with him did turn (to Allah). ⁴¹⁶⁹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Note the mutual echo between this verse and verse 17 above. The Arabic awwab is common to both, and it furnishes the rhyme or rhythm of the greater part of the Sura, thus echoing the main theme: 'Turn to Allah in Prayer and Praise, for that is more than any worldly power or wisdom.'

And We streng-thened his dominion, and bestowed upon him wisdom and sagacity in judgment.

  - Mohammad Asad

We strengthened his kingdom and gave him wisdom and sound judgment in speech and decision.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

We strengthened his kingship, and gave him wisdom and sound judgment.

  - Mustafa Khattab

We made his kingdom strong and gave him wisdom and decisive speech.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

We strengthened his kingdom and gave him wisdom and sound judgment in speech and decision. ⁴¹⁷⁰

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. n. 2732 to xxi. 79 for David's sound judgment in decisions; he could also express himself aptly.

AND YET, has the story of the litigants come within thy ken- [the story of the two] who surmounted the walls of the sanctuary [in which David prayed ?²²

  - Mohammad Asad

The story which, according to the oldest sources at our disposal, is alluded to in verses {21-26} affects the question as to whether God's elect, the prophets - all of whom were endowed, like David, with "wisdom and sagacity in judgment" - could or could not ever commit a sin: in other words, whether they, too, were originally subject to the weaknesses inherent in human nature as such or were a priori endowed with an essential purity of character which rendered each of them "incapable of sinning" (ma'sum). In the form in which it has been handed down from the earliest authorities (including, according to Tabari and Baghawi, Companions like 'Abd Allah ibn'Abbas and Anas ibn Malik, as well as several of the most prominent of their immediate successors), the story contradicts the doctrine - somewhat arbitrarily developed by Muslim theologians in the course of the centuries - that prophets cannot sin by virtue of their very nature, and tends to show that their purity and subsequent sinlessness is a result of inner struggles and trials and, thus, represents in each case a moral achievement rather than an inborn quality. As narrated in some detail by Tabari and other early commentators, David fell in love with a beautiful woman whom he accidentally observed from his roof terrace. On inquiring, he was told that she was the wife of one of his officers, named Uriah. Impelled by his passion, David ordered his field-commander to place Uriah in a particularly exposed battle position, where he would be certain to be killed; and as soon as his order was fulfilled and Uriah died, David married the widow (who subsequently became the mother of Solomon). This story agrees more or less with the Old Testament, which gives the woman's name as Bath-Sheba (II Samuel xi), barring the Biblical allegation that David committed adultery with her before Uriah's death (ibid. xi, 4-5) - an allegation which has always been rejected by Muslims as highly offensive and slanderous: cf. the saying of the fourth Caliph, 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (quoted by Zamakhshari on the authority of Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab): "If anyone should narrate the story of David in the manner in which the story-tellers narrate it, I will have him flogged with one hundred and sixty stripes - for this is a [suitable] punishment for slandering prophets" (thus indirectly recalling the Qur'anic ordinance, in 24:4 , which stipulates flogging with eighty stripes for accusing ordinary persons of adultery without legal proof). According to most of the commentators, the two "litigants" who suddenly appeared before David were angels sent to bring home to him his sin. It is possible, however, to see in their appearance an allegory of David's own realization of having sinned: voices of his own conscience which at last "surmounted the walls" of the passion that had blinded him for a time.

Have you heard the story of the two litigants who made an entry into his private chamber through climbing over the wall?

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Has the story of the two plaintiffs, who scaled the 'wall of David's' sanctuary, reached you 'O Prophet'?

  - Mustafa Khattab

And hath the story of the litigants come unto thee? How they climbed the wall into the royal chamber;

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Has the Story of the Disputants reached thee? Behold they climbed over the wall of the private chamber; ⁴¹⁷¹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

This story or Parable is not found in the Bible, unless the vision here described be considered as equivalent to Nathan's parable in 11 Samuel, xi, and xii. Baidhawi would seem to favour that view, but other Commentators reject it. David was a pious man, and he had a well-guarded private chamber (mihrab) for Prayer and Praise.

As they came upon David, and he shrank back in fear from them, they said: "Fear not! [We are but] two litigants. One of us has wronged the other: so judge thou between us with justice, and deviate not from what is right, and show [both of] us the way to rectitude.

  - Mohammad Asad

When they entered in upon Dawood and he became terrified. They said: "Have no fear, we are two litigants, one of whom has wronged the other. Judge rightly between us and do not be unjust, and guide us to the Right Way.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

When they came into David's presence, he was startled by them. They said, 'Have no fear. 'We are merely' two in a dispute: one of us has wronged the other. So judge between us with truth- do not go beyond 'it'- and guide us to the right way.

  - Mustafa Khattab

How they burst in upon David, and he was afraid of them! They said: Be not afraid! (We are) two litigants, one of whom hath wronged the other, therefor judge aright between us; be not unjust; and show us the fair way.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

When they entered the presence of David and he was terrified of them they said: "Fear not: We are two disputants one of whom has wronged the other: decide now between us with truth and treat us not with injustice but guide us to the even Path. ⁴¹⁷²

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

David used to retire to his private chamber at stated times for his devotions. One day, suddenly, his privacy was invaded by two men, who had obtained access by climbing over a wall. David was frightened at the apparition. But they said: "We have come to seek thy justice as king: we are brothers, and we have a quarrel, which we wish thee to decide."

"Behold, this is my brother: he has ninety-nine ewes, whereas I have [only] one ewe - and yet he said, 'Make her over to me,' and forcibly prevailed against me in this [our] dispute."

  - Mohammad Asad

This man is my brother; he has ninety nine ewes while I have only one ewe. Yet he says: `Turn her over to me' and he has the means to prevail against me in what he says."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

This is my brother.¹ He has ninety-nine sheep while I have 'only' one. 'Still' he asked me to give it up to him, overwhelming me with 'his' argument.'

  - Mustafa Khattab

 Brother in faith or business partner.

Lo! this my brother hath ninety and nine ewes while I had one ewe; and he said: Entrust it to me, and he conquered me in speech.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

"This man is my brother; he has nine and ninety ewes and I have (but) one: Yet he says `Commit her to my care' and is (moreover) harsh to me in speech." ⁴¹⁷³

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The brother who was most aggrieved said: "This my brother has a flock of ninety-nine sheep, and I have but one; yet he wants me to give up my one sheep to his keeping; and moreover he is not even fair-spoken. He talks like one meditating mischief, and he has not even the grace to ask as an equal, or one sharing in a business or an inheritance. What shall I do?"

Said [David]: "He has certainly wronged thee by demanding that thy ewe be added to his ewes! Thus, behold, do many kinsmen²³ wrong one another-[all] save those who believe [in God] and do righteous deeds: but how few are they!" And [suddenly] David understood that We had tried him:²⁴ and so he asked his Sustainer to forgive him his sin, and fell down in prostration, and turned unto Him in repentance.

  - Mohammad Asad

The term khulata' (sing. khalit) denotes, literally, "people who mix [i.e., are familiar or intimate] with others or with one another". In the present instance it evidently alludes to the "brotherhood" between the two mysterious litigants, and is therefore best rendered as "kinsmen".

Sc., "and that he had failed" (in the matter of Bath-Sheba).

Dawood said: "He has certainly wronged you in seeking to add your ewe to his flock: in fact many partners are unjust to one another; except those who believe and do good deeds, and they are few indeed." - While he said this, Dawood realized that We had tested him ( Dawood had shown desire to one of his officers to divorce his wife so that he could marry her even though he already had 99 wives). So he sought forgiveness of his Rabb and fell down on his knees and turned to Allah in repentance.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

David 'eventually' ruled, 'He has definitely wronged you in demanding 'to add' your sheep to his. And certainly many partners wrong each other, except those who believe and do good- but how few are they!' Then David realized that We had tested him so he asked for his Lord's forgiveness, fell down in prostration, and turned 'to Him in repentance'.

  - Mustafa Khattab

(David) said: He hath wronged thee in demanding thine ewe in addition to his ewes, and lo! many partners oppress one another, save such as believe and do good works, and they are few. And David guessed that We had tried him, and he sought forgiveness of his Lord, and he bowed himself and fell down prostrate and repented.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

(David) said: "He has undoubtedly wronged thee in demanding thy (single) ewe to be added to his (flock of) ewes: truly many are the Partners (in business) who wrong each other: not so do those who believe and work deeds of righteousness and how few are they?"... And David gathered that We had tried him: he asked forgiveness of his Lord fell down bowing (in prostration) and turned (to Allah in repentance). ^{4174 4175 4176}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The circumstances were mysterious; the accusation was noval; it was not clear why the unjust brother should also have come with the complainant, risking his life in climbing the wall to evade the guard, and he certainly said nothing. David took them literally, and began to preach about the falsehood and the fraud of men, who should be content with what they have, but who always covet more.

Especially, said David, is it wrong for brothers or men in partnership to take advantage of each other; but how few are the men who are righteous? He had in his mind his own devotion and justice. But lo and behold! the men disappeared as mysteriously as they had come. It was then that David realised that the incident had been a trial or temptation-a test of his moral or spiritual fibre! Great though he was as a king, and just though he was as a judge, the moment that he thought of these things in self- pride, his merit vanished. In himself he was as other men: it was Allah's grace that gave him wisdom and justice, and he should have been humble in the sight of Allah.

Judged by ordinary standards, David had done no wrong; he was a good and just king. Judged by the highest standard of those nearest to Allah (Muqarraban, lvi. 11), the thought of self-pride and self-righteousness had to be washed off from him by his own act of self-realisation and repentance. This was freely accepted by Allah, as the next verse shows. A) Some commentators say that David's fault here was his hastiness in judging before hearing the case of the other party. When he realised his lapse, he fell down in repentance.

And thereupon We forgave him that [sin]: and, verily, nearness to Us awaits him [in the life to come], and the most beauteous of all goals!

  - Mohammad Asad

So We forgave his error. He will enjoy a place of nearness with Us and an excellent abode!

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

So We forgave that for him. And he will indeed have 'a status of' closeness to Us and an honourable destination!

  - Mustafa Khattab

So We forgave him that; and lo! he had access to Our presence and a happy journey's end.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

So We forgave him this (lapse): he enjoyed indeed a Near Approach to Us and a beautiful place of (final) Return.

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

[And We said:] "O David! Behold, We have made thee a [prophet and, thus, Our] vicegerent on earth: judge, then, between men with justice, and do not follow vain desire, lest it lead thee astray from the path of God: verily, for those who go astray from the path of God there is suffering severe in store for having forgotten the Day of Reckoning!"

  - Mohammad Asad

We said: "O Dawood! We have made you a vicegerent in the earth, so rule among the people with justice and do not follow your own desires lest they mislead you from the Way of Allah. As for those who go astray from the Way of Allah, they shall surely have a severe punishment because of forgetting the Day of Reckoning.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

'We instructed him:' 'O David! We have surely made you an authority in the land, so judge between people with truth. And do not follow 'your' desires or they will lead you astray from Allah's Way. Surely those who go astray from Allah's Way will suffer a severe punishment for neglecting the Day of Reckoning.'

  - Mustafa Khattab

(And it was said unto him): O David! Lo! We have set thee as a viceroy in the earth; therefor judge aright between mankind, and follow not desire that it beguile thee from the way of Allah. Lo! those who wander from the way of Allah have an awful doom, forasmuch as they forgot the Day of Reckoning.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

O David! We did indeed make thee a vicegerent on earth: so judge thou between men in truth (and justice): nor follow thou the lusts (of thy heart) for they will mislead thee from the Path of Allah: for those who wander astray from the Path of Allah is a Penalty Grievous for that they forget the Day of Account. ^{4177 4178}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. ii. 30, and n. 47. David's kingly power, and the gifts of wisdom, justice, psalmody, and prophethood were bestowed on him as a trust. These great gifts were not to be a matter of self-glory.

As stated in n. 1471 above, this vision and its moral are nowhere to be found in the Bible. Those who think they see a resemblance to the Parable of the prophet Nathan (2 Samuel, xii. 1-12) have nothing to go upon but the mention of the "one ewe" here and the "one little ewe-lamb" in Nathan's Parable. The whole story is here different, and the whole atmosphere is different. The Biblical title given to David, "a man after God's own heart" is refuted by the Bible itself in the scandalous tale of heinous crimes attributed to David in chapters xi and xii. of 2 Samuel, viz., adultery, fraudulent dealing with one of his own servants, and the contriving of his murder. Further, in chapter xiii, we have the story of rapes, incest, and fratricide in David's own household! The fact is that passages like those are mere chroniques scandaleuses, i.e., narratives of scandalous crimes of the grossest character. The Muslim idea of David is that of a man just and upright, endowed with all the virtues, in whom even the least thought of self-elation has to be washed off by repentance and forgiveness.

AND [thus it is:] We have not created heaven and earth and all that is between them without meaning and purpose, as is the surmise of those who are bent on denying the truth:²⁵ but then, woe from the fire [of hell] unto all who are bent on denying the truth!²⁶

  - Mohammad Asad

Cf. 3:191 . The above statement appears in the Qur'an in several formulations; see, in particular, note [11] on 10:5 . In the present instance it connects with the mention of the Day of Reckoning in the preceding verse, thus leading organically from a specific aspect of David's story to a moral teaching of wider import.

I.e., a deliberate rejection of the belief that the universe - and, in particular, human life - is imbued with meaning and purpose leads unavoidably - though sometimes imperceptibly - to a rejection of all moral imperatives, to spiritual blindness and, hence, to suffering in the life to come.

We have not created the heaven and the earth and all that lies between them in vain. That is the fancy of the unbelievers. Such disbelievers should be aware of the hellfire.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

We have not created the heavens and earth and everything in between without purpose- as the disbelievers think. So woe to the disbelievers because of the Fire!

  - Mustafa Khattab

And We created not the heaven and the earth and all that is between them in vain. That is the opinion of those who disbelieve. And woe unto those who disbelieve, from the Fire!

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Not without purpose did We create heaven and earth and all between! That were the thought of Unbelievers! But woe to the Unbelievers because of the Fire (of Hell)! ⁴¹⁷⁹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. iii. 191. Unbelief is the subjective negation of a belief in Order, Beauty, Purpose, and Eternal Life. Unbelief is to Faith as Chaos is to Cosmos, as the Fire of Misery is to the Garden of Bliss.

[For,] would We treat those who have attained to faith and do righteous deeds in the same manner as [We shall treat] those who spread corruption on earth? Would We treat the God-conscious in the same manner as the wicked?²⁷

  - Mohammad Asad

By implication, belief in resurrection, judgment and life after death is postulated in this passage (verses {27-28}) as a logical corollary - almost a premise - of all belief in God: for, since we see that many righteous people suffer all manner of misery and deprivations in this world, while, on the other hand, many of the wicked and depraved enjoy their lives in peace and affluence, we must either assume that God does not exist (because the concept of injustice is incompatible with that of Godhead), or - alternatively - that there is a hereafter in which both the righteous and the unrighteous will harvest in full what they had morally sown during their lives on earth.

Should We treat those who believe and do good deeds like those who create mischief in the earth? Should We treat the righteous like the sinners?

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Or should We treat those who believe and do good like those who make mischief throughout the land? Or should We treat the righteous like the wicked?

  - Mustafa Khattab

Shall We treat those who believe and do good works as those who spread corruption in the earth; or shall We treat the Pious as the wicked?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Shall We treat those who believe and work deeds of righteousness the same as those who do mischief on earth? Shall We treat those who guard against evil the same as those who turn aside from the right? ⁴¹⁸⁰

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The reference to the Hereafter at the end of verse 26 above is of a piece with the whole tenor of this Sura, which deals with the superiority of the spiritual kingdom and the Hereafter. If there were no Hereafter, how could you reconcile the inequalities of this world? Would not the Unbelievers be right in acting as if all Creation and all life were futile? But there is a Hereafter and Allah will not treat the Good and Evil alike. He is just and will fully restore the balance disturbed in this life.

[All this have We expounded in this] blessed divine writ which We have revealed unto thee, [O Muhammad,] so that men may ponder over its messages, and that those who are endowed with insight may take them to heart.

  - Mohammad Asad

-- This Book (Al-Qur'an) which We have sent down to you (O Muhammad) is highly blessed, so that they may ponder upon its verses and the men of understanding may learn a lesson from it.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

'This is' a blessed Book which We have revealed to you 'O Prophet' so that they may contemplate its verses, and people of reason may be mindful.

  - Mustafa Khattab

(This is) a Scripture that We have revealed unto thee, full of blessing, that they may ponder its revelations, and that men of understanding may reflect.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

(Here is) a Book which We have sent down unto thee full of blessings that they may meditate on its Signs and that men of understanding may receive admonition. ⁴¹⁸¹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Revelation is not a mere chance or haphazard thing. It is a real blessing-among the greatest that Allah has bestowed on man. By meditation on it in an earnest spirit man may learn of himself, and his relation to nature around him and to Allah the Author of all. Men of understanding may, by its help, resolve all genuine doubts that there may be in their minds, and learn the true lessons of spiritual life.

AND UNTO DAVID We granted Solomon [as a son-and] how excellent a servant [of Ours he grew up to be]! Behold, he would always turn unto Us²⁸

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., he would always think of God, as illustrated by the example given in the sequence.

To Dawood We gave Sulaiman (Solomon), an excellent devotee! Who was frequent in returning to Us.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And We blessed David with Solomon- what an excellent servant 'he was'! Indeed, he 'constantly' turned 'to Allah'.

  - Mustafa Khattab

And We bestowed on David, Solomon. How excellent a slave! Lo! he was ever turning in repentance (toward Allah).

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

To David We gave Solomon (for a son) how excellent in Our service! Ever did he turn (to Us)! ⁴¹⁸²

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The greatest in this life have yet need of this spiritual blessing: without it all worldly good is futile. Referring back to the story of David, we are now introduced to Solomon, who was a great king but greater still because he served Allah and turned to Him. The Qur-an, unlike the old Testament, represents Solomon as a righteous king, not as an idolater, doing "evil in the sight of the Lord" (1 Kings. xi. 6).