Surah 3. Aal-Imran

He it is who shapes you in the wombs as He wills. There is no deity save Him, the Almighty, the Truly Wise.

  - Mohammad Asad

It is He Who shapes your bodies in the wombs of your mothers as He pleases. There is no god but Him; the Mighty, the Wise.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

He it is who fashioneth you in the wombs as pleaseth Him. There is no God save Him, the Almighty, the Wise.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

He it is who has bestowed upon thee from on high this divine writ, containing messages that are clear in and by themselves - and these are the essence of the divine writ- as well as others that are allegorical.⁵ Now those whose hearts are given to swerving from the truth go after that part of the divine writ⁶ which has been expressed in allegory, seeking out [what is bound to create] confusion,⁷ and seeking [to arrive at] its final meaning [in an arbitrary manner]; but none save God knows its final meaning.⁸ Hence, those who are deeply rooted in knowledge say: "We believe in it; the whole [of the divine writ] is from our Sustainer - albeit none takes this to heart save those who are endowed with insight.

  - Mohammad Asad

The above passage may be regarded as a key to the understanding of the Qur'an. Tabari identifies the ayat muhkamat ("messages that are clear in and by themselves") with what the philologists and jurists describe as nass - namely, ordinances or statements which are self-evident (zahir) by virtue of their wording (cf. Lisan al-'Arab, art. nass). Consequently, Tabari regards as ayat muhkamat only those statements or ordinances of the Qur'an which do not admit of more than one interpretation (which does not, of course, preclude differences of opinion regarding the implications of a particular ayah muhkamah). In my opinion, however, it would be too dogmatic to regard any passage of the Qur'an which does not conform to the above definition as mutashabih ("allegorical"): for there are many statements in the Qur'an which are liable to more than one interpretation but are, nevertheless, not allegorical - just as there are many expressions and passages which, despite their allegorical formulation, reveal to the searching intellect only one possible meaning. For this reason, the ayat mutashabihat may be defined as those passages of the Qur'an which are expressed in a figurative manner, with a meaning that is metaphorically implied but not directly, in so many words, stated. The ayat muhkamat are described as the "essence of the divine writ" (umm al-kitab) because they comprise the fundamental principles underlying its message and, in particular, its ethical and social teachings: and it is only on the basis of these clearly enunciated principles that the allegorical passages can be correctly interpreted. (For a more detailed discussion of symbolism and allegory in the Qur'an, see Appendix I.)

Lit., "that of it".

The "confusion" referred to here is a consequence of interpreting allegorical passages in an "arbitrary manner" (Zamakhshari).

According to most of the early commentators, this refers to the interpretation of allegorical passages which deal with metaphysical subjects - for instance, God's attributes, the ultimate meaning of time and eternity, the resurrection of the dead, the Day of Judgment, paradise and hell, the nature of the beings or forces described as angels, and so forth - all of which fall within the category of al-ghayb, i.e., that sector of reality which is beyond the reach of human perception and imagination and cannot, therefore, be conveyed to man in other than allegorical terms. This view of the classical commentators, however, does not seem to take into account the many Qur'anic passages which do not deal with metaphysical subjects and yet are, undoubtedly, allegorical in intent and expression. To my mind, one cannot arrive at a correct understanding of the above passage without paying due attention to the nature and function of allegory as such. A true allegory - in contrast with a mere pictorial paraphrase of something that could equally well be stated in direct terms - is always meant to express in a figurative manner something which, because of its complexity, cannot be adequately expressed in direct terms or propositions and, because of this very complexity, can be grasped only intuitively, as a general mental image, and not as a series of detailed "statements": and this seems to be the meaning of the phrase, "none save God knows its final meaning".

He is the One Who has revealed to you the Book. Some of its verses are decisive - they are the foundation of the Book - while others are allegorical. Those whose hearts are infected with disbelief follow the allegorical part to mislead others and to give it their own interpretation, seeking for its hidden meanings, but no one knows its hidden meanings except Allah. Those who are well grounded in knowledge say: "We believe in it; it is all from our Rabb." None will take heed except the people of understanding.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

He it is Who hath revealed unto thee (Muhammad) the Scripture wherein are clear revelations--They are the substance of the Book--and others (which are) allegorical. But those in whose hearts is doubt pursue, forsooth, that which is allegorical seeking (to cause) dissension by seeking to explain it. None knoweth its explanation save Allah. And those who are of sound instruction say: We believe therein; the whole is from our Lord; but only men of understanding really heed.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

"O our Sustainer! Let not our hearts swerve from the truth after Thou hast guided us; and bestow upon us the gift of Thy grace: verily, Thou art the [true] Giver of Gifts.

  - Mohammad Asad

They say: "Our Rabb, Do not cause our hearts to deviate now after you have guided us. Grant us Your own mercy; You are the Grantor of bounties without measure.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Our Lord! Cause not our hearts to stray after Thou hast guided us, and bestow upon us mercy from Thy Presence. Lo! Thou, only Thou art the Bestower.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

"O our Sustainer! Verily, Thou wilt gather mankind together to witness the Day about [the coming of] which there is no doubt": verily, God never fails to fulfil His promise.

  - Mohammad Asad

Our Rabb, You will surely gather all mankind before You on the Day about which there is no doubt; surly Allah does not break His promise."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Our Lord! it is Thou Who gatherest mankind together to a Day of which there is no doubt. Lo! Allah faileth not to keep the tryst.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

BEHOLD, as for those who are bent on denying the truth - neither their worldly possessions nor their offspring will in the least avail them against God; and it is they, they who shall be the fuel of the fire!

  - Mohammad Asad

Surely neither their wealth nor their children will save the unbelievers from the wrath of Allah: they are the ones who will become the fuel for Hell fire.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

(On that day) neither the riches not the progeny of those who disbelieve will aught avail them with Allah. They will be fuel for fire.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[To them shall happen] the like of what happened to Pharaoh's people and those who lived before them: they gave the lie to Our messages - and so God took them to task for their sins: for God is severe in retribution.

  - Mohammad Asad

Their end will be the same as that of the people of Fir'on (Pharaoh) and their predecessors who denied Our revelations, so Allah called them to account for their sins. Allah is strict in retribution.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Like Pharaoh's folk and those who were before them, they disbelieved Our revelations and so Allah seized them for their sins. And Allah is severe in punishment.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Say unto those who are bent on denying the truth: "You shall be overcome and gathered unto hell - and how evil a resting-place!"

  - Mohammad Asad

O Muhammad, say to the unbelievers: "Soon you will be overpowered and driven together to Hell - which is a horrible refuge.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Say (O Muhammad) unto those who disbelieve: Ye shall be overcome and gathered unto Hell, an evil resting place.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

You have already had a sign in the two hosts that met in battle, one host fighting in God's cause and the other denying Him; with their own eyes [the former] saw the others as twice their own number: but God strengthens with His succour whom He wills. In this, behold, there is indeed a lesson for all who have eyes to see.⁹

  - Mohammad Asad

It is generally assumed that this is an allusion to the battle of Badr, in the third week of Ramadan, 2 H., in which three hundred and odd poorly-equipped Muslims, led by the Prophet, utterly routed a well-armed Meccan force numbering nearly one thousand men, seven hundred camels and one hundred horses; it was the first open battle between the pagan Quraysh and the young Muslim community of Medina. According to some commentators, however (e.g., Manar III, 234), the above Qur'anic passage has a general import and alludes to an occurrence often witnessed in history - namely, the victory of a numerically weak and ill-equipped group of people, filled with a burning belief in the righteousness of their cause, over a materially and numerically superior enemy lacking a similar conviction. The fact that in this Qur'an-verse the believers are spoken of as being faced by an enemy "twice their number" (while at the battle of Badr the pagan Quraysh were more than three times the number of the Muslims) lends great plausibility to this explanation - and particularly so in view of the allusion, in the next verse, to material riches and worldly power.

Indeed there was a sign (lesson) for you in the two armies which met on the battlefield (of Badr): one was fighting for the cause of Allah and the other had rejected Allah; the believers saw with their own eyes that the unbelievers were twice their number. But the result of the battle proved that Allah strengthens with His own aid whom He pleases. Surely there is a lesson in this for those who have sight.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

There was a token for you in two hosts which met: one army fighting in the way of Allah, and another disbelieving, whom they saw as twice their number, clearly, with their very eyes. Thus Allah strengtheneth with His succour whom He will. Lo! herein verily is a lesson for those who have eyes.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

ALLURING unto man is the enjoyment of worldly desires through women, and children, and heaped-up treasures of gold and silver, and horses of high mark, and cattle, and lands. All this may be enjoyed in the life of this world - but the most beauteous of all goals is with God.

  - Mohammad Asad

The life of men when they get to the age of puberty is tempted by desire for women when they get married children, when they get children the hoarding of treasures of gold and silver, splendid horses, cattle, and plantations. These are the comforts for the transitory life of this world; the everlasting best comfort, however, is with Allah.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Beautified for mankind is love of the joys (that come) from women and offspring, and stored up heaps of gold and silver, and horses branded (with their mark), and cattle and land. That is comfort of the life of the world. Allah! With Him is a more excellent abode.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Say: "Shall I tell you of better things than those [earthly joys]? For the God-conscious there are, with their Sustainer, gardens through which running waters flow, therein to abide, and spouses pure, and God's goodly acceptance." And God sees all that is in [the hearts of] His servants -

  - Mohammad Asad

Say : "Shall I tell you of better things than these, with which the righteous will be rewarded by their Rabb? There will be gardens beneath which rivers flow, where they will live forever with spouses of perfect chastity and the good pleasure of Allah. Allah is watching His servants very closely."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Say: Shall I inform you of something better than that? For those who keep from evil, with their Lord, are Gardens underneath which rivers flow, and pure companions, and contentment from Allah. Allah is Seer of His bondmen.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

those who say, "O our Sustainer! Behold, we believe [in Thee]; forgive us, then, our sins, and keep us safe from suffering through the fire" -:

  - Mohammad Asad

The righteous people are those who pray: "Our Rabb! We sincerely believe in You: please forgive our sins and save us from the agony of the Hellfire;"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Those who say: Our Lord! Lo! we believe. So forgive us our sins and guard us from the punishment of Fire!

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

those who are patient in adversity, and true to their word, and truly devout, and who spend [in God's way], and pray for forgiveness from their innermost hearts.¹⁰

  - Mohammad Asad

The expression bi'l-ashar is usually taken to mean "at the times before daybreak", or simply "before daybreak". This is in agreement with the Prophet's recommendation to his followers (forthcoming from several authentic Traditions) to devote the latter part of the night, and particularly the time shortly before dawn, to intensive prayer. But while the word sahar (also spelled sahr and suhr), of which ashar is the plural, undoubtedly denotes "the time before daybreak", it also signifies - in the spellings sahar and suhr - "the core of the heart", "the inner part of the heart", or simply "heart" (cf. Lisan al-'Arab; also Lane IV, 1316). It seems to me that in the context of the above Qur'an-verse - as well as of 51:18 - this latter rendering is preferable to the conventional one: for, although the value of praying before daybreak has undoubtedly been stressed by the Prophet, it is not very plausible that the Qur'an should have tied the prayer for forgiveness to a particular time of day.

who are steadfast, sincere, obedient, and charitable, and who pray for forgiveness in the morning time.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

The steadfast, and the truthful, and the obedient, those who spend (and hoard not), those who pray for pardon in the watches of the night.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

GOD [Himself] proffers evidence¹¹ - and [so do] the angels and all who are endowed with knowledge - that there is no deity save Him, the Upholder of Equity: there is no deity save Him, the Almighty, the Truly Wise.

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "bears witness" - i.e., through the nature of His creation, which shows plainly that it has been brought into being by a consciously planning Power.

Allah Himself has testified to the fact that there is no god but Him and so do the angels and those who are well grounded in knowledge standing firm on justice. There is no Ilah (God) except Him, the Mighty, the Wise.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Allah (Himself) is witness that there is no God save Him. And the angels and the men of learning (too are witness). Maintaining His creation in justice, there is no God save Him, the Almighty, the Wise.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Behold, the only [true] religion in the sight of God is [man's] self-surrender unto Him; and those who were vouchsafed revelation aforetime¹² took, out of mutual jealousy, to divergent views [on this point] only after knowledge [thereof] had come unto them.¹³ But as for him who denies the truth of God's messages - behold, God is swift in reckoning!

  - Mohammad Asad

Most of the classical commentators are of the opinion that the people referred to are the followers of the Bible, or of parts of it - i.e., the Jews and the Christians. It is, however, highly probable that this passage bears a wider import and relates to all communities which base their views on a revealed scripture, extant in a partially corrupted form, with parts of it entirely lost.

I.e., all these communities at first subscribed to the doctrine of God's oneness and held that man's self-surrender to Him (islam in its original connotation) is the essence of all true religion. Their subsequent divergencies were an outcome of sectarian pride and mutual exclusiveness.

Surely the only Deen (true religion and the Right Way of life) in the sight of Allah is Al-Islam: Those to whom the Book was given did not adopt ways different than this except out of envy among themselves, and after the true knowledge had come to them. They should know that Allah is swift in calling to account those who deny His revelations.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Lo! religion with Allah (is) The Surrender (to His will and guidance). Those who (formerly) received the Scripture differed only after knowledge came unto them, through transgression among themselves. Whoso disbelieveth the revelations of Allah (will find that) Lo! Allah is swift at reckoning.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Thus, [O Prophet,] if they argue with thee, say, "I have surrendered my whole being unto God, and [so have] all who follow me!" - and ask those who have been vouchsafed revelation aforetime, as well as all unlettered people,¹⁴ "Have you [too] surrendered yourselves unto Him?" And if they surrender themselves unto Him, they are on the right path; but if they turn away-behold, thy duty is no more than to deliver the message: for God sees all that is in [the hearts of] His creatures.

  - Mohammad Asad

According to Razi, this refers to people who have no revealed scripture of their own.

So if they argue with you (O Muhammad), tell them: "I have submitted myself entirely to Allah and so have those who follow me." Then ask those who are given the Book and those who are illiterates: "Will you also submit yourselves to Allah?" If they become Muslims they shall be rightly guided but if they turn back, you need not worry, because your sole responsibility is to convey the Message. Allah is watching all His servants very closely.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And if they argue with thee, (O Muhammad), say: I have surrendered my purpose to Allah and (so have) those who follow me. And say unto those who have received the Scripture and those who read not: Have ye (too) surrendered? If they surrender, then truly they are rightly guided, and if they turn away, then it is thy duty only to convey the message (unto them). Allah is Seer of (His) bondmen.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall