Surah 52. At-Tur

They will say, 'Before 'this reward' we used to be in awe 'of Allah' in the midst of our people.

  - Mustafa Khattab

They will say: "Aforetime We were not without fear for the sake of our people. ⁵⁰⁶⁰

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

A man may be good, and may with limits have found goodness in his own spiritual life, but may have anxieties about his family or friends whom he loves. All such shadows are removed in heaven by the Grace of Allah, and he is free to dwell on it in his confidential converse with other men similarly circumstanced.

So Allah has graced us and protected us from the torment of 'Hell's' scorching heat.

  - Mustafa Khattab

"But Allah has been good to us and has delivered us from the Penalty of the Scorching Wind. ⁵⁰⁶¹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

"Us" includes the good man or woman and all whom he or she cared for. This would be an ever-expanding circle, until it includes all mankind through Teachers like the Chosen One.

Indeed, we used to call upon Him 'alone' before. He is truly the Most Kind, Most Merciful.'

  - Mustafa Khattab

"Truly we did call unto Him from of old: truly it is He the Beneficent the Merciful" ⁵⁰⁶²

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

'Before this, we called upon Him, in faith that He is good: now we know in our inmost souls that He is indeed good-the Beneficent, the Merciful.' This is the climax of the description of Heaven.

So 'continue to' remind 'all, O Prophet'. For you, by the grace of your Lord, are not a fortune-teller or a madman.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Therefore proclaim thou the praises (of thy Lord): For by the Grace of thy Lord thou art no (vulgar) soothsayer nor art thou one possessed. ⁵⁰⁶³

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The greatest of the Prophets was called a soothsayer, i.e., one who tells fortunes by divination, or a madman possessed of some evil spirit, or a poet singing spiteful satires. Much more may lesser men be called by such names because they proclaim the Truth. They should go on in spite of it all.

Or do they say, ''He is' a poet, for whom we 'eagerly' await an ill-fate!'?

  - Mustafa Khattab

Or do they say "A Poet! we await for him some calamity (hatched) by Time!" ⁵⁰⁶⁴

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

If a spiteful poet foretells evil calamities for men, men can afford to laugh at him, hoping that time will bring about its revenge, and spite will come to an evil end. For the various meanings of Raib, see n. 1884 to xiv. 9. Some Commentators suggest Death as the Calamity hatched by Time.

Say, 'Keep waiting! I too am waiting with you.'

  - Mustafa Khattab

Say thou: "Await ye! I too will wait along with you!" ⁵⁰⁶⁵

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. ix. 52. If the wicked wait or look for some calamity to befall the Prophet, the Prophet can with far more justice await the decision of the issue between him and his persecutors. For he stands for right, and Allah will support the right.

Or do their 'intelligent' minds prompt them to this 'paradox'?¹ Or are they 'just' a transgressing people?

  - Mustafa Khattab

 The pagan leaders claimed to be Mecca’s most intelligent minds. So this verse questions their intelligence, arguing that the Prophet (ﷺ) cannot be a madman and a poet at the same time.

Is it that their faculties of understanding urge them to this or are they but a people transgressing beyond bounds? ^{5066 5067}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

It may be that the persecutors of Truth are ignorant, and their deficient faculties of understanding mislead them, but it is more often the case that they are perverse rebels against the law of Allah, defending their own selfish interests, and preventing those whom they oppress, from getting justice.

Cf. li. 53.

Or do they say, 'He made this 'Quran' up!'? In fact, they have no faith.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Or do they say "He fabricated the (Message)"? Nay they have no faith! ⁵⁰⁶⁸

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

As an alternative to the charges of being a soothsayer or a madman or a disgruntled poet, there is the charge of a forger or fabricator applied to the prophet of Allah when he produces his Message. This implies that there can be no revelation or inspiration from Allah. Such an attitude negatives Faith altogether. But if this is so, can they produce a work of man that can compare with the inspired Word of Allah? They cannot. Cf. n. 37-39, and xvii. 88.

Let them then produce something like it, if what they say is true!¹

  - Mustafa Khattab

 Arab pagans were challenged in the Quran to produce its equivalent (52:34), or ten sûrahs (11:13), or at least one sûrah (2:23), but the challenge has never been met.

Let them then produce a recital like unto it if (it be) they speak the Truth!

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Or were they created by nothing, or are they 'their own' creators?

  - Mustafa Khattab

Were they created of nothing or were they themselves the creators? ⁵⁰⁶⁹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

"Were they created of nothing?" Three possible alternative meanings are suggested by the Commentators, according to the meaning we give to the Arabic preposition min=of, by, with, for. (1) 'Were they created by nothing? Did they come into existence of themselves? Was it a mere chance that they came into being? (2) Were they created as men out of nothing? Was there not a wonderful seed, from which their material growth can be traced, as the handiwork of a wise and wonderful Creator? Must they not then seek His Will? (3) Were they created for nothing, to no purpose? If they were created for a purpose, must they not try to learn that purpose by understanding Allah's Revelation?

Or did they create the heavens and the earth? In fact, they have no firm belief 'in Allah'.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Or did they create the heavens and the earth? Nay they have no firm belief. ⁵⁰⁷⁰

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

They obviously did not create the wonders of the starry heavens and the fruitful globe of the earth. But they can assign no definite cause to explain it, as they have no firm belief on the subject themselves.

Or do they possess the treasuries of your Lord, or are they in control 'of everything'?

  - Mustafa Khattab

Or are the Treasures of thy Lord with them or are they the managers (of affairs)? ⁵⁰⁷¹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. vi. 50, and n. 867. The Treasures of Allah's Knowledge are infinite. But the doubters and unbelievers have no access to them, much less can the doubters and unbelievers manage the wonders of this world. Must they not therefore seek grace and revelation from Allah?

Or do they have a stairway, by which they eavesdrop 'on the heavens'? Then let those who do so bring a compelling proof.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Or have they a ladder by which they can (climb up to heaven and) listen (to its secrets)? Then let (such a) listener of theirs produce a manifest proof. ⁵⁰⁷²

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. vi. 35: a reference to the Pagan belief that by means of a material ladder a man might climb up to heaven and learn its secrets!

Or does He have daughters 'as you claim', while you 'prefer to' have sons?¹

  - Mustafa Khattab

 See footnote for 37:149.

Or has He only daughters and ye have sons? ⁵⁰⁷³

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. xvi. 57-59, and n. 2082. To the gospel of Unity it is repugnant to assign begotten sons or daughters to Allah. But the Arab superstition about angels being the daughters of Allah was particularly blasphemous as the Pagan Arabs hated to have daughters themselves and considered it a mark of humiliation!

Or are you 'O Prophet' asking them for a reward 'for the message' so that they are overburdened by debt?

  - Mustafa Khattab

Or is it that thou dost ask for a reward so that they are burdened with a load of debt? ⁵⁰⁷⁴

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The prophets of Allah ask for no reward to preach the Message of Allah and direct men to the right Path. Why then do men shun them and persecute those who seek to bring blessings to them?