Surah 21. Al-Anbiya

Not one of the communities that We destroyed in bygone times⁷ would ever believe [their prophets]: will these, then, [be more willing to] believe?⁸

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "before them".

The downfall of those communities of old - frequently referred to in the Qur'an - was invariably due to the fact that they had been resolved to ignore all spiritual truths which militated against their own, materialistic concept of life: is it, then (so the Qur'anic argument goes), reasonable to expect that the opponents of the Prophet Muhammad, who are similarly motivated, would be more willing to consider his message on its merits?

The fact, however, is that even though We showed Signs to the prior people, not a single nation before them, which We destroyed, ever believed. Will they believe?

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Not a township believed of those which We destroyed before them (though We sent them portents): would they then believe?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

For [even] before thy time, [O Muhammad,] We never sent [as Our apostles] any but [mortal] men, whom We inspired-hence, [tell the deniers of the truth,] "If you do not know this, ask the followers of earlier revelation"⁹ -

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "followers of the reminder"-i.e., of the Bible, which in its original, uncorrupted form represented one of God's "reminders" to man.

The Rasools which We sent before you, O Muhammad, were also human to whom We sent revelation. If you, O objectors, do not know this, then ask the people of the reminder (Jews and Christians).

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And We sent not (as Our messengers) before thee other than men whom We inspired. Ask the followers of the Reminder if ye know not?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

and neither did We endow them with bodies that could dispense with food,¹⁰ nor were they immortal.

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "neither did We fashion them [i.e., those apostles] as bodies that ate no food", implying a denial of any supernatural quality in the prophets entrusted with God's message (cf. 5:75 , 13:38 and 25:20 , as well as the corresponding notes). The above is an answer to the unbelievers' objection to Muhammad's prophethood expressed in verse {3} of this surah.

We did not give them bodies which could survive without food, nor were they immortal.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

We gave them not bodies that would not eat food, nor were they immortals.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

In the end, We made good unto them Our promise, and We saved them and all whom We willed [to save],¹¹ and We destroyed those who had wasted their own selves.¹²

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., their believing followers.

As regards my rendering of al-musrifun as "those who had wasted their own selves", see note [21] on the last sentence of {10: 12}.

Then We fulfilled Our promise with them: We saved them and those whom We pleased, and destroyed the transgressors.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Then We fulfilled the promise unto them. So We delivered them and whom We would, and We destroyed the prodigals.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[O MEN!] We have now bestowed upon you from on high a divine writ containing all that you ought to bear in mind:¹³ will you not, then, use your reason?

  - Mohammad Asad

The term dhikr, which primarily denotes a "reminder" or a "remembrance", or, as Raghib defines it, the "presence [of something] in the mind", has also the meaning of "that by which one is remembered", i.e., with praise - in other words, "renown" or "fame" - and, tropically, "honour", "eminence" or "dignity". Hence, the above phrase contains, apart from the concept of a "reminder", an indirect allusion to the dignity and happiness to which man may attain by following the spiritual and social precepts laid down in the Qur'an. By rendering the expression dhikrukum as "all that you ought to bear in mind", I have tried to bring out all these meanings.

Now, O People, We have sent down to you a Book (The Qur'an) which deals with matters concerning yourselves; why don't you understand?

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Now We have revealed unto you a Scripture wherein is your Reminder. Have ye then no sense?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

For, how many a community that persisted in evildoing have We dashed into fragments, and raised another people in its stead!¹⁴

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "after it".

How many nations We have destroyed because of their iniquities and replaced them by other nations!

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

How many a community that dealt unjustly have We shattered, and raised up after them another folk!

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And [every time,] as soon as they began to feel Our punishing might, lo! they tried to flee from it-

  - Mohammad Asad

When they felt that Our punishment was coming, they took to their heels and fled.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And, when they felt Our might, behold them fleeing from it!

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[and at the same time they seemed to hear a scornful voice]: "Do not try to flee, but return to all that [once] gave you pleasure and corrupted your whole being.¹⁵ and [return] to your homes, so that you might be called to account [for what you have done]!"¹⁶

  - Mohammad Asad

For an explanation of the phrase ma utriftum fihi, see surah {11}, note [147].

The Qur'an does not say whose words these are, but the tenor of this passage indicates, I believe, that it is the scornful, self-accusing voice of the sinnirs' own conscience: hence my interpolation, between brackets, at the beginning of this verse.

They were told: "Do not run away. Return to your luxuries of life and to your homes, so that you may be asked questions."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

(But it was said unto them): Flee not, but return to that (existence) which emasculated you and to your dwellings, that ye may be questioned.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And they could only cry:¹⁷ "Oh, woe unto us! Verily, we were wrongdoers!"

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "They said".

They replied: "Woe to us! Indeed we were wrongdoers."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

They cried: Alas for us! Lo! we were wrongdoers.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And that cry of theirs did not cease until We caused them to become [like] a field mown down, still and silent as ashes.

  - Mohammad Asad

They kept on repeating that statement till We mowed them down, leaving no spark of life in them.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And this their crying ceased not till We made them as reaped corn, extinct.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

AND [know that] We have not created the heavens and the earth and all that is between them in mere idle play:¹⁸

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "playing" or "playfully", i.e., without meaning and purpose: see note [11] on 10:5 .

Our creation of the heavens and the earth and all that lies between them is not a game.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

We created not the heaven and the earth and all that is between them in play.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[for,] had We willed to indulge in a pastime, We would indeed have produced it from within Ourselves-if such had been Our will at all!¹⁹

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "if We had [ever] willed to do so": meaning that, had God ever willed to "indulge in a pastime" (which, being almighty and self-sufficient, He has no need to do), He could have found it within His Own Self, without any necessity to create a universe which would embody His hypothetical - and logically inconceivable - will to "please Himself", and would thus represent a "projection", as it were, of His Own Being. In the elliptic manner of the Qur'an, the above passage amounts to a statement of God's transcendence.

Had We meant to make it a play ground, We would have done it by Ourself, without giving you discretion to do right and wrong, had We ever done so.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

If We had wished to find a pastime, We could have found it in Our presence if We ever did.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Nay, but [by the very act of creation] We hurl the truth against falsehood,²⁰ and it crushes the latter: and lo! it withers away.²¹ But woe unto you for all your [attempts at] defining [God]²² -

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., the truth of God's transcendence against the false idea of His existential immanence in, or co-existence with, the created universe.

The obvious fact that everything in the created universe is finite and perishable effectively refutes the claim that it could be a "projection" of the Creator, who is infinite and eternal.

Lit.. "for all that you attribute to God bv way of description" or "of definition" (cf. the last sentence of 6:100 and the corresponding note 88) - implying that the idea of God's "immanence" in His creation is equivalent to an attempt to define His Being.

Nay! We give falsehood a violent blow with the Truth to knock it out and behold! Falsehood vanishes away. Woe be to you, for all the false gods you have invented.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Nay, but We hurl the true against the false, and it doth break its head and lo! it vanisheth. And yours will be woe for that which ye ascribe (unto Him).

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

for, unto Him belong all [beings] that are in the heavens and on earth, and those that are with Him²³ are never too proud to worship Him and never grow weary [thereof]:

  - Mohammad Asad

According to the classical commentators, this refers to the angels; but it is possible to understand the expression "those who are with Him" in a wider sense, comprising not only the angels but also all human beings who are truly God-conscious and wholly dedicated to Him. In either case, their "being with Him" is a metaphorical indication of their spiritual eminence and place of honour in God's sight, and does not bear any spatial connotation of "nearness" (Zamakhshari and Razl): obviously so, because God is limitless in space as well as in time. (See also 40:7 and the corresponding note [4].)

To Him belongs all that exist in the heavens and in the earth; and the angels, who are in His very presence, are not too proud to serve Him, nor do they feel wearied of His service.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Unto Him belongeth whosoever is in the heavens and the earth. And those who dwell in His presence are not too proud to worship Him nor do they weary;

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

they extol His limitless glory by night and by day, never flagging [therein].

  - Mohammad Asad

They glorify Him night and day; and do not pause.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

They glorify (Him) night and day; they flag not.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall