Surah 25. Al-Furqan

We had ordered 'them', 'Go to the people who would deny Our signs.' Then We annihilated the deniers entirely.

  - Mustafa Khattab

And We commanded: "Go ye both to the people who have rejected Our Signs": and those (people) We destroyed with utter destruction.

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

And when the people of Noah rejected the messengers,¹ We drowned them, making them an example to humanity. And We have prepared a painful punishment for the wrongdoers.

  - Mustafa Khattab

 lit., messengers, because denying Noah was equal to denying all of Allah’s messengers.

And the people of Noah when they rejected the apostles We drowned them and We made them as a Sign for mankind; and We have prepared for (all) wrongdoers a grievous Penalty ³⁰⁹³

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The stories of Noah, of the prophets of 'Ad and Thamud (and of other prophets), in the reactions of their communities to their teaching are told in xxvi. 105-159, below. Here they are just mentioned to illustrate how little respect past ages had for their prophets and teachers of Truth. But Allah's Truth did not suffer: it was the blind rejecters of spiritual Truth who were wiped out.

Also 'We destroyed' 'Ȃd, Thamûd, and the people of the Water-pit,¹ as well as many peoples in between.

  - Mustafa Khattab

 Ar-Rass means “well” or “water-pit”. This refers to a pagan people, along with Midian, to whom Allah sent Prophet Shu’aib.

As also `Ad and Thamud and the Companions of the Rass and many a generation between them. ³⁰⁹⁴

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Commentators are not clear as to who the "Companions of the Rass" were. The root meaning of "rass" is an old well or shallow water-pit. Another root connects it with the burial of the dead. But it is probably the name of a town or place. The "Companions of the Rass" may well have been the people of Shu'aib, as they are here mentioned with the 'Ad, the Thamud, and Lot's people, and the people of Shu'aib are mentioned in a similar connection in xxvi. 176-190 and in xi. 84-95. Shu'aib was the prophet of the Madyan people in the north-west of Arabia, where many old wells are found. There is however an oasis town al-Rass in the district of Qasim in Middle Najd, about thirty-five miles south-west of the town of 'Unaiza, reputed to be the central point of the Arabian Peninsula, and situated midway between Makkah and Basra. See Doughty's Arabia Deserts, thin-paper one-volume edition, London 1926, 11, 435 and Map, Lat. 26*N., and Long. 43*E.

For each We set forth 'various' lessons, and We ultimately destroyed each.

  - Mustafa Khattab

To teach one We set forth parables and examples; and each one We broke to utter annihilation (for their sins).

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

They have certainly passed by the city 'of Sodom', which had been showered with a dreadful rain 'of stones'. Have they not seen its ruins? But they do not expect to be resurrected.

  - Mustafa Khattab

And the (Unbelievers) must indeed have passed by the town on which was rained a shower of evil: did they not then see it (with their own eyes)? But they fear not the Resurrection. ³⁰⁹⁵

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

This refers to Lut's story and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the wicked cities of the plain near the Dead Sea, by a shower of brimstone. The site lies on the highway between Arabia and Syria. Cf. xv. 74, 76, and n. 1998.

When they see you 'O Prophet', they only make fun of you, 'saying,' 'Is this the one that Allah has sent as a messenger?

  - Mustafa Khattab

When they see thee they treat thee no otherwise than in mockery: "Is this the one whom Allah has sent as an apostle?"

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

He would have almost tricked us away from our gods, had we not been so devoted to them.' 'But' soon they will know, when they face the punishment, who is far astray from the 'Right' Way.

  - Mustafa Khattab

"He indeed would well-nigh have misled us from our gods had it not been that we were constant to them!" Soon will they know when they see the Penalty who it is that is most misled in Path! ³⁰⁹⁶

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

"Path" (Sabil) is almost equivalent here to conduct, way of life.

Have you seen 'O Prophet' the one who has taken their own desires as their god? Will you then be a keeper over them?

  - Mustafa Khattab

Seest thou such a one as taketh for his god his own passion (or impulse)? Couldst thou be a disposer of affairs for him? ³⁰⁹⁷

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The man who worships his own passions or impulses or desires is the most hopeless to teach or lead or guide. If it were anything else the matter with him, the Prophet could argue with him. But Reason cannot prevail over blind passion. It is vain to hope that such a man could be led, until his mad desires are killed. No one could undertake any responsibility for him, for he obeys no law and follows no advice. He is worse than brute beasts, which may not understand, but at least follow the wholesome instincts implanted in them by Allah. The lawless man has killed his instincts and is unwilling to submit to guidance.

Or do you think that most of them listen or understand?¹ They are only like cattle- no, more than that, they are astray from the 'Right' Way!²

  - Mustafa Khattab

 They neither pay attention, nor think for themselves. They only follow others blindly.

 Generally, animals are obedient and loyal to their masters who care for them and they seem to know their way, whereas Meccan pagans are disobedient and ungrateful to their Lord and Sustainer, choosing to stray from the right path.

Or thinkest thou that most of them listen or understand? They are only like cattle; nay they are worse astray in Path.

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Have you not seen how your Lord extends the shade- He could have simply made it 'remain' still if He so willed- then We make the sun its guide,

  - Mustafa Khattab

Hast thou not turned thy vision to thy Lord? how He doth prolong the Shadow! If He willed He could make it stationary! Then do We make the sun its guide: ^{3098 3099 3100}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

We saw in xxiv. 35 that Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. We have now another sublime passage, in which we are asked to contemplate the Glory of Allah by a parable of the subtle play of Light and Shade in Allah's creation.

In our artificial life and surroundings we fail to see some of the finest mysteries of Light and Shade. We praise, and rightly, the wonderful colors of sunset. We see, particularly in climates more northerly than that of India, the subtle play of Light and Shade in the twilights succeeding sunsets. If we were as assiduous in seeing sunrises and the play of Light and Shade preceding them, we should see phenomena even more impressive, as the early moming seems to us more holy than any other time in the twenty-four hours of the sun's daily journey. There is first the false dawn, with its curious uncertain light and the curious long uncertain shadows which it casts. Then there are the streaks of black in the East, succeeded by the true dawn, with its delicate tones of colours and light and shade. The light of this true or false Dawn is not given by the direct rays of the sun. In a sense it is not light, but the shadows or reflections of light. And they gradually merge into actual sunrise, with its more substantial or more defined shadows, which we can definitely connect with the sun.

The morning shadows are long but more definite, and their length and direction are seen to be guided by the sun. But they change insensibly every second or fraction of a second.

causing the shade to retreat gradually?¹

  - Mustafa Khattab

 This means that one of the great miracles of Allah is that He allows the sun to rise in the morning, causing darkness to retreat. He could have stopped the sun and the earth from rotating, so half of the world would be engulfed in complete darkness, leading to an imbalance in the earth’s eco-systems and endangering life on the planet.

Then We draw it in towards Ourselves a contraction by easy stages. ^{3101 3102}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

As the sun rises higher and higher, the shadows contract. In regions where the sun gets actually to the zenith at noon, there is no shadow left at that time. Where does it go to? It was but a shadow cast by a substance and it gets absorbed by the substance which produced it.

The shadows are constantly in a state of flux; so are all things in Creation, all things we see or covet in this life. Allah, if He wills, can give some of them greater fixity or comparative stability.

He is the One Who has made the night for you as a cover, and 'made' sleep for resting, and the day for rising.

  - Mustafa Khattab

And He it is Who makes the Night as a Robe for you; and Sleep as Repose and makes the Day (as it were) a Resurrection. ³¹⁰³

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

It is still the contrast between Light and Shade; but the shade of Night is as a Robe to cover and screen us and give us Repose from activity; and the Light of Day is for striving, work, activity. Or again, the Night is like Death, our temporary Death before Judgment, the time during which our senses are as sealed in Sleep; and the Day is like the renewal of Life at the Resurrection.

And He is the One Who sends the winds ushering in His mercy, and We send down pure rain from the sky,

  - Mustafa Khattab

And He it is Who sends the Winds as heralds of glad tidings going before His Mercy and We send down purifying water from the sky ^{3104 3105}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. vii. 57. The Winds are heralds of Joy, ushering in Rain, which is one form of Allah's Mercy. Again, the symbolism presents a fresh point of view. Heat (which is connected with light) sets up currents in the atmosphere, besides sucking up moisture from the seas, and distributing it by means of Winds over wide surfaces of the earth. In the physical world we know the beneficent action of heat on life, and by contrast, we also know how intolerable high temperatures may become, and how the cloud-bearing Winds come as welcome heralds of rain.

Rain water (in pure air) is not only pure water distilled in air and sky, but it is the best purifying and sanitating agent on the largest scale known to US.

giving life to a lifeless land, and providing water for countless animals and humans of Our Own creation.

  - Mustafa Khattab

That with it We may give life to a dead land and slake the thirst of things We have created cattle and men in great numbers. ³¹⁰⁶

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The whole cycle of water,-sea, clouds, rain or hail or snow, rivers, and sea again,-is a remarkable illustration of the processes of nature making Allah's providence visible to us. The salts of the sea sanitate and purify all the filth that pours into it. Water action, in the form of rain, frost, glaciers, rivers, lakes, etc., is responsible for the building up and configuration of the crust of the earth, and is the chief agent in physical geography. A parched desert quickly comes to life under the action of water. All drinking water, whether derived from rivers, canals, lakes, reservoirs, springs, wells, or water-works of any kind, are ultimately traceable to rain. The connection of life with water is intimate. The physical basis of life itself, protoplasm, is in great part water; see xxv. 54 below.

We certainly disperse it among them so they may be mindful, but most people persist in ungratefulness.

  - Mustafa Khattab

And We have distributed the (water) amongst them in order that they may celebrate (Our) praises but most men are averse (to aught) but (rank) ingratitude. ^{3107 3108}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The water is distributed all over the world, in order that all life may receive its support according to its needs. In xxv. 48-50, we have the argument of contrasts stated in another way. Water is life, and is made available to sustain life all over the world; this is a physical fact which all can see. But water is also the symbol of spiritual life, whose sustaining principle is the Will of Allah as made known to us through Revelation. It sometimes comes to us in our inward or spiritual storms. Many violent unsettlements of the spirit are but heralds of the refreshing showers of spiritual understanding that come in their wake. They purify our souls, and produce spiritual Life even where there was a parched spiritual desert before. They continue to sustain us in our normal spiritual Life out of the reservoirs of Allah's Revelation, which are open to all, and well distributed in time and space. The universality of distribution is again referred to in the following verse.

In contrast to Allah's abounding Mercy is man's base ingratitude.

Had We willed, We could have easily sent a warner to every society.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Had it been Our Will We could have sent a warner to every center of population ³¹⁰⁹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Allah's Message has been distributed to all nations. If it had been necessary, a Prophet could have been sent to every town and village. But Allah's Plan is different. He has sent His Light to every heart, through His Signs in man's conscience, in Nature, and in Revelation.

So do not yield to the disbelievers, but strive diligently against them with this 'Quran'.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Therefore listen not to the Unbelievers but strive against them with the utmost strenuousness with the (Qur'an). ³¹¹⁰

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The distribution of Allah's Signs being universal, the Prophet of Allah pays no heed to carping critics who reject Faith. He wages the biggest Jihad of all, with the weapon of Allah's Revelation.

And He is the One Who merges the two bodies of water: one fresh and palatable and the other salty and bitter, placing between them a barrier they cannot cross.¹

  - Mustafa Khattab

 This refers to estuaries where salt and fresh waters meet forming brackish water. Although both waters mix together, each still keeps its distinctive qualities.

It is He Who has let free the two bodies of flowing water: one palatable and sweet and the other salt and bitter; yet has He made a barrier between them a partition that is forbidden to be passed. ^{3111 3112}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Maraja: literally, let free or let loose cattle for grazing. Bahrain: two seas, or two bodies of flowing water; for bahr is applied both to the salt sea and to rivers. In the world taken as a whole, there are two bodies of water, viz.,: (1) the great salt Ocean, and (2) the bodies of sweet water fed by rain, whether they are rivers, lakes or underground springs: their source in rain makes them one, and their drainage, whether above-ground or underground, eventually to the Ocean, also makes them one. They are free to mingle, and in a sense they do mingle, for there is a regular water-cycle: see n. 3106 above: and the rivers flow constantly to the sea, and tidal rivers get sea-water for several miles up their estuaries at high tide. Yet in spite of all this, the laws of gravitation are like a barrier or partition set by Allah, by which the two bodies of water as a whole are always kept apart and distinct. In the case of rivers carrying large quantities of water to the sea, like the Mississippi or the Yangtse-Kiang, the river-water with its silt remains distinct from sea-water for a long distance out at sea. But the wonderful Sign is that the two bodies of water, though they pass through each other, remain distinct bodies, with their distinct functions.

In Allah's overall scheme of things, bodies of salt and sweet water, which are adjoining and yet separate, have significant functions. Weaving a harmonious fabric out of these different fibres shows both Allah's power and wisdom. Incidentally, this verse points to a fact which has only recently been discovered by science. This fact relates to the oceans of the world: they meet and yet each remains separate for Allah has placed "a barrier, a partition" between them.

And He is the One Who creates human beings from a 'humble' liquid,¹ then establishes for them bonds of kinship and marriage. For your Lord is Most Capable.

  - Mustafa Khattab

 The mixture of sperm and egg.

It is He Who has created man from water: then has He established relationships of lineage and marriage: for thy Lord has power (over all things). ^{3113 3114}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The basis of all living matter in the physical world, protoplasm, is water: Cf. xxiv. 45 and xxi. 30, and notes thereon.

Water is a fluid, unstable thing: yet from it arises the highest form of life known to us, in this world, man. And man has not only the functions and characteristics of the noblest animals, but his abstract relationships are also typical of his highest nature. He can trace lineage and pedigree, and thus remember and commemorate a long line of ancestors, to whom he is bound by ties of piety, which no mere animals can do. Further, there is the union in marriage: it is not only like the physical union of animals, but it gives rise to relationships arising out of the sexes of individuals who were not otherwise related to each other. These are physical and social facts.

Yet they worship besides Allah what can neither benefit nor harm them. And the disbeliever always collaborates against their Lord.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Yet do they worship besides Allah things that can neither profit them nor harm them: and the Misbeliever is a helper (of Evil) against his own Lord! ³¹¹⁵

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Here is the highest contrast of all-material things which are inert, and Allah, Whose goodness and power are supreme; Faith and Unfaith, meriting glad tidings and admonition; the selfish man who is self-centred, and the man of God, who works for others without reward.