Surah 25. Al-Furqan

And We have sent you 'O Prophet' only as a deliverer of good news and a warner.

  - Mustafa Khattab

But thee We only sent to give glad tidings and admonition.

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Say, 'I do not ask you for any reward for this 'message', but whoever wishes, let them pursue the Way to their Lord.'

  - Mustafa Khattab

Say: "No reward do I ask of you for it but this: that each one who will may take a (straight) Path to his Lord."

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Put your trust in the Ever-Living, Who never dies, and glorify His praises. Sufficient is He as All-Aware of the sins of His servants.

  - Mustafa Khattab

And put thy trust in Him Who lives and dies not; and celebrate His praise; and enough is He to be acquainted with the faults of His servants ³¹¹⁶

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Allah knows our faults better than we or anyone else. It is no use hiding anything from Him. We must put our trust completely in Him. His care is for all, and He is Allah Most Gracious.

'He is' the One Who created the heavens and the earth and everything in between in six Days,¹ then established Himself on the Throne. 'He is' the Most Compassionate! Ask 'none other than' the All-Knowledgeable about Himself.

  - Mustafa Khattab

 See footnote for 7:54.

He Who created the heavens and the earth and all that is between in six days and is firmly established on the Throne (of authority): Allah Most Gracious: ask thou then about Him of any acquainted (with such things). ^{3117 3118 3119}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. vii. 54 and n. 1031.

See n. 1386 to x. 3.

The argument is about the question, in whom shall we put our trust? Worldly men put their trust in wordly things: the righteous man only in Allah. The true distinction will be quite clear from a ray of divine knowledge. If you do not see it all clearly, ask of those who possess such knowledge.

When it is said to them, 'Prostrate to the Most Compassionate,' they ask 'in disgust', 'What is 'the Most Compassionate'? Will we prostrate to whatever you order us to?' And it only drives them farther away.

  - Mustafa Khattab

When it is said to them "Adore ye (Allah) Most Gracious!" they say "And what is (Allah) Most Gracious? Shall we adore that which thou commandest us?" and it increases their flight (from the Truth). ³¹²⁰

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Those who have no spiritual Light cannot understand this precept about putting all our trust in Allah. It seems to them foolish. They have no faith, or but a superficial faith. They may possibly take the name of Allah on their lips, but they cannot understand the full significance of His title of Rahman (Most Gracious). Perhaps they are afraid on account of their sins; perhaps they do not see how unbounded is the mercy of Allah. Such men are contrasted against the true servants of Allah, who are described below in xxv. 63-75.

Blessed is the One Who has placed constellations in the sky, as well as a 'radiant' lamp¹ and a luminous moon.

  - Mustafa Khattab

 The sun.

Blessed is He Who made Constellations in the skies and placed therein a Lamp and a Moon giving light; ³¹²¹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The glorious Lamp of the skies is the Sun; and next to him is the Moon, which gives borrowed light. The Constellations of course include the Signs of the Zodiac, which mark the path of the planets in the heavens.

And He is the One Who causes the day and the night to alternate, 'as a sign' for whoever desires to be mindful or to be grateful.

  - Mustafa Khattab

And it is He Who made the Night and the Day to follow each other: for such as have the will to celebrate His praises or to show their gratitude. ³¹²²

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The scenes of the phenomenal world are Signs of the Self-Revelation of Allah, for those who understand and who have the will to merge their wills in His. This they do (1) by praising Him, which means understanding something of His nature, and (2) by gratitude to Him, which means carrying out His Will, and doing good to their fellow-creatures. These two attitudes of mind and heart give rise to various consequences in their lives, which are detailed in the following verse.

The 'true' servants of the Most Compassionate are those who walk on the earth humbly, and when the foolish address them 'improperly', they only respond with peace.

  - Mustafa Khattab

And the servants of (Allah) Most Gracious are those who walk on the earth in humility and when the ignorant address them they say "Peace!" ³¹²³

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Ignorant: in a moral sense. Address: in the aggressive sense. Their humility is shown in two ways: (1) to those in real search of knowledge, they give such knowledge as they have and as the recipients can assimilate; (2) to those who merely dispute, they do not speak harshly, but say "Peace!", as much as to say, "May it be well with you, may you repent and be better"; or "May Allah give me peace from such wrangling"; or "Peace, and Good-bye; let me leave you!"

'They are' those who spend 'a good portion of' the night, prostrating themselves and standing before their Lord.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Those who spend the night in adoration of their Lord prostrate and standing; ³¹²⁴

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Humble prayer brings them nearer to Allah.

'They are' those who pray, 'Our Lord! Keep the punishment of Hell away from us, for its punishment is indeed unrelenting.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Those who say "Our Lord! avert from us the Wrath of Hell for its Wrath is indeed an affliction grievous ³¹²⁵

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

This is a prayer of humility: such a person relies, not on any good works which he may have done, but on the Grace and Mercy of Allah; and he shows a lively sense of the Day of Judgment, when every action will weigh for or against a soul.

It is certainly an evil place to settle and reside.'

  - Mustafa Khattab

"Evil indeed is it as an abode and as a place to rest in"; ³¹²⁶

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The misery which results from sin is not only grievous to live in ("an abode") but also grievous "to rest in" or "to stand in", if it be only for a short time.

'They are' those who spend neither wastefully nor stingily, but moderately in between.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Those who when they spend are not extravagant and not niggardly but hold a just (balance) between those (extremes); ³¹²⁷

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

In ordinary spending this is a wise rule. But even in charity, in which we give of our best, it is not expected that we should be extravagant, i.e., that we should either do it for show, to impress other people, or do it thoughtlessly, which would be the case if we "rob Peter to pay Paul". We should certainly not be niggardly, but we should remember everyone's rights, including our own, and strike a perfectly just balance between them.

'They are' those who do not invoke any other god besides Allah, nor take a 'human' life- made sacred by Allah- except with 'legal' right,¹ nor commit fornication. And whoever does 'any of' this will face the penalty.

  - Mustafa Khattab

 For example, in retaliation for intentional killing through legal channels.

Those who invoke not with Allah any other god nor slay such life as Allah has made sacred except for just cause not commit fornication and any that does this (not only) meets punishment ³¹²⁸

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Here three things are expressly condemned: (1) false worship, which is a crime against Allah; (2) the taking of life, which is a crime against our fellow-creatures; and (3) fornication, which is a crime against our self-respect, against ourselves. Every crime is against Allah, His creatures, and ourselves, but some may be viewed more in relation to one than to another. The prohibition against taking life is qualified: "except for just cause,": e.g., in judicial punishment for murder, or in self-preservation, which may include not only self-defence in the legal sense, but also the clearing out of pests, and the provision of meat under conditions of Halal.- see n. 698 to v. 5. After this comes a long parenthesis, which ends with verse 71 below.

Their punishment will be multiplied on the Day of Judgment, and they will remain in it forever, in disgrace.

  - Mustafa Khattab

(But) the Penalty on the Day of Judgment will be doubled to him and he will dwell therein in ignominy ³¹²⁹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The three crimes just mentioned are specially detestable and infamous, and as ignominy will be added to other punishments, the penalty will be double that of ordinary punishment.

As for those who repent, believe, and do good deeds, they are the ones whose evil deeds Allah will change into good deeds. For Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Unless he repents believes and works righteous deeds for Allah will change the evil of such persons into good and Allah is Oft-Forgiving Most Merciful ³¹³⁰

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

But even in the case of great crimes, if there is true repentance as tested by a changed fife in conduct, Allah's Mercy is available, and it will transform the repentant's nature from evil to good.