Surah 28. Al-Qasas

but all arguments and excuses will by then have been erased from their minds,⁷¹ and they will not [be able to] obtain any [helpful] answer from one another.⁷²

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "will on that Day have become obscured to them". The operative noun anba', which literally denotes "tidings", has here the compound meaning of "arguments and excuses" (Tabari).

I.e., they will all be equally confused. For the above rendering of la yatasa'alun (lit., "they will not [be able to] ask one another"), see the explanations of this phrase advanced by Baghawi, Zamakhshari and Baydawi.

They will be so confused on that Day that they will not even ask one another.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

On that day (all) tidings will be dimmed for them, nor will they ask one of another,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

But as against this - anyone who repents⁷³ and attains to faith and does righteous deeds may well [hope to] find himself among those who achieve a happy state [in the life to come]

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., during his life in this world. For an explanation of this stress on repentance-which flows from one's realization of moral failure - see surah {24}, note [41].

However, the one who has repented in this life, and believed, and done good deeds may hope to be among those who will achieve salvation.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

But as for him who shall repent and believe and do right, he haply may be one of the successful.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

AND [thus it is:] thy Sustainer creates whatever He wills; and He chooses [for mankind] whatever is best for them.⁷⁴ Limitless is God in His glory, and sublimely exalted above anything to which they may ascribe a share in His divinity!

  - Mohammad Asad

Some of the classical commentators incline to interpret the ma in the phrase ma kana lahum al-khirah as a particle of negation and the noun khirah as "choice" or "freedom of choice", thus giving to this phrase the meaning of "He chooses, [but] they [i.e., human beings] have no freedom of choice". To my mind, however, this interpretation conflicts not only with the immediately preceding passages but with the tenor of the Qur'an as a whole, which insists throughout on man's responsibility for (and, hence, on relative freedom in) choosing between right and wrong - and this side by side with its stress on God's unlimited power to determine the factual course of events. Hence, I prefer to base my rendering on the interpretation advanced and convincingly argued by Tabari, who regards the crucial particle ma not as a negation but as a relative pronoun synonymous with alladhi ("that which" or "whatever"), and understands the noun khirah in its primary significance of "that which is chosen" or "preferred", i.e., because it is considered to be the best: in another word, as a synonym of khayr. Zamakhshari refers to this interpretation with evident approval (without, however, mentioning Tabari specifically), and enlarges upon it thus: "God chooses for mankind whatever is best (ma hawa khayr) and most beneficial (aslah) for them, for He knows better than they themselves do what is good for them."

Your Rabb creates whatever He wills and chooses for His work whom He pleases. It is not for them (mushrikin) to choose and assign the powers of Allah to whom they want. Glory be to Allah! He is far above the shirk that these people commit.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Thy Lord bringeth to pass what He willeth and chooseth. They have never any choice. Glorified be Allah and exalted above all that they associate (with Him)!

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And thy Sustainer knows all that their hearts conceal as well as all that they bring into the open:

  - Mohammad Asad

Your Rabb knows all that they conceal in their hearts and all that they reveal.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And thy Lord knoweth what thee breasts conceal, and what they publish.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

for He is God, save whom there is no deity. Unto Him all praise is due, at the beginning and at the end [of time];⁷⁵ and with Him rests all judgment; and unto Him shall you all be brought back.

  - Mohammad Asad

Or: "in this first [i.e., present life] as well as in the life to come".

He is Allah; there is no god but Him. Praise belongs to Him in this world and in the hereafter: His is the Judgement and to Him you all shall be brought back.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And He is Allah; there is no God save Him. His is all praise in the former and the latter (state), and His is the command, and unto Him ye will be brought back.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Say: "Have you ever considered [this]: If God had willed that there should always be night about you, without break, until the Day of Resurrection - is there any deity other than God that could bring you light?⁷⁶ Will you not, then, listen [to the truth]?"

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "who [i.e., "where"] is a deity . . .". etc.. obviously implying that no such "deity" exists.

O Prophet, ask them: "Have you ever considered that if Allah were to make the night perpetual till the Day of Resurrection, which deity other than Allah could bring you light?" Will you not listen?

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Say: Have ye thought, if Allah made night everlasting for you till the Day of Resurrection, who is a God beside Allah who could bring you light? Will ye not then hear?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Say: "Have you ever considered [this]: If God had willed that there should always be daylight about you, without break, until the Day of Resurrection - is there any deity other than God that could bring you [the darkness of] night, wherein you might rest? Will you not, then, see [the truth]?"⁷⁷

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., "Will you not recognize the miracle of planned and purposeful creation?"

Ask them again: "Have you ever considered that if Allah were to make the day perpetual till the Day of Resurrection, which deity other than Allah could bring you the night in which you could rest? Will you not see?

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Say: Have ye thought, if Allah made day everlasting for you till the Day of Resurrection, who is a God beside Allah who could, bring you night wherein ye rest? Will ye not then see?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

For it is out of His grace that He has made for you the night and the day, so that you might rest therein as well as seek to obtain [what you need] of His bounty: and [He gave you all this] so that you might have cause to be grateful.

  - Mohammad Asad

It is out of His mercy that He has made for you the night that you may rest in it, and the day that you may seek His bounty, so that you may render thanks.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Of His mercy hath He appointed for you night and day that therein ye may rest, and that ye may seek His bounty, and that haply ye may be thankful.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

AND ON THAT DAY⁷⁸ He will call unto those [that shall have been arraigned before His judgment seat], and will ask: "Where, now, are those [beings or powers] whom you imagined to have a share in My divinity?"⁷⁹

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., the Day of Resurrection - thus reverting to the theme enunciated in verses {62-66} above.

This repetition of God's "question", already mentioned in verse {62} above, is meant to stress the utter inability of the sinners concerned to justify their erstwhile attitude rationally; hence my interpolation at the beginning of the next verse.

They should be mindful of that Day when He will call them and ask: "Where are those deities whom you deemed My associates?"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And on the Day when He shall call unto them and say: Where are My partners whom ye pretended?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And [they will remain silent: for by then] We will have called forth witnesses from within every community,⁸⁰ and will have said [unto the sinners]: "Produce an evidence for what you have been claiminng!"⁸¹ And so they will come to understand that all truth is God's [alone]:⁸² and all their false imagery will have forsaken them.⁸³

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., the prophets who had appeared at various stages of man's history, and who will now bear witness that they had duly conveyed God's message to the people for whom it was meant.

Lit., "Produce your evidence" - i.e., for the possibility of anyone or anything having a share in God's divinity.

I.e., that He is the Ultimate Reality, and that whatever is or could be is an outcome of His will alone.

For the meaning of the phrase ma kanu yaftarun (lit., "all that they were wont to invent" - rendered by me here as well as in 6:24 , 7:53 , 10:30 , 11:21 and 16:87 as "all their false imagery"), see surah {11}, note [42]; also note [15] on 6:22 . A specific instance of such "false imagery" - the futility of man's relying on his own wealth and worldly power - is illustrated in the immediately following legend of Qarun (see next note).

And We shall bring forth a witness from every nation and ask: "Bring your proof about other deities besides Me." Then they shall come to know that in reality there is only One God, Allah, and gods of their own inventions have left them in the lurch."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And We shall take out from every nation a witness and We shall say: Bring your proof. Then they will know that Allah hath the Truth, and all that they invented will have failed them.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[NOW,] BEHOLD, Qarun was one of the people of Moses;⁸⁴ but he arrogantly exalted himself above them - simply because We had granted him such riches that his treasure-chests alone would surely have been too heavy a burden for a troop of ten men or even more.⁸⁵ When [they perceived his arrogance,] his people said unto him: "Exult not [in thy wealth], for, verily, God does not love those who exult [in things vain]!

  - Mohammad Asad

The structure of the above sentence is meant to show that even a person who had been a follower of one of the greatest of God's apostles was not above the possibility of sinning under the influence of false pride and self-exaltation - a particular example of the "false imagery" referred to in the preceding passage. The conventional "identification" of Qarun with the Korah of the Old Testament (Numbers xvi) is neither relevant nor warranted by the Qur'anic text, the more so as the purport of this legend is a moral lesson and not a historical narrative. this, by the way, explains also the juxtaposition, elsewhere in the Qur'an ( 29:39 and 40:24 ), of Qarun with Pharoah, the arch-sinner.

The term 'usbah denotes a company of ten or more (up to forty) persons; since it is used here metonymically, pointing to the great weight involved, it is best rendered as above. - The noun mafatih is a plural of both miftah or miftah ("key") and muftah ("that which is under lock and key", i.e., a "hoard of wealth" or "treasure chest"), which latter meaning is obviously the one intended in the present context.

The fact is that Qarun (Korah) was one of Musa's people, but he rebelled against them. We had given him such treasures that their very keys were a heavy burden to a band of strong men. When his people said to him: "Do not exult, for Allah does not love the exultant.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Now Korah was of Moses folk, but he oppressed them and We gave him so much treasure that the stores thereof would verily have been a burden for a troop of mighty men. When his own folk said unto him: Exult not; lo! Allah loveth not the exultant;

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Seek instead, by means of what God has granted thee, [the good of] the life to come,⁸⁶ without forget-ting, withal, shine own [rightful] share in this world;⁸⁷ and do good [unto others] as God has done good unto thee; and seek not to spread corruption on earth: for, verily, God does not love the spreaders of corrup-tion!"

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., by spending in charity and on good causes.

Lit., "and do not forget . . .", etc.: a call to generosity and, at the same time, to moderation (cf. 2:143 -"We have willed you to be a community of the middle way").

Rather seek, by means of what Allah has given you, to attain the abode of the hereafter, while not neglecting your share in this world. Be good to others as Allah has been good to you, and do not seek mischief in the land, for Allah does not love the mischief makers."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

But seek the abode of the Hereafter in that which Allah hath given thee and neglect not thy portion of the world, and be thou kind even as Allah hath been kind to thee, and seek not corruption in the earth; lo! Allah loveth not corrupters,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Answered he: "This wealth] has been given to me only by virtue of the knowledge that is in me!"⁸⁸ Did he not know that God had destroyed [the arrogant of] many a generation that preceded him-people who were greater than he in power, and richer in what they had amassed? But such as are lost in sin may not be asked about their sins....⁸⁹

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., "as a result of my own experience, shrewdness and ability" (cf. 39:49 and the corresponding note [55]).

Obviously implying that "such as are lost in sin" (al-mujrimun) are, as a rule, blind to their own failings and, therefore, not responsive to admonition.

He replied: "All that I have been given is by virtue of the knowledge that I possess." Did he (Qarun) not know that Allah had destroyed many people before, who were mightier in strength and greater in riches than him? But the criminals are not called to account immediately for their sins.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

He said: I have been given it only on account of knowledge I possess. Knew he not that Allah had destroyed already of the generations before him men who were mightier than Him in strength and greater in respect of following? The guilty are not questioned of their sins.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And so he went forth before his people in all his pomp; [and] those who cared only for the life of this world would say, "Oh, if we but had the like of what Qarun has been given! Verily, with tremendous good fortune is he endowed!"

  - Mohammad Asad

One day he came out before his people in his worldly glitter. Those who sought the life of this world said: "Would that we had the like of Qarun's fortune! He is indeed a very lucky man."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Then went he forth before his people in his pomp. Those who were desirous of the life of the world said: Ah, would that unto us had been given the like of what hath been given unto Korah! Lo! he is lord of rare good fortune.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

But those who had been granted true knowl-edge said: "Woe unto you! Merit in the sight of God⁹⁰ is by far the best for any who attains to faith and does what is right: but none save the patient in adversity can ever achieve this [blessing]."

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "God's reward", se., "of spiritual merit".

But those who were endowed with knowledge said: "Alas for you! Better is the reward of Allah for him that has faith and does good deeds; but none shall attain it save those who endured with fortitude."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

But those who had been given knowledge said: Woe unto you! The reward of Allah for him who believeth and doeth right is better, and only the steadfast will obtain it.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall