-->
Lit., "in the laden ship": a generic singular with a plural significance. The term "offspring" denotes here the human race as a whole (cf. the recurring expression "children of Adam").
Besides the beauty of the Night, with the stars and the planets "swimming" in their rounded courses according to perfect Law, suggesting both symmetry and harmony, there are other Signs touching closely the life of man himself, projected through Time, in the past history of his race and in his own personal experience. The past history of his race takes us to the story of the Flood, which is symbolical of Allah's justice and mercy. Noah's Ark was a "Sign to all People": xxix. 15. Man's own personal experience is appealed to in every ship afloat: see next note.
No translation has been selected yet. Please click on the (Compare) link at the top and enable the translations of your choice.
Cf. 16:8 and the corresponding note [6]. In both of these passages man's ingenuity is shown to be a direct manifestation of God's creativeness.
The stately ships sailing through the seas, heavier than air, yet carrying man and his goods safely and smoothly across the waters, are another Sign for man. Ships are not mentioned, but (vessels) like the Ark: they would cover all kinds of sea-craft, but also the modern aircraft, which "swims" through air instead of through water.
No translation has been selected yet. Please click on the (Compare) link at the top and enable the translations of your choice.
Were it not that Allah gives man the intelligence and ingenuity to construct and manage sea-craft and air-craft, the natural laws of gravity would lead to the destruction of any who attempted to pass through sea or air. It is the gift (mercy) of Allah that saves him.
No translation has been selected yet. Please click on the (Compare) link at the top and enable the translations of your choice.
Cf. xvi. 80. Allah has given man all these wonderful things in nature and utilities produced by the skill and intelligence which Allah has given to man. Had it not been for these gifts, man's life would have been precarious on sea or land or in the air. It is only Allah's Mercy that saves man from destruction for man's own follies, and that saving or the enjoyment of these utilities and conveniences he should not consider as eternal: they are only given for a time, in this life of probation.
No translation has been selected yet. Please click on the (Compare) link at the top and enable the translations of your choice.
For an explanation of this rendering of the above phrase, see surah {2}, note [247]. In the present instance it apparently denotes men's conscious doings as well as their unconscious or half-conscious motivations.
Man should consider and beware of the consequences of his past, and guard against the consequences in his future. The present is only a fleeting moment poised between the past and the future, and gone even while it is being mentioned or thought about. Man should review his whole life and prepare for the Hereafter. If he does so, Allah is Merciful: He will forgive, and give strength for a better and higher life in the future. But this kind of teaching does not suit those steeped in this ephemeral life. They are bored, and turn away from it, to their own loss.
No translation has been selected yet. Please click on the (Compare) link at the top and enable the translations of your choice.
Or: "no sign of their Sustainer's signs" - since the noun ayah, repeated several times in the preceding passage, denotes "a message" as well as "a sign".
The Signs of Allah are many, in His great world,-in nature, in the heart of man, and in the Revelation sent through His messengers. They turn away from all of them, as a man who has ruined his eyesight turns away from the light.
No translation has been selected yet. Please click on the (Compare) link at the top and enable the translations of your choice.
In Qur'anic usage, the verb anfaqa (lit., "he spent") invariably signifies one's spending on others, or for the good of others, whatever the motive. The ethical importance of this "spending on others" is frequently stressed in the Qur'an, and is embodied in the concept of zakah, which denotes "purifying dues" or, in its broader sense, "charity" (see note [34] on 2:43 ).
To selfish men, the good may make an appeal, and say: "Look! Allah has given you wealth, or influence, or knowledge, or talent. Why not spend some of it in charity, i.e., for the good of your fellow-creatures?" But the selfish only think of themselves and laugh such teaching to scorn.
They are too full of themselves to have a corner in their hearts for others. "If" they say, "Allah gave them nothing, why should we?" There is arrogance in this as well as blasphemy: arrogance in thinking that they are favoured because of their merits, and blasphemy in laying the blame of other people's misfortunes on Allah. They further try to turn the tables on the Believers by pretending that the Believers are entirely on a wrong track. They forget that all men are on probation and trial: they hold their gifts on trust: those apparently less favoured, in that they have fewer of this world's goods, may be really more fortunate, because they are learning patience, self-reliance, and the true value of things ephemeral which is apt to be very much exaggerated in men's eyes.
No translation has been selected yet. Please click on the (Compare) link at the top and enable the translations of your choice.
In addition to the arrogance and blasphemy referred to in the last note, they not only refuse Faith, but they taunt the men of Faith as if the men of Faith were dealing in falsehood: "If there is a Hereafter, tell us when it will be!" The answer is: "It will come sooner than you expect: you will yet be disputing about things of Faith and neglecting your opportunities in Life, when the Hour will sound, and you will have no time even to make your dispositions in this life: you will be cut off from everyone whom you thought to be near and dear to you, or able to help you!"
No translation has been selected yet. Please click on the (Compare) link at the top and enable the translations of your choice.
Lit., "they wait for nothing but a single blast...", etc.
On the Day of Judgment, the Trumpet will be blown by an angel—causing all to die. When it is blown a second time, everyone will be raised from the dead for judgment (see 39:68).
No translation has been selected yet. Please click on the (Compare) link at the top and enable the translations of your choice.
No translation has been selected yet. Please click on the (Compare) link at the top and enable the translations of your choice.
Traditionally, the angel who will sound the Trumpet is Israfil, but the name does not occur in the Qur-an. The Trumpet is mentioned in many places: e.g., vi. 73; lxxviii. 18, etc.
No translation has been selected yet. Please click on the (Compare) link at the top and enable the translations of your choice.
The dead will rise as in a stupor, and they will be confused in the new conditions! They will gradually regain their memory and their personality. They will be reminded that Allah in His grace and mercy had already announced the Hereafter in their probationary lives, and the word of Allah's messengers, which then seemed so strange and remote, was true and was now being fulfilled!
No translation has been selected yet. Please click on the (Compare) link at the top and enable the translations of your choice.
Time and Space, as we know them here, will be no more. The whole gathering will be as in the twinkling of an eye. Cf. xxxvi. 49 above.
No translation has been selected yet. Please click on the (Compare) link at the top and enable the translations of your choice.
The Judgment will be on the highest standard of Justice and Grace. Not the least merit will go unrewarded, though the reward will be for the righteous far more than their deserts. No penalty will be exacted but that which the doer himself by his past deeds brought on himself. Cf. xxviii. 84.
No translation has been selected yet. Please click on the (Compare) link at the top and enable the translations of your choice.
Notice the subtle gradation in the description. First, in this verse, we have the nature of the mise en scene and the nature of the joy therein. It will be a Garden i.e., everything agreeable to see and hear and feel and taste and smell; delightfully green lawns and meadows, trees and shrubs; the murmur of streams and the songs of birds: the delicate texture of flowers and leaves and the shapes of beauty in clouds and mist; the flavours of fruits; and the perfumes of flowers and scents. The joy in the Garden will be an active joy, without fatigue: whatever we do in it, every employment in which we engage there, will be a source of joy without alloy.
No translation has been selected yet. Please click on the (Compare) link at the top and enable the translations of your choice.