Surah 4. An-Nisaa'

How, then, [will the sinners fare on Judgment Day,] when We shall bring forward witnesses from within every community,⁵² and bring thee [O Prophet] as witness against them?

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., the earlier apostles, of whom every community or civilization has had a share.

Just imagine how they will feel when We shall bring a witness from every nation and call upon you , O Muhammad, to testify against them?

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

But how (will it be with them) when we bring of every people a witness, and We bring thee (O Muhammad) a witness against these?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Those who were bent on denying the truth and paid no heed to the Apostle will on that Day wish that the earth would swallow them:⁵³ but they shall not [be able to] conceal from God anything that has happened.

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "become level with them". The term "the apostle" is probably used here in its generic sense, and refers to all the apostles who preached God's message at one time or another.

On that Day (the Day of Judgement) those who rejected faith and disobeyed the Rasool will wish that they were levelled with earth; for they will not be able to hide a single word from Allah!

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

On that day those who disbelieved and disobeyed the messenger will wish that they were level with the ground, and they can hide no fact from Allah.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

0 YOU who have attained to faith! Do not attempt to pray while you are in a state of drunkenness,⁵⁴ [but wait] until you know what you are saying; nor yet [while you are] in a state requiring total ablution,⁵⁵ until you have bathed - except if you are travelling [and are unable to do so]. But if you are ill, or are travelling, or have just satisfied a want of nature,⁵⁶ or have cohabited with a woman, and can find no water - then take resort to pure dust, passing [therewith] lightly over your face and your hands.⁵⁷ Behold, God is indeed an absolver of sins, much-forgiving.

  - Mohammad Asad

The reference to prayer at this place arises from the mention, in the preceding verses, of the Day of Judgment, when man will have to answer before God for what he did during his life in this world: for it is in prayer that man faces God, spiritually, during his earthly life, and reminds himself of his responsibility towards the Creator. As regards the prohibition of attempting to pray "while in a state of drunkenness", some of the commentators assume that this ordinance represented the first stage of the total prohibition of intoxicants, and has been, consequently, "abrogated" by the promulgation of the law of total abstinence from all intoxicants ( 5:90 ). However, quite apart from the fact that the doctrine of "abrogation" is entirely untenable (see surah {2}, note [87]), there is no warrant whatever for regarding the above verse as a "first step" which has become redundant, as it were, after total prohibition was ordained. It is, of course, true that the Qur'an forbids the use of intoxicants at all times, and not merely at the time of prayer; but since "man has been created weak" ( 4:28 ), his lapse from the way of virtue is always a possibility: and it is to prevent him from adding the sin of praying while in a state of drunkenness to the sin of using intoxicants as such that the above verse was promulgated. Moreover, the expression "while you are in a state of drunkenness (sukara)" does not apply exclusively to alcoholic intoxication, since the term sukr, in its wider connotation, signifies any state of mental disequilibrium which prevents man from making full use of his intellectual faculties: that is to say, it can apply also to a temporary clouding of the intellect by drugs or giddiness or passion, as well as to the state metaphorically described as "drunk with sleep" - in brief, to any condition in which normal judgment is confused or suspended. And because the Qur'an insists throughout on consciousness as an indispensable element in every act of worship, prayer is permitted only when man is in full possession of his mental faculties and "knows what he is saying".

I.e., after sexual intercourse. The term junub (rendered by me as "in a state requiring total ablution") is derived from the verb janaba, "he made [a thing] remote", and signifies one's "remoteness" from prayer because of immersion in sexual passion.

Lit., "if one of you comes from the place in which one satisfies...", etc.

This symbolic ablution, called tayammum, consists in touching the earth, or anything supposed to contain dust, with the palms of one's hands and then passing them lightly over face and hands. Whenever water is not within reach - or cannot be used because of illness - the tayammum takes the place of both the total ablution after sexual intercourse (ghusl) and the partial ablution before prayers (wudu').

O believers! Do not offer your Salah when you are drunk until you know what you are saying; nor after seminal emission, except when you are travelling, unless you wash your whole body. If you are sick, or on a journey, or one of you has used the toilet, or has had contact with women (sexual relation with wives) and can find no water, then make Tayammum: take some clean earth and rub your faces and hands with it. Allah is Lenient, Forgiving.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

O ye who believe! Draw not near unto prayer when ye are drunken, till ye know that which ye utter, nor when ye are polluted, save when journeying upon the road, till ye have bathed. And if ye be ill, or on a journey, or one of you cometh from the closet, or ye have touched women, and ye find not water, than go to high clean soil and rub your faces and your hands (therewith). Lo! Allah is Benign, Forgiving.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

ART THOU NOT aware of those who, having been granted their share of the divine writ,⁵⁸ now barter it away for error, and want you [too] to lose your way

  - Mohammad Asad

The people referred to are the followers of the Bible. Thus, after having touched in the preceding verse upon the question of prayer, the Qur'an resumes its cardinal theme: man's responsibility for his actions and, in particular, for the manner in which he responds to the guidance offered to him through God's revelations.

Have you not considered the case of those to whom a portion of the Book was given? They purchased error for themselves and wish to see you lose the Right Way.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Seest thou not those unto whom a portion of the Scripture hath been given, how they purchase error, and seek to make you (Muslims) err from the right way?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

But God knows best who are your enemies: and none can befriend as God does, and none can give succour as God does.

  - Mohammad Asad

Allah knows your enemies very well. Sufficient is Allah to protect you, and Sufficient is Allah to help you.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Allah knoweth best (who are) your enemies. Allah is sufficient as a Friend, and Allah is sufficient as a Helper.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Among those of the Jewish faith there are some who distort the meaning of the [revealed] words, taking them out of their context and saying [as it were,] "We have heard, but we disobey," and "Hear without hearkening,"⁵⁹ and, "Hearken thou unto us, [O Muhammad]" - thus making a play with their tongues, and implying that the [true] Faith is false.⁶⁰ And had they but said, "We have heard, and we pay heed," and "Hear [us], and have patience with us," it would indeed have been for their own good, and more upright: but God has rejected them because of their refusal to acknowledge the truth - for it is in but few things that they believe.⁶¹

  - Mohammad Asad

Cf. 2:93 . The figure of speech "hear without hearkening" addressed, as it were, by the Jews to themselves, describes their attitude towards both their own scriptures and the message of the Qur'an.

Lit., "making a thrust (ta'n) against the Faith" - i.e., attributing to it a fundamental defect. The saying "Hearken thou unto us" is meant to convey the conviction of the Jews that they had nothing to learn from the teaching propounded by the Prophet Muhammad, and that he should rather defer to their views on religious matters. See, in this connection, their assertion, "Our hearts are already full of knowledge", in 2:88 .

See surah {2}, note [74].

Among the Jews there are some who take the words out of their context and utter them with a twist of their tongues to slander the true Deen (faith) and say: "We hear and we disobey;" and "Hear, may you (O Muhammad) hear nothing!" And "Ra'ina" (an ambiguous word meaning: "listen, may you become deaf," or "our shepherd," or "in judeo-Arabic language conveying the sense of "our evil one"). If only they had said: "We hear and we obey;" and "Hear us;" and "Unzurna ("look upon us," or " pay attention to us"): it would have been better for them and more proper. Due to all this Allah has cursed them for their unbelief. In fact with the exception of a few, they have no faith.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Some of those who are Jews change words from their context and say: "We hear and disobey; hear thou as one who heareth not" and "Listen to us!" distorting with their tongues and slandering religion. If they had said: "We hear and we obey; hear thou, and look at us" it had been better for them, and more upright. But Allah hath cursed them for their disbelief, so they believe not, save a few.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

O you who have been granted revelation [aforetime]! Believe in what We have [now] bestowed from on high in confirmation of whatever [of the truth] you already possess, lest We efface your hopes and bring them to an end⁶² - just as We rejected those people who broke the Sabbath: for God's will is always done.⁶³

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "lest We obliterate the faces" - i.e., that towards which one turns, or that which one faces, with expectation ('Abduh in Manar V, 144 ff.) - "and bring them back to their ends". It is to be noted that the term dubur (of which adbar is the plural) does not always signify the "back" of a thing - as most of the translators assume - but often stands for its "last part" or "end" (cf. Lane III, 846).

This is an allusion to the story of the Sabbath-breakers (lit., "the people of the Sabbath") referred to in 2:65 and fully explained in {7:163-166}.

O people of the Book (Jews and Christians)! Believe in what We have now revealed (The Qur'an), confirming your own scriptures, before We obliterate your faces and turn them backward, or lay Our curse on you as We laid Our curse on the Sabbath-breakers: and remember that Allah's command is always executed.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

O ye unto whom the Scripture hath been given! Believe in what We have revealed concerning that which ye possess, before We destroy countenances so as to confound them, or curse them as We cursed the Sabbath breakers (of old time). The commandment of Allah is always executed.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

VERILY, God does not forgive the ascribing of divinity to aught beside Him, although He forgives any lesser sin⁶⁴ unto whomever He wills: for he who ascribes divinity to aught beside God has indeed contrived an awesome sin.⁶⁵

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "anything below that".

The continuous stress, in the Qur'an, on God's transcendental oneness and uniqueness aims at freeing man from all sense of dependence on other influences and powers, and thus at elevating him spiritually and bringing about the "purification" alluded to in the next verse. Since this objective is vitiated by the sin of shirk ("the ascribing of divine qualities to aught beside God") the Qur'an describes it as "unforgivable" so long as it is persisted in, i.e., unless and until the sinner repents (cf. verses {17} and {18} of this surah).

Surely Allah does not forgive shirk (associating any partner with Him); and may forgive sins other than that if He so pleases. This is because one who commits shirk with Allah, does indeed invent a great sinful lie.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Lo! Allah forgiveth not that a partner should be ascribed unto Him. He forgiveth (all) save that to whom He will. Whoso ascribeth partners to Allah, he hath indeed invented a tremendous sin.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Art thou not aware of those who consider themselves pure?⁶⁶ Nay, but it is God who causes whomever He wills to grow in purity; and none shall be wronged by as much as a hair's breadth.⁶⁷

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., the Jews, who consider themselves to be "God's chosen people" and, therefore, a priori destined for God's grace, and the Christians, who believe in Jesus' "vicarious atonement" for the sins of mankind. There is also an obvious connection between this observation and the reference to shirk in the preceding verse, inasmuch as the Jews and the Christians, while not actually believing in the existence of any deity apart from God, ascribe divine or semi-divine qualities, in varying degrees, to certain human beings: the Christians by their elevation of Jesus to the status of a manifestation of God in human form and their open worship of a hierarchy of saints, and the Jews by their attribution of law-giving powers to the great Talmudic scholars, whose legal verdicts are supposed to override, if need be, any ordinance of the scriptures (cf. in this respect 9:31 ). It goes without saying that this condemnation applies also to those Muslims who have fallen into the sin of worshipping saints and according them something of the reverence which is due to God alone. Consequently, the expression "those who consider themselves pure" comprises, in this context, all who think of themselves as believing in the One God (simply because they do not consciously worship a plurality of deities) but are, nevertheless, guilty of the sin of shirk in the deeper sense of this term.

According to most of the philological authorities (e.g., Qamus), a fatil is any "slender thread which one rolls between one's fingers" - a term which is also, but by no means exclusively, applied to the tiny fibre adhering to the cleft of the date-stone (cf. Lane Vl, 2334). Idiomatically, it is best rendered as "a hair's breadth". The above passage implies, firstly, that spiritual purity is not the privilege of any particular group or community, and, secondly, that one can become or remain pure only by God's grace, for "man has been created weak" (verse {28} above). See also note [27] on the second paragraph of 53:32 .

Have you not seen those who speak very highly of their own purity even though they are committing shirk. In fact, Allah purifies whom He wishes. If the mushrikin are not purified no injustice, even equal to the thread of a date-stone, is being done to them.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Hast thou not seen those who praise themselves for purity? Nay, Allah purifieth whom He will, and they will not be wronged even the hair upon a date stone.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Behold how they attribute their own lying inventions to God - than which there is no sin more obvious.⁶⁸

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "and this is enough as an obvious sin". This passage refers to various theological statements of an arbitrary nature, such as the Jewish assertion that they are "the chosen people" and, thus, immune from God's condemnation; the Christian doctrine of "vicarious atonement", the definition of God as a "trinity" with Jesus as its "second person"; and so forth.

See how they invent a lie against Allah, and this in itself is enough to show their manifest sin.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

See, how they invent lies about Allah! That of itself is flagrant sin.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Art thou not aware of those who, having been granted their share of the divine writ, [now] believe in baseless mysteries and in the powers of evil,⁶⁹ and maintain that those who are bent on denying the truth are more surely guided than those who have attained to faith?

  - Mohammad Asad

The word al-jibt - rendered by me as "baseless mysteries" - is probably, as the Lisan al-'Arab points out, of non-Arabic origin. It denotes, according to some authorities, "something which is worthless in itself" or "something in which there is no good" (Qamus, Baydawi); according to others, it signifies "enchantment" ('Umar ibn al-Khattab, Mujahid and Sha'bi, as quoted by Tabari; also Qamus); others, again, interpret it as "anything that is worshipped instead of God" (Zamakhshari), and consequently apply it also to idols and idol-worship (Qamus, Lisan al-'Arab) and - according to a Tradition quoted by Abu Da'ud - to all manner of superstitious divination and soothsaying as well. Taking all these interpretations into account, al-jibt may be defined as "a combination of confusing ideas (dijl), fanciful surmises (awham) and fictitious stories (khurafat)" (Manar V, 157) - in other words, abstruse mysteries without any foundation in fact. - As regards the expression "the powers of evil" (at-taghut), it seems to refer here to superstitious beliefs and practices - like soothsaying, foretelling the future, relying on "good" and "bad" omens, and so forth - all of which are condemned by the Qur'an. See also surah {2}, note [250].

Have you not seen those who were given a portion of the Book? They believe in superstition and Taghut (forces of Shaitan) and say about the unbelievers that they are better guided to the Right Way than the believers!

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Hast thou not seen those unto whom a portion of the Scripture hath been given, how they believe in idols and false deities, and bow they say of those (idolaters) who disbelieve: "These are more rightly guided than those who believe?"

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

It is they whom God has rejected: and he whom God rejects shall find none to succour him.

  - Mohammad Asad

Those are the ones whom Allah has cursed, and the one who is cursed by Allah can find no helper.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Those are they whom Allah hath cursed, and he whom Allah hath cursed, thou (O Muhammad) wilt find for him no helper.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Have they, perchance, a share in [God's] dominion?⁷⁰ But [if they had], lo, they would not give to other people as much as [would fill] the groove of a date-stone!

  - Mohammad Asad

An allusion to the Jewish belief that they occupy a privileged position in the sight of God.

Do they have a share in the kingdom? If they had any share they would have not given other people equal to a speck on a date-stone.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Or have they even a share in the Sovereignty? Then in that case, they would not give mankind even the speck on a date stone.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Do they, perchance, envy other people for what God has granted them out of His bounty?⁷¹ But then, We did grant revelation and wisdom unto the House of Abraham, and We did bestow on them a mighty dominion:

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., revelation, which - according to the Jews - has been reserved to them alone.

Or do they envy other people because Allah has given them from His grace? If so, let them know that We did give the Book and Wisdom to the descendants of Ibrahim (Abraham), and blessed them with a great kingdom.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Or are they jealous of mankind because of that which Allah of His bounty hath bestowed upon them? For We bestowed upon the house of Abraham (of old) the Scripture and Wisdom, and We bestowed on them a mighty kingdom.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

and among them are such as [truly] believe in him,⁷² and among them are such as have turned away from him. And nothing could be as burning as [the fire of] hell:

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., in Abraham - implying that they are faithful to his message. It is to be borne in mind that the Prophet Muhammad, too, was a direct-line descendant of Abraham, whose message is confirmed and continued in the Qur'an.

But some of them believed in it and some turned away. Sufficient is hell to burn those who turned away.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And of them were (some) who believed therein and of them were (some) who disbelieved therein. Hell is sufficient for (their) burning.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall