Surah 47. Muhammad

and most certainly We shall try you all, so that We might mark out³⁷ those of you who strive hard [in Our cause] and are patient in adversity: for We shall put to a test [the truth of] all your assertions.³⁸

  - Mohammad Asad

Cf. 3:140 , where the verb 'alama has been rendered in the same way.

Lit., "your announcements" - i.e., all assertions relating to belief. The "test" consists in one's readiness to undergo any sacrifice - and, since most of this surah deals with the problem of a just war (Jihad) in God's cause - even the sacrifice of one's life.

We shall put you to test until We know the valiant and the resolute among you, and test all that is said about you.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And verily We shall try you till We know those of you who strive hard (for the cause of Allah) and the steadfast, and till We test your record.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Verily, they who are bent on denying the truth and on barring [others] from the path of God, and [who thus] cut themselves off from the Apostle³⁹ after guidance has been vouchsafed to them, can in no wise harm God; but He will cause all their deeds to come to nought.

  - Mohammad Asad

For the above rendering of shaqqu, see note [16] on 8:13 . The "cutting oneself off" from the Apostle signifies, of course, a rejection of his message, and, in this particular context, a refusal to follow the Qur'anic call to fight in a just cause, i.e., in defence of the Faith or of freedom (see note [167] on 2:190 ).

The unbelievers who obstruct others from the Way of Allah and disputed the Rasool after the guidance has become clear to them shall in no way harm Allah; as a result, he will bring their deeds to nothing.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Lo! those who disbelieve and turn from the way of Allah and oppose the messenger after the guidance hath been manifested unto them, they hurt Allah not a jot, and He will make their actions fruitless.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

O you who have attained to faith! Pay heed unto God, and pay heed unto the Apostle, and let not your [good] deeds come to nought!

  - Mohammad Asad

O believers! Obey Allah and obey His Rasool, and do not let your deeds come to nothing.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

O ye who believe! Obey Allah and obey the messenger, and render not your actions vain.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Verily, as for those who are bent on denying the truth and on barring [others] from the path of God, and then die as deniers of the truth - indeed,God will not grant them forgiveness!

  - Mohammad Asad

Those who disbelieve and obstruct the Way of Allah and die while they were still disbelievers, Allah will never forgive them.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Lo! those who disbelieve and turn from the way of Allah and then die disbelievers, Allah surely will not pardon them.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

AND SO, [when you fight in a just cause,] do not lose heart and [never] beg for peace: for, seeing that God is with you, you are bound to rise high [in the end];⁴⁰ and never will He let your [good] deeds go to waste.

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., even if the fortunes of war go against them, the consciousness of having fought in the cause of truth and justice is bound to enhance the inner strength of the believers and, thus, to become a source of their future greatness: cf. 3:139 .

Therefore, do not be fainthearted crying for peace, for you will surely gain the upper hand. Allah is on your side and will never let your deeds be wasted.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

So do not falter and cry out for peace when ye (will be) the uppermost, and Allah is with you, and He will not grudge (the reward of) your actions.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

The life of this world is but a play and a passing delight: but if you believe [in God] and are conscious of Him, He will grant you your deserts. And withal, He does not demand of you [to sacrifice in His cause all of] your possessions:⁴¹

  - Mohammad Asad

Although the life of this world is "but a play and a passing delight", God does not want to deprive the believers of its rightful enjoyment: and so He expects them to sacrifice only a small part of their possessions in His cause. This passage evidently foreshadows the imposition of the obligatory annual tax called zakah ("the purifying dues"), amounting to about 22 percent of a Muslims's income and property, as pointed out by most of the classical commentators in connection with the above verse (hence my interpolation). The proceeds of this tax are to be utilized in what the Qur'an describes as "the cause [lit., "way"] of God", i.e., for the defence and propagation of the Faith and the welfare of the community; and its spiritual purpose is the "purification" of a Muslim's possessions from the blemish of greed and selfishness. (It is to be noted that the payment of zakah was made obligatory at the very beginning of the Medina period, that is, at approximately the same time as the revelation of the present surah.)

The life of this world is but play and amusement. If you believe and follow the way of piety, He will grant you your rewards and will not ask you to give up your possessions.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

The life of the world is but a sport and a pastime. And if ye believe and ward off (evil), He will give you your wages, and will not ask of you your worldly wealth.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[for,] if He were to demand of you all of them, and urge you,⁴² you would niggardly cling [to them], and so He would [but] bring out your moral failings.⁴³

  - Mohammad Asad

Sc., "to divest yourselves of all your possessions".

For my rendering of adghan as "moral failings", see note [37]. In the present context. this term has more or less the same meaning as the term fujur in 91:8 . The implication is that since "man has been created weak" ( 4:28 ), the imposition of too great a burden on the believers would be self-defeating inasmuch as it might result not in an increase of faith but, rather, in its diminution. This passage illustrates the supreme realism of the Qur'an, which takes into account human nature as it is, with all its God-willed complexity and its inner contradictions, and does not therefore, postulate a priori an impossible ideal as a norm of human behaviour. (Cf. 91:8 , which speaks of man's personality as "imbued with moral failings as well as consciousness of God" - a phrase which is explained in the corresponding note [6].)

If He were to demand all of your possessions and press you for it, you would grow stingy, and He would bring out all your malice.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

If He should ask it of you and importune you, ye would hoard it, and He would bring to light your (secret) hates.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Behold, [O believers,] it is you who are called upon to spend freely in God's cause: but [even] among you are such as turn out to be niggardly! And yet, he who acts niggardly [in God's cause] is but niggardly towards his own self: for God is indeed self-sufficient, whereas you stand in need [of Him]; and if you turn away [from Him], He will cause other people to take your place, and they will not be the likes of you!

  - Mohammad Asad

Behold, you are those who are being asked to give in the cause of Allah. Yet some of you are stingy, whereas whoever is stingy to His cause, is in fact stingy to himself. Allah is self sufficient, it is you who are needy. If you turn away He will replace you by some other folk; who will not be like you.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Lo! ye are those who are called to spend in the way of Allah, yet among you there are some who hoard. And as for him who hoardeth, he hoardeth only from his soul. And Allah is the Rich, and ye are the poor. And if ye turn away He will exchange you for some other folk, and they will not be the likes of you.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall