Surah 53. An-Najm

For, however many angels there be in the heavens, their intercession can be of no least avail [to anyone] - except after God has given leave [to intercede] for whomever He wills and with whom He is well-pleased.¹⁹

  - Mohammad Asad

For an explanation of the Qur'anic concept of "intercession", see note [7] on 10:3 , as well as notes [26] and [27] on 10:18 .

How many are the angels in the heavens; yet their intercession can avail none unless Allah gives them permission in favor of whom He wants and is pleased with.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And how many angels are in the heavens whose intercession availeth naught save after Allah giveth leave to whom He chooseth and accepteth!

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Behold, it is [only] such as do not [really] believe in the life to come that regard the angels as female beings;²⁰

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "that name the angels with a female name" - i.e., think of them as being endowed with sex and/or as being "God's daughters". As the Qur'an points out in many places, the people spoken of in this context do believe in life after death, inasmuch as they express the hope that the angels and the imaginary deities which they worship will "mediate" between them and God, and will "intercede" for them. However, their belief is far too vague to make them realize that the quality of man's life in the hereafter does not depend on such outside factors but is causally, and directly, connected with the manner of his life in this world: and so the Qur'an declares that their attitude is, for all practical purposes, not much different from the attitude of people who reject the idea of a hereafter altogether.

Those who do not believe in the hereafter give the angels the female names of goddesses.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Lo! it is those who disbelieve in the Hereafter who name the angels with the names of females.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

and [since] they have no knowledge whatever thereof,²¹ they follow nothing but surmise: yet, behold, never can surmise take the place of truth.

  - Mohammad Asad

Namely, of the real nature and function of the category of beings spoken of in the Qur'an as angels, inasmuch as they belong to the realm of al-ghayb, "that which is beyond the reach of human perception". Alternatively, the pronoun in bihi may relate to God, in which case the phrase could be rendered as "they have no knowledge whatever of Him" - implying that both the attribution of "progeny" to Him and the belief that His judgment depends on, or could be influenced by, "mediation" or "intercession" is the result of an anthropomorphic concept of God and, therefore, far removed from the truth.

But they have no knowledge of it. They follow mere conjecture; and surely conjecture does not avail against the truth at all.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And they have no knowledge thereof. They follow but a guess, and lo! a guess can never take the place of the truth.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Avoid thou, therefore, those who turn away from all remembrance of Us and care for no more than the life of this world,

  - Mohammad Asad

Therefore, neglect those who ignore Our warnings and seek only the life of this world.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Then withdraw (O Muhammad) from him who fleeth from Our remembrance and desireth but the life of the world.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

which, to them, is the only thing worth knowing.²² Behold, thy Sustainer is fully aware as to who has strayed from His path, and fully aware is He as to who follows His guidance.

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "that is their sum-total [or "goal"] of knowledge".

This is the sum of their knowledge. Surely your Rabb knows who have strayed from His path, and who are rightly guided.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Such is their sum of knowledge. Lo! thy Lord is best aware of him who strayeth, and He is best aware of him who goeth right.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Indeed, unto God belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth: and so He will reward those who do evil in accordance with what they did, and will reward those who do good with ultimate good.²³

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., whereas good deeds will be rewarded with far more than their merits may warrant, evil will be recompensed with no more than its equivalent (cf. 6:160 ); and either will be decided by the Almighty without the need of "mediation" or "intercession".

To Allah belongs all that is in the heavens and in the earth; so that He may requite the evildoers according to their deeds, and richly reward those who do good deeds.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And unto Allah belongeth whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth, that He may reward those who do evil with that which they have done, and reward those who do good with goodness.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

As for those who avoid the [truly] grave sins and shameful deeds - even though they may sometimes stumble²⁴ - behold, thy Sustainer is abounding in forgiveness. He is fully aware of you²⁵ when He brings you in to being out of dust,²⁶ and when you are still hidden in your mothers' wombs: do not, then, consider yourselves pure - [for] He knows best as to who is conscious of Him.²⁷

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "save for a touch [thereof]": a phrase which may be taken to mean "an occasional stumbling into sin" - i.e., not deliberately-followed by sincere repentance (Baghawi, Razi, Ibn Kathir).

Sc., "and of your inborn weakness" - an implied echo of the statement that "man has been created weak" ( 4:28 ) and, therefore, liable to stumble into sinning.

Lit., "out of the earth": see second half of note [47] on 3:59 , as well as note [4] on 23:12 .

I.e., "never boast about your own purity", but remain humble and remember that "it is God who causes whomever He wills to remain pure" ( 4:49 ).

To those who avoid the major sins and shameful deeds and are guilty of only small offence, surely for them your Rabb will have abundant forgiveness. He knew you well when He created you from earth and when you were just embryos in your mother's wombs, therefore, do not claim piety for yourselves. He knows best who is really Godfearing pious.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Those who avoid enormities of sin and abominations, save the unwilled offences (for them) lo! thy Lord is of vast mercy. He is best aware of you (from the time) when He created you from the earth, and when ye were hidden in the bellies of your mothers. Therefor ascribe not purity unto yourselves. He is best aware of him who wardeth off (evil).

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

HAST THOU, then, ever considered him who turns away [from remembering Us, and cares for no more than the life of this world],

  - Mohammad Asad

Have you seen the one who (Walid bin Mughirah, who was willing to embrace Islam, but upon someone's promise to take the responsibility of getting the punishment on his behalf in lieu of certain amount of money, he) turned away.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Didst thou (O Muhammad) observe him who turned away,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

and gives so little [of himself for the good of his soul], and so grudgingly?²⁸

  - Mohammad Asad

My rendering of the above two verses (together with the two interpolations between brackets) is based on Razi's convincing interpretation of this passage as a return to the theme touched upon in verses 29-30.

He gave a little from the promised amount then stopped.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And gave a little, then was grudging?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Does he [claim to] have knowledge of something that is beyond the reach of human perception, so that he can see [it clearly]?²⁹

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., "How can he be so sure that there is no life in the hereafter, and no judgment?"

Does he possess the knowledge of the unseen that he could see reality?

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Hath he knowledge of the Unseen so that he seeth?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Or has he never yet been told of what was [said] in the revelations of Moses,

  - Mohammad Asad

Or has he not been notified about what was in the scrolls of Musa (Moses)

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Or hath he not had news of what is in the books of Moses

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

and of Abraham, who to his trust was true:³⁰

  - Mohammad Asad

Cf. 2:124 and the corresponding note [100]. It is obvious that the names of Abraham and Moses are cited here only by way of example, drawing attention to the fact that all through human history God has entrusted His elect, the prophets, with the task of conveying certain unchangeable ethical truths to man.

and of Ibrahim (Abraham) who always kept his word:

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And Abraham who paid his debt:

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

that no bearer of burdens shall be made to bear another's burden;³¹

  - Mohammad Asad

This basic ethical law appears in the Qur'an five times - in 6:164 , 17:15 , 35:18 , 39:7 , as well as in the above instance, which is the oldest in the chronology of revelation. Its implication is threefold: firstly, it expresses a categorical rejection of the Christian doctrine of the "original sin" with which every human being is allegedly burdened from birth; secondly, it refutes the idea that a person's sins could be "atoned for" by a saint's or a prophet's redemptive sacrifice (as evidenced, for instance, in the Christian doctrine of Jesus' vicarious atonement for mankind's sinfulness, or in the earlier, Persian doctrine of man's vicarious redemption by Mithras); and, thirdly, it denies, by implication, the possibility of any "mediation" between the sinner and God.

"That no soul shall bear the burden of another,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

That no laden one shall bear another's load,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

and that nought shall be accounted unto man but what he is striving for;³²

  - Mohammad Asad

Cf. the basic, extremely well-authenticated saying of the Prophet, "Actions will be [judged] only according to the conscious intentions [which prompted them]; and unto everyone will be accounted only what he consciously intended", i.e., while doing whatever he did. This Tradition is quoted by Bukhari in seven places - the first one as a kind of introduction to his Sahih - as well as by Muslim, Tirmidhi, Abu Da'ud, Nasa'i (in four places), Ibn Majah, Ibn Hanbal, and several other compilations. In this connection it is to be noted that in the ethics of the Qur'an, the term "action" ('amal) comprises also a deliberate omission of actions, whether good or bad, as well as a deliberate voicing of beliefs, both righteous and sinful: in short, everything that man consciously aims at and expresses by word or deed.

that there shall be nothing for a man except what he strive for,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And that man hath only that for which be maketh effort,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

and that in time [the nature of] all his striving will be shown [to him in its true light],³³

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "his striving will be seen", i.e., on the Day of Judgment, when - as the Qur'an states in many places - God "will make you [truly] understand all that you were doing [in life]".

that his striving shall be scrutinized,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And that his effort will be seen,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall