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Surah 55. Ar-Rahman

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55:11
فِيهَا فَـٰكِهَةٌ وَٱلنَّخْلُ ذَاتُ ٱلْأَكْمَامِ Feeh a f a kihatun wa al nnakhlu tha tu alakm a m i
with fruit thereon, and palm trees with sheathed clusters [of dates],
  - Mohammad Asad
with all its fruits and palms having sheathed clusters,
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
In it are fruit, palm trees with date stalks,
  - Mustafa Khattab
Wherein are fruit and sheathed palm trees
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Therein is fruit and date-palms producing spathes (enclosing dates):
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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55:12
وَٱلْحَبُّ ذُو ٱلْعَصْفِ وَٱلرَّيْحَانُ Wa a l h abbu th oo alAAa s fi wa al rray ha n i
and grain growing tall on its stalks, and sweet-smelling plants.
  - Mohammad Asad
and grain with husk and scented herbs.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
and grain with husks, and aromatic plants.
  - Mustafa Khattab
Husked grain and scented herb.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Also corn with (its) leaves and stalk for fodder and sweet-smelling plants.
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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55:13
فَبِأَىِّ ءَالَآءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ Fabiayyi a l a i rabbikum a tuka thth ib a n i
Which, then, of your Sustainer's powers can you disavow?4
  - Mohammad Asad

The majority of the classical commentators interpret the dual form of address appearing in this phrase - rabbikuma ("the Sustainer of you two") and tukadhdhiban ("do you [or "can you"] two disavow") - as relating to the worlds of men and of the "invisible beings" (jinn - see Appendix III); but the most obvious explanation (mentioned, among others, by Razi) is that it refers to the two categories of human beings, men and women, to both of whom the Qur'an is addressed. The plural noun ala', rendered by me as "powers", signifies literally "blessings" or "bounties"; but as the above refrain, which is repeated many times in this surah, bears not only on the bounties which God bestows on His creation but, more generally, on all manifestations of His creativeness and might, some of the earliest commentators - e.g., Ibn Zayd, as quoted by Tabari - regard the term ala', in this context, as synonymous with qudrah ("power" or "powers").

So, O jinn and men, which of your Rabb’s favors will both of you deny?
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
Then which of your Lord's favours will you 'humans and jinn' both deny?1
  - Mustafa Khattab

 This question is repeated thirty-one times in this sûrah: eight times after reminders of Allah’s favours, seven times in the passage talking about the punishment of the deniers of judgment (which is the number of the gates of Hell), and eight times in each of the two following passages talking about Paradise, which has eight gates.

Which is it, of the favors of your Lord, that ye deny?
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Then which of the favors of your Lord will ye deny? 5180
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Both the pronoun "your" and the verb "will ye deny" are in the Arabic in the Dual Number. The whole Sura is a symphony of Duality, which leads up to Unity, as explained in the Introduction. All creation is in pairs: li. 49, and notes 5025-26; xxxvi. 36, n. 3981. Justice is the conciliation of two opposites to unity, the settlement of the unending feud between Right and Wrong. The things and concepts mentioned in this Sura are in pairs: man and outer nature; sun and moon; herbs and trees; heaven and earth; fruit and corn; human food and fodder for cattle; things nourishing and things sweet-smelling; and so on throughout the Sura. Then there is man and Jinn, for which see n. 5182 below. "Will ye deny?" that is, fail to acknowledge either in word or thought or in your conduct. If you misuse Allah's gifts or ignore them, that is equivalent to ingratitude or denial or refusal to profit by Allah's infinite Grace.

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55:14
خَلَقَ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ مِن صَلْصَـٰلٍ كَٱلْفَخَّارِ Khalaqa alins a na min s al sa lin ka a lfakhkh a r i
He has created man out of sounding clay, like pottery,5
  - Mohammad Asad

See 15:26 and the corresponding note [24].

He created man from sounding clay similar to pottery,
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
He created humankind from 'sounding' clay like pottery,
  - Mustafa Khattab
He created man of clay like the potter's,
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
He created man from sounding clay like unto pottery. 5181
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

See n. 1966 to xv. 26. The creation of men and Jinns is contrasted. Man was made of sounding clay, dry and brittle like pottery. The Jinn (see next note) was made from a clear flame of fire. Yet each has capacities and possibilities which only Allah's Grace bestows on them. How can they deny Allah's favours?

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55:15
وَخَلَقَ ٱلْجَآنَّ مِن مَّارِجٍ مِّن نَّارٍ Wakhalaqa alj a nna min m a rijin min n a r in
whereas the invisible beings He has created out of a confusing flame of fire.6
  - Mohammad Asad

Cf. 15:27 - "the fire of scorching winds (nar as-samum)" - thus stressing their non-corporeal origin and composition. The significance of the term jinn ("invisible beings") has been touched upon briefly in note [86] on 6:100 and note [67] on 37:158 ; for a more detailed explanation, see Appendix III.

and created jinns from smokeless fire.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
and created jinn from a 'smokeless' flame of fire.
  - Mustafa Khattab
And the Jinn did He create of smokeless fire.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
And He created Jinns from fire free of smoke: 5182
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

For the meaning of Jinn, see n. 929 to vi. 100. They are spirits, and therefore subtle like a flame of fire. Their being free from smoke implies that they are free from grossness, for smoke is the grosser accompaniment of fire.

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55:16
فَبِأَىِّ ءَالَآءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ Fabiayyi a l a i rabbikum a tuka thth ib a n i
Which, then, of your Sustainer's powers can you disavow?
  - Mohammad Asad
So, O jinn and men, which of your Rabb’s favors will both of you deny?
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
Then which of your Lord's favours will you both deny?
  - Mustafa Khattab
Which is it, of the favors of your Lord, that ye deny?
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Then which of the favors of your Lord will ye deny? 5183
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Part of the idea of this refrain will be found in xvi. 71, 72; xl. 81; and liii. 55 (where see n. 5122).

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55:17
رَبُّ ٱلْمَشْرِقَيْنِ وَرَبُّ ٱلْمَغْرِبَيْنِ Rabbu almashriqayni warabbu almaghribayn i
[He is] the Sustainer of the two farthest points of sunrise, and the Sustainer of the two farthest points of sunset.7
  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., of the extreme points of sunrise and sunset in summer and in winter (see 37:5 and 70:40 ), including "all that is between them": a metonym for God's being the Ultimate Cause of the orbital movement within the universe.

He is Rabb of the two easts and the Rabb of the two wests.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
'He is' Lord of the two easts and the two wests.1
  - Mustafa Khattab

 The two points of sunrise and sunset in the summer and the winter.

Lord of the two Easts, and Lord of the two Wests!
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
(He is) Lord of the two Easts and Lord of the two Wests: 5184
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The two Easts are the two extreme points where the sun rises during the year, and includes all the points between. Similarly the two Wests include the two extreme points of the sun's setting and all the points between. The Dual Number fits with the general atmosphere of Duality in this Sura. Allah is Lord of every region of the earth and sky, and He scatters His bounties everywhere. See also n. 4641 to xliii. 38, and n. 4034 to xxxvii. 5.

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55:18
فَبِأَىِّ ءَالَآءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ Fabiayyi a l a i rabbikum a tuka thth ib a n i
Which, then, of your Sustainer's powers can you disavow?
  - Mohammad Asad
So, O jinn and men, which of your Rabb’s favors will both of you deny?
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
Then which of your Lord's favours will you both deny?
  - Mustafa Khattab
Which is it, of the favors of your Lord, that ye deny?
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Then which of the favors of your Lord will ye deny?
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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55:19
مَرَجَ ٱلْبَحْرَيْنِ يَلْتَقِيَانِ Maraja alba h rayni yaltaqiy a n i
He has given freedom to the two great bodies of water, so that they might meet:
  - Mohammad Asad
He has made the two oceans apparently meeting together,
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
He merges the two bodies of 'fresh and salt' water,
  - Mustafa Khattab
He hath loosed the two seas. They meet.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
He has let free the two bodies of flowing water meeting together: 5185
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

See xxv. 53, and n. 3111, where it is explained how the two bodies of water, salt and sweet, meet together, yet keep separate, as if there was a barrier or partition between them. This is also one of the favours of Allah. Sea-water is a sanitating agent, while fresh water is sweet and palatable to drink.

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55:20
بَيْنَهُمَا بَرْزَخٌ لَّا يَبْغِيَانِ Baynahum a barzakhun l a yabghiy a n i
[yet] between them is a barrier which they may not transgress.8
  - Mohammad Asad

See 25:53 and the corresponding notes [41] and [42].

yet between them is a barrier which they cannot cross.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
yet between them is a barrier they never cross.1
  - Mustafa Khattab

 See footnote for 25:53.

There is a barrier between them. They encroach not (one upon the other).
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Between them is a Barrier which they do not transgress:
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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55:21
فَبِأَىِّ ءَالَآءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ Fabiayyi a l a i rabbikum a tuka thth ib a n i
Which, then, of your Sustainer's powers can you disavow?
  - Mohammad Asad
So, O jinn and men, which of your Rabb’s favors will both of you deny?
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
Then which of your Lord's favours will you both deny?
  - Mustafa Khattab
Which is it, of the favors of your Lord: that ye deny?
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Then which of the favors of your Lord will ye deny?
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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55:22
يَخْرُجُ مِنْهُمَا ٱللُّؤْلُؤُ وَٱلْمَرْجَانُ Yakhruju minhum a alluluo wa a lmarj a n u
Out of these two [bodies of water] come forth pearls, both great and small.
  - Mohammad Asad
He produces pearls and coral from both of them.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
Out of both 'waters' come forth pearls and coral.
  - Mustafa Khattab
There cometh forth from both of them the pearl and coral stone.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Out of them come Pearls and Coral: 5186
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Pearls are produced by the oyster and coral by the polyp, a minute marine creature, which, working in millions, has by its secretions produced the reefs, islands, and banks in and on both sides of the Red Sea and in other parts of the world. The pearl has a translucent lustre, usually white, but sometimes pink or black. Coral is usually opaque, red or pink, but often white, and is seen in beautiful branching or cup-like shapes as visitors to Port Sudan will recall. Both are used as gems and stand here for gems generally. Mineral gems, such as agate and cornelian, are found in river-beds. Pearl oysters are also found in some rivers.

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55:23
فَبِأَىِّ ءَالَآءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ Fabiayyi a l a i rabbikum a tuka thth ib a ni
Which, then, of your Sustainer's powers can you disavow?
  - Mohammad Asad
So, O jinn and men, which of your Rabb’s favors will both of you deny?
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
Then which of your Lord's favours will you both deny?
  - Mustafa Khattab
Which is it, of the favors of your Lord, that ye deny?
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Then which of the favors of your Lord will ye deny?
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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55:24
وَلَهُ ٱلْجَوَارِ ٱلْمُنشَـَٔاتُ فِى ٱلْبَحْرِ كَٱلْأَعْلَـٰمِ Walahu aljaw a ri almunsha a tu fee alba h ri ka a laAAl a m i
And His are the lofty ships that sail like [floating] mountains through the seas.9
  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "in the sea like mountains". The reference to ships as "belonging to God" is meant to stress the God-given nature of man's intelligence and inventiveness - a reflection of God's creative powers - which expresses itself in all that man is able to produce. (See also {42:32-34} and the corresponding notes.)

His are the ships looming up like mountains on the sea.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
To Him belong the ships with raised sails, sailing through the seas like mountains.
  - Mustafa Khattab
His are the ships displayed upon the sea, like banners.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
And His are the Ships sailing smoothly through the seas lofty as mountains: 5187 5188
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The ships-sailing ships and steamers, and by extension of analogy, aeroplanes and airships majestically navigating the air-are made by man, but the intelligence and science which made them possible are given by man's Creator; and therefore the Ships also are the gifts of Allah.

Lofty as mountains: both in respect of the high sails, or masts, and in respect of the height to which the top of the ship towers above the surface of the sea. The 'Queen Mary'-the biggest ship afloat in 1936-has a height, from the keel to the top of the superstructure, of 135 ft. and from keel to the mast-head, of 234 ft.

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55:25
فَبِأَىِّ ءَالَآءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ Fabiayyi a l a i rabbikum a tuka thth ib a n i
Which, then, of your Sustainer's powers can you disavow?
  - Mohammad Asad
So, O jinn and men, which of your Rabb’s favors will both of you deny?
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
Then which of your Lord's favours will you both deny?
  - Mustafa Khattab
Which is it, of the favors of your Lord, that ye deny?
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Then which of the favors of your Lord will ye deny?
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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