أَتَىٰ أَمْرُ اللَّهِ فَلَا تَسْتَعْجِلُوهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ
GOD'S JUDGMENT is [bound to] come: do not, therefore, call for its speedy advent! Limitless is He in His glory and sublimely exalted above anything to which men may ascribe a share in His divinity! (1)
يُنَزِّلُ الْمَلَائِكَةَ بِالرُّوحِ مِنْ أَمْرِهِ عَلَىٰ مَنْ يَشَاءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ أَنْ أَنْذِرُوا أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا أَنَا فَاتَّقُونِ
He causes the angels to descend with this divine inspiration, [bestowed] at His behest upon whomever He wills of His servants: "Warn [all human beings] that there is no deity save Me: be, therefore, conscious of Me!" (2)
خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ بِالْحَقِّ تَعَالَىٰ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ
He has created the heavens and the earth in accordance with [an inner] truth; sublimely exalted is He above anything to which men may ascribe a share in His divinity! (3)
خَلَقَ الْإِنْسَانَ مِنْ نُطْفَةٍ فَإِذَا هُوَ خَصِيمٌ مُبِينٌ
He creates man out of a [mere] drop of sperm: and lo! this same being shows himself endowed with the power to think and to argue! (4)
وَالْأَنْعَامَ خَلَقَهَا لَكُمْ فِيهَا دِفْءٌ وَمَنَافِعُ وَمِنْهَا تَأْكُلُونَ
And He creates cattle: you derive warmth from them, and [various other] uses; and from them you obtain food; (5)
وَلَكُمْ فِيهَا جَمَالٌ حِينَ تُرِيحُونَ وَحِينَ تَسْرَحُونَ
and you find beauty in them when you drive them home in the evenings and when you take them out to pasture in the mornings. (6)
وَتَحْمِلُ أَثْقَالَكُمْ إِلَىٰ بَلَدٍ لَمْ تَكُونُوا بَالِغِيهِ إِلَّا بِشِقِّ الْأَنْفُسِ إِنَّ رَبَّكُمْ لَرَءُوفٌ رَحِيمٌ
And they carry your loads to [many] a place which [otherwise] you would be unable to reach without great hardship to yourselves. Verily, your Sustainer is most compassionate, a dispenser of grace! (7)
وَالْخَيْلَ وَالْبِغَالَ وَالْحَمِيرَ لِتَرْكَبُوهَا وَزِينَةً وَيَخْلُقُ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
And [it is He who creates] horses and mules and asses for you to ride, as well as for [their] beauty: and He will yet create things of which [today] you have no knowledge. (8)
وَعَلَى اللَّهِ قَصْدُ السَّبِيلِ وَمِنْهَا جَائِرٌ وَلَوْ شَاءَ لَهَدَاكُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ
And [because He is your Creator,] it rests with God alone to show you the right path: yet there is [many a one] who swerves from it. However, had He so willed, He would have guided you all aright. (9)
- He creates man out of a [mere] drop of sperm: and lo! this same being shows himself endowed with the power to think and to argue!5
- 5 Lit., "he becomes an open contender in argument (khasim)". According to Zamakhshari and Razi, the above phrase is liable to two interpretations:' In the words of Zamakhshari, "one interpretation is that after having been a [mere] drop of sperm, a particle of matter without consciousness or motion, man becomes highly articulate (mintiq); able to argue on his own [for or against a proposition], courageously facing - disputes, and clearly formulating his arguments: [and herein lies] an indication of God's creative power. The other - [interpretation] is that man is [prone to become] a contender in 'argument against his Sustainer, refusing to acknowledge his [very] Creator." Razi, on his part, gives his. unqualified, support to the first of these two interpretations, "because the above verses are meant to stress the evidence of the existence of a wise Creator, and not the fact of men's insolence and their proneness to blasphemy and ingratitude". However, in view of 36:77-78 (revealed at a considerably earlier period), I am of the opinion that the above two interpretations are not mutually exclusive but, rather, complementary, inasmuch as this passage is meant to bring out man's unique quality as a rational being - a quality that may lead him to great heights of achievement, but may equally well lead him utterly astray: hence my free rendering of this profound elliptic phrase.
- He has created man from a sperm-drop; and behold this same (man) becomes an open disputer!2022
- 2022 Man's physical origin is lowly. Yet do men go back to material things, and neglect or dispute about the highest things in Life.
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He has created man from a sperm-drop; and behold this same (man) becomes an open disputer!
— Abdullah Yusuf Ali -
He hath created man from a drop of fluid, yet behold! he is an open opponent.
— Marmaduke Pickthall -
He created man from a small seed and lo! he is an open contender.
— M. Habib Shakir -
He has created man from Nutfah (mixed drops of male and female sexual discharge), then behold, this same (man) becomes an open opponent.
— Taqiuddin Hilali and M. Mohsin Khan -
He hath created man from a drop, and Lo! he is a disputer open.
— Abdul-Majid Daryabadi -
He created mankind from a sperm drop, yet he is a clear adversary.
— Hasan Qaribullah and Ahmed Darwish -
He created man of a sperm-drop, then lo, he is an open disputant!
— Ayub Khan -
He has created man from a mere drop of fluid, but lo! he is an open disputer.
— Sher Ali -
He creates man out of a [mere] drop of sperm: and lo! this same being shows himself endowed with the power to think and to argue!
— Muhammad Asad -
He created man of a sperm-drop; and, behold, he is a manifest adversary.
— Arthur Arberry -
He created man out of a mere drop of fluid, and lo! he turned into an open wrangler.{{7}}
— Abu'l Ala Maududi