حم
Hā. Mīm. (1)
تَنْزِيلٌ مِنَ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
THE BESTOWAL from on high [of this revelation] issues from the Most Gracious, the Dispenser of Grace: (2)
كِتَابٌ فُصِّلَتْ آيَاتُهُ قُرْآنًا عَرَبِيًّا لِقَوْمٍ يَعْلَمُونَ
a divine writ, the messages whereof have been clearly spelled out as a discourse in the Arabic tongue for people of [innate] knowledge, (3)
بَشِيرًا وَنَذِيرًا فَأَعْرَضَ أَكْثَرُهُمْ فَهُمْ لَا يَسْمَعُونَ
to be a herald of glad tidings as well as a warning. And yet, [whenever this divine writ is offered to men,] most of them turn away, so that they cannot hear [its message]; (4)
وَقَالُوا قُلُوبُنَا فِي أَكِنَّةٍ مِمَّا تَدْعُونَا إِلَيْهِ وَفِي آذَانِنَا وَقْرٌ وَمِنْ بَيْنِنَا وَبَيْنِكَ حِجَابٌ فَاعْمَلْ إِنَّنَا عَامِلُونَ
and so they say, [as it were:] "Our hearts are veiled from whatever thou callest us to, [O Muhammad,] and in our ears is deafness, and between us and thee is a barrier. Do, then, [whatever thou wilt, whereas,] behold, we shall do [as we have always done]!" (5)
قُلْ إِنَّمَا أَنَا بَشَرٌ مِثْلُكُمْ يُوحَىٰ إِلَيَّ أَنَّمَا إِلَٰهُكُمْ إِلَٰهٌ وَاحِدٌ فَاسْتَقِيمُوا إِلَيْهِ وَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ وَوَيْلٌ لِلْمُشْرِكِينَ
Say thou, [O Prophet:] "I am but a mortal like you. It has been revealed to me that your God is the One God: go, then, straight towards Him and seek His forgiveness!" And woe unto those who ascribe divinity to aught beside Him, (6)
الَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْتُونَ الزَّكَاةَ وَهُمْ بِالْآخِرَةِ هُمْ كَافِرُونَ
[and] those who do not spend in charity: for it is they, they who [thus] deny the truth of the life to come! (7)
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَهُمْ أَجْرٌ غَيْرُ مَمْنُونٍ
[But,] verily, they who have attained to faith and do good works shall have a reward unending! (8)
- to be a herald of glad tidings as well as a warning. And yet, [whenever this divine writ is offered to men,] most of them turn away, so that they cannot hear fits message);3
- 3 The "people of [innate] knowledge" mentioned in the preceding verse are obviously those who understand the spiritual purport of this divine writ and, therefore, submit to its guidance: hence, it cannot be "most of them" who are referred to in the above phrase and in the next verse, but, on the contrary, people who are devoid of such knowledge and to whom, in consequence, the Qur'an is meaningless. This elliptically implied differentation - overlooked by almost all of the commentators (with perhaps the sole exception of Ibn Kathir) - can only be brought out by means of an interpolation at the beginning of the sentence.
- Giving good news and admonition: yet most4464 of them turn away, and so they hear not.
- 4464 With all the qualities mentioned in the last note, if men do not profit by its blessings, the fault lies in their will: they turn away, and thus fail to hear the voice that calls to them.
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Giving good news and admonition: yet most of them turn away, and so they hear not.
— Abdullah Yusuf Ali -
Good tidings and a warning. But most of them turn away so that they hear not.
— Marmaduke Pickthall -
A herald of good news and a warner, but most of them turn aside so they hear not.
— M. Habib Shakir -
Giving glad tidings [of Paradise to the one who believes in the Oneness of Allah (i.e. Islamic Monotheism) and fears Allah much (abstains from all kinds of sins and evil deeds) and loves Allah much (performing all kinds of good deeds which He has ordained)], and warning (of punishment in the Hell Fire to the one who disbelieves in the Oneness of Allah), but most of them turn away, so they listen not.
— Taqiuddin Hilali and M. Mohsin Khan -
A bearer of glad tidings and a warner. Yet most of them turn aside, so that they hearken not.
— Abdul-Majid Daryabadi -
It bears glad tidings and a warning, yet most of them turn away and do not listen.
— Hasan Qaribullah and Ahmed Darwish -
a bearer of good news and a warner; yet most of them have turned aside, and do not give ear.
— Ayub Khan -
A bringer of glad tidings and a warner. But most of them turn away and they hear not.
— Sher Ali -
to be a herald of glad tidings as well as a warning.
And yet, [whenever this divine writ is offered to men,] most of them turn away, so that they cannot hear [its message];
— Muhammad Asad -
good tidings to bear, and warning, but most of them have turned away, and do not give ear.
— Arthur Arberry -
one bearing good news and warning.{{1}} Yet most of them turned away and are not wont to give heed.
— Abu'l Ala Maududi