يُسَبِّحُ لِلَّهِ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ الْمَلِكِ الْقُدُّوسِ الْعَزِيزِ الْحَكِيمِ
ALL THAT IS in the heavens and all that is on earth extols the limitless glory of God, the Sovereign Supreme, the Holy, the Almighty, the Wise! (1)
هُوَ الَّذِي بَعَثَ فِي الْأُمِّيِّينَ رَسُولًا مِنْهُمْ يَتْلُو عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتِهِ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَإِنْ كَانُوا مِنْ قَبْلُ لَفِي ضَلَالٍ مُبِينٍ
He it is who has sent unto the unlettered people an apostle from among themselves, to convey unto them His messages, and to cause them to grow in purity, and to impart unto them the divine writ as well as wisdom – whereas before that they were indeed, most obviously, lost in error – (2)
وَآخَرِينَ مِنْهُمْ لَمَّا يَلْحَقُوا بِهِمْ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ
and [to cause this message to spread] from them unto other people as soon as they come into contact with them: for He alone is almighty, truly wise! (3)
ذَٰلِكَ فَضْلُ اللَّهِ يُؤْتِيهِ مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَاللَّهُ ذُو الْفَضْلِ الْعَظِيمِ
Such is God's bounty: He grants it to anyone who is willing [to receive it]: for God is limitless in His great bounty. (4)
مَثَلُ الَّذِينَ حُمِّلُوا التَّوْرَاةَ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَحْمِلُوهَا كَمَثَلِ الْحِمَارِ يَحْمِلُ أَسْفَارًا بِئْسَ مَثَلُ الْقَوْمِ الَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الظَّالِمِينَ
THE PARABLE of those who were graced with the burden of the Torah, and thereafter failed to bear this burden, is that of an ass that carries a load of books [but cannot benefit from them]. Calamitous is the parable of people who are bent on giving the lie to God's messages – for God does not bestow His guidance upon such evildoing folk! (5)
قُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ هَادُوا إِنْ زَعَمْتُمْ أَنَّكُمْ أَوْلِيَاءُ لِلَّهِ مِنْ دُونِ النَّاسِ فَتَمَنَّوُا الْمَوْتَ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ
Say: "O you who follow the Jewish faith! If you claim that you [alone] are close to God, to the exclusion of all other people, then you should be longing for death – if what you say is true!" (6)
وَلَا يَتَمَنَّوْنَهُ أَبَدًا بِمَا قَدَّمَتْ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ بِالظَّالِمِينَ
But never will they long for it, because [they are aware] of what their hands have wrought in this world; and God has full knowledge of evildoers. (7)
قُلْ إِنَّ الْمَوْتَ الَّذِي تَفِرُّونَ مِنْهُ فَإِنَّهُ مُلَاقِيكُمْ ثُمَّ تُرَدُّونَ إِلَىٰ عَالِمِ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ فَيُنَبِّئُكُمْ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ
Say: "Behold, the death from which you are fleeing is bound to overtake you – and then you will be brought back unto Him who knows all that is beyond the reach of a created being's perception as well as all that can be witnessed by a creature's senses or mind, whereupon He will make you truly understand all that you were doing [in life]. (8)
- He it is who has sent unto the unlettered people an apostle from among themselves,1 to convey unto them His messages, and to cause them to grow in purity, and to impart unto them the divine writ as well as wisdom - whereas before that they were indeed, most obviously, lost in error -;
- 1 The term "unlettered people" (ummiyun) denotes a nation or community who had not previously had a revealed scripture of their own (Razi). The designation of the Prophet as a man "from among themselves" is meant, in this context, to stress the fact that he, too, was unlettered (ummi) in the primary sense of this word (cf. 7:157 and 158)., and could not, therefore, have "invented" the message of the Qur'an or "derived" its ideas from earlier scriptures.
- It is He Who has sent amongst the Unlettered5451 a messenger from among themselves, to rehearse to them His Signs,5452 to sanctify them, and to instruct them in Scripture5453 and Wisdom,- although5454 they had been, before, in manifest error;-
- 5451 The Unlettered: as applied to a people, it refers to the Arabs, in comparison with the People of the Book, who had a longer tradition of learning, but whose failure is referred to in verse 5 below. As applied to individuals, it means that Allah's Revelation is for the benefit of all men, whether they have worldly learning or not
- 5452 His Signs: Allah's wonderful Signs in His Creation and in His ordering of the world. It may include the Verses of the Qur'an, but they are more specifically referred to as "Scripture" in the next line but one.
- 5453 Cf. 2:129, and n. 129. Read again the attributes in the last verse. Allah is full Sovereign, and therefore cares for all His subjects, including the meanest and most ignorant, and sends His prophets or messengers to them. He is the Holy One, and therefore purifies and sanctifies those who were steeped in superstition and wickedness. He is Exalted in Power, and therefore He can confer all these blessings on the most unlikely people (verse 3), and no one can stay His hand. He is wise, and therefore He instructs in wisdom, both through written Scriptures, and in other ways, e.g., by means of a knowledge of life and its laws, and an understanding of His wonderful universe.
- 5454 Previous ignorance or error is no bar to a person or nation receiving the blessings of Allah's revelation, provided such person or nation has the will to come to Allah and the capacity to bear His Message. For an instance of incapacity through arrogance, see verse 6 below. For some remarks on the Arabs as vehicles of the new Light, see. C. 12-15.
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It is He Who has sent amongst the Unlettered a messenger from among themselves, to rehearse to them His Signs, to sanctify them, and to instruct them in Scripture and Wisdom,- although they had been, before, in manifest error;-
— Abdullah Yusuf Ali -
He it is Who hath sent among the unlettered ones a messenger of their own, to recite unto them His revelations and to make them grow, and to teach them the Scripture and wisdom, though heretofore they were indeed in error manifest,
— Marmaduke Pickthall -
He it is Who raised among the inhabitants of Mecca an Messenger from among themselves, who recites to them His communications and purifies them, and teaches them the Book and the Wisdom, although they were before certainly in clear error,
— M. Habib Shakir -
He it is Who sent among the unlettered ones a Messenger (Muhammad SAW) from among themselves, reciting to them His Verses, purifying them (from the filth of disbelief and polytheism), and teaching them the Book (this Qur'an, Islamic laws and Islamic jurisprudence) and Al-Hikmah (As- Sunnah: legal ways, orders, acts of worship, etc. of Prophet Muhammad SAW). And verily, they had been before in mainfest error;
— Taqiuddin Hilali and M. Mohsin Khan -
He it is Who hath raised amdist the unlettered ones an apostle from among themselves, rehearsing Unto them His revelations and purifying them and teaching them the Book and Wisdom, though they have been aforetime in error manifest.
— Abdul-Majid Daryabadi -
It is He who has raised among the illiterate (Arabs), a Messenger from themselves, to recite to them His verses, to purify them, and to teach them the Book and the Wisdom, though before that they were in clear error,
— Hasan Qaribullah and Ahmed Darwish -
It is He who has raised among the unlettered people a Messenger from among them, to recite to them His signs, to purify them, and to teach them the Book and the Wisdom; __ and before that, they were clearly astray; __
— Ayub Khan -
He it is Who has raised among the unlettered people a Messenger from among themselves who recites unto them His Signs, and purifies them, and teaches them the Book and Wisdom though before that they were in manifest error;
— Sher Ali -
He it is who has sent unto the unlettered people an apostle from among themselves, to convey unto them His messages, and to cause them to grow in purity, and to impart unto them the divine writ as well as wisdom – whereas before that they were indeed, most obviously, lost in error –
— Muhammad Asad -
It is He who has raised up from among the common people a Messenger from among them, to recite His signs to them and to purify them, and to teach them the Book and the Wisdom, though before that they were in manifest error,
— Arthur Arberry -
He it is Who has sent to the gentiles a Messenger from among themselves,{{2}} one who rehearses to them His verses, purifies their lives, and imparts to them the Book and the Wisdom{{3}} although before that they were in utter error;{{4}}
— Abu'l Ala Maududi