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)
- Say: "O you who follow the Jewish faith!5 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
- 5 I.e., in its present form, estranged from the original purport of the Torah.
- 6 For this and the next verse, cf. 2:94-95.
- Say: "O ye that stand on Judaism!5458 If ye think that ye are friends to Allah, to the exclusion of (other) men, then express your desire for Death, if ye are truthful!"5459
- 5458 Standing on Judaism is a very different thing from following the Law and Will of Allah. An arrogant claim to be a chosen people, to be the exclusive possessors of divine teaching, to be exempt from any punishment for breaches of the divine law, (Cf. 2:88), is presumptuous blasphemy. It may be Judaism, but it is not in the spirit of Moses.
- 5459 Cf. 2:94-96. If they claimed to be special friends of Allah, why do they not eagerly desire death, which would bring them nearer to Allah? But of all people, they are the most tenacious of this life and the good things of this life! And they know that their grasping selfish lives have run up a score of sin against them, which will meet its recompense.
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Say: "O ye that stand on Judaism! If ye think that ye are friends to Allah, to the exclusion of (other) men, then express your desire for Death, if ye are truthful!"
— Abdullah Yusuf Ali -
Say (O Muhammad): O ye who are Jews! If ye claim that ye are favoured of Allah apart from (all) mankind, then long for death if ye are truthful.
— Marmaduke Pickthall -
Say: O you who are Jews, if you think that you are the favorites of Allah to the exclusion of other people, then invoke death If you are truthful.
— M. Habib Shakir -
Say (O Muhammad SAW): "O you Jews! If you pretend that you are friends of Allah, to the exclusion of (all) other mankind, then long for death if you are truthful."
— Taqiuddin Hilali and M. Mohsin Khan -
Say thou: O ye e who are Judaised! if ye imagine at ye are the friends of Allah above mankind, then wish for death if ye be truthful.
— Abdul-Majid Daryabadi -
Say: 'O you who are Jews, if you claim that of all people, you alone are the guided by Allah, then long for death if you are truthful! '
— Hasan Qaribullah and Ahmed Darwish -
Say, `O you Jews, if you assert that you are the friends of God, apart from other men, then long for death, if you are truthful.'
— Ayub Khan -
Say, 'O ye who are Jews, if you claim that you are the friends of God to the exclusion of all other peoples, then wish for death, if, indeed, you are truthful.
— Sher Ali -
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!"
— Muhammad Asad -
Say: You of Jewry, if you assert that you are the friends of God, apart from other men, then do you long for death, if you speak truly.
— Arthur Arberry -
Tell them: "O you who have become Judaised,{{10}} if you arrogantly fancy that you are Allah's favourites{{11}} to the exclusion of all people, then wish for death, if you are truthful in your claim."{{12}}
— Abu'l Ala Maududi