Saturday, July 17, 2004

AL-ZUKHRUF

Surah Al-Zukhruf "Ornament" 43:33-47
(Revealed at Mecca, 89 Verses)




33. Walawla an yakoona alnnasu ommatan wahidatan lajaAAalna liman yakfuru bialrrahmani libuyootihim suqufan min fiddatin wamaAAarija AAalayha yathharoona
And were it not that mankind would become one community, We would have made for those who disbelieve in the All-merciful, the roofs of their houses, and the stairs whereon they mount, (33)

34. Walibuyootihim abwaban wasururan AAalayha yattakioona
and doors of their houses and the couches whereon they recline, (34)

35. Wazukhrufan wain kullu thalika lamma mataAAu alhayati alddunya waalakhiratu AAinda rabbika lilmuttaqeena
of silver and ornamental; and but all that is only the comfort of the present life; and the Hereafter with thy Lord is for the godfearing. (35)

36. Waman yaAAshu AAan thikri alrrahmani nuqayyid lahu shaytanan fahuwa lahu qareenun
And he who blinds himself to the Remembrance of the All-merciful, We assign to him a devil and he becomes his comrade. (36)

37. Wainnahum layasuddoonahum AAani alssabeeli wayahsaboona annahum muhtadoona
And they bar them from the way, yet they think that they are guided. (37)

38. Hatta itha jaana qala ya layta baynee wabaynaka buAAda almashriqayni fabisa alqareenu
Until, when he comes to Us, he will say (to the comrade), 'would that there had been between me and thee the distance of the two Easts!' How evil is the comrade! (38)

39. Walan yanfaAAakumu alyawma ith thalamtum annakum fee alAAathabi mushtarikoona
'But since you committed wrong, it shall not profit you today; you are partners in the punishment.' (39)

40. Afaanta tusmiAAu alssumma aw tahdee alAAumya waman kana fee dalalin mubeenin
Wilt thou then make the deaf to hear, or guide the blind and him who is clearly astray? (40)

41. Faimma nathhabanna bika fainna minhum muntaqimoona
Whether We take thee away, We shall take vengeance upon them; (41)

42. Aw nuriyannaka allathee waAAadnahum fainna AAalayhim muqtadiroona
or We shall show thee what We have promised them, for We have power over them. (42)

43. Faistamsik biallathee oohiya ilayka innaka AAala siratin mustaqeemin
So hold thou fast to that revealed to thee; surely thou art on a straight path. (43)

44. Wainnahu lathikrun laka waliqawmika wasawfa tusaloona
And it is surely a Reminder to thee and to thy people; and you shall soon be questioned.(44)

45. Waisal man arsalna min qablika min rusulina ajaAAalna min dooni alrrahmani alihatan yuAAbadoona
And ask those of Our Messengers that We sent before thee, 'have We appointed, apart from the All-merciful, any gods to be served?' (45)

46. Walaqad arsalna moosa biayatina ila firAAawna wamalaihi faqala innee rasoolu rabbi alAAalameena
And We sent Moses with Our Signs to Pharaoh and his chiefs and he said, 'I am a Messenger of the Lord of the world.' (46)

47. Falamma jaahum biayatina itha hum minha yadhakoona
Then, when he brought them Our Signs, they laughed at them. (47)


Copyright 2003-2004 Azlan Adnan Legal Notice

2 comments:

(",)azlan::~~~ said...

AZ-ZUKHRUFNameIt is derived from the word zukhruf-an which occurs in verse 33 of this Surah.

Period of RevelationIt could not be known from any authentic tradition, but a study of its subject matter shows that this Surah also was sent down in the same period in which the Surahs Al-Mumin, As-Sajdah and Ash-Shura, were sent down. It appears that the revelation of this series of the Surahs began when the disbelievers of Makkah were planning to put an end to the Holy Prophet's life. Day and night they were holding consultations in their assemblies as how to eliminate him, and even an attack on his life also had been made as has been clearly referred to in vv. 79-80.

Theme and TopicsIn this Surah a forceful and severe criticism has been made of the Quraish and the common Arabs creeds and superstitions of ignorance in which they persisted, and their stubbornness has been exposed in a firm and effective way, so that every member of the society, who was reasonable in some degree, should be made to consider the evils in which the community was involved and its tyrannical treatment of the person who was trying to redeem it.

The discourse starts in a way as if to say: "You, by means of your mischiefs, want that the revelation of this Book should be stopped, but Allah has never withheld the appointment of His Prophets and the revelation of His Books because of the mischief of the people, but has destroyed the wicked people, who obstructed the way of His guidance. The same He will do again. A little further in vv. 41-43 and 79-80 the same thing has been reiterated. Though the people who were plotting against his life are meant, the Holy Prophet has been addressed to the effect: "whether you remain alive or not, We will certainly punish the wicked," and the people themselves have been plainly warned to the effect: "If you have decided to take an action against Our Prophet, We too will take a decisive action."

Then, it has been told what is the reality of the religion that the people are following so devotedly and what are the arguments on whose strength they are resisting Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace and Blessings).

They themselves admit that the Creator of the earth and heavens and of themselves and their deities is only Allah. They also know and admit that the blessings they are benefiting from, have been bestowed by Allah; yet they insist on making others associates of Allah in His Godhead.

They regard the servants as the children of Allah, and that too daughters, whom they regard as disgraceful for themselves.

They believe that the angels are goddesses; they have carved their images as females; they adorn them with female dresses and ornaments, and call them daughters of Allah: they worship them and invoke them for the fulfillment of their needs. How did they know that the angels were female?

When they are rebuked for these superstitions, they present the pretense of destiny and say :"Had Allah disapproved of these our practices, we could not have worshiped these images, whereas the means of finding out whether Allah had approved of something or not, are His Books and not those things which are happening in the world according to His Will. For under His Will not only idol worship but crimes like theft and adultery, robbery. murder, etc. also are being committed. Can this argument be used to justify as right and proper this commission of every crime and evil is the world?

When it is asked: Have you any other authority, apart from this wrong argument, for the polytheism of yours?They reply, "The same has been the practice since the time of our forefathers." In other words, this in their opinion is a strong enough argument for a creed's being right and true, whereas the Prophet Abraham, descent from whom is the only basis of their pride and distinction, had rejected the religion of his elders and left his home, and he had discarded every such blind imitation of his forefathers, which did not have the support of any rational argument. Then, if these people had to follow their elders only, for this also they selected their most ignorant elders and abandoned their most illustrious elders like the Prophets Abraham and Ishmael (on whom be peace).

When they are asked: "Has ever a Prophet or a Book sent down by God also given this teaching that others beside Allah too are worthy of worship? they present this practice of the Christians as an argument that they took Jesus son of Mary as son of God and worshiped him; whereas the question was not this whether the community of a Prophet had committed shirk or not, but this whether a Prophet had himself taught shirk. Jesus son of Mary had never said that he was son of God and that the people should worship him. His own was the same teaching which every other Prophet had given "My Lord as well as your Lord is Allah: so worship Him alone."

They were disinclined to believe in the Prophethood of the Holy Prophet because he was neither a rich man nor a person of high worldly position and rank. They said "Had Allah willed to appoint a prophet among us, He would have appointed one of the great men of' our two cities (Makkah and Taif). On that very basis, Pharaoh also had looked down upon the Prophet Moses and said: "If Allah, the King of the heavens, had to send a messenger to me, the king of the earth, He would have sent him with bracelets of gold and a company of angels in attendance. Wherefrom has this mendicant appeared I am superior to him, for the kingdom of Egypt belongs to me, and the canals of the River Nile are flowing under my control. What is the status of this man as against me? He has neither wealth nor authority."

Thus, after criticizing each practice of ignorance of the disbelievers and rejecting it with rational arguments, it has been pointed out: "Neither has God any offspring, nor are there separate gods of the earth and heavens, nor is there any intercessor who may be able to protect from His punishment those who adopt deviation knowingly. Allah is far above this that He should have children. He alone is the God of the whole Universe: all others are His servants and not associates in His attributes and powers, and only such men can intercede with Him, who are themselves followers of the Truth and they also can intercede only for those who may have adopted obedience of the Truth in the world."

(",)azlan::~~~ said...

ALTERNATIVE TRANSLATIONS043.033
YUSUFALI: And were it not that (all) men might become of one (evil) way of life, We would provide, for everyone that blasphemes against (Allah) Most Gracious, silver roofs for their houses and (silver) stair-ways on which to go up,
PICKTHAL: And were it not that mankind would have become one community, We might well have appointed, for those who disbelieve in the Beneficent, roofs of silver for their houses and stairs (of silver) whereby to mount,
SHAKIR: And were it not that all people had been a single nation, We would certainly have assigned to those who disbelieve in the Beneficent Allah (to make) of silver the roofs of their houses and the stairs by which they ascend.

043.034
YUSUFALI: And (silver) doors to their houses, and thrones (of silver) on which they could recline,
PICKTHAL: And for their houses doors (of silver) and couches of silver whereon to recline,
SHAKIR: And the doors of their houses and the couches on which they recline,

043.035
YUSUFALI: And also adornments of gold. But all this were nothing but conveniences of the present life: The Hereafter, in the sight of thy Lord is for the Righteous.
PICKTHAL: And ornaments of gold. Yet all that would have been but a provision of the life of the world. And the Hereafter with your Lord would have been for those who keep from evil.
SHAKIR: And (other) embellishments of gold; and all this is naught but provision of this world's life, and the hereafter is with your Lord only for those who guard (against evil).

043.036
YUSUFALI: If anyone withdraws himself from remembrance of (Allah) Most Gracious, We appoint for him an evil one, to be an intimate companion to him.
PICKTHAL: And he whose sight is dim to the remembrance of the Beneficent, We assign unto him a devil who becometh his comrade;
SHAKIR: And whoever turns himself away from the remembrance of the Beneficent Allah, We appoint for him a Shaitan, so he becomes his associate.

043.037
YUSUFALI: Such (evil ones) really hinder them from the Path, but they think that they are being guided aright!
PICKTHAL: And lo! they surely turn them from the way of Allah, and yet they deem that they are rightly guided;
SHAKIR: And most surely they turn them away from the path, and they think that they are guided aright:

043.038
YUSUFALI: At length, when (such a one) comes to Us, he says (to his evil companion): "Would that between me and thee were the distance of East and West!" Ah! evil is the companion (indeed)!
PICKTHAL: Till, when he cometh unto Us, he saith (unto his comrade): Ah, would that between me and thee there were the distance of the two horizons - an evil comrade!
SHAKIR: Until when he comes to Us, he says: O would that between me and you there were the distance of the East and the West; so evil is the associate!

043.039
YUSUFALI: When ye have done wrong, it will avail you nothing, that Day, that ye shall be partners in Punishment!
PICKTHAL: And it profiteth you not this day, because ye did wrong, that ye will be sharers in the doom.
SHAKIR: And since you were unjust, it will not profit you this day that you are sharers in the chastisement.

043.040
YUSUFALI: Canst thou then make the deaf to hear, or give direction to the blind or to such as (wander) in manifest error?
PICKTHAL: Canst thou (Muhammad) make the deaf to hear, or canst thou guide the blind or him who is in error manifest?
SHAKIR: What! can you then make the deaf to hear or guide the blind and him who is in clear error?

043.041
YUSUFALI: Even if We take thee away, We shall be sure to exact retribution from them,
PICKTHAL: And if We take thee away, We surely shall take vengeance on them,
SHAKIR: But if We should take you away, still We shall inflict retribution on them;

043.042
YUSUFALI: Or We shall show thee that (accomplished) which We have promised them: for verily We shall prevail over them.
PICKTHAL: Or (if) We show thee that wherewith We threaten them; for lo! We have complete command of them.
SHAKIR: Rather We will certainly show you that which We have promised them; for surely We are the possessors of full power over them.

043.043
YUSUFALI: So hold thou fast to the Revelation sent down to thee; verily thou art on a Straight Way.
PICKTHAL: So hold thou fast to that which is inspired in thee. Lo! thou art on a right path.
SHAKIR: Therefore hold fast to that which has been revealed to you; surely you are on the right path.

043.044
YUSUFALI: The (Qur'an) is indeed the message, for thee and for thy people; and soon shall ye (all) be brought to account.
PICKTHAL: And lo! it is in truth a Reminder for thee and for thy folk; and ye will be questioned.
SHAKIR: And most surely it is a reminder for you and your people, and you shall soon be questioned.

043.045
YUSUFALI: And question thou our messengers whom We sent before thee; did We appoint any deities other than (Allah) Most Gracious, to be worshipped?
PICKTHAL: And ask those of Our messengers whom We sent before thee: Did We ever appoint gods to be worshipped beside the Beneficent?
SHAKIR: And ask those of Our messengers whom We sent before you: Did We ever appoint gods to be worshipped besides the Beneficent Allah?

043.046
YUSUFALI: We did send Moses aforetime, with Our Signs, to Pharaoh and his Chiefs: He said, "I am a messenger of the Lord of the Worlds."
PICKTHAL: And verily We sent Moses with Our revelations unto Pharaoh and his chiefs, and he said: I am a messenger of the Lord of the Worlds.
SHAKIR: And certainly We sent Musa with Our communications to Firon and his chiefs, so he said: Surely I am the messenger of the Lord of the worlds.

043.047
YUSUFALI: But when he came to them with Our Signs, behold they ridiculed them.
PICKTHAL: But when he brought them Our tokens, behold! they laughed at them.
SHAKIR: But when he came to them with Our signs, lo! they laughed at them.