Surah 21. Al-Anbiya

for We saved him and Lot, [his brother's son, by guiding them] to the land which We have blessed for all times to come.⁶⁶

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "for all the worlds" or "for all people": i.e., Palestine, which subsequently became the homeland of a long line of prophets. (Abraham's native place - and the scene of his early struggles against polytheism - was Ur in Mesopotamia.)

We delivered him and his nephew Lut (Lot) and directed them to the land which We have blessed for all the people of the world.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And We rescued him and Lot (and brought them) to the land which We have blessed for (all) peoples.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And We bestowed upon him Isaac and Llsaac s son] Jacob as an additional gift,⁶⁷ and caused all of them to be righteous men,

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., in addition (nafilatan) to his eldest son Ishmael (Isma'll) who had been born years before Isaac.

We gave him a son Ishaq (Isaac) and then a grandson Ya'qoob (Jacob); and We made each of them a righteous man.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And We bestowed upon him Isaac, and Jacob as a grandson. Each of them We made righteous.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

and made them leaders who would guide [others] in accordance with Our behest: for We inspired them [with a will] to do good works, and to be constant in prayer, and to dispense charity: and Us [alone] did they worship.

  - Mohammad Asad

We made them leaders who guided other people by Our command and We sent them revelations to do good deeds, establish Salah and pay Zakah. To Us Alone did they serve.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And We made them chiefs who guide by Our command, and We inspired in them the doing of good deeds and the right establishment of worship and the giving of alms and they were worshippers of Us (alone).

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

AND UNTO Lot, too, We vouchsafed sound judg-ment and knowledge [of right and wrong], and saved him from that community which was given to deeds of abomination.⁶⁸ [We destroyed those people - for,] verily, they were people lost in evil, depraved -

  - Mohammad Asad

For the story of Lot, see {7:80-84}, {11:77-83} and {15:58-76}.

To Lut (Lot) We gave wisdom and knowledge, and We delivered him from the town which practiced abominations - surely its inhabitants were very wicked transgressors

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And unto Lot We gave judgment and knowledge, and We delivered him from the community that did abominations. Lo! they were folk of evil, lewd.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

whereas him We admitted unto Our grace: for, behold, he was among the righteous.

  - Mohammad Asad

- and We admitted him to Our mercy: for he was of the righteous people.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And We brought him in unto Our mercy. Lo! he was of the righteous.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

AND [remember] Noah- [how,] when He called out [unto Us], long before [the time of Abraham and Lot], We responded to him and saved him and his house- hold from that awesome calamity;⁶⁹

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., the Deluge. The story of Noah is mentioned several times in the Qur'an, and particularly in {11:25-48}. Regarding the Deluge itself, see surah {7}, note [47].

Before them Nuh (Noah) prayed to Us, We accepted his prayer and delivered him and his family from the great calamity.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And Noah, when he cried of old, We heard his prayer and saved him and his household from the great affliction.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

and [how] We succoured him against the people who had given the lie to Our messages: verily, they were people lost in evil - and [so] We caused them all to drown.

  - Mohammad Asad

We helped him against those people who had denied Our revelations; surely they were an evil people, so We drowned them all in the Great Flood.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And delivered him from the people who denied Our revelations. Lo! they were folk of evil, therefor did We drown them all.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

AND [remember] David and Solomon - [how it was] when both of them gave judgment concerning the field into which some people's sheep had strayed by night and pastured therein, and [how] We bore witness to their judgment:⁷⁰

  - Mohammad Asad

For an elucidation of the story - or, rather, legend - to which the above verse alludes, we must rely exclusively on the Companions of the Prophet, since neither the Qur'an nor any authentic saying of the Prophet speels it out to us. However, the fact that a good many Companions and their immediate successors (tabi'un) fully agreed on the substance of the story, differing only in one or two insignificant details' seems to indicate that at that period it was already well-established in ancient Arabian tradition (cf. note [77] below). According to this story, a flock of sheep strayed at night into a neighbouring field and destroyed its crop. The case was brought before King David for judicial decision. On finding that the incident was due to the negligence of the owner of the sheep, David awarded the whole flock - the value of which corresponded roughly to the extent of the damage - as an indemnity to the owner of the field. David's young son, Solomon, regarded this judgement as too severe, inasmuch as the sheep represented the defendant's capital, whereas the damage was of a transitory nature, involving no more than the loss of one year's crop, i.e., of income. He therefore suggested to his father that the judgement should be altered: the owner of the field should have the temporary possession and usufruct of the sheep (sheep, wool, new-born lambs, etc.), while their owner should tend the damaged field until it was restored to its former productivity, whereupon both the field and the flock of sheep would revert to their erstwhile owners; in this way the plaintiff would be fully compensated for his loss without depriving the defendant of his substance. David realized taht his son'd solution of the case was better than his own, and passed judgement accordingly; but since he, no less than Solomon, had been inspired by a deep sense of justice, God - in the words of the Qur'an - "bore witness to their judgement".

We also bestowed favors upon Dawood (David) and Sulaiman (Solomon): when the two were judging a case regarding the field into which the sheep of certain people had strayed by night, and We were watching them to arrive at judgment,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And David and Solomon, when they gave judgment concerning the field, when people's sheep had strayed and browsed therein by night; and We were witnesses to their judgment.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

for, [though] We made Solomon understand the case [more profoundly], yet We vouchsafed unto both of them sound judgment and knowledge [of right and wrong].⁷¹ And We caused⁷² the mountains to join David in extolling Our limitless glory, and likewise the birds:⁷³ for We are able to do [all things].

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., the fact that Solomon's judgment was more profound did not disprove the intrinsic justice of David's original judgment or deprive it of its merit.

Lit., "We compelled".

A reference to the Psalms of David, which call upon all nature to extol the glory of God - similar to the Qur'anic verses, "The seven heavens extol His limitless glory, and the earth, and all that they contain" ( 17:44 ), or "All that is in the heavens and on earth extols God's limitless glory" ( 57:1 ).

at that time We gave Sulaiman insight to arrive at the right decision, although We had given wisdom and knowledge to both of them. We caused the mountains and the birds to celebrate Our praises with Dawood; it was We Who made this happen.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And We made Solomon to understand (the case); and unto each of them We gave judgment and knowledge. And We subdued the hills and the birds to hymn (His) praise along with David. We were the doers (thereof).

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And We taught him how to make garments [of God-consciousness] for you, [O men,] so that they might fortify you against all that may cause you fear: but are you erateful Ifor this boonl?⁷⁴

  - Mohammad Asad

The noun labus is synonymous with libas or libs, signifying "a garment" or "garments" (Qamus, Lisan al-'Arab). But since this term has occasionally been used by pre-Islamic Arabs in the sense of "mail" or "coats of mail" (ibid.), the classical commentators assume that it has this meaning in the above context as well; and in this they rely on the - otherwise unsupported - statement of the tabi'i Qatadah to the effect that "David was the first to make chain mail" (Tabari). Accordingly, they understand the term ba's which occurs at the end of the sentence in its secondary sense of "war" or "warlike violence", and interpret the relevant part of the verse thus: "We taught him how to make coats of mail for you, so that they might fortify you against your [mutual acts of] violence", or "against [the effects of] your warlike violence". One should, however, bear in mind that ba's signifies also "harm", "misfortune", "distress", etc., as well as "danger"; hence it denotes, it its widest sense, anything that causes distress or fear (Taj al-'Arus). If we adopt this last meaning, the term labus may be understood in its primary significance of "garment" - in this case, the metaphorical "garment of God-consciousness" (libas at-taqwa) of which the Qur'an speaks in 7:26 . Rendered in this sense, the above verse expresses the idea that the Almighty taught David how to imbue his followers with that deep God-consciousness which frees men from all spiritual distress and all fears, whether it be fear of one another or the subconscious fear of the Unknown. The concluding rhetorical question, "but are you grateful [for this boon]?" implies that, as a rule, man does not fully realize - and, hence, is not really grateful for- the spiritual bounty thus offered him by God.

We taught him the armor's craft, so that they might protect you in your wars: yet are you ever grateful?

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And We taught him the art of making garments (of mail) to protect you in your daring. Are ye then thankful?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And unto Solomon [We made subservient] the stormy wind, so that it sped at his behest towar'ds the land which We had blessed:⁷⁵ for it is We who have knowledge of everything.

  - Mohammad Asad

This is apparently an allusion to the fleets of sailing ships which brought untold riches to Palestine ("the land which We had blessed") and made Solomon’s wealth proverbial.

We made the raging winds subservient to Sulaiman, pursuing its course by his command to the land which We had blessed; and We have knowledge of everything.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And unto Solomon (We subdued) the wind in its raging. It set by His command toward the land which We had blessed. And of everything We are aware.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And among the rebel-lious forces [which We made subservient to him]⁷⁶ there were some that dived for him [into the sea] and performed other works besides: but it was We who kept watch over them.⁷⁷

  - Mohammad Asad

My rendering, in this particular context, of shayatin (lit., "satans") as "rebellious forces" is based on the tropical use of the term shaytan in the sense of anything "rebellious", "inordinately proud" or "insolent" (cf. Lane IV, 1552)-in this case, possibly a reference to subdued and enslaved enemies or, more probably, to "rebellious" forces of nature which Solomon was able to tame and utilize; however, see also next note.

In this as well as in several other passages relating to Solomon, the Qur'an alludes to the many poetic legends which were associated with his name since early antiquity and had become part and parcel of Judaeo-Christian and Arabian lore long before the advent of Islam. Although it is undoubtedly possible to interpret such passages in a "rationalistic" manner, I do not think that this is really necessary. Because they were so deeply ingrained in the imagination of the people to whom the Qur'an addressed itself in the first instance, these legendary accounts of Solomon's wisdom and magic powers had acquired a cultural reality of their own and were, therefore, eminently suited to serve as a medium for the parabolic exposition of certain ethical truths with which this book is concerned: and so, without denying or confirming their mythical character, the Qur'an uses them as a foil for the idea that God is the ultimate source of all human power and glory, and that all achievements of human ingenuity, even though they may sometimes border on the miraculous, are but an expression of His transcendental creativity.

And We had subjected to him many of the shaitans who dived for him into the sea and performed other duties besides this; and We were the One Who had control over them for him.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And of the evil ones (subdued We unto him) some who dived (for pearls) for him and did other work, and We were warders unto them.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

AND [remember] Job, when he cried out to his Sus-tainer, "Affliction has befallen me: but Thou art the most merciful of the merciful!"⁷⁸ -

  - Mohammad Asad

The story of Job (Ayyub in Arabic), describing his erstwhile happiness and prosperity, his subsequent trials and tribulations, the loss of all his children and his property, his own loathsome illness and utter despair and, finally, God's reward of his patience in adversity, is given in full in the Old Testament (The Book of Job). This Biblical, highly philosophical epic is most probably a Hebrew translation or paraphrase - still evident in the language employed-of an ancient Naba-taean (i.e., North-Arabian) poem, for "Job, the author of the finest piece of poetry that the ancient Semitic world produced, was an Arab, not a Jew, as the form of his name (Iyyob) and the scene of his book, North Arabia, indicate" (Philip K. Hitti, History of the Arabs, London 1937, pp. 42-43). Since God "spoke" to him, Job ranks in the Qur'an among the prophets, personifying the supreme virtue of patience in adversity (sabr).

Similarly We blessed Ayub, when he prayed to his Rabb saying, "I am badly afflicted with disease: but of all those who show mercy You are the most Merciful."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And Job, when he cried unto his Lord, (saying): Lo! adversity afflicteth me, and Thou art Most Merciful of all who show mercy.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

whereupon We responded unto him and removed all the affliction from which he suffered; and We gave him new offspring,⁷⁹ doubling their number as an act of grace from Us. and as a reminder unto all who worship Us.

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "his family" - i.e., new children in place of those who had died.

We accepted his prayer and relieved his affliction, and restored not only his family but also as many more with them as a favor from Us so that it may serve as a reminder to Our worshippers.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Then We heard his prayer and removed that adversity from which he suffered, and We gave him his household (that he had lost) and the like thereof along with them, a mercy from Our store, and a remembrance for the worshippers;

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

AND [remember] Ishmael and Idris,⁸⁰ and every one who [like them] has pledged himself [unto God]:⁸¹ they all were among those who are patient in adversity,

  - Mohammad Asad

See surah {19}, note [41].

Lit., "and him of the pledge". The expression dhu 'l-kifl is derived from the verb kafala - and especially the form takaffala - which signifies "he became responsible [for something or someone]" or pledged himself [to do something]". Although the classical commentators consider dhu 'l kifl to be the peithet or the proper name of a particular prophet - whom they variously, more or less at randm, identify with Elijah or Joshua or Zachariah or Ezekiel - I fail to see any reason whatever for such attempts at "identification", the more so since we have not a single authentic hadith which would mention, or even distantly allude to, a prophet by this name. I am, therefore, of the opinion that we have here (as in the identical expression in 38:48 ) a generic term applying to every one of the prophets, inasmuch as each of them pledged himself unreservedly to God and accepted the responsibility for delivering His message to man.

Likewise, We blessed Isma`il (Ishmael), Idris and Zul-kifl, for all of them practised patience.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And (mention) Ishmael, and Idris, and Dhul-Kifl. All were of the steadfast.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall