Surah 14. Ibrahim

And, lo,⁶ Moses spoke [thus] unto his people: "Remember the blessings which God bestowed upon you when He saved you from Pharaoh's people who afflicted you with cruel suffering, and slaughtered your sons, and spared [only] your women⁷ - which was an awesome trial from your Sustainer.

  - Mohammad Asad

For this rendering of the particle idh, see surah {2}, note [21].

Cf. 2:49 : also Exodus i. 15-16 and 22.

Recall! When Musa said to his people: "Remember Allah's favor to you when He delivered you from the people of Fir'on (Pharaoh), who subjected you to cruel afflictions, putting your sons to death and sparing your females, and in this there was a tremendous trial from your Rabb."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And (remind them) how Moses said unto his people: Remember Allah's favor unto you when He delivered you from Pharaoh's folk who were afflicting you with dreadful torment, and were slaying your sons and sparing your women; that was a tremendous trial from your Lord.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And [remember the time] when your Sustainer made [this promise] known: 'If you are grateful [to Me], I shall most certainly give you more and more;⁸ but if you are ungrateful, verily, My chastisement will be severe indeed!'"

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., "even more than you deserve".

Remember that your Rabb had forewarned: "If you are grateful, I will bestow abundance upon you, but if you are ungrateful (then you should know that) My punishment will be terrible indeed."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And when your Lord proclaimed: If ye give thanks, I will give you more; but if ye are thankless, lo! my punishment is dire.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And Moses added: "If you should [ever] deny the truth - you and whoever else lives on earth, all of you - [know that,] verily, God is indeed self-sufficient, ever to be praised!"

  - Mohammad Asad

Musa said: "If you and all the dwellers of the earth become thankless, you should know that He does not stand in need of any of you, surely Allah is the Self-sufficient, Praiseworthy."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And Moses said: Though ye and all who are in the earth prove thankless, lo! Allah verily is Absolute, Owner of Praise.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

HAVE THE STORIES of those [deniers of the truth] who lived before you never yet come within your ken - [the stories of] the people of Noah, and of [the tribes of] 'Ad and Thamud, and of those who came after them? None knows them [now] save God.⁹ There came unto them their apostles with all evidence of the truth - but they covered their mouths with their hands¹⁰ and answered: "Behold, we refuse to regard as true the message with which you [claim to] have been entrusted; and, behold, we are in grave doubt, amounting to suspicion, about [the meaning of] your call to us!"¹¹

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., they have disappeared from the face of the earth, and none save God knows today how many they were and how they lived. See verse {14} and note [18] below.

Lit., "they put their hands into their mouths" - an idiomatic phrase indicating one's inability to refute a reasonable proposition by cogent, logical counter-arguments: for the out-of-hand rejection of the apostles' message by their recalcitrant compatriots cannot by any means be regarded as an "argument".

See surah {11}, note [92]. It is to be noted that whereas in 11:62 this reply is placed in the mouth of people of one particular community - the Thamud - and is phrased in the singular ("thy call to us"), it appears here in the plural ("your call to us") and represents the gist of the answers given by various communities to various prophets. This generalization, underlying the entire subsequent account and containing echos of several Qur'anic narratives relating to the experiences of individual apostles of earlier times, is obviously meant to bring out the symptomatic character of the attitude referred to: the stubborn attitude of people who either deny God altogether, or- while not consciously denying His existence - yet feel compelled to interpose all manner of imaginary "mediators" (thought to be divine or semi-divine) between themselves and Him, thus denying, by implication, His omniscience and omnipotence.

Have you not heard the information of those who passed away before you, the people of Nuh (Noah), `Ad and Thamud, and those who came after them? Allah Alone knows them. Their Rasools came to them with clear signs; but they bit their hands with their mouths and said: "Certainly we reject the Message with which you have been sent and certainly we strongly doubt the faith to which you invite us."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Hath not the history of those before you reached you: the folk of Noah. and (the tribes of) Aad and Thamud, and those after them? None save Allah knoweth them. Their messengers came unto them with clear proofs, but they thrust their hands into their mouths, and said: Lo! we disbelieve in that wherewith ye have been sent, and lo! we are in grave doubt concerning that to which ye call us.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Said the apostles sent unto them:¹² "Can there be any doubt about [the existence and oneness of] God, the Originator of the heavens and the earth? It is He who calls unto you, so that He may forgive you [whatever is past] of your sins and grant you respite until a term [set by Him is fulfilled]."¹³ [But] they replied: "You are nothing but mortal men like ourselves! You want to turn us away from what our forefathers were wont to worship: well, then, bring us a clear proof [of your being God's message-bearers]!"

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "their apostles".

I.e., "until the end of your life in this world". This is, I believe, an indirect allusion to the calamities which are bound to befall, even in this world, "those who are bent on denying the truth" (see the last paragraph of 13:31 and the corresponding note [57]) - implying that they who consciously respond to the call of God, conveyed through His prophets, would be immune to this kind of suffering and would be graced with abiding spiritual happiness (cf. 13:29 ).

Their Rasools responded: "Are you doubting the existence of Allah, Who is the Creator of the heavens and the earth? He is the One Who invites you so that He may forgive your sins and give you respite till your appointed term." They said: "You are nothing but a human like us! You only wish to turn us away from the worship of those deities whom our forefathers used to worship. Bring us some clear sign."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Their messengers said: Can there be doubt concerning Allah, the Creator of the heavens and the earth? He calleth you that He may forgive you your sins and reprieve you unto an appointed term. They said: Ye are but mortals like us, who would fain turn us away from what our fathers used to worship. Then bring some clear warrant.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Their apostles answered them: "True, we are nothing but mortal men like yourselves: but God bestows His favour upon whomever He wills of His servants. Withal, it is not within our power to bring you a proof [of our mission], unless it be by God's leave - and [so] it is in God that all believers must place their trust.¹⁴

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., it is to the contents of the divine message propounded to them that all seekers after truth must turn for illumination (see 7:75 and 13:43 , as well as the corresponding notes). The Qur'an dwells in many places (e.g., in {6:109-111} or 13:31 ) on the futility - moral as well as intellectual-of the demand that the divine origin of a prophetic message should be proved by tangible, extraneous means: for, a morally valid and intellectually justifiable conviction of the intrinsic truth of such a message can be gained only through "conscious insight accessible to reason" ( 12:108 ).

Their Rasools said to them: "It is true that we are human like yourselves, but Allah bestows His grace of appointing a Rasool on such of His servants as He pleases. It is not in our power to bring you any sign except by Allah's permission, and in Allah let the believers put their trust.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Their messengers said unto them: We are but mortals like you, but Allah giveth grace unto whom He will of His slaves. It is not ours to bring you a warrant unless by the permission of Allah. In Allah let believers put their trust!

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And how could we not place our trust in God, seeing that it is He who has shown us the path which we are to follow?¹⁵ "Hence, we shall certainly bear with patience whatever hurt you may do us: for, all who have trust [in His existence] must place their trust in God [alone]!"

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "guided us on our paths" - a plural indicating (as does the whole of the passage beginning with verse {9}) the fundamental identity of the message preached by all the prophets.

What reason do we have not to put our trust in Allah, when He has already guided us to the ways of our lives? We shall certainly endure your persecution patiently, and those who want to put their trust, should put their trust in Allah."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

How should we not put our trust in Allah when He hath shown us our ways? We surely will endure that hurt ye do us. In Allah let the trusting put their trust!

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

But they who denied the truth spoke [thus] unto their apostles: "We shall most certainly expel you from our land, unless you return forthwith to our ways!"¹⁶ Whereupon their Sustainer revealed this to His apostles:¹⁷ "Most certainly shall We destroy these evildoers,

  - Mohammad Asad

Cf. {7:88-89}, where this alternative is placed before Shu'ayb.

Lit., "to them".

Finally the unbelievers said to their Rasools: "Return to our religion or we will expel you from our land." But their Rabb revealed His will to them: "We shall destroy the wrongdoers

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And those who disbelieved said unto their messengers: Verily we will drive you out from our land, unless ye return to our religion. Then their Lord inspired them, (saying): Verily We shall destroy the wrong-doers,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

and most certainly shall We cause you to dwell on earth [long] after they have passed away:¹⁸ this is [My promise] unto all who stand in awe of My presence, and stand in awe of My warning!"¹⁹

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "after them": implying a divine promise that the truth preached by the apostles would outlive its detractors (cf. {verse 9} above, "None knows them [now] save God"), and would triumph in the end.

As Zamakhshari points out, the divine promise expressed in the above verse is equivalent to the statement in 7:128 that "the future (al-'aqibah) belongs to the God-conscious".

and give you the land to dwell in after they are gone! This is the reward for the ones who dread My eminence and fear My threats."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And verily We shall make you to dwell in the land after them. This is for him who feareth My Majesty and feareth My threats.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And they prayed [to God] that the truth be made to triumph.²⁰ And [thus it is:] every arrogant enemy of the truth shall be undone [in the life to come],

  - Mohammad Asad

Or: "they [i.e., the apostles] prayed for victory" or "for [God's] aid" - both these meanings being contained in the noun fath, with which the verbal form istaftahu, used here, is connected. It should be borne in mind that the primary significance of fataha is "he opened", and of istaftaha, "he sought to open [something]" or "he desired that it be opened". Thus, the above passage echoes, in a generalized form, Shu'ayb's prayer in 7:89 , "Lay Thou open (iftah) the truth between us and our people".

The Rasools called for judgement, (and when the judgement was passed) every tyrant opposer of the Truth was disappointed.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And they sought help (from their Lord) and every froward potentate was brought to naught;

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

with hell awaiting him;²¹ and he shall be made to drink of the water of most bitter distress,²²

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "[with] hell beyond him", i.e., as his destiny. For my rendering of jabbar, in this context, as "enemy of the truth", see the first part of note [58] on 26:130 .

The word sadid is an infinitive noun of sadda, which in its primary meaning denotes "he turned away" or "was averse [from something]"; also - as noted in the Qamus and the Asas - "he cried out loudly" (i.e., by reason of his aversion to something). Since sadid signifies anything that is repulsive, it is also used tropically to describe the pus that flows from wounds or the viscous liquid that oozes from corpses. In his commentary on this verse, Razi suggests that the expression ma' sadid is here purely metaphorical, and should be understood as "water like [what is described as] sadid". It is in pursuance of this interpretation that I have rendered the above expression as "waters of most bitter distress" - a metaphor of the boundless suffering and bitter frustration which, in the life to come, awaits those who during their life in this world were bent on denying all spiritual truths. (Cf. the expression sharab min hamim -rendered by me as "a draught of burning despair" - occurring in several places and elucidated in note [62] on 6:70 .)

Hell is next for him wherein he will be given festering water to drink;

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Hell is before him, and he is made to drink a festering water,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

gulping it [unceasingly,] little by little, and yet hardly able to swallow it.²³ And death will beset him from every quarter - but he shall not die: for [yet more] severe suffering lies ahead of him.

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., to reconcile himself to this suffering.

he will sip, but never will be able to swallow. Death will surround him from all sides, yet he will not die; beyond that there will be horrible punishment.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Which he sippeth but can hardly swallow, and death cometh unto him from every side while yet he cannot die, and before him is a harsh doom.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[This, then, is] the parable of those who are bent on denying their Sustainer: all their works²⁴ are as ashes which the wind blows about fiercely on a stormy day: [in the life to come,] they cannot achieve any benefit whatever from all [the good] that they may have wrought: for this [denial of God] is indeed the farthest one can go astray.²⁵

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., even the good ones (Razi).

Lit., "this, this is the straying far-away". The definite article in the expression ad-dalal al-ba'id, preceded by the pronouns dhalika huwa, is meant to stress the extreme degree of this "straying far-away" or "going astray": a construction that can be rendered in English only by a paraphrase, as above. It is to be noted that this phrase occurs in the Qur'an only twice - namely, in the above passage and in 22:12 - and refers in both cases to a denial, conscious or implied, of God's oneness and uniqueness.

The parable of the deeds of those who deny their Rabb is that their deeds are like ashes which the wind scatters on a stormy day; they will gain nothing from their deeds, and this is to stray far away from the goal of getting back to Paradise.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

A similitude of those who disbelieve in their Lord: Their works are as ashes which the wind bloweth hard upon a stormy day. They have no control of aught that they have earned. That is the extreme failure.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

ART THOU NOT aware that God has created the heavens and the earth in accordance with [an inner] truth?²⁶ He can, if He so wills, do away with you and bring forth a new mankind [in your stead]:²⁷

  - Mohammad Asad

See note [11] on 10:5 .

Lit., "bring forth a new creation" or "new people", for it should be remembered that the term khalq denotes not merely "creation" or "act of creation" but also "people" or "mankind", which seems to be its meaning here (Ibn 'Abbas, as quoted by Razi).

Do you not see that Allah has based the creation of the heavens and the earth on Truth? That He can destroy you if He wills and bring into being a new creation?

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Hast thou not seen that Allah hath created the heavens and the earth with truth? If He will, He can remove you and bring (in) some new creation.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

nor is this difficult for God.

  - Mohammad Asad

That is not at all difficult for Allah.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And that is no great matter for Allah.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall