Surah 15. Al-Hijr

AND, INDEED, We have set up in the heavens great constellations,¹⁵ and endowed them with beauty for all to behold;

  - Mohammad Asad

My rendering of buruj as "great constellations" is based on the Taj al-'Arus; among the classical commentators, Baghawi, Baydawi and Ibn Kathir give the same interpretation, while Tabari (on the authority of Mujahid and Qatadah) explains this term as signifying "the stars" in general.

It is We who have decked the heavens with constellations and made them good looking for the beholders;

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And verily in the heaven We have set mansions of the stars, and We have beautified it for beholders.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

and We have made them secure against every satanic force accursed¹⁶ -

  - Mohammad Asad

The term shaytan ("satan") - derived from the verb shatana ("he was [or "became"] remote") - often denotes in the Qur'an a force or influence remote from, and opposed to, all that is true and good (Taj al-'Arus, Raghib): thus, for instance, in 2:14 it is used to describe the evil impulses (shayatin) within the hearts of "those who are bent on denying the truth". In its widest, abstract sense it denotes every "satanic force", i.e., every impulsion directed towards ends which are contrary to valid ethical postulates. In the present context, the phrase "every satanic force accursed (rajim)" - like the phrase "every rebellious (marid) satanic force" in a similar context in 37:7 - apparently refers to endeavours, strongly condemned in Islam, to divine the future by means of astrological speculations: hence the preceding reference to the skies and the stars. The statement that God has made the heavens "secure" against such satanic forces obviously implies that He has made it impossible for the latter to obtain, through astrology or what is popularly described as "occult sciences", any real knowledge of "that which is beyond the reach of human perception" (al-ghayb).

and We have guarded them from every accursed shaitan.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And We have guarded it from every outcast devil,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

so that anyone who seeks to learn [the unknowable] by stealth is pursued by a flame clear to see.¹⁷

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "excepting [or "except that"] anyone who seeks to hear by stealth...", etc. The implication seems to be that any attempt at fathoming the mysteries of the unknowable by such illicit means ("by stealth") is inevitably followed by "a flame clear to see", i.e., by burning, self-evident frustration. (Cf. also 37:10 .)

Any shaitan that steals a hearing, there follows him a fiery comet.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Save him who stealeth the hearing, and them doth a clear flame pursue.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And the earth - We have spread it out wide, and placed on it mountains firm, and caused [life] of every kind to grow on it in a balanced manner,

  - Mohammad Asad

We have spread out the earth and set mountains upon it; and caused to grow every suitable thing therein,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And the earth have We spread out, and placed therein firm hills, and caused each seemly thing to grow therein.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

and provided thereon means of livelihood for you [O men] as well as for all [living beings] whose sustenance does not depend on you.¹⁸

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "whose providers you are not"; i.e., all living organisms - whether plants or animals - which are not tended by man but are nevertheless provided for. In its wider sense, this phrase stresses the notion that all living beings - man included - are provided for by God, and by Him alone (cf. 11:6 ).

and We provided therein means of sustenance for you and many other creatures to whom you do not provide.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And We have given unto you livelihoods therein, and unto those for whom ye provide not.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

For, no single thing exists that does not have its source with Us;¹⁹ and nought do We bestow from on high unless it be in accordance with a measure well-defined.²⁰

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "but with Us are its storehouses".

Lit., "and We do not send it down [i.e., "create it"] otherwise than according to a measure known [to Us]": that is, in accordance with the exigencies of God's plan as such and with the function which any particular thing or phenomenon is to have within that plan.

There is nothing which is not in Our inexhaustible treasure and sent down in appropriate measure.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And there is not a thing but with Us are the stores thereof. And We send it not down save in appointed measure.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And We let loose the winds to fertilize [plants],²¹ and We send down water from the skies and let you drink thereof: and it is not you who dispose of its source -

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., by pollination as well as by bringing rain-clouds.

We send the fertilizing winds and send down water from the sky for you to drink; it is not you who hold the storage of this wealth.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And We send the winds fertilizing, and cause water to descend from the sky, and give it you to drink. It is not ye who are the holders of the store thereof.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

for, behold, it is We - We alone - who grant life and deal death, and it is We alone who shall remain after all else will have passed away!²²

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "We are [or "shall be"] the inheritors (al-warithun)": an idiomatic metaphor based, according to the consensus of all classical commentators, on the use of the term "inheritor" or "heir" in the sense of "one who remains after his predecessor has passed away" - in this case, after all creation has perished. (Cf. the expression "the heritage of the heavens and of the earth" used, with reference to God, in 3:180 and 57:10 .)

Certainly it is We Who give life and cause to die, and We are the inheritors of all.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Lo! and it is We, even We, Who quicken and give death, and We are the Inheritor.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And well do We know [the hearts and deeds of all human beings - both] those who lived before you and those who will come after you;²³

  - Mohammad Asad

Or: "those of you who hasten forward [towards Us], and those who lag behind". Both these interpretations are considered equally legitimate by the early commentators.

Certainly We have full knowledge of those who have gone before you and certainly We know those who will come later.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And verily We know the eager among you and verily We know the laggards.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

and, behold, it is thy Sustainer who will gather them all together [on Judgment Day]: verily, He is wise, all-knowing!

  - Mohammad Asad

Surely your Rabb will gather them together; surely He is Wise, Knowledgeable.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Lo! thy Lord will gather them together. Lo! He is Wise, Aware.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

AND, INDEED, We have created man out of sounding clay, out of dark slime transmuted²⁴ -

  - Mohammad Asad

There are many references in the Qur'an to man's having been "created out of clay (tin)" or "out of dust (turab)", both these terms signifying man's lowly biological origins as well as the fact that his body is composed of various organic and inorganic substances existing - in other combinations or in their elementary forms - on or in the earth. The term ,salsal, occurring in three verses of this surah as well as in 55:14 , adds a further dimension to this concept. According to most of the philological authorities, it denotes "dried clay that emits a sound" (i.e., when it is struck); and since it is used in the Qur'an exclusively with reference to the creation of man, it seems to contain an allusion to the power of articulate speech which distinguishes man from all other animal species, as well as to the brittleness of his existence (cf. the expression "like pottery" in 55:14 ). As the construction of the sentence shows, this salsal is stated to have evolved (Razi) out of hama' - which, according to some authorities, is the plural of ham'ah, signifying "dark, fetid mud" or "dark slime" - while the participial adjective masnun which qualifies this noun denotes, as Razi points out, both "altered" (i.e., in its composition) and "brought into shape": hence my rendering of this expression as "transmuted", which to some extent combines both of the above meanings. To my mind, we have here a description of the primeval biological environment out of which the "sounding clay" - the matrix, as it were - of man's physical body has evolved in accordance with God's plan of creation.

We created man from sounding clay, black mud moulded into shape;

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Verily We created man of potter's clay of black mud altered,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

whereas the invisible beings We had created, [long] before that, out of the fire of scorching winds.²⁵

  - Mohammad Asad

Cf. 55:15 - "out of the confusing flame of fire (marij min nar)": i.e., of non-corporeal elements. The noun al-jann, rendered by me as "the invisible beings", is in reality a singular, denoting here the kind of these particular beings or forces, similar to the use of the singular noun "man" (al-insan) which describes the collective entity "mankind". The etymology of the word jann (the plural of which is jinn) has been briefly touched upon in note [86] on 6:100 ; a more detailed discussion of its meaning is found in Appendix III.

while before him We had created Jinn from smokeless fire.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And the jinn did We create aforetime of essential fire.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And lo! Thy Sustainer said unto the angels: "Behold, I am about to create mortal man out of sounding clay, out of dark slime transmuted;

  - Mohammad Asad

Remember when your Rabb said to the angels: "I am about to create a man from sounding clay, black mud moulded into shape;

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And (remember) when thy Lord said unto the angels: Lo! I am creating a mortal out of potter's clay of black mud altered.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

and when I have formed him fully and breathed into him of My spirit, fall down before him in prostration!"²⁶

  - Mohammad Asad

Cf. {2:30-34} and the corresponding notes, as well as {7:11-18}. The allegorical character of all the passages bearing on the creation of man and on God's command to the angels to prostrate themselves before him is brought out clearly in God's saying, "I am about to create mortal man...; and when I have formed him fully...", etc.: for it is obvious that, in reality, no lapse of time is required for God's completing His creation - since, "when He wills a thing to be, He but says unto it, 'Be'- and it is" (cf. 2:117 , 3:47 and {59}, 6:73 , 16:40 , 19:35 , 36:82 and 40:68 ). God's "breathing of His spirit" into man is obviously a metaphor for His endowing him with life and consciousness: that is, with a soul.

when I complete his moulding and breath into him of My spirit, kneel down and prostrate before him."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

So, when I have made him and have breathed into him of My spirit, do ye fall down, prostrating yourselves unto him.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Thereupon the angels prostrated themselves, all of them together,

  - Mohammad Asad

Accordingly the angels prostrated altogether,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

So the angels fell prostrate, all of them together

  - Marmaduke Pickthall