Surah 15. Al-Hijr

Said He: "This is, with Me, a straight way:³¹

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., "this is what I have willed" - namely, that Iblis (or Satan) should tempt man, but should have no power to seduce those who are truly conscious of God. Thus, the Qur'an makes it clear that despite his ostensible "rebellion" against his Creator, Satan fulfils a definite function in God's plan: he is the eternal tempter who enables man to exercise his God-given freedom of choice between good and evil and, thus, to become a being endowed with moral free will. (See in this connection 19:83 , as well as note [26] on 2:34 and note [16] on 7:24 .)

Allah said: "This course of action is all right with Me

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

He said: This is a right course incumbent upon Me:

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

verily, thou shalt have no power over My creatures - unless it be such as are [already] lost in grievous error and follow thee [of their own will]:³²

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "except him who shall follow thee from among those who are lost in grievous error". (Cf. 14:22 , according to which Satan will thus address his erstwhile followers on Judgment Day: "I had no power at all over you: I but called you - and you responded unto me.") This phrase constitutes the essential difference between the above passage and the similar one in {7:11-18}.

- you will not have any authority over My devotees except those misguided ones who follow you.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Lo! as for My slaves, thou hast no power over any of them save such of the froward as follow thee,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

and for all such, behold, hell is the promised goal,

  - Mohammad Asad

They will be all destined for Hell,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And lo! for all such, hell will be the promised place.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

with seven gates leading into it, each gate receiving its allotted share of sinners."³³

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "it has seven gates, [with] an allotted share of them for each gate". This probably means "seven degrees" of hell, i.e., of the suffering which, in the life to come, awaits the "followers of Satan" in accordance with the gravity of their sins (Razi; a similar explanation is given by Qatadah, as quoted by Tabari). It should also be remembered that the concept of "hell" as such is referred to in the Qur'an under seven different names, all of them metaphorical (necessarily so, because they relate to what the Qur'an describes as al-ghayb, "something that is beyond the reach of human perception"): namely nar ("fire, which is the general term), jahannam ("hell"), jahim ("blazing fire"), sa'ir ("blazing flame"), saqar ("hell-fire"), laza ("raging flame"), and hutamah ("crushing torment"). Since, as I have mentioned, these designations of other-worldly suffering are obviously allegorical, we may also assume that the "seven gates of hell" have the same character, and signify "seven approaches [or "ways"] to hell". Furthermore, it is well known that in the Semitic languages - and most particularly in classical Arabic - the number "seven" is often used in the sense of "several" or "various" (cf. Lisan al-'Arab, Taj al -Arus, etc.): and so the above Qur'anic phrase may well have the meaning of "various ways leading to hell" - in other words, many ways of sinning.

which has seven gates, each gate will be assigned to a separate group from among them."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

It hath seven gates, and each gate hath an appointed portion.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

VERILY, those who are conscious of God [shall find themselves in the hereafter] amidst gardens and springs,

  - Mohammad Asad

The righteous will be in the midst of the gardens and fountains of paradise

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Lo! those who ward off (evil) are among gardens and watersprings.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[having been received with the greeting,] "Enter here in peace, secure!"

  - Mohammad Asad

and it will be said to them: "Enter into these in peace and security."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

(And it is said unto them): Enter them in peace, secure.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And [by then] We shall have removed whatever unworthy thoughts or feelings may have been [lingering] in their breasts, [and they shall rest] as brethren, facing one another [in love] upon thrones of happiness.³⁴

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., all being equal in dignity, and therefore free from envy. As Razi points out, the plural noun surur (sing. sarir), which literally denotes "couches" or, occasionally, "thrones", signifies also "seats [or "thrones"] of eminence" or "of happiness (surur)", from which latter word the noun sarir and its plural surur may be derived. The sublime quality of these "thrones of happiness" is in some instances further symbolized by expressions like "gold-encrusted" ( 56:15 ) or "raised high" ( 88:13 ).

We shall remove all hatred from their hearts - they will become like brothers and sit on couches face to face.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And We remove whatever rancor may be in their breasts. As brethren, face to face, (they rest) on couches raised.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

No weariness shall ever touch them in this [state of bliss], and never shall they have to forgo it.³⁵

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "never shall they be caused to depart from it".

No fatigue will touch them in there, not will they ever be asked to leave.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Toil cometh not unto them there, nor will they be expelled from thence.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Tell My servants that I - I alone - am truly forgiving, a true dispenser of grace;

  - Mohammad Asad

O Prophet! Tell My devotees that I am indeed the Forgiving, the Merciful;

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Announce, (O Muhammad) unto My slaves that verily I am the Forgiving, the Merciful.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

and [also,] that the suffering which I shall impose [on sinners] will indeed be a suffering most grievous.³⁶

  - Mohammad Asad

In his commentary on the above two verses, Razi notes that the statement relating to God's forgiveness and grace contains a threefold emphasis - expressed by the repetition of the personal pronoun ana relating to God, and the definite article al before each of the two participial adjectives - whereas there is no such stress in the mention of His chastisement of recalcitrant sinners. (Cf. 6:12 - and the corresponding note [10] - as well as 6:54 , both of which verses state that God "has willed upon Himself the law of grace and mercy".)

but at the same time My punishment is also the most painful punishment.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And that My doom is the dolorous doom.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

AND TELL THEM [once again] about Abraham's guests³⁷ -

  - Mohammad Asad

For a more detailed story of Abraham and the heavenly messengers, see verses {69-76} of surah {11} (Hud), which was revealed shortly before the present one. The connection between this story and the preceding stress on God's grace arises from Abraham's saying (in verse {56}), "And who - other than those who have utterly lost their way - could ever lose the hope of his Sustainer's grace?" Similarly, the subsequent references (in verses {58-84}) to the sinful communities that were destroyed because they refused to heed the warnings of their prophets are, obviously, meant to illustrate the reverse of God's grace, namely, His inevitable chastisement of deliberate, unrepented sinning (verse {50} above).

Tell them about the guests of Ibrahim (Abraham).

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And tell them of Abraham's guests,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[how,] when they presented themselves before him and bade him peace, he answered: "Behold, we are afraid of you!"³⁸

  - Mohammad Asad

For the reason of Abraham's and Sarah's apprehension, see 11:70 .

They entered upon them and said: "Peace be upon you!" But he replied: "Surely we are afraid of you."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

(How) when they came in unto him, and said: Peace. He said: Lo! we are afraid of you.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Said they: "Fear not! Behold, we bring thee the glad tiding of [the birth of] a son who will be endowed with deep knowledge."³⁹

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., will be a prophet.

They answered: "Do not be afraid of us! We have come to you with good news of a son endowed with knowledge."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

They said: Be not afraid! Lo! we bring thee good tidings of a boy possessing wisdom.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Said he: "Do you give me this glad tiding despite the fact that old age has overtaken me? Of what [strange thing], then, are you giving me a tiding!"

  - Mohammad Asad

He said: "Are you giving me the good news of a son when I have become old? What kind of good news you are giving?"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

He said: Bring ye me good tidings (of a son) when old age hath overtaken me? Of what then can ye bring good tidings?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

They answered: "We have given thee the glad tiding of something that is bound to come true:⁴⁰ so be not of those who abandon hope!"

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "We have given thee the glad tiding of the truth" - i.e., of the truth willed by God (Ibn 'Abbas, as quoted by Razi).

They replied: "We are giving you true good news; you should not be of those who despair."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

They said: We bring thee good tidings in truth. So be not thou of the despairing.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall