Surah 22. Al-Hajj

Have they, then, never journeyed about the earth, letting their hearts gain wisdom, and causing their ears to hear?⁶¹ Yet, verily, it is not their eyes that have become blind - but blind have become the hearts that are in their breasts!

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "whereupon they would have hearts wherewith they might understand, or ears whereby they might hear".

Have they not traveled through the land? Have they no hearts to learn wisdom, or ears to hear the Truth? Certainly it is not their eyes which are blind, but it is the hearts in their breasts which are blind.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Have they not travelled in the land, and have they hearts wherewith to feel and ears wherewith to hear? For indeed it is not the eyes that grow blind, but it is the hearts, which are within the bosoms, that grow blind.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And [so, O Muhammad,] they challenge thee to hasten the coming upon them of [God's] chastisement:⁶² but God never fails to fulfil His promise - and, behold, in thy Sustainer's sight a day is like a thousand years of your reckoning.⁶³

  - Mohammad Asad

For an explanation, see 6:57 , 8:32 and 13:6 , as well as the corresponding notes.

I.e., what men conceive of as "time" has no meaning with regard to God, because He is timeless, without beginning and without end, so that "in relation to Him, one day and a thousand years are alike" (Razi). Cf. 70:4 , where in the same sense, a "day" is said to be equal to "fifty thousand years", or the well-authenticated saying of the Prophet' "God says, 'I am Time Absolute (ad-dahr)'."

These people ask you to hasten the threatened punishment. Well, Allah will never go back on His promise. In fact a day of your Rabb (time period in which Allah's decision is executed) is equal to a thousand years of your calculation.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And they will bid thee hasten on the Doom, and Allah faileth not His promise, but lo! a Day with Allah is as a thousand years of what ye reckon.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And to how many a community that was im-mersed in evildoing have I given rein for a while! But then I took it to task: for with Me is all journeys' end!

  - Mohammad Asad

There have been many townships teeming with wrong doings, to whom at first I gave respite and at the end I smote them. Towards Me is the destination of all.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And how many a township did I suffer long though it was sinful! Then I grasped it. Unto Me is the return.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

SAY [O Muhammad]: "O men! I am but a plain warner [sent by God] unto you!"

  - Mohammad Asad

O Muhammad, tell them: "O mankind! I am merely a plain Warner to you;

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Say: O mankind! I am only a plain warner unto you.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And [know that] those who attain to faith and do righteous deeds shall be granted forgiveness of sins and a most excellent sustenance;⁶⁴

  - Mohammad Asad

See 8:4 and the corresponding note [5].

Those who accept the true faith and do good deeds shall be forgiven and provided honorable sustenance;

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Those who believe and do good works, for them pardon and a rich provision;

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

whereas those who strive against Our messages, seeking to defeat their purpose - they are destined for the blazing fire.

  - Mohammad Asad

but those who strive against Our revelations shall be the inmates of flaming fire."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

While those who strive to thwart Our revelations, such are rightful owners of the Fire.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Yet whenever We sent forth any apostle or prophet before thee, and he was hoping⁶⁵ [that his warnings would be heeded], Satan would cast an asper-sion on his innermost aims:⁶⁶ but God renders null and void whatever aspersion Satan may cast; and God makes His messages clear in and by themselves⁶⁷ - for God is all-knowing, wise.

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "We never sent any apostle or prophet before thee without that, when he was hoping (tamanna)...", etc. According to most of the commentators, the designation "apostle" (rasul) is applied to bearers of divine revelations which comprise a new doctrinal system or dispensation; a "prophet" (nabi), on the other hand, is said to be one whom God has entrusted with the enunciation of ethical principles on the basis of an already-existing dispensation, or of principles common to all divine dispensations. Hence, every apostle is a prophet as well, but not every prophet is an apostle.

I.e., insinuating that the innermost aim (umniyyah, lit., "longing" or "hope") of the message-bearer in question was not the spiritual improvement of his community but, rather, the attainment of personal power and influence: cf. 6:112 -"against every prophet We have set up as enemies the evil forces (shayatin) from among humans as well as from among invisible beings (al-jinn)" - a statement which is explained in surah {6}, note [98].

Lit., "and God makes His messages clear in and by themselves". This is the meaning of the phrase yuhkimu ayatahu (cf. the expression uhkimat ayatuhu in 11:1 ): i.e., God causes His messages to speak for themselves, so that any insinuation as to the prophet's "hidden motives" is automatically disproved. The conjunction thumma at the beginning of this clause does not connote a sequence in time but a coordination of activities, and is best rendered by the simple conjunction "and".

Never have We sent a Rasool or a prophet before you, O Muhammad, with whose wishes Shaitan did not tamper; but Allah abrogates the interjections of Shaitan and confirms His own revelations, for Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Never sent We a messenger or a Prophet before thee but when He recited (the message) Satan proposed (opposition) in respect of that which he recited thereof. But Allah abolisheth that which Satan proposeth. Then Allah establisheth His revelations. Allah is Knower, Wise;

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[And He allows doubts to arise] so that He might cause whatever aspersion Satan may cast [against His prophets] to become a trial for all in whose hearts is disease⁶⁸ and all whose hearts are hardened: for, verily, all who are [thus] sinning [against themselves⁶⁹ are most deeply in the wrong.

  - Mohammad Asad

See 2:10 and the corresponding note.

Lit., "all [such] evildoers".

He makes Shaitan's interjections a temptation for those whose hearts suffer from the disease of hypocrisy and whose hearts are hardened - that's why the wrongdoers are in such an extreme dissension

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

That He may make that which the devil proposeth a temptation for those in whose hearts is a disease, and those whose hearts are hardened--Lo! the evil-doers are in open schism--

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And [God renders Satan's aspersions null and void] so that they who are endowed with [innate] knowledge might know that this [divine writ] is the truth from thy Sustainer, and that they might believe in it, and that their hearts might humbly submit unto Him. For, behold, God does guide onto a straight way those who have attained to faith -

  - Mohammad Asad

- so that those who are endowed with knowledge may realize that this (Qur'an) is the Truth from your Rabb and thus believe in it and humble their hearts towards Him, and surely Allah will guide the believers to the Straight Way.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And that those who have been given knowledge may know that it is the truth from thy Lord, so that they may believe therein and their hearts may submit humbly unto Him. Lo! Allah verily is guiding those who believe unto a right path.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

whereas those who are bent on denying the truth will not cease to be in doubt about Him until the Last Hour comes suddenly upon them and [supreme] suffering befalls them on a Day void of all hope.⁷⁰

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "or [until] there comes upon them the chastisement [or "suffering] of a barren Day", i.e., the Day of Judgment, which will offer no hope to those who, until their death, failed to realize the existence of God or to submit to His guidance.

As for the unbelievers, they will never cease to doubt the revelation, until the Hour of Doom overtakes them suddenly or there comes on them the punishment of the Day of Disaster.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And those who disbelieve will not cease to be in doubt thereof until the Hour come upon them unawares, or there come unto them the doom of a disastrous day.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

On that Day, all dominion shall [visibly] belong to God. He shall judge [all men and make a distinction] between them: thus, all who had attained to faith and did righteous deeds shall find themselves in gardens of bliss,

  - Mohammad Asad

On that Day the Kingdom will be that of Allah's; He will judge between them; so those who have embraced the true faith and done good deeds shall enter the gardens of delight;

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

The Sovereignty on that day will be Allah's. He will judge between them. Then those who believed and did good works will be in Gardens of Delight,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

whereas for those who were bent on denying the truth and gave the lie to Our messages, there shall be shameful suffering in store.

  - Mohammad Asad

but the unbelievers who have denied Our revelations shall receive a disgraceful punishment.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

While those who disbelieved and denied Our revelations, for them will be a shameful doom.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

AND AS FOR those who forsake the domain of evil⁷¹ [and strive] in God's cause, and then are slain or die - God will most certainly provide for them a goodly sustenance [in the life to come]: for, verily, God - He alone - is the best of providers;

  - Mohammad Asad

For this rendering of the phrase alladhina hajaru, see note [203] on 2:218 . The subsequent mention of "those who strive in God's cause, and then are slain or die" connects with the reference, in verses {39-40}, to God's permission to the believers to fight in defence of their faith and liberty. The extreme merit of the self-sacrifice involved is stressed in several Qur'anic passages, and particularly in {4:95-96}; hence, it has also a bearing on the Day of Judgement spoken of in the preceding passage.

As for those who migrated for the sake of Allah and afterwards were killed or died, Allah will make a generous provision for them; certainly Allah is the One Who is the best Provider.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Those who fled their homes for the cause of Allah and then were slain or died, Allah verily will provide for them a good provision. Lo! Allah, He verily is Best of all who make provision.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[and] He will most certainly cause them to enter upon a state [of being] that shall please them well :⁷² for, verily, God is all-knowing, most forbearing.

  - Mohammad Asad

Or: "cause them to enter [upon their life after death] in a manner that will please them well" (cf. note [40] on the last clause of 4:31 ) - thus implying that by sacrificing their lives in God’s cause they will have obtained His forgiveness of whatever sins they may have previously committed.

He will admit them to a place with which they shall be well pleased; for Allah is All-Knowing, Most Lenient.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Assuredly He will cause them to enter by an entry that they will love. Lo! Allah verily is Knower, Indulgent.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Thus shall it be. And as for him who responds to aggression only to the extent of the attack levelled against him,⁷³ and is thereupon [again] treacherously attacked - God will most certainly succour him: for, behold, God is indeed an absolver of sins, much-forgiving.⁷⁴

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "who has retaliated with the like of what he had been afflicted with" - i.e., has acted only in self-defence and done to his enemy no more than the enemy had done to him. (A similar phrase, relating to retaliation in argument, is found in 16:126 and explained in the corresponding note [150].)

While the opening sentence of this verse stresses the principle of self-defence as the only justification of war (cf. 2:190 and {192-193}) - with the proviso that retaliation must not exceed the injury initially suffered - the concluding part of the verse implies that in case of repeated, unprovoked aggression the believers are allowed to wage an all-out war with a view to destroying completely the enemy's military power. Since such an all-out war might seem to conflict with the principle of limited retaliation alluded to above, the Qur'an states that God absolves the believers of what otherwise might have been a sin, since it is they "against whom war is being wrongfully waged" (verse {39}) by repeated acts of aggression.

Thus shall it be! He that retaliates equal to the infliction he received and then is wronged again, will most certainly be helped by Allah; surely Allah is the One Who is All-Forbearing, Most Forgiving.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

That (is so). And whoso hath retaliated with the like of that which he was made to suffer and then hath (again) been wronged, Allah will succour him. Lo! Allah verily is Mild, Forgiving.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall