Surah 23. Al-Muminun

But nay, they speak as the people of olden times did speak:

  - Mohammad Asad

On the contrary they just say what their forefathers said before them,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Nay, but they say the like of that which said the men of old;

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

they say: "What! After we have died and become mere dust and bones, shall we, forsooth, be raised from the dead?

  - Mohammad Asad

who said: "What! After death when our bodies become dust and bones, could we really be raised to life again?

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

They say: When we are dead and have become (mere) dust and bones, shall we then, forsooth, be raised again?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Indeed, this [very thing] we have been promised - we and our forefathers-long ago! This is nothing but fables of ancient times!"

  - Mohammad Asad

We have heard many such threats and so did our forefathers before us. These are nothing but legends of primitive people."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

We were already promised this, we and our forefathers. Lo! this is naught but fables of the men of old.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Say: "Unto whom belongs the earth and all that lives thereon?⁴⁸ [Tell me this] if you happen to know [the answer]!"

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "and all who are on it".

Say: "To whom belong the earth and everything therein? Tell me if you know?"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Say: Unto Whom (belongeth) the earth and whosoever is therein, if ye have knowledge?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[And] they will reply: "Unto God.Say: "Will you not, then, bethink yourselves [of Him]?"

  - Mohammad Asad

They will promptly reply: "to Allah!" Ask them: "Then why you don't use your common sense and believe in Him?"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

They will say: Unto Allah. Say: Will ye not then remember?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Say: "Who is it that sustains the seven heavens and is enthroned in His awesome almightiness?"⁴⁹

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "who is the Sustainer (rabb) of the seven heavens"- see note [20] on 2:29 - "and the Sustainer of the awesome throne of almightiness": cf. 9:129 as well as note [43] on 7:54 .

Say: "Who is the Rabb of the seven heavens and the Rabb of the Glorious Throne?"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Say: Who is Lord of the seven heavens, and Lord of the Tremendous Throne?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[And] they will reply: "[All this power belongs] to God. Say: "Will you not, then, remain conscious of Him?"

  - Mohammad Asad

Right away they will say: "Allah." Ask them: "Then why you don't fear Him?"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

They will say: Unto Allah (all that belongeth). Say: Will ye not then keep duty (unto Him)?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Say: "In whose hand rests the mighty dominion over all things, and who is it that protects, the while there is no protection against Him? [Tell me this] if you happen to know [the answer]!"

  - Mohammad Asad

Say: "In whose hands is the sovereignty of all things, protecting all, while against Him there is no protection? Tell me if you know."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Say: In Whose hand is the dominion over all things and He protecteth, while against Him there is no protection, if ye have knowledge?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[And] they will reply: "[All this power belongs] to God."Say: "How, then, can you be so deluded?"⁵⁰

  - Mohammad Asad

Sc., "as to deny the prospect of resurrection".

Quickly they will reply: "Allah." Ask them: "Then how you can be so bewitched?"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

They will say: Unto Allah (all that belongeth). Say: How then are ye bewitched?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Nay, We have conveyed unto them the truth: and yet, behold, they are intent on Iying [to them-selves]!⁵¹

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "they are indeed liars" - i.e., they deceive themselves by asserting that they believe in God and, at the same time, rejecting the idea of a life after death, which - in view of the fact that many wrongdoers prosper in this world while many righteous lead a life of suffering - is insolubly bound up with the concept of divine justice. Apart from this, a denial of the possibility of resurrection implies a doubt as to God’s unlimited power and, thus, of His Godhead in the true sense of this concept. This latter doubt often finds its expression in the mystic belief in a multiplicity of divine powers: and it is to this erroneous belief that the next verse alludes.

The fact of the matter is that We have brought them the Truth, and undoubtedly these people are liars.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Nay, but We have brought them the Truth, and lo! they are liars.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Never did God take unto Himself any offspring,⁵² nor has there ever been any deity side by side with Him: [for, had there been any,] lo! each deity would surely have stood apart [from the others] in whatever it had created,⁵³ and they would surely have [tried to] overcome one another! Limitless in His glory is God, [far] above anything that men may devise by way of definition.⁵⁴

  - Mohammad Asad

This allusion to the pre-Islamic Arabian belief in angels as "God’s daughters" and the Christian dogma of Jesus’ "sonship of God" connects with the statement "they are intent on lying [to themselves]", which has been explained in the preceding note.

This is how almost all the classical commentators explain the phrase la-dhahaba bi-ma khalaqa (lit., "would surely have taken away whatever he had created"), implying that in such a hypothetical case each of the gods would have been concerned only with his own sector of creation, thus causing complete confusion in the universe.

See note [88] on 6:100 .

Never has Allah begotten a son, nor is there any god besides Him. Had it been so, each god would govern his own creation, and each would have tried to overpower the others. Exalted be Allah, above the sort of things they attribute to Him!

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Allah hath not chosen any son, nor is there any God along with Him; else would each God have assuredly championed that which he created, and some of them would assuredly have overcome others. Glorified be Allah above all that they allege.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

knowing all that is beyond the reach of a created being's perception as well as all that can be witnessed by a creature's senses or mind⁵⁵ - and, hence, sublimely exalted is He above anything to which they may ascribe a share in His divinity!

  - Mohammad Asad

See surah {6}, note [65].

He knows what is hidden and what is open: far above is He from the shirk of these people.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Knower of the invisible and the visible! and exalted be He over all that they ascribe as partners (unto Him)!

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

SAY: "O my Sustainer! If it be Thy will to let me witness⁵⁶ [the fulfilment of] whatever they [who blaspheme against Thee] have been promised [to suffer] -

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "to show me" [sc., "in my lifetime"]. According to Zamakhshari, the combination of the conditional particle in ("if") with ma ("that which" or "whatever") - spelt and pronounced imma - endows the verb turini (lit., "Thow wilt show me") with the quality of intrinsic necessity - thus: "If it is inevitable (la budd) that Thou show me [or "let me witness"]...", etc. In translation, this particular phrasing is best rendered as above, since anything that is God’s will becomes eo ipso inevitable.

Pray: "O my Rabb! If You inflict that punishment with which they are being threatened in my lifetime,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Say: My Lord! If thou shouldst show me that which they are promised,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

do not, O my Sustainer, let me be one of those evildoing folk!"

  - Mohammad Asad

then O Rabb, do not include me amongst these unjust people."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

My Lord! then set me not among the wrongdoing folk.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[Pray thus-] for, behold, We are most certainly able to let thee witness [the fulfilment, even in this world, of] whatever We promise them!

  - Mohammad Asad

Surely We have the power to let you see the punishment with which they are being threatened.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And verily We are Able to show thee that which We have promised them.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall