Surah 25. Al-Furqan

Blessed is the One Who has placed constellations in the sky, as well as a 'radiant' lamp¹ and a luminous moon.

  - Mustafa Khattab

 The sun.

Blessed is He Who made Constellations in the skies and placed therein a Lamp and a Moon giving light; ³¹²¹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The glorious Lamp of the skies is the Sun; and next to him is the Moon, which gives borrowed light. The Constellations of course include the Signs of the Zodiac, which mark the path of the planets in the heavens.

And He is the One Who causes the day and the night to alternate, 'as a sign' for whoever desires to be mindful or to be grateful.

  - Mustafa Khattab

And it is He Who made the Night and the Day to follow each other: for such as have the will to celebrate His praises or to show their gratitude. ³¹²²

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The scenes of the phenomenal world are Signs of the Self-Revelation of Allah, for those who understand and who have the will to merge their wills in His. This they do (1) by praising Him, which means understanding something of His nature, and (2) by gratitude to Him, which means carrying out His Will, and doing good to their fellow-creatures. These two attitudes of mind and heart give rise to various consequences in their lives, which are detailed in the following verse.

The 'true' servants of the Most Compassionate are those who walk on the earth humbly, and when the foolish address them 'improperly', they only respond with peace.

  - Mustafa Khattab

And the servants of (Allah) Most Gracious are those who walk on the earth in humility and when the ignorant address them they say "Peace!" ³¹²³

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Ignorant: in a moral sense. Address: in the aggressive sense. Their humility is shown in two ways: (1) to those in real search of knowledge, they give such knowledge as they have and as the recipients can assimilate; (2) to those who merely dispute, they do not speak harshly, but say "Peace!", as much as to say, "May it be well with you, may you repent and be better"; or "May Allah give me peace from such wrangling"; or "Peace, and Good-bye; let me leave you!"

'They are' those who spend 'a good portion of' the night, prostrating themselves and standing before their Lord.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Those who spend the night in adoration of their Lord prostrate and standing; ³¹²⁴

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Humble prayer brings them nearer to Allah.

'They are' those who pray, 'Our Lord! Keep the punishment of Hell away from us, for its punishment is indeed unrelenting.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Those who say "Our Lord! avert from us the Wrath of Hell for its Wrath is indeed an affliction grievous ³¹²⁵

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

This is a prayer of humility: such a person relies, not on any good works which he may have done, but on the Grace and Mercy of Allah; and he shows a lively sense of the Day of Judgment, when every action will weigh for or against a soul.

It is certainly an evil place to settle and reside.'

  - Mustafa Khattab

"Evil indeed is it as an abode and as a place to rest in"; ³¹²⁶

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The misery which results from sin is not only grievous to live in ("an abode") but also grievous "to rest in" or "to stand in", if it be only for a short time.

'They are' those who spend neither wastefully nor stingily, but moderately in between.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Those who when they spend are not extravagant and not niggardly but hold a just (balance) between those (extremes); ³¹²⁷

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

In ordinary spending this is a wise rule. But even in charity, in which we give of our best, it is not expected that we should be extravagant, i.e., that we should either do it for show, to impress other people, or do it thoughtlessly, which would be the case if we "rob Peter to pay Paul". We should certainly not be niggardly, but we should remember everyone's rights, including our own, and strike a perfectly just balance between them.

'They are' those who do not invoke any other god besides Allah, nor take a 'human' life- made sacred by Allah- except with 'legal' right,¹ nor commit fornication. And whoever does 'any of' this will face the penalty.

  - Mustafa Khattab

 For example, in retaliation for intentional killing through legal channels.

Those who invoke not with Allah any other god nor slay such life as Allah has made sacred except for just cause not commit fornication and any that does this (not only) meets punishment ³¹²⁸

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Here three things are expressly condemned: (1) false worship, which is a crime against Allah; (2) the taking of life, which is a crime against our fellow-creatures; and (3) fornication, which is a crime against our self-respect, against ourselves. Every crime is against Allah, His creatures, and ourselves, but some may be viewed more in relation to one than to another. The prohibition against taking life is qualified: "except for just cause,": e.g., in judicial punishment for murder, or in self-preservation, which may include not only self-defence in the legal sense, but also the clearing out of pests, and the provision of meat under conditions of Halal.- see n. 698 to v. 5. After this comes a long parenthesis, which ends with verse 71 below.

Their punishment will be multiplied on the Day of Judgment, and they will remain in it forever, in disgrace.

  - Mustafa Khattab

(But) the Penalty on the Day of Judgment will be doubled to him and he will dwell therein in ignominy ³¹²⁹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The three crimes just mentioned are specially detestable and infamous, and as ignominy will be added to other punishments, the penalty will be double that of ordinary punishment.

As for those who repent, believe, and do good deeds, they are the ones whose evil deeds Allah will change into good deeds. For Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Unless he repents believes and works righteous deeds for Allah will change the evil of such persons into good and Allah is Oft-Forgiving Most Merciful ³¹³⁰

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

But even in the case of great crimes, if there is true repentance as tested by a changed fife in conduct, Allah's Mercy is available, and it will transform the repentant's nature from evil to good.

And whoever repents and does good has truly turned to Allah properly.

  - Mustafa Khattab

And whoever repents and does good has truly turned to Allah with an (acceptable) conversion

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

'They are' those who do not bear false witness, and when they come across falsehood, they pass 'it' by with dignity.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Those who witness no falsehood and if they pass by futility they pass by it with honorable (avoidance); ^{3131 3132}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Witness no falsehood has two significations, both implied in this passage: (1) those who give no evidence that is false; and (2) those who do not assist at anything which implies fraud or falsehood.

There is not only condemnation of positive falsehood or of being mixed up with things implying falsehood; but futilities-vain random talk, unedifying jokes, useless show, etc.-are all condemned. If a good man finds himself in such an affair, he must withdraw from it in an honourable, dignified way, not in a fussy arrogant way.

'They are' those who, when reminded of the revelation of their Lord, do not turn a blind eye or a deaf ear to it.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Those who when they are admonished with the Signs of their Lord droop not down at them as if they were deaf or blind: ³¹³³

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Kharra may mean: to fall down, to snore, to droop down as if the person were bored or inattentive, or did not wish to see or hear or pay attention.

'They are' those who pray, 'Our Lord! Bless us with 'pious' spouses and offspring who will be the joy of our hearts, and make us models for the righteous.'

  - Mustafa Khattab

And those who pray "Our Lord! grant unto us wives and offspring who will be the comfort of our eyes and give us (the grace) to lead the righteous." ^{3134 3135}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

We must also pray for the maintenance of Allah's Law after us, through our wives and descendants: in our eyes they should not be mere accidents or play-things, but a real comfort and fulfilment of our spiritual longings. Perhaps, through them, as well through ourselves, we may, by Allah's grace, be able to give a lead for truth and righteousness.

Let us recapitulate the virtues of the true servants of Allah: (1) they are humble and forbearing to those below them in spiritual worth; (2) they are constantly, by adoration, in touch with Allah; (3) they always remember the Judgment in the Hereafter; (4) they are moderate in all things; (5) they avoid treason to Allah, to their fellow-creatures, and to themselves; (6) they give a wide berth not only to falsehood but to futility; (7) they pay attention, both in mind and manner, to the Signs of their Lord; (8) their ambition is to bring up their families in righteousness and to lead in all good. A fine code of individual and social ethics, a ladder of spiritual development, open to all.

It is they who will be rewarded with 'elevated' mansions 'in Paradise' for their perseverance, and will be received with salutations and 'greetings of' peace,

  - Mustafa Khattab

Those are the ones who will be rewarded with the highest place in heaven because of their patient constancy; therein shall they be met with salutations and peace

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali