| | Bijan Moeinian rendition of Surah The Story, Stories, The Narrative(al-Qasas)
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| 28:1 | | T.S.M |
| 28:2 | | These are the words of God which constitute Qur’an [A book which clearly explain that part of the unseen which is related to the man’s earthly life.] |
| 28:3 | | I (God) am going to recite to you believers a little bit of the true story of Moses and Pharaoh |
| 28:4 | | Pharaoh established his tyranny in Egypt by dividing men (based upon their race and nationality of origin). Then He humiliated one group (the Jews) by killing their sons and submitting their females to the slavery; indeed he was a great sinner and criminal |
| 28:5 | | Meanwhile, I (God) decided to change the situation and raise the oppressed ones to become the rulers and inherit the wealth and power |
| 28:6 | | And to humiliate the Pharaoh and Haman (Pharaoh’s right hand side) and his “elite” group: This was exactly what they were really afraid of happening to them and the basis for their tyranny |
| 28:7 | | [When Pharaoh Ordered to kill all new born male Israelites,] I pacified her by saying: “Calm down and feed your baby. When you feel the danger is eminent, [put him in a basket] and cast him into the river. Do not fear and do not worry as I will bring him back to you and appoint him as one of my Prophets |
| 28:8 | | [What an irony that] the Pharaoh’s own household had to pick Moses up, so that he may become their enemy and create head ache for them. Indeed Pharaoh and Haman and their troops were misguided [thinking that by killing all new born males, they can change God’s will.] |
| 28:9 | | [When Moses was picked up from the river,] Pharaoh’s wife [and not his daughter as mentioned in the Scriptures] said: “Do not kill this cute little thing as he may be a good omen and we may later even adopt him as our son [so that he never turns against us.] They did not know what the future has for them.&rdquo |
| 28:10 | | Meanwhile Moses’ mother was going through such anxiety that she would have given away the baby’s identity, if I (God) had not cast peace on her to be a believer [in God’s promises.] |
| 28:11 | | She told her daughter to follow the baby from afar without being noticed [to see where he will end up.] |
| 28:12 | | I had already made Moses not to accept milk from any nursing mother. His sister [either working as a maid in the court or her path crossing by] said: “May I show you a family that can take a good care of the baby and raise him for you?&rdquo |
| 28:13 | | Thus I returned Moses back to his mother [with the economic and prestigious backing of the Pharaoh] to calm her down, remove her worries and prove to her that: “God never reneges His Promise” but most people are not aware of this fact |
| 28:14 | | When Moses became mature and full-grown, I gave him knowledge and a sound sense of judgment; I always treat the righteous ones like this |
| 28:15 | | One day, when it was all quiet in the city, and Moses was walking leisurely, he saw that two men are fighting: one of his own people and the other of his enemies. The man of his own people asked for help. As Moses through a punch, the other man was knocked down to death. Moses said: “This is indeed an act of Satan; he is man’s declared enemy and a misleader.&rdquo |
| 28:16 | | Moses then turned to God saying: “O my Lord, I have done an injustice to my soul and implore your forgiveness.” God then forgave him [and did not let anyone to witness the incident] as He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful |
| 28:17 | | Moses then in his prayer said: “In response to Your favor, I will never support the criminals.&rdquo |
| 28:18 | | The next morning, still under the shock of the incidence, he saw that the same man is engaged in another fight and is asking for his help. Moses replied: “You are certainly a misguided man [always engaged in a new fight.] |
| 28:19 | | As Moses was ready to intervene and help the Hebrew man, the latter [misunderstood the remark of Moses and thought that Moses is going to beat him so he] cried out: “O Moses, do you want to kill me today the same way that you killed the other one yesterday? You are indeed stepping toward becoming a tyrant rather than a righteous person.&rdquo |
| 28:20 | | Later Moses saw a man running to him saying: “The chiefs are holding a session to pass a death sentence on you; leave immediately as I am your well-wisher.&rdquo |
| 28:21 | | Moses then fled the town in fear and prayed: “O Lord save me from these wicked people.&rdquo |
| 28:22 | | Flying off toward Midyan, he was praying: “O Lord put me on the right track.&rdquo |
| 28:23 | | When Moses reached the well of Midyan, he saw all shepherds are watering their animals except two women who are [sadly] waiting. Moses asked them: “What is the problem?” They replied: “ As our father is an old man, we have to wait so that the others water their animals first.&rdquo |
| 28:24 | | Moses then stepped in and helped them to water their animals. Then he retired to a shady place to relax and said: “O my Lord, this poor creature of yours will appreciate any provision that you send down to him.&rdquo |
| 28:25 | | Pretty soon one of those two women shyly approached him and said: “My father invites you to meet him as he wants to pay your for your intervention.” When Moses met with the father and told him his whole story, the father said: “Do not worry as you are now out of the reach of those wicked people.&rdquo |
| 28:26 | | One of those two women said: “Father, hire this man as he is strong and trustworthy.&rdquo |
| 28:27 | | The father said: “I would like to offer the hand of one of my daughters in marriage to you. In return, I expect you to work for me at least eight years. I will appreciate your working for me for ten years, but I do not want to make this matter too difficult for you. God willing, in due time, you will find me a righteous man.&rdquo |
| 28:28 | | Moses replied: “Let us call it an agreement between you and me. When I finish eight or ten years of services to you, it will not be just from you to ask for more as God is witness for our agreement.&rdquo |
| 28:29 | | When Moses completed his obligation, he left Midyan with his family. During his travel, he saw a fire in the slope of Mount Sinai. He said to his family: “Wait here so that I may bring you a little bit of that fire so that we may start a bonfire to warm us up.&rdquo |
| 28:30 | | When Moses reached there, he heard a voice from the right side of that blessed [by the Devine light] valley: “Moses, I am God, Lord of the universe.&rdquo |
| 28:31 | | [He was then commanded:] “Throw down your staff.” When Moses saw that his staff started to move like a snake, he was overwhelmed by fear and started to run. [Then he heard:] “Come back Moses and have no fear; you are perfectly safe.&rdquo |
| 28:32 | | “Put your hand into your pocket; when you take it out of your pocket, you will find it shining without burning you. This practice will deliver you from any fear. These are two miracles that you will show to Pharaoh and his people; they have become very wicked.&rdquo |
| 28:33 | | Moses said: “My Lord, I have killed one of their people, I am afraid of being slaughtered by them.&rdquo |
| 28:34 | | [Then he continued:] “As my brother Aaron is a better speaker than me, send him as my helper to deliver the message as I am afraid to be ridiculed.&rdquo |
| 28:35 | | The Lord replied: “I will send your brother with you so that you feel stronger. I will give you both such a powerful image that no one will dare to harm you. With my miracles, you and your followers will have the final victory |
| 28:36 | | When Moses came to them with My undeniable miracles, they said: “These performances are nothing but illusive magic; we have never heard such none senses [the oneness of God, Day of Judgment, Heaven and Hell, etc.] from our forefathers |
| 28:37 | | Moses told them: “My Lord knows what kind of a person I am that He has sent me to you as His Messenger [I am not a magician]. God knows very well who will be victorious in the end. The fact of the matter is, the wicked ones never succeed.&rdquo |
| 28:38 | | Then Pharaoh turned to his chief administrators and said: “I am your only god. You Hamaan, make me the tallest tower so that I climb up and see this God that Moses is talking about. I am sure that he has fabricated all these stories.&rdquo |
| 28:39 | | Thus Pharaoh and his troops continued to be arrogant without any right or justification; they never dreamt to stand up in front of Me for Judgment |
| 28:40 | | Therefore, I punished him and his army by drowning them all in the sea. Note the fate of the wicked people |
| 28:41 | | They have set a precedent for injustice so that whoever walks on their path goes to Hell. Surely no one will show up to help them on the Day of Judgment |
| 28:42 | | They tasted a part of their punishment in this world and will be the most miserable in the Day of Resurrection |
| 28:43 | | After having destroyed the wicked ones, I revealed the Book to Moses as a source of enlightenment, guidance and a sign of My mercy to the people so that they may learn priceless lessons from it |
| 28:44 | | You (Mohammad) were not present in the Western edge of the Mount Sinai and were not witnessing these event when I issued My commandments to Moses [these passages are not, therefore, your words and are the revelations of your Lord.] |
| 28:45 | | Since then I have willed that many generations come and go and a long time has passed by [necessitating a new Prophet to guide people who have been deviated from the right path in account of the passage of time.] You were also not present in Midyan so that you may recite our revelations to them. Your only source of information [about all these events] is My revelations |
| 28:46 | | You were also not present in that side of the Mount Sinai that I called Moses [for the first time.] All these revealed to you is a part of My mercy to these people to whom a guide is not sent for the longest time. May they learn [priceless] lessons from it |
| 28:47 | | Now if, in account of their own deeds, a misfortune strikes the people, they will not have an excuse to say: “Our Lord, If you had sent a Prophet to us, we would have certainly had followed Your Revelations and would have been among the believers.&rdquo |
| 28:48 | | However, when My revelation [which is the only thing that they needed for guidance] reached these people, they said: “How come Mohammad has not been given the same [miracles] which was given to Moses?” Did people like them not deny the miracles of Moses? Did they not refer to those miracles as work of two magicians? Did they not say: “We will not believe any way?&rdquo |
| 28:49 | | Tell them: “If you have a better revelation from the Lord, than Qur’an and Torah, containing better guidance, let me know. I will follow such book to the point with you, if you are sincere |
| 28:50 | | If they fail to answer, then know that they are simply following their own opinions [which justify their lust] and who is more unjust [to himself] than an opinionated person who rejects the Highest Authority’s guidance. God definitely will not guide the unjust people for the simple reason that they do not deserve it.] |
| 28:51 | | I have [been more than just and have] delivered the message to them [over and over again] so that they may have the [ultimate] guidance |
| 28:52 | | Those who have received the previous scriptures will believe in this Qur’an. [As a matter of fact, the teachings of Qur’an are the same of the previous scriptures, before being tampered with.] |
| 28:53 | | Whenever Qur’an is recited to the latter [and not many of them have ever heard the verses of Qur’an], they say: “We believe in it as it has been revealed by God. In fact we have been Muslims from the very beginning.&rdquo |
| 28:54 | | These reverts will be rewarded twice (as much as Muslims) for the simple reason that they have [shown lots of courage in accepting the risk of loosing their family, friends and people for the sake of the truth and have] shown patience, responded to the evil with goodness and devoted a part of their [God given] income to charity |
| 28:55 | | When they hear any vain talk, they leave that place saying: “We are responsible for our deeds and you are responsible for yours. May peace be with you; we are not interested in talks based upon the ignorance.&rdquo |
| 28:56 | | O’ Mohammad, you cannot guide those whom you like to see guided. Only God can guide whoever He pleases. He knows who [has the capacity of absorbing the truth and deserves to be guided and] will accept guidance |
| 28:57 | | They say: “If we follow this guidance, we will become the subject of the persecution [of other Arab tribes who have placed their gods in Mecca.] Do they not realize that it is I who made this city a safe place for them at first place and it is I who provided different kind of fruits for their enjoyment; what a shame that most of them they do not get it |
| 28:58 | | So many “safe” places I have destroyed in account of their inhabitants’ attitude when they became proud of their flourishing economy and turned into wicked. Visit their ruins; only a few of them are still inhabited. At last it is God who inherited the land [that He had given out of mercy to those ungrateful people.] |
| 28:59 | | Your Lord never destroys any civilization before having sent a prophet among them to relay His Message. I would never punish any community unless its people practice injustice |
| 28:60 | | Whatever you have been given is a knickknack and only a provision so that you go through this worldly life. What is with God [in reserve for the successful ones] is much more valuable and everlasting. Why do you not use common sense [and give up your Hereafter for a few days of this worldly life?] |
| 28:61 | | Is the person to whom I have promised (and there is no doubt that God delivers) good rewards in Hereafter equal to the one who has been given everything in this world but will be presented on the Day of Resurrection for punishment |
| 28:62 | | Do not forget the Day that your Lord will ask: “Where arethose whom you were used to worship beside Me?&rdquo |
| 28:63 | | Those who had introduced alternative ideologies [and were literally taken to the Heaven by their followers] would speak up and confess: “Our Lord, we misled them [with our opinionated thoughts] for the simple reason that we were misled ourselves. Now [that we know the truth,] we throw ourselves at Your mercy; our fans did not literally worship us.&rdquo |
| 28:64 | | Then it will be said : “Now call upon those whom you literally worshipped.” The idol worshippers would call their idols but will get no response; then they will face their punishment. If they had only followed My guidance |
| 28:65 | | Let them not forget the Day that they will be asked: “What was your response to my Prophet’s invitation?&rdquo |
| 28:66 | | They will be so stunned by the events that they will be speechless |
| 28:67 | | As to the one who realized his mistakes, chose the belief, asked sincerely for forgiveness and devoted himself to good deeds, he may have hope to be included among the true successful ones |
| 28:68 | | Your Lord creates whatever He wills and chooses [whoever He desires for a given task to be performed anywhere in the universe.] The choice takes place at the Lord’s discretion [therefore, if a creature is chosen as an Angel, Prophet, etc., he should not be worshipped as his high rank is given to him by God and not earned by himself.] Glory belongs only to God, the Most High. He is far above needing a partner, as the idol worshipers think |
| 28:69 | | Your Lord knows what the disbelievers keep in their hearts (as secret) and what they reveal (as lies and hypocrisies. |
| 28:70 | | God is the One beside whom there is no other god. To God [and only to God and not to other creature of God] belongs all praise both in this world and in the Hereafter. Only God is capable of a sound Judgment and to Him you will all return (for judgment. |
| 28:71 | | Say to the disbelievers: “What if God decides to make the night perpetual (either by ordering the earth not to turn around its axle or by spreading volcanic ashes in the atmosphere, or...) till the Day of Resurrection, which one of those whom you are worshiping, except God, can return the light back to you. Do you not hear anything |
| 28:72 | | Say to the disbelievers: “What if God (on the contrary) made the day perpetual (till the Day of Resurrection), which “god” of yours, except God, can bring the night back to you so that you may have a peaceful rest again? Do you not see anything |
| 28:73 | | The creation of the day and the night [caused by the earth’s spinning around its axle] is a Mercy of God (as without it the earth would not have been hospitable for mankind) so that you may settle down on earth, take advantage of the provision that God has provided for you and may be thankful |
| 28:74 | | The Day [will come when they have to feel the shame] when God will ask them: “Where are those associates of Mine that you fabricated [and worshipped ?] |
| 28:75 | | On that Day, a representative of each nation will be asked: “Present your excuses for your behavior.” They will then realize how wrong they have been and their fabrications will disappear forever |
| 28:76 | | Those who are after nothing but gathering the wealth are reminded of the story of] Korah who was of the people of Moses. He became arrogant (and stingy) and rebelled against his Lord’s commandments (generosity, charity, decency, etc.) I (God) had given him so many treasures that their very keys were almost too heavy for a band of strong men. His people advised him: “Do not be so arrogant; God does not like the arrogant people.&rdquo |
| 28:77 | | Then they said: “Use your wealth, which is given to you by God at first place, as a mean to please God and secure your life in Hereafter without neglecting your fair share of this world. Be good to the others as God has been good to you and do not spread corruption on earth as God does not like the corrupt people.&rdquo |
| 28:78 | | Korah’s response was: “I have earned my wealth by using my brain!” Did he [who was so proud of his knowledge] not know that God [was the one who multiplied and safeguarded his wealth for him for the simple reason that God] had destroyed many wealthier and stronger than him in the past? The guilty ones, however, are judged according to the law [and not according to their own criteria.] |
| 28:79 | | One day Korah appeared in public with all his fineries. Those who were following the worldly goals said: “What a lucky man; it would be nice to have such wealth.&rdquo |
| 28:80 | | Those who were knowledgeable said: “Shame on you; God’s blessing is far superior than your wealth and only those who choose to believe, do good deeds and are patient will earn it.&rdquo |
| 28:81 | | Eventually I punished him, his followers and all his wealth by sinking them underground. Neither him nor any force could have helped him against God; he turned to be a looser |
| 28:82 | | The same people who were envious of him the day before, were shameful of their thoughts and said: “What a shame that we had forgotten that it is God who gives so much to some people and so little to the others [in order to try them in wealth and in poverty.] How graceful of God not have sunk us with him. Shame on us that we forgot that the disbelievers never succeed.&rdquo |
| 28:83 | | I (God) have reserved the Paradise for those who do not seek domination in the earth nor get involved in corruption; the successful ones are those who are constantly minding their Lord |
| 28:84 | | The one who does a good deed will receive many folded rewards for it. The one who does a wrong thing, he will receive a punishment equal to his sin [and not an excessive punishment.] |
| 28:85 | | Rest assured that the One (God) Who has formally established this Qur’an (set of laws and code of conducts) upon you, will summon you to His Court. Therefore, say to people: “God knows who is following the Lord’s path and who is lost.&rdquo |
| 28:86 | | You never expected to receive this Book (absolute criteria to establish right and wrong.) The revelation of Qur’an is a favor of God (otherwise , like elected representative of the secular government who consult among themselves day and night to establish a “right” code of conduct and a “just” set of laws- and of course the next day change their own established laws and come with a “better” one!) Therefore, do not side with those who reject My laws (and try to establish their own civil laws. |
| 28:87 | | Never let yourself being talked into abandoning the Lord’s revelations; invite people to seek the pleasure of God and do not follow those who worship others beside God |
| 28:88 | | Do not worship but God. There is no holiness butt God. Everything will perish but God. God has absolute power over everything and to Him will all of you return |
