| | Al-muntakhab fi tafsir al-Qur'an al-Karim rendition of Surah Council, Consultation, The Counsel(ash-Shura)
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| 42:1 | | H. (Ha). M. (Meem) |
| 42:2 | | 'Ein, S. (Seen), Q. (Qaff) the surah opens with these introductory letters from the Arabic Alphabet to draw attention to the miracle of the Quran which though written in the people's tongue cannot be emulated |
| 42:3 | | In like manner does Allah inspire to you O Muhammad, even as He inspired to those sent before you His veritable revelations and disclosure of knowledge, precepts and injunctions. Thus Say Allah AL-Aziz (the Almighty), and AL-Hakim (the source of wisdom and wise mysterious dispensations. |
| 42:4 | | Allah, Who owns, and has the rightful claim to all that is in the heavens and on earth and supremacy, authority, and power over them are acknowledged as His own. He is above all and beyond all. He is AL-Alim and AL-Azim (the Unique Whose attributes belong to the highest regions of thought and reality |
| 42:5 | | The heavens almost rend and very nearly tear apart asunder for the profound reverence dutiful to Him in His heaven's realm, and the angels celebrate His Name, and extoll His glorious attributes and invoke His forgiveness for those domiciled on earth. Indeed He -Allah- is it Who is exclusively the AL-Ghaffur and AL-Rahim (Forgiving and the Merciful. |
| 42:6 | | And those who chose to be under the tutelage of others besides Allah, shall He keep them in view. He watches over innocence and folly. You Muhammad are not entrusted to their care nor are you responsible for their ordinary pursuits of life |
| 42:7 | | Thus did We inspire to you O Muhammad a Quran in the Arabic literary form to warn the people of the Mother City -Macca- and the people of all cities around. To caution them against the horror and grisly dread which shall dwell without end on the undoubted and inevitable Day of the Throng when some shall be in the beautiful and blissful region of heaven's realm and others in the blazes |
| 42:8 | | Had Allah willed, He would have made them one conjoint body united in feeling and in thought, but He extends His mercy to whom He will, whereas the wrongful of actions have no tutelary friend or guardian nor can any one afford them help |
| 42:9 | | Or have they chosen to be under the tutelage of others besides Him, but Allah is He under Whose tutelage comes safety and security and He is it Who resurrects the dead and He is Qadirun (Omnipotent) over all thing' |
| 42:10 | | And whatever subject or point you seem resolved to argue or dispute, refer it to Allah, the Ultimate Authority, for decision, recalling Him to the mind and speaking your thought, thus: "He is Allah, my Creator, in Whom I trust and to whom I have recourse for guidance." |
| 42:11 | | He is Allah, the Generator of the heavens and the earth, Who provided you with wives and mated you to your kind and provided you with cattle and mated them to their kind so that you procreate and increase in number by natural generation. Nothing material or immaterial is like unto Him; He is AL-Sami’ (the Omnipresent with unlimited audition) and He is AL-Bassir (the vigilant who hears and sees all things. |
| 42:12 | | To Him is attributed the authority and control over the known and the unknown and the mysterious schemes and systems which hold and structure together, in harmonic relations, all that exists in the heavens and on earth. He gives livelihood generously and confers support gratuitously on whom He Will and He also gives with restraint and by measure to whom He will; He is indeed AL- Alim (the Omniscient) of all things |
| 42:13 | | To you people He has enjoined the same system of Faith He enjoined Nuh (Noah); the system of faith which We inspired to you O Muhammad, the same system did We enjoined Ibrahim (Abraham), Mussa (Moses) and Isa (Jesus) to follow |
| 42:14 | | Yet they only became divided into sects and factions, through envy and enmity, each with a belief cherished in their minds after their acquaintance with facts and intellectual perception of the truth. And had it not been for Allah's word proclaimed beforehand to put punishment in respite to a determined point of time, their Hereafter would have been planted in the now. And now your contemporaries, the successors who have inherited the Book AL-Tawrah (the Torah) are in perplexity about it on account of its present Intricate characte |
| 42:15 | | Therefore, present them with inducements to entertain the thoughts of Faith and practical Divinity; and cling to the discourse as you have been commanded, and do not yield to their fruitless desires, and say to them: "I have given credence to all the Books Allah has sent down and in all of them do I believe, and I have been commanded to administer right and justice between you. Allah is our Creator and your Creator. We are accountable for our deeds and you are answerable for yours, no proposition does either of us advance to influence the mind of the other nor is there between us a contest of emulation; in one assembly shall Allah bring us together; He is the end and the purpose for which all of us are destined |
| 42:16 | | As to those who contend with opposing arguments against Allah and seem resolved to dispute the truth after it has been accepted by the many who have lifted to Him their inward sight, their argument, in Allah's sight, is as futile in its effects as it is feeble in its principle. and they have come within the measure of Allah's wrath and painful shall be their retributive punishment |
| 42:17 | | Allah is He Who has sent down the Book -The Quran- and the Books sent down before; He sent them down in conformity with truth and in agreement with reality and with the balance of reason and justice, And you never know; the predetermined Hour may well be drawing near and be soon in sight |
| 42:18 | | It -the predetermined Hour- is the wish of those who deny Allah and challenge the truth of it and that it be hastened on, but it is not the object of desire of those whose hearts have been touched with the Divine hand, who dread it and stand in awe of it. They know well it is the truth and they make no doubt of its reality. Indeed those who contend with opposing argument against the predetermined Hour, denying that it shall come to pass, are transgressors who are lost in the very depth of the maze of error |
| 42:19 | | Allah is Benevolent and the Benignant Sovereign to His servants; He provides livelihood and He fits out whom He will with what He will and with what is necessary for a certain purpose and He is AL-Qawiyo (the Omnipotent) the Unparalleled, and AL-Aziz (the Almighty |
| 42:20 | | Who so chooses to go by the Hereafter and has imprinted his deeds with wisdom and piety and reasoned high of Providence to win more advantages thereat, We will reward with what runs higher than what corresponds to his piety, And who so chooses to go by the world We will provide with what is apportioned to him here, but he will be denied any share Hereafter |
| 42:21 | | Or do they have deities who share with Allah His Divine Nature, who ordained for them a particular system of faith and worship other than that Allah has authorized? Had it not been for His word proclaimed beforehand to put punishment in respite to a determined point of time, their Hereafter would have been planted in the now; but the wrongful of actions shall suffer a condign punishment |
| 42:22 | | There and then shall you see the wrongful of actions alarmed at their sinful iniquities in life being exacted with the sudden fear and the apprehension of danger which has beset them on all sides; whereas those who had believed with hearts impressed with the image of religious and spiritual virtues and with deeds of wisdom and piety, rejoicing beyond a common joy in the beatitude of heaven's realm where they shall find any object of desire or anything of any kind that their emotions are directed to its attainment be in readiness to come to them at will. This is indeed the great bounty and munificence of Providence |
| 42:23 | | This is the happy announcement Allah proclaims to His worshippers whose hearts have been impressed with the image of religious and spiritual virtues and their deeds with wisdom and piety. Say to them O Muhammad: "I do not ask you for anything in return except the affection and good disposition toward Allah and His Messenger as well as toward your kin so that you get nearer to Him and win His grace and mercy. And who so crowns a deed with equity Allah shall reward him with what runs higher than what corresponds to his equitable deed. Allah is indeed Gafurun (Forgiving); and Shakurun (He acknowledges what is esteemed a worthy deed" |
| 42:24 | | Or do they say: "He -Muhammad- has related to Allah what he has fabricated and fraudulently imitated!" But if Allah has determined that you Muhammad misrepresent Him, He would have blocked searching's of your heart; and if it be His will He would compose your heart with patience to endure their false and slanderous accusation. But Allah effaces and blots out falsehood and endorses and ratifies the truth by His words which to His acts accord; He is Alimun of all private thoughts and feelings reposted in the bosom |
| 42:25 | | He is it Who accepts repentance of those of His worshippers who in lowliest plight repentant stood and forgives their sins, and He is Cognizant (Omniscient) of all that you do |
| 42:26 | | He grants the prayer and fulfills the wish of those whose hearts reflect, the image of religious and spiritual virtues and their deeds wisdom and piety Moreover a provision of His bounty is made for the augmentation of what accords to their request with circumspection. But those who deny Him shall be put to the torment |
| 42:27 | | If Allah were to give livelihood generously and liberally to all His creatures and to confer support gratuitously, they would be apt to run riot on earth and transgress the goal. But He sends down to the extent He prescribes as He will; He is Khabirun (Omniscient), and Bassirun (Whose constant vigilance is extended to all His creatures. |
| 42:28 | | He is it Who sends down the rain lo revive the land and causes it to bear crops after people have been pined with hunger and with drought and have nursed despair;* He extends His mercy and spreads it so that it be felt; He is the Tutelary Provider of tutelary care; it is He to whom are extolled the glorious attributes |
| 42:29 | | Among the visible signs and the marvels, displaying Omnipotence and Authority is His creation of the heavens and the earth** and the beings He scattered over them and the power to gather them and bring them all together when He will |
| 42:30 | | And whatever befalls you of a misfortune or weds you of a calamity is a consequence of your wrongful and unclean hands. Yet He ignores many offences and forgives you a great deal |
| 42:31 | | Nor will you be able to render punishment here ineffectual nor can you frustrate His end or the laws and statutes of His realm; and besides Allah, no one can accord you tutelary care nor can any one afford you help |
| 42:32 | | And among His visible signs and marvels displaying Omnipotence and Authority, are the stately sea going vessels gracefully imposing like majestic mountains |
| 42:33 | | If it be His will, not a breath of wind would cross. the heavens and He would take the wind out of the sails, and motionless shall they remain on its surface, tokens indeed symbolic of Allah's Omnipotence and Authority; tokens giving insight to those who bear well all calamities, and the good events live ever in their thankful hearts |
| 42:34 | | Or if He wills He would overwhelm them with a fierce wind in requital of their iniquities, but many of the offences He ignores and He often forgives you a great deal |
| 42:35 | | A matter of fact to be apprehended by the minds of those who contend with opposing arguments against Our signs, and seem resolved to dispute the truth of Our revelations, that there is no escape nor can they go unpunished |
| 42:36 | | Do not conceit yourselves; all that you have been put in possession of is simply the evanescent and ephemeral enjoyments of life here, whereas all that is in the beatitude of heaven's realm affords eternal and surpassing pleasure Allah. has reserved for those whose hearts reflect and the image of religious and spiritual virtues and in Allah, their Creator, they trust |
| 42:37 | | Who are disposed to avoid major and deadly sins and the willful and deliberate violation of moral principles, and when angered they forgive and do not entertain the thoughts of ill will |
| 42:38 | | Who respond favourably to Allah, their Creator, and have been steered by His guidance. They pay to Him reverence and veneration and engage in worship. They adore Him with appropriate acts and rites and conduct their affairs and ordinary pursuits of life by taking Counsel together to establish justice and integrity. They spend in benevolence and in equity of what We provided them of Our bounty |
| 42:39 | | Who set right and redress a grievance or an abuse, a wrong or a misfortune when treated with injustice, prejudice or harshness |
| 42:40 | | The return of a wrong is a wrong of a like nature, but he who forgives and reconciles himself with his own heart and with Allah, shall Allah credit him with what is due; He detests the wrongful of action |
| 42:41 | | Yet he who avenges a wrong that has been inflicted upon him, incurs no consequence |
| 42:42 | | But the consequence is indeed incurred on those who wrong people and treat them unfairly with injustice, prejudice or harshness and run wild on earth, going beyond prudent and reasonable limits, such persons shall be put to the torment |
| 42:43 | | But again he who bears the wrongs, and bears with the wrongful and accords him forgiveness, possesses his own soul; this is indeed the mode of considering matters with an attitude of mind reflecting a high spirit and strong will |
| 42:44 | | And he whom Allah does not guide to His path of righteousness, shall find no tutelary guardian besides Him to guide him thereto. And you shall see the wrongful of actions excited with fear and terror when Hell is in their sight. There and then shall they say: "O Allah, do we stand a chance to return back to life and hold Your way and follow it without deviation?" |
| 42:45 | | And you shall see them exposed thereto -the Fire- and back they recoil with abhorrence from it, mortified with fear and humiliation, glancing with stealthy eyes and catching a glimpse of it. And there shall say those whose hearts reflect the image of religious and spiritual virtues: "losers indeed are those who lost themselves in vanity, and their crimes lost them mercy and lost them their families on the Day of Resurrection. Indeed the wrongful of actions have brought on themselves eternal suffering" |
| 42:46 | | And no tutelary guardians will they have, besides Allah, to afford them the present help or be the fortress they had expected; and he whom Allah does not guide to His path of righteousness shall indeed lose the way thereto |
| 42:47 | | Respond favourably, you people, to Allah, your Creator, before a Day comes when Hereafter shall never be reversed by Allah to Here below, nor shall you find a stronghold, nor can you recourse to the denial of what is true |
| 42:48 | | And If they should turn a deaf ear, nonetheless, We did not send you O Muhammad to watch over their innocence and folly; you are only responsible for relating to them Our message. Yet if We should extend Our mercy to mankind and make them taste Our benediction, they rejoice beyond a common joy, and if a misfortune or a calamity befalls them in consequence of their wrongful or unclean hands, man looks for the how and the why and the wherefore and becomes sour and in bitterness he turns his worst side outwards |
| 42:49 | | With Allah reside the sovereign authority and the supreme controlling power of the heavens and the earth. He creates what He will; He bestows female progeny on whom He will and He bestows male progeny on whom He will |
| 42:50 | | He bestows a combination of both males and females and renders barren whom He will; He is indeed Alimun (Omniscient), and Qadirun (Omnipotent. |
| 42:51 | | No human would qualify to be spoken to directly by Allah without the intervention of a medium, nor is it befitting; but only by inspiration or vision, or from behind a veil or through a spirit who would actuate him with what Allah has ordained and with what He will; He is indeed ?Aliyun (Supreme) above all and beyond all and He is Hakimun (the Source of wisdom and wise mysterious dispensations. |
| 42:52 | | Thus did We inspire to you O Muhammad the Quran through the spirit Jibril (Gabriel) who actuated you by Our command. You neither knew what the Book the Quran was nor what Faith was like. But We made it -the Quran- a source of light wherewith We impart knowledge, wisdom and spiritual light to guide into all truth whom We will of Our servants. You (Mohammed) do indeed guide to the path of righteousness |
| 42:53 | | The path of Allah Who has the rightful claim to all that is in the heavens and to all that is on earth; supremacy, authority and power over them are acknowledged as His own. Indeed all affairs are Allah's concern; they are referred to Him, the Ultimate Authority, for consideration, decision and execution |
