| | Al-muntakhab fi tafsir al-Qur'an al-Karim rendition of Surah Ornaments of Gold, Luxury, The Embellishment(az-Zukhruf)
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| 43:1 | | H. (Ha), M. (Meem), 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 |
| 43:2 | | And by the Book which is the spirit of truth that guides people into all truth |
| 43:3 | | A Book, We have made in Arabic literary form that you may hopefully comprehend its inimitability and employ the faculty of reason in forming conclusions |
| 43:4 | | And it is a transcript reflecting the grandeur of the archetypal Book in the heaven's realm as held by Us in high esteem and a source of wisdom |
| 43:5 | | Or do you people think that We would disregard you and omit it -the Quran- and the matter would be let drop just because you have been extravagant in your accounts of yourselves and may well neglect this noble discourse |
| 43:6 | | Nor is it a novelty to send you a prophet as a spectacle and a warning, How many did We send to those dating far back into the distant pas |
| 43:7 | | Nonetheless no prophet do We send as a spirit of truth to guide people into all truth but they mock him and give him a lick with the rough side of their tongues and call him everything they can lay their tongues to |
| 43:8 | | They conceit themselves if they contemplate possession of control, power and authority. We did away with nations far mightier, prosecuted with activity and perseverance, whose diligence never wearied and We reduced them into a useless form; and so the fateful events of those of the distant past had served as a warning to those who follow |
| 43:9 | | Yet ironically if you should ask them O Muhammad: who has created the heavens and the earth? They shall say: "They were created by Him, AL-Aziz (the Almighty) and AL-Alim (the Omniscient)" |
| 43:10 | | Who has made the earth for you a settled habitation* and carpeted it with vegetal growths and furnished it with your daily needs, and He channeled it with paths, tracks, routes and waterways guiding your direction in your course of travel and in your movement |
| 43:11 | | Who sends down from the floor of the vault of heaven enough rain water in due measure and thereby a dead and barren land,* is revived; similarly shall you be resurrected |
| 43:12 | | Who created all pairs of opposite sexes and all creatures and made for you of the ships and the beasts a means of transportation |
| 43:13 | | That you may sit and rest comfortably upon their backs and render solemn acknowledgement of Divine favours when making a land travel or a voyage by sea and exercise the mind in devotional thought and put your thoughts into words, thus: " Glory to Him Who has subjected these animate and inanimate creatures to us; it would have been otherwise impossible to render them submissive and to make them minister to our comfort" |
| 43:14 | | And indeed to Allah, our Creator, we shall all ultimately go back" |
| 43:15 | | Yet they -the infidels- have incorporated with Him some of His servants as objects of worship and considered them His integral part; indeed man is ungrateful, blasphemous and profane |
| 43:16 | | Or did He adopt from among His creatures the females and committed to you people the males |
| 43:17 | | Yet ironically, the moment that any of them hears the news of the birth of his female child, the sex which he ascribes to Allah AL-Rahman, his countenance at once speaks a different language; his eyes shrivel into darkness in his head and he falls into the darkness of deepest dismay |
| 43:18 | | Is it befitting to ascribe to Allah a creature who is born and raised surrounded by ornaments and articles of personal decoration and fails to defend an argument |
| 43:19 | | And they chose female designations to be the appellations they use of and toward the angels who are servants of Allah, AL-Rahman! Did they witness their Creation! We will commit to writing their irresponsible statement and call them to account |
| 43:20 | | And they allegedly say: "Had Allah, AL-Rahman, so willed we would never have worshipped -these corporate deities-. They are not acquainted with the truth nor do they have information or proof to support their allegation; they simply lic and indeed they lie in their teeth |
| 43:21 | | Or did We reveal to them a Book beforehand authorizing their allegation that they refer to it anal speak like a book |
| 43:22 | | In effect they projected their own cause so as to say: "We have found our fathers bent on a particular system of faith and worship and we walk in their foot steps." |
| 43:23 | | But then, We never sent a Messenger before you O Muhammad, to a people but stood those with the riches similitude exact of your people and said: "We have found our fathers bent on a particular system of faith and worship and in their foot steps we walk" |
| 43:24 | | And when the Messenger said to them: " Even if I present you with what belongs to the highest region of thought and reality and is more guiding than that you found your fathers bent on and it guides you into all truth"? Yet they said: "But we do not acknowledge your mission nor do we give credence to your message" |
| 43:25 | | In consequence We took just vengeance on them; and there you can see what was the end of those who denied the truth |
| 43:26 | | You may refer O Muhammad to an aspect of Ibrahim's (Abraham) narrative when he said to his father and his people: "I am innocent of your ills and of all those you worship" |
| 43:27 | | Except Him who brought me into being and caused me to exist; He will indeed guide me into all trut |
| 43:28 | | A dogma he founded and he legated to his posterity and to those who would succeed him, that they may hopefully keep Allah in mind and to Him they would lift their inward sigh |
| 43:29 | | But the idolaters ignored Ibrahim's great legacy and so did their successors. Yet I made them both enjoy life until the truth has come to them at the hands of a reputable and esteemed Messenger |
| 43:30 | | And now that they have been presented with the spirit of truth guiding them into all truth, they say: "This is sheer sorcery and we refuse to acknowledge it." |
| 43:31 | | And they insolently say: "if only this Quran were revealed to a distinguished man from one of the two cities -Macca and Taif!" |
| 43:32 | | Do they distribute or apportion the grace of Allah your Creator and His mercy to whom they please! It is We Who have apportioned their livelihood among them here and allotted their sharas authoritatively that they have no choice .We promoted and exalted in rank, honour, estimation, development, power and wealth, some above others and arranged them in grades so that they render obedience and service to one another and minister to the comfort of each other. But to be a recipient of the mercy and efficacious grace of Allah. your Creator, outweighs all that you may accumulate or treasure up in life |
| 43:33 | | Were it not that all people, through envy, would form one conjoint body united in feeling and thought of disbelief in Allah, We would provide the homes of those who deny Allah AL-Rahman with ceilings and roofs of silver as well as stairs of silver by which to ascend |
| 43:34 | | And homes sparkling with silver doors and lounges of silver whereupon they recline and rest with un searching and restful spirit |
| 43:35 | | (And to round this off,) We would provide them with all sorts of adornments all of which are simply ephemeral enjoyments of this life, whereas the beautitude of the Hereafter in heaven's realm has Allah, your Creator, reserved for those who entertain the profound reverence dutiful to Him |
| 43:36 | | But he who blinds himself to Allah AL-Rahman's -enlightenments and renders himself insensible of Him and of His authority, We will bind to a devil who will follow him like his shadow and give him evil counsel |
| 43:37 | | Such companionship of evil ones as fitted to destruction will blind those insensible of AL-Rahman of the path of righteousness and make them think they are guided into all truth |
| 43:38 | | Until the Day comes and he is in Our August presence; pained at heart, he will then say to that evil companion: "I wish I had kept my distance and were as distant from you as the two solstices are from each other; how evil you were for a companion " |
| 43:39 | | But this Day, they arc told, "no one can afford you help nor can he set you free; you have wronged yourselves and now both of you shall share the condign punishment." |
| 43:40 | | But do you think O Muhammad you will be able to make the worthless who counsels deaf open his heart's ears, or the one who lacks intellectual or spiritual perception open his mind's eyes, or that you can guide such persons as have justly been destined to err and stray from the path of righteousness |
| 43:41 | | Therefore, O Muhammad, should We take you away by death before you witness the promised punishment, rest assured that We, will take just vengeance on them |
| 43:42 | | Or if We do not take you away, then We will show you the retributive punishment of which promise was made; indeed We are able to overpower them and reduce them into a useless form |
| 43:43 | | Therefore keep your hold O Muhammad on all that has been inspired to you and cling to the Quran; you are indeed on the path of righteousness |
| 43:44 | | For the Quran is an authoritative counsel to you and a discourse of Practical Divinity to your people and there shall come the Day when all of you will be called to account |
| 43:45 | | And you just test critically the precepts of those whom We had sent before you, to see if We had ordained reverence and veneration to be paid to a being, or a power, or a deity besides Allah AL-Rahman |
| 43:46 | | (To this effect I may example My Omnipotence and Authority by a brief account of Pharaoh and his people in whose hearts reigned vices and follies.) We sent to them Mussa (Moses) and We equipped him with signs serving to demonstrate divine power and authority, and there he said to them: "I am the Messenger of Allah, the Creator of the universe and of all beings." |
| 43:47 | | But when he presented them with Our signs and displayed to them acts of a miraculous nature, they laughed them to scorn |
| 43:48 | | And no sign did We present them with but was greater than the sign displayed before, and by consequence We made ruin seize them so that, with hearts travailed, they might hopefully turn to Us and lift their inward sight |
| 43:49 | | United by the fatal consequence, they said to Mussa (Moses): " O you necromancer, skilled in magic, invoke Allah, your Creator, and appeal to Him, in virtue of what He conferred on you of sufficient grace, to deliver us from this burdensome affliction which is exhaustive to the mind and We will be guided into all truth." |
| 43:50 | | And when We delivered them from what was burdensome and exhaustive to the mind they simply broke their vow and their actions to their words did not accord |
| 43:51 | | Then, Pharaoh made a public declaration and caused it to be proclaimed through out all his cities: "Am I not", he said, "the sole sovereign of this land, and the dominion of Egypt belongs to me, and these rivers flow beneath my palace! Can you people not see!" |
| 43:52 | | "Am I not", he added "Far better in worldly conditions than this creature who is contemptible and can hardly express himself or put his thoughts into wards!" |
| 43:53 | | " If only a bracelet of gold from heaven's realm has ornamented his arm to betoken authority or he has been companioned with the angels to confer on him dignity in an order of prophet hood!" |
| 43:54 | | Thus did –Pharaoh- befool his people who soon obeyed him. They were a mischievous people disposed to practice evil |
| 43:55 | | And when they were really enough to provoke Us, they came within the measure of Our wrath and We took vengeance on them and drowned them all |
| 43:56 | | And We made of them, with this vindictive punishment and fateful event, a deterrent which has served as a warning to those who followed |
| 43:57 | | And when the son of Maryam (Mary) - Isa (Jesus) was cited as an example of Allah's Omnipotence and Authority to create whom He will or what He will from nothingness, your people refused to recognize him and laughed him to scorn |
| 43:58 | | Knowing that he is venerated as a deity by Christians and that you Muhammad might have consigned him with their idols, to damnation, they created a connected series of statements intended to annoy you and subvert your position when they said: " Are our God's the better or Him, and if his abode is Hell, we and our God's would love to be there". They are quarrelsome people given to contention |
| 43:59 | | He -Isa (Jesus)- is only a servant of Ours on whom We bestowed the prerogative of Prophethood and made him an example serving to betoken to Bani- Israel (the Children of Israel) Our omnipotence and authority |
| 43:60 | | Had We willed We would have made some of you angels or procreate angels who would live on earth and be your succeeding generations |
| 43:61 | | Coming events cast their shadow before, and so will Isa whose return to earth shall be the sign of impending Judgement and that the Final Hour is indeed imminent. Therefore do not doubt the event you people and follow My Messenger who guides you to My path of righteousness |
| 43:62 | | And let not AL-Shaytan (Satan) tempt you away from My path of righteousness and detract you from piety; he is your avowed enemy |
| 43:63 | | And when Isa presented them -Bani-Israel- with clear evidence of Allah's Omnipotence and Authority, and said to them: " Now I have come to you with all manner of wisdom and soundness of judgment in the choice of means and ends and to clarify to you some of the points upon which your whole dispute turns, therefore, reverence Allah and entertain the profound reverence dutiful to Him and obey me " |
| 43:64 | | Indeed Allah is my Creator and your Creator; worship Him, since reverence and veneration paid to Him constitute the path of righteousness " |
| 43:65 | | Yet the various sects and factions, Jewish and Christian ignored the knowledge imparted to them and they differed from each other in opinion and moved to disagree among themselves, and so, denunciated shall be those who were wrongful of actions; they shall suffer torment on an Eventful and Grievous Day |
| 43:66 | | What do they expect after their refusal to acknowledge Allah other than the sudden confrontation with the predetermined Hour they shall encounter unexpectedly as it takes them unawares |
| 43:67 | | There and then shall those who were friends become enemies, but not those who revered Allah and entertained the profound reverence dutiful to Him |
| 43:68 | | Addressed by Allah, they -the devotees- will be told: "O My worshippers who had reverenced Me with hearts impressed with the image of religious and spiritual virtues, no fear or dread shall fall upon you this Day nor will you come to grief" |
| 43:69 | | "You, and others such as you, who had honoured Our signs and resigned' themselves to Me and conformed to Islam" |
| 43:70 | | "Now enter you and your wives into My Paradise, in the heaven's realm of surpassing beauty, supremely blest, where you rejoice beyond a common joy" |
| 43:71 | | Therein, shall they be attended upon and served in majestic dishes of gold, and in golden goblets shall they drink the cup of joy; and within there they shall find anything of any kind that the emotions are directed to its attainment and the eyes delight in. And therein they will have passed through Nature to Eternity |
| 43:72 | | "And so, this is the region of the heavens featuring surpassing beauty and supreme bliss; it is the desired end of which they have come into possession by Divine grant for their deeds which had been imprinted with wisdom and piety" |
| 43:73 | | Therein you have plenteous fruits reflecting plenteous grace from high, fruits which afford them pleasure; they are for them to enjoy |
| 43:74 | | But in Hell, the kingdom of eternal suffering and misery shall the wicked bewail their lot |
| 43:75 | | No relief physical or mental will be expected and in their idea of relief comes the intensity of punishment and the longer they lose hope the more they nurse despair |
| 43:76 | | We never acted unjustly or unfairly to them nor did We not observe the principles of justice and fair dealing. It was they who acted unjustly and unfairly to themselves and were wrongful of actions |
| 43:77 | | There and then shall they call upon Malek -the head keeper of Hell- to mediate suspension of punishments "O Malek", they say, "appeal to Allah, your Creator, to blot us out of existence and extinguish our debt". " Never ", says Malek, "in here you remain and forever you continue to be" |
| 43:78 | | O you Meccans: We have presented you with the spirit of truth guiding people into all truth, but most of you do detest the truth and execrate My fact |
| 43:79 | | Or have they decided O Muhammad on a course and set their hearts on denying, the truth anal conspire your death! But it is We who will decide the question by authority and make you reign in their hearts; for great is thc truth and it shall prevail |
| 43:80 | | Or do they think that We do not hear what is not openly avowed and their secret counsel? Indeed, Omnipresence is Our attribute and Omniscience is inherent in Us and Our Messengers are by their sides bearing records and relating in writing in whole |
| 43:81 | | Say to them: "If Allah AL-Rahman had a son, I would precede all others and be the first to pay to him reverence and veneration." |
| 43:82 | | Praise be to Him and extolled be His glorious attributes; Allah, the Creator of the heavens and the earth and of the unique throne of supreme Majesty, Omnipotence, grace and mercy; far be He beyond all measure and above all they attribute to Him |
| 43:83 | | Let them drown themselves O Muhammad in the nonsensical and in vanities and engage in amusement which is the happiness of those who cannot think, until the encounter with the Day they have been promised |
| 43:84 | | And He is it Who is the Allah in the heavens and the Allah on earth and He is AL-Hakim (the Source of wisdom and wise mysterious dispensations) and He is AL-Alim (the Omniscient) |
| 43:85 | | And blessed be He and praise be to Him Who has the glorious attributes and within Whom reside the sovereign Authority and the supreme controlling power of the heavens and the earth and of all that lies between them, Who alone knows the point of time of the predetermined and Eventful Hour, and back to Him shall all of you return |
| 43:86 | | Nor shall those to whom they -the infidels- pay reverence and veneration besides Him have the function of intercession; a privilege confined only to those who had asserted the Uniqueness and Oneness of Allah and bore witness to this truth |
| 43:87 | | And if you should ask them O Muhammad "Who has brought them into being and raised them from dust?" They shall say: "Allah" Yet, ironically, they pay reverence and veneration to others besides Him. How strongly eluded they are that they believe a lie |
| 43:88 | | We have acknowledged your spiritual prompting O Muhammad when you expressed discontent at your people and said: "O Allah, my Creator, these are a people who have counselled deaf and portrayed strong disposition to discord and disbelief" |
| 43:89 | | Leave thorn alone O Muhammad and decline to recognize them but address them with the customary formula of salutation " peace " so that if they should thunder against you, they would peace at your bidding and you be out of harm's way, then they shall come to know the fatal consequence of their obsession with follies |
