Abdullah Yusuf Ali Translation
1. Ha Mim
2. The revelation of this Book is from Allah, Exalted
in Power, Full of Knowledge,-
3. Who forgiveth sin, accepteth repentance,
is strict in punishment, and hath a long reach (in all things). there is no god
but He: to Him is the final goal.
4. None can dispute about the Signs of
Allah but the Unbelievers. Let not, then, their strutting about through the land
deceive thee!
5. But (there were people) before them, who denied (the
Signs),- the People of Noah, and the Confederates (of Evil) after them; and
every People plotted against their prophet, to seize him, and disputed by means
of vanities, therewith to condemn the Truth; but it was I that seized them! and
how (terrible) was My Requital!
6. Thus was the Decree of thy Lord proved
true against the Unbelievers; that truly they are Companions of the Fire!
7. Those who sustain the Throne (of Allah) and those around it Sing Glory
and Praise to their Lord; believe in Him; and implore Forgiveness for those who
believe: "Our Lord! Thy Reach is over all things, in Mercy and Knowledge.
Forgive, then, those who turn in Repentance, and follow Thy Path; and preserve
them from the Penalty of the Blazing Fire!
8. "And grant, our Lord! that
they enter the Gardens of Eternity, which Thou hast promised to them, and to the
righteous among their fathers, their wives, and their posterity! For Thou art
(He), the Exalted in Might, Full of Wisdom.
9. "And preserve them from
(all) ills; and any whom Thou dost preserve from ills that Day,- on them wilt
Thou have bestowed Mercy indeed: and that will be truly (for them) the highest
Achievement".
10. The Unbelievers will be addressed: "Greater was the
aversion of Allah to you than (is) your aversion to yourselves, seeing that ye
were called to the Faith and ye used to refuse."
11. They will say: "Our
Lord! twice hast Thou made us without life, and twice hast Thou given us Life!
Now have we recognised our sins: Is there any way out (of this)?"
12.
(The answer will be:) "This is because, when Allah was invoked as the Only
(object of worship), ye did reject Faith, but when partners were joined to Him,
ye believed! the Command is with Allah, Most High, Most Great!"
13. He it
is Who showeth you his Signs, and sendeth down sustenance for you from the sky:
but only those receive admonition who turn (to Allah..
14. Call ye, then,
upon Allah with sincere devotion to Him, even though the Unbelievers may detest
it.
15. Raised high above ranks (or degrees), (He is) the Lord of the
Throne (of Authority): by His Command doth He send the Spirit (of inspiration)
to any of His servants he pleases, that it may warn (men) of the Day of Mutual
Meeting,-
16. The Day whereon they will (all) come forth: not a single
thing concerning them is hidden from Allah. Whose will be the dominion that
Day?" That of Allah, the One the Irresistible!
17. That Day will every
soul be requited for what it earned; no injustice will there be that Day, for
Allah is Swift in taking account.
18. Warn them of the Day that is (ever)
drawing near, when the hearts will (come) right up to the throats to choke
(them); No intimate friend nor intercessor will the wrong-doers have, who could
be listened to.
19. (Allah) knows of (the tricks) that deceive with the
eyes, and all that the hearts (of men) conceal.
20. And Allah will judge
with (justice and) Truth: but those whom (men) invoke besides Him, will not (be
in a position) to judge at all. Verily it is Allah (alone) Who hears and sees
(all things).
21. Do they not travel through the earth and see what was
the End of those before them? They were even superior to them in strength, and
in the traces (they have left) in the land: but Allah did call them to account
for their sins, and none had they to defend them against Allah.
22. That
was because there came to them their apostles with Clear (Signs), but they
rejected them: So Allah called them to account: for He is Full of Strength,
Strict in Punishment.
23. Of old We sent Moses, with Our Signs and an
authority manifest,
24. To Pharaoh, Haman, and Qarun; but they called
(him)" a sorcerer telling lies!"...
25. Now, when he came to them in
Truth, from Us, they said, "Slay the sons of those who believe with him, and
keep alive their females," but the plots of Unbelievers (end) in nothing but
errors (and delusions)!...
26. Said Pharaoh: "Leave me to slay Moses; and
let him call on his Lord! What I fear is lest he should change your religion, or
lest he should cause mischief to appear in the land!"
27. Moses said: "I
have indeed called upon my Lord and your Lord (for protection) from every
arrogant one who believes not in the Day of Account!"
28. A believer, a
man from among the people of Pharaoh, who had concealed his faith, said: "Will
ye slay a man because he says, 'My Lord is Allah.?- when he has indeed come to
you with Clear (Signs) from your Lord? and if he be a liar, on him is (the sin
of) his lie: but, if he is telling the Truth, then will fall on you something of
the (calamity) of which he warns you: Truly Allah guides not one who
transgresses and lies!
29. "O my People! Yours is the dominion this day:
Ye have the upper hand in the land: but who will help us from the Punishment of
Allah, should it befall us?" Pharaoh said: "I but point out to you that which I
see (myself); Nor do I guide you but to the Path of Right!"
30. Then said
the man who believed: "O my people! Truly I do fear for you something like the
Day (of disaster) of the Confederates (in sin)!-
31. "Something like the
fate of the People of Noah, the 'Ad, and the Thamud, and those who came after
them: but Allah never wishes injustice to his Servants.
32. "And O my
people! I fear for you a Day when there will be Mutual calling (and wailing),-
33. "A Day when ye shall turn your backs and flee: No defender shall ye have
from Allah. Any whom Allah leaves to stray, there is none to guide...
34.
"And to you there came Joseph in times gone by, with Clear Signs, but ye ceased
not to doubt of the (Mission) for which he had come: At length, when he died, ye
said: 'No apostle will Allah send after him.' thus doth Allah leave to stray
such as transgress and live in doubt,-
35. "(Such) as dispute about the
Signs of Allah, without any authority that hath reached them, grievous and
odious (is such conduct) in the sight of Allah and of the Believers. Thus doth
Allah, seal up every heart - of arrogant and obstinate Transgressors."
36. Pharaoh said: "O Haman! Build me a lofty palace, that I may attain the ways
and means-
37. "The ways and means of (reaching) the heavens, and that I
may mount up to the Allah of Moses: But as far as I am concerned, I think
(Moses) is a liar!" Thus was made alluring, in Pharaoh's eyes, the evil of his
deeds, and he was hindered from the Path; and the plot of Pharaoh led to nothing
but perdition (for him).
38. The man who believed said further: "O my
people! Follow me: I will lead you to the Path of Right.
39. "O my
people! This life of the present is nothing but (temporary) convenience: It is
the Hereafter that is the Home that will last.
40. "He that works evil
will not be requited but by the like thereof: and he that works a righteous deed
- whether man or woman - and is a Believer- such will enter the Garden (of
Bliss): Therein will they have abundance without measure.
41. "And O my
people! How (strange) it is for me to call you to Salvation while ye call me to
the Fire!
42. "Ye do call upon me to blaspheme against Allah, and to join
with Him partners of whom I have no knowledge; and I call you to the Exalted in
Power, Who forgives again and again!"
43. "Without doubt ye do call me to
one who is not fit to be called to, whether in this world, or in the Hereafter;
our return will be to Allah. and the Transgressors will be Companions of the
Fire!
44. "Soon will ye remember what I say to you (now), My (own) affair
I commit to Allah. for Allah (ever) watches over His Servants."
45. Then
Allah saved him from (every) ill that they plotted (against him), but the burnt
of the Penalty encompassed on all sides the People of Pharaoh.
46. In
front of the Fire will they be brought, morning and evening: And (the sentence
will be) on the Day that Judgment will be established: "Cast ye the People of
Pharaoh into the severest Penalty!"
47. Behold, they will dispute with
each other in the Fire! The weak ones (who followed) will say to those who had
been arrogant, "We but followed you: Can ye then take (on yourselves) from us
some share of the Fire?
48. Those who had been arrogant will say: "We are
all in this (Fire)! Truly, Allah has judged between (his) Servants!"
49.
Those in the Fire will say to the Keepers of Hell: "Pray to your Lord to lighten
us the Penalty for a day (at least)!"
50. They will say: "Did there not
come to you your apostles with Clear Signs?" They will say, "Yes". They will
reply, "Then pray (as ye like)! But the prayer of those without Faith is nothing
but (futile wandering) in (mazes of) error!"
51. We will, without doubt,
help our apostles and those who believe, (both) in this world's life and on the
Day when the Witnesses will stand forth,-
52. The Day when no profit will
it be to Wrong-doers to present their excuses, but they will (only) have the
Curse and the Home of Misery.
53. We did aforetime give Moses the (Book
of) Guidance, and We gave the book in inheritance to the Children of Israel,-
54. A Guide and a Message to men of Understanding.
55. Patiently,
then, persevere: for the Promise of Allah is true: and ask forgiveness for thy
fault, and celebrate the Praises of thy Lord in the evening and in the morning.
56. Those who dispute about the signs of Allah without any authority
bestowed on them,- there is nothing in their breasts but (the quest of)
greatness, which they shall never attain to: seek refuge, then, in Allah. It is
He Who hears and sees (all things).
57. Assuredly the creation of the
heavens and the earth is a greater (matter) than the creation of men: Yet most
men understand not.
58. Not equal are the blind and those who (clearly)
see: Nor are (equal) those who believe and work deeds of righteousness, and
those who do evil. Little do ye learn by admonition!
59. The Hour will
certainly come: Therein is no doubt: Yet most men believe not.
60. And
your Lord says: "Call on Me; I will answer your (Prayer): but those who are too
arrogant to serve Me will surely find themselves in Hell - in humiliation!"
61. It is Allah Who has made the Night for you, that ye may rest therein,
and the days as that which helps (you) to see. Verily Allah is full of Grace and
Bounty to men: yet most men give no thanks.
62. Such is Allah, your Lord,
the Creator of all things, there is no god but He: Then how ye are deluded away
from the Truth!
63. Thus are deluded those who are wont to reject the
Signs of Allah.
64. It is Allah Who has made for you the earth as a
resting place, and the sky as a canopy, and has given you shape- and made your
shapes beautiful,- and has provided for you Sustenance, of things pure and
good;- such is Allah your Lord. So Glory to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds!
65. He is the Living (One): There is no god but He: Call upon Him, giving
Him sincere devotion. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds!
66. Say: "I
have been forbidden to invoke those whom ye invoke besides Allah,- seeing that
the Clear Sings have come to me from my Lord; and I have been commanded to bow
(in Islam) to the Lord of the Worlds."
67. It is He Who has created you
from dust then from a sperm-drop, then from a leech-like clot; then does he get
you out (into the light) as a child: then lets you (grow and) reach your age of
full strength; then lets you become old,- though of you there are some who die
before;- and lets you reach a Term appointed; in order that ye may learn wisdom.
68. It is He Who gives Life and Death; and when He decides upon an affair,
He says to it, "Be", and it is.
69. Seest thou not those that dispute
concerning the Sings of Allah. How are they turned away (from Reality)?-
70. Those who reject the Book and the (revelations) with which We sent our
apostles: but soon shall they know,-
71. When the yokes (shall be) round
their necks, and the chains; they shall be dragged along-
72. In the
boiling fetid fluid: then in the Fire shall they be burned;
73. Then
shall it be said to them: "Where are the (deities) to which ye gave part-
worship-
74. "In derogation of Allah." They will reply: "They have left
us in the lurch: Nay, we invoked not, of old, anything (that had real
existence)." Thus does Allah leave the Unbelievers to stray.
75. "That
was because ye were wont to rejoice on the earth in things other than the Truth,
and that ye were wont to be insolent.
76. "Enter ye the gates of Hell, to
dwell therein: and evil is (this) abode of the arrogant!"
77. So
persevere in patience; for the Promise of Allah is true: and whether We show
thee (in this life) some part of what We promise them,- or We take thy soul (to
Our Mercy) (before that),-(in any case) it is to Us that they shall (all)
return.
78. We did aforetime send apostles before thee: of them there are
some whose story We have related to thee, and some whose story We have not
related to thee. It was not (possible) for any apostle to bring a sign except by
the leave of Allah. but when the Command of Allah issued, the matter was decided
in truth and justice, and there perished, there and then those who stood on
Falsehoods.
79. It is Allah Who made cattle for you, that ye may use some
for riding and some for food;
80. And there are (other) advantages in
them for you (besides); that ye may through them attain to any need (there may
be) in your hearts; and on them and on ships ye are carried.
81. And He
shows you (always) His Signs: then which of the Signs of Allah will ye deny?
82. Do they not travel through the earth and see what was the End of those
before them? They were more numerous than these and superior in strength and in
the traces (they have left) in the land: Yet all that they accomplished was of
no profit to them.
83. For when their apostles came to them with Clear
Signs, they exulted in such knowledge (and skill) as they had; but that very
(Wrath) at which they were wont to scoff hemmed them in.
84. But when
they saw Our Punishment, they said: "We believe in Allah,- the one Allah - and
we reject the partners we used to join with Him."
85. But their
professing the Faith when they (actually) saw Our Punishment was not going to
profit them. (Such has been) Allah's Way of dealing with His Servants (from the
most ancient times). And even thus did the Rejecters of Allah perish (utterly)!
The Surah takes its name Al Mu'min from verse 28, implying thereby, that it
is a Surah in which Al Mu'min (the Believer of Pharaoh's people) has been
mentioned.
Period of Revelation
According to Ibn
'Abbas and Jabir bin Zaid, this Surah was sent down consecutively after Surah
Az-Zumar, and its present position in the order of the Surahs in the Quran is
the same as its chronological order.
Background of Revelation
There are clear indications in the subject matter of this Surah to the
conditions in which it was revealed. The disbelievers of Makkah at that time
were engaged in two kinds of the activities against the Holy Prophet. First,
they were creating every kind of suspicion and misgiving in the minds of the
people about the teaching of the Quran and the message of Islam and about the
Holy Prophet himself by starting many disputes and discussions, raising
irrelevant objections and bringing ever new accusations so that the Holy Prophet
and the believers were sick of trying to answer them. Second, they were
preparing the ground for putting an end to the Holy Prophet himself. They were
devising one plot after the other, and on one occasion had even taken the
practical steps to execute a plot. Bukhari has related a tradition on the
authority of Hadrat Abdullah bin Amr bin 'As saying that one day when the Holy
Prophet was offering his Prayer in the precinct's of the Kabbah, suddenly 'Uqbah
bin Abi Mu'ait, rushed forward and putting a piece of cloth round his neck
started twisting it so as to strangle him to death. Hadrat Abu Bakr, who
happened to go there in time, pushed him away. Hadrat Abdullah says that when
Abu Bakr was struggling with the cruel man, he was saying words to the effect:
"Would you kill a man only because he says: Allah is my Lord?" With a little
variation this event has also been mentioned in Ibn Hisham, Nasa'i and Ibn Abi
Hatim .
Theme and Topics
Both aspects of this have been clear]y stated
at the very outset, and then the whole following discourse is a most effective
and instructive review of them.
As an answer to the conspiracies of
murder, the story of the Believer of the people of Pharaoh has been narrated
(vv. 23 - 55) and through this story three different lessons have been taught to
the three groups:
The disbelievers have been admonished: "Whatever you
intend to do against Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace), the same did the
Pharaoh with his might intend against the Prophet Moses. Now, would you like to
meet with the same fate with which he met by plotting such conspiracies ?"
The Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace) and his followers have
been taught the lesson: "These wicked people may apparently be very strong and
powerful and you very weak and helpless against them, yet you should rest
assured that the might of that God Whose Word you are trying to raise high is
superior to every other power. Therefore, you should only seek Allah's refuge in
response to every and any dreadful threat that they utter against you, and then
busy yourself after this in fearlessly performing your mission. The
God-worshiper has only one answer to every threat of the tyrant: `I have taken
refuge in my Lord and your Lord against every arrogant person who does not
believe in the Day of Reckoning.' (v. 27) Thus, if you go on performing your
mission fearless of every danger and with full trust in God, His succor will
ultimately reach you, and the Pharaohs of today shall be doomed just as the
Pharaohs of yesterday. Till that time you will have to face and bear patiently
every wave of persecution and tyranny that may be directed against you."
Besides these two, there was a third group of the people also in the society,
who had been convinced in their hearts that the Truth was only on the side of
the Holy Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace), and that the
disbelieving Quraish were being unjust and cruel. But in spite of the conviction
they were watching quietly and unconcerned the conflict between the Truth and
falsehood. Allah here has aroused their conscience as if to say: "When the
enemies of the Truth have openly plotted, in front of your very eyes, it would
be a sad reflection on you if you still remained indifferent. Under such
conditions, unless a person's conscience has wholly become dead, he should rise
and perform the duty, which a righteous man from among the courtiers of Pharaoh
himself had performed at a time when the Pharaoh had made up his mind to kill
the Prophet Moses. The circumstances that prevent you from raising your voice
had also obstructed the way of the Believer, but he had full faith in Allah and
disregarded all expediency; then note that the Pharaoh was not able to do him
any harm."
Now as for the conspiracies, which were continuing in Makkah
day and night to defeat the Truth, on the one hand, arguments have been given to
prove the doctrines of Tauhid and the Hereafter as true, which were the real
basis of the dispute between the Holy Prophet and the disbelievers, and it has
been stated plainly and openly that the disbelievers are wrangling over those
truths without any knowledge. On the other, the motives which were the real
cause of the Quraishite chiefs' conflict against the Holy Prophet, have been
exposed. Apparently they were trying to have the common people believe that they
had some genuine objections against the teaching of the Prophet and his claim to
prophethood; that is why they were not prepared to listen to him. But, in fact,
this was their struggle for power. In verse 56, they have been openly warned, so
as to say" "The real cause of your denial is your arrogance and vanity. You
think that if you acknowledge the prophethood of Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's
peace), your power and authority will come to an end. That is why you are
straining every nerve to frustrate and defeat him."
In the same
connection, the disbelievers have been warned again and again to the effect: "If
you do not desist from wrangling against the Revelations of Allah, you will be
doomed to the same fate as the nations of the past. Much worse torment awaits
you in the Hereafter. Then you will repent, but it will be too late.