English Translation and Commentary of the Holy Quran (2010)
by Maulana Muhammad Ali
Chapter 11: Hud — Hud (Revealed at Makkah: 10 sections, 123 verses)
Section 9 (Verses 11:96–11:109): The Wrongdoers and the Righteous
Translation:
وَ لَقَدۡ اَرۡسَلۡنَا مُوۡسٰی بِاٰیٰتِنَا وَ سُلۡطٰنٍ مُّبِیۡنٍ ﴿ۙ۹۶﴾
11:96 And certainly We sent Moses with Our signs and a clear authority,
اِلٰی فِرۡعَوۡنَ وَ مَلَا۠ئِہٖ فَاتَّبَعُوۡۤا اَمۡرَ فِرۡعَوۡنَ ۚ وَ مَاۤ اَمۡرُ فِرۡعَوۡنَ بِرَشِیۡدٍ ﴿۹۷﴾
11:97 to Pharaoh and his chiefs, but they followed the bidding of Pharaoh; and Pharaoh’s bidding was not right-directing.
یَقۡدُمُ قَوۡمَہٗ یَوۡمَ الۡقِیٰمَۃِ فَاَوۡرَدَہُمُ النَّارَ ؕ وَ بِئۡسَ الۡوِرۡدُ الۡمَوۡرُوۡدُ ﴿۹۸﴾
11:98 He will lead his people on the day of Resurrection, and bring them down to the Fire. And evil the place to which they are brought!
وَ اُتۡبِعُوۡا فِیۡ ہٰذِہٖ لَعۡنَۃً وَّ یَوۡمَ الۡقِیٰمَۃِ ؕ بِئۡسَ الرِّفۡدُ الۡمَرۡفُوۡدُ ﴿۹۹﴾
11:99 And they are followed by a curse in this (world), and on the day of Resurrection. Evil the gift which shall be given!
ذٰلِکَ مِنۡ اَنۡۢبَآءِ الۡقُرٰی نَقُصُّہٗ عَلَیۡکَ مِنۡہَا قَآئِمٌ وَّ حَصِیۡدٌ ﴿۱۰۰﴾
11:100 This is an account of the towns which We relate to you. Of them are some that stand and (others) mown down.
وَ مَا ظَلَمۡنٰہُمۡ وَ لٰکِنۡ ظَلَمُوۡۤا اَنۡفُسَہُمۡ فَمَاۤ اَغۡنَتۡ عَنۡہُمۡ اٰلِہَتُہُمُ الَّتِیۡ یَدۡعُوۡنَ مِنۡ دُوۡنِ اللّٰہِ مِنۡ شَیۡءٍ لَّمَّا جَآءَ اَمۡرُ رَبِّکَ ؕ وَ مَا زَادُوۡہُمۡ غَیۡرَ تَتۡبِیۡبٍ ﴿۱۰۱﴾
11:101 And We did not wrong them but they wronged themselves. And their gods whom they called upon besides Allah did not avail them in the least when the decree of your Lord came to pass. And they added to them nothing but ruin.
وَ کَذٰلِکَ اَخۡذُ رَبِّکَ اِذَاۤ اَخَذَ الۡقُرٰی وَ ہِیَ ظَالِمَۃٌ ؕ اِنَّ اَخۡذَہٗۤ اَلِیۡمٌ شَدِیۡدٌ ﴿۱۰۲﴾
11:102 And such is the punishment of your Lord, when He punishes the towns while they are wrongdoers. Surely His punishment is painful, severe.
اِنَّ فِیۡ ذٰلِکَ لَاٰیَۃً لِّمَنۡ خَافَ عَذَابَ الۡاٰخِرَۃِ ؕ ذٰلِکَ یَوۡمٌ مَّجۡمُوۡعٌ ۙ لَّہُ النَّاسُ وَ ذٰلِکَ یَوۡمٌ مَّشۡہُوۡدٌ ﴿۱۰۳﴾
11:103 Surely there is a sign in this for him who fears the punishment of the Hereafter. That is a day on which people will be gathered together, and that is a day to be witnessed.
وَ مَا نُؤَخِّرُہٗۤ اِلَّا لِاَجَلٍ مَّعۡدُوۡدٍ ﴿۱۰۴﴾ؕ
11:104 And We do not delay it but for an appointed term.
یَوۡمَ یَاۡتِ لَا تَکَلَّمُ نَفۡسٌ اِلَّا بِاِذۡنِہٖ ۚ فَمِنۡہُمۡ شَقِیٌّ وَّ سَعِیۡدٌ ﴿۱۰۵﴾
11:105 On the day when it comes, no soul will speak except by His permission; so (some) of them will be unhappy and (others) happy.
فَاَمَّا الَّذِیۡنَ شَقُوۡا فَفِی النَّارِ لَہُمۡ فِیۡہَا زَفِیۡرٌ وَّ شَہِیۡقٌ ﴿۱۰۶﴾ۙ
11:106 Then as for those who are unhappy, they will be in the Fire; for them there will be in it sighing and groaning —
خٰلِدِیۡنَ فِیۡہَا مَا دَامَتِ السَّمٰوٰتُ وَ الۡاَرۡضُ اِلَّا مَا شَآءَ رَبُّکَ ؕ اِنَّ رَبَّکَ فَعَّالٌ لِّمَا یُرِیۡدُ ﴿۱۰۷﴾
11:107 abiding in it so long as the heavens and the earth endure, except as your Lord please. Surely your Lord is Doer of what He intends.1
وَ اَمَّا الَّذِیۡنَ سُعِدُوۡا فَفِی الۡجَنَّۃِ خٰلِدِیۡنَ فِیۡہَا مَا دَامَتِ السَّمٰوٰتُ وَ الۡاَرۡضُ اِلَّا مَا شَآءَ رَبُّکَ ؕ عَطَآءً غَیۡرَ مَجۡذُوۡذٍ ﴿۱۰۸﴾
11:108 And as for those who are made happy, they will be in the Garden abiding in it so long as the heavens and the earth endure, except as your Lord please — a gift never to be cut off.2
فَلَا تَکُ فِیۡ مِرۡیَۃٍ مِّمَّا یَعۡبُدُ ہٰۤؤُلَآءِ ؕ مَا یَعۡبُدُوۡنَ اِلَّا کَمَا یَعۡبُدُ اٰبَآؤُہُمۡ مِّنۡ قَبۡلُ ؕ وَ اِنَّا لَمُوَفُّوۡہُمۡ نَصِیۡبَہُمۡ غَیۡرَ مَنۡقُوۡصٍ ﴿۱۰۹﴾٪
11:109 So do not be in doubt as to what these (people) worship. They worship only as their fathers worshipped before. And surely We shall pay them in full their due undiminished.
Commentary:
- This limitation on the duration of abiding in hell — except as your Lord please — is given here and in 6:128, showing clearly that the punishment of hell is not everlasting. The next verse states that those in paradise will abide there as long as the heavens and the earth endure, “except as your Lord please”, but this statement is immediately followed by another: A gift never to be cut off. This shows that in fact there is no limitation upon the eternity of paradise, and the words except as your Lord please have been used, in the case of paradise, only to express the unbounded power of the Divine Being and the fact that it is due to God’s pleasure that they are there. In the case of hell, however, the words except as your Lord please are followed by a statement which corroborates the limitation thus placed, for, Fa“āl or Doer, as an attribute of God, indicates that He does even those things which seem impossible to others.
Three times in the Quran (4:169, 33:65, 72:23) abiding in hell for abad is mentioned, which is generally considered as meaning forever. However, abad signifies a long time as well as time without end. The Quran makes clear in 78:23 that a long time is meant as it states there that the disbelievers will remain in hell for aḥqāb, i.e. long years. ↩︎ - In accordance with what is said here, that heavenly life is a gift never to be cut off, we have in 15:48: “Nor will they be ejected from there”. ↩︎