English Translation and Commentary of the Holy Quran (2010)
by Maulana Muhammad Ali
Chapter 22: Al-Hajj — The Pilgrimage (Revealed at Makkah: 10 sections, 78 verses)
Section 3 (Verses 22:23–22:25): Believers are Triumphant
Translation:
اِنَّ اللّٰہَ یُدۡخِلُ الَّذِیۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡا وَ عَمِلُوا الصّٰلِحٰتِ جَنّٰتٍ تَجۡرِیۡ مِنۡ تَحۡتِہَا الۡاَنۡہٰرُ یُحَلَّوۡنَ فِیۡہَا مِنۡ اَسَاوِرَ مِنۡ ذَہَبٍ وَّ لُؤۡلُؤًا ؕ وَ لِبَاسُہُمۡ فِیۡہَا حَرِیۡرٌ ﴿۲۳﴾
22:23 Surely Allah will make those who believe and do good deeds enter Gardens in which rivers flow — they are adorned therein with bracelets of gold and (with) pearls. And their garments therein are of silk.1
وَ ہُدُوۡۤا اِلٰی الطَّیِّبِ مِنَ الۡقَوۡلِ ۚۖ وَ ہُدُوۡۤا اِلَی صِرَاطِ الۡحَمِیۡدِ ﴿۲۴﴾
22:24 And they are guided to pure words, and they are guided to the path of the Praised One.
اِنَّ الَّذِیۡنَ کَفَرُوۡا وَ یَصُدُّوۡنَ عَنۡ سَبِیۡلِ اللّٰہِ وَ الۡمَسۡجِدِ الۡحَرَامِ الَّذِیۡ جَعَلۡنٰہُ لِلنَّاسِ سَوَآءَۨ الۡعَاکِفُ فِیۡہِ وَ الۡبَادِ ؕ وَ مَنۡ یُّرِدۡ فِیۡہِ بِاِلۡحَادٍۭ بِظُلۡمٍ نُّذِقۡہُ مِنۡ عَذَابٍ اَلِیۡمٍ ﴿٪۲۵﴾
22:25 Those who disbelieve and hinder (people) from Allah’s way and from the Sacred Mosque, which We have made equally for all people, (for) the dweller in it and the visitor.2 And whoever inclines to wrong in it, unjustly, We shall make him taste of painful punishment.
Commentary:
- The following incident, mentioned by Baihaqi, shows that the companions of the Prophet understood these prophecies in another sense too: “The bracelets of Kisra, the Persian monarch, were brought to Umar, and he made Surāqa ibn Mālik to wear them, on which he praised the Almighty”. The reason for Umar making Surāqa wear the bracelets is also given by the same authority in another report, according to which the Holy Prophet had said to Surāqa: “How will you feel when you wear the bracelets of Kisra?” ↩
- The two may respectively signify the dweller in Makkah and the dweller in the desert, or one who dwells in it constantly and one who comes to it occasionally. The disbelievers, being then in possession of the Sacred Mosque, prevented Muslims from using it. They are told that this state of things will be brought to an end, for it must be open to all visitors, and that could only be brought about by Muslims being made masters of it. ↩