English Translation and Commentary of the Holy Quran (2010)

by Maulana Muhammad Ali

Chapter 23: Al-Muminun — The Believers (Revealed at Makkah: 6 sections, 118 verses)

Section 6 (Verses 23:93–23:118): Regrets of the Wicked

Translation:

قُلۡ رَّبِّ اِمَّا تُرِیَنِّیۡ مَا یُوۡعَدُوۡنَ ﴿ۙ۹۳﴾

23:93 Say: My Lord, if You show me what they are promised —

رَبِّ فَلَا تَجۡعَلۡنِیۡ فِی الۡقَوۡمِ الظّٰلِمِیۡنَ ﴿۹۴﴾

23:94 My Lord, then do not place me with the unjust people.

وَ اِنَّا عَلٰۤی اَنۡ نُّرِیَکَ مَا نَعِدُہُمۡ لَقٰدِرُوۡنَ ﴿۹۵﴾

23:95 And surely We are well Able to show you what We promise them.¹

اِدۡفَعۡ بِالَّتِیۡ ہِیَ اَحۡسَنُ السَّیِّئَۃَ ؕ نَحۡنُ اَعۡلَمُ بِمَا یَصِفُوۡنَ ﴿۹۶﴾

23:96 Repel evil with what is best.² We know better what they describe.

وَ قُلۡ رَّبِّ اَعُوۡذُ بِکَ مِنۡ ہَمَزٰتِ الشَّیٰطِیۡنِ ﴿ۙ۹۷﴾

23:97 And say: My Lord, I seek refuge in You from the evil suggestions of the devils,³

وَ اَعُوۡذُ بِکَ رَبِّ اَنۡ یَّحۡضُرُوۡنِ ﴿۹۸﴾

23:98 and I seek refuge in You, my Lord, should they come to me.

حَتّٰۤی اِذَا جَآءَ اَحَدَہُمُ الۡمَوۡتُ قَالَ رَبِّ ارۡجِعُوۡنِ ﴿ۙ۹۹﴾

23:99 Until when death catches up with one of them, he says: My Lord, send me back,⁴

لَعَلِّیۡۤ اَعۡمَلُ صَالِحًا فِیۡمَا تَرَکۡتُ کَلَّا ؕ اِنَّہَا کَلِمَۃٌ ہُوَ قَآئِلُہَا ؕ وَ مِنۡ وَّرَآئِہِمۡ بَرۡزَخٌ اِلٰی یَوۡمِ یُبۡعَثُوۡنَ ﴿۱۰۰﴾

23:100 that I may do good in that which I have left. By no means! It is only a word that he speaks. And before them is a barrier, until the day they are raised.⁵

فَاِذَا نُفِخَ فِی الصُّوۡرِ فَلَاۤ اَنۡسَابَ بَیۡنَہُمۡ یَوۡمَئِذٍ وَّ لَا یَتَسَآءَلُوۡنَ ﴿۱۰۱﴾

23:101 So when the trumpet is blown, there will be no ties of relationship among them that day, nor will they ask of one another.

فَمَنۡ ثَقُلَتۡ مَوَازِیۡنُہٗ فَاُولٰٓئِکَ ہُمُ الۡمُفۡلِحُوۡنَ ﴿۱۰۲﴾

23:102 Then those whose good deeds are heavy, those are the successful.

وَ مَنۡ خَفَّتۡ مَوَازِیۡنُہٗ فَاُولٰٓئِکَ الَّذِیۡنَ خَسِرُوۡۤا اَنۡفُسَہُمۡ فِیۡ جَہَنَّمَ خٰلِدُوۡنَ ﴿۱۰۳﴾ۚ

23:103 And those whose good deeds are light, those are they who have lost their souls, abiding in hell.

تَلۡفَحُ وُجُوۡہَہُمُ النَّارُ وَ ہُمۡ فِیۡہَا کٰلِحُوۡنَ ﴿۱۰۴﴾

23:104 The Fire will scorch their faces, and in it they will be in severe affliction.

اَلَمۡ تَکُنۡ اٰیٰتِیۡ تُتۡلٰی عَلَیۡکُمۡ فَکُنۡتُمۡ بِہَا تُکَذِّبُوۡنَ ﴿۱۰۵﴾

23:105 Were not My messages recited to you, but you used to reject them?

قَالُوۡا رَبَّنَا غَلَبَتۡ عَلَیۡنَا شِقۡوَتُنَا وَ کُنَّا قَوۡمًا ضَآلِّیۡنَ ﴿۱۰۶﴾

23:106 They will say: Our Lord, our misfortune overcame us, and we were a people in error.

رَبَّنَاۤ اَخۡرِجۡنَا مِنۡہَا فَاِنۡ عُدۡنَا فَاِنَّا ظٰلِمُوۡنَ ﴿۱۰۷﴾

23:107 Our Lord, take us out of it; then if we return (to evil), we shall be unjust.

قَالَ اخۡسَـُٔوۡا فِیۡہَا وَ لَا تُکَلِّمُوۡنِ ﴿۱۰۸﴾

23:108 He will say: Go away into it, and do not speak to Me.

اِنَّہٗ کَانَ فَرِیۡقٌ مِّنۡ عِبَادِیۡ یَقُوۡلُوۡنَ رَبَّنَاۤ اٰمَنَّا فَاغۡفِرۡ لَنَا وَ ارۡحَمۡنَا وَ اَنۡتَ خَیۡرُ الرّٰحِمِیۡنَ ﴿۱۰۹﴾ۚۖ

23:109 Surely there was a group of My servants who said: Our Lord, we believe, so forgive us and have mercy on us, and You are the Best of those who show mercy.

فَاتَّخَذۡتُمُوۡہُمۡ سِخۡرِیًّا حَتّٰۤی اَنۡسَوۡکُمۡ ذِکۡرِیۡ وَ کُنۡتُمۡ مِّنۡہُمۡ تَضۡحَکُوۡنَ ﴿۱۱۰﴾

23:110 But you ridiculed them, until they made you forget remembrance of Me, and you used to laugh at them.⁶

اِنِّیۡ جَزَیۡتُہُمُ الۡیَوۡمَ بِمَا صَبَرُوۡۤا ۙ اَنَّہُمۡ ہُمُ الۡفَآئِزُوۡنَ ﴿۱۱۱﴾

23:111 Surely I have rewarded them this day because they were patient, that they are the achievers.

قٰلَ کَمۡ لَبِثۡتُمۡ فِی الۡاَرۡضِ عَدَدَ سِنِیۡنَ ﴿۱۱۲﴾

23:112 He will say: How many years did you remain in the earth?

قَالُوۡا لَبِثۡنَا یَوۡمًا اَوۡ بَعۡضَ یَوۡمٍ فَسۡـَٔلِ الۡعَآدِّیۡنَ ﴿۱۱۳﴾

23:113 They will say: We remained a day or part of a day, but ask those who keep account.

قٰلَ اِنۡ لَّبِثۡتُمۡ اِلَّا قَلِیۡلًا لَّوۡ اَنَّکُمۡ کُنۡتُمۡ تَعۡلَمُوۡنَ ﴿۱۱۴﴾

23:114 He will say: You remained only a little — if only you knew!

اَفَحَسِبۡتُمۡ اَنَّمَا خَلَقۡنٰکُمۡ عَبَثًا وَّ اَنَّکُمۡ اِلَیۡنَا لَا تُرۡجَعُوۡنَ ﴿۱۱۵﴾

23:115 Do you then think that We have created you in vain, and that you will not be returned to Us?⁷

فَتَعٰلَی اللّٰہُ الۡمَلِکُ الۡحَقُّ ۚ لَاۤ اِلٰہَ اِلَّا ہُوَ ۚ رَبُّ الۡعَرۡشِ الۡکَرِیۡمِ ﴿۱۱۶﴾

23:116 So exalted be Allah, the True King! No God is there but He, the Lord of the Throne of Grace.

وَ مَنۡ یَّدۡعُ مَعَ اللّٰہِ اِلٰـہًا اٰخَرَ ۙ لَا بُرۡہَانَ لَہٗ بِہٖ ۙ فَاِنَّمَا حِسَابُہٗ عِنۡدَ رَبِّہٖ ؕ اِنَّہٗ لَا یُفۡلِحُ الۡکٰفِرُوۡنَ ﴿۱۱۷﴾

23:117 And whoever invokes, besides Allah, another god — he has no proof of this — his reckoning is only with his Lord. Surely the disbelievers will not be successful.

وَ قُلۡ رَّبِّ اغۡفِرۡ وَ ارۡحَمۡ وَ اَنۡتَ خَیۡرُ الرّٰحِمِیۡنَ ﴿٪۱۱۸﴾

23:118 And say: My Lord, forgive and have mercy, and You are the Best of those who show mercy.

Commentary:

1. The promise given to the Holy Prophet in these verses is that the power of his persecutors will be broken in his lifetime. ↩
2. The doing of good in return for evil is the common teaching of all prophets. But nowhere is the principle put in such a beautiful and practical form as in the Quran. To return good for evil is only possible under certain circum­stances, and the Gospel doctrine — that ye resist not evil — has not been found practicable. The Quran, however, says, repel evil with what is best. If you can repel an evil by doing good for it, it is the course recommended; but if punish­ment is necessary, that would be the better course. It is the only workable principle of life. ↩
3. The evil suggestions of the devils were really suggestions of the wicked, who were opposed to the progress of Islam, and the Prophet is here told to look upon Allah as his only support. To seek refuge in the Lord is the height of goodness. Nowhere has a man a better refuge than in the Source of all strength, and no mortal can aspire to a higher honour than having his refuge in the Lord. The command to the Prophet to say this is really an image of the aspiration of his soul. His soul rested in that highest degree of security from all evil suggestions, which is termed refuge in the Lord. ↩
4. These words make it quite certain that the devils of the two previous verses are no other than the wicked opponents of the Holy Prophet. ↩
5. That the dead do not return to life is a principle which is reaffirmed here; see also 21:95. According to the Quran there are three states of a man’s life, viz., his life in this world, his life in barzakh (referred to as “barrier” here) and the great manifestation of all spiritual realities that will take place on the day of Resurrection. Barzakh is the intermediate state in which the soul lives after death till the Resurrection. Here it is stated that no one who has passed into the state of barzakh is allowed to go back into the previous state. See further 39:42. ↩
6. It was not really the believers who caused them to forget the remembrance of their Lord but, on account of their mocking the believers, the dis­believers forgot their Lord; hence the believers are here spoken of as though they caused the disbelievers to forget their Lord. ↩
7. This verse establishes the doctrine of the responsibility of human actions. Man is not created in vain, but he will be returned to his Lord to meet the consequences of what he does in this life. ↩

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