English Translation and Commentary of the Holy Quran (2010)

by Maulana Muhammad Ali

Chapter 25: Al-Furqan — The Criterion (Revealed at Makkah: 6 sections, 77 verses)

Section 6 (Verses 25:61–25:77): The Transformation Brought About

Translation:

تَبٰرَکَ الَّذِیۡ جَعَلَ فِی السَّمَآءِ بُرُوۡجًا وَّ جَعَلَ فِیۡہَا سِرٰجًا وَّ قَمَرًا مُّنِیۡرًا ﴿۶۱﴾

25:61 Blessed is He Who made the stars in the heavens and made therein a sun and a moon giving light!

وَ ہُوَ الَّذِیۡ جَعَلَ الَّیۡلَ وَ النَّہَارَ خِلۡفَۃً لِّمَنۡ اَرَادَ اَنۡ یَّذَّکَّرَ اَوۡ اَرَادَ شُکُوۡرًا ﴿۶۲﴾

25:62 And He it is Who made the night and the day to follow each other, for him who desires to be mindful or desires to be thankful.1

وَ عِبَادُ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الَّذِیۡنَ یَمۡشُوۡنَ عَلَی الۡاَرۡضِ ہَوۡنًا وَّ اِذَا خَاطَبَہُمُ الۡجٰہِلُوۡنَ قَالُوۡا سَلٰمًا ﴿۶۳﴾

25:63 And the servants of the Beneficent are they who walk on the earth in humility, and when the ignorant address them, they say, Peace!2

وَ الَّذِیۡنَ یَبِیۡتُوۡنَ لِرَبِّہِمۡ سُجَّدًا وَّ قِیَامًا ﴿۶۴﴾

25:64 And they who pass the night prostrating themselves before their Lord and standing.

وَ الَّذِیۡنَ یَقُوۡلُوۡنَ رَبَّنَا اصۡرِفۡ عَنَّا عَذَابَ جَہَنَّمَ ٭ۖ اِنَّ عَذَابَہَا کَانَ غَرَامًا ﴿٭ۖ۶۵﴾

25:65 And they who say: Our Lord, avert from us the punishment of hell; surely its punishment is a lasting evil:

اِنَّہَا سَآءَتۡ مُسۡتَقَرًّا وَّ مُقَامًا ﴿۶۶﴾

25:66 It is surely an evil abode and resting-place!

وَ الَّذِیۡنَ اِذَاۤ اَنۡفَقُوۡا لَمۡ یُسۡرِفُوۡا وَ لَمۡ یَقۡتُرُوۡا وَ کَانَ بَیۡنَ ذٰلِکَ قَوَامًا ﴿۶۷﴾

25:67 And they who, when they spend, are neither extravagant nor miserly, and the just mean is ever between these.

وَ الَّذِیۡنَ لَا یَدۡعُوۡنَ مَعَ اللّٰہِ اِلٰـہًا اٰخَرَ وَ لَا یَقۡتُلُوۡنَ النَّفۡسَ الَّتِیۡ حَرَّمَ اللّٰہُ اِلَّا بِالۡحَقِّ وَ لَا یَزۡنُوۡنَ ۚ وَ مَنۡ یَّفۡعَلۡ ذٰلِکَ یَلۡقَ اَثَامًا ﴿ۙ۶۸﴾

25:68 And they who do not call upon another god with Allah, nor slay the soul which Allah has forbidden, except in the cause of justice, nor commit fornication; and he who does this shall meet a penalty of sin —

یُّضٰعَفۡ لَہُ الۡعَذَابُ یَوۡمَ الۡقِیٰمَۃِ وَ یَخۡلُدۡ فِیۡہٖ مُہَانًا ﴿٭ۖ۶۹﴾

25:69 The punishment will be doubled to him on the day of Resurrection, and he will abide in it in humiliation —

اِلَّا مَنۡ تَابَ وَ اٰمَنَ وَ عَمِلَ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا فَاُولٰٓئِکَ یُبَدِّلُ اللّٰہُ سَیِّاٰتِہِمۡ حَسَنٰتٍ ؕ وَ کَانَ اللّٰہُ غَفُوۡرًا رَّحِیۡمًا ﴿۷۰﴾

25:70 except him who repents and believes and does good deeds; for such Allah changes their evil deeds to good ones.3 And Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful.

وَ مَنۡ تَابَ وَ عَمِلَ صَالِحًا فَاِنَّہٗ یَتُوۡبُ اِلَی اللّٰہِ مَتَابًا ﴿۷۱﴾

25:71 And whoever repents and does good, he surely turns to Allah a (goodly) turning.

وَ الَّذِیۡنَ لَا یَشۡہَدُوۡنَ الزُّوۡرَ ۙ وَ اِذَا مَرُّوۡا بِاللَّغۡوِ مَرُّوۡا کِرَامًا ﴿۷۲﴾

25:72 And they who witness no falsehood, and when they pass by what is vain, they pass by nobly.4

وَ الَّذِیۡنَ اِذَا ذُکِّرُوۡا بِاٰیٰتِ رَبِّہِمۡ لَمۡ یَخِرُّوۡا عَلَیۡہَا صُمًّا وَّ عُمۡیَانًا ﴿۷۳﴾

25:73 And they who, when reminded of the messages of their Lord, do not fall down at them deaf and blind.

وَ الَّذِیۡنَ یَقُوۡلُوۡنَ رَبَّنَا ہَبۡ لَنَا مِنۡ اَزۡوَاجِنَا وَ ذُرِّیّٰتِنَا قُرَّۃَ اَعۡیُنٍ وَّ اجۡعَلۡنَا لِلۡمُتَّقِیۡنَ اِمَامًا ﴿۷۴﴾

25:74 And they who say, Our Lord, grant us in our wives and our offspring the joy of our eyes, and make us leaders for those who guard against evil.

اُولٰٓئِکَ یُجۡزَوۡنَ الۡغُرۡفَۃَ بِمَا صَبَرُوۡا وَ یُلَقَّوۡنَ فِیۡہَا تَحِیَّۃً وَّ سَلٰمًا ﴿ۙ۷۵﴾

25:75 These are rewarded with high places because they are patient, and are met there with greetings and salutation,5

خٰلِدِیۡنَ فِیۡہَا ؕ حَسُنَتۡ مُسۡتَقَرًّا وَّ مُقَامًا ﴿۷۶﴾

25:76 abiding there — a goodly abode and resting-place!

قُلۡ مَا یَعۡبَؤُا بِکُمۡ رَبِّیۡ لَوۡ لَا دُعَآؤُکُمۡ ۚ فَقَدۡ کَذَّبۡتُمۡ فَسَوۡفَ یَکُوۡنُ لِزَامًا ﴿٪۷۷﴾

25:77 Say: My Lord would not care for you, if it were not for your prayer. Now indeed you have rejected, so the punishment will come.6

Commentary:

  1. The night is here spoken of as being the more opportune time for being mindful, i.e., for prayers, and the day for being thankful, i.e., for work and livelihood. ↩
  2. From here to the end of the chapter is described the great transforma­tion which the Prophet had already brought about. The great qualities spoken of as being met with in the servants of the Beneficent present a striking contrast with the evils which reigned supreme in Arabia. They were an arrogant people, who trampled the rights of their fellow-beings under their feet, but the faithful now walked in humility and led lives of lowliness, in which they had the greatest regard for others’ rights (v. 63). In the days of ignorance they passed their nights in drunken orgies, but now they kept awake at night in devotion and were instead drunk with the love of God (v. 64). In the days of ignorance they spent money extra­vagantly, when it was a question of pride, and they did not care for the poor dying of hunger, but now they spent every penny they could on others (v. 67). Formerly idols were worshipped in Arabia, human blood was shed on the slightest pretext, sex-relations were loose to an extreme, but they had now become the torch-bearers of Divine Unity, for whose sake they willingly suffered every priva­tion, homicide was looked upon with abhorrence, the highest value was placed on the chastity of men and women, and righteousness was the one thing in which men and women vied with one another (v. 68–71). Truth and faithfulness were the great qualities that ruled people’s minds, in the new dispensation, and a life full of vigour and earnestness was seen in the place of ignorance, superstition and immorality, which were the chief features of pre-Islamic Arabia (v. 72–74). ↩
  3. Here we are plainly told that the transformation had already been wrought; the vices in which the people indulged formerly had been changed to good and righteous deeds, and those who found pleasure in evil deeds now found pleasure in the doing of good. It was the soul-force of the Prophet that had wrought this miraculous transformation. ↩
  4. They not only shunned falsehood but were now above everything that was vain or futile. ↩
  5. Apparently they were being expelled from their homes but they felt as if they were being rewarded with high places, because their outlook on life was now spiritual and not material. In addition to the greetings and salutations of the angels they were promised greetings and salutations in their new centre of activity, Madinah, to which they were fleeing, because there a similar brotherhood of the righteous was now ready to receive these emigrants. ↩
  6. The Truth had finally been rejected by the Makkans, so the disgrace and abasement which was promised for the opponents of Truth was now awaiting them. The righteous were finally separated from the wicked, so the punishment must come. ↩

Top