English Translation and Commentary of the Holy Quran (2010)
by Maulana Muhammad Ali
Chapter 33: Al-Ahzab — The Allies (Revealed at Makkah: 9 sections, 73 verses)
Section 9 (Verses 33:69–33:73): An Exhortation to the Faithful
Translation:
یٰۤاَیُّہَا الَّذِیۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡا لَا تَکُوۡنُوۡا کَالَّذِیۡنَ اٰذَوۡا مُوۡسٰی فَبَرَّاَہُ اللّٰہُ مِمَّا قَالُوۡا ؕ وَ کَانَ عِنۡدَ اللّٰہِ وَجِیۡہًا ﴿ؕ۶۹﴾
33:69 O you who believe, do not be like those who maligned Moses, but Allah cleared him of what they said. And he was worthy of regard with Allah.1
یٰۤاَیُّہَا الَّذِیۡنَ اٰمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللّٰہَ وَ قُوۡلُوۡا قَوۡلًا سَدِیۡدًا ﴿ۙ۷۰﴾
33:70 O you who believe, keep your duty to Allah and speak straight words:
یُّصۡلِحۡ لَکُمۡ اَعۡمَالَکُمۡ وَ یَغۡفِرۡ لَکُمۡ ذُنُوۡبَکُمۡ ؕ وَ مَنۡ یُّطِعِ اللّٰہَ وَ رَسُوۡلَہٗ فَقَدۡ فَازَ فَوۡزًا عَظِیۡمًا ﴿۷۱﴾
33:71 He will put your deeds into a right state for you, and forgive you your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger, he indeed achieves a mighty success.
اِنَّا عَرَضۡنَا الۡاَمَانَۃَ عَلَی السَّمٰوٰتِ وَ الۡاَرۡضِ وَ الۡجِبَالِ فَاَبَیۡنَ اَنۡ یَّحۡمِلۡنَہَا وَ اَشۡفَقۡنَ مِنۡہَا وَ حَمَلَہَا الۡاِنۡسَانُ ؕ اِنَّہٗ کَانَ ظَلُوۡمًا جَہُوۡلًا ﴿ۙ۷۲﴾
33:72 Surely We offered the trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, but they refused to be unfaithful to it and feared from it, and man has turned unfaithful to it.2 Surely he is ever unjust, ignorant —
لِّیُعَذِّبَ اللّٰہُ الۡمُنٰفِقِیۡنَ وَ الۡمُنٰفِقٰتِ وَ الۡمُشۡرِکِیۡنَ وَ الۡمُشۡرِکٰتِ وَ یَتُوۡبَ اللّٰہُ عَلَی الۡمُؤۡمِنِیۡنَ وَ الۡمُؤۡمِنٰتِ ؕ وَ کَانَ اللّٰہُ غَفُوۡرًا رَّحِیۡمًا ﴿٪۷۳﴾
33:73 that Allah may punish the hypocritical men and the hypocritical women, and the men and the women who set up partners (with Allah), and Allah will turn (mercifully) to the believing men and the believing women. And Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful.
Commentary:
- For a false imputation against Moses by his own people, and even his own sister, see the book of Numbers, ch. 12. As this chapter deals with false imputations, the case of a false imputation against the prophet in whose likeness the Holy Prophet came is cited, and attention is drawn to the fate of those who had taken part in the accusation. The false accusations against the Holy Prophet are all forged by his opponents. ↩
- The words translated as “unfaithful” to the trust literally mean bear the trust. Not bearing the trust signifies paying it back, and bearing the trust means being unfaithful to it. The meaning is that nature is true to its laws which bring about its evolution, but man is not true to the laws on which depends his real happiness. (Editor’s Note: “Trust” here may be the spirit or soul breathed into the human body by God as stated in 15:29. It is quite different from the animal life which a human shares with all animals, along with his physical body. All experiences, actions and even thoughts of a human being during his life are imprinted on the soul and they make it into an individual personality called nafs by the Quran. This nafs is taken away at death, as stated in 39:42, and appears before its Creator (50:21) to account for the way the trust placed in him by God was discharged. This grave responsibility, if properly discharged, gives it scope wider than the earth, higher than the heavens and stronger than the mountains referred to in this verse. This is proved by 59:21 as the revelation of the Quran came to the Holy Prophet Muhammad without his heart crumbling down.) ↩