Microsoft Word Al Jalalain Eng with introduction docx

(Luqmân)
[31:1]
Alif l
ā
m m
ī
m: God knows best what He means by these [letters]. 
[31:2]
Those, namely, these signs, are the signs of the wise Book, the Qur’
ā
n, the one containing wisdom (the 
genitive annexation [
ā
y
ā
tu’l-kit
ā
bi’l-hak
ī
m] has the [partitive] meaning of min, ‘from’); 
[31:3]
it is, a guidance and a mercy (read nominative rahmatun; the popular accusative reading [rahmatan] would 
make it a circumstantial qualifier referring to 
ā
y
ā
t, ‘signs’, the operator of which being the implicit 
demonstrative import of tilka, ‘those’) for the virtuous, 
[31:4]
who maintain the prayer (alladh
ī
na yuq
ī
m
ū
na’l-sal
ā
ta, an explication of al-muhsin
ī
na, ‘the virtuous’) and pay 
the alms and who are certain of the Hereafter (the repetition of hum, ‘they’ [here translated ‘who’] is for 
emphasis). 
[31:5]
Such follow guidance from their Lord and it is they who are the successful, the winners. 
[31:6]
And among people there is he who purchases idle talk, in other words, that [part of it] which diverts 
[people] from its [true] significance, that he may lead [people] astray (read li-yadilla; or li-yudilla) from the 
way of God, the religion of Islam, without knowledge and take it (read [subjunctive] wa-yattakhidhah
ā
as a 
supplement to yudilla, ‘that he may lead astray’; or [indicative] wa-yattakhidhuh
ā
as a supplement to 
yashtar
ī
, ‘who buys’) in mockery, as something to be mocked. For such there will be a humiliating 
chastisement, one of abasement. 
[31:7]
And when Our signs, in other words, [in] the Qur’
ā
n, are recited to such [a one] he turns away disdainfully 
as though he never heard them, as though there were a deafness in his ears (both comparisons constitute 
two circumstantial qualifiers referring to the subject of [the verb] wall
ā
, ‘turns away’; or it is that the second 
[comparison] is an explication of the first). So give him tidings of, inform him of, a painful chastisement. The 

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470
use of [the expression] ‘good tidings’ meant derisively against such [a person] — this was al-Nadr b. al-
H
ā
rith. He used to visit al-H
ī
ra for commerce and purchase books containing the stories of the non-Arab 
peoples and then recount these to the people of Mecca. He would say, ‘Muhammad recounts to you the 
stories of ‘
Ā
d and Tham
ū
d, whereas I relate to you the stories of the Persians and the Byzantines!’ They 
would thus [go to] enjoy his stories and neglect to listen to the Qur’
ā
n. 
[31:8]
Surely those who believe and perform righteous deeds, for them there shall be Gardens of Bliss, 
[31:9]
abiding therein (kh
ā
lid
ī
na f
ī
h
ā
, is a circumstantial qualification [of a future status]), in other words, their 
abiding therein will have been ordained once they enter it — a promise of God in truth, that is to say, God 
promised them this and realised it in truth; and He is the Mighty, Whom nothing can overwhelm and so 
prevent Him from fulfilling His promise and His threat [of chastisement], the Wise, the One Who assigns all 
things to their rightful places. 
[31:10]
He created the heavens without any pillars that you can see (‘amad is the plural of ‘im
ā
d, which is an 
ustuw
ā
na, ‘a column’) — this is the truth since there are no actual pillars — and cast high mountains into the 
earth, lest it shake with you, and He dispersed therein all kinds beasts. And We sent down (there is a shift 
from the third [to the second] person) water from the heaven and We caused to grow in it of every splendid 
kind, [every] fair specimen. 
[31:11]
This is God’s creation, in other words, what is created by Him. Now show me, inform me, O people of 
Mecca, what those [you worship] besides Him, [those] other than Him, have created, namely, your gods, so 
that you have associated them with Him, exalted be He (m
ā
is an interrogative of denial and a subject; dh
ā
has the significance of alladh
ī
, and what follows it of the relative clause is the predicate [of the subject m
ā
]; 
ar
ū
n
ī
glosses ‘the action’, and what follows it stands in place of two direct objects). Nay (bal, is for 
transition) but the evildoers are in manifest error, [error] that is evident because of their ascribing partners 
to God: and you are like them. 
[31:12]
And verily We gave Luqm
ā
n wisdom, comprising knowledge, religiousness, and right-mindedness in speech; 
his many wisdoms are well-known. He used to give legal opinions [in matters of religion] before David was 
summoned [to prophethood], but lived on into the latter’s summoning. He then took to acquiring knowledge 
from him [David] and refrained from giving [any more] legal opinions, explaining this thus: ‘Should I not be 
content if someone [like the prophet David] has spared me the trouble?’ He was once asked, ‘What is the 
worst kind of person?’ He said, ‘The one who does not care that people should see him doing evil’. In other 
words, [We gave him wisdom] and We said to him: ‘Give thanks to God, for the wisdom that He has given 
you. Whoever gives thanks only for his own sake, because the reward for his gratitude shall be his, and 
whoever is ungrateful, for a grace, then surely God is Independent, [without need] of His creation, Praised’, 
in what He does. 
[31:13]
And, mention, when Luqm
ā
n said to his son, when he was admonishing him, ‘O my son (y
ā
bunayya is an 
affectionate diminutive [of y
ā
ibn
ī
]) do not ascribe partners to God: idolatry is truly a tremendous wrong’, so 
return to him [in repentance] and submit [to Him]. 
[31:14]

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471
And We have enjoined man concerning his parents, We commanded him to be dutiful towards them — his 
mother bears him, and weakens, in weakness after weakness, that is to say, she is weakened by the 
pregnancy, the pains of labour and the delivery; and his weaning is in two years, and We said to him [to 
man]: ‘Give thanks to Me and to your parents. To Me is the journey’s end, the return. 
[31:15]
But if they urge you to ascribe to Me as partner that whereof you have no knowledge, that accords with 
[any] reality, then do not obey them. And keep them company in this world honourably, in other words, with 
decency: dutifulness and kindness — and follow the way of him who returns to Me [in penitence], with [acts 
of] obedience. Then to Me will be your return, and I will inform you of what you used to do, and requite you 
for it (the [entire] sentence containing the ‘enjoinder’ [verse 14] and what comes after it constitutes a 
parenthetical statement). 
[31:16]
‘O my son! Even if it, namely, the evil trait, should be the weight of a grain of mustard-seed, and [even if] it 
be in a rock, or in the heavens, or in the earth, in other words, in the most concealed place therein, God will 
bring it forth, and He will call [that person] to account for it. Truly God is Subtle, in bringing it forth, Aware, 
of its location. 
[31:17]
O my son! Establish prayer and enjoin decency and forbid indecency. And be patient through whatever may 
befall you, as a result of such enjoining and forbidding. Truly that, which is mentioned, is true constancy, in 
other words, that is one of those necessary things regarding which one must have firm resolve. 
[31:18]
And do not turn your cheek disdainfully from people (tusa‘‘ir: a variant reading has tus
ā
‘ir) do not turn your 
face away in disdain, and do not walk upon the earth exultantly, in other words, with haughtiness. Truly God 
does not like any swaggering braggart, strutting in his step, [boasting] in front of people. 
[31:19]
And be modest in your bearing, being moderate in it, neither dragging slowly nor rushing, but peaceful and 
dignified, and lower your voice; indeed the most hideous of voices is the donkey’s voice’, beginning [its 
hideous bray] with an exhalation and ending with an inhalation. 
[31:20]
Do you not see, do you [not] realise, O you who are being addressed, that God has disposed for you 
whatever is in the heavens, such as the sun, the moon, and the stars, that you may benefit from them, and 
whatever is in the earth, of fruits, rivers and animals, and He has showered, He has made abundant and 
made complete, His favours upon you, [both] outwardly, namely, [by giving you your] wholesome form, 
even limbs and otherwise, and inwardly?, that is, [by giving you] knowledge and so on. Yet among people, 
that is, [people such as] the Meccan disbelievers, there are those who dispute concerning God without any 
knowledge or guidance, from a messenger, or an illuminating scripture, revealed by God, rather [they 
dispute] by [blindly] imitating [others]. 
[31:21]
And if it is said to them: ‘Follow what God has revealed’, they say, ‘We will rather follow what we found our 
fathers following’. He, exalted be He, says: What! Would they follow such [things], even though Satan were 
calling them to the chastisement of the Blaze?, that is, to what will bring it about necessarily? No! 

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472
[31:22]
And whoever surrenders his purpose to God, that is, [whoever] takes to obeying Him, and is virtuous, a 
believer in [His] Oneness, has certainly grasped the firmest handle, the stronger end, which is not in danger 
of being severed, and to God belongs the sequel of all matters, their [ultimate] return. 
[31:23]
And whoever disbelieves, then do not let his disbelief grieve you, O Muhammad (s), do not be concerned 
with his disbelief. To Us shall be their return and We shall inform them of what they did. Truly God knows 
[best] what is in the breasts, just as [He knows] other things, and so He will requite [them] accordingly. 
[31:24]
We will give them comfort, in this world, for a little [while], for the [duration of the] days of their lives, then 
We will drive them, in the Hereafter, to a harsh chastisement, namely, the chastisement of the Fire from 
which they will find no escape. 
[31:25]
And if (wa-la-in, the l
ā
m is for oaths) you were to ask them, ‘Who created the heavens and the earth?’, they 
will surely say, ‘God’ (la-yaq
ū
lunna, ‘they will surely say’, the indicative n
ū
n has been omitted because of the 
like [sc. the n
ū
n] coming after it, and likewise the w
ā
w of the [plural] person, because of two unvocalised 
consonants coming together). Say: ‘Praise be to God’, for the manifestation of the definitive argument 
against them by the affirmation of the Oneness [of God]. Nay, but most of them do not realise, that this 
[affirmation] is an obligation upon them. 
[31:26]
To God belongs whatever is in the heavens and the earth, as possessions, creatures and servants, and so 
none other than Him deserves to be worshipped in them. Indeed God, He is the Independent, [without 
need] of His creatures, the Praised, in His actions. 
[31:27]
And if all the trees on earth were pens, and the sea (wa’l-bahru is a supplement to [m
ā
] the subject of 
anna) replenished with seven more seas, were ink, the Words of God would not be spent, [those words] 
expressing all the things He knows, written in those pens with that [amount of] ink or with even more [ink] 
than that [would not be spent], for His knowledge, exalted be He, is infinite. Truly God is Mighty, nothing 
being beyond Him, Wise, from Whose knowledge and wisdom nothing escapes. 
[31:28]
Your creation and your resurrection are only as [that of] a single soul, in terms of creation and resurrection, 
because it is the result of the words kun fa-yak
ū
n, ‘“Be!” and it is!’ Truly God is Hearer, hearing everything 
that may be heard, Seer, seeing everything that may be seen, nothing able to distract Him from anything 
else. 
[31:29]
Have you not seen, have you [not] realised, O you being addressed, that God makes the night pass into the 
day and makes the day pass into the night, such that the increase of the one is relative to the decrease of 
the other, and He has disposed the sun and the moon, each, of the two, running, in its course, to an 
appointed term, namely, [to] the Day of Resurrection, and that God is Aware of what you do? 

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473
[31:30]
That, which is mentioned, is [so] because God, He is the Truth, the established [truth], and whatever they 
call on (read yad‘
ū
na; or tad‘
ū
na, ‘you call on’) whatever they worship, besides Him is, evanescent, 
falsehood, and because God is the High [Exalted], above His creation by virtue of [His] subjugation [of 
them], the Great, the Mighty. 
[31:31]
Have you not seen that the ships run upon the sea by the grace of God, that He may show you, O you who 
are being addressed in this [statement], some of His signs? Surely in that there are signs, lessons, for every 
[servant who is] steadfast, [in abstaining] from acts of disobedience to God, grateful, for His grace. 
[31:32]
And if waves cover them, that is, [if] these rise above the disbelievers, like awnings, like mountains that act 
as awnings over those below them, they call on God, sincere before Him in their faith, that is, [in their] 
supplication, that He may deliver them, in other words, they do not call on any other [god] with Him; but 
when He delivers them to land, some of them compromise, middling between belief and disbelief, while 
others persist in their disbelief. And none denies Our signs, an example of which is Our delivering [them] 
from [such treacherous] waves, except every perfidious ingrate, [ungrateful] for God’s graces, exalted be 
He. 
[31:33]
O people, namely, [such as] the people of Mecca, fear your Lord and fear a day when no parent shall avail a 
child, thereon in any way; and no child, thereon, shall avail its parent in any way. Surely God’s promise, of 
resurrection, is true. So do not let the life of this world deceive you, [and divert you] from Islam, and do not 
let the Deceiver, Satan, deceive you concerning God, because of His forbearance and granting [people] 
respite. 
[31:34]
Lo! God, with Him lies knowledge of the Hour, when it will come to pass; and He sends down (read yunzilu, 
or yunazzilu) the rain, at times which [only] He knows; and He knows what is in the wombs, whether it is a 
male or a female; and not one of the three things is known by anyone other than God, exalted be He. And 
no soul knows what it will earn tomorrow, of good or evil, but God, exalted be He, knows this; and no soul 
knows in what land it will die, but God, exalted be He, knows this. Truly God is Knower, of all things, Aware, 
of the inward and outward aspects thereof. Al-Bukh
ā
r
ī
reported [by way of an isn
ā
d] from [‘Abd All
ā
h] Ibn 
‘Umar the following had
ī
th: ‘The Keys of the Unseen are five: Lo! God, with Him lies knowledge of the Hour 
… to the end of the s
ū
ra’ [above]. 
Meccan, except for verses 16 to 20 inclusive, which are Medinese; it consists of 30 verses revealed after 
[s
ū
rat] al-Mu’min
ū
n.