February
11, 2005
From the translation by Muhammad
Asad (Leopold Weiss)
About the translator:
Muhammad Asad, Leopold Weiss, was
born of Jewish parents in Livow, Austria later Poland)
in 1900, and at the age of 22 made his first visit
to the Middle East. He later became an outstanding
foreign correspondent for the Franfurter Zeitung,
and after his conversion to Islam travelled and
worked throughout the Muslim world, from North Africa
to as far east as Afghanistan, India and Pakistan.
After years of devoted study he became one of the
leading Muslim scholars of our age. His translation
of the Holy Qur'an is one of the most lucid and
well-referenced works in this category, dedicated
to “li-qawmin yatafakkaroon” (For people
who think”).
Chapter 25, Verses 72 –
77
And [know that true servants of God
are only] those who never bear witness to what is
false, and [who], whenever they pass by [people
engaged in] frivolity, pass on with dignity; and
who, whenever they are reminded of their Sustainer’s
messages, do not throw themselves upon them [as
if] deaf and blind; [ 1 ] and who pray, “O
Our Sustainer! Grant that our spouses and our offspring
be a joy to our eyes, and cause us to be foremost
among those who are conscious of Thee!”
[Such as] these will be rewarded for
all their patient endurance [in life] with a high
station [in paradise], and will be met therein with
a greeting of welcome and peace, therein to abide;
[and] how goodly an abode and [how high] a station!
Say [unto those who believe]: “No weight or
value would my Sustainer attach to you were it not
for your faith [in Him]!
[And say unto those who deny the truth]:
“You have indeed given the lie [to God’s
message], and in time this [sin] will cleave unto
you!” Chapter 26, Verses 4 – 6
Had We so willed, We could have sent
down unto them a message from the skies, so that
their necks would [be forced to] bow down before
it in humility.
[But We have not willed it:] and so,
whenever there comes unto them any fresh reminder
from the Most Gracious, they [who are blind of heart]
always turn their backs upon it: thus, indeed, have
they given the lie [to this message as well]. But
[in time] they will come to understand what it was
that they were wont to deride!
___________
Translator’s Notes
[ 1 ] Explaining this verse, Zamakhshari
remarks that whereas the average run of people approach
the divine writ with a mere outward show of eagerness,
“throwing themselves upon it” for the
sake of appearances but , in reality, not making
the least attempt to understand the message as such
and, hence, remaining deaf and blind to its contents
– the truly God-conscious are deeply desirous
of understanding it, and therefore “listen
to it with wide-awake ears and look into it with
seeing eyes”.
