Gems from the Holy Qur’an 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 years of devoted study 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” (people who think). Forwarded by Dr Ismat Kamal.
Chapter 85, Al-Buruuj, Verses 12-15
Verily, thy Sustainer’s grip is exceedingly strong!
Behold, it is He who creates [man] in the first instance, and He [it is who] will bring him forth anew.
And He alone is truly-forgiving, all-embracing in His love, in sublime almightiness enthroned, a sovereign doer of whatever He wills.
Chapter 85, Al-Buruuj, Verses 17-21
Has it ever come within thy ken, the story of the [sinful] hosts of Pharaoh, and [the tribe of] Thamuud?
And yet, they who are bent on denying the truth persist in giving it the lie: but all the while God encompasses them [with his knowledge and might] without their being aware of it.
Nay, but this [divine writ which they reject] is a discourse sublime, upon an imperishable tablet [inscribed]. [ 1 ]
Chapter 86, At-Taariq, Verses 1-4
Consider the heavens and that which comes in the night! [ 2 ]
And what could make thee conceive what it is that comes in the night?
It is the star that pierces through [life’s] darkness:
[for] no human being has been left unguarded.
______________________
Translator’s Notes
[ 1 ] Lit., “upon a well guarded tablet (lawh mahfuuz)” – a description of the Qur’an to be found only in this one instance. Although some commentators take it in its literal sense and understand by it an actual “heavenly tablet” upon which the Qur’an is inscribed since all eternity, to many others the phrase has always had a metaphorical meaning: namely, an allusion to the imperishable quality of this divine writ. This interpretation is pointedly mentioned by, for example, Tabarii, BaGhawii, Raazii or ibn Kathiir, all of whom agree that the phrase “upon a well-guarded tablet” relates to God’s promise that the Qur’an would never be corrupted, and would remain free of all arbitrary additions, diminutions and textual changes.
[ 2 ] Some commentators assume that what is described here as at-taariq (“that which comes in the night”) is the morning star, because it appears towards the end of the night; others – like ZamaKhsharii or RaaGhib – understand by it “the star” in its generic sense……In the Qur’anic mode of expression, at-taariq is evidently a metaphor for the heavenly solace which sometimes comes to a human being lost in the deepest darkness of affliction and distress; or for the sudden, intuitive, enlightenment which disperses the darkness of uncertainty.
