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 76, Al- Insaan, Verses 1-3
Has there [not] been an endless span of time before man [appeared – a time] when he was not yet a thing to be thought of?
Verily, it is We who have created man out of a drop of sperm intermingled, so that We might try him [in his later life]: and therefore We made him a being endowed with hearing and sight.
Verily, We have shown him the way: [and it rests with him to prove himself] either grateful or ungrateful.
Chapter 76, Al- Insaan, Verses 7-10
[The truly virtuous are] they [who] fulfill their vows, and stand in awe of a Day the woe of which is bound to spread far and wide, and who give food – however great be their own want of it – unto the needy, and the orphan, and the captive, [saying, in their hearts,] “We feed for the sake of God alone: we desire no recompense from you, nor thanks: behold, we stand in awe of our Sustainer’s judgment on a distressful, fateful Day!”
Chapter 76, Al- Insaan, Verses 23-28
Verily, [O believer,] it is We who have bestowed from on high this Qur’an upon thee, step by step – truly a bestowal from on high!
Await, then, in all patience thy Sustainer’s judgment, and pay no heed to any of them who is a willful sinner or an ingrate; and bear in mind thy Sustainer’s name at morn and evening and during some of the night, and prostrate thyself before Him, and extol His limitless glory throughout the long night.
Behold, they [who are unmindful of God] love this fleeting life, and leave behind them [all thought of] a grief-laden Day.
[They will not admit to themselves that] it is We who have created them and strengthened their make – and, [that], if it be Our will, We can replace them with others of their kind.
Chapter 77, Al-Mursalaat, Verses 1-6
Consider these messages, sent forth in waves [ 1 ] and then storming on with a tempest’s force! Consider these [messages] that spread [the truth] far and wide, thus separating [right and wrong] with all clarity, and then giving forth a reminder, [promising] freedom from blame or [offering] a warning! [ 2 ]
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Translator’s Notes
[ 1 ] I.e., one after the other: an allusion to the gradual, step by step revelation of the Qur’an. By contrast, the next verse obviously relates to the impact of the divine writ as a whole.
[ 2 ] I.e., showing what leads to freedom from blame – in other words, the principles of right conduct – and what is ethically reprehensible and, therefore, to be avoided.
