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 3, Verses 103 to 104
And hold fast together, unto the bond with God, and do not draw apart from one another. And remember the blessings which God has bestowed upon you: how, when you were enemies, He brought your hearts together, so that through His blessing you became brethren; and [how, when] you were on the brink of a fiery abyss [ 1 ], He saved you from it. In this way God makes clear His messages unto you, so that you might find guidance, and that there might grow out of you a community [of people] who invite unto all that is good, and enjoin the doing of what is right and forbid the doing of what is wrong: and it is they, they who shall attain to a happy state!
Chapter 3, Verses 108 to 109
These are God’s messages: We convey them unto thee, setting forth the truth, since God wills no wrong to His creation. And unto God belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on this earth; and all things go back to God [as their source].
Chapter 3, Verses 144
And Muhammad is only an apostle; all the [other] apostles have passed away before him: if, then, he dies or is slain, will you turn about on your heels [ 2 ] ? But he that turns about on his heels can in no wise harm God – whereas God will requite all who are grateful [to Him].
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Translator’s Notes
[ 1 ] Literally, “a pit of fire” – a metaphor of the sufferings which are the inescapable consequence of spiritual ignorance. The reminder of their one-time mutual enmity is an allusion to man’s lot on earth, from which only God’s guidance can save him.
[ 2 ] In its wider implication this verse re-states the fundamental Islamic doctrine that adoration is due to God alone, and that no human being – not even a prophet – may have any share in it. It was this very passage of the Qur’an which Abu Bakr, the first Caliph recited immediately after the Prophet’s death, when many faint-hearted Muslims thought that Islam itself had come to an end; but as soon as Abu Bakr added, “Behold, whoever has worshipped Muhammad may know that Muhammad has died; but whoever worships God may know that God is ever-living, and never dies”, all confusion was stilled.
