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 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 57, verses 22-24
No calamity can ever befall the earth, and neither
your own selves, unless it be [laid down] in Our
decree before We bring it into being: verily, all
this is easy for God. [Know this,] so that you may
not despair over whatever [good] has escaped you
nor exult [unduly] over whatever [good] has come
to you: [ 1 ] for, God does not love any of those
who, out of self-conceit, act in a boastful manner
– those who are niggardly [with God’s
bounty] and bid others to be niggardly.
Chapter 59, verses 22-24
God is He save whom there is no deity: the One who
knows all that is beyond the reach of a created
being’s perception, as well as all that can
be witnessed by a creature’s senses or mind:
He, the Most Gracious, the dispenser of Grace.
God is He save whom there is no deity: the Sovereign
Supreme, the Holy, the One with whom all salvation
rests, the Giver of Faith, the One who determines
what is true and false, the Almighty, the One who
subdues wrong and restores right, the One to whom
all greatness belongs!
Utterly remote is God, in His limitless glory, from
anything to which men may ascribe a share in His
divinity!
He is God, the Creator, the Maker who shapes all
forms and appearances!
His [alone] are the attributes of perfection. All
that is in the heavens and on earth extols His limitless
glory: for He alone is almighty, truly wise!
Chapter 60, verse 3
But [bear in mind that] neither your kinsfolk nor
[even] your own children will be of any benefit
to you on Resurrection Day, [for then] He will decide
between you [on your merit alone]: and God sees
all that you do.
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Translator’s Notes
[ 1 ] Thus, the knowledge that whatever has happened
had to happen – and could not have not happened
– because, obviously, it had been willed by
God in accordance with his unfathomable plan, ought
to enable a true believer to react with conscious
equanimity to whatever good or ill comes to him.