Traduzione dei Significati del Sacro Corano - Traduzione inglese - Dr. Walid Bleyhesh Al-Umary - traduzione in corso.
Hūd
الٓرۚ كِتَٰبٌ أُحۡكِمَتۡ ءَايَٰتُهُۥ ثُمَّ فُصِّلَتۡ مِن لَّدُنۡ حَكِيمٍ خَبِيرٍ
[2476] The sura opens up with these three disjointed letters that highlight the Qur’an’s inimitable nature and that are meant as a challenge to those who argue with the Prophet (ﷺ) and the Believers regarding the truthfulness of the Message (c.f. 2: 1); a purpose particularly served in this instance (cf. al-Shinqīṭī, Aḍwā’ al-Bayān).
This opening passage precisely captures the essence of the Message which the Qur’an encapsulates, citing in particular the persistent contradictions between the Believing and the Denying camps.
[2477] That is the ayas of the Qur’an were made to perfection with neither deficiencies nor contradictions. They were then detailed and explained with truthful news and just rulings (cf. al-Ṭabarī, Ibn ʿAṭiyyah, Ibn Kathīr): “He is the One Who sent down the Book to you ˹Muhammad˺; among its Signs are those which are impregnable – these are the foundation of the Book” (3: 7); “Like so We spell out the Signs so that the path of the criminals becomes plain ˹to sight˺” (6: 55); “Indeed We have employed every kind of parable for mankind in this Qur’an; but humankind is the most argumentative of all beings” (18: 54).
أَلَّا تَعۡبُدُوٓاْ إِلَّا ٱللَّهَۚ إِنَّنِي لَكُم مِّنۡهُ نَذِيرٞ وَبَشِيرٞ
[2478] Essentially, this passage succinctly captures the general purport of the Message: people should worship God Almighty alone and none besides Him (cf. Riḍā): “We sent no Messenger before you ˹Muhammad˺, save that We revealed to him ˹to say to people˺: “Verily, there is no god but I ˹Allah˺: so worship Me!” (21: 25).
It is significant to note that certain utterances/lexical items are strategically deployed and repeated throughout this sura thereby establishing connectivity and relevance. Through these the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) is given strong relation to his ‘brothers’, the earlier Noble Messengers of God. This relationship is especially important as it gives the Messenger (ﷺ) a point of reference, a precedence in which he can find an example and it ‘braces’ his heart (cf. Aya 120 below) in the face of the circumstances he was enduring at the time of this sura’s revelation. Among these utterances, we find in this passage: “You should worship none but Allah”, “Seek your Lord’s forgiveness and thereafter repent to Him”, “I fear for you the Punishment of a great Day” and variants of: “To Allah you shall all return—surely He is Able over everything”. The general tenor of the Message is the same throughout all ages.
[2479] “We sent you ˹Muhammad˺ not, save as a harbinger of good news and a warner to mankind entirely; but most of mankind know not!” (34: 28).
وَأَنِ ٱسۡتَغۡفِرُواْ رَبَّكُمۡ ثُمَّ تُوبُوٓاْ إِلَيۡهِ يُمَتِّعۡكُم مَّتَٰعًا حَسَنًا إِلَىٰٓ أَجَلٖ مُّسَمّٗى وَيُؤۡتِ كُلَّ ذِي فَضۡلٖ فَضۡلَهُۥۖ وَإِن تَوَلَّوۡاْ فَإِنِّيٓ أَخَافُ عَلَيۡكُمۡ عَذَابَ يَوۡمٖ كَبِيرٍ
[2480] This further expounds and explains the Message. Seeking forgiveness and repenting all the time is a concrete manifestation of being mindfully sincere in worshipping none but God Almighty (سبحانه وتعالى) (cf. Ibn ʿĀshūr). al-Agharr al-Muzanī (رضي الله عنه) narrated that the Messenger (ﷺ) said: “O people, repent to Allah for indeed I repent a hundred times every day” (Muslim: 2702). Shaddād Ibn Aws (رضي الله عنه) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “The master of invocations for seeking forgiveness is to say: “O Allah! You are my Lord! There is no god but You. You have created me and I am your servant, and I am sincere to my pledge and my promise ˹to You˺ as much as I can. I seek refuge in You from all that is evil of what I have done. I acknowledge before You all the blessings You have bestowed on me, and I confess to You all my sins. So I entreat you to forgive me, for no one forgives sins except for You. Whoever says it with conviction in the morning and dies that day before the sun sets then he is one of the people of Paradise. Whoever says it with conviction at night and dies before the sun rises then he is one of the people of Paradise”” (al-Bukhārī: 6306).
[2481] The Arabic particle implying succession at an interval of time, thumma (lit. then later), which indicates the elapsing of a somewhat longish period between two actions could have been employed here to show that actions (i.e. repentance) usually take place after utterances (i.e. seeking forgiveness); the latter being the tougher part of change (cf. Riḍā, Ibn ʿĀdil).
[2482] This is God’s promise to those who are Mindful of Him, it is the good news that the harbinger Messenger (ﷺ) brings to people: “I ˹Noah˺ said: “Ask forgiveness of your Lord: He is Ever-Forgiving. *He will send down abundant rain from the sky for you; *and He will support you with wealth and children, and make for you gardens and rivers” (71: 10-12); “Whoever does a righteous deed, whether male or female, while being a Believer; We will give him a good life, and We shall pay them ˹such people˺ their reward according to the best of what they used to do” (16: 97); “Would there be one who loans Allah a comely loan, so that Allah would multiply it for him manifold—Allah tightens and loosens, and unto Him you shall return” (2: 245).
It is important to note that worldly pleasures never last; they are both temporal and timed (cf. al-Rāzī). It is also equally important to note that not all people are equal in their good deeds; thus, they are requited in equal measure to those deeds (cf. al-Ghaznawī, Bāhir al-Ḥaqq).
[2483] This is what the Messenger (ﷺ) warns against; painful Divine Punishment.
إِلَى ٱللَّهِ مَرۡجِعُكُمۡۖ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيۡءٖ قَدِيرٌ
[2484] “You who Believe, guard your own selves; those who lose the path will not harm you if you find the way. To Allah you shall all return and then He will tell you ˹the Truth˺ of what you used to do” (5: 105).
أَلَآ إِنَّهُمۡ يَثۡنُونَ صُدُورَهُمۡ لِيَسۡتَخۡفُواْ مِنۡهُۚ أَلَا حِينَ يَسۡتَغۡشُونَ ثِيَابَهُمۡ يَعۡلَمُ مَا يُسِرُّونَ وَمَا يُعۡلِنُونَۚ إِنَّهُۥ عَلِيمُۢ بِذَاتِ ٱلصُّدُورِ
[2485] This simple Message only elicits a dogged a response from those whose hearts are tarnished. They are so bent on not heeding it that they literally cocoon both their hearts and themselves from it lest it so perpetrates. Little do they know that God sees what their chests hold as also their innermost thoughts.
