ការបកប្រែអត្ថន័យគួរអាន - ការបកប្រែជាភាសាអង់គ្លេស - បណ្ឌិត វ៉ាលីទព្លីហាស្ហ អូម៉ើរី - កំពុងដំណើរការលើវា
إِنَّا مَكَّنَّا لَهُۥ فِي ٱلۡأَرۡضِ وَءَاتَيۡنَٰهُ مِن كُلِّ شَيۡءٖ سَبَبٗا
[3919] He was endowed with all means necessary to achieve his endeavours; soldiers, weaponry, know-how, fear struck in the hearts of enemies, etc. (cf. al-Ṭabarī, al-Alūsī, al-Saʿdī).
فَأَتۡبَعَ سَبَبًا
[3920] He set about the land utilizing these means (cf. al-Qurṭubīī, al-Saʿdī, Ibn ʿĀshūr).
حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا بَلَغَ مَغۡرِبَ ٱلشَّمۡسِ وَجَدَهَا تَغۡرُبُ فِي عَيۡنٍ حَمِئَةٖ وَوَجَدَ عِندَهَا قَوۡمٗاۖ قُلۡنَا يَٰذَا ٱلۡقَرۡنَيۡنِ إِمَّآ أَن تُعَذِّبَ وَإِمَّآ أَن تَتَّخِذَ فِيهِمۡ حُسۡنٗا
[3921] That is, the furthest land point that can be reached heading West (cf. al-Ṭabarī, Qurṭubī, Ibn Kathīr).
[3922] ʿAyn ḥami’ah translated here as ‘turbid fount’ has two parts. The ʿayn which is one of the most polysemous words of the Arabic language, while originally meaning a spring of abundant water, here exegetes take to mean a sea (cf. al-Ṭabarī, al-Qurṭubī, Ibn Kathīr). As for ḥami’ah it is dark, putrid mud (cf. Ibn Qutaybah, Gharīb al-Qur’ān, al-Wāḥidī, al-Basīṭ, al-Iṣfahānī, al-Mufradāt).
It is agreed among exegetes that this setting is described as he saw it not as it actually happened (cf. al-Qurṭubī, al-Bayḍāwī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Saʿdī).
It is quite a recurrent event that one sees the sun setting in the sea (or a lake or behind a hill). This does not mean that the sun left its orbit and came to set in that place. To assume such is quite childish. The Qur’an clearly states that celestial bodies run in designated orbits of their own (Ibn Taymiyyah, Mukhtaṣar al-Fatāwā al-Maṣriyyah: 579, al-Shinqīṭī): “And He is the One Who created the day and the night, the sun and the moon—each gliding in an orbit” (21: 33); “It is not for the sun to catch up with the moon, nor does the night outrun the day. Each is gliding in an orbit ˹of its own˺” (36: 40).
[3923] These were Denying folks. God Almighty gave him a choice to either punish them immediately should they not embrace the Call of Faith, or give them enough time to reconsider after showing them the way of guidance (cf. al-Ṭabarī, al-Wāḥidī, al-Bayḍāwī, al-Tafsīr al-Muyassar).
قَالَ أَمَّا مَن ظَلَمَ فَسَوۡفَ نُعَذِّبُهُۥ ثُمَّ يُرَدُّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِۦ فَيُعَذِّبُهُۥ عَذَابٗا نُّكۡرٗا
[3924] That is the ‘injustice’ of Denial (cf. Abū Ḥayyān). Meaning here the people who insist on Denying after the Truth has been made plain to them (cf. al-Ṭabarī, al-Bayḍāwī, Ibn Kathīr).
Notice the word ‘injustice’ is used again here to describe the action of Denial (cf. note on Aya 8 above).
[3925] They will be subjected to such a horrid Punishment that no one had experienced the like of which before (nukran). This for their ingratitude to God Almighty and using the blessings He bestowed on them to worship others besides Him (cf. al-Biqāʿī, Naẓm al-Durar).
وَأَمَّا مَنۡ ءَامَنَ وَعَمِلَ صَٰلِحٗا فَلَهُۥ جَزَآءً ٱلۡحُسۡنَىٰۖ وَسَنَقُولُ لَهُۥ مِنۡ أَمۡرِنَا يُسۡرٗا
[3926] That is, Paradise (cf. al-Ṭabarī, al-Saʿdī).
[3927] That is, such a person will be commanded with nothing but what is easy for one to carry out (cf. al-Rāzī, al-ījī): “He (Allah) laid upon you no hardship in the religion” (22: 78).
How he ran the affairs of these people whom God Almighty gave him the choice over, shows the great wisdom and justice this king was given by God Almighty (cf. al-Saʿdī).
ثُمَّ أَتۡبَعَ سَبَبًا
حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا بَلَغَ مَطۡلِعَ ٱلشَّمۡسِ وَجَدَهَا تَطۡلُعُ عَلَىٰ قَوۡمٖ لَّمۡ نَجۡعَل لَّهُم مِّن دُونِهَا سِتۡرٗا
[3928] That is, the furthest land point that can be reached heading East (cf. al-Ṭabarī, Qurṭubī, Ibn Kathīr).
[3929] They lived in a land where nothing could shade them from the sun; trees, mountains, or buildings (cf. al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Shawkānī). al-Saʿdī opines that this was because they either were so primitive that they did not know how to shield themselves from it, or that because the sun was always rising on them and rarely set. Some exegetes went on to say that they did not know how to cover their bodies with clothing (cf. al-Samarqandī, al-Wāḥidī, al-Shawkānī).
Whatever the case might be, this affair of theirs shows the great wonders that the mighty king came to face in his travels and explorations and how different people are in their way of living (cf. Ibn ʿĀshūr). He travelled so wide that he actually reached the edge of civilization.
كَذَٰلِكَۖ وَقَدۡ أَحَطۡنَا بِمَا لَدَيۡهِ خُبۡرٗا
[3930] Cf. al-Zamakhsharī, Abū al-Suʿūd, al-Biqāʿī, Ibn ʿUthaymīn.
[3931] Such was the greatness of what God Almighty bestowed upon him (soldiers, riches, tools, and the means of wielding kingship and power) that only He could exactly Know the extent of which (cf. al-Bayḍāwī, al-ījī).
ثُمَّ أَتۡبَعَ سَبَبًا
[3932] That is, to reach the destination he headed for (cf. al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Kathīr).
حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا بَلَغَ بَيۡنَ ٱلسَّدَّيۡنِ وَجَدَ مِن دُونِهِمَا قَوۡمٗا لَّا يَكَادُونَ يَفۡقَهُونَ قَوۡلٗا
[3933] They knew no other language besides their own (cf. al-Ṭabarī, Ibn ʿAṭiyyah, al-Qurṭubī).
قَالُواْ يَٰذَا ٱلۡقَرۡنَيۡنِ إِنَّ يَأۡجُوجَ وَمَأۡجُوجَ مُفۡسِدُونَ فِي ٱلۡأَرۡضِ فَهَلۡ نَجۡعَلُ لَكَ خَرۡجًا عَلَىٰٓ أَن تَجۡعَلَ بَيۡنَنَا وَبَيۡنَهُمۡ سَدّٗا
[3934] If they could ‘barely comprehend a saying’ how come they were able to get their message across to Dhūl Qarnayn, and for him to interact with them to carry out the momentous task at hand as we shall see shortly? Exegetes extend a number of opinions:
that ‘barely’ means only after much effort was invested in making them understand what was being said to them (cf. al-Rāzī)
The message was got across through a translator (cf. al-Baghawī), especially since Dhūl Qarnayn was given ‘a means of everything’ (cf. Ibn ʿUthaymīn).
That God Almighty gave him the ability to comprehend them and make them comprehend him well-endowed as he was (cf. al-Saʿdī).
[3935] Given the much cited apocryphal accounts and the aberrations of nature contained in them that run around, it is important to clearly stress that Gog and Magog are two human tribes, as found in the authentic Prophetic Hadiths (al-Bukhārī: 3348, Muslim: 222).
[3936] They used to come through the space between the mountains killing other people and pillaging their property, and engaging in all sorts of mischief (cf. al-Bayḍāwī, al-Alūsī, al-Saʿdī).
قَالَ مَا مَكَّنِّي فِيهِ رَبِّي خَيۡرٞ فَأَعِينُونِي بِقُوَّةٍ أَجۡعَلۡ بَيۡنَكُمۡ وَبَيۡنَهُمۡ رَدۡمًا
[3937] He took pride in the great power that God Almighty gave to him (cf. al-Qāsimī). The kingship, money, resources and knowledge he had at his disposal, stood him in no need of any money that could be given to him as reward for his efforts (cf. al-Ṭabarī, al-Qurṭubī, Ibn Kathīr).
[3938] The power of their muscles (cf. Ibn ʿAṭiyyah, Ibn ʿĀshūr). Had he accepted the fee, being a hired worker, he would have had to carry out the task without their help, but he, being the wise sovereign that he was, asked them to partake in the task of building their own protection (cf. Ibn ʿĀshūr) and so accomplish the task faster (cf. al-Qurṭubī). Furthermore, being the settlers of that land, they would know where to obtain the necessary materials from.
[3939] The radm (fortified dam, lit. pile-up) that he proposed to erect would be more effective than the sadd (barrier, lit. a blockage); essentially, it would be stronger and tighter (cf. al-Qurṭubī, al-Naḥḥās).
ءَاتُونِي زُبَرَ ٱلۡحَدِيدِۖ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا سَاوَىٰ بَيۡنَ ٱلصَّدَفَيۡنِ قَالَ ٱنفُخُواْۖ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا جَعَلَهُۥ نَارٗا قَالَ ءَاتُونِيٓ أُفۡرِغۡ عَلَيۡهِ قِطۡرٗا
[3940] He made the piled-up iron bars as high as the two mountain tops so that they rested at the same level as each other (cf. al-Ṭabarī, al-Qurṭubī, Ibn Kathīr).
[3941] Molten copper (qiṭr) when poured on an uneven pile of fire-hot iron bars would make the bars stick together, fill up the cracks and smooth out the surface (cf. al-Eījī, al-Thaʿālibī, al-Shaʿrāwī).
فَمَا ٱسۡطَٰعُوٓاْ أَن يَظۡهَرُوهُ وَمَا ٱسۡتَطَٰعُواْ لَهُۥ نَقۡبٗا
[3942] They could not climb it because of its smooth surface, and could not hole through it because of its great strength and fortitude. Furthermore, the dam was as high as the mountains which were insurmountable in their own right (cf. al-Baghawī, Ibn Juzayy, Ibn Kathīr).
Some exegetes make a distinction between the use of the tri-syllabic is-ṭa-ʿū, which is used to describe their inability to climb the dam and the tetra-syllabic is-ta-tā-ʿū, which is used to describe their inability to effect a hole in the dam. The tri-syllabic, the easier to pronounce word, is used for climbing as this is easier than the arduous task of working a hole in such a huge and greatly fortified dam, for which the harder to pronounce tetra-syllabic word is used (cf. Ibn Kathīr, Ibn ʿĀshūr).
