《古兰经》译解 - 英文翻译-瓦利德·比利哈什·欧麦尔博士-正在进行。
وَٱللَّهُ أَنزَلَ مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ مَآءٗ فَأَحۡيَا بِهِ ٱلۡأَرۡضَ بَعۡدَ مَوۡتِهَآۚ إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَأٓيَةٗ لِّقَوۡمٖ يَسۡمَعُونَ
[3331] As with many other sections in this sura here is another run through God’s blessings to make them heed and see reason; Allah delays them punishment so that they may ponder His Signs. The signs told here are especially important for the direct addressees’ lives and livelihoods (cf. Ibn ʿAṭiyyah, Ibn ʿĀshūr).
[3332] Water brings life to the land after it has become dry and barren (cf. al-Ṭabarī, al-Shawkānī, Ibn ʿĀshūr): “And We send down blessed water from the sky whereby We grew gardens and the harvested grain *and the date palms towering ˹loaded˺ with clustered fruit * as provision for the servants. And We revive a dead land therewith—likewise shall be the emergence ˹from the graves˺” (50: 9-11).
[3333] That is, those who listen and heed such evidence of God’s Ability over resurrection (cf. al-Ṭabarī, al-Qurṭubī, Ibn Kathīr): “He is the One Who made the sun a glow and the moon a light and ordained for it stations so that you ˹may˺ know the number of years and calculation ˹of time˺. Never has Allah created that except for the Truth; He details the Signs for those who attain knowledge. *Verily in the alternation of night and day, and whatever Allah has created in the Heavens and Earth are Signs for the Mindful ones” (10: 5-6).
وَإِنَّ لَكُمۡ فِي ٱلۡأَنۡعَٰمِ لَعِبۡرَةٗۖ نُّسۡقِيكُم مِّمَّا فِي بُطُونِهِۦ مِنۢ بَيۡنِ فَرۡثٖ وَدَمٖ لَّبَنًا خَالِصٗا سَآئِغٗا لِّلشَّٰرِبِينَ
[3334] With rain grows herbage and fodder plants on which livestock feed. Livestock was a very important element for the Arabian lifestyle and its sustenance (cf. Ayas 5-8 above; Abū Ḥayyān).
[3335] ʿIbrah (ponderous consideration) is a state in which the witnessed leads to knowing what is unwitnessed. Originally, ‘ibrah (deriving from ʿabara; to cross from one place to another) is transitioning from one state to another (cf. al-Sijistānī, Gharīb al-Qur’ān, al-Wāḥidī, al-Wasīṭ, al-Iṣfahānī, al-Mufradāt). That is, by ponderously considering livestock, they transition from their state of utter denial into realizing God Almighty’s Wisdom, Mercy, Ability, Compassion and Greatness and, thus, His deservedness of being worshipped alone (cf. al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Saʿdī): “And livestock He created; for you ˹people˺ in them you have warmth and ˹numerous˺ benefits, and from them you eat. *For you in them is ˹pleasure-inducing˺ beauty when you return back ˹late in the day˺ and when you set off ˹early in the morning˺. *They too carry your weights to a town that you would not have reached except with great pain—verily your Lord is Ever-Kind, Ever-Merciful” (16: 5-7).
[3336] This livestock-related sign is more ponderous than any already mentioned. This palatable, enjoyable and pure drink, which is milk, comes from between the smelly fully digested cud (farth; dissolved or digested food material as long as it is in the stomach, cf. al-Sijistānī, Gharīb al-Qur’ān, Ibn Fāris, Maqāyīs al-Lughah, al-Iṣfahānī, al-Mufradāt), and the garish coloured, metal smelling blood (cf. al-Ṭabarī, al-Wāḥidī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Saʿdī).
For modern-day readers, the metabolism of milk making in cattle alluded to here, which was not known until recently, thanks to the advancements in anatomy given the many instruments and research methods put at the disposal of scientists, had many see this ponderous sign as evidence of the Divine source of the Qur’an (for a detailed discussion see: Maurice Bucaille, The Bible, the Qur’an and Science). To put it briefly, once the fodder is consumed and digested, it moves into the small intestine, in which nutrients and excess water are absorbed into the bloodstream and then circulate to the mammary glands in the udder where milk is formed.
وَمِن ثَمَرَٰتِ ٱلنَّخِيلِ وَٱلۡأَعۡنَٰبِ تَتَّخِذُونَ مِنۡهُ سَكَرٗا وَرِزۡقًا حَسَنًاۚ إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَأٓيَةٗ لِّقَوۡمٖ يَعۡقِلُونَ
[3337] One needs to note that this is a Makkan sura which came down before the prohibition of intoxicants for their many demerits (cf. al-Baghawī, al-Qurṭubī, Ibn Kathīr): “You who Believe, intoxicants, gambling, altars ˹of idolatry˺ and casting lots ˹for divination˺ are nothing but defilement of the making of Satan, so steer clear from it ˹all˺, so that you might be successful. *Satan wants nothing but to sow enmity and hatred among you through intoxicants and gambling, and repel you from the remembrance of Allah and Prayer, will you not ˹then˺ desist?” (5: 90-91). Also note that the direct addresses here are the Makkan pagans who used to relish their intoxicants and considered them a ‘blessing’ (cf. al-Rāzī, Ibn ʿĀshūr). Further, this ‘benefit’ has been counted out of the ‘comely provision’ to indicate that it is not condoned of for consumption (cf. al-Rāzī, al-Qaṣṣāb, al-Nikāt al-Dāllah ʿalā al-Bayān).
[3338] Rizqan ḥasanan (comely provision/good sustenance) is that which is harmless to both body and mind like palm dates, grapes and raisins, and juice and vinegar (cf. Ibn Kathīr, al-Saʿdī, al-Shinqīṭī, Aḍwā’ al-Bayān).
وَأَوۡحَىٰ رَبُّكَ إِلَى ٱلنَّحۡلِ أَنِ ٱتَّخِذِي مِنَ ٱلۡجِبَالِ بُيُوتٗا وَمِنَ ٱلشَّجَرِ وَمِمَّا يَعۡرِشُونَ
[3339] Although the mentioned favours are enough as compelling evidence of the existence of an Omnipotent and Wise Creator of the world, the wounderous creation of the bees, out of which honey comes, is even more evidence of that (cf. al-Rāzī). The care being taken of this particular Sign/favour reflects in the style in which it is recounted; the mention of how God Almighty inspired the bees indicates the magnificence and uniqueness of it (cf. al-Biqāʿī, Naẓm al-Durar).
[3340] Although the word used here is awḥā (lit. He revealed) exegetes unanimously agree that here it means alhama (lit. inspired) (cf. al-Qurṭubī, Ibn ʿAṭiyyah). Such is the ‘inspiration’ of animals and insects to do what is beneficial and avoid what is harmful for themselves (cf. al-Shawkānī).
[3341] What people prepare and build for bees to establish their hives in, i.e. apiaries (cf. Ibn ʿAṭiyyah, al-Qurṭubī).
ثُمَّ كُلِي مِن كُلِّ ٱلثَّمَرَٰتِ فَٱسۡلُكِي سُبُلَ رَبِّكِ ذُلُلٗاۚ يَخۡرُجُ مِنۢ بُطُونِهَا شَرَابٞ مُّخۡتَلِفٌ أَلۡوَٰنُهُۥ فِيهِ شِفَآءٞ لِّلنَّاسِۚ إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَأٓيَةٗ لِّقَوۡمٖ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ
[3342] Min kulli al-thamarāt (lit. from all fruits) could mean that min is partitive, where bees only feed on flowering fruits, or that ‘from all the fruits’ that you like (cf. Ibn al-Jawzī).
[3343] This shows how the task of bees is made easy for them; God Almighty made their routes dhulalan (abated/humbled) for them to take so that they may seek provision whatever direction they take (cf. al-Ṭabarī, al-Qurṭubī). The routes of their Lord are the routes that God inspired them to take (cf. al-Tafsīr al-Mukhtaṣar) so that they are made easy to take and not hard to find no matter how far they wander away from the hive (cf. al-Tafsīr al-Muyassar).
The word dhulalan could refer to both the bees themselves, who are made obedient and submit to what they have been created for, or for the routes themselves that are made easy to take (cf. Ibn ʿAṭiyyah, al-Ṭabarī, Ibn al-Jawzī).
[3344] Honey is different in colours, ranging from very light to quite dark, according to the grazing fields where the bees extract the nectar from (cf. al-Ṭabarī, al-Wāḥidī, Ibn Kathīr).
[3345] Only two things are said to be shifā’ (cure) in the Qur’an; the Qur’an itself (cf. 10: 57, 17: 82, 41: 44) and honey. They are, thus, the two cures (al-shifā’ān): one for the hearts and the other for the bodies. But the Qur’an is said to be a cure in and of itself and honey possesses the ability to cure (cf. Ibn al-Qayyim, Miftāḥ dār al-Saʿādāh, 1: 250).
Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī (رضي الله عنه) narrated: “A man came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said: “My brother is suffering from his stomach!” He ˹the Prophet (ﷺ)˺ said: “Give him honey to drink”. Then he came back ˹complaining˺ a second time and he said: “Give him honey to drink”. Then he came back ˹complaining˺ a third time and he said: “Give him honey to drink”. Then he came ˹yet˺ again and he said: “I did!” He (ﷺ) said: “Allah has spoken the Truth and your brother’s stomach is lying! Give him honey!” He did and his brother was cured”. (al-Bukhārī: 5684; Muslim: 2217.)
People old and new and from all cultures have known and experienced the many curative characteristics of honey (for a detailed discussion see: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5424551/).
[3346] The sign of the bees as told here could be read with reference to Aya 9 above (“The showing of the ˹straight˺ path is on Allah, but some ˹paths˺ are skewed”); the bees humbled themselves on the abated routes that God inspired them to take, which made their lives easy, beneficial and in tune with His great plan. How would the lives of humans be if they humbled themselves on the path of God, and did not pursue their own skewed routes!
وَٱللَّهُ خَلَقَكُمۡ ثُمَّ يَتَوَفَّىٰكُمۡۚ وَمِنكُم مَّن يُرَدُّ إِلَىٰٓ أَرۡذَلِ ٱلۡعُمُرِ لِكَيۡ لَا يَعۡلَمَ بَعۡدَ عِلۡمٖ شَيۡـًٔاۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلِيمٞ قَدِيرٞ
[3347] After all the signs and favours that are around them are made note of here, they are then reminded of the signs and favours that are found within themselves (cf. al-Biqāʿī, Naẓm al-Durar).
Note also that the Unique Name of God, Allah, is repeated at the beginning of each of the three ayas in this section. Ibn ʿĀshūr opines that this is because the Makkan idolaters, although polytheist, believed that ‘Allah’ was the Benefactor of all these favours, thus his Name was brought up to strongly remind them of this fact, opening their eyes to how deviated from the path, the route of their Lord, they had become (cf. Ibn ʿĀshūr).
[3348] Ardhal al-ʿumur (the worst age) is that ripe age when the powers of a human, both physical and mental, diminish (cf. al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Saʿdī). Thus people are reminded to use their power of intellect to realize the Truth before they lose their capabilities to do so (cf. al-Biqāʿī, Naẓm al-Durar).
Muṣʿab Ibn Saʿd, may Allah be pleased with his father, reported that his father said: “Seek refuge in Allah with some words that the Prophet (ﷺ) used to seek refuge in Allah with: “O Allah! I seek refuge in You from cowardice. I seek refuge in You from miserliness. I seek refuge in You from being relegated to incapacitating old age. I seek refuge in You from the trials in this life and the torment of the grave”” (al-Bukhārī: 6374).
[3349] The One Who relegates humans to such a sorry state is Able over taking life, resurrection and holding to account (cf. Ibn Kathīr, al-Saʿdī, Ibn ʿĀshūr). They are reminded of God Almighty’s Absolute Power not only on giving and taking lives but also on the quality of life, which diminishes with progressing age and the lack of intellectual and physical power as well as lack of wealth and the means to lead a happy life. God’s ability over humans extends from the beginning to the end and everything that happens in between.
[3350] Unlike that of His creation, God’s Knowledge and Ability are ever-lasting and unchanging (cf. Abū Ḥayyān).
وَٱللَّهُ فَضَّلَ بَعۡضَكُمۡ عَلَىٰ بَعۡضٖ فِي ٱلرِّزۡقِۚ فَمَا ٱلَّذِينَ فُضِّلُواْ بِرَآدِّي رِزۡقِهِمۡ عَلَىٰ مَا مَلَكَتۡ أَيۡمَٰنُهُمۡ فَهُمۡ فِيهِ سَوَآءٌۚ أَفَبِنِعۡمَةِ ٱللَّهِ يَجۡحَدُونَ
[3351] This is another strong indication of God’s limitless Ability over humans; their provision is not dependent on their merit or capabilities but on God’s favouring of any of them for hidden, unseen reasons not fathomed by them (cf. Ibn ʿĀshūr). It is also for those who were given wealth, like the well-to-do Makkan idolaters who stood in the face of the Call to Truth, such that they would consider the source of their wealth and why they were favoured over others, especially the slaves who were no less human than themselves (cf. Abū Ḥayyān).
[3352] Mā malakat aymānukum are one’s male and female slaves.
[3353] If they would not agree to equally partake of their wealth with their slaves, how would they set up Associates with God Almighty whom they share His worship with, while they have no ownership over them whatsoever! (cf. al-Ṭabarī, al-Wāḥidī, al-Samʿānī, al-Saʿdī). God Almighty is the only Benefactor of humans and Who has Absolute Power over their lives and destinies; so He will accept no Association from them in their devotional acts.
وَٱللَّهُ جَعَلَ لَكُم مِّنۡ أَنفُسِكُمۡ أَزۡوَٰجٗا وَجَعَلَ لَكُم مِّنۡ أَزۡوَٰجِكُم بَنِينَ وَحَفَدَةٗ وَرَزَقَكُم مِّنَ ٱلطَّيِّبَٰتِۚ أَفَبِٱلۡبَٰطِلِ يُؤۡمِنُونَ وَبِنِعۡمَتِ ٱللَّهِ هُمۡ يَكۡفُرُونَ
[3354] Another no less important Godly act of benevolence is brought to the fore here; namely, the blessings of life partners and posterity (cf. Ibn ʿĀshūr), which affect one’s quality of living considerably: “Wealth and children are the adornment of the worldly life!” (18: 46).
[3355] Min anfusikum (lit. from yourselves) means from your own kind (species) who look just like you (cf. Ibn Kathīr, al-Shinqīṭī, Aḍwā’ al-Bayān). Thus it entails humans in general, but could also mean the original creation of Eve out of Adam (cf. al-Ṭabarī, al-Qurṭubī, al-Rasʿanī), and whereby the meaning extends to their posterity: “He is the One Who created you from a single soul and from it He made its mate so that he may find assuagement in her” (7: 189); “And of His Signs is that He created for you from yourselves mates that you may find assuagement in them; and He placed between you affection and mercy. Indeed in that are signs for a people who reflect” (30: 21).
[3356] Ḥafadah are one’s grandchildren, who swiftly and unhesitatingly come to one’s aid, as suggested by the Arabic word used for them which derives from ḥ-f-d denoting lightness in service and gathering for it (cf. Ibn Qutaybah, Gharīb al-Qur’ān, al-Sijistānī, Gharīb al-Qur’ān, al-Wāḥidī, Ibn ʿAṭiyyah). There is no doubt that one’s children and grandchildren are the ‘adornment’ of one’s life (18: 46).
[3357] The godship of their Associates (cf. al-Tafsīr al-Muyassar): “They are none but mere names you have named, you and your fathers for which Allah has sent down no authority; they follow naught but conjecture and that which their souls desire, though guidance has surely come to them from their Lord” (53: 23).
[3358] They deny God’s favours on them, do not thank Him for them, set up false partners with Him, ascribe these favours to others besides Him, use it in rebelling against Him and Denying Him (cf. al-Wāḥidī, al-Baghawī, al-Shawkānī, al-Saʿdī).
