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Towards Understanding the Quran - Tafheem ul Quran

Quran Translation & Commentary by Abul ala Maududi, English render by Zafar Ishaq Ansari
(Surah 1-46, 66-114),
Muhammad Akbar & A. A Kamal
(Surah 47-65)

Quran Translation
Word for Word by
Dr. Shehnaz Shaikh
& Kausar Khatri

Introduction
1. Al-Fatihah
2. Al-Baqarah
3. Al-Imran
4. Al-Nisa
5. Al-Maidah
6. Al-Anam
7. Al-Araf
8. Al-Anfal
9. Al-Taubah
10. Yunus
11. Hud
12. Yusuf
13. Al-Rad
14. Ibrahim
15. Al-Hijr
16. Al-Nahl
17. Bani Israil
18. Al-Kahf
19. Maryam
20. Ta-Ha
21. Al-Anbiya
22. Al-Hajj
23. Al-Muminun
24. An-Nur
25. Al-Furqan
26. Ash-Shuara
27. An-Naml
28. Al-Qasas
29. Al-Ankabut
30. Ar-Rum
31. Luqman
32. As-Sajdah
33. Al-Ahzab
34. Saba
35. Fatir
36. Yasin
37. As-Saffat
38. Saad
39. Az-Zumar
40. Al-Mumin
41. Ha-Meem-As-Sajdah
42. AShura
43. Az-Zukhruf
44. Ad-Dukhan
45. Al-Jathiyah
46. Al-Ahqaf
47. Muhammad
48. Al-Fath
49. Al-Hujurat
50. Al-Qaf
51. Adh-Dhariyat
52. At-Tur
53. An-Najm
54. Al-Qamar
55. Al-Rahman
56. Al-Waqiah
57. Al-Hadid
58. Al-Mujadalah
59. Al-Hashr
60. Al-Mumtahinah
61. As-Saff
62. Al-Jumuah
63. Al-Munafiqun
64. Al-Taghabun
65. At-Talaq
66. At-Tahrim
67. Al-Mulk
68. Al-Qalam
69. Al-Haqqah
70. Al-Maarij
71. Nuh
72. Al-Jinn
73. Al-Muzzammil
74. Al-Muddhththir
75. Al-Qiyamah
76. Ad-Dahr
77. Al-Mursalat
78. An-Naba
79. An-Naziat
80. Abas
81. At-Takwir
82. Al-Infitar
83. At-Tatfif
84. Al-Inshiqaq
85. Al-Buruj
86. At-Tariq
87. Al-Ala
88. Al-Ghashiyah
89. Al-Fajr
90. Al-Balad
91. Ash-Shams
92. Al-Lail
93. Ad-Duha
94. Al-Inshirah
95. At-Tin
96. Al-Alaq
97. Al-Qadr
98. Al-Bayyinah
99. Az-Zilzal
100. Al-Adiyat
101. Al-Qariah
102. At-Takathur
103. Al-Asr
104. Al-Humazah
105. Al-Fil
106. Al-Quraish
107. Al-Maun
108. Al-Kauthar
109. Al-Kafirun
110. An-Nasr
111. Al-Lahab
112. Al-Ikhlas
113. Al-Falaq
114. An-Nas
Surah 2. Al-Baqarah
Verses [Section]: 1-7[1], 8-20 [2], 21-29 [3], 30-39 [4], 40-46 [5], 47-59 [6], 60-61 [7], 62-71 [8], 72-82 [9], 83-86 [10], 87-96 [11], 97-103 [12], 104-112 [13], 113-121 [14], 122-129 [15], 130-141 [16], 142-147 [17], 148-151 [18], 152-163 [19], 164-167 [20], 168-176 [21], 177-182 [22], 183-188 [23], 189-196 [24], 197-210 [25], 211-216 [26], 217-221 [27], 222-228 [28], 229-231 [29], 232-235 [30], 236-242 [31], 243-248 [32], 249-253 [33], 254-257 [34], 258-260 [35], 261-266 [36], 267-273 [37], 274-281 [38], 282-283 [39], 284-286 [40]

Quran Text of Verse 152-163
فَاذْكُرُوْنِیْۤSo remember MeاَذْكُرْكُمْI will remember youوَ اشْكُرُوْاand be gratefulلِیْto Meوَ لَاand (do) notتَكْفُرُوْنِ۠(be) ungrateful to Me یٰۤاَیُّهَاO youالَّذِیْنَwhoاٰمَنُواbelieve[d]!اسْتَعِیْنُوْاSeek helpبِالصَّبْرِthrough patienceوَ الصَّلٰوةِ ؕand the prayerاِنَّIndeedاللّٰهَAllahمَعَ(is) withالصّٰبِرِیْنَ the patient ones 2. Al-Baqarah Page 24وَ لَاAnd (do) notتَقُوْلُوْاsayلِمَنْfor (the ones) whoیُّقْتَلُare slainفِیْinسَبِیْلِ(the) wayاللّٰهِ(of) Allahاَمْوَاتٌ ؕ(They are) deadبَلْNayاَحْیَآءٌ(they are) aliveوَّ لٰكِنْ[and] butلَّاyou (do) notتَشْعُرُوْنَ perceive وَ لَنَبْلُوَنَّكُمْAnd surely We will test youبِشَیْءٍwith somethingمِّنَofالْخَوْفِ[the] fearوَ الْجُوْعِand [the] hungerوَ نَقْصٍand lossمِّنَofالْاَمْوَالِ[the] wealthوَ الْاَنْفُسِand [the] livesوَ الثَّمَرٰتِ ؕand [the] fruitsوَ بَشِّرِbut give good newsالصّٰبِرِیْنَۙ(to) the patient ones الَّذِیْنَThose whoاِذَاۤwhenاَصَابَتْهُمْstrikes themمُّصِیْبَةٌ ۙa misfortuneقَالُوْۤاthey sayاِنَّاIndeed, weلِلّٰهِbelong to Allahوَ اِنَّاۤand indeed weاِلَیْهِtowards Himرٰجِعُوْنَؕwill return اُولٰٓىِٕكَThoseعَلَیْهِمْon themصَلَوٰتٌ(are) blessingsمِّنْfromرَّبِّهِمْtheir Lordوَرَحْمَةٌ ۫and Mercyوَ اُولٰٓىِٕكَAnd thoseهُمُ[they]الْمُهْتَدُوْنَ (are) the guided ones اِنَّIndeedالصَّفَاthe Safaوَ الْمَرْوَةَand the Marwahمِنْ(are) fromشَعَآىِٕرِ(the) symbolsاللّٰهِ ۚ(of) AllahفَمَنْSo whoeverحَجَّperforms Hajjالْبَیْتَ(of) the Houseاَوِorاعْتَمَرَperforms Umrahفَلَاso noجُنَاحَblameعَلَیْهِon himاَنْthatیَّطَّوَّفَhe walksبِهِمَا ؕbetween [both of] themوَ مَنْAnd whoeverتَطَوَّعَvoluntarily doesخَیْرًا ۙgoodفَاِنَّthen indeedاللّٰهَAllahشَاكِرٌ(is) All-Appreciativeعَلِیْمٌ All-Knowing اِنَّIndeedالَّذِیْنَthose whoیَكْتُمُوْنَconcealمَاۤwhatاَنْزَلْنَاWe revealedمِنَofالْبَیِّنٰتِthe clear proofsوَ الْهُدٰیand the Guidanceمِنْۢfromبَعْدِafterمَا[what]بَیَّنّٰهُWe made clearلِلنَّاسِto the peopleفِیinالْكِتٰبِ ۙthe Bookاُولٰٓىِٕكَthoseیَلْعَنُهُمُcurses themاللّٰهُAllahوَ یَلْعَنُهُمُand curse themاللّٰعِنُوْنَۙthe ones who curse اِلَّاExceptالَّذِیْنَthoseتَابُوْاwho repent[ed]وَ اَصْلَحُوْاand reform[ed]وَ بَیَّنُوْاand openly declar[ed]فَاُولٰٓىِٕكَThen thoseاَتُوْبُI will accept repentanceعَلَیْهِمْ ۚfrom themوَ اَنَاand I (am)التَّوَّابُthe Acceptor of Repentanceالرَّحِیْمُ the Most Merciful اِنَّIndeedالَّذِیْنَthose whoكَفَرُوْاdisbelieve[d]وَ مَاتُوْاand die[d]وَ هُمْwhile theyكُفَّارٌ(were) disbelieversاُولٰٓىِٕكَthoseعَلَیْهِمْon themلَعْنَةُ(is the) curseاللّٰهِ(of) Allahوَ الْمَلٰٓىِٕكَةِand the Angelsوَ النَّاسِand the mankindاَجْمَعِیْنَۙall together خٰلِدِیْنَ(Will) abide foreverفِیْهَا ۚin itلَاNotیُخَفَّفُwill be lightenedعَنْهُمُfor themالْعَذَابُthe punishmentوَ لَاand notهُمْtheyیُنْظَرُوْنَ will be reprieved وَ اِلٰهُكُمْAnd your Godاِلٰهٌ(is) Godوَّاحِدٌ ۚone (only)لَاۤ(there is) noاِلٰهَgodاِلَّاexceptهُوَHimالرَّحْمٰنُthe Most Graciousالرَّحِیْمُ۠the Most Merciful
Translation of Verse 152-163

(2:152) So remember Me and I shall remember you; give thanks to Me and do not be ungrateful to Me for My favours.

(2:153) Believers!153 Seek help in patience and in Prayer; Allah is with those that are patient.154

(2:154) And do not say of those who are killed in the way of Allah that they are dead; they are alive even though you have no knowledge of their life.155

(2:155) We shall certainly test you by afflicting you with fear, hunger, loss of properties and lives and fruits. Give glad tidings, then, to those who remain patient;

(2:156) those who when any affliction smites them, they say: “Verily, we belong to Allah, and it is to Him that we are destined to return.”156

(2:157) Upon them will be the blessings and mercy of their Lord, and it is they who are rightly guided.

(2:158) Surely, al-Safa and al-Marwah are the symbols of Allah. Hence, whoever performs Hajj (Full Pilgrimage)157 to the House (of Allah) or makes 'Umrah (Minor Pilgrimage), will find that it is no sin for him to ambulate between the two.158 And whoever does a good work voluntarily159 should know that Allah is Appreciative, All-Knowing.

(2:159) Those who conceal anything of the clear teachings and true guidance which We have sent down even though We have made them clear in Our Book, Allah curses such people and so do all the cursers,160

(2:160) except those who repent and make amends and openly declare (what they had concealed). Such shall I pardon for I am Much- Relenting, Most Compassionate.

(2:161) As for those who disbelieved161 and died disbelieving, surely the curse of Allah and of the angels and of all men is on them.

(2:162) Thus shall they abide and their chastisement shall not be lightened, nor shall they be given respite.

(2:163) Your God is One God, there is no god but He; the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate.


Commentary

153. Since the ummah has been invested with world leadership, a set of necessary directives is now provided for its guidance. Before laying down these directives it seemed necessary to caution the Muslims that the office which had been conferred on them was indeed no bed of roses. On the contrary, it was a great and perilous responsibility. Once they undertook it, they would be subjected to all kinds of afflictions, put to all kinds of trials and tribulations and made to bear all kinds of deprivation. If, however, the Muslims persisted along the path of God despite the perils they would be rewarded with God's favour in full measure.

154. To acquire the strength that is needed to bear this heavy burden of responsibility the believers should do two things: they should develop patience and they should strengthen themselves by devoting themselves to Prayer.

Later we shall encounter elaborations which will show that 'patience' is a word embracing a whole set of moral virtues of the utmost importance. 'Patience' is indeed an indispensable key to success. Likewise, we shall later have occasion to note in some detail how Prayer prepares the Muslims, both as individuals and as a collective body, to carry out their mission.

155. The word 'death' as well as its general concept has a depressing effect. People have therefore been instructed not to refer to martyrs who laid down their lives for God as 'dead', since this might lead to the dissipation of the spirit which enables people to struggle and make sacrifices in God's cause. Instead, people have been instructed to bear in mind that anyone who lays down his life for God has in fact attained immortality. As well as being a statement of fact this also helps to arouse and sustain courage.

156. 'Saying' does not signify the mere making of a statement. It means a statement which is accompanied by a deep conviction in one's heart: 'To Allah do we belong.' This being so, a man is bound to think that whatever has been sacrificed for God has in fact attained its legitimate end, for it has been spent in the way of the One to whom all things truly belong.

'And it is to Him that we are destined to return' refers to the fact that man will not stay forever in this world and will return, sooner or later, to God. And if man is indeed destined to return to God why should he not return to Him having spent his all, having staked his life for His sake? This alternative is preferable to the pursuit of self-aggrandizement and then meeting death either by sickness or accident.

157. The pilgrimage to the Ka'bah along with a set of other rites on certain fixed dates of Dhu al-Hijjah is known as hajj. Pilgrimage at other times is known as 'Umrah.

158. Safa and Marwah are the names of two hillocks near the Holy Mosque in Makka. To run between these two hillocks was among the rites which God had taught Abraham in connection with hajj. Later, when Pagan Ignorance prevailed in Makka and the neighbouring regions, altars were built for Isaf at Safa and for Nai'lah at Marwah, and people began to circumambulate them. After the advent of the Prophet, when the light of Islam had spread to the people of Arabia, Muslims came to doubt whether running between Safa and Marwah was one of the original rites of Pilgrimage or was merely an invidious religious innovation of the Age of Ignorance. If it was in fact such, they feared they might be committing an act of polytheism.

Moreover, we learn from a Tradition transmitted from 'A'ishah that even in pre-Islamic times the people of Madina were not favourably disposed to this practice. Although they believed in al-Manat they did not believe in Isaf and Nai'lah. For these reasons, it was necessary, at the time of the change of the qiblah, to dispel popular misconceptions about this rite. It seemed necessary to tell people that running between these two hillocks was part of the original rites of Pilgrimage and that the sanctity, of Safa and Marwah, far from being an invidious innovation of the people of the Age of Ignorance, stemmed from the revealed Law of God.

159. It is best that one should perform this ritual obligation with wholehearted devotion. But if devotion is lacking one is not thereby exempt from fulfilling one's obligation. One must perform this ritual if only out of a sense of duty.

160. The biggest failure of the Jews was that they kept the teachings contained in the Book of God confined to a limited class of people, the rabbis and professional theologians, instead of spreading them. They did not allow this knowledge to filter through even to the Jewish masses let alone the non-Jewish peoples of the world. Later, when errors and corruptions spread among them owing to widespread ignorance the Jewish theologians made no serious effort to root them out. Moreover, in order to maintain their hold on the Jewish masses they lent their tacit approval to every corrupting deviation from the true faith that gained currency.

The Muslims are being admonished to refrain from this kind of behaviour. The nation which has been charged with the guidance of the entire world is duty-bound to do its utmost to radiate true guidance, rather than keep it under lock and key as a miser hoards his money.

161. The original meaning of kufr is to conceal. This lent the word a nuance of denial and it began to be used as an antonym of iman . Iman means to believe, to accept, and to recognize. Kufr, on the contrary, denotes refusal to believe, to deny, to reject. According to the Qur'an there are several possible forms of disbelief. One is to refuse either to believe in the existence of God, to acknowledge His sovereignty, to recognize Him as the only Lord of the Universe and of mankind or to recognize Him as the only Lord and the only object of worship and adoration. The second form of disbelief is when a man recognizes the existence of God but still refuses to accept His ordinances and directives as the only source of true guidance, and as the true law for his life. The third form of disbelief is when even though a man recognizes in principle that he ought to follow the guidance of God he refuses to believe in the Prophets who were the means of communicating God's guidance to man. The fourth form of disbelief is to differentiate between one Prophet and another and, out of parochialism and bigotry, to accept some Prophets and reject others. The fifth form of disbelief is the refusal to recognize, either totally or partially, the teachings communicated by the Prophets, on God's behalf, concerning the beliefs, the principles of morality, and the laws for fashioning human life. The sixth form of disbelief is where a person theoretically accepts all that he should accept but wilfully disobeys God's ordinances and persists in this disobedience, and considers disobedience rather than obedience to God to be the true principle of life.

All these modes of thought and action are forms of rebellion towards God and the Qur'an characterizes each of them as kufr. In addition, the term kufr is used at several places in the Qur'an in the sense of ingratitude and in this usage it signifies the exact opposite of shukr (gratitude). Gratefulness consists in feeling thankful to one's benefactor, in duly recognizing the value of his benevolence, in making use of it in a manner pleasing to its bestower, and in being utterly loyal to him. Ingratitude denotes, on the contrary, that the man concerned has either failed to recognize the bounty of his benefactor, or considers it to be either the outcome of his own power and ability or else that of some other person's favour or intercession. Another form of ingratitude consists in failing to recognize fully the worth of the bounty received and in either allowing it to be wasted or to be used in contravention of the will of the benefactor; this ingratitude includes infidelity and treachery towards the benefactor in disregard of his benevolence and kindness. This kind of kufr is known in ordinary language as ungratefulness.