Surah Hud 11:1-8 - Quran Translation Commentary

3. And seek forgiveness of your Lord then turn to Him in repentance⁸. He will make a goodly provision for you till an appointed term⁹ and will bestow His grace upon everyone who deserves His grace¹⁰. But if you turn away, then verily I fear for you the punishment of a great day¹¹.

4. To Allah you all shall return. And He has power over all things.

5. Lo! They fold their breasts so that they may hide from Him.¹² Lo! When they cover themselves with their clothing, He knows what they hide and what they reveal. Verily He knows the secrets of the breasts.

6. There is no creature on the earth the responsibility of whose sustenance is not on Allah.¹³ He knows its habitation and its dwelling place.¹⁴ All is in a clear book.¹⁵

7. And it is He who created the heavens and the earth in six days¹⁶ and His Arsh (throne) was on the water¹⁷ that He might try you (to find out) which of you is best in conduct.¹⁸ And if you say: “You shall indeed be raised again after death,” sure! the disbelievers would say: “This is nothing but obvious magic.”¹⁹

8. And if We delay their punishment for an appointed time, they would surely say: “What withholds it?” Lo! On the day it comes, nothing will keep it away from them, and they will be encircled by what they used to mock at.²⁰

Commentary

1.Comments on these letters have been given in Note No.1 Surah Yunus.

2. As the systems of the earth and the heavens are established on firm foundations, similarly the ayaat of this Book that have been revealed are based on extremely firm arguments, solid realities, high moral teachings, universal truths, and just laws of life, and as its subjects are balanced. Similarly, its words are thoroughly appropriate, and their syntax is most meaningful, as if every word is set in priceless jewelry in such a way that even the slightest change in the arrangement cannot be imagined. It can be appreciated only by those who have the right taste of the Arabic language: for example, in the Surah ‘Qul huwallahu ahad’ the word ‘ahad’ (unique) is the most appropriate word. If in its place the word wahid (one) is substituted, there will be a change in the meaning as well as in the flow of the language. Similarly, the word ‘hamd’ is appropriate to convey the meaning of both praise and gratitude. If anybody substitutes the words ‘Ash shukru lillah’ for the words ‘Al hamdu lillah, then the comprehensiveness of the word ‘hamd’ is lost. In sum this composition is so coordinated and invulnerable that no sane man can find any fault with any of its words or can point out a single defect in its teachings.

This is a distinctive characteristic of the Qur’an and no other book in the world, including the ‘holy’ books of the other religions of the world, enjoys this distinction.

3. In the preliminary Surahs of the Qur’an divine teachings are presented in outlines in small sentences (verses), but in the subsequent surahs their explanation, details and their demands (requirements) are narrated. For example, in the Surah Ikhlas the subject of tawheed (monotheism) has been dealt with in a very brief manner, but in the Surah Yunus and Surah An’am it has been presented with explanation and details. In Surah Fajr the chronicles of A’d and Thamud are just referred to, but in Surah Hood and Surah A’raf they have been narrated in detail. A brief introduction of the Paradise and the Hell is given in the Surah Ghashiyah, but it has been given in detail in Surah Waqi’ah and Surah Rahman. The commands for (COMMENTARY) salat is given in brief in the Surah ‘Ala, but its detailed commands are given in Surah Bani Israil (Isra), Surah Baqarah, and Surah Nisa. In this way Qur’an gives its own comments on its teachings.

4. The fact of Quranic ayat’s being assertively definite and detailed is the proof that it is not the word of man but that of God, whose every teaching is wise and well-informed about all the situations and circumstances.

5. This is the first demand of Qur’an from mankind. To accept Allah as the only worship worthy Being, and worshipping Him alone is that exalted purpose for which mankind is created. The reality of worship is that man should bow before his Lord in all humility and sincerity. Iman Razi writes: “Worship means extreme devotion and an expression of total humility and meekness, and such an expression for anybody other than the Being who is the Creator, Ruler, Most Gracious, and Bestower of Favours, is not proper.” - (At-Tafseerul Kabeer. Vol. 17. page 180).

If man presents himself as a humble and meek slave before Allah and expresses his lowliness before Him, then it is impossible for him to be a transgressor or a rebel against God. Worship and transgression are two opposing and contradictory states. A person who really and sincerely worships Allah, will essentially be His obedient slave. (For further explanation, please see Note No.7. Surah Fatiha).

6. That Is: I am a Warner about the adverse consequences of disbelief, transgression, evil acts and sinning.

7. That is: I am a bringer of glad tidings about good results of faith, belief, obedience to Allah and virtuous acts.

8. That is: Seek Allah’s forgiveness for your polytheism, and for the life of sinning that you have been living and correct your attitude for the future, by turning towards Allah in every condition and adopting the way of living like His slave.

9. On doing so Allah will favour you by bestowing His bounties on you. The events that followed confirmed this promise of the Qur’an. Accordingly those who embraced Islam and repented and adopted virtuous living, their world was not marred but ‘made beautiful, and they received such divine favour as they had not imagined earlier.

10. That is: The high rank of virtue to which a Momin would make himself worthy of belonging by virtue of his deeds of piety, Allah will honour him in accordance with his rank and status.

11. That is: The Day of Resurrection.

12. Folding the breasts is an idiom of the Arabic language, which means to turn away or to avoid. It means that they think that Allah does not know their act of ignoring the Qur’an, though there is nothing hidden from Him. Had they known this, they would not have avoided listening to the Qur’an.

13. This is a reality which is observed and experienced by every person. Every living being on this earth, whether it may be an animal or a bird, a fish or an ant, a man or a beast, all get their share of sustenance. Although this sustenance is received by them through various means, but the arranger of these means through which every creature gets its sustenance till the appointed time it lives, is none else than the one and only Allah. Is this all embracing arrangement of providing sustenance not sufficient proof of the fact that the Being who gave life is also providing the means for the upkeep of life? And is there any necessity, after this clear and unambiguous argument, of any other proof or argument to refute the case for polytheism and disbelief?

14. That is: Allah has knowledge of all the minute details. He knows the dwelling place of every creature and also the place where after its death the creature will be deposited.

15. For explanation please see Note No.94, Surah Yunus.

16. Its explanation has been given in Note No. 82, Surah A’raf.

17. That is: Water was created by God before the creation of the heavens and the earth. This fact has been narrated in the Torah in these words:

“and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2) Possibly in the original Torah the same thing which has been stated in the Qur’an might have been narrated, but the translators might have confused it.

Arsh means the throne of the kingdom, the nature of which we do not know. However, it gives an idea of Allah’s being in power and the ruler. It means-and Allah knows best the secrets of His words-that before the creation of the universe, when there was only “water”. Allah ruled over it. By His command the water underwent certain developments. Accordingly, dry land appeared and subsequently varying species and things came into existence. At another place in the Qur’an it is stated:

“And We have created from water every living thing.” (Al-Anbiya-30)

18. This is the purpose which activated the creation of the universe, i.e. man has been placed in the testing ground, so that Allah may select those individuals who conduct themselves in the most virtuous manner, and then He may bless them with everlasting favour and bounties.

19. That is: When the Prophet presents the fact that mankind will be raised again after death, the disbelievers dub it as the magic of words.

whosever desire the life of this world with its glitter, We repay them fully in the world, and in that nothing will be diminished for them. (Al-Quran)

20. That is: Allah is delaying the punishment, so that the disbelievers may get further opportunity to reform themselves. But these people instead of taking advantage of this respite, mock at the promised punishment. Let them know that the day when this punishment would befall them, it would not be possible for them to ward it off and they will not be able to escape.