Surah 26. Ash-Shu'ara

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Verses [Section]: 1-9[1], 10-33 [2], 34-51 [3], 52-68 [4], 69-104 [5], 105-122 [6], 123-140 [7], 141-159 [8], 160-175 [9], 176-191 [10], 192-227 [11]

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Quran Text of Verse 69-104وَ اتْلُAnd reciteعَلَیْهِمْto themنَبَاَ(the) newsاِبْرٰهِیْمَۘ(of) Ibrahim اِذْWhenقَالَhe saidلِاَبِیْهِto his fatherوَ قَوْمِهٖand his peopleمَاWhatتَعْبُدُوْنَ (do) you worship قَالُوْاThey saidنَعْبُدُWe worshipاَصْنَامًاidolsفَنَظَلُّso we will remainلَهَاto themعٰكِفِیْنَ devoted قَالَHe saidهَلْDoیَسْمَعُوْنَكُمْthey hear youاِذْwhenتَدْعُوْنَۙyou call اَوْOrیَنْفَعُوْنَكُمْ(do) they benefit youاَوْorیَضُرُّوْنَ they harm (you) قَالُوْاThey saidبَلْNayوَجَدْنَاۤbut we foundاٰبَآءَنَاour forefathersكَذٰلِكَlike thatیَفْعَلُوْنَ doing قَالَHe saidاَفَرَءَیْتُمْDo you seeمَّاwhatكُنْتُمْyou have beenتَعْبُدُوْنَۙworshipping اَنْتُمْYouوَ اٰبَآؤُكُمُand your forefathersالْاَقْدَمُوْنَؗۖand your forefathers فَاِنَّهُمْIndeed theyعَدُوٌّ(are) enemiesلِّیْۤto meاِلَّاexceptرَبَّ(the) Lordالْعٰلَمِیْنَۙ(of) the worlds الَّذِیْThe One Whoخَلَقَنِیْcreated meفَهُوَand Heیَهْدِیْنِۙguides me وَ الَّذِیْAnd the One Whoهُوَ[He]یُطْعِمُنِیْgives me foodوَ یَسْقِیْنِۙand gives me drink وَ اِذَاAnd whenمَرِضْتُI am illفَهُوَthen Heیَشْفِیْنِ۪ۙcures me وَ الَّذِیْAnd the One Whoیُمِیْتُنِیْwill cause me to dieثُمَّthenیُحْیِیْنِۙhe will give me life وَ الَّذِیْۤAnd the One WhoاَطْمَعُI hopeاَنْthatیَّغْفِرَHe will forgiveلِیْfor meخَطِیْٓـَٔتِیْmy faultsیَوْمَ(on the) Dayالدِّیْنِؕ(of) the Judgment رَبِّMy Lord!هَبْGrantلِیْ[for] meحُكْمًاwisdomوَّ اَلْحِقْنِیْand join meبِالصّٰلِحِیْنَۙwith the righteous 26. Ash-Shu'ara Page 371وَ اجْعَلْAnd grantلِّیْ[for] meلِسَانَa mentionصِدْقٍ(of) honorفِیamongالْاٰخِرِیْنَۙthe later (generations) وَ اجْعَلْنِیْAnd make meمِنْofوَّرَثَةِ(the) inheritorsجَنَّةِ(of) Garden(s)النَّعِیْمِۙ(of) Delight وَ اغْفِرْAnd forgiveلِاَبِیْۤmy fatherاِنَّهٗIndeed heكَانَisمِنَofالضَّآلِّیْنَۙthose astray وَ لَاAnd (do) notتُخْزِنِیْdisgrace meیَوْمَ(on the) Dayیُبْعَثُوْنَۙthey are resurrected یَوْمَ(The) Dayلَاnotیَنْفَعُwill benefitمَالٌwealthوَّ لَاand notبَنُوْنَۙsons اِلَّاExceptمَنْ(he) whoاَتَیcomesاللّٰهَ(to) Allahبِقَلْبٍwith a heartسَلِیْمٍؕsound وَ اُزْلِفَتِAnd (will be) brought nearالْجَنَّةُthe Paradiseلِلْمُتَّقِیْنَۙfor the righteous وَ بُرِّزَتِAnd (will be) made manifestالْجَحِیْمُthe Hellfireلِلْغٰوِیْنَۙto the deviators وَ قِیْلَAnd it will be saidلَهُمْto themاَیْنَWhereمَا(is) thatكُنْتُمْyou usedتَعْبُدُوْنَۙ(to) worship مِنْBesides AllahدُوْنِBesides Allahاللّٰهِ ؕBesides AllahهَلْCanیَنْصُرُوْنَكُمْthey help youاَوْorیَنْتَصِرُوْنَؕhelp themselves فَكُبْكِبُوْاThen they will be overturnedفِیْهَاinto itهُمْtheyوَ الْغَاوٗنَۙand the deviators وَ جُنُوْدُAnd (the) hostsاِبْلِیْسَ(of) Iblisاَجْمَعُوْنَؕall together قَالُوْاThey (will) sayوَ هُمْwhile theyفِیْهَاin itیَخْتَصِمُوْنَۙ(are) disputing تَاللّٰهِBy Allahاِنْindeedكُنَّاwe wereلَفِیْsurely inضَلٰلٍerrorمُّبِیْنٍۙclear اِذْWhenنُسَوِّیْكُمْwe equated youبِرَبِّwith (the) Lordالْعٰلَمِیْنَ (of) the worlds وَ مَاۤAnd notاَضَلَّنَاۤmisguided usاِلَّاexceptالْمُجْرِمُوْنَ the criminals فَمَاSo (now) notلَنَاwe haveمِنْanyشَافِعِیْنَۙintercessors وَ لَاAnd notصَدِیْقٍa friendحَمِیْمٍ close فَلَوْThen ifاَنَّthatلَنَاwe hadكَرَّةًa returnفَنَكُوْنَthen we could beمِنَofالْمُؤْمِنِیْنَ the believers اِنَّIndeedفِیْinذٰلِكَthatلَاٰیَةً ؕsurely is a Signوَ مَاbut notكَانَareاَكْثَرُهُمْmost of themمُّؤْمِنِیْنَ believers وَ اِنَّAnd indeedرَبَّكَyour Lordلَهُوَsurely Heالْعَزِیْزُ(is) the All-Mightyالرَّحِیْمُ۠ the Most Merciful

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Translation of Verse 69-104

69. And recite to them the chronicle of Ibrahim.⁶³

70. When he said to his father and his people: “What is that which you worship ?”⁶⁴

71. They replied: “We worship idols and we will remain devoted to them.”

72. He asked: “Do they hear you when you call them?

73. “Or do they benefit or harm you?”

74. They replied: “Nay, but we found our fathers doing that.”⁶⁵

75. He said: “Do you see those which you worship,⁶⁶

76. “You and your forefathers?

77. “Verily, they are(all) enemy⁶⁷to me, except the Lord of the Worlds,

78. “Who created me, and guides me,⁶⁸

79. “And who gives me food and drink,

80. “And who, when I fall sick,⁶⁹ cures me,⁷⁰

81. “And who will cause me to die, then will give me life again,⁷¹

82. And who, I ardently hope, will forgive me my sins on the Day of Judgment.⁷²

83. My Lord ⁷³! Bestow on me ⁷⁴ wisdom and join me to the righteous,⁷⁵

84. And grant me citation of truth (righteousness) in later generations.⁷⁶

85. And place me among the inheritors of the Blissful Garden. ⁷⁷

86. And forgive my father, verily he is of those who have gone astray.⁷⁸

87. And do not hold me to shame on the Day of Resurrection,

88. The day⁷⁹ when wealth and sons will be of no avail,

89. (When none will be successful) Except he who comes before his Lord with a pure heart.⁸⁰

90. And the Paradise will be brought near for the God-fearing,⁸¹

91. And Hell will be unveiled for the erring.⁸²

92. And it will be said to them: “Where are those you worshipped.

93. “Instead of Allah? Can they help you or help themselves?”

94. Then they will be hurled therein, they and the erring people,⁸³

95. And the hosts of Iblis, all.⁸⁴

96. And they, while quarrelling therein, will say:

97. “By Allah: We were in obvious error,⁸⁵

98. “When we made you equal with the Lord of the Worlds,

99. “It was but the guilty⁸⁶ who misled us.

100. “Now we have no intercessors.

101. “Nor any loving friend.⁸⁷

102. “If we had a chance to return, we shall be true believers.”⁸⁸

103. Verily in this is a great sign,⁸⁹ yet most of them do not believe.⁹⁰

104. And verily, your Lord, He is indeed the Mighty, the Merciful.⁹¹

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Commentary

63. Here that event of Prophet Ibrahim’s life is being presented which pertains to his mission and the purpose is to show that idolatry and polytheism is that great waywardness to deliver the slaves of God from which such a great Prophet as Ibrahim had to be raised. Therefore, if today the Prophet of Qur’an has risen for this very purpose, then it is not a novel thing, it is the characteristic of the prophetic mission. Prophets (peace be upon them) take notice of this straying in the very beginning, and then refuting it emphatically , present the message of monotheism.

64. An intellectual style of presenting the divine message is to raise such questions. The second point is that if the son is a believer and the father is a polytheist, then the son should present the argument in favour of tawheed before his father, as this is the model presented by Prophet Ibrahim.

65. The admission of the idolaters that the idols neither hear anything, nor have they power to give hurt or benefit to anybody is a clear proof that idolatry is baseless and nonsensical, but they have promoted this nonsense because it is being practised from the times of their forefathers, i.e. how could they give up their ancestral religion and national culture?

66. That is: Blind following of forefathers is to suspend the intellectual faculties. In such a case the question arises: then why the faculties of thinking and reasoning have been granted to man? If these faculties have been granted in order that man may use them to distinguish between right and wrong, proper and improper, then in the matter of worship and devotion why does man become blind? Why does he not think that what is required to be dealt with the Lord of Mankind, how can that dealing be justified with brick and stone?

It may be noted that the idolaters on account of their superstition believe that their deities can cause them harm or give them benefit, but they cannot dare claim such powers for the idols for the helplessness of the idols can be observed by everybody, while the existence of their deitiesgods and goddesses -is merely imaginary, therefore, it was easy for those who build the edifice of their religion on baseless things to claim attributes of God for these imaginary deities.

67. That is: I consider idols as my enemies. It means that to worship idols is sure to land you in Hell, therefore, safety lies in keeping away from them.

68. That is: He who is my Creator is also my Guide, therefore, how is it possible that in the matter of deity and religion, the light which He is showing would not be accepted by me, and why should I wander in the valley of superstition and imagination?

69. This could have been stated as “He causes me to fall sick,” which would have sounded rather disrespectful, so he said: “When I fall sick” which is a very respectful manner of saying it. Prophets pay extreme degree of respects to God and the words that come out from their mouths are pearls of wisdom.

70. To cure a sick person is the work of God only. This point was to be explained to the polytheists, but Muslims of the modern times also need this explanation, because for getting cured of their ailments they wander round the dargahs, and only those Muslims are saved from this wanton exercise who are true Muslims by the grace of Allah, and hold correct beliefs.

71. This is a mention of Doomsday and an expression of believing in it along with the belief in tawheed.

The message which Prophet Ibrahim presented before his father and his nation has been narrated at various places in Qur’an, which shows that on different occasions he presented the dawah in different ways. Here he has expressed his belief and faith, saying who is the Lord whom he believes in, and how majestic He is and what are His attributes. This style of dawah has a psychological effect and it prompted everybody to give a thought to his belief and creed, and to take a review of his faith.

72. Here this discussion is useless as to what errors had been committed by Prophet Ibrahim. Possibly the errors might have been of the period prior to his prophethood. Anyway, the task of the slaves is to consider himself at fault and to seek pardon from God, because sometimes errors are committed unknowingly, and this feeling is acutely felt by the messengers of God, and therefore, they are ever seekers of Allah’s forgiveness. In the hadith it is mentioned that the Prophet (Sallal Lahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) used to pray for his forgiveness for more than seventy times in a day, and the expression of this very feeling is seen from this statement.

73. The statement of Prophet Ibrahim which he made addressing his father and his community ends in the above ayah. Here the prayer which he said in that environment is being presented.

74. That is : Give me correct understanding so that I may be able to take stock of the situation properly and may present wise and appealing statement before the people.

75. To be God-fearing and righteous depends on the guidance from Allah. That is why even a prophet has to pray for Allah’s guidance and for being included in the group of God-fearing slaves.

76. Does not mean worldly fame, but refers to that mention and remembrance with complimentary words which comes from true love and sincere devotion. The words ‘tongue of truth’ are very meaningful and they particularly signify that generations coming after me may also be recipients of benefits from my prophethood, and from everywhere words of truth may be raised in my favour. His prayer was answered in such a wonderful way that every generation of people of faith have been paying highly laudatory compliments to him, so much so that in the salat of the last ummah (Muslims) his complimentary mention has found a place, in the ‘darud’ which is recited in every prayer. And who does not pay compliments for his indebtedness to him at the time of Hajj and Qurbani (Sacrifice)! “Peace be on Ibrahim.”

77. Thus it is learnt that to seek entrance to Paradise by praying is the method of prophets, and the theory of performing good deeds without having a desire to go to Paradise is merely a figment of ‘sufiana’ (mystic) imagination.

78. The prayer to Allah of Prophet Ibrahim for, forgiveness for his father pertains to that period when such a prayer was not forbidden. For details, please see Surah Taubah, Note No.210.

79. Prophet Ibrahim’s prayer ended in the foregoing ayah. Now what is stated is from Allah about the Day of Judgment and according to the occasion such a lesson was appropriate.

80. ’Qalb-i-Saleem’ means healthy or pure heart, and according to the context it refers to that heart which is free from polytheism, in which the belief of monotheism is so firm that a state of faith is developed and the character has become righteous. In other words it means that heart which is free from all spiritual diseases and contamination of sins, and whose state of fear of God is its health and which beautifies his practical life.

81. On the day of Resurrection, Paradise will be ready to receive the God-fearing slaves. It will not take any time to reach the Paradise from the court of Allah. The righteous people will reach Paradise as soon as the judgment is given in their favour.

82. The Hell is veiled from the sight today, but on the Day of Resurrection the astray people will find it right in their front.

83. With the idolaters their idols will also be hurled into the Hellfire. At that time the helplessness of the idols will be absolutely clear to their devotees. They will realise that when they themselves are unable to escape the punishment, how can they save them.

And the same will be the fate of the rebellious leaders like Firaun, who have become gods of their devotees. How will they save their devotees when they are unable to save themselves from the Hellfire!

84. Means Satans who have been misguiding the people.

85. They will swear by God to admit their going astray, as if they have realised that they had been misguided when they saw the adverse consequence of their acts.

86. Means astray and wayward rulers, chiefs and leaders.

87. Whoever might have been the close friends of the misguided people, they will no more be their friends in the Hereafter, they will have nothing to do with them. There will be none to sympathise with them or to share their misery.

88. They will desire to return to the world so that they might be faithful to God, but their desire will not be fulfilled. For further explanation, please see Surah An’am Note Nos. 46 to 48.

89. That is: In this event of Prophet Ibrahim’s life, mentioned above, there is a clear sign of the fact that polytheism and idolatry are totally false, and monotheism is the Truth. Therefore, the message of the Prophet of Qur’an is the message of absolute Truth and is not at all different from the dawah of Prophet Ibrahim.

90. For explanation, please see Note No.8.

91. For explanation, please see Note No.9.