Surah 14. Ibrahim

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Verses [Section]: 1-6[1], 7-12 [2], 13-21 [3], 22-27 [4], 28-34 [5], 35-41 [6], 42-52 [7]

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Quran Text of Verse 1-614. Ibrahimبِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِالٓرٰ ۫Alif Laam RaكِتٰبٌA Bookاَنْزَلْنٰهُwhich We have revealedاِلَیْكَto youلِتُخْرِجَso that you may bring outالنَّاسَthe mankindمِنَfromالظُّلُمٰتِthe darkness[es]اِلَیtoالنُّوْرِ ۙ۬the lightبِاِذْنِby the permissionرَبِّهِمْ(of) their Lordاِلٰیtoصِرَاطِthe Pathالْعَزِیْزِ(of) the All-Mightyالْحَمِیْدِۙthe Praiseworthy اللّٰهِAllahالَّذِیْ(is) the Oneلَهٗto Him (belongs)مَاwhateverفِی(is) inالسَّمٰوٰتِthe heavensوَ مَاand whateverفِی(is) inالْاَرْضِ ؕthe earthوَ وَیْلٌAnd woeلِّلْكٰفِرِیْنَto the disbelieversمِنْfromعَذَابٍthe punishmentشَدِیْدِۙsevere لَّذِیْنَThose whoیَسْتَحِبُّوْنَlove moreالْحَیٰوةَthe lifeالدُّنْیَا(of) the worldعَلَیthanالْاٰخِرَةِthe Hereafterوَ یَصُدُّوْنَand hinderعَنْfromسَبِیْلِ(the) Pathاللّٰهِ(of) Allahوَ یَبْغُوْنَهَاand seek in itعِوَجًا ؕcrookednessاُولٰٓىِٕكَthoseفِیْ[in]ضَلٰلٍۭ(are) far astrayبَعِیْدٍ (are) far astray وَ مَاۤAnd notاَرْسَلْنَاWe sentمِنْanyرَّسُوْلٍMessengerاِلَّاexceptبِلِسَانِwith the languageقَوْمِهٖ(of) his peopleلِیُبَیِّنَso that he might make clearلَهُمْ ؕfor themفَیُضِلُّThen lets go astrayاللّٰهُAllahمَنْwhomیَّشَآءُHe willsوَ یَهْدِیْand guidesمَنْwhomیَّشَآءُ ؕHe willsوَ هُوَAnd Heالْعَزِیْزُ(is) the All-Mightyالْحَكِیْمُ the All-Wise وَ لَقَدْAnd verilyاَرْسَلْنَاWe sentمُوْسٰیMusaبِاٰیٰتِنَاۤwith Our SignsاَنْthatاَخْرِجْBring outقَوْمَكَyour peopleمِنَfromالظُّلُمٰتِthe darkness[es]اِلَیtoالنُّوْرِ ۙ۬the lightوَ ذَكِّرْهُمْAnd remind themبِاَیّٰىمِof the daysاللّٰهِ ؕ(of) AllahاِنَّIndeedفِیْinذٰلِكَthatلَاٰیٰتٍsurely (are) the signsلِّكُلِّfor everyoneصَبَّارٍpatientشَكُوْرٍ and thankful 14. Ibrahim Page 256وَ اِذْAnd whenقَالَsaidمُوْسٰیMusaلِقَوْمِهِto his peopleاذْكُرُوْاRememberنِعْمَةَ(the) Favor of Allahاللّٰهِ(the) Favor of Allahعَلَیْكُمْupon youاِذْwhenاَنْجٰىكُمْHe saved youمِّنْfromاٰلِ(the) peopleفِرْعَوْنَ(of) Firaunیَسُوْمُوْنَكُمْthey were afflicting youسُوْٓءَ(with) evilالْعَذَابِtormentوَ یُذَبِّحُوْنَand were slaughteringاَبْنَآءَكُمْyour sonsوَ یَسْتَحْیُوْنَand letting liveنِسَآءَكُمْ ؕyour womenوَ فِیْAnd inذٰلِكُمْthatبَلَآءٌ(was) a trialمِّنْfromرَّبِّكُمْyour Lordعَظِیْمٌ۠great

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Translation of Verse 1-6In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

(14:1) Alif. Lam. Ra'. This is a Book which We have revealed to you that you may bring forth mankind from every kind of darkness into light, and direct them, with the leave of their Lord, to the Way¹ of the Mighty, the Innately Praiseworthy,²

(14:2) (to the Way of) Allah to Whom belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth. Woe be to those who reject the Truth for a severe chastisement,

(14:3) to those who have chosen the life of the world in preference to the Hereafter,³ who hinder people from the Way of Allah, and seek to make it crooked.⁴ They have gone far astray.

(14:4) Never have We sent a Messenger but he has addressed his people in their language that he may fully expound his Message to them.⁵ (And after the Message is expounded), Allah lets go astray whomsoever He wills, and guides to the Right Way whomsoever He wills.⁶ He is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.⁷

(14:5) We indeed sent Moses with Our Signs, saying: "Lead your people out of all kinds of darkness into light, and admonish them by narrating to them anecdotes from the Days of Allah."⁸ Verily in it there are great Signs⁹ for everyone who is patient and gives thanks (to Allah).¹⁰

(14:6) And call to mind when Moses said to his people: "Remember Allah's favour upon you when He delivered you from Pharaoh's people who afflicted you with a grievous chastisement, slaughtering your sons, while letting your women live. In it there was a terrible trial from your Lord."

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Commentary

1. The statement says that the Qur’an brings forth mankind from every kind of darkness into light and directs them to the way of God. This implies that all those who are not on the way of God are in fact stumbling in the darkness of ignorance. Such persons are indeed ignorant notwithstanding their pompous claims to the contrary. Even those illiterate villagers who find the way of God will be credited with the light of knowledge.

The Qur’an states that the Prophet (peace be on him) had been granted a Book which ‘may direct mankind, with the leave of their Lord, to the way of — the Mighty, the Innately Praiseworthy’. This statement lays down, on the one hand, a task to which the Prophet (peace be on him) is required to address his efforts. On the other hand, it also mentions the limits within which this task can be performed, by any human being, including a Prophet, who seeks to direct people to the way of the Lord. All that anyone can do is to explain to people what that way is. No one has the power conclusively to put others on the way of God. For that depends on God’s help and leave. It is only by God’s help that anyone can attain guidance. No one else can enable him to do so. (See al-Baqarah 2: 272; al-Qasas 28: 56; al-Zumar 39: 23; and often in the Qur’an — Ed.) The Qur’an has explained at several places the law by which this favor of God is bestowed upon people. Thanks to that, we know that guidance is granted only to those who earnestly seek it, who are free from blind prejudice and obduracy, who are not the slaves of their carnal desires, who keep their eyes and ears open, who think with an unprejudiced mind and have no mental block against accepting whatever is sound and reasonable.

2. The word used here is hamid which is synonymous with mahmud (the praised one). There is, however, a subtle difference in their meaning. The word mahmud is used for anyone who is praised. The word hamid — which has been used here — signifies one who innately deserves praise regardless of whether anyone actually praises him or not. The word is too rich in meaning to be expressed merely by the word ‘praiseworthy’. Hence, we have rendered it as ‘innately praiseworthy’.

3. The unbelievers are concerned only with this world. They simply do not care for the Hereafter. They are so enamored of the pleasures and comforts of this world that they are willing to risk their success in the Hereafter for the sake of worldly success. Since they do not care about the Hereafter, they are not prepared to risk even the slightest loss, or expose themselves to the least danger or suffering, or deny themselves any pleasure for the sake of success and well-being in the Next Life. The fact is that the unbelievers have carefully considered both the present world and the Next, and after careful reflection have decided to follow the course of the former rather than the latter. Hence, wherever their worldly interests come into conflict with the interests of the Next Life, -they invariably accord preference to worldly interests.

4, The unbelievers are not ready to live in subordination to God’s will. Instead, they would like God’s religion to be subordinated to their desires and interests. They would like God’s Message to accommodate all the ideas, fancies, superstitions and conjectures which attract them, and to purge itself of every doctrine which their puny minds are unable to grasp. They would also like religion to sanction all their customs, usages and habits, and to refrain from asking them to follow anything that they are not particularly fond of. In short, they expect their religion to behave like a bonded slave. If they move under the influence of their lusts and desires in one direction, so should it. They are prepared to heed God’s command only if He asks them to adhere to an abject religion of the kind described above.

5. This verse may be interpreted in two ways. First, it may be interpreted to mean that whenever God sends a Messenger to a nation, He also reveals His Message in the language of that nation. The purpose of so doing i is. that the people concerned should be able to fully grasp the Message. For if the Message is available to a people in their own language, they are left with no excuse to plead that they failed to believe because the teaching presented to them was incomprehensible.

There is, however, also a second possible meaning of the verse. Suppose God were to send His scripture say to an Arabic-speaking Messenger, in an altogether alien language, say in Chinese or Japanese. Surely this would cause people to wonder and would make the scripture appear miraculous to them.

However, in God’s scheme of things, the concern to enable people to fully understand the content of His Message has an overriding priority. It is much more important that the people among whom a Prophet has been raised should understand his teaching than have them wonder-struck by a miraculous feat. Hence, it was necessary that God’s Message should be conveyed in the language of the people to whom it was addressed.

6. Every Messenger presents, as mentioned earlier (see n. 5 above - Ed.) his teaching in the language which his people fully understand. Nevertheless, not all the addressees of the Message are in fact able to embrace. the truth. The reason is quite simple. To have faith in something is quite different from just understanding it. In any case, whether man is able to find the right way or keeps wandering in error is something which, in the ultimate, is in God’s Hand.

Hence, it is quite apt to say that God guides, through His Word, all whom He pleases, to the right way. For others, His Word becomes a means of their falling into error. (See also n. 1 above and n. 7 below — Ed.)

7. It should be clearly borne in mind that human beings are not absolutely free. Their ability to find the right way or to lose it simply of their own accord is, therefore, inconceivable. For, after all, man’s life is circumscribed by God’s overarching will. On the other hand, God does not use His power to direct people to the right way or let them go astray in an arbitrary manner. For He is not just ‘Mighty’, He is also ‘Wise’. And since He is Wise, He decides to direct or not to direct someone to the right way on reasonable grounds. He who found the way was directed to it since he deserved to find it. Likewise, he who was left to stumble in error deserved to do so.

8. The word ayyam, as a technical term, signifies events of great historical significance. The expression ‘Ayydm Allah’ (literally, ‘the Days of Allah’) refers to those major events in human history which show that God treated the nations and major personalities of the past according to their deeds, punishing or rewarding them on that account.

9. Historical events contain many signs which are of great significance. Through these signs a person can find convincing evidence of God’s unity. Through them he can also find overwhelming evidence of the fact that the law of retribution is a universal law, based on a sharp distinction — at both the intellectual and moral levels — between truth and falsehood. However, in order that the law of retribution comes into full play, it is absolutely necessary that there should be another life after the present one. Furthermore, the major events of history also provide ample signs with the help of which man can know the evil results of following false doctrines, and, thus, learn an instructive lesson from the past.

10. These signs are found everywhere. However, not everyone can derive the right conclusions from them. It is only people who possess certain qualities who can fully appreciate those signs and, thus, benefit from them. Such people are those who, when they are put to any test by God, observe patience and fortitude. When they are blessed with God's favors, they are fully appreciative of them and are inclined to-give thanks to God. People who are frivolous and ungrateful can never derive full benefit from those signs even if they are able to perceive them.