1. Fahm Al Quran : Understanding the Quran by Al Muhasibi part 1

فَهْمُ الْقُرْآنِ

Fahmu al-Qurʾāni

Understanding the Qurʾān

الْحَارِثُ بْنُ أَسَدٍ الْمُحَاسِبِيُّ

Al-Ḥārithu bnu ʾAsadin al-Muḥāsibiyyu

Al-Ḥārith ibn Asad al-Muḥāsibī

Complete surviving published text; the original ending is defective

Source page 263

فَهْمُ الْقُرْآنِ

Fahmu al-Qurʾāni

Understanding the Qurʾān

لِأَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ الْحَارِثِ بْنِ أَسَدٍ الْمُحَاسِبِيِّ

Li-ʾabī ʿAbdi Allāhi al-Ḥārithi bni ʾAsadin al-Muḥāsibiyyi

By Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥārith ibn Asad al-Muḥāsibī

عَوْنَكَ اللَّهُمَّ!

ʿAwnaka Allāhumma!

Your help, O God!

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي مَا سَبَقَهُ شَيْءٌ فَيَكُونَ مُحْدَثًا مَخْلُوقًا، وَلَا بَقِيَ إِلَى أَجَلٍ فَيَكُونَ فَانِيًا مَوْرُوثًا.

Al-ḥamdu li-llāhi alladhī mā sabaqahu shayʾun fa-yakūna muḥdathan makhlūqan, wa-lā baqiya ʾilā ʾajalin fa-yakūna fāniyan mawrūthan.

Praise be to God. Nothing preceded Him, for then He would be something brought into being and created; His continuance has no fixed term, for then He would perish and be succeeded by others.

الْأَوَّلُ الْقَدِيمُ الدَّائِمُ الْكَرِيمُ، فَاتَ الْمِقْدَارَ وَعَلَا عَنْ تَوَهُّمِ الْأَذْهَانِ.

Al-ʾawwalu al-qadīmu al-dāʾimu al-karīmu, fāta al-miqdāra wa-ʿalā ʿan tawahhumi al-ʾadh-hāni.

The First, the Beginningless, the Everlasting, the Generous: He transcends all measure and rises above what minds can imagine.

تَاهَتِ الْأَلْبَابُ عَنْ تَكْيِيفِهِ، وَتَحَيَّرَتِ الْعُقُولُ عَنْ إِدْرَاكِهِ.

Tāhati al-ʾalbābu ʿan takyīfihi, wa-taḥayyarati al-ʿuqūlu ʿan ʾidrākihi.

Minds lose their way when they try to describe how He is; intellects are bewildered when they try to comprehend Him.

تَفَرَّدَ بِعِلْمِ الْغُيُوبِ، فَعَلِمَ مَا كَانَ وَمَا يَكُونُ وَمَا لَا يَكُونُ، لَوْ كَانَ كَيْفَ كَانَ يَكُونُ.

Tafarrada bi-ʿilmi al-ghuyūbi, fa-ʿalima mā kāna wa-mā yakūnu wa-mā lā yakūnu, law kāna kayfa kāna yakūnu.

He alone possesses knowledge of the unseen: He knows what has been, what will be, and how what will never be would be if it were to exist.

Source page 264

خَلَقَ (الْخَلْقَ) لِغَيْرِ وَحْشَةٍ فِي انْفِرَادِ أَزَلِيَّتِهِ، وَلَا اسْتِعَانَةٍ بِهِمْ عَلَى مَا يُرِيدُ مِنْ تَدْبِيرِهِ.

Khalaqa (al-khalqa) li-ghayri waḥshatin fī infirādi ʾazaliyyatihi, wa-lā istiʿānatin bihim ʿalā mā yurīdu min tadbīrihi.

He created (creation) neither from loneliness in the solitude of His beginningless existence nor to obtain its help in carrying out His purposes.

لَكِنْ أَرَادَ أَنْ يَنْشُرَ رَحْمَتَهُ وَيَمُنَّ بِفَضْلِهِ وَيَسْتَخْلِصَ مَنْ يَشَاءُ مِنْ بَرِيَّتِهِ.

Lākin ʾarāda ʾan yanshura raḥmatahu wa-yamunna bi-faḍlihi wa-yastakhliṣa man yashāʾu min bariyyatihi.

Rather, He wished to spread His mercy, bestow His bounty, and choose for Himself whomever He wished from His creatures.

فَابْتَدَأَ آثَارَ الْقُدْرَةِ، وَأَحْكَمَ الصُّنْعَ، وَأَتْقَنَ التَّدْبِيرَ، وَابْتَدَأَ بِالطَّوْلِ وَبَعُدَ بِالْمَنِّ، فَعَمَّ بِهِ عِبَادَهُ عَدْلًا وَأَوْسَعَهُمْ فَضْلًا، فَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ وَالثَّنَاءُ شُكْرًا.

Fa-ibtadaʾa ʾāthāra al-qudrati, wa-ʾaḥkama al-ṣunʿa, wa-ʾatqana al-tadbīra, wa-ibtadaʾa bi-al-ṭawli wa-baʿuda bi-al-manni, fa-ʿamma bihi ʿibādahu ʿadlan wa-ʾawsaʿahum faḍlan, fa-lahu al-ḥamdu wa-al-thanāʾu shukran.

He brought forth the manifestations of His power, made His handiwork sound, and ordered everything with precision. He initiated His generosity and carried His favor far [meaning uncertain], extending it to all His servants in justice and showering them with bounty. To Him belong praise and acclaim in thanksgiving.

لَمْ يَخْلُقْ خَلْقَهُ عَبَثًا وَلَا تَرَكَهُمْ سُدًى، وَلَكِنْ أَرَادَ أَنْ يَتَعَرَّفَ إِلَى عِبَادِهِ بِآيَاتِهِ الْبَيِّنَةِ وَدَلَائِلِهِ الْوَاضِحَةِ، لِيُؤَدُّوا وَاجِبَ حَقِّهِ وَيَجْتَنِبُوا مَسَاخِطَهُ، لِغَيْرِ حَاجَةٍ إِلَى طَاعَتِهِمْ.

Lam yakhluq khalqahu ʿabathan wa-lā tarakahum sudan, wa-lākin ʾarāda ʾan yataʿarrafa ʾilā ʿibādihi bi-ʾāyātihi al-bayyinati wa-dalāʾilihi al-wāḍiḥati, li-yuʾaddū wājiba ḥaqqihi wa-yajtanibū masākhiṭahu, li-ghayri ḥājatin ʾilā ṭāʿatihim.

He did not create His creatures without purpose or leave them to themselves. Rather, He wished to make Himself known to His servants through His evident signs and clear proofs, so that they would discharge what they owe Him and avoid what displeases Him, though He has no need of their obedience.

وَلَكِنْ لِيَسْتَحِقَّ الثَّوَابَ مَنْ أَنَابَ وَأَجَابَ، وَيَسْتَحِقَّ الْعِقَابَ مَنْ جَحَدَ وَارْتَابَ.

Wa-lākin li-yastaḥiqqa al-thawāba man ʾanāba wa-ʾajāba, wa-yastaḥiqqa al-ʿiqāba man jaḥada wa-irtāba.

It was so that whoever turned back to Him and answered His call would deserve reward, and whoever denied and doubted would deserve punishment.

فَاسْتَخَصَّ آدَمَ وَذُرِّيَّتَهُ، فَأَخَذَ مِنْهُمُ الْمِيثَاقَ بِمَا فَطَرَهُمْ عَلَيْهِ مِنَ الْعُقُولِ الرَّضِيَّةِ وَالْأَلْبَابِ وَالْفَهْمِ، لِيَدَّبَّرُوا بِهَا شَوَاهِدَ التَّدْبِيرِ وَأَحْكَامَ التَّقْدِيرِ.

Fa-istakhaṣṣa ʾĀdama wa-dhurriyyatahu, fa-ʾakhadha minhumu al-mīthāqa bi-mā faṭarahum ʿalayhi mina al-ʿuqūli al-raḍiyyati wa-al-ʾalbābi wa-al-fahmi, li-yaddabbarū bihā shawāhida al-tadbīri wa-ʾaḥkāma al-taqdīri.

He singled out Adam and his descendants, taking a covenant from them through the sound intellects, minds, and understanding with which He endowed their nature, so that they might reflect on the evidence of His governance and the ordinances of His determination.

فَأَلْزَمَهُمْ بِذَلِكَ حُجَّةً مِنْ عُقُولِهِمْ بِمَا شَاهَدُوا مِنْ إِنْشَائِهِ وَإِتْقَانِ صُنْعِهِ فِي أَنْفُسِهِمْ وَفِي جَمِيعِ خَلْقِهِ.

Fa-ʾalzamahum bi-dhālika ḥujjatan min ʿuqūlihim bi-mā shāhadū min ʾinshāʾihi wa-ʾitqāni ṣunʿihi fī ʾanfusihim wa-fī jamīʿi khalqihi.

In this way He made the testimony of their own intellects binding on them, through what they witnessed of His creating and the precision of His workmanship in themselves and throughout His creation.

Source pages 264–265

ثُمَّ أَكَّدَ الْحُجَّةَ عَلَيْهِمْ بِإِرْسَالِ الرُّسُلِ إِلَيْهِمْ، فَنَبَّهَهُمْ عَلَى النَّظَرِ بِمَا شَاهَدُوا مِنَ الْآيَاتِ الظَّاهِرَةِ وَالدَّلَائِلِ الْبَيِّنَةِ.

Thumma ʾakkada al-ḥujjata ʿalayhim bi-ʾirsāli al-rusuli ʾilayhim, fa-nabbahahum ʿalā al-naẓari bi-mā shāhadū mina al-ʾāyāti al-ẓāhirati wa-al-dalāʾili al-bayyinati.

Then He reinforced the proof against them by sending messengers to them, awakening them to reflection through the manifest signs and evident proofs they witnessed.

Source page 265

وَلَمْ يَظْهَرْ لَهُمْ سُبْحَانَهُ بِنَفْسِهِ فَيُبْدِيَ لَهُمْ عَظَمَتَهُ وَيُخَاطِبَهُمْ (دُونَ رُسُلِهِ؟).

Wa-lam yaẓhar lahum subḥānahu bi-nafsihi fa-yubdiya lahum ʿaẓamatahu wa-yukhāṭibahum (dūna rusulihi?).

He Himself, glory be to Him, did not appear to them, displaying His greatness and addressing them (without His messengers?).

وَلَمْ تَكُنِ الرُّسُلُ لِتَعْرِفَ صِفَاتَهُ وَلَا مَا يُحِبُّ وَيَكْرَهُ فَيَعْلَمُوا غَيْبَهُ كَمَا عَلِمَ غُيُوبَهُمْ، فَيَكُونُوا أَرْبَابًا مِثْلَهُ، جَلَّ وَعَلَا عَنْ ذَلِكَ وَتَعَالَى.

Wa-lam takuni al-rusulu li-taʿrifa ṣifātahu wa-lā mā yuḥibbu wa-yakrahu fa-yaʿlamū ghaybahu ka-mā ʿalima ghuyūbahum, fa-yakūnū ʾarbāban mithlahu, jalla wa-ʿalā ʿan dhālika wa-taʿālā.

The messengers could not [on their own] know His attributes or what He loves and hates, and thereby know His hidden reality as He knows their hidden realities. That would make them lords like Him. Majestic is He, exalted and far above that!

وَلَمْ يَكُونُوا لِيَعْرِفُوا صِفَاتَهُ وَلَا مَا فِي نَفْسِهِ، مَا يُحِبُّ وَيَكْرَهُ، وَمَا يُرِيدُ أَنْ يُكْرِمَ بِهِ مَنْ أَطَاعَهُ، وَلَا مَا يُهِينُ بِهِ مَنْ عَصَاهُ أَبَدًا.

Wa-lam yakūnū li-yaʿrifū ṣifātahu wa-lā mā fī nafsihi, mā yuḥibbu wa-yakrahu, wa-mā yurīdu ʾan yukrima bihi man ʾaṭāʿahu, wa-lā mā yuhīnu bihi man ʿaṣāhu ʾabadan.

They could never [on their own] know His attributes or what is within Himself: what He loves and hates, how He wishes to honor those who obey Him, or how He will disgrace those who disobey Him.

ثُمَّ تَكَلَّمَ بِذَلِكَ تَكْلِيمًا بِذَاتِهِ، فَأَكَّدَ عَلَيْهِمُ الْحُجَّةَ بِكَلَامِهِ، وَاخْتَارَ إِرْسَالَ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ فَأَرْسَلَهُمْ بِكَلَامِهِ.

Thumma takallama bi-dhālika taklīman bi-dhātihi, fa-ʾakkada ʿalayhimu al-ḥujjata bi-kalāmihi, wa-ikhtāra ʾirsāla al-ʾanbiyāʾi min ʿibādihi fa-ʾarsalahum bi-kalāmihi.

Then He spoke these things, speaking Himself, and reinforced the proof against them through His speech. He chose to send prophets from among His servants and sent them with His speech.

وَوَصَفَ لَهُمْ صِفَاتَهُ الْكَامِلَةَ وَأَسْمَاءَهُ الْحُسْنَى، وَمَا يَرْضَى بِهِ مِنَ الْمَقَالِ وَالْفَعَالِ، وَمَا يُسْخِطُهُ مِنَ الْأَعْمَالِ.

Wa-waṣafa lahum ṣifātahu al-kāmilata wa-ʾasmāʾahu al-ḥusnā, wa-mā yarḍā bihi mina al-maqāli wa-al-faʿāli, wa-mā yuskhiṭuhu mina al-ʾaʿmāli.

He described to them His perfect attributes and His most beautiful names, the words and deeds that please Him, and the actions that anger Him.

وَمَا أَعَدَّ لِمَنْ أَطَاعَهُ مِنَ الثَّوَابِ الْجَزِيلِ وَالْعَيْشِ السَّلِيمِ وَالنَّعِيمِ الْمُقِيمِ، وَمَا أَعَدَّ لِأَعْدَائِهِ مِنْ أَلِيمِ الْعَذَابِ وَشَدِيدِ الْعِقَابِ، فِي الْيَوْمِ الَّذِي يَعْرِضُ فِيهِ عِبَادَهُ وَيُحَاسِبُ خَلْقَهُ بِأَهْوَالِهِ وَزَلَازِلِهِ.

Wa-mā ʾaʿadda li-man ʾaṭāʿahu mina al-thawābi al-jazīli wa-al-ʿayshi al-salīmi wa-al-naʿīmi al-muqīmi, wa-mā ʾaʿadda li-ʾaʿdāʾihi min ʾalīmi al-ʿadhābi wa-shadīdi al-ʿiqābi, fī al-yawmi alladhī yaʿriḍu fīhi ʿibādahu wa-yuḥāsibu khalqahu bi-ʾahwālihi wa-zalāzilihi.

He described the abundant reward, untroubled life, and lasting bliss He has prepared for those who obey Him, and the painful torment and severe punishment He has prepared for His enemies on the day, with its terrors and convulsions, when He will bring His servants before Him and call His creatures to account.

فَأَرْسَلَ بِذَلِكَ الْأُمَنَاءَ مِنْ رُسُلِهِ، فَقَطَعَ بِهِمُ الْعُذْرَ وَأَزَاحَ بِهِمُ الْعِلَلَ، وَقَالَ جَلَّ مِنْ قَائِلٍ: {لِئَلَّا يَكُونَ لِلنَّاسِ عَلَى اللَّهِ حُجَّةٌ بَعْدَ الرُّسُلِ}.

Fa-ʾarsala bi-dhālika al-ʾumanāʾa min rusulihi, fa-qaṭaʿa bihimu al-ʿudhra wa-ʾazāḥa bihimu al-ʿilala, wa-qāla jalla min qāʾilin: {li-ʾallā yakūna li-al-nāsi ʿalā Allāhi ḥujjatun baʿda al-rusuli}.

He sent His trustworthy messengers with this, using them to cut off every excuse and remove every pretext. Majestic is the One who said: “So that people would have no argument against God after the messengers.”

Source pages 265–266

وَقَالَ: {أَنْ تَقُولُوا مَا جَاءَنَا مِنْ بَشِيرٍ وَلَا نَذِيرٍ فَقَدْ جَاءَكُمْ بَشِيرٌ وَنَذِيرٌ وَاللَّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ}.

Wa-qāla: {ʾan taqūlū mā jāʾanā min bashīrin wa-lā nadhīrin fa-qad jāʾakum bashīrun wa-nadhīrun wa-Allāhu ʿalā kulli shayʾin qadīrun}.

And He said: “Lest you say, ‘No bearer of good news or warner came to us.’ A bearer of good news and a warner has indeed come to you, and God has power over everything.”

Source page 266

ثُمَّ أَخْبَرَ عِبَادَهُ أَنَّهُ وَجَّهَ إِلَيْهِمُ النُّذُرَ بِكَلَامِهِ وَقَوْلِهِ، فَقَالَ: {وَمَنْ أَصْدَقُ مِنَ اللَّهِ قِيلًا}.

Thumma ʾakhbara ʿibādahu ʾannahu wajjaha ʾilayhimu al-nudhura bi-kalāmihi wa-qawlihi, fa-qāla: {wa-man ʾaṣdaqu mina Allāhi qīlan}.

Then He told His servants that He had directed warnings to them through His speech and His utterance, saying: “Who is more truthful in speech than God?”

وَقَالَ: {لَا مُبَدِّلَ لِكَلِمَاتِهِ}.

Wa-qāla: {lā mubaddila li-kalimātihi}.

And He said: “No one can change His words.”

وَأَنَّهُ خَاطَبَهُمْ بِهِ مِنْ قِبَلِ أَلْبَابِهِمْ، فَقَالَ: {إِنَّمَا يَتَذَكَّرُ أُولُو الْأَلْبَابِ}.

Wa-ʾannahu khāṭabahum bihi min qibali ʾalbābihim, fa-qāla: {ʾinnamā yatadhakkaru ʾulū al-ʾalbābi}.

He also told them that through it He addressed their understanding, saying: “Only those with understanding take heed.”

وَقَالَ: {لِقَوْمٍ يَعْقِلُونَ} وَ {لِقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ}، لِأَنَّهُ جَعَلَ الْعُقُولَ مَعَادِنَ الْحِكْمَةِ وَمُقْتَبَسَ الْآرَاءِ وَمُسْتَنْبَطَ الْفَهْمِ وَمَعْقِلَ الْعِلْمِ وَنُورَ الْأَبْصَارِ.

Wa-qāla: {li-qawmin yaʿqilūna} wa {li-qawmin yatafakkarūna}, li-ʾannahu jaʿala al-ʿuqūla maʿādina al-ḥikmati wa-muqtabasa al-ʾārāʾi wa-mustanbaṭa al-fahmi wa-maʿqila al-ʿilmi wa-nūra al-ʾabṣāri.

He also said, “For people who use reason,” and, “For people who reflect.” For He made intellects the mines of wisdom, the source from which judgments are drawn and understanding is extracted, the stronghold of knowledge, and the light of vision.

إِلَيْهَا يَأْوِي كُلُّ مَحْصُولٍ، وَبِهَا يُسْتَدَلُّ عَلَى مَا أَخْبَرَ بِهِ مِنْ عِلْمِ الْغُيُوبِ.

ʾIlayhā yaʾwī kullu maḥṣūlin, wa-bihā yustadallu ʿalā mā ʾakhbara bihi min ʿilmi al-ghuyūbi.

Every acquired insight finds its home in them, and through them one arrives at the knowledge of the unseen that He has revealed.

فَبِهَا يُقَدِّرُونَ الْأَعْمَالَ قَبْلَ كَوْنِهَا، وَيَعْرِفُونَ عَوَاقِبَهَا قَبْلَ وُجُودِهَا.

Fa-bihā yuqaddirūna al-ʾaʿmāla qabla kawnihā, wa-yaʿrifūna ʿawāqibahā qabla wujūdihā.

Through them people assess actions before performing them and recognize their consequences before they occur.

Source pages 266–267

وَعَنْهَا تَصْدُرُ الْجَوَارِحُ بِالْفَعَالِ بِأَمْرِهَا فَتُسَارِعُ إِلَى طَاعَتِهَا، أَوْ تَزْجُرُهَا فَتُمْسِكُ عَنْ مَكْرُوهِهَا.

Wa-ʿanhā taṣduru al-jawāriḥu bi-al-faʿāli bi-ʾamrihā fa-tusāriʿu ʾilā ṭāʿatihā, ʾaw tazjuruhā fa-tumsiku ʿan makrūhihā.

At their command the bodily faculties proceed to act, hastening to obey them; or the intellects restrain the faculties, and they refrain from what the intellects disapprove of.

Source page 267

فَاسْتَخْلَصَ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ خَالِصَةً مِنْ خَلْقِهِ، فَهِمَتْ عَنْهُ قَوْلَهُ بِعُقُولِهَا، فَاتَّسَعَ لَهَا مَا خَفِيَ عَنِ الْأَبْصَارِ.

Fa-istakhlaṣa min ʿibādihi khāliṣatan min khalqihi, fahimat ʿanhu qawlahu bi-ʿuqūlihā, fa-ittasaʿa lahā mā khafiya ʿani al-ʾabṣāri.

He chose from His servants an elect among His creatures. Through their intellects they understood His words, and what was hidden from sight opened out before them.

فَآمَنَتْ بِهِ وَبِمَا غَيَّبَتْهُ حُجُبُ غُيُوبِهِ مِنْ لَدُنْ عَرْشِهِ إِلَى مُنْتَهَى عِلْمِهِ.

Fa-ʾāmanat bihi wa-bi-mā ghayyabat-hu ḥujubu ghuyūbihi min ladun ʿarshihi ʾilā muntahā ʿilmihi.

They believed in Him and in all that the veils of His unseen realms concealed, from His Throne to the farthest reach of His knowledge.

ثُمَّ عَارَضَهَا هَاجِسُ الشَّكِّ فَأَبَتْهُ، وَذَلِكَ بِلُطْفِ الْبَصِيرِ وَمَا وَصَفَهُ لَهَا وَبِفَضْلِهِ عَلَيْهَا.

Thumma ʿāraḍahā hājisu al-shakki fa-ʾabat-hu, wa-dhālika bi-luṭfi al-baṣīri wa-mā waṣafahu lahā wa-bi-faḍlihi ʿalayhā.

When a whisper of doubt confronted them, they rejected it, through the kindness of the All-Seeing, through what He had described to them, and through His favor toward them.

فَكَانَ عِنْدَهَا مَا أَخْبَرَ بِهِ عَمَّا غَابَ، مَا كَانَ وَمِمَّا هُوَ كَائِنٌ، كَرَأْيِ الْعَيْنِ، فَكَانَتْ بِذَلِكَ مُصَدِّقَةً غَيْرَ مُكَذِّبَةٍ وَلَا مُرْتَابَةٍ.

Fa-kāna ʿindahā mā ʾakhbara bihi ʿammā ghāba, mā kāna wa-mimmā huwa kāʾinun, ka-raʾyi al-ʿayni, fa-kānat bi-dhālika muṣaddiqatan ghayra mukadhdhibatin wa-lā murtābatin.

What He told them of the unseen, of what had been and what was yet to be, was as clear to them as direct sight. They therefore believed, neither denying nor doubting.

ثُمَّ اسْتَخَصَّ مِنَ الْخَالِصَةِ الْأُولَى خَاصَّةً ثَانِيَةً مِنَ الْمُقِرِّينَ وَالْمُعْتَرِفِينَ لَهُ بِرُبُوبِيَّتِهِ الْمُصَدِّقِينَ بِقَوْلِهِ.

Thumma istakhaṣṣa mina al-khāliṣati al-ʾūlā khāṣṣatan thāniyatan mina al-muqirrīna wa-al-muʿtarifīna lahu bi-rubūbiyyatihi al-muṣaddiqīna bi-qawlihi.

Then, from this first elect, He singled out a second, special group among those who acknowledged and confessed His lordship and believed His words.

فَعَظَّمُوا قَدْرَهُ فَأَجَلُّوهُ وَهَابُوهُ وَاسْتَحْيَوْا مِنْهُ وَخَافُوهُ وَحَذِرُوا نِقْمَتَهُ وَبَأْسَهُ.

Fa-ʿaẓẓamū qadrahu fa-ʾajallūhu wa-hābūhu wa-istaḥyaw minhu wa-khāfūhu wa-ḥadhirū niqmatahu wa-baʾsahu.

They held His majesty in high regard, revering Him, standing in awe of Him, feeling shame before Him, fearing Him, and guarding against His vengeance and might.

فَتَطَهَّرُوا مِنْ كُلِّ دَنَسٍ، وَبَذَلُوا لَهُ الْمَجْهُودَ مِنْ قُلُوبِهِمْ وَأَبْدَانِهِمْ، وَوَصَفُوهُ بِصِفَاتِهِ الْكَامِلَةِ، وَنَزَّهُوهُ مِنْ كُلِّ مَا لَا يَلِيقُ، وَأَفْرَدُوهُ فِي كُلِّ مَعْنًى، لَمْ يُسَاوُوهُ بِشَيْءٍ مِنْ خَلْقِهِ.

Fa-taṭahharū min kulli danasin, wa-badhalū lahu al-majhūda min qulūbihim wa-ʾabdānihim, wa-waṣafūhu bi-ṣifātihi al-kāmilati, wa-nazzahūhu min kulli mā lā yalīqu, wa-ʾafradūhu fī kulli maʿnan, lam yusāwūhu bi-shayʾin min khalqihi.

They purified themselves of every stain and devoted the utmost effort of their hearts and bodies to Him. They described Him by His perfect attributes, declared Him free of everything unbefitting, and affirmed His uniqueness in every respect, equating Him with nothing He created.

فَأَفْرَدُوهُ بِالْمَخَافَةِ وَالرَّهْبَةِ وَالْآمَالِ وَالرَّغْبَةِ وَالثِّقَةِ بِهِ وَحُسْنِ التَّوَكُّلِ عَلَيْهِ، فَأَعْتَقُوا مِنْ خِدْمَةِ الدُّنْيَا أَبْدَانَهُمْ.

Fa-ʾafradūhu bi-al-makhāfati wa-al-rahbati wa-al-ʾāmāli wa-al-raghbati wa-al-thiqati bihi wa-ḥusni al-tawakkuli ʿalayhi, fa-ʾaʿtaqū min khidmati al-dunyā ʾabdānahum.

They reserved their fear, awe, hopes, longing, trust, and wholehearted reliance for Him alone, freeing their bodies from the service of worldly life.

Source page 268

وَأَفْرَدُوا مَوْلَاهُمْ بِالْمُعَامَلَةِ بِإِخْلَاصِ النِّيَّةِ لَهُ بِطَلَبِ مَرْضَاتِهِ وَاجْتِنَابِ مَسَاخِطِهِ.

Wa-ʾafradū mawlāhum bi-al-muʿāmalati bi-ʾikhlāṣi al-niyyati lahu bi-ṭalabi marḍātihi wa-ijtinābi masākhiṭihi.

They devoted their conduct to their Master alone, making their intention sincere for Him by seeking His pleasure and avoiding what displeases Him.

وَأَيْقَنُوا بِمَا وَعَدَ وَتَوَعَّدَ بِهِ، فَكَانَ عِنْدَهُمْ كَرَأْيِ الْعَيْنِ، فَخَشَعُوا لِذَلِكَ وَاسْتَكَانُوا، فَدَأَبُوا وَاجْتَهَدُوا.

Wa-ʾayqanū bi-mā waʿada wa-tawaʿʿada bihi, fa-kāna ʿindahum ka-raʾyi al-ʿayni, fa-khashaʿū li-dhālika wa-istakānū, fa-daʾabū wa-ijtahadū.

They became certain of His promises and threats, as though they saw them with their own eyes. This made them humble and submissive, persevering and striving.

فَاشْتَغَلُوا بِهِ وَانْقَطَعُوا عَنِ الْعِبَادِ إِلَيْهِ بِهُمُومِهِمْ، وَلَمْ يَكُنْ فِيهِمْ فَضْلٌ لِغَيْرِهِ وَلَا تَزَيُّنٌ لِسِوَاهُ.

Fa-ishtaghalū bihi wa-inqaṭaʿū ʿani al-ʿibādi ʾilayhi bi-humūmihim, wa-lam yakun fīhim faḍlun li-ghayrihi wa-lā tazayyunun li-siwāhu.

They occupied themselves with Him, turning their concerns away from other people and toward Him. They had nothing left to spare for anyone else and made no display for anyone but Him.

فَسَلَكُوا سَبِيلَ الرَّشَادِ بِالْبَصَائِرِ النَّافِذَةِ عَلَى مِنْهَاجِ الْكِتَابِ وَالسُّنَّةِ، وَعِلْمًا بِمَا أَمَرَ بِهِ وَنَهَى عَنْهُ وَنَدَبَ إِلَيْهِ وَحَضَّ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ مَكَارِمِ الْأَخْلَاقِ وَحُسْنِ الْآدَابِ.

Fa-salakū sabīla al-rashādi bi-al-baṣāʾiri al-nāfidhati ʿalā minhāji al-kitābi wa-al-sunnati, wa-ʿilman bi-mā ʾamara bihi wa-nahā ʿanhu wa-nadaba ʾilayhi wa-ḥaḍḍa ʿalayhi min makārimi al-ʾakhlāqi wa-ḥusni al-ʾādābi.

With penetrating insight they followed the way of right guidance according to the Book and the Sunna, knowing what He commanded, prohibited, recommended, and urged in noble character and good conduct.

فَبَانُوا مِنْ عَوَامِّ الْمُسْلِمِينَ بِالْفَضْلِ وَالطَّهَارَةِ، فَكَانُوا أَئِمَّةَ الْهُدَى وَأَعْلَامَ الْمُتَّقِينَ وَمَصَابِيحَ الْعِلْمِ وَمَفْزَعَ كُلِّ مَلْهُوفٍ فِي الدِّينِ وَطَالِبٍ لِسَبِيلِ النَّجَاةِ.

Fa-bānū min ʿawāmmi al-muslimīna bi-al-faḍli wa-al-ṭahārati, fa-kānū ʾaʾimmata al-hudā wa-ʾaʿlāma al-muttaqīna wa-maṣābīḥa al-ʿilmi wa-mafzaʿa kulli malhūfin fī al-dīni wa-ṭālibin li-sabīli al-najāti.

Their excellence and purity set them apart from ordinary Muslims. They became leaders in guidance, beacons for the God-conscious, lamps of knowledge, and a refuge for everyone troubled about religion or seeking the way of salvation.

فَأَحَلَّ عَلَيْهِمْ عَظِيمَ رِضْوَانِهِ، وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمْ جَزِيلَ ثَوَابِهِ وَأَجْرَ أَعْمَالِهِمْ وَأَعْمَالِ الْمُقْتَدِينَ بِهِمْ، وَكَانَ لَهُمْ كَأُجُورِ أَعْمَالِ الْمُتَّبِعِينَ لَهُمْ مَعَ أُجُورِ أَعْمَالِهِمْ.

Fa-ʾaḥalla ʿalayhim ʿaẓīma riḍwānihi, wa-ʾaʿadda lahum jazīla thawābihi wa-ʾajra ʾaʿmālihim wa-ʾaʿmāli al-muqtadīna bihim, wa-kāna lahum ka-ʾujūri ʾaʿmāli al-muttabiʿīna lahum maʿa ʾujūri ʾaʿmālihim.

He bestowed His great approval upon them and prepared His abundant reward for them: the reward of their own deeds and of the deeds of those who followed their example. Alongside the rewards of their own deeds, they received the equivalent of the rewards earned by those who followed them.

وَلَمْ يُعْطِهِمُ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ الْيَقِينَ بِهِ وَبِمَا قَالَ عَنْ رُؤْيَةٍ مِنْهُمْ لِرَبِّهِمْ وَلَا مُعَايَنَةٍ مِنْهُمْ لِمَا وَعَدَ وَتَوَعَّدَ.

Wa-lam yuʿṭihimu Allāhu ʿazza wa-jalla al-yaqīna bihi wa-bi-mā qāla ʿan ruʾyatin minhum li-rabbihim wa-lā muʿāyanatin minhum li-mā waʿada wa-tawaʿʿada.

God, mighty and majestic, did not grant them certainty about Him and what He said through their seeing their Lord or directly witnessing what He promised and threatened.

وَلَكِنْ عَنِ الْفَهْمِ بِمَا قَالَ جَلَّ وَعَزَّ فِي كِتَابِهِ بِالتَّذْكِيرِ وَالتَّفْكِيرِ وَالتَّثْبِيتِ وَالتَّدْبِيرِ.

Wa-lākin ʿani al-fahmi bi-mā qāla jalla wa-ʿazza fī kitābihi bi-al-tadhkīri wa-al-tafkīri wa-al-tathbīti wa-al-tadbīri.

Rather, it came through understanding what He, majestic and mighty, said in His Book, by recollection, reflection, confirmation, and deliberation.

Source pages 268–269

فَرَدَّدُوا النَّظَرَ وَأَجَالُوا الْفِكْرَ وَكَرَّرُوا الذِّكْرَ، وَتَدَبَّرُوا الْعَوَاقِبَ وَطَلَبُوا مَعَانِيَ الدَّلَائِلِ، فَطَالَعُوا الْغُيُوبَ وَشَاهَدُوا بِقُلُوبِهِمُ الْآخِرَةَ.

Fa-raddadū al-naẓara wa-ʾajālū al-fikra wa-karrarū al-dhikra, wa-tadabbarū al-ʿawāqiba wa-ṭalabū maʿāniya al-dalāʾili, fa-ṭālaʿū al-ghuyūba wa-shāhadū bi-qulūbihimu al-ʾākhirata.

They returned again and again to examining, turning things over in thought, and remembering. They pondered outcomes and sought the meanings of the proofs, until they looked upon the unseen and witnessed the hereafter with their hearts.

Source page 269

فَصَارُوا فِي الدُّنْيَا بِأَبْدَانِهِمْ وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ بِأَرْوَاحِهِمْ، وَأَجْسَامُهُمْ فِيهَا كَعُوَّادٍ وَعُقُولُهُمْ مُعَلَّقَةٌ بِالْمَلَكُوتِ.

Fa-ṣārū fī al-dunyā bi-ʾabdānihim wa-fī al-ʾākhirati bi-ʾarwāḥihim, wa-ʾajsāmuhum fīhā ka-ʿuwwādin wa-ʿuqūluhum muʿallaqatun bi-al-malakūti.

Their bodies were in this world and their spirits in the hereafter. Their bodies were here like visitors, while their intellects were attached to the divine dominion.

وَذَلِكَ بِغَيْرِ ابْتِدَاءٍ مِنْهُمُ اجْتَنَبُوهُ وَلَا نَالُوهُ، لَكِنْ بِتَفَضُّلِ اللَّهِ جَلَّ وَعَزَّ عَلَيْهِمْ وَتَعَبُّدِهِ إِيَّاهُمْ.

Wa-dhālika bi-ghayri ibtidāʾin minhumu ijtanabūhu wa-lā nālūhu, lākin bi-tafaḍḍuli Allāhi jalla wa-ʿazza ʿalayhim wa-taʿabbudihi ʾiyyāhum.

This was without an initiative of their own that they avoided or attained [meaning uncertain], but through the gracious favor of God, majestic and mighty, toward them and His calling them to His service.

فَأَقَامَنَا اللَّهُ وَإِيَّاكَ مَقَامَهُمْ، وَأَسْلَكَنَا وَإِيَّاكَ سَبِيلَهُمْ، حَتَّى يُلْحِقَنَا بِمَنَازِلِهِمْ وَيُرَافِقَ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَهُمْ فِي جِوَارِهِ.

Fa-ʾaqāmanā Allāhu wa-ʾiyyāka maqāmahum, wa-ʾaslakanā wa-ʾiyyāka sabīlahum, ḥattā yulḥiqanā bi-manāzilihim wa-yurāfiqa baynanā wa-baynahum fī jiwārihi.

May God establish us and you in their station and lead us and you along their way, until He brings us to their ranks and unites us with them in His presence.

فَإِنَّهُمْ أَعْقَلُ خَلْقِ اللَّهِ جَلَّ وَعَزَّ عَنْهُ لِمَا فَهِمُوا مِنْ كَلَامِهِ وَتَدَبَّرُوا مَعَانِيَ قَوْلِهِ.

Fa-ʾinnahum ʾaʿqalu khalqi Allāhi jalla wa-ʿazza ʿanhu li-mā fahimū min kalāmihi wa-tadabbarū maʿāniya qawlihi.

Of all God’s creatures, they understand Him best, majestic and mighty is He, because they have understood His speech and pondered the meanings of His words.

وَبِذَلِكَ (أَمَّنَهُمْ) وَرَضِيَ عَنْهُمْ وَأَثْنَى عَلَيْهِمْ وَرَفَعَ بِهِ قَدْرَهُمْ، لِأَنَّهُمْ فَهِمُوا مِنْهُ مَا أَخْبَرَهُمْ عَنْهُ بِكَلَامِهِ الَّذِي أَنْزَلَهُ فِي كِتَابِهِ.

Wa-bi-dhālika (ʾammanahum) wa-raḍiya ʿanhum wa-ʾathnā ʿalayhim wa-rafaʿa bihi qadrahum, li-ʾannahum fahimū minhu mā ʾakhbarahum ʿanhu bi-kalāmihi alladhī ʾanzalahu fī kitābihi.

For this He (gave them safety), was pleased with them, praised them, and raised their standing, because they understood from Him what He told them about Himself through the speech He sent down in His Book.

إِذْ يَقُولُ جَلَّ وَعَزَّ: {يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ قَدْ جَاءَتْكُمْ مَوْعِظَةٌ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ وَشِفَاءٌ لِمَا فِي الصُّدُورِ وَهُدًى وَرَحْمَةٌ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ}.

ʾIdh yaqūlu jalla wa-ʿazza: {yā ʾayyuhā al-nāsu qad jāʾatkum mawʿiẓatun min rabbikum wa-shifāʾun li-mā fī al-ṣudūri wa-hudan wa-raḥmatun li-al-muʾminīna}.

For He, majestic and mighty, says: “People, an admonition has come to you from your Lord, and a healing for what is in the hearts, and guidance and mercy for the believers.”

فَلَمَّا عَقَلُوا ذَلِكَ عَنْ رَبِّهِمُ ابْتَغَوْا مِنْهُ الشِّفَاءَ وَالْهُدَى وَالرَّحْمَةَ، فَدَاوَوْا بِهِ قَسَاوَةَ قُلُوبِهِمْ وَغَسَلُوا بِهِ دَرَنَ ذُنُوبِهِمْ وَوَضَعُوا دَوَاءَهُ عَلَى أَدْوَاءِ قُلُوبِهِمْ.

Fa-lammā ʿaqalū dhālika ʿan rabbihimu ibtaghaw minhu al-shifāʾa wa-al-hudā wa-al-raḥmata, fa-dāwaw bihi qasāwata qulūbihim wa-ghasalū bihi darana dhunūbihim wa-waḍaʿū dawāʾahu ʿalā ʾadwāʾi qulūbihim.

When they understood this from their Lord, they sought healing, guidance, and mercy in it. They treated the hardness of their hearts with it, washed away the grime of their sins with it, and applied its medicine to the diseases of their hearts.

وَنَفَوْا بِهِ سُوءَ النِّيَّاتِ مِنْ ضَمَائِرِهِمْ، وَأَزَالُوا بِهِ وَحَرَ صُدُورِهِمْ.

Wa-nafaw bihi sūʾa al-niyyāti min ḍamāʾirihim, wa-ʾazālū bihi waḥara ṣudūrihim.

Through it they drove corrupt intentions from their inner selves and removed the rancor in their breasts.

Source pages 269–270

وَنَظَرُوا بِبَصَائِرِهِمْ إِلَى مَا يُشْبِهُ الشُّبُهَاتِ مِنْ سُوءِ الدَّلَائِلِ وَمَكَائِدِ الشَّيْطَانِ وَزُخْرُفِ الْمُبْطِلِينَ.

Wa-naẓarū bi-baṣāʾirihim ʾilā mā yushbihu al-shubuhāti min sūʾi al-dalāʾili wa-makāʾidi al-shayṭāni wa-zukhrufi al-mubṭilīna.

With their inner sight they examined what resembled doubtful arguments: faulty proofs, Satan’s schemes, and the embellishments of those who champion falsehood.

Source page 270

وَكَشَفُوا بِمَنَارِ دَلَائِلِهِ مَا وَارَتْهُ الظُّلُمَاتُ وَغَطَّتْهُ الشَّهَوَاتُ مِنْ خَفِيَّاتِ الْغُيُوبِ وَمَعَالِمِ الطَّرِيقِ الْمَضْرُوبِ عَلَى الْمَحَاجِّ الْوَاضِحَاتِ وَالْبُرْهَانِ النَّيِّرِ.

Wa-kashafū bi-manāri dalāʾilihi mā wārat-hu al-ẓulumātu wa-ghaṭṭat-hu al-shahawātu min khafiyyāti al-ghuyūbi wa-maʿālimi al-ṭarīqi al-maḍrūbi ʿalā al-maḥājji al-wāḍiḥāti wa-al-burhāni al-nayyiri.

By the beacon of its proofs, they uncovered what darkness had concealed and desires had covered: the hidden things of the unseen and the landmarks of the path laid out along clear ways and luminous evidence.

فَنَظَرُوا بِنُورِ هِدَايَةِ كَلَامِ الرَّبِّ جَلَّ ذِكْرُهُ وَوَاضِحِ دَلَائِلِهِ إِلَى مَا خَفِيَ عَنِ الْغَافِلِينَ الْمُؤْثِرِينَ لِأَهْوَائِهِمْ عَلَى اسْتِيضَاحِ كِتَابِ رَبِّهِمْ، جَلَّ مَوْلَانَا وَتَعَالَى.

Fa-naẓarū bi-nūri hidāyati kalāmi al-rabbi jalla dhikruhu wa-wāḍiḥi dalāʾilihi ʾilā mā khafiya ʿani al-ghāfilīna al-muʾthirīna li-ʾahwāʾihim ʿalā istīḍāḥi kitābi rabbihim, jalla mawlānā wa-taʿālā.

By the guiding light of the speech of the Lord, exalted be His remembrance, and His clear proofs, they saw what remained hidden from the heedless, who prefer their own desires to seeking clarity in their Lord’s Book. Majestic and exalted is our Master!

فَهَتَكُوا بِنُورِهِ حِجَابَ كُلِّ ظُلْمَةٍ، وَكَشَفُوا بِتِبْيَانِهِ غِطَاءَ كُلِّ ضَلَالَةٍ وَبِدْعَةٍ، لِأَنَّهُ الدَّلِيلُ الْوَاضِحُ وَالصِّرَاطُ الْمُسْتَقِيمُ الَّذِي جَعَلَهُ اللَّهُ لِلنَّاسِ إِمَامًا وَرَضِيَ بِهِ بَيْنَهُمْ حَاكِمًا.

Fa-hatakū bi-nūrihi ḥijāba kulli ẓulmatin, wa-kashafū bi-tibyānihi ghiṭāʾa kulli ḍalālatin wa-bidʿatin, li-ʾannahu al-dalīlu al-wāḍiḥu wa-al-ṣirāṭu al-mustaqīmu alladhī jaʿalahu Allāhu li-al-nāsi ʾimāman wa-raḍiya bihi baynahum ḥākiman.

With its light they tore through every veil of darkness, and with its clarification they stripped the covering from every error and religious innovation. For it is the clear guide and the straight path that God made a leader for people and approved as a judge between them.

فَأَمَاتُوا عِنْدَهُ كُلَّ شَهْوَةٍ، وَانْبَعَثُوا بِتَأَمُّلِهِ إِلَى كُلِّ رَغْبَةٍ، وَحَنُّوا بِتَشْوِيقِهِ إِلَى جِوَارِ الْمَوْلَى الْكَرِيمِ.

Fa-ʾamātū ʿindahu kulla shahwatin, wa-inbaʿathū bi-taʾammulihi ʾilā kulli raghbatin, wa-ḥannū bi-tashwīqihi ʾilā jiwāri al-mawlā al-karīmi.

Before it they put every appetite to death. Contemplating it stirred them toward every worthy aspiration, and the longing it awakened made them yearn to be near the generous Master.

وَصَبَرُوا لِأَحْكَامِهِ فِي كُلِّ عُسْرٍ وَيُسْرٍ، وَتَأَدَّبُوا بِأَدَبِهِ فِي كُلِّ أَقْوَالِهِمْ، وَتَزَيَّنُوا بِأَخْلَاقِهِ فِي كُلِّ أُمُورِهِمْ.

Wa-ṣabarū li-ʾaḥkāmihi fī kulli ʿusrin wa-yusrin, wa-taʾaddabū bi-ʾadabihi fī kulli ʾaqwālihim, wa-tazayyanū bi-ʾakhlāqihi fī kulli ʾumūrihim.

They patiently observed its rulings in every hardship and ease, let its discipline shape everything they said, and adorned all their affairs with its virtues.

فَصَارُوا لِلْقِيَامِ بِهِ (وَ) لِلْمُتَعَبِّدِينَ أَعْلَامًا، يَرْجِعُ الْحَائِرُونَ عَنِ الْحَقِّ إِلَى سَبِيلِهِمْ، وَيَتَأَدَّبُونَ بِمَكَارِمِ أَخْلَاقِهِمْ، وَيَتَزَيَّنُونَ بِزِينَةِ هَدْيِهِمْ، وَيَسْتَضِيئُونَ بِنُورِ هِدَايَتِهِمْ، وَيَدِينُونَ بِمَا أُلْزِمُوا مِنْ بُرْهَانِ حُجَّتِهِ.

Fa-ṣārū li-al-qiyāmi bihi (wa) li-al-mutaʿabbidīna ʾaʿlāman, yarjiʿu al-ḥāʾirūna ʿani al-ḥaqqi ʾilā sabīlihim, wa-yataʾaddabūna bi-makārimi ʾakhlāqihim, wa-yatazayyanūna bi-zīnati hadyihim, wa-yastaḍīʾūna bi-nūri hidāyatihim, wa-yadīnūna bi-mā ʾulzimū min burhāni ḥujjatihi.

They became beacons for upholding it (and) for those devoted to worship. Those who have lost their way from the truth return to their path, learn the discipline of their noble character, adorn themselves with the beauty of their example, draw light from their guidance, and submit to the compelling proof of its argument.

فَارْغَبْ إِلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فِي طَلَبِ آثَارِهِمْ وَسُلُوكِ طَرِيقِهِمْ.

Fa-irghab ʾilā Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla fī ṭalabi ʾāthārihim wa-sulūki ṭarīqihim.

So turn earnestly to God, mighty and majestic, asking to follow their footsteps and travel their path.

Source page 271

فَإِنَّ الْعَاقِلَ عَنِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ بِدَلَائِلِ الْكِتَابِ مُسْتَبْصِرٌ، وَبِحَبْلِهِ مِنْ كُلِّ هَلَكَةٍ مُعْتَصِمٌ، وَلِرَبِّهِ بِتِلَاوَتِهِ فِي الْخَلَوَاتِ مُنَاجٍ، لِأَنَّهُ بِنَجَاةِ نَفْسِهِ مُهْتَمٌّ.

Fa-ʾinna al-ʿāqila ʿani Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla bi-dalāʾili al-kitābi mustabṣirun, wa-bi-ḥablihi min kulli halakatin muʿtaṣimun, wa-li-rabbihi bi-tilāwatihi fī al-khalawāti munājin, li-ʾannahu bi-najāti nafsihi muhtammun.

The person who understands from God, mighty and majestic, gains insight through the Book’s proofs, holds fast to its cord against every ruin, and communes with his Lord by reciting it in solitude, because he is concerned for his own salvation.

فَفَزِعَ إِلَى فَهْمِ كَلَامِ الرَّبِّ جَلَّ وَعَزَّ لِيُحْيِيَ بِهِ قَلْبَهُ وَيَنْجُوَ بِهِ مِنْ عِقَابِهِ، فِي يَوْمٍ يَنْدَمُ فِيهِ الْغَافِلُونَ وَيَنْحَسِرُ فِيهِ الْمُبْطِلُونَ.

Fa-faziʿa ʾilā fahmi kalāmi al-rabbi jalla wa-ʿazza li-yuḥyiya bihi qalbahu wa-yanjuwa bihi min ʿiqābihi, fī yawmin yandamu fīhi al-ghāfilūna wa-yanḥasiru fīhi al-mubṭilūna.

He therefore turns urgently to understanding the speech of the Lord, majestic and mighty, to bring his heart to life through it and escape His punishment on a day when the heedless will regret their neglect and the followers of falsehood will be left defeated.

فَكَفَى بِكِتَابِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ عَنْ غَيْبِ الْآخِرَةِ مُخْبِرًا وَبِبَصَائِرِهِ لِلْعَوَامِّ مُوَضِّحًا.

Fa-kafā bi-kitābi Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla ʿan ghaybi al-ʾākhirati mukhbiran wa-bi-baṣāʾirihi li-al-ʿawāmmi muwaḍḍiḥan.

The Book of God, mighty and majestic, is sufficient to tell of the unseen hereafter and, through its illuminating insights, to make matters clear to ordinary people.

لِأَنَّ مَنْ فَهِمَ عَنِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ ذَاقَ طَعْمَ حَلَاوَتِهِ، وَخَالَطَ فَهْمَهُ لَذَّةُ مُنَاجَاتِهِ إِذْ عَرَفَ مَنْ تُحَاوِرُهُ، فَعَقَلَ عَنِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ مَا بِهِ خَاطَبَهُ.

Li-ʾanna man fahima ʿani Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla dhāqa ṭaʿma ḥalāwatihi, wa-khālaṭa fahmahu ladhdhatu munājātihi ʾidh ʿarafa man tuḥāwiruhu, fa-ʿaqala ʿani Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla mā bihi khāṭabahu.

For whoever understands from God, mighty and majestic, tastes its sweetness. The delight of intimate communion with Him mingles with his understanding when he recognizes the One you are conversing with, and he understands from God, mighty and majestic, what He has addressed to him.

فَاتَّخَذَهُ مَعَاذًا، فَسَكَنَ إِلَى اللَّهِ جَلَّ وَعَزَّ وَأَنِسَ بِهِ مِنْ كُلِّ وَحْشَةٍ، فَلَمْ يُؤْثِرْ شَيْئًا عَلَيْهِ.

Fa-ittakhadhahu maʿādhan, fa-sakana ʾilā Allāhi jalla wa-ʿazza wa-ʾanisa bihi min kulli waḥshatin, fa-lam yuʾthir shayʾan ʿalayhi.

He takes it as a refuge, finds repose in God, majestic and mighty, and finds in Him companionship against every loneliness, preferring nothing to Him.

فَكَانَ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ الْمَاضِينَ قَبْلَهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا خَلَفًا، وَلِلْآخَرِينَ الْمُرِيدِينَ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ سَلَفًا، فَتَدَبَّرَ الْقُرْآنَ أَيَّامَ حَيَاتِهِ.

Fa-kāna li-al-muttaqīna al-māḍīna qablahu fī al-dunyā khalafan, wa-li-al-ʾākharīna al-murīdīna min baʿdihi salafan, fa-tadabbara al-Qurʾāna ʾayyāma ḥayātihi.

He becomes a successor in this world to the God-conscious who went before him and a predecessor for the seekers who come after him, pondering the Qurʾān throughout his life.

فَصَارَ اللَّهُ جَلَّ وَعَزَّ بِهِ مُسْتَفِيدًا، لِأَنَّهُ الدَّلِيلُ الْهَادِي لِلْعِبَادِ قَبْلَ نُزُولِ الْمَحَلِّ وَحَادِي الْمُشْتَاقِينَ إِلَى جِوَارِ الْكَرِيمِ.

Fa-ṣāra Allāhu jalla wa-ʿazza bihi mustafīdan, li-ʾannahu al-dalīlu al-hādī li-al-ʿibādi qabla nuzūli al-maḥalli wa-ḥādī al-mushtāqīna ʾilā jiwāri al-karīmi.

[He thus gained understanding from] God, majestic and mighty, through it [the printed clause is corrupt; the opening is conjectural], for it is the guide that leads servants before they reach their destination, and the one whose song urges those who yearn onward to the presence of the Generous.

Source page 272

فَبِهِ نَطَقَ الْحُكَمَاءُ، وَبِهِ أَنِسَ الْمُنْفَرِدُونَ إِلَى إِدْمَانِ الْفِكْرِ فِي مَعَانِيهِ.

Fa-bihi naṭaqa al-ḥukamāʾu, wa-bihi ʾanisa al-munfaridūna ʾilā ʾidmāni al-fikri fī maʿānīhi.

Through it the wise have spoken, and in it those who withdraw into solitude have found companionship as they persist in reflecting on its meanings.

لَا يَضِلُّ السَّالِكُ بِاتِّبَاعِ دَلَائِلِهِ، لِأَنَّهُ النُّورُ الَّذِي اسْتَضَاءَ بِهِ الْمُوقِنُونَ وَالْغَايَةُ الَّتِي يَتَسَابَقُ إِلَيْهَا الْمُتَسَابِقُونَ.

Lā yaḍillu al-sāliku bi-ittibāʿi dalāʾilihi, li-ʾannahu al-nūru alladhī istaḍāʾa bihi al-mūqinūna wa-al-ghāyatu allatī yatasābaqu ʾilayhā al-mutasābiqūna.

The traveler does not go astray by following its proofs, for it is the light that has illuminated those possessed of certainty and the goal toward which those who compete race.

وَالْمَنْهَجُ الَّذِي لَا يَصِلُ السَّالِكُ إِلَّا بِاتِّبَاعِ دَلَائِلِهِ، وَلَا يُعْلَمُ لَهُ طَرِيقُ النَّجَاةِ إِلَّا مَعَ الِاسْتِضَاءَةِ بِنُورِهِ، وَلَا يُصَابُ الْحَقُّ إِلَّا فِي مُحْكَمِ آيَاتِهِ.

Wa-al-manhaju alladhī lā yaṣilu al-sāliku ʾillā bi-ittibāʿi dalāʾilihi, wa-lā yuʿlamu lahu ṭarīqu al-najāti ʾillā maʿa al-istiḍāʾati bi-nūrihi, wa-lā yuṣābu al-ḥaqqu ʾillā fī muḥkami ʾāyātihi.

It is the course on which the traveler can arrive only by following its proofs. The way of salvation can be known to him only through illumination by its light, and the truth can be reached only in its firmly established verses.

شَفِيعٌ فِي الْقِيَامَةِ لِمَنْ تَقَرَّبَ إِلَى اللَّهِ جَلَّ وَعَزَّ بِرِعَايَتِهِ وَحَفِظَ حُدُودَهُ وَصَبَرَ لِلَّهِ جَلَّ وَعَزَّ عَلَى أَحْكَامِهِ.

Shafīʿun fī al-qiyāmati li-man taqarraba ʾilā Allāhi jalla wa-ʿazza bi-riʿāyatihi wa-ḥafiẓa ḥudūdahu wa-ṣabara li-llāhi jalla wa-ʿazza ʿalā ʾaḥkāmihi.

At the resurrection it will intercede for anyone who drew near to God, majestic and mighty, by observing it, kept its limits, and patiently followed its rulings for God, majestic and mighty.

وَهُوَ الْمَاحِلُ لِمَنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ فِي قَلْبِهِ مِنْهُ إِلَّا حِفْظُ حُرُوفِهِ وَفِي جَوَارِحِهِ مِنْهُ إِلَّا تِلَاوَتُهُ.

Wa-huwa al-māḥilu li-man lam yakun fī qalbihi minhu ʾillā ḥifẓu ḥurūfihi wa-fī jawāriḥihi minhu ʾillā tilāwatuhu.

But it will accuse anyone whose heart holds nothing of it except the memorization of its letters, and whose bodily faculties do nothing with it except recite it.

هُوَ الْقَوْلُ الَّذِي فُصِّلَتْ آيَاتُهُ، وَالْفُرْقَانُ الَّذِي يُمَيِّزُ بَيْنَ الْحَقِّ وَالْأَبَاطِيلِ بِشَوَاهِدِ بَيِّنَاتِهِ.

Huwa al-qawlu alladhī fuṣṣilat ʾāyātuhu, wa-al-furqānu alladhī yumayyizu bayna al-ḥaqqi wa-al-ʾabāṭīli bi-shawāhidi bayyinātihi.

It is the speech whose verses have been set out distinctly, and the criterion that distinguishes truth from falsehoods through the testimony of its clear proofs.

حِكْمَةٌ بَالِغَةٌ مُنَزَّلَةٌ مِنْ حَكِيمِ الْحُكَمَاءِ وَعَلِيمِ الْعُلَمَاءِ، أَنْزَلَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى دَوَاءً لِلْقُلُوبِ شَافِيًا.

Ḥikmatun bālighatun munazzalatun min ḥakīmi al-ḥukamāʾi wa-ʿalīmi al-ʿulamāʾi, ʾanzalahu Allāhu taʿālā dawāʾan li-al-qulūbi shāfiyan.

It is consummate wisdom sent down from the Wisest of the wise and the most Knowing of those who know. God Most High sent it down as a healing medicine for hearts.

وَلِمَنْ حَرَّمَ حَرَامَهُ وَأَحَلَّ حَلَالَهُ عَنِ النَّارِ عَادِلًا، وَلِمَنْ حَذِرَ مَخَاوِفَهُ فِي مَقِيلِ الْجِنَانِ نَازِلًا.

Wa-li-man ḥarrama ḥarāmahu wa-ʾaḥalla ḥalālahu ʿani al-nāri ʿādilan, wa-li-man ḥadhira makhāwifahu fī maqīli al-jināni nāzilan.

For anyone who treats what it forbids as forbidden and what it permits as permitted, it turns him away from the Fire; for anyone who heeds what it teaches him to fear, it comes to rest in the resting place of the gardens [meaning uncertain].

Source pages 272–273

فَأَهْلُ الْعِلْمِ بِكَلَامِ رَبِّهِمْ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ هُمْ أَهْلُ الصَّفَاءِ مِنَ الْأَدْنَاسِ وَأَهْلُ الْخَاصَّةِ مِنَ اللَّهِ جَلَّ وَعَزَّ، الَّذِينَ أَشْعَرُوا فَهْمَهُ قُلُوبَهُمْ وَتَدَبَّرُوا آيَاتِهِ عِنْدَ تِلَاوَتِهِ بِأَلْبَابِهِمْ.

Fa-ʾahlu al-ʿilmi bi-kalāmi rabbihim ʿazza wa-jalla hum ʾahlu al-ṣafāʾi mina al-ʾadnāsi wa-ʾahlu al-khāṣṣati mina Allāhi jalla wa-ʿazza, alladhīna ʾashʿarū fahmahu qulūbahum wa-tadabbarū ʾāyātihi ʿinda tilāwatihi bi-ʾalbābihim.

Those who know the speech of their Lord, mighty and majestic, are people pure of stain and specially favored by God, majestic and mighty. They have made understanding it an intimate covering for their hearts, and when reciting it they ponder its verses with their minds.

Source page 273

فَتَزَوَّدُوا لِبُعْدِ سَفَرِهِمْ إِلَى مَعَادِهِمْ، وَفَهِمُوا مِنْهُ شِدَّةَ إِجْهَادِهِمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ فَفَزِعُوا، وَذَكَرُوا بِهِ السُّؤَالَ مِنَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فَاسْتَعَدُّوا لِلْجَوَابِ عَمَّا عَمِلُوا.

Fa-tazawwadū li-buʿdi safarihim ʾilā maʿādihim, wa-fahimū minhu shiddata ʾijhādihim yawma al-qiyāmati fa-faziʿū, wa-dhakarū bihi al-suʾāla mina Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla fa-istaʿaddū li-al-jawābi ʿammā ʿamilū.

They took provisions for the long journey to their place of return. They understood from it how severely they would be tried on the day of resurrection and became alarmed. Through it they remembered the questioning of God, mighty and majestic, and prepared to answer for what they had done.

فَتَابُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ جَلَّ وَعَزَّ عَنْ كُلِّ ذَنْبٍ وَتَطَهَّرُوا لَهُ مِنْ كُلِّ دَنَسٍ وَأَخْلَصُوا لَهُ النِّيَّاتِ فِي أَعْمَالِهِمْ، لِيُجِيبُوهُ عَمَّا سَلَفَ مِنْ ذُنُوبِهِمْ بِالتَّوْبَةِ وَعَنْ إِرَادَتِهِمْ فِي طَاعَتِهِ بِصِدْقِ النِّيَّةِ.

Fa-tābū ʾilā Allāhi jalla wa-ʿazza ʿan kulli dhanbin wa-taṭahharū lahu min kulli danasin wa-ʾakhlaṣū lahu al-niyyāti fī ʾaʿmālihim, li-yujībūhu ʿammā salafa min dhunūbihim bi-al-tawbati wa-ʿan ʾirādatihim fī ṭāʿatihi bi-ṣidqi al-niyyati.

They repented to God, majestic and mighty, of every sin, purified themselves for Him from every stain, and made their intentions in their deeds sincere for Him, so that they could answer Him about their past sins with repentance and about their purpose in obeying Him with true intention.

فَاسْتَعَدُّوا بِالْقُرْآنِ لِلْعَرْضِ وَالسُّؤَالِ، (مُنْقَادِينَ) لَهُ بِذِلَّتِهِمْ (وَخَاشِعِينَ) لَهُ بِاسْتِكَانَتِهِمْ، لِأَنَّهُمْ وَقَّرُوهُ لِإِجْلَالِ الْمُتَكَلِّمِ بِهِ.

Fa-istaʿaddū bi-al-Qurʾāni li-al-ʿarḍi wa-al-suʾāli, (munqādīna) lahu bi-dhillatihim (wa-khāshiʿīna) lahu bi-istikānatihim, li-ʾannahum waqqarūhu li-ʾijlāli al-mutakallimi bihi.

Through the Qurʾān they prepared for being brought before God and questioned, (submitting) to Him in their lowliness (and humbling themselves) before Him in their surrender. They honored it out of reverence for the One who spoke it.

غَيْرَ مُغَيَّبِينَ عَنْ تِلَاوَتِهِ لِطَلَبِ حَقَائِقِ مَعَانِيهِ وَلَا مُسْتَهِينِينَ بِحُرُمَاتِهِ، فَانْتَعَشُوا بِهِ مِنْ كُلِّ صَرْعَةٍ، وَجَبَرَ اللَّهُ لَهُمْ بِهِ مِنْ كُلِّ مُصِيبَةٍ.

Ghayra mughayyabīna ʿan tilāwatihi li-ṭalabi ḥaqāʾiqi maʿānīhi wa-lā mustahīnīna bi-ḥurumātihi, fa-intaʿashū bihi min kulli ṣarʿatin, wa-jabara Allāhu lahum bihi min kulli muṣībatin.

Their search for the realities of its meanings did not draw them away from reciting it, nor did they treat its sanctities lightly. Through it they recovered from every fall, and through it God restored them after every calamity.

فَمَا زَالَ ذَلِكَ دَأْبَ الْعَاقِلِينَ عَنْ رَبِّهِمْ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، لِأَنَّهُ رَبِيعُ قُلُوبِ الْمُوقِنِينَ وَرَاحَةُ الرَّاجِينَ وَمُسْتَرَاحُ الْمَحْزُونِينَ.

Fa-mā zāla dhālika daʾba al-ʿāqilīna ʿan rabbihim ʿazza wa-jalla, li-ʾannahu rabīʿu qulūbi al-mūqinīna wa-rāḥatu al-rājīna wa-mustarāḥu al-maḥzūnīna.

This has always been the practice of those who understand from their Lord, mighty and majestic. For it is the springtime of the hearts of those with certainty, the comfort of those who hope, and the resting place of those who grieve.

لَا يَنْقُصُ نُورُهُ لِدَوَامِ تِلَاوَتِهِ، وَلَا يُدْرَكُ غَوْرُ فَهْمِهِ، وَلَا يَبْلُغُ لَهُ غَايَةَ نِهَايَةٍ تَالِيهِ أَبَدًا.

Lā yanquṣu nūruhu li-dawāmi tilāwatihi, wa-lā yudraku ghawru fahmihi, wa-lā yablughu lahu ghāyata nihāyatin tālīhi ʾabadan.

Constant recitation does not diminish its light; the depth of its understanding cannot be reached; and its reader can never attain its final limit.

Source pages 273–274

لِأَنَّهُ كَلَامُ اللَّهِ جَلَّ ثَنَاؤُهُ الَّذِي تَعَلَّقَ الْمُتَّقُونَ بِعُرْوَتِهِ، وَالْمَلْجَأُ الَّذِي أَوَى الرَّاهِبُونَ إِلَى كَنَفِ رَحْمَتِهِ.

Li-ʾannahu kalāmu Allāhi jalla thanāʾuhu alladhī taʿallaqa al-muttaqūna bi-ʿurwatihi, wa-al-maljaʾu alladhī ʾawā al-rāhibūna ʾilā kanafi raḥmatihi.

For it is the speech of God, exalted be His praise, whose firm handhold the God-conscious have grasped, and the refuge in whose merciful shelter the fearful have sought safety.

Source page 274

قُلْتُ: كَيْفَ لِي بِفَهْمِ مَا قَالَ اللَّهُ جَلَّ وَعَزَّ فِي كِتَابِهِ، لَعَلِّي أُدْرِكُ مَنَازِلَهُمْ أَوْ أُقَارِبُ مَقَامَهُمْ؟

Qultu: kayfa lī bi-fahmi mā qāla Allāhu jalla wa-ʿazza fī kitābihi, laʿallī ʾudriku manāzilahum ʾaw ʾuqāribu maqāmahum?

I said: “How can I understand what God, majestic and mighty, has said in His Book, so that I might reach their ranks or come close to their station?”

قَالَ: بِأَنْ يَعْظُمَ عِنْدَكَ قَدْرُ مَا تَنَالُ بِفَهْمِهِ مِنَ النَّجَاةِ وَمَا فِي (الْإِعْرَاضِ) عَنْ فَهْمِهِ مِنَ الْهَلَكَةِ.

Qāla: bi-ʾan yaʿẓuma ʿindaka qadru mā tanālu bi-fahmihi mina al-najāti wa-mā fī (al-ʾiʿrāḍi) ʿan fahmihi mina al-halakati.

He said: “By coming to appreciate the magnitude of the salvation you gain through understanding it and the ruin that lies in (turning away) from understanding it.”

لِأَنَّ اللَّهَ جَلَّ وَعَزَّ أَنْزَلَ فِي كِتَابِهِ كَلَامَهُ مَعَ الرُّوحِ الْأَمِينِ إِلَى مُحَمَّدٍ الْمُصْطَفَى بِرِسَالَتِهِ وَالْمُنْتَخَبِ لِإِنْذَارِ عِبَادِهِ، صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ.

Li-ʾanna Allāha jalla wa-ʿazza ʾanzala fī kitābihi kalāmahu maʿa al-rūḥi al-ʾamīni ʾilā Muḥammadin al-muṣṭafā bi-risālatihi wa-al-muntakhabi li-ʾindhāri ʿibādihi, ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama.

For God, majestic and mighty, sent down His speech in His Book with the Trustworthy Spirit to Muḥammad, chosen for His message and selected to warn His servants. May God bless him and grant him peace.

فَوَصَفَ تَعَالَى نَفْسَهُ بِأَحْسَنِ الصِّفَاتِ، وَدَلَّ خَلْقَهُ وَنَبَّهَهُمْ فِيهِ لِمَعْرِفَتِهِ بِمَا وَضَعَ فِي سَمَاوَاتِهِ وَأَرْضِهِ مِنْ آثَارِ صَنْعَتِهِ وَنَفَاذِ قُدْرَتِهِ.

Fa-waṣafa taʿālā nafsahu bi-ʾaḥsani al-ṣifāti, wa-dalla khalqahu wa-nabbahahum fīhi li-maʿrifatihi bi-mā waḍaʿa fī samāwātihi wa-ʾarḍihi min ʾāthāri ṣanʿatihi wa-nafādhi qudratihi.

In it He Most High described Himself with the finest attributes and guided His creatures, awakening them to knowledge of Him through the traces of His handiwork and the operation of His power that He placed in His heavens and His earth.

وَذَكَّرَهُمْ فِيهِ أَيَادِيَهُ عِنْدَهُمْ وَكَثْرَةَ نِعَمِهِ وَتَعَهُّدَهُ إِيَّاهُمْ مِنِ ابْتِدَاءِ خَلْقِهِمْ وَحُسْنَ تَقْدِيرِهِمْ وَإِجْرَاءَ أَرْزَاقِهِمْ وَدِفَاعَ الْبَلَايَا عَنْهُمْ وَالْآفَاتِ الْمُهْلِكَةِ لَهُمْ.

Wa-dhakkarahum fīhi ʾayādiyahu ʿindahum wa-kathrata niʿamihi wa-taʿahhudahu ʾiyyāhum mini ibtidāʾi khalqihim wa-ḥusna taqdīrihim wa-ʾijrāʾa ʾarzāqihim wa-difāʿa al-balāyā ʿanhum wa-al-ʾāfāti al-muhlikati lahum.

In it He reminded them of His favors toward them, His many blessings, His care for them from the beginning of their creation, the fine ordering of their constitution, the continuing provision of their sustenance, and His warding off afflictions and destructive calamities from them.

وَحُسْنَ سِتْرِهِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَإِقَالَتِهِمْ وَالْعَفْوَ عَمَّا اسْتَوْجَبُوا مِنْ تَعْجِيلِ الْعُقُوبَاتِ وَنُزُولِ النِّقَمِ بِهِمْ.

Wa-ḥusna sitrihi ʿalayhim wa-ʾiqālatihim wa-al-ʿafwa ʿammā istawjabū min taʿjīli al-ʿuqūbāti wa-nuzūli al-niqami bihim.

He reminded them of how graciously He concealed their faults, overlooked their lapses, and pardoned them instead of hastening the punishments and sending the afflictions they deserved.

فَأَمَرَهُمْ فِيهِ بِالْمَكَارِمِ وَنَهَاهُمْ عَنِ الْآثَامِ وَالْمَحَارِمِ، وَوَعَدَهُمْ فِيهِ جَزِيلَ الثَّوَابِ، وَضَرَبَ لَهُمْ فِيهِ الْأَمْثَالَ.

Fa-ʾamarahum fīhi bi-al-makārimi wa-nahāhum ʿani al-ʾāthāmi wa-al-maḥārimi, wa-waʿadahum fīhi jazīla al-thawābi, wa-ḍaraba lahum fīhi al-ʾamthāla.

In it He commanded noble conduct and forbade sins and prohibited acts, promised them abundant reward, and set forth examples for them.

Source pages 274–275

وَفَصَّلَ لَهُمْ فِيهِ الْمَعَانِيَ الدَّالَّةَ عَلَى سَبِيلِ النَّجَاةِ، وَأَبَانَ فِيهِ الْمُشْكِلَاتِ، وَأَوْضَحَ لَهُمْ فِيهِ الشَّوَاهِدَ عَلَى عِلْمِ الْغُيُوبِ، وَجَعَلَ فِيهِ حَيَاةَ قُلُوبِهِمْ وَعِزَّهُمْ وَشَرَفَهُمْ وَالْغِنَى بِهِ عَنْ جَمِيعِ الْعِبَادِ.

Wa-faṣṣala lahum fīhi al-maʿāniya al-dāllata ʿalā sabīli al-najāti, wa-ʾabāna fīhi al-mushkilāti, wa-ʾawḍaḥa lahum fīhi al-shawāhida ʿalā ʿilmi al-ghuyūbi, wa-jaʿala fīhi ḥayāta qulūbihim wa-ʿizzahum wa-sharafahum wa-al-ghinā bihi ʿan jamīʿi al-ʿibādi.

In it He set out in detail the meanings that point to the way of salvation, explained difficult matters, and clarified the evidence for knowledge of the unseen. He placed in it the life of their hearts, their dignity and honor, and the sufficiency that frees them from dependence on all other servants.

Source page 275

ثُمَّ أَخْبَرَهُمْ أَنَّهُ أَنْزَلَ كِتَابَهُ لِيَدَّبَّرُوا آيَاتِهِ بِعُقُولِهِمْ وَيَتَذَكَّرُوا مَا قَالَ بِأَلْبَابِهِمْ، وَقَالَ: {كِتَابٌ أَنْزَلْنَاهُ إِلَيْكَ مُبَارَكٌ}.

Thumma ʾakhbarahum ʾannahu ʾanzala kitābahu li-yaddabbarū ʾāyātihi bi-ʿuqūlihim wa-yatadhakkarū mā qāla bi-ʾalbābihim, wa-qāla: {kitābun ʾanzalnāhu ʾilayka mubārakun}.

Then He told them that He had sent down His Book so that they would ponder its verses with their intellects and take His words to heart with their understanding. He said: “A blessed Book that We have sent down to you.”

فَسَمَّاهُ بِالْبَرَكَةِ لِيَعْلَمُوا بِذَلِكَ أَنَّهُ يَدُلُّهُمْ عَلَى النَّجَاةِ وَيَنَالُونَ بِاتِّبَاعِهِ الزُّلْفَى وَالْكَرَامَةَ.

Fa-sammāhu bi-al-barakati li-yaʿlamū bi-dhālika ʾannahu yadulluhum ʿalā al-najāti wa-yanālūna bi-ittibāʿihi al-zulfā wa-al-karāmata.

He described it as blessed so they would know that it points them toward salvation and that by following it they attain nearness and honor.

ثُمَّ قَالَ: {لِيَدَّبَّرُوا آيَاتِهِ}، فَأَخْبَرَ أَنَّهُ أَنْزَلَهُ لِلتَّذَكُّرِ وَالتَّفَكُّرِ فِيهِ، وَخَصَّ بِالتَّفَكُّرِ وَالتَّذَكُّرِ أَهْلَ الْعُقُولِ أُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ.

Thumma qāla: {li-yaddabbarū ʾāyātihi}, fa-ʾakhbara ʾannahu ʾanzalahu li-al-tadhakkuri wa-al-tafakkuri fīhi, wa-khaṣṣa bi-al-tafakkuri wa-al-tadhakkuri ʾahla al-ʿuqūli ʾulī al-ʾalbābi.

Then He said, “So that they may ponder its verses,” explaining that He sent it down for reflection and remembrance, and singling out people of reason, those with understanding, for this reflection and remembrance.

Source pages 275–276

قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا سُنَيْدُ ابْنُ دَاوُدَ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ الْمُبَارَكِ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنِي مُعَمَّرُ بْنُ يَحْيَى بْنِ الْمُخْتَارِ عَنِ الْحَسَنِ، أَنَّهُ تَلَا هَذِهِ الْآيَةَ: {كِتَابٌ أَنْزَلْنَاهُ إِلَيْكَ مُبَارَكٌ لِيَدَّبَّرُوا آيَاتِهِ وَلِيَتَذَكَّرَ أُولُو الْأَلْبَابِ}.

Qāla: ḥaddathanā Sunaydu ibnu Dāwūda, qāla: ḥaddathanā ʿAbdu Allāhi bnu al-Mubāraki, qāla: ʾakhbaranī Muʿammaru bnu Yaḥyā bni al-Mukhtāri ʿani al-Ḥasani, ʾannahu talā hādhihi al-ʾāyata: {kitābun ʾanzalnāhu ʾilayka mubārakun li-yaddabbarū ʾāyātihi wa-li-yatadhakkara ʾulū al-ʾalbābi}.

He said: Sunayd ibn Dāwūd related to us, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Mubārak related to us, saying: Muʿammar ibn Yaḥyā ibn al-Mukhtār informed me, from al-Ḥasan, that he recited this verse: “A blessed Book that We have sent down to you, so that they may ponder its verses and those with understanding may take heed.”

Source page 276

فَقَالَ: وَمَا تَدَبُّرُ آيَاتِهِ إِلَّا اتِّبَاعُهُ بِعَقْلِهِ، أَمَا وَاللَّهِ مَا هَذَا بِحِفْظِ حُرُوفِهِ وَإِضَاعَةِ حُدُودِهِ.

Fa-qāla: wa-mā tadabburu ʾāyātihi ʾillā ittibāʿuhu bi-ʿaqlihi, ʾamā wa-Allāhi mā hādhā bi-ḥifẓi ḥurūfihi wa-ʾiḍāʿati ḥudūdihi.

He said: “Pondering its verses is nothing other than following it with one’s reason. By God, it does not mean memorizing its letters while neglecting its limits.”

حَتَّى أَنَّ أَحَدَهُمْ لَيَقُولُ: إِنِّي لَأَقْرَأُ الْقُرْآنَ فَمَا أُسْقِطُ مِنْهُ حَرْفًا، وَقَدْ وَاللَّهِ أَسْقَطَهُ كُلَّهُ، فَمَا يُرَى لَهُ الْقُرْآنُ فِي خُلُقٍ وَلَا عَمَلٍ.

Ḥattā ʾanna ʾaḥadahum la-yaqūlu: ʾinnī la-ʾaqraʾu al-Qurʾāna fa-mā ʾusqiṭu minhu ḥarfan, wa-qad wa-Allāhi ʾasqaṭahu kullahu, fa-mā yurā lahu al-Qurʾānu fī khuluqin wa-lā ʿamalin.

“One of them will even say, ‘I recite the Qurʾān and do not drop a single letter.’ Yet, by God, he has dropped it all: no trace of the Qurʾān can be seen in his character or conduct.”

ثُمَّ أَخْبَرَهُمْ أَنَّ اتِّبَاعَ مَا فِيهِ سُلُوكٌ لِلصِّرَاطِ الْمُسْتَقِيمِ وَالنُّورِ الْمُبِينِ، وَالْعِصْمَةُ لِمَنْ تَمَسَّكَ بِهِ مِنْ كُلِّ هَلَكَةٍ، وَشِفَاءٌ لِمَا فِي الصُّدُورِ.

Thumma ʾakhbarahum ʾanna ittibāʿa mā fīhi sulūkun li-al-ṣirāṭi al-mustaqīmi wa-al-nūri al-mubīni, wa-al-ʿiṣmatu li-man tamassaka bihi min kulli halakatin, wa-shifāʾun li-mā fī al-ṣudūri.

Then He told them that following what it contains means traveling the straight path and the clear light, that it safeguards whoever holds fast to it from every ruin, and that it heals what is in the hearts.

قَالَ الرَّبُّ جَلَّ ثَنَاؤُهُ: {قَدْ جَاءَكُمْ مِنَ اللَّهِ نُورٌ وَكِتَابٌ مُبِينٌ يَهْدِي بِهِ اللَّهُ مَنِ اتَّبَعَ رِضْوَانَهُ سُبُلَ السَّلَامِ وَيُخْرِجُهُمْ مِنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ بِإِذْنِهِ وَيَهْدِيهِمْ إِلَى صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ}.

Qāla al-rabbu jalla thanāʾuhu: {qad jāʾakum mina Allāhi nūrun wa-kitābun mubīnun yahdī bihi Allāhu mani ittabaʿa riḍwānahu subula al-salāmi wa-yukhrijuhum mina al-ẓulumāti ʾilā al-nūri bi-ʾidhnihi wa-yahdīhim ʾilā ṣirāṭin mustaqīmin}.

The Lord, exalted be His praise, said: “A light and a clear Book have come to you from God. Through it God guides those who follow His approval to the ways of peace, brings them out of darkness into light by His permission, and guides them to a straight path.”

فَضَمِنَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ لِمُتَّبِعِهِ الْهُدَى لِطَرِيقِ السَّلَامَةِ وَالسُّلُوكَ لِلطَّرِيقِ الْمُسْتَقِيمِ، وَوَصَفَ الْمُتَّبِعِينَ لَهُ كَيْفَ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَمَا وَرَّثَهُمْ مِنْ خَشْيَتِهِ.

Fa-ḍamina Allāhu ʿazza wa-jalla li-muttabiʿihi al-hudā li-ṭarīqi al-salāmati wa-al-sulūka li-al-ṭarīqi al-mustaqīmi, wa-waṣafa al-muttabiʿīna lahu kayfa qulūbuhum wa-mā warrathahum min khashyatihi.

God, mighty and majestic, thus guaranteed its follower guidance to the way of safety and passage along the straight path. He described the hearts of those who follow it and the reverent fear of Him that it bequeaths to them.

فَقَالَ جَلَّ وَعَزَّ: {اللَّهُ نَزَّلَ أَحْسَنَ الْحَدِيثِ كِتَابًا مُتَشَابِهًا مَثَانِيَ تَقْشَعِرُّ مِنْهُ جُلُودُ الَّذِينَ يَخْشَوْنَ رَبَّهُمْ}.

Fa-qāla jalla wa-ʿazza: {Allāhu nazzala ʾaḥsana al-ḥadīthi kitāban mutashābihan mathāniya taqshaʿirru minhu julūdu alladhīna yakhshawna rabbahum}.

He, majestic and mighty, said: “God has sent down the finest discourse, a Book whose parts resemble one another and whose teachings recur, at which the skins of those who fear their Lord shiver.”

فَأَخْبَرَهُمْ أَنَّهُ لَا حَدِيثَ يُشْبِهُهُ فِي حُسْنِهِ، وَأَخْبَرَ أَنَّهُ مُتَشَابِهٌ غَيْرُ مُخْتَلَفٍ فِيهِ.

Fa-ʾakhbarahum ʾannahu lā ḥadītha yushbihuhu fī ḥusnihi, wa-ʾakhbara ʾannahu mutashābihun ghayru mukhtalafin fīhi.

He told them that no discourse matches its beauty, and that its parts resemble one another without discord among them.

Source page 277

ثُمَّ أَخْبَرَ أَنَّ فِيهِ التَّكْرَارَ عَنْ مَعَانِي مَا قَالَ، إِنْ تَنَحَّتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ عِنْدَ تِلَاوَةِ مَا فِي سُوَرِهِ عَنْ فَهْمِ مَعَانِيهِ تَكَرَّرَ فِي سُورَةٍ أُخْرَى فَفَهِمُوهُ، فَقَالَ: مَثَانِيَ.

Thumma ʾakhbara ʾanna fīhi al-takrāra ʿan maʿānī mā qāla, ʾin tanaḥḥat qulūbuhum ʿinda tilāwati mā fī suwarihi ʿan fahmi maʿānīhi takarrara fī sūratin ʾukhrā fa-fahimūhu, fa-qāla: mathāniya.

Then He explained that the meanings of what He says recur in it. If, while what is in its suras is being recited, their hearts stray from understanding its meanings, it recurs in another sura and they understand it. That is why He said, “Repeated.”

حَدَّثَنَا سُنَيْدٌ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا سُفَيْنٌ عَنْ مَعْمَرٍ عَنْ قَتَادَةَ فِي قَوْلِ اللَّهِ جَلَّ وَعَزَّ: {اللَّهُ نَزَّلَ أَحْسَنَ الْحَدِيثِ كِتَابًا مُتَشَابِهًا}، فِي حَلَالِهِ وَحَرَامِهِ لَا يَخْتَلِفُ شَيْءٌ مِنْهُ، تُشْبِهُ الْآيَةُ الْآيَةَ وَالْحَرْفُ الْحَرْفَ.

Ḥaddathanā Sunaydun, qāla: ḥaddathanā Sufaynun ʿan Maʿmarin ʿan Qatādata fī qawli Allāhi jalla wa-ʿazza: {Allāhu nazzala ʾaḥsana al-ḥadīthi kitāban mutashābihan}, fī ḥalālihi wa-ḥarāmihi lā yakhtalifu shayʾun minhu, tushbihu al-ʾāyatu al-ʾāyata wa-al-ḥarfu al-ḥarfa.

Sunayd related to us, saying: Sufayn related to us, from Maʿmar, from Qatāda, concerning the words of God, majestic and mighty, “God has sent down the finest discourse, a Book whose parts resemble one another”: “In what it permits and forbids, none of it is inconsistent. One verse resembles another, and one expression another.”

Source pages 277–278

حَدَّثَنَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ عَنْ أَبِي رَجَاءٍ عَنِ الْحَسَنِ: {كِتَابًا مُتَشَابِهًا مَثَانِيَ}، قَالَ: ثَنَّى اللَّهُ فِيهِ الْقَضَاءَ، تَكُونُ السُّورَةُ فِيهَا الْآيَةُ وَفِي السُّورَةِ الْأُخْرَى آيَةٌ مِثْلُهَا.

Ḥaddathanā ʾIsmāʿīlu ʿan ʾAbī Rajāʾin ʿani al-Ḥasani: {kitāban mutashābihan mathāniya}, qāla: thannā Allāhu fīhi al-qaḍāʾa, takūnu al-sūratu fīhā al-ʾāyatu wa-fī al-sūrati al-ʾukhrā ʾāyatun mithluhā.

Ismāʿīl related to us, from Abū Rajāʾ, from al-Ḥasan, concerning “A Book whose parts resemble one another and whose teachings recur.” He said: “God repeats the judgment in it: a verse appears in one sura, and a verse like it appears in another.”

Source page 278

قَالَ أَبُو رَجَاءٍ: وَسُئِلَ عَنْهَا عِكْرِمَةُ، فَقَالَ: ثَنَّى اللَّهُ فِيهِ الْقَضَاءَ.

Qāla ʾAbū Rajāʾin: wa-suʾila ʿanhā ʿIkrimatu, fa-qāla: thannā Allāhu fīhi al-qaḍāʾa.

Abū Rajāʾ said: ʿIkrima was asked about it, and he said: “God repeats the judgment in it.”

قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا حَجَّاجٌ عَنِ ابْنِ جُرَيْجٍ عَنْ مُجَاهِدٍ فِي قَوْلِهِ مُتَشَابِهًا، قَالَ: يُصَدِّقُ بَعْضُهُ بَعْضًا. قَالَ: الْقُرْآنُ كُلُّهُ مَثَانٍ. أَبُو سَعِيدٍ.

Qāla: ḥaddathanā Ḥajjājun ʿani ibni Jurayjin ʿan Mujāhidin fī qawlihi mutashābihan, qāla: yuṣaddiqu baʿḍuhu baʿḍan. Qāla: al-Qurʾānu kulluhu mathānin. ʾAbū Saʿīdin.

He said: Ḥajjāj related to us, from Ibn Jurayj, from Mujāhid, concerning His word “resembling”: he said, “Its parts confirm one another.” He said, “The whole Qurʾān is repeated teachings.” Abū Saʿīd [the connection of this name is unclear].

فَتَثْنِيَةُ الْقُرْآنِ تَعُودُ لِلشَّيْءِ قَدْ قَالَهُ.

Fa-tathniyatu al-Qurʾāni taʿūdu li-al-shayʾi qad qālahu.

The Qurʾān’s repetition therefore returns to something it has already said.

قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا سُفَيْنٌ عَنْ مَعْمَرٍ عَنْ قَتَادَةَ: مَثَانِيَ، قَالَ: قَدْ ثَنَّاهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى.

Qāla: ḥaddathanā Sufaynun ʿan Maʿmarin ʿan Qatādata: mathāniya, qāla: qad thannāhu Allāhu taʿālā.

He said: Sufayn related to us, from Maʿmar, from Qatāda, concerning “Repeated”: he said, “God Most High has repeated it.”

Source page 279

قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا وَكِيعٌ عَنْ سُفْيَانَ عَنْ مَنْصُورٍ عَنْ أَبِي مَالِكٍ، قَالَ: الْقُرْآنُ كُلُّهُ مَثَانٍ.

Qāla: ḥaddathanā Wakīʿun ʿan Sufyāna ʿan Manṣūrin ʿan ʾAbī Mālikin, qāla: al-Qurʾānu kulluhu mathānin.

He said: Wakīʿ related to us, from Sufyān, from Manṣūr, from Abū Mālik, who said: “The whole Qurʾān is repeated teachings.”

قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا حَجَّاجٌ عَنِ ابْنِ جُرَيْجٍ، قَالَ: {تَقْشَعِرُّ مِنْهُ جُلُودُ الَّذِينَ يَخْشَوْنَ رَبَّهُمْ}، قَالَ: إِذَا سَمِعُوا ذِكْرَ النَّارِ وَالْوَعِيدِ اقْشَعَرُّوا، ثُمَّ تَلِينُ جُلُودُهُمْ إِذَا سَمِعُوا ذِكْرَ الْجَنَّةِ.

Qāla: ḥaddathanā Ḥajjājun ʿani ibni Jurayjin, qāla: {taqshaʿirru minhu julūdu alladhīna yakhshawna rabbahum}, qāla: ʾidhā samiʿū dhikra al-nāri wa-al-waʿīdi iqshaʿarrū, thumma talīnu julūduhum ʾidhā samiʿū dhikra al-jannati.

He said: Ḥajjāj related to us, from Ibn Jurayj, who said, concerning “At which the skins of those who fear their Lord shiver”: “When they hear mention of the Fire and the threat of punishment, they shiver. Then their skins soften when they hear mention of the Garden.”

قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو سُفْيَانَ عَنْ مَعْمَرٍ، قَالَ: تَلَا قَتَادَةُ {تَقْشَعِرُّ مِنْهُ جُلُودُ الَّذِينَ يَخْشَوْنَ رَبَّهُمْ} الْآيَةَ... فَقَالَ: هَذَا نَعْتُ أَوْلِيَاءِ اللَّهِ.

Qāla: ḥaddathanā ʾAbū Sufyāna ʿan Maʿmarin, qāla: talā Qatādatu {taqshaʿirru minhu julūdu alladhīna yakhshawna rabbahum} al-ʾāyata... fa-qāla: hādhā naʿtu ʾawliyāʾi Allāhi.

He said: Abū Sufyān related to us, from Maʿmar, who said: Qatāda recited the verse, “At which the skins of those who fear their Lord shiver” … and said: “This is the description of God’s friends.”

نَعَتَهُمْ بِأَنْ تَقْشَعِرَّ جُلُودُهُمْ وَتَبْكِيَ أَعْيُنُهُمْ وَتَطْمَئِنَّ قُلُوبُهُمْ إِلَى ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، هَذِهِ صِفَةُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَكَيْفَ حُزْنُهُمْ وَرَجَاؤُهُمْ.

Naʿatahum bi-ʾan taqshaʿirra julūduhum wa-tabkiya ʾaʿyunuhum wa-taṭmaʾinna qulūbuhum ʾilā dhikri Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla, hādhihi ṣifatu alladhīna ʾāmanū wa-kayfa ḥuznuhum wa-rajāʾuhum.

He described them as having skins that shiver, eyes that weep, and hearts that find peace in remembering God, mighty and majestic. This is the character of those who believe, and the nature of their sorrow and hope.

Source page 280

وَوَصَفَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ، عِلْمَ كِتَابِهِ، مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ يَنْزِلَ الْقُرْآنُ، فَقَالَ جَلَّ وَعَزَّ: {إِنَّ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِ إِذَا يُتْلَى عَلَيْهِمْ يَخِرُّونَ لِلْأَذْقَانِ سُجَّدًا وَيَقُولُونَ سُبْحَانَ رَبِّنَا إِنْ كَانَ وَعْدُ رَبِّنَا لَمَفْعُولًا وَيَخِرُّونَ لِلْأَذْقَانِ يَبْكُونَ وَيَزِيدُهُمْ خُشُوعًا}.

Wa-waṣafa alladhīna ʾūtū al-ʿilma, ʿilma kitābihi, min qabli ʾan yanzila al-Qurʾānu, fa-qāla jalla wa-ʿazza: {ʾinna alladhīna ʾūtū al-ʿilma min qablihi ʾidhā yutlā ʿalayhim yakhirrūna li-al-ʾadhqāni sujjadan wa-yaqūlūna subḥāna rabbinā ʾin kāna waʿdu rabbinā la-mafʿūlan wa-yakhirrūna li-al-ʾadhqāni yabkūna wa-yazīduhum khushūʿan}.

He described those who had been given knowledge, knowledge of His scripture, before the Qurʾān came down. He, majestic and mighty, said: “Those who were given knowledge before it, when it is recited to them, fall on their faces in prostration and say, ‘Glory be to our Lord! Our Lord’s promise was certain to be fulfilled.’ They fall on their faces weeping, and it increases their humility.”

وَقَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: {خَرُّوا سُجَّدًا وَبُكِيًّا}.

Wa-qāla ʿazza wa-jalla: {kharrū sujjadan wa-bukiyyan}.

He, mighty and majestic, also said: “They fell in prostration, weeping.”

يُخْبِرُ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى أَنَّ وَجَلَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ مِنْ قَبْلِنَا وَمَخَافَتَهُمْ كَانَتْ عَنْ فَهْمِ آيَاتِهِ فِي كِتَابِهِ وَتَدَبُّرِ قَوْلِهِ.

Yukhbiru tabāraka wa-taʿālā ʾanna wajala alladhīna ʾūtū al-ʿilma min qablinā wa-makhāfatahum kānat ʿan fahmi ʾāyātihi fī kitābihi wa-tadabburi qawlihi.

He, blessed and exalted, tells us that the trembling and fear of those given knowledge before us arose from understanding His verses in His scripture and pondering His words.

وَقَدْ ضَمِنَ جَلَّ وَعَزَّ لِأُمَّةِ مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّ لِمَنِ اتَّبَعَ مِنْهُمْ مَا فِي كِتَابِهِ مِنَ الْهُدَى الْإِجَارَةَ مِنَ الضَّلَالَةِ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالسَّعَادَةَ فِي الْآخِرَةِ وَالنَّجَاةَ مِنَ الشَّقَاءِ.

Wa-qad ḍamina jalla wa-ʿazza li-ʾummati Muḥammadin ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama ʾanna li-mani ittabaʿa minhum mā fī kitābihi mina al-hudā al-ʾijārata mina al-ḍalālati fī al-dunyā wa-al-saʿādata fī al-ʾākhirati wa-al-najāta mina al-shaqāʾi.

For the community of Muḥammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, He, majestic and mighty, has guaranteed that whoever follows the guidance in His Book will have protection from error in this world, happiness in the hereafter, and deliverance from misery.

وَقَالَ جَلَّ وَعَزَّ: {فَمَنِ اتَّبَعَ هُدَايَ فَلَا يَضِلُّ وَلَا يَشْقَى}.

Wa-qāla jalla wa-ʿazza: {fa-mani ittabaʿa hudāya fa-lā yaḍillu wa-lā yashqā}.

He, majestic and mighty, said: “Whoever follows My guidance will neither go astray nor suffer misery.”

Source pages 280–281

قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو النَّضْرِ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا عِيسَى بْنُ الْمُسَيِّبِ الْبَجَلِيُّ قَاضِي خَالِدٍ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا خَالِدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ النَّخَعِيِّ، قَالَ: قَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ: أُجِيرَ صَاحِبُ الْقُرْآنِ مِنَ الضَّلَالَةِ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالشَّقَاءِ يَوْمَ الْحِسَابِ، ثُمَّ تَلَا: {فَمَنِ اتَّبَعَ هُدَايَ فَلَا يَضِلُّ وَلَا يَشْقَى}.

Qāla: ḥaddathanā ʾAbū al-Naḍri, qāla: ḥaddathanā ʿĪsā bnu al-Musayyibi al-Bajaliyyu qāḍī Khālidin, qāla: ḥaddathanā Khālidu bnu ʿAbdi Allāhi ʿan ʾIbrāhīma al-Nakhaʿiyyi, qāla: qāla Ibnu ʿAbbāsin: ʾujīra ṣāḥibu al-Qurʾāni mina al-ḍalālati fī al-dunyā wa-al-shaqāʾi yawma al-ḥisābi, thumma talā: {fa-mani ittabaʿa hudāya fa-lā yaḍillu wa-lā yashqā}.

He said: Abū al-Naḍr related to us, saying: ʿĪsā ibn al-Musayyib al-Bajalī, Khālid’s judge, related to us, saying: Khālid ibn ʿAbd Allāh related to us, from Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī, who said: Ibn ʿAbbās said, “The companion of the Qurʾān is granted protection from error in this world and misery on the day of reckoning.” Then he recited: “Whoever follows My guidance will neither go astray nor suffer misery.”

Source page 281

وَعَظَّمَتِ الْعُلَمَاءُ بِاللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ مَا أَنْزَلَ فِي كِتَابِهِ لِتَعْظِيمِهِ لَهُ، إِذْ سَمِعُوهُ يَقُولُ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى: {وَلَوْ أَنَّ قُرْآنًا سُيِّرَتْ بِهِ الْجِبَالُ أَوْ قُطِّعَتْ بِهِ الْأَرْضُ أَوْ كُلِّمَ بِهِ الْمَوْتَى}.

Wa-ʿaẓẓamati al-ʿulamāʾu bi-Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla mā ʾanzala fī kitābihi li-taʿẓīmihi lahu, ʾidh samiʿūhu yaqūlu tabāraka wa-taʿālā: {wa-law ʾanna qurʾānan suyyirat bihi al-jibālu ʾaw quṭṭiʿat bihi al-ʾarḍu ʾaw kullima bihi al-mawtā}.

Those who know God, mighty and majestic, held what He sent down in His Book in great esteem because He had magnified it. They heard Him, blessed and exalted, say: “If there were a Qurʾān by which mountains were moved, or the earth were split, or the dead were addressed…”

Source pages 281–282

قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا الْحَسَنُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا شَيْبَانُ عَنْ قَتَادَةَ فِي قَوْلِهِ: {وَلَوْ أَنَّ قُرْآنًا سُيِّرَتْ بِهِ الْجِبَالُ أَوْ قُطِّعَتْ بِهِ الْأَرْضُ أَوْ كُلِّمَ بِهِ الْمَوْتَى} الْآيَةَ...

Qāla: ḥaddathanā al-Ḥasanu bnu Muḥammadin, qāla: ḥaddathanā Shaybānu ʿan Qatādata fī qawlihi: {wa-law ʾanna qurʾānan suyyirat bihi al-jibālu ʾaw quṭṭiʿat bihi al-ʾarḍu ʾaw kullima bihi al-mawtā} al-ʾāyata...

He said: al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, saying: Shaybān related to us, from Qatāda, concerning His words in the verse: “If there were a Qurʾān by which mountains were moved, or the earth were split, or the dead were addressed” …

Source page 282

قَالَ: ذُكِرَ لَنَا أَنَّ قُرَيْشًا قَالَتْ لِلنَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: إِنْ سَرَّكَ أَنْ نُتَابِعَكَ فَسَيِّرْ لَنَا جِبَالَ تِهَامَةَ وَوَسِّعْ لَنَا فِي حَرَمِنَا نَتَّخِذْ قَطَائِعَ وَبَسَاتِينَ.

Qāla: dhukira lanā ʾanna Qurayshan qālat li-al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama: ʾin sarraka ʾan nutābiʿaka fa-sayyir lanā jibāla Tihāmata wa-wassiʿ lanā fī ḥaraminā nattakhidh qaṭāʾiʿa wa-basātīna.

He said: We were told that Quraysh said to the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace: “If you would like us to follow you, move the mountains of Tihāma for us and make room in our sanctuary so that we can establish estates and orchards.”

وَأَحْيِ لَنَا فُلَانًا وَفُلَانًا، أُنَاسًا مَاتُوا فِي الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ، فَإِنْ تَابَعُوكَ وَآمَنُوا بِكَ تَابَعْنَاكَ وَآمَنَّا بِكَ، فَأَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ هَذِهِ الْآيَةَ.

Wa-ʾaḥyi lanā fulānan wa-fulānan, ʾunāsan mātū fī al-jāhiliyyati, fa-ʾin tābaʿūka wa-ʾāmanū bika tābaʿnāka wa-ʾāmannā bika, fa-ʾanzala Allāhu ʿazza wa-jalla hādhihi al-ʾāyata.

“And bring so-and-so and so-and-so back to life for us, people who died in the age of ignorance. If they follow you and believe in you, we will follow you and believe in you.” Then God, mighty and majestic, sent down this verse.

فَلَوْ فُعِلَ هَذَا بِقُرْآنٍ غَيْرِ قُرْآنِكُمْ لَفُعِلَ بِقُرْآنِكُمْ هَذَا، وَكُلِّمَ بِهِ الْمَوْتَى.

Fa-law fuʿila hādhā bi-qurʾānin ghayri qurʾānikum la-fuʿila bi-qurʾānikum hādhā, wa-kullima bihi al-mawtā.

If this could have been done through any Qurʾān other than yours, it would have been done through this Qurʾān of yours, and the dead would have been addressed through it.

وَسَمَّاهُ بُرْهَانًا وَنُورًا وَرَحْمَةً وَمَوْعِظَةً وَبَيَانًا وَحَقًّا وَمَجِيدًا وَبَصَائِرَ وَهُدًى وَفُرْقَانًا وَشِفَاءً لِمَا فِي الصُّدُورِ.

Wa-sammāhu burhānan wa-nūran wa-raḥmatan wa-mawʿiẓatan wa-bayānan wa-ḥaqqan wa-majīdan wa-baṣāʾira wa-hudan wa-furqānan wa-shifāʾan li-mā fī al-ṣudūri.

He called it proof, light, mercy, admonition, clarification, truth, glorious, illuminating insights, guidance, a criterion, and healing for what is in the hearts.

فَعَظَّمَهُ عِنْدَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ لِيُعَظِّمُوا قَدْرَهُ وَيَفْهَمُوهُ لِيَنَالُوا بِهِ شِفَاءَ قُلُوبِهِمْ.

Fa-ʿaẓẓamahu ʿinda al-muʾminīna li-yuʿaẓẓimū qadrahu wa-yafhamūhu li-yanālū bihi shifāʾa qulūbihim.

He magnified it in the eyes of believers so that they would esteem it and understand it, and through it obtain healing for their hearts.

وَقَالَ جَلَّ وَعَزَّ: {لَوْ أَنْزَلْنَا هَذَا الْقُرْآنَ عَلَى جَبَلٍ لَرَأَيْتَهُ خَاشِعًا مُتَصَدِّعًا مِنْ خَشْيَةِ اللَّهِ وَتِلْكَ الْأَمْثَالُ نَضْرِبُهَا لِلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ}.

Wa-qāla jalla wa-ʿazza: {law ʾanzalnā hādhā al-Qurʾāna ʿalā jabalin la-raʾaytahu khāshiʿan mutaṣaddiʿan min khashyati Allāhi wa-tilka al-ʾamthālu naḍribuhā li-al-nāsi laʿallahum yatafakkarūna}.

He, majestic and mighty, said: “Had We sent down this Qurʾān upon a mountain, you would have seen it humbled and split apart from fear of God. We set forth these examples for people so that they may reflect.”

Source pages 282–283

وَأَخْبَرَ جَلَّ وَعَزَّ بِعَظِيمِ قَدْرِهِ وَضَرَبَ الْجَبَلَ مَثَلًا لِقُلُوبِ الْمُسْتَمِعِينَ لَهُ لِيَعْقِلُوا فَيَتَدَبَّرُوا آيَاتِهِ وَيَتَفَكَّرُوا فِي عَجَائِبِهِ.

Wa-ʾakhbara jalla wa-ʿazza bi-ʿaẓīmi qadrihi wa-ḍaraba al-jabala mathalan li-qulūbi al-mustamiʿīna lahu li-yaʿqilū fa-yatadabbarū ʾāyātihi wa-yatafakkarū fī ʿajāʾibihi.

He, majestic and mighty, declared its immense worth and offered the mountain as an example for the hearts of those listening to it, so that they would understand, ponder its verses, and reflect on its wonders.

Source page 283

فَضَرَبَ هَذَا الْمَثَلَ فَدَلَّ بِهِ أَنَّ مَنْ لَمْ يَفْهَمْ عَنْهُ مَا أَنْزَلَ فِي كِتَابِهِ أَنَّ قَلْبَهُ أَقْسَى مِنَ الْحَجَرِ الْأَصَمِّ، وَأَنَّ مَا فِيهِ تَتَصَدَّعُ الْجِبَالُ لَوْ فَهِمَتْهُ خَشْيَةً لِلْمُتَكَلِّمِ بِهِ.

Fa-ḍaraba hādhā al-mathala fa-dalla bihi ʾanna man lam yafham ʿanhu mā ʾanzala fī kitābihi ʾanna qalbahu ʾaqsā mina al-ḥajari al-ʾaṣammi, wa-ʾanna mā fīhi tataṣaddaʿu al-jibālu law fahimat-hu khashyatan li-al-mutakallimi bihi.

By giving this example He showed that someone who does not understand from Him what He sent down in His Book has a heart harder than solid stone, and that mountains, if they understood what it contains, would split apart in awe of the One who speaks it.

يُعَظِّمُ بِذَلِكَ قَدْرَهُ وَقَدْرَنَا فِيهِ، وَيُبَيِّنُ لَنَا أَنَّ الْقُلُوبَ تَخْشَعُ لِفَهْمِهِ وَتَخَافُ اللَّهَ جَلَّ وَعَزَّ لِعَقْلِهَا مَا أَخْبَرَ بِهِ.

Yuʿaẓẓimu bi-dhālika qadrahu wa-qadranā fīhi, wa-yubayyinu lanā ʾanna al-qulūba takhshaʿu li-fahmihi wa-takhāfu Allāha jalla wa-ʿazza li-ʿaqlihā mā ʾakhbara bihi.

By this He magnifies its worth and our standing within it [one possible reading], and makes clear to us that hearts become humble through understanding it and fear God, majestic and mighty, because they grasp what He has told them.

وَأَخْبَرَنَا أَنَّ الْجِبَالَ الرَّوَاسِيَ لَوْ أَنْزَلَ عَلَيْهَا كَلَامَهُ لَتَصَدَّعَتْ خَاشِعَةً لِتَعْظِيمِهِ.

Wa-ʾakhbaranā ʾanna al-jibāla al-rawāsiya law ʾanzala ʿalayhā kalāmahu la-taṣaddaʿat khāshiʿatan li-taʿẓīmihi.

He told us that if He sent His speech down upon the firmly rooted mountains, they would split apart, humbled in reverence for Him.

وَأَخْبَرَنَا أَنَّهُ أَحْسَنُ مِنْ كُلِّ حَدِيثٍ وَمِنْ كُلِّ قَصَصٍ، وَقَالَ: {نَحْنُ نَقُصُّ عَلَيْكَ أَحْسَنَ الْقَصَصِ}.

Wa-ʾakhbaranā ʾannahu ʾaḥsanu min kulli ḥadīthin wa-min kulli qaṣaṣin, wa-qāla: {naḥnu naquṣṣu ʿalayka ʾaḥsana al-qaṣaṣi}.

He told us that it is finer than any other discourse or narrative, saying: “We relate to you the finest narrative.”

ثُمَّ أَخْبَرَنَا جَلَّ وَعَزَّ أَنَّهُ قَدِ انْتَهَى فِي الْحِكْمَةِ، فَقَالَ: {حِكْمَةٌ بَالِغَةٌ فَمَا تُغْنِي النُّذُرُ}.

Thumma ʾakhbaranā jalla wa-ʿazza ʾannahu qadi intahā fī al-ḥikmati, fa-qāla: {ḥikmatun bālighatun fa-mā tughnī al-nudhuru}.

Then He, majestic and mighty, told us that it has reached the utmost in wisdom, saying: “Consummate wisdom, yet warnings bring no benefit.”

وَأَخْبَرَ أَنَّهُ لَا مُبَدِّلَ لِكَلِمَاتِهِ، وَأَخْبَرَ أَنَّهُ لَا يَفْنَى وَلَا يَنْفَدُ، فَقَالَ جَلَّ وَعَزَّ: {قُلْ لَوْ كَانَ الْبَحْرُ مِدَادًا لِكَلِمَاتِ رَبِّي لَنَفِدَ الْبَحْرُ قَبْلَ أَنْ تَنْفَدَ كَلِمَاتُ رَبِّي}.

Wa-ʾakhbara ʾannahu lā mubaddila li-kalimātihi, wa-ʾakhbara ʾannahu lā yafnā wa-lā yanfadu, fa-qāla jalla wa-ʿazza: {qul law kāna al-baḥru midādan li-kalimāti rabbī la-nafida al-baḥru qabla ʾan tanfada kalimātu rabbī}.

He told us that no one can change His words and that His speech neither perishes nor runs out. He, majestic and mighty, said: “Say: If the sea were ink for the words of my Lord, the sea would run out before the words of my Lord ran out.”

Source pages 283–284

وَسَمَّى اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ نَفْسَهُ، فَقَالَ: {عَلِيٌّ حَكِيمٌ}، وَسَمَّى كَلَامَهُ، فَقَالَ: {وَإِنَّهُ فِي أُمِّ الْكِتَابِ لَدَيْنَا لَعَلِيٌّ حَكِيمٌ}.

Wa-sammā Allāhu ʿazza wa-jalla nafsahu, fa-qāla: {ʿaliyyun ḥakīmun}, wa-sammā kalāmahu, fa-qāla: {wa-ʾinnahu fī ʾummi al-kitābi ladaynā la-ʿaliyyun ḥakīmun}.

God, mighty and majestic, named Himself “Exalted, Wise,” and named His speech, saying: “In the Mother of the Book with Us, it is indeed exalted and wise.”

Source page 284

حَدَّثَنَا سُنَيْدٌ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ عَنْ مَعْمَرٍ عَنْ قَتَادَةَ، قَالَ: فَإِنِ اسْتَخْفَفْتُمْ بِهِ فَإِنَّهُ فِي أُمِّ الْكِتَابِ لَدَيْنَا لَعَلِيٌّ حَكِيمٌ.

Ḥaddathanā Sunaydun, qāla: ḥaddathanā Sufyānu ʿan Maʿmarin ʿan Qatādata, qāla: fa-ʾini istakhfaftum bihi fa-ʾinnahu fī ʾummi al-kitābi ladaynā la-ʿaliyyun ḥakīmun.

Sunayd related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, from Maʿmar, from Qatāda, who said: “If you treat it lightly, it is nevertheless, in the Mother of the Book with Us, exalted and wise.”

وَسَمَّاهُ بِأَحْسَنِ الْأَسْمَاءِ وَأَعْلَاهَا، إِنَّمَا سَمَّى بِهِ نَفْسَهُ، فَقَالَ: {كِتَابٌ عَزِيزٌ}.

Wa-sammāhu bi-ʾaḥsani al-ʾasmāʾi wa-ʾaʿlāhā, ʾinnamā sammā bihi nafsahu, fa-qāla: {kitābun ʿazīzun}.

He named it with the finest and highest names, the very names He used for Himself, saying: “An invincible Book.”

ثُمَّ أَخْبَرَ أَنَّ مَا قَبْلَهُ مِنَ الْكُتُبِ مُصَدِّقٌ لَهُ وَشَاهِدٌ لَهُ، وَأَنَّهُ لَا يَأْتِي مِنْ عِنْدِهِ كِتَابٌ أَبَدًا يُبَدِّلُ حُكْمَهُ وَلَا يَنْسَخُ أَمْرَهُ وَنَهْيَهُ.

Thumma ʾakhbara ʾanna mā qablahu mina al-kutubi muṣaddiqun lahu wa-shāhidun lahu, wa-ʾannahu lā yaʾtī min ʿindihi kitābun ʾabadan yubaddilu ḥukmahu wa-lā yansakhu ʾamrahu wa-nahyahu.

Then He told us that the scriptures before it confirm it and bear witness to it, and that no Book will ever come from Him to alter its judgment or abrogate its commands and prohibitions.

فَقَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ مِنْ قَائِلٍ: {لَا يَأْتِيهِ الْبَاطِلُ مِنْ بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَلَا مِنْ خَلْفِهِ تَنْزِيلٌ مِنْ حَكِيمٍ حَمِيدٍ}.

Fa-qāla ʿazza wa-jalla min qāʾilin: {lā yaʾtīhi al-bāṭilu min bayni yadayhi wa-lā min khalfihi tanzīlun min ḥakīmin ḥamīdin}.

Mighty and majestic is the One who said: “Falsehood cannot approach it from before it or from behind it: a revelation from One who is wise and worthy of praise.”

فَأَخْبَرَ أَنَّهُ مَنَعَهُ مِنَ الْخَلَائِقِ أَنْ يَنْتَقِصُوا مِنْهُ أَوْ يَزِيدُوا فِيهِ أَوْ يُحَرِّفُوهُ كَمَا حُرِّفَتِ الْكُتُبُ مِنْ قَبْلِهِ.

Fa-ʾakhbara ʾannahu manaʿahu mina al-khalāʾiqi ʾan yantaqiṣū minhu ʾaw yazīdū fīhi ʾaw yuḥarrifūhu ka-mā ḥurrifati al-kutubu min qablihi.

He thus told us that He has protected it against created beings subtracting from it, adding to it, or distorting it as the scriptures before it were distorted.

Source pages 284–285

حَدَّثَنَا سُنَيْدٌ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا سُفَيْنٌ عَنْ مَعْمَرٍ عَنْ قَتَادَةَ فِي قَوْلِهِ: {إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِالذِّكْرِ لَمَّا جَاءَهُمْ وَإِنَّهُ لَكِتَابٌ عَزِيزٌ لَا يَأْتِيهِ الْبَاطِلُ مِنْ بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَلَا مِنْ خَلْفِهِ}، قَالَ: الشَّيْطَانُ لَا يَسْتَطِيعُ أَنْ يُبَدِّلَ مِنْهُ حَقًّا وَلَا يُحِقَّ (بِهِ) بَاطِلًا.

Ḥaddathanā Sunaydun, qāla: ḥaddathanā Sufaynun ʿan Maʿmarin ʿan Qatādata fī qawlihi: {ʾinna alladhīna kafarū bi-al-dhikri lammā jāʾahum wa-ʾinnahu la-kitābun ʿazīzun lā yaʾtīhi al-bāṭilu min bayni yadayhi wa-lā min khalfihi}, qāla: al-shayṭānu lā yastaṭīʿu ʾan yubaddila minhu ḥaqqan wa-lā yuḥiqqa (bihi) bāṭilan.

Sunayd related to us, saying: Sufayn related to us, from Maʿmar, from Qatāda, concerning His words, “Those who disbelieve in the Reminder when it comes to them: it is indeed an invincible Book. Falsehood cannot approach it from before it or from behind it.” He said: “Satan cannot alter any truth in it or establish any falsehood (through it).”

Source page 285

قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا حَجَّاجٌ عَنِ ابْنِ جُرَيْجٍ عَنْ مُجَاهِدٍ، قَالَ: الْبَاطِلُ الشَّيْطَانُ.

Qāla: ḥaddathanā Ḥajjājun ʿani ibni Jurayjin ʿan Mujāhidin, qāla: al-bāṭilu al-shayṭānu.

He said: Ḥajjāj related to us, from Ibn Jurayj, from Mujāhid, who said: “‘Falsehood’ is Satan.”

قَالَ ابْنُ جُرَيْجٍ: {لَا يَأْتِيهِ الْبَاطِلُ مِنْ بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ}، قَالَ: لَيْسَ (فِيمَا) قَصَصْنَا عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِيمَا كَانَ قَبْلَهُ بَاطِلٌ، وَلَا مِنْ خَلْفِهِ مِمَّا قَصَصْنَا عَلَيْهِ مِمَّا هُوَ كَائِنٌ بَعْدَهُ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ.

Qāla Ibnu Jurayjin: {lā yaʾtīhi al-bāṭilu min bayni yadayhi}, qāla: laysa (fī-mā) qaṣaṣnā ʿalā Muḥammadin ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama fī-mā kāna qablahu bāṭilun, wa-lā min khalfihi mimmā qaṣaṣnā ʿalayhi mimmā huwa kāʾinun baʿdahu mina al-dunyā wa-al-ʾākhirati.

Ibn Jurayj said, concerning “Falsehood cannot approach it from before it”: “There is no falsehood (in what) We have related to Muḥammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, about what happened before him; nor ‘from behind it,’ in what We have related to him about what will happen after him in this world and the hereafter.”

Source pages 285–286

قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا حَجَّاجٌ عَنْ حَمْزَةَ الزَّيَّاتِ عَنْ أَبِي مُخْتَارٍ الطَّائِيِّ عَنِ ابْنِ أَخِي الْحَارِثِ عَنِ الْحَارِثِ، قَالَ: دَخَلْتُ الْمَسْجِدَ فَإِذَا النَّاسُ قَدْ وَقَعُوا فِي الْأَحَادِيثِ، فَأَتَيْتُ عَلِيًّا رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ.

Qāla: ḥaddathanā Ḥajjājun ʿan Ḥamzata al-Zayyāti ʿan ʾAbī Mukhtārin al-Ṭāʾiyyi ʿani ibni ʾakhī al-Ḥārithi ʿani al-Ḥārithi, qāla: dakhaltu al-masjida fa-ʾidhā al-nāsu qad waqaʿū fī al-ʾaḥādīthi, fa-ʾataytu ʿAliyyan raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu.

He said: Ḥajjāj related to us, from Ḥamza al-Zayyāt, from Abū Mukhtār al-Ṭāʾī, from al-Ḥārith’s nephew, from al-Ḥārith, who said: “I entered the mosque and found that people had become engrossed in accounts and discussions. I went to ʿAlī, may God be pleased with him.”

Source page 286

فَقُلْتُ: يَا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، إِنَّ النَّاسَ قَدْ وَقَعُوا فِي الْأَحَادِيثِ. قَالَ: وَقَدْ فَعَلُوهَا؟ قُلْتُ: نَعَمْ.

Fa-qultu: yā ʾamīra al-muʾminīna, ʾinna al-nāsa qad waqaʿū fī al-ʾaḥādīthi. Qāla: wa-qad faʿalūhā? Qultu: naʿam.

“I said, ‘Commander of the Faithful, people have become engrossed in accounts and discussions.’ He said, ‘Have they really done that?’ I said, ‘Yes.’”

قَالَ: إِنِّي سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ: إِنَّهَا سَتَكُونُ فِتْنَةٌ. قُلْتُ: وَمَا الْمَخْرَجُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ؟ قَالَ: كِتَابُ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ.

Qāla: ʾinnī samiʿtu rasūla Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama yaqūlu: ʾinnahā satakūnu fitnatun. Qultu: wa-mā al-makhraju yā rasūla Allāhi? Qāla: kitābu Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla.

He said: “I heard God’s Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, say, ‘There will be a trial.’ I asked, ‘What is the way out, Messenger of God?’ He said, ‘The Book of God, mighty and majestic.’”

فِيهِ نَبَأُ مَا كَانَ قَبْلَكُمْ وَخَبَرُ مَا بَعْدَكُمْ وَحُكْمُ مَا بَيْنَكُمْ، هُوَ الْفَصْلُ لَيْسَ بِالْهَزْلِ.

Fīhi nabaʾu mā kāna qablakum wa-khabaru mā baʿdakum wa-ḥukmu mā baynakum, huwa al-faṣlu laysa bi-al-hazli.

“‘It contains the account of what was before you, news of what comes after you, and judgment concerning what lies between you. It is decisive speech, no jest.’”

مَنْ تَرَكَهُ مِنْ جَبَّارٍ قَصَمَهُ اللَّهُ، وَمَنِ ابْتَغَى الْهُدَى فِي غَيْرِهِ أَضَلَّهُ اللَّهُ.

Man tarakahu min jabbārin qaṣamahu Allāhu, wa-mani ibtaghā al-hudā fī ghayrihi ʾaḍallahu Allāhu.

“‘Any tyrant who abandons it, God will shatter; whoever seeks guidance elsewhere, God will lead astray.’”

هُوَ حَبْلُ اللَّهِ الْمَتِينُ، وَهُوَ الذِّكْرُ الْحَكِيمُ، وَهُوَ الصِّرَاطُ الْمُسْتَقِيمُ.

Huwa ḥablu Allāhi al-matīnu, wa-huwa al-dhikru al-ḥakīmu, wa-huwa al-ṣirāṭu al-mustaqīmu.

“‘It is God’s firm cord, the wise Reminder, and the straight path.’”

هُوَ الَّذِي لَا تَزِيغُ بِهِ الْأَهْوَاءُ وَلَا تَلْتَبِسُ فِيهِ الْأَلْسُنُ وَلَا تَشْبَعُ مِنْهُ الْعُلَمَاءُ وَلَا يَخْلَقُ عَنْ رَدٍّ وَلَا تَنْقَضِي عَجَائِبُهُ.

Huwa alladhī lā tazīghu bihi al-ʾahwāʾu wa-lā taltabisu fīhi al-ʾalsunu wa-lā tashbaʿu minhu al-ʿulamāʾu wa-lā yakhlaqu ʿan raddin wa-lā tanqaḍī ʿajāʾibuhu.

“‘With it, desires do not go astray and tongues do not become entangled. Scholars never have their fill of it; repeated return does not wear it out; and its wonders never end.’”

وَهُوَ الَّذِي لَمْ تَلْبَثِ الْجِنُّ إِذْ سَمِعَتْهُ أَنْ قَالُوا: {إِنَّا سَمِعْنَا قُرْآنًا عَجَبًا}.

Wa-huwa alladhī lam talbathi al-jinnu ʾidh samiʿat-hu ʾan qālū: {ʾinnā samiʿnā qurʾānan ʿajaban}.

“‘When the jinn heard it, they immediately said: “We have heard a wondrous Qurʾān.”’”

مَنْ قَالَ بِهِ صَدَقَ، وَمَنْ عَمِلَ بِهِ أُجِرَ، وَمَنْ حَكَمَ بِهِ عَدَلَ، وَمَنْ دَعَى (دَعَا) إِلَيْهِ هُدِيَ إِلَى صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ. قَالَ: خُذْهَا إِلَيْكَ يَا أَعْوَرُ.

Man qāla bihi ṣadaqa, wa-man ʿamila bihi ʾujira, wa-man ḥakama bihi ʿadala, wa-man daʿā (daʿā) ʾilayhi hudiya ʾilā ṣirāṭin mustaqīmin. Qāla: khudh-hā ʾilayka yā ʾaʿwaru.

“‘Whoever speaks by it speaks truly; whoever acts by it is rewarded; whoever judges by it judges fairly; and whoever calls others to it is guided to a straight path.’” He said: “Take this to heart, one-eyed man.”

Source pages 286–287

قَالَ: وَإِنَّمَا احْتَاجَ التَّالِي لَهُ إِلَى الْأَحَادِيثِ عَنْ قَوْلِ الْعُلَمَاءِ الْحُكَمَاءِ بِالْحِكْمَةِ وَالْمَوْعِظَةِ الْحَسَنَةِ حِينَ ضُيِّعَ مِنْهُمْ كِتَابُهُ وَطَلَبُ مَعَانِيهِ.

Qāla: wa-ʾinnamā iḥtāja al-tālī lahu ʾilā al-ʾaḥādīthi ʿan qawli al-ʿulamāʾi al-ḥukamāʾi bi-al-ḥikmati wa-al-mawʿiẓati al-ḥasanati ḥīna ḍuyyiʿa minhum kitābuhu wa-ṭalabu maʿānīhi.

He said: A reader of it came to need accounts conveying the wise scholars’ words of wisdom and good counsel only when His Book and the search for its meanings had been neglected among them.

Source page 287

وَلَوْلَا ذَلِكَ لَكَانَ كَأَحَدِ الْعُلَمَاءِ الَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ بِالْحِكْمَةِ وَيَتَّعِظُونَ بِالتَّقْوَى، لِأَنَّ فِيهِ مَعَانِيَ التَّعْظِيمِ وَمَا يُنَالُ بِهِ الْيَقِينُ وَيُسْتَدَلُّ بِهِ عَلَى كُلِّ خُلُقٍ كَرِيمٍ.

Wa-lawlā dhālika la-kāna ka-ʾaḥadi al-ʿulamāʾi alladhīna yaqūlūna bi-al-ḥikmati wa-yattaʿiẓūna bi-al-taqwā, li-ʾanna fīhi maʿāniya al-taʿẓīmi wa-mā yunālu bihi al-yaqīnu wa-yustadallu bihi ʿalā kulli khuluqin karīmin.

Otherwise he would have been like one of the scholars who speak with wisdom and take heed through God-consciousness. For it contains the meanings of reverence, what brings one to certainty, and guidance to every noble trait.

قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا خَلَفُ بْنُ هِشَامٍ الْبَزَّارُ، قَالَ: إِسْمَاعِيلُ بْنُ عَيَّاشٍ عَنْ حَجَّاجٍ عَنْ مَرْوَانَ الْكِلَاعِيِّ وَعُقَيْلِ بْنِ مُدْرِكٍ السُّلَمِيِّ، يَرْفَعَانِهِ إِلَى أَبِي سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيِّ، أَنَّ رَجُلًا أَتَاهُ فَقَالَ: يَا أَبَا سَعِيدٍ، أَوْصِنِي.

Qāla: ḥaddathanā Khalafu bnu Hishāmin al-Bazzāru, qāla: ʾIsmāʿīlu bnu ʿAyyāshin ʿan Ḥajjājin ʿan Marwāna al-Kilāʿiyyi wa-ʿUqayli bni Mudrikin al-Sulamiyyi, yarfaʿānihi ʾilā ʾAbī Saʿīdin al-Khudriyyi, ʾanna rajulan ʾatāhu fa-qāla: yā ʾabā Saʿīdin, ʾawṣinī.

He said: Khalaf ibn Hishām al-Bazzār related to us, saying: Ismāʿīl ibn ʿAyyāsh, from Ḥajjāj, from Marwān al-Kilāʿī and ʿUqayl ibn Mudrik al-Sulamī, both tracing the account back to Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī: a man came to him and said, “Abū Saʿīd, give me counsel.”

فَقَالَ: سَأَلْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ، فَقَالَ: أُوصِيكَ بِتَقْوَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فَإِنَّهَا رَأْسُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ، وَعَلَيْكَ بِالْجِهَادِ فَإِنَّهُ رَهْبَانِيَّةُ الْإِسْلَامِ.

Fa-qāla: saʾaltu rasūla Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama min qablika, fa-qāla: ʾūṣīka bi-taqwā Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla fa-ʾinnahā raʾsu kulli shayʾin, wa-ʿalayka bi-al-jihādi fa-ʾinnahu rahbāniyyatu al-ʾislāmi.

He said: “I asked God’s Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, before you, and he said: ‘I counsel you to be mindful of God, mighty and majestic, for that is the foundation of everything. Commit yourself to jihad, for it is Islam’s monastic devotion.’”

وَعَلَيْكَ بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَتِلَاوَةِ الْقُرْآنِ، فَإِنَّهُ رَوْحُكَ فِي السَّمَاءِ وَذِكْرُكَ فِي الْأَرْضِ، وَعَلَيْكَ بِالصَّمْتِ إِلَّا فِي حَقٍّ، فَإِنَّكَ تَغْلِبُ الشَّيْطَانَ.

Wa-ʿalayka bi-dhikri Allāhi wa-tilāwati al-Qurʾāni, fa-ʾinnahu rawḥuka fī al-samāʾi wa-dhikruka fī al-ʾarḍi, wa-ʿalayka bi-al-ṣamti ʾillā fī ḥaqqin, fa-ʾinnaka taghlibu al-shayṭāna.

“‘Commit yourself to remembering God and reciting the Qurʾān, for it is your solace in heaven and your good name on earth. Keep silent except when speaking what is right, for thereby you overcome Satan.’”

Source page 288

قَالَ: وَحَدَّثَنَا يَزِيدُ بْنُ هَٰرُونَ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا حَمَّادُ بْنُ سَلَمَةَ عَنْ عَاصِمِ بْنِ بَهْدَلَةَ عَنْ مُعَتِّبٍ عَنْ كَعْبٍ، قَالَ: عَلَيْكُمْ بِالْقُرْآنِ، فَإِنَّهُ فَهْمُ الْعَقْلِ وَنُورُ الْحِكْمَةِ وَيَنَابِيعُ الْعِلْمِ وَأَحْدَثُ الْكُتُبِ بِالرَّحْمَٰنِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ.

Qāla: wa-ḥaddathanā Yazīdu bnu Hārūna, qāla: ʾakhbaranā Ḥammādu bnu Salamata ʿan ʿĀṣimi bni Bahdalata ʿan Muʿattibin ʿan Kaʿbin, qāla: ʿalaykum bi-al-Qurʾāni, fa-ʾinnahu fahmu al-ʿaqli wa-nūru al-ḥikmati wa-yanābīʿu al-ʿilmi wa-ʾaḥdathu al-kutubi bi-al-Raḥmāni ʿazza wa-jalla.

He said: Yazīd ibn Hārūn also related to us, saying: Ḥammād ibn Salama informed us, from ʿĀṣim ibn Bahdala, from Muʿattib, from Kaʿb, who said: “Hold fast to the Qurʾān, for it is the intellect’s understanding, the light of wisdom, the wellsprings of knowledge, and the most recent of the books from the All-Merciful, mighty and majestic.”

قَالَ: وَحَدَّثَنَا يَزِيدُ بْنُ هَٰرُونَ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا زِيَادٌ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا الْحَسَنُ، قَالَ: لَمَّا أَحَسَّ جُنْدَبٌ بِقُدُومِ طَلْحَةَ وَالزُّبَيْرِ وَخَافَ الْقِتَالَ فَخَرَجَ يُرِيدُ الْحِجَازَ، فَتَبِعَهُ قَوْمٌ أَوْ قَالَ نَاسٌ، فَجَعَلُوا يَقُولُونَ: أَوْصِنَا.

Qāla: wa-ḥaddathanā Yazīdu bnu Hārūna, qāla: ʾakhbaranā Ziyādun, qāla: ḥaddathanā al-Ḥasanu, qāla: lammā ʾaḥassa Jundabun bi-qudūmi Ṭalḥata wa-al-Zubayri wa-khāfa al-qitāla fa-kharaja yurīdu al-Ḥijāza, fa-tabiʿahu qawmun ʾaw qāla nāsun, fa-jaʿalū yaqūlūna: ʾawṣinā.

He said: Yazīd ibn Hārūn also related to us, saying: Ziyād informed us, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: When Jundab learned that Ṭalḥa and al-Zubayr were approaching and feared fighting, he set out for the Ḥijāz. A group, or he said ‘some people,’ followed him and kept saying, “Give us counsel.”

Source pages 288–289

فَقَالَ: اِقْرَأُوا الْقُرْآنَ، فَإِنَّهُ نُورُ اللَّيْلِ الْمُظْلِمِ وَضِيَاءُ النَّهَارِ، فَاعْمَلُوا بِهِ عَلَى مَا كَانَ مِنْ جَهْدٍ وَفَاقَةٍ.

Fa-qāla: iqraʾū al-Qurʾāna, fa-ʾinnahu nūru al-layli al-muẓlimi wa-ḍiyāʾu al-nahāri, fa-iʿmalū bihi ʿalā mā kāna min jahdin wa-fāqatin.

He said: “Read the Qurʾān, for it is the light of the dark night and the brightness of day. Act by it, whatever hardship and poverty you face.”

Source page 289

قَالَ: وَحَدَّثَنَا إِسْحَاقُ بْنُ عِيسَى، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ طَلْحَةَ عَنْ مَعْنِ بْنِ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ مَسْعُودٍ، قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: إِنَّ كُلَّ مُؤَدِّبٍ يُحِبُّ أَنْ يُؤَدِّيَ أَدَبَهُ، وَإِنَّ أَدَبَ اللَّهِ الْقُرْآنُ.

Qāla: wa-ḥaddathanā ʾIsḥāqu bnu ʿĪsā, qāla: ḥaddathanā Muḥammadu bnu Ṭalḥata ʿan Maʿni bni ʿAbdi al-Raḥmāni ʿan ʿAbdi Allāhi bni Masʿūdin, qāla: qāla rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama: ʾinna kulla muʾaddibin yuḥibbu ʾan yuʾaddiya ʾadabahu, wa-ʾinna ʾadaba Allāhi al-Qurʾānu.

He said: Isḥāq ibn ʿĪsā also related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Ṭalḥa related to us, from Maʿn ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd, who said: God’s Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: “Every teacher wishes to impart his teaching, and God’s teaching is the Qurʾān.”

وَحَدَّثَنَا خَلَفُ بْنُ هِشَامٍ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الْوَهَّابِ الْخَفَّافُ عَنْ سَعِيدٍ عَنْ قَتَادَةَ فِي قَوْلِهِ: {وَمَنْ يُؤْتَ الْحِكْمَةَ}، قَالَ: الْقُرْآنُ.

Wa-ḥaddathanā Khalafu bnu Hishāmin, qāla: ḥaddathanā ʿAbdu al-Wahhābi al-Khaffāfu ʿan Saʿīdin ʿan Qatādata fī qawlihi: {wa-man yuʾta al-ḥikmata}, qāla: al-Qurʾānu.

Khalaf ibn Hishām also related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb al-Khaffāf related to us, from Saʿīd, from Qatāda, concerning His words, “Whoever is given wisdom”: he said, “The Qurʾān.”

Source page 290

قَالَ: وَسَمِعْتُ الْكَلْبِيَّ يَقُولُ: هِيَ النُّبُوَّةُ. قَالَ: فَذَكَرْتُ ذَلِكَ لِدَاوُدَ بْنِ أَبِي هِنْدٍ، فَقَالَ: إِنَّ النُّبُوَّةَ لَحَسَنٌ، وَلَكِنَّهُ الْقُرْآنُ.

Qāla: wa-samiʿtu al-Kalbiyya yaqūlu: hiya al-nubuwwatu. Qāla: fa-dhakartu dhālika li-Dāwūda bni ʾAbī Hindin, fa-qāla: ʾinna al-nubuwwata la-ḥasanun, wa-lākinnahu al-Qurʾānu.

He said: “I also heard al-Kalbī say, ‘It is prophethood.’” He said: “I mentioned that to Dāwūd ibn Abī Hind, and he said, ‘Prophethood is certainly a fine thing, but here it is the Qurʾān.’”

قَالَ: وَحَدَّثَنَا خَلَفُ بْنُ هِشَامٍ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الْوَهَّابِ عَنْ بِشْرٍ عَنِ الْقُثَمِ مَوْلَى خَالِدِ بْنِ يَزِيدَ بْنِ مُعَاوِيَةَ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنِي أَبُو أُمَامَةَ الْحِمْصِيُّ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: مَنْ قَرَأَ ثُلُثَ الْقُرْآنِ أُعْطِيَ ثُلُثَ النُّبُوَّةِ، وَمَنْ قَرَأَ ثُلُثَيْهِ أُعْطِيَ ثُلُثَيِ النُّبُوَّةِ، وَمَنْ قَرَأَ الْقُرْآنَ كُلَّهُ أُعْطِيَ النُّبُوَّةَ كُلَّهَا.

Qāla: wa-ḥaddathanā Khalafu bnu Hishāmin, qāla: ḥaddathanā ʿAbdu al-Wahhābi ʿan Bishrin ʿani al-Quthami mawlā Khālidi bni Yazīda bni Muʿāwiyata, qāla: ʾakhbaranī ʾAbū ʾUmāmata al-Ḥimṣiyyu ʾanna rasūla Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama qāla: man qaraʾa thulutha al-Qurʾāni ʾuʿṭiya thulutha al-nubuwwati, wa-man qaraʾa thuluthayhi ʾuʿṭiya thuluthayi al-nubuwwati, wa-man qaraʾa al-Qurʾāna kullahu ʾuʿṭiya al-nubuwwata kullahā.

He said: Khalaf ibn Hishām also related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb related to us, from Bishr, from al-Qutham [name provisionally read], the client of Khālid ibn Yazīd ibn Muʿāwiya, who said: Abū Umāma al-Ḥimṣī informed me that God’s Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: “Whoever recites a third of the Qurʾān is given a third of prophethood; whoever recites two-thirds of it is given two-thirds of prophethood; and whoever recites the whole Qurʾān is given all of prophethood.”

Source pages 290–291

قَالَ: وَحَدَّثَنَا خَلَفُ بْنُ هِشَامٍ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ بْنُ عَيَّاشٍ الْحِمْصِيُّ عَنِ الْحَسَنِ، قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: مَنْ أَخَذَ ثُلُثَ الْقُرْآنِ وَعَمِلَ بِهِ فَقَدْ أَخَذَ ثُلُثَ النُّبُوَّةِ، وَمَنْ أَخَذَ نِصْفَ الْقُرْآنِ وَعَمِلَ بِهِ فَقَدْ أَخَذَ نِصْفَ النُّبُوَّةِ، وَمَنْ أَخَذَ الْقُرْآنَ وَعَمِلَ بِهِ فَقَدْ أَخَذَ النُّبُوَّةَ كُلَّهَا.

Qāla: wa-ḥaddathanā Khalafu bnu Hishāmin, qāla: ḥaddathanā ʾIsmāʿīlu bnu ʿAyyāshin al-Ḥimṣiyyu ʿani al-Ḥasani, qāla: qāla rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama: man ʾakhadha thulutha al-Qurʾāni wa-ʿamila bihi fa-qad ʾakhadha thulutha al-nubuwwati, wa-man ʾakhadha niṣfa al-Qurʾāni wa-ʿamila bihi fa-qad ʾakhadha niṣfa al-nubuwwati, wa-man ʾakhadha al-Qurʾāna wa-ʿamila bihi fa-qad ʾakhadha al-nubuwwata kullahā.

He said: Khalaf ibn Hishām also related to us, saying: Ismāʿīl ibn ʿAyyāsh al-Ḥimṣī related to us, from al-Ḥasan, who said: God’s Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: “Whoever takes up a third of the Qurʾān and acts by it has taken up a third of prophethood; whoever takes up half the Qurʾān and acts by it has taken up half of prophethood; and whoever takes up the Qurʾān and acts by it has taken up all of prophethood.”

Source page 291

قَالَ: وَحَدَّثَنَا عُمَرُ بْنُ طَلْحَةَ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا أَسْبَاطُ بْنُ نَصْرٍ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا سِمَاكٌ عَنْ مِلْحَانَ بْنِ الْمُخَارِقِ التَّيْمِيِّ، قَالَ: مَرَّ عَمَّارُ بْنُ يَاسِرٍ عَلَيْنَا وَنَحْنُ فِي حَلَقَةٍ، فَقُمْنَا إِلَيْهِ فَجَلَسْنَا حَوْلَهُ.

Qāla: wa-ḥaddathanā ʿUmaru bnu Ṭalḥata, qāla: ḥaddathanā ʾAsbāṭu bnu Naṣrin, qāla: ḥaddathanā Simākun ʿan Milḥāna bni al-Mukhāriqi al-Taymiyyi, qāla: marra ʿAmmāru bnu Yāsirin ʿalaynā wa-naḥnu fī ḥalaqatin, fa-qumnā ʾilayhi fa-jalasnā ḥawlahu.

He said: ʿUmar ibn Ṭalḥa also related to us, saying: Asbāṭ ibn Naṣr related to us, saying: Simāk related to us, from Milḥān [name provisionally read] ibn al-Mukhāriq al-Taymī, who said: “ʿAmmār ibn Yāsir passed us while we were sitting in a circle. We rose to meet him and sat around him.”

فَقُلْنَا: حَدِّثْنَا مَا سَمِعْتَ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَإِنَّكَ صَاحِبُهُ، وَلَوْ فَارَقْتَنَا لَمْ نَجِدْ مِثْلَكَ. قَالَ: عَلَيْكُمُ الْقُرْآنَ، فَإِنَّ فِيهِ كَنْزَ الْأَوَّلِينَ وَالْآخِرِينَ.

Fa-qulnā: ḥaddithnā mā samiʿta min rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama fa-ʾinnaka ṣāḥibuhu, wa-law fāraqtanā lam najid mithlaka. Qāla: ʿalaykumu al-Qurʾāna, fa-ʾinna fīhi kanza al-ʾawwalīna wa-al-ʾākhirīna.

“We said, ‘Tell us what you heard from God’s Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace. You are his companion, and if you leave us, we will not find anyone like you.’ He said, ‘Hold fast to the Qurʾān, for it contains the treasure of the first and the last.’”

Source pages 291–292

قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا يَزِيدُ بْنُ هَٰرُونَ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا شُعْبَةُ عَنْ أَبِي إِسْحَٰقَ عَنْ عَمْرِو بْنِ مُرَّةَ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، قَالَ: مَنْ أَحَبَّ الْعِلْمَ (فَلْيُثَوِّرْ؟) الْقُرْآنَ، فَإِنَّ فِيهِ عِلْمَ الْأَوَّلِينَ وَالْآخِرِينَ.

Qāla: ḥaddathanā Yazīdu bnu Hārūna, qāla: ʾakhbaranā Shuʿbatu ʿan ʾAbī ʾIsḥāqa ʿan ʿAmri bni Murrata ʿan ʿAbdi Allāhi, qāla: man ʾaḥabba al-ʿilma (fa-l-yuthawwir?) al-Qurʾāna, fa-ʾinna fīhi ʿilma al-ʾawwalīna wa-al-ʾākhirīna.

He said: Yazīd ibn Hārūn related to us, saying: Shuʿba informed us, from Abū Isḥāq, from ʿAmr ibn Murra, from ʿAbd Allāh, who said: “Whoever loves knowledge (let him delve into?) the Qurʾān, for it contains the knowledge of the first and the last.”

Source page 292

قَالَ: وَحَدَّثَنَا حُجَيْنُ بْنُ الْمُثَنَّى، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا إِسْرَائِيلُ عَنْ أَبِي إِسْحَٰقَ عَنْ عَمْرٍو عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ أَنَّهُ كَانَ يَقْرَأُ الْقُرْآنَ فَيَمُرُّ بِالْآيَةِ فَيَقُولُ لِلرَّجُلِ: خُذْهَا، فَوَاللَّهِ لَهِيَ خَيْرٌ مِمَّا عَلَى الْأَرْضِ مِنْ شَيْءٍ.

Qāla: wa-ḥaddathanā Ḥujaynu bnu al-Muthannā, qāla: ḥaddathanā ʾIsrāʾīlu ʿan ʾAbī ʾIsḥāqa ʿan ʿAmrin ʿan ʿAbdi Allāhi ʾannahu kāna yaqraʾu al-Qurʾāna fa-yamurru bi-al-ʾāyati fa-yaqūlu li-al-rajuli: khudh-hā, fa-wa-Allāhi la-hiya khayrun mimmā ʿalā al-ʾarḍi min shayʾin.

He said: Ḥujayn ibn al-Muthannā also related to us, saying: Isrāʾīl related to us, from Abū Isḥāq, from ʿAmr, from ʿAbd Allāh: he would read the Qurʾān, come to a verse, and say to a man, “Take it to heart. By God, it is better than anything on earth.”

فَيَرَى الرَّجُلُ إِنَّمَا يَعْنِي تِلْكَ الْآيَةَ، حَتَّى يَفْعَلَهُ بِالْقَوْمِ كُلِّهِمْ. ثُمَّ قَالَ: جَعَلَ اللَّهُ جَلَّ وَعَزَّ قَارِئَ الْقُرْآنِ مَعَ السَّفَرَةِ.

Fa-yarā al-rajulu ʾinnamā yaʿnī tilka al-ʾāyata, ḥattā yafʿalahu bi-al-qawmi kullihim. Thumma qāla: jaʿala Allāhu jalla wa-ʿazza qāriʾa al-Qurʾāni maʿa al-safarati.

The man would think he meant that particular verse, until he had done the same with everyone present. Then he said: “God, majestic and mighty, has placed the reader of the Qurʾān with the angelic scribes.”

Source pages 292–293

قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو النَّضْرِ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا شُعْبَةُ عَنْ قَتَادَةَ، قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ زُرَارَةَ بْنَ أَوْفَى يُحَدِّثُ عَنْ سَعْدِ بْنِ هِشَامٍ الْأَنْصَارِيِّ عَنْ عَائِشَةَ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، قَالَ: الَّذِي يَقْرَأُ الْقُرْآنَ وَهُوَ لَهُ حَافِظٌ مَعَ السَّفَرَةِ الْكِرَامِ الْبَرَرَةِ، وَمَثَلُ الَّذِي يَقْرَؤُهُ وَلَيْسَ بِحَافِظٍ لَهُ وَهُوَ يَتَعَاهَدُهُ فَلَهُ أَجْرَانِ.

Qāla: ḥaddathanā ʾAbū al-Naḍri, qāla: ḥaddathanā Shuʿbatu ʿan Qatādata, qāla: samiʿtu Zurārata bna ʾAwfā yuḥaddithu ʿan Saʿdi bni Hishāmin al-ʾAnṣāriyyi ʿan ʿĀʾishata ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama, qāla: alladhī yaqraʾu al-Qurʾāna wa-huwa lahu ḥāfiẓun maʿa al-safarati al-kirāmi al-bararati, wa-mathalu alladhī yaqraʾuhu wa-laysa bi-ḥāfiẓin lahu wa-huwa yataʿāhaduhu fa-lahu ʾajrāni.

He said: Abū al-Naḍr related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, from Qatāda, who said: I heard Zurāra ibn Awfā relating from Saʿd ibn Hishām al-Anṣārī, from ʿĀʾisha, from the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, who said: “The one who reads the Qurʾān and has memorized it is with the noble, righteous angelic scribes. As for the one who reads it without having memorized it but keeps working at it, he has two rewards.”

Source page 293

قَالَ: ثُمَّ جَعَلَ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى قَارِئَهُ فِي أَعْلَا دَرَجَاتِ الْجَنَّاتِ، وَمَنْ قَرَأَ مِنْهُ شَيْئًا ارْتَقَى فِي دَرَجِ الْجَنَّاتِ عَلَى عَدَدِ مَا أَخَذَ مِنْ آيَاتِهِ.

Qāla: thumma jaʿala tabāraka wa-taʿālā qāriʾahu fī ʾaʿlā darajāti al-jannāti, wa-man qaraʾa minhu shayʾan irtaqā fī daraji al-jannāti ʿalā ʿadadi mā ʾakhadha min ʾāyātihi.

He said: Then He, blessed and exalted, placed its reader in the highest ranks of the gardens. Whoever recites any part of it ascends the gardens’ steps according to the number of its verses he has learned.

قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو نُعَيْمٍ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا سُفَيْنٌ عَنْ عَاصِمٍ عَنْ زِرٍّ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، قَالَ: مَنْزِلَتُكَ عِنْدَ آخِرِ آيَةٍ تَقْرَؤُهَا.

Qāla: ḥaddathanā ʾAbū Nuʿaymin, qāla: ḥaddathanā Sufaynun ʿan ʿĀṣimin ʿan Zirrin ʿan ʿAbdi Allāhi bni ʿAmrin ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama, qāla: manzilatuka ʿinda ʾākhiri ʾāyatin taqraʾuhā.

He said: Abū Nuʿaym related to us, saying: Sufayn related to us, from ʿĀṣim, from Zirr, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr, from the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, who said: “Your rank is at the last verse you recite.”

Source pages 293–294

قَالَ: وَحَدَّثَنَا أَبُو النَّضْرِ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو خَيْثَمَةَ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا مُوسَى الْفَرَّاءُ عَنْ (أَبِي) عَنْبَسٍ عَنْ عِمْرَانَ بْنِ حِطَّانَ، قَالَ: سَأَلْتُ أُمَّ الدَّرْدَاءِ فَقُلْتُ: حَدِّثِينَا عَنْ فَضْلِ الْقُرْآنِ.

Qāla: wa-ḥaddathanā ʾAbū al-Naḍri, qāla: ḥaddathanā ʾAbū Khaythamata, qāla: ḥaddathanā Mūsā al-Farrāʾu ʿan (ʾAbī) ʿAnbasin ʿan ʿImrāna bni Ḥiṭṭāna, qāla: saʾaltu ʾUmma al-Dardāʾi fa-qultu: ḥaddithīnā ʿan faḍli al-Qurʾāni.

He said: Abū al-Naḍr also related to us, saying: Abū Khaythama related to us, saying: Mūsā al-Farrāʾ related to us, from (Abū) ʿAnbas, from ʿImrān ibn Ḥiṭṭān, who said: I asked Umm al-Dardāʾ, saying, “Tell us about the excellence of the Qurʾān.”

Source page 294

فَقَالَتْ: إِنَّ دَرَجَ الْجَنَّةِ عَلَى عَدَدِ آيِ الْقُرْآنِ، وَإِنَّهُ يُقَالُ لِصَاحِبِ الْقُرْآنِ: اِقْرَأْ وَارْقَهْ.

Fa-qālat: ʾinna daraja al-jannati ʿalā ʿadadi ʾāyi al-Qurʾāni, wa-ʾinnahu yuqālu li-ṣāḥibi al-Qurʾāni: iqraʾ wa-irqah.

She said: “The steps of the Garden correspond to the number of the Qurʾān’s verses, and the companion of the Qurʾān is told: ‘Recite and ascend.’”

قَالَ: وَحَدَّثَنَا يَزِيدُ بْنُ هَارُونَ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَ إِسْمَاعِيلُ بْنُ أَبِي خَالِدٍ عَنْ أُبَيٍّ، قَالَ: حُدِّثْتُ أَنَّ ثَلَاثَةً عَلَى كُثْبَانِ الْمِسْكِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ.

Qāla: wa-ḥaddathanā Yazīdu bnu Hārūna, qāla: ʾakhbara ʾIsmāʿīlu bnu ʾAbī Khālidin ʿan ʾUbayyin, qāla: ḥuddithtu ʾanna thalāthatan ʿalā kuthbāni al-miski yawma al-qiyāmati.

He said: Yazīd ibn Hārūn also related to us, saying: Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Khālid reported from Ubayy, who said: “I was told that three people will be on dunes of musk on the day of resurrection.”

رَجُلٌ وَعَى كِتَابَ اللَّهِ جَلَّ وَعَزَّ فَأَمَّ بِهِ قَوْمًا وَهُمْ بِهِ رَاضُونَ.

Rajulun waʿā kitāba Allāhi jalla wa-ʿazza fa-ʾamma bihi qawman wa-hum bihi rāḍūna.

“A man who has taken to heart the Book of God, majestic and mighty is He, and leads people in prayer with it while they are pleased with him.”

Source pages 294–295

وَرَجُلٌ يُؤَذِّنُ بِالصَّلَوَاتِ فِي كُلِّ يَوْمٍ خَمْسَ مَرَّاتٍ فِي اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ، يَبْتَغِي بِذَلِكَ وَجْهَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَالدَّارَ الْآخِرَةَ.

Wa-rajulun yuʾadhdhinu bi-al-ṣalawāti fī kulli yawmin khamsa marrātin fī al-layli wa-al-nahāri, yabtaghī bi-dhālika wajha Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla wa-al-dāra al-ʾākhirata.

“A man who gives the call to prayer five times each day and night, seeking thereby the face of God, mighty and majestic, and the abode of the hereafter.”

Source page 295

وَعَبْدٌ مَمْلُوكٌ لَمْ يَشْغَلْهُ رِقُّ الدُّنْيَا عَنْ عِبَادَةِ رَبِّهِ.

Wa-ʿabdun mamlūkun lam yashghalhu riqqu al-dunyā ʿan ʿibādati rabbihi.

“And an enslaved man whose bondage in this world has not distracted him from worshiping his Lord.”

قَالَ: وَحَدَّثَنَا الْحَسَنُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا شَيْبَانُ عَنْ قَتَادَةَ فِي قَوْلِهِ: {الر تِلْكَ آيَاتُ الْكِتَابِ الْمُبِينِ}، قَالَ: أَيْ وَاللَّهِ، مُبِينٌ بَرَكَتُهُ وَرُشْدُهُ.

Qāla: wa-ḥaddathanā al-Ḥasanu bnu Muḥammadin, qāla: ḥaddathanā Shaybānu ʿan Qatādata fī qawlihi: {ʾalif lām rā, tilka ʾāyātu al-kitābi al-mubīni}, qāla: ʾay wa-Allāhi, mubīnun barakatuhu wa-rushduhu.

He said: al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad also related to us, saying: Shaybān related to us, from Qatāda, concerning His words, “Alif, Lām, Rā. These are the verses of the clear Book”: he said, “Yes, by God, its blessing and right guidance are clear.”

وَقَوْلِهِ: {ذَلِكَ مِنْ فَضْلِ اللَّهِ عَلَيْنَا وَعَلَى النَّاسِ وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَشْكُرُونَ}، قَالَ: إِنَّ الْمُؤْمِنَ لَيَشْكُرُ نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ وَعَلَى غَيْرِهِ.

Wa-qawlihi: {dhālika min faḍli Allāhi ʿalaynā wa-ʿalā al-nāsi wa-lākinna ʾakthara al-nāsi lā yashkurūna}, qāla: ʾinna al-muʾmina la-yashkuru niʿmata Allāhi ʿalayhi wa-ʿalā ghayrihi.

And concerning His words, “That is part of God’s bounty to us and to people, but most people do not give thanks,” he said: “The believer gives thanks for God’s blessing upon himself and upon others.”

قَالَ: وَذُكِرَ لَنَا أَنَّ أَبَا الدَّرْدَاءِ كَانَ يَقُولُ: يَا رُبَّ شَاكِرِ نِعْمَةِ غَيْرِهِ.

Qāla: wa-dhukira lanā ʾanna ʾAbā al-Dardāʾi kāna yaqūlu: yā rubba shākiri niʿmati ghayrihi.

He said: “We were told that Abū al-Dardāʾ used to say, ‘How many give thanks for a blessing bestowed on someone else!’”

قَالَ: وَحَدَّثَنَا سَيَّارٌ عَنْ قَتَادَةَ فِي قَوْلِهِ: {لَقَدْ كَانَ فِي قَصَصِهِمْ عِبْرَةٌ لِأُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ} إِلَى قَوْلِهِ: {وَلَكِنْ تَصْدِيقَ الَّذِي بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ}.

Qāla: wa-ḥaddathanā Sayyārun ʿan Qatādata fī qawlihi: {la-qad kāna fī qaṣaṣihim ʿibratun li-ʾulī al-ʾalbābi} ʾilā qawlihi: {wa-lākin taṣdīqa alladhī bayna yadayhi}.

He said: Sayyār also related to us, from Qatāda, concerning His words, “In their stories there is a lesson for those with understanding,” through His words, “But a confirmation of what came before it.”

قَالَ: الْقُرْآنُ مُصَدِّقُ الْكُتُبِ الَّتِي قَبْلَهُ وَيَشْهَدُ عَلَيْهَا. قَوْلُهُ: {وَتَفْصِيلَ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ}، قَالَ: فَصَّلَ اللَّهُ حَلَالَهُ وَحَرَامَهُ وَطَاعَتَهُ وَمَعْصِيَتَهُ.

Qāla: al-Qurʾānu muṣaddiqu al-kutubi allatī qablahu wa-yash-hadu ʿalayhā. Qawluhu: {wa-tafṣīla kulli shayʾin}, qāla: faṣṣala Allāhu ḥalālahu wa-ḥarāmahu wa-ṭāʿatahu wa-maʿṣiyatahu.

He said: “The Qurʾān confirms the scriptures before it and bears witness to them.” Concerning His words, “And a detailed explanation of everything,” he said: “God set out what He permits and forbids, and what constitutes obedience and disobedience to Him.”