Surah 18. Al-Kahf, Ayah 6
| فَلَعَلَّكَ بَاخِعٌ نَفْسَكَ عَلَىٰ آثَارِهِمْ إِنْ لَمْ يُؤْمِنُوا بِهَٰذَا الْحَدِيثِ أَسَفًا |
| Asad | : | But wouldst thou, perhaps,3 torment thyself to death with grief over them if they are not willing to believe in this message?4 |
| Malik | : | O Muhammad! You probably will kill yourself in grief over them, if they do not believe in this Message (The Qur'an). |
| Pickthall | : | Yet it may be, if they believe not in this statement, that thou (Muhammad) wilt torment thy soul with grief over their footsteps. |
| Yusuf Ali | : | Thou wouldst only perchance fret thyself to death following after them in grief if they believe not in this Message. 2331 |
| Transliteration | : | fa- lacalla -ka baakhic nafs -ka calaa 'aathaar -him 'in lam yu'mino bi- haadhaa al- h.adeth 'asif(an) |
Note - 3Lit., "it may well be that thou wilt...", etc. However,
the particle la'alla does not, in this context, indicate
a possibility but, rather, a rhetorical question implying
a reproach for the attitude referred to (Maraghi XIII,
116).
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Note - 4This rhetorical question is addressed, in the first
instance, to the Prophet, who was deeply distressed by
the hostility which his message aroused among the pagan
Meccans, and suffered agonies of apprehension regarding
their spiritual fate. Beyond that, however, it applies to
everyone who, having become convinced of the truth of an
ethical proposition, is dismayed at the indifference with
which his social environment reacts to it.
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Note - 2331In a reasonable world the preaching of a reasonable Faith
like that of Islam would win universal acceptance. But
the world is not altogether reasonable. It caused great
distress to the unselfish Preacher of Islam that his
Message met with so much opposition. He wanted to point
the way to salvation. He only got, in the Makkans period,
abuse from the chiefs of the Makkans-abuse and
persecution, not only for himself but for the Truth which
he was preaching. A heart less stout than his might have
been appalled at what seemed the hopeless task of
reclaiming the world from falsehood, superstition,
selfishness, wrong, and oppression. He is here consoled,
and told that he was not to fret himself to death: he was
nobly doing his duty, and, as after-events showed, the
seed of Truth was already germinating, although this was
not visible at the time. Besides, these "chiefs" and
"leaders" were only strutting in false plumes: their
glory was soon to fade for ever.
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Lit., "it may well be that thou wilt...", etc. However, the particle la'alla does not, in this context, indicate a possibility but, rather, a rhetorical question implying a reproach for the attitude referred to (Maraghi XIII, 116). |
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This rhetorical question is addressed, in the first instance, to the Prophet, who was deeply distressed by the hostility which his message aroused among the pagan Meccans, and suffered agonies of apprehension regarding their spiritual fate. Beyond that, however, it applies to everyone who, having become convinced of the truth of an ethical proposition, is dismayed at the indifference with which his social environment reacts to it. |
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In a reasonable world the preaching of a reasonable Faith like that of Islam would win universal acceptance. But the world is not altogether reasonable. It caused great distress to the unselfish Preacher of Islam that his Message met with so much opposition. He wanted to point the way to salvation. He only got, in the Makkans period, abuse from the chiefs of the Makkans-abuse and persecution, not only for himself but for the Truth which he was preaching. A heart less stout than his might have been appalled at what seemed the hopeless task of reclaiming the world from falsehood, superstition, selfishness, wrong, and oppression. He is here consoled, and told that he was not to fret himself to death: he was nobly doing his duty, and, as after-events showed, the seed of Truth was already germinating, although this was not visible at the time. Besides, these "chiefs" and "leaders" were only strutting in false plumes: their glory was soon to fade for ever. |
