Surah 2. Al-Baqara, Ayah 258
| أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِي حَاجَّ إِبْرَاهِيمَ فِي رَبِّهِ أَنْ آتَاهُ اللَّهُ الْمُلْكَ إِذْ قَالَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ رَبِّيَ الَّذِي يُحْيِي وَيُمِيتُ قَالَ أَنَا أُحْيِي وَأُمِيتُ ۖ قَالَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْتِي بِالشَّمْسِ مِنَ الْمَشْرِقِ فَأْتِ بِهَا مِنَ الْمَغْرِبِ فَبُهِتَ الَّذِي كَفَرَ ۗ وَاللَّهُ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الظَّالِمِينَ |
| Transliteration | : | 'a- lam tara 'ilaa 'alladhe h.aajja 'ibraahem fe rabb -hi 'an 'aataa -hu 'allaah al- mulk 'idh qaala 'ibraahem rabb -e 'alladhe yuh.ye wa- yumet qaala 'anaa uh.ye wa- umet qaala 'ibraahem fa- 'inna 'allaah ya'te bi- ash- shams min al- mashriq fa- i'ti bi- -haa min al- maghrib fa- buhita 'alladhe kafara wa- 'allaah laa yahde al- qawm az.- z.aalimen |
| Pickthall | : | Bethink thee of him who had an argument with Abraham about his Lord, because Allah had given him the kingdom; how, when Abraham said: My Lord is He who giveth life and causeth death, he answered: I give life and cause death. Abraham said: Lo! Allah causeth the sun to rise in the East, so do thou cause it to come up from the West. Thus was the disbeliever abashed. And Allah guideth not wrong doing folk. |
| Asad | : | ART THOU NOT aware of that [king] who argued with Abraham about his Sustainer, [simply] because God had granted him kingship? Lo! Abraham said: "My Sustainer is He who grants life and deals death." [The king] replied: "I [too] grant life and deal death!" Said Abraham: "Verily, God causes the sun to rise in the east; cause it, then, to rise in the west!" Thereupon he who was bent on denying the truth remained dumbfounded: for God does not guide people who [deliberately] do wrong.251 |
| Malik | : | Have you ever reflected upon the one (Namrud), to whom Allah had given him kingdom, who argued with Ibrahim (Abraham) about his Rabb. When Ibrahim said: "My Rabb is He Who has power to give life and to cause death." He replied: "I too have the power to give life and to cause death." Ibrahim said: "Well, Allah causes the sun to rise from the east; just make it rise from the west." Thus the unbeliever was confounded; Allah does not guide the evildoers. |
| Yusuf Ali | : | Hast thou not turned thy vision to one who disputed with Abraham about his Lord because Allah had granted him power? Abraham said: "My Lord is He Who Giveth life and death." He said: "I give life and death." Said Abraham: "but it is Allah that causeth the sun to rise from the East do thou then cause him to rise from the West." Thus was he confounded who (in arrogance) rejected faith. Nor doth Allah give guidance to a people unjust. 302 303 |
Note - 251According to Muhammad 'Abduh, the wrong (zulm) referred
to here consists in "one's deliberately turning away from
the light [of guidance] provided by God" (Manar III, 47).
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Note - 302The three verses 258-260 have been the subject of much
controversy as to the exact meaning to be attached to the
incidents and the precise persons alluded to, whose names
are not mentioned. M.M.A's learned notes give some
indication of the points at issue. In such matters,
where the Qur-an has given no names and the Holy Apostle
has himself given no indication, it seems to me useless
to speculate, and still worse to put forward positive
opinions. In questions of learning, speculations are
often interesting. But it seems to me that the meaning
of the Qur-an is so wide and universal that we are in
danger of missing the real and eternal meaning if we go
on disputing about minor points. All three incidents are
such as may happen again and again in any prophet's
lifetime, and be seen in impersonal vision at any time.
Here they are connected with Mustafa's vision as shown by
the opening words of verse 258.
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Note - 303The first point illustrated is the pride of power, and
the impotence of human power as against God's power. The
person who disputed with Abraham may have been Nimrod or
some ruler in Babylonia, or indeed elsewhere. I name
Babylonia as it was the original home of Abraham (Ur of
the Chaldees), and Babylon prided herself on her arts and
sciences in the ancient world. Science can do many
wonderful things; it could then; it can now. But the
mystery of Life baffled science then, as it continues to
baffle science now, after many centuries of progress.
Abraham had faith and referred back everything to the
true Cause of Causes. A sceptical ruler might jestingly
say: "I have the power of life and death". A man of
science might say: "We have investigated the laws of life
and death." Different kinds of powers lie in the hands
of kings and men of knowledge. The claim in both cases
is true in a very limited sense. But Abraham confounded
the claimer by going back to fundamentals. "If you had
the ultimate power, why could you not make the sun rise
from the West?"
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The three verses 258-260 have been the subject of much controversy as to the exact meaning to be attached to the incidents and the precise persons alluded to, whose names are not mentioned. M.M.A's learned notes give some indication of the points at issue. In such matters, where the Qur-an has given no names and the Holy Apostle has himself given no indication, it seems to me useless to speculate, and still worse to put forward positive opinions. In questions of learning, speculations are often interesting. But it seems to me that the meaning of the Qur-an is so wide and universal that we are in danger of missing the real and eternal meaning if we go on disputing about minor points. All three incidents are such as may happen again and again in any prophet's lifetime, and be seen in impersonal vision at any time. Here they are connected with Mustafa's vision as shown by the opening words of verse 258. |
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The first point illustrated is the pride of power, and the impotence of human power as against God's power. The person who disputed with Abraham may have been Nimrod or some ruler in Babylonia, or indeed elsewhere. I name Babylonia as it was the original home of Abraham (Ur of the Chaldees), and Babylon prided herself on her arts and sciences in the ancient world. Science can do many wonderful things; it could then; it can now. But the mystery of Life baffled science then, as it continues to baffle science now, after many centuries of progress. Abraham had faith and referred back everything to the true Cause of Causes. A sceptical ruler might jestingly say: "I have the power of life and death". A man of science might say: "We have investigated the laws of life and death." Different kinds of powers lie in the hands of kings and men of knowledge. The claim in both cases is true in a very limited sense. But Abraham confounded the claimer by going back to fundamentals. "If you had the ultimate power, why could you not make the sun rise from the West?" |
