Surah 25. Al-Furqan, Ayah 20
| وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا قَبْلَكَ مِنَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ إِلَّا إِنَّهُمْ لَيَأْكُلُونَ الطَّعَامَ وَيَمْشُونَ فِي الْأَسْوَاقِ ۗ وَجَعَلْنَا بَعْضَكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ فِتْنَةً أَتَصْبِرُونَ ۗ وَكَانَ رَبُّكَ بَصِيرًا |
| Transliteration | : | wa- maa arsalnaa qabla -ka min al- mursalen 'illaa 'inna -hum la- ya'kulon at.- t.acaam wa- yamshon fe al- aswaaq wa- jacalnaa bacd. -kum li- bacd. fitnah 'a- tas.biron wa- kaana rabb -ka bas.er(an) |
| Pickthall | : | We never sent before thee any messengers but lo! they ate food and walked in the markets. And We have appointed some of you a test for others: Will ye be steadfast? And thy Lord is ever Seer. |
| Asad | : | AND [even] before thee, Lo Muhammad,] We never sent as Our message-bearers any but [mortal men,] who indeed ate food [like other human beings] and went about in the market-places: for [it is thus that] We cause you [human beings] to be a means of testing one another.'16 Are you17 able to endure [this test] with patience? For [remember, O man,] thy Sustainer is truly all-seeing! |
| Malik | : | We have sent no Rasool before you, who did not eat or walk through the streets. In fact, We test you by means of one another. Now, will you show patience, for your Rabb is Ever Observant. |
| Yusuf Ali | : | And the apostles whom We sent before thee were all (men) who ate food and walked through the streets: We have made some of you as a trial for others: will ye have patience? For Allah is One Who sees (all things). 3075 3076 |
Note - 16This elliptic passage undoubtedly alludes to the fact
that the appearance of each new prophet had, as a rule, a
twofold purpose: firstly, to convey a divinely-inspired
ethical message to man, and thus to establish a criterion
of right and wrong or a standard by which to discern the
true from the false (al-furqan, as stated in the first
verse of this surah); and, secondly, to be a means of
testing men's moral perceptions and dispositions as
manifested in their reactions to the prophet's message -
that is, their willingness or unwillingness to accept it
on the basis of its intrinsic merit without demanding or
even expecting any "supernatural" proof of its divine
origin. Indirectly, in its deepest sense, this passage
implies that not only a prophet but every human being is,
by virtue of his social existence, a means whereby the
moral qualities of his fellow-men are put to a test:
hence, some of the earliest commentators (among them
Tabari) give to the above phrase the connotation of "We
caused you human beings to be a means of testing one
another".
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Note - 17I.e., "you men" or, more specifically, "you whom the
message of the Qur'an has reached".
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Note - 3075Cf. above, xxv. 7.
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Note - 3076In Allah's universal Plan, each unit or thing serves a
purpose. If some are rich, the poor should not envy them:
it may be that the rich man's proximity is itself a trial
of their virtue. If some are poor, the righteous rich
should not despise or neglect them: it may be that their
coming within their sight is a trial for the real feeling
of charity or brotherly love in the rich. If A is
bad-tempered or persecutes or ill-uses B, it may be an
opportunity for B to show his patience or humility or his
faith in the ultimate prevalence of justice and truth.
Whatever our experiences with other human beings may be,
we must make them subserve the ends of our spiritual
improvement and perhaps theirs also.
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This elliptic passage undoubtedly alludes to the fact that the appearance of each new prophet had, as a rule, a twofold purpose: firstly, to convey a divinely-inspired ethical message to man, and thus to establish a criterion of right and wrong or a standard by which to discern the true from the false (al-furqan, as stated in the first verse of this surah); and, secondly, to be a means of testing men's moral perceptions and dispositions as manifested in their reactions to the prophet's message - that is, their willingness or unwillingness to accept it on the basis of its intrinsic merit without demanding or even expecting any "supernatural" proof of its divine origin. Indirectly, in its deepest sense, this passage implies that not only a prophet but every human being is, by virtue of his social existence, a means whereby the moral qualities of his fellow-men are put to a test: hence, some of the earliest commentators (among them Tabari) give to the above phrase the connotation of "We caused you human beings to be a means of testing one another". |
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In Allah's universal Plan, each unit or thing serves a purpose. If some are rich, the poor should not envy them: it may be that the rich man's proximity is itself a trial of their virtue. If some are poor, the righteous rich should not despise or neglect them: it may be that their coming within their sight is a trial for the real feeling of charity or brotherly love in the rich. If A is bad-tempered or persecutes or ill-uses B, it may be an opportunity for B to show his patience or humility or his faith in the ultimate prevalence of justice and truth. Whatever our experiences with other human beings may be, we must make them subserve the ends of our spiritual improvement and perhaps theirs also. |
