Surah 3. Al-i'Imran, Ayah 34
| ذُرِّيَّةً بَعْضُهَا مِنْ بَعْضٍ ۗ وَاللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ |
| Transliteration | : | dhurreyah bacd. -haa min bacd. wa- 'allaah samec calem |
| Pickthall | : | They were descendants one of another. Allah is Hearer, Knower. |
| Asad | : | in one line of descent.22 And God was all-hearing, all-knowing23 |
| Malik | : | They were the offsprings of one another. Allah hears all and knows all. |
| Yusuf Ali | : | Offspring one of the other; and Allah heareth and knoweth all things. 374 |
Note - 22Lit., "offspring of one another" - an allusion not merely
to the physical descent of those prophets but also to the
fact that all of them were spiritually linked with one
another and believed in one and the same fundamental
truth (Tabari). Thus, the above passage is a logical
sequence to verses {31-32}, which make God's approval
contingent upon obedience to His chosen message-bearers.
The names which appear in this sentence circumscribe, by
implication, all the prophets mentioned in the Qur'an
inasmuch as most of them were descendants of two or more
of these patriarchs. The House of 'Imran comprises Moses
and Aaron, whose father was 'Imran (the Amram of the
Bible), and Aaron's descendants, the priestly caste among
the Israelites - thus including John the Baptist, both of
whose parents were of the same descent (cf. the
reference, in Luke i, 5, to John's mother Elisabeth as
one "of the daughters of Aaron"), as well as Jesus, whose
mother Mary - a close relation of John - is spoken of
elsewhere in the Qur'an (19:28) as a "sister of Aaron":
in both cases embodying the ancient Semitic custom of
linking a person's or a people's name with that of an
illustrious forebear. The reference to the House of
'Imran serves as an introduction to the stories of
Zachariah, John, Mary, and Jesus.
|
Note - 23My joining of this phrase with the following passage is
in agreement with the interpretation advanced by Muhammad
'Abduh and Rashid Rida' (Manar III, 289).
|
Note - 374The Prophets in the Jewish-Christian-Muslim Dispensation
form one family literally. But the argument is wider. All
men of faith form one family. If you love and obey Allah,
love and obey His Messenger; your love, obedience and
discipline will be the test of your Faith.
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Lit., "offspring of one another" - an allusion not merely to the physical descent of those prophets but also to the fact that all of them were spiritually linked with one another and believed in one and the same fundamental truth (Tabari). Thus, the above passage is a logical sequence to verses {31-32}, which make God's approval contingent upon obedience to His chosen message-bearers. The names which appear in this sentence circumscribe, by implication, all the prophets mentioned in the Qur'an inasmuch as most of them were descendants of two or more of these patriarchs. The House of 'Imran comprises Moses and Aaron, whose father was 'Imran (the Amram of the Bible), and Aaron's descendants, the priestly caste among the Israelites - thus including John the Baptist, both of whose parents were of the same descent (cf. the reference, in Luke i, 5, to John's mother Elisabeth as one "of the daughters of Aaron"), as well as Jesus, whose mother Mary - a close relation of John - is spoken of elsewhere in the Qur'an (19:28) as a "sister of Aaron": in both cases embodying the ancient Semitic custom of linking a person's or a people's name with that of an illustrious forebear. The reference to the House of 'Imran serves as an introduction to the stories of Zachariah, John, Mary, and Jesus. |
