Surah 42. Ash-Shura, Ayah 48
| فَإِنْ أَعْرَضُوا فَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ عَلَيْهِمْ حَفِيظًا ۖ إِنْ عَلَيْكَ إِلَّا الْبَلَاغُ ۗ وَإِنَّا إِذَا أَذَقْنَا الْإِنْسَانَ مِنَّا رَحْمَةً فَرِحَ بِهَا ۖ وَإِنْ تُصِبْهُمْ سَيِّئَةٌ بِمَا قَدَّمَتْ أَيْدِيهِمْ فَإِنَّ الْإِنْسَانَ كَفُورٌ |
| Transliteration | : | fa- 'in acrad.o fa- maa arsalnaa -ka calay -him h.afez.(an) 'in calay -ka 'illaa al- balaagh wa- 'in(na) -naa 'idhaa adhaqnaa al- 'insaan min -naa rah.mah farih.a bi- -haa wa- 'in tus.ib -hum sayyi'ah bi- maa qaddamat ayde -him fa- 'inna al- 'insaan kafor |
| Pickthall | : | But if they are averse, We have not sent thee as a warder over them. Thine is only to convey (the message). And lo! when We cause man to taste of mercy from Us he exulteth therefor. And if some evil striketh them because of that which their own hands have sent before, then lo! man is an ingrate. |
| Asad | : | BUT IF they turn away [from thee, O Prophet, know that] We have not sent thee to be their keeper: thou art not bound to do more than deliver the message [entrusted to thee]. And, behold, [such as turn away from Our messages are but impelled by the weakness and inconstancy of human nature:48 thus,] when We give man a taste of Our grace, he is prone to exult in it;49 but if misfortune befalls [any of] them in result of what their own hands have sent forth, then, behold, man shows how bereft he is of all gratitude!50 |
| Malik | : | Now if they give no heed, they should know that We have not sent you, O Muhammad, to be their keeper. Your only duty is to convey My message. Man is such that when We give him a taste of Our Mercy, he is very happy about it; but when, through his own fault, an evil afflicts him, he becomes utterly ungrateful." |
| Yusuf Ali | : | If then they turn away We have not sent thee as a guard over them. Thy duty is but to convey (the Message). And truly when We give man a taste of Mercy from Ourselves He doth exult thereat but when some ill happens to him on account of the deeds which His hands have sent forth truly then is man ungrateful! 4593 4594 |
Note - 48This interpolation - necessary for a proper understanding
of the context - is based on Razi's convincing
explanation of how this passage connects with the
preceding one. Man is, as a rule, absorbed in a pursuit
of material goods and comforts, the achievement of which
he identifies with "happiness"; hence, he pays but scant
attention to spiritual aims and values, and the more so
if he is called upon to abandon his selfish pursuits in
favour of the - to him as yet hypothetical - life in the
hereafter.
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Note - 49I.e., when God bestows on him a measure of material
benefits, man tends to exult in this "success" as such,
attributing it exclusively to his own ability and
cleverness (cf. the first sentence of 41:50
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Note - 50I.e., instead of remembering his past happiness with
gratitude, he calls the very existence of God in
question, arguing that if God did really exist, He "could
not possibly have permitted" so much misfortune and
unhappiness to prevail in the world: a fallacious
argument inasmuch as it does not take the reality of the
hereafter into account and is, moreover, based on a
concept of God in terms of purely human feelings and
expectations.
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Note - 4593The warning is now given, that men may repent and do
good, and pray for Allah's Mercy and Grace. If the
warning is not heeded or is rejected, the prophet of
Allah is not responsible for bringing about the Penalty
or for forcing people to come to the right Path. He is
not a guard set over them to free them from the need of
exercising their limited free-will.
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Note - 4594Cf. xxx. 36. It is a sad reflection that men, when they
receive some gift out of Allah's Mercy, exult in their
good fortune and attribute it to some merit in
themselves, instead of to the Grace and Mercy of Allah,
thus missing the real lesson of Life. On the other hand,
when they are in trouble, due to their own errors and
shortcomings, they fall into despair and blame Allah,
instead of blaming themselves. This is rank ingratitude.
So they miss the true lesson of Life in that case also.
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This interpolation - necessary for a proper understanding of the context - is based on Razi's convincing explanation of how this passage connects with the preceding one. Man is, as a rule, absorbed in a pursuit of material goods and comforts, the achievement of which he identifies with "happiness"; hence, he pays but scant attention to spiritual aims and values, and the more so if he is called upon to abandon his selfish pursuits in favour of the - to him as yet hypothetical - life in the hereafter. |
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I.e., when God bestows on him a measure of material benefits, man tends to exult in this "success" as such, attributing it exclusively to his own ability and cleverness (cf. the first sentence of 41:50 |
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I.e., instead of remembering his past happiness with gratitude, he calls the very existence of God in question, arguing that if God did really exist, He "could not possibly have permitted" so much misfortune and unhappiness to prevail in the world: a fallacious argument inasmuch as it does not take the reality of the hereafter into account and is, moreover, based on a concept of God in terms of purely human feelings and expectations. |
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The warning is now given, that men may repent and do good, and pray for Allah's Mercy and Grace. If the warning is not heeded or is rejected, the prophet of Allah is not responsible for bringing about the Penalty or for forcing people to come to the right Path. He is not a guard set over them to free them from the need of exercising their limited free-will. |
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Cf. xxx. 36. It is a sad reflection that men, when they receive some gift out of Allah's Mercy, exult in their good fortune and attribute it to some merit in themselves, instead of to the Grace and Mercy of Allah, thus missing the real lesson of Life. On the other hand, when they are in trouble, due to their own errors and shortcomings, they fall into despair and blame Allah, instead of blaming themselves. This is rank ingratitude. So they miss the true lesson of Life in that case also. |
