Surah 7. Al-A'raf, Ayah 158
| قُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنِّي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ إِلَيْكُمْ جَمِيعًا الَّذِي لَهُ مُلْكُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ ۖ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ يُحْيِي وَيُمِيتُ ۖ فَآمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ النَّبِيِّ الْأُمِّيِّ الَّذِي يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ وَكَلِمَاتِهِ وَاتَّبِعُوهُ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَهْتَدُونَ |
| Transliteration | : | qul yaa 'ayyuhaa an- naas 'inni -y rasol 'allaah 'ilay -kum jamec(an) 'alladhe la- -hu mulk as- samaawaat wa- al- 'ard. laa 'ilaah 'illaa huwa yuh.ye wa- yumet fa- 'aamino bi- 'allaah wa- rasol -hi an- nabey al- 'ummey 'alladhe yu'min bi- 'allaah wa- kalimaat -hi wa- ittabico -hu lacalla -kum tahtadon |
| Pickthall | : | Say (O Muhammad): O mankind! Lo! I am the messenger of Allah to you all--(the messenger of) Him unto whom belongeth the Sovereignty of the heavens and the earth. There is no God save Him. He quickeneth and He giveth death. So believe in Allah and His messenger, the Prophet who can neither read nor write, who believeth in Allah and in His words and follow him that haply ye may be led aright. |
| Asad | : | Say [O Muhammad]: "O mankind! Verily, I am an apostle of God to all of you,126 [sent by Him] unto whom the dominion over the heavens and the earth belongs! There is no deity save Him; He [alone] grants life and deals death!" Believe, then, in God and His Apostle - the unlettered Prophet who believes in God and His words - and follow him, so that you might find guidance! |
| Malik | : | O Muhammad, say: "O mankind! I am the Rasool of Allah towards all of you from He to whom belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth. There is no deity but Him. He brings to life and causes to die. Therefore, believe in Allah and His Rasool, the unlettered Prophet (Muhammad) who believes in Allah and His Word. Follow him so that you may be rightly guided." |
| Yusuf Ali | : | Say: "O men! I am sent unto you all as the apostle of Allah to Whom belongeth the dominion of the heavens and the earth: there is no god but He: it is He that giveth both life and death. So believe in Allah and His apostle the unlettered Prophet who believed in Allah and His words: follow him that (so) ye may be guided." 1131 1132 |
Note - 126This verse, placed parenthetically in the midst of the
story of Moses and the children of Israel, is meant to
elucidate the preceding passage. Each of the earlier
prophets was sent to his, and only his, community: thus,
the Old Testament addresses itself only to the children
of Israel; and even Jesus, whose message had a wider
bearing, speaks of himself as "sent only unto the lost
sheep of the house of Israel" (Matthew xv, 24). In
contrast, the message of the Qur'an is universal - that
is, addressed to mankind as a whole - and is neither
time-bound nor confined to any particular cultural
environment. It is for this reason that Muhammad, through
whom this message was revealed, is described in the
Qur'an 21:107 as an evidence of "[God's] grace towards
all the worlds" (i.e. towards all mankind), and as "the
Seal of all Prophets" 33:40 - in other words, the last
of them.
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Note - 1131Our attention having been directed to various prophets,
who were sent with missions to their several peoples, and
in each of whose careers there is some prefigurement of
the life of the last and greatest of them, we are now
asked to listen to the proclamation of Muhammad's
universal mission. We contemplate no longer, after this,
partial truths. It is not now a question of saving Israel
from the bondage of Egypt, nor teaching Midian the ethics
of business, nor reclaiming the people of Lot from sexual
sin or Thamud from the sin of oppression in power, or 'Ad
from arrogance and ancestorworship. Now are set forth
plainly the issues of Life and Death, the Message of
Allah, the One Universal God to all mankind.
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Note - 1132"Unlettered," as applied to the Prophet here and in verse
157 above, has three special significations. (1) He was
not versed in human learning: yet he was full of the
highest wisdom, and had a most wonderful knowledge of the
previous Scriptures. This was a proof of his inspiration.
It was a miracle of the highest kind, a "Sign", which
every one could test then, and every one can test now.
(2) All organised human knowledge tends to be
crystallized, to acquire a partial bias or flavour of
some "school" of thought. The highest Teacher had to be
free from any such taint, just as a clean slate is
necessary if a perfectly clear and bold message has to be
written on it. (3) In iii.20 and lxii. 2, the epithet is
applied to the Pagan Arabs, because, before the advent of
Islam, they were unlearned.
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This verse, placed parenthetically in the midst of the story of Moses and the children of Israel, is meant to elucidate the preceding passage. Each of the earlier prophets was sent to his, and only his, community: thus, the Old Testament addresses itself only to the children of Israel; and even Jesus, whose message had a wider bearing, speaks of himself as "sent only unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matthew xv, 24). In contrast, the message of the Qur'an is universal - that is, addressed to mankind as a whole - and is neither time-bound nor confined to any particular cultural environment. It is for this reason that Muhammad, through whom this message was revealed, is described in the Qur'an 21:107 as an evidence of "[God's] grace towards all the worlds" (i.e. towards all mankind), and as "the Seal of all Prophets" 33:40 - in other words, the last of them. |
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Our attention having been directed to various prophets, who were sent with missions to their several peoples, and in each of whose careers there is some prefigurement of the life of the last and greatest of them, we are now asked to listen to the proclamation of Muhammad's universal mission. We contemplate no longer, after this, partial truths. It is not now a question of saving Israel from the bondage of Egypt, nor teaching Midian the ethics of business, nor reclaiming the people of Lot from sexual sin or Thamud from the sin of oppression in power, or 'Ad from arrogance and ancestorworship. Now are set forth plainly the issues of Life and Death, the Message of Allah, the One Universal God to all mankind. |
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"Unlettered," as applied to the Prophet here and in verse 157 above, has three special significations. (1) He was not versed in human learning: yet he was full of the highest wisdom, and had a most wonderful knowledge of the previous Scriptures. This was a proof of his inspiration. It was a miracle of the highest kind, a "Sign", which every one could test then, and every one can test now. (2) All organised human knowledge tends to be crystallized, to acquire a partial bias or flavour of some "school" of thought. The highest Teacher had to be free from any such taint, just as a clean slate is necessary if a perfectly clear and bold message has to be written on it. (3) In iii.20 and lxii. 2, the epithet is applied to the Pagan Arabs, because, before the advent of Islam, they were unlearned. |
