Surah 77. Al-Mursalat, Ayah 1
| وَالْمُرْسَلَاتِ عُرْفًا |
| Transliteration | : | wa- al- mursalaat curf(an) |
| Pickthall | : | By the emissary winds, (sent) one after another |
| Asad | : | CONSIDER these [messages,] sent forth in waves1 |
| Malik | : | By the emissary winds, which are sent forth one after another. |
| Yusuf Ali | : | By the (Winds) Sent Forth one after another (to man's profit); 5863 5864 |
Note - 1I.e., one after another: an allusion to the gradual,
step-by-step revelation of the Qur'an. By contrast, the
next clause (verse {2}) obviously relates to the impact
of the divine writ as a whole. For my rendering of the
adjurative particle wa as "Consider", see surah {74},
first half of note [23].
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Note - 5863This Sura begins with an appeal to five things, as
pointing to the substantive statement in verse 7, that
the Day of Justice and Judgment is bound to come, and we
must prepare for it. It is difficult to translate, but
easy to understand, if we remember that a triple thread
of allegory runs through this passage (verses 1-7). The
five things or phases, which will be presently considered
in detail, refer to (a) Winds in the physical world, (b)
Angels in the Kingdom of Allah, and (c) Prophets in the
human world, connecting it with the Kingdom of Allah.
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Note - 5864Understanding the reference to Winds, we can see that
they are powerful factors in the government of the
physical world. (1) They come gently as harbingers of the
blessings of rain and fertility (xv. 22; xxx. 48); but
(2) they can come as violent tornadoes, uprooting and
destroying (li. 41-42); (3) they can scatter seeds far
and wide, and (4) they can separate chaff from grain, or
clear the air from epidemics; and (5) they literally
carry sound, and therefore Messages. All these things
point to the power and goodness of Allah, and we are
asked to believe that His promise of Mercy and Justice in
the Hereafter is indeed true. Cf. this passage with li.
1-6 (Zariyat) with which it has many affinities.
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I.e., one after another: an allusion to the gradual, step-by-step revelation of the Qur'an. By contrast, the next clause (verse {2}) obviously relates to the impact of the divine writ as a whole. For my rendering of the adjurative particle wa as "Consider", see surah {74}, first half of note [23]. |
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This Sura begins with an appeal to five things, as pointing to the substantive statement in verse 7, that the Day of Justice and Judgment is bound to come, and we must prepare for it. It is difficult to translate, but easy to understand, if we remember that a triple thread of allegory runs through this passage (verses 1-7). The five things or phases, which will be presently considered in detail, refer to (a) Winds in the physical world, (b) Angels in the Kingdom of Allah, and (c) Prophets in the human world, connecting it with the Kingdom of Allah. |
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Understanding the reference to Winds, we can see that they are powerful factors in the government of the physical world. (1) They come gently as harbingers of the blessings of rain and fertility (xv. 22; xxx. 48); but (2) they can come as violent tornadoes, uprooting and destroying (li. 41-42); (3) they can scatter seeds far and wide, and (4) they can separate chaff from grain, or clear the air from epidemics; and (5) they literally carry sound, and therefore Messages. All these things point to the power and goodness of Allah, and we are asked to believe that His promise of Mercy and Justice in the Hereafter is indeed true. Cf. this passage with li. 1-6 (Zariyat) with which it has many affinities. |
