Ash-Shu'araa (The Poets) (26)- 227
1 Ta Sin Mim.
2 These are Verses of the Book that makes (things) clear.
3 It may be thou frettest thy soul with grief that they do not become Believers.
4 If (such) were Our Will We could send down to them from the sky a Sign to which they would bend their necks in humility.
5 But there comes not to them a newly-revealed message from (Allah) Most Gracious but they turn away therefrom.
6 They have indeed rejected (the Message): so they will know soon (enough) the truth of what they mocked at!
7> Do they not look at the earth how many noble things of all kinds we have produced therein?
8> Verily in this is a Sign: but most of them do not believe.
9> And verily thy Lord is He the Exalted in Might Most Merciful.
10> Behold thy Lord called Moses: "Go to the people of iniquity
*** The following story of the encounter between Moses and Pharaoh is found only in the Quran and is entirely different from the original in the Torah. None the less, its characters and the general drift of the story are still based on the Biblical narrative ***
11> "The people of Pharaoh: will they not fear Allah?"
12> He said: "O my Lord! I do fear that they will charge me with falsehood:
13> "My breast will be straitened and my speech may not go (smoothly): so send unto Aaron.
14> "And (further) they have a charge of crime against me; and I fear they may slay me."
15> Allah said: "By no means! proceed then both of you with Our Signs; We are with you and will listen (to your call).
16> "So go forth both of you to Pharaoh and say: `We have been sent by the Lord and Cherisher of the Worlds;
17> " `Send thou with us the Children of Israel.' "
*** The Quranic versions of the Biblical events are invariably short on detail and leave a lot to be desired, since they do not convey to the reader the full impact of the stories there in.
The following dialogue (18- 22) is a complete variation to the Biblical story ***
18> (Pharaoh) said: "Did we not cherish thee as a child among us and didst thou not stay in our midst many years of thy life?
19> "And thou didst a deed of thine which (thou knowest) thou didst and thou art an ungrateful (wretch)!"
#3148 Further, Pharaoh reminds Moses of his having slain the Egyptian, and taunts him: "You are not only a murderer: you are an ungrateful wretch" (using kafir again in a double sense) "to have killed one of the race that brought you up!"#
*** Without the interpreter's explanation of the verse, based entirely on the Torah, no reader could have understood either its meaning or its context, since the interpreter is not pointing out the whole background of the story. This process continues in most of this Surah.
The reader should be made aware, that very few explanations and comments are made in most of this Surah, so that one will appreciate how difficult, if not impossible, it is to understand what it is really all about without knowledge of the Bible ***
20> Moses: "I did it then when I was in error.
21> "So I fled from you (all) when I feared you; but my Lord has (since) invested me with judgment (and wisdom) and appointed me as one of the apostles.
22> "And this is the favor with which thou dost reproach me that thou hast enslaved the Children of Israel"
23> Pharaoh said: "And what is the `Lord and Cherisher of the Worlds?' "
24> (Moses) said: "The Lord and Cherisher of the heavens and the earth and all between if ye want to be quite sure."
25> (Pharaoh) said to those around: "Do ye not listen (to what he says)?"
26> (Moses) said: "Your Lord and the Lord of your fathers from the beginning!"
27> (Pharaoh) said: "Truly your apostle who has been sent to you is a veritable >madman!"
28> (Moses) said: "Lord of the East and the West and all between! If ye only had sense!"
29> (Pharaoh) said: "If thou dost put forward any god other than me I will certainly put thee in prison!"
30> (Moses) said: "Even if I showed you something clear (and) convincing?"
31> (Pharaoh) said: "Show it then if thou tellest the truth!"
32> So (Moses) threw his rod and behold it was a serpent plain (for all to see)!
33> And he drew out his hand and behold it was white to all beholders!
34> (Pharaoh) said to the Chiefs around him: "This is indeed a sorcerer well-versed:
35> "His plan is to get you out of your land by his sorcery; then what is it ye counsel?"
36> They said: "Keep him and his brother in suspense (for a while) and dispatch to the Cities heralds to collect
37> "And bring up to thee all (our) sorcerers well-versed."
38> So the sorcerers were got together for the appointment of a day well-known
39> And the people were told: "Are ye (now) assembled?
40> "That we may follow the sorcerers (in religion) if they win?"
41> So when the sorcerers arrived they said to Pharaoh: "Of course shall we have a (suitable) reward if we win?"
42> He said: "Yea (and more) for ye shall in that case be (raised to posts) nearest (to my person)."
43> Moses said to them: "Throw ye that which ye are about to throw!"
44> So they threw their ropes and their rods and said: "By the might of Pharaoh it is we who will certainly win!"
45> Then Moses threw his rod when behold it straightway swallows up all the falsehoods which they fake!
46> Then did the sorcerers fall down prostrate in adoration
47> Saying: "We believe in the Lord of the Worlds
48> "The Lord of Moses and Aaron."
49> Said (Pharaoh): "Believe ye in him before I give you permission? Surely he is your leader who has taught you sorcery! But soon shall ye know! "But sure I will cut off your hands and your feet on opposite sides and I will cause you all to die on the cross!"
*** It should be pointed out to the reader that, crucifixion, was not a method used by the Egyptians but by the Romans and Byzantines in the days of Muhammad ***
50> They said: "No matter! for us we shall but return to our Lord!
51> "Only our desire is that our Lord will forgive us our faults that we may become foremost among the Believers!"
52> By inspiration We told Moses: "Travel by night [Asri] with My servants; for surely ye shall be pursued."
53> Then Pharaoh sent heralds to (all) the Cities
54> (Saying): "These (Israelites) are but a small band
55> "And they are raging furiously against us;
56> "But we are a multitude amply fore-warned."
57> So We expelled them from gardens springs
58> Treasures and every kind of honorable position;
59> Thus it was but We made the Children of Israel inheritors of such things.
#3169 The Children of Israel certainly inherited the gardens, springs, treasures, and honourable positions in Palestine after many years' wanderings in the wilderness. But when they were false to Allah, they lost them again, and another people (the Muslims) inherited them when they were true in Faith. "Of such things": literally, "of them".#
*** The Quran misses the most important elements in both the dialogue with Pharaoh and the miraculous events that led to the Exodus.
Reading the Quranic version of events deprives the reader of the details of the cataclysmic plagues that befell Egypt and renders the story truncated and without soul.
The following verses represent a speeded up and uninspiring variation to the original story in the Bible ***
60> So they pursued them at sunrise.
61> And when the two bodies saw each other the people of Moses said: "We are sure to be overtaken."
62> Moses said: "By no means! my Lord is with me! Soon will He guide me!
63> Then We told Moses by inspiration: "Strike the sea with thy rod." So it divided and each separate part become like the huge firm mass of a mountain.
64> And We made the other party approach thither.
65> We delivered Moses and all who were with him;
66 >But We drowned the others.
67> Verily in this is a Sign: but most of them do not believe.
68> And verily thy Lord is He the Exalted in Might Most Merciful.
69> And rehearse to them (something of) Abraham's story.
*** While the stories in the Bible are sequential in narrative, time and space, those of the Quran meander in all three dimensions and are repetitions - with some variations - of the same Biblical events especially those about Moses, Abraham and Noah, while ignoring most of the remaining Hebrew prophets.
The following version of the story of Abraham (70- 104) is not found in the Bible but in Rabbinical literature.
Again, these stories are bereft of any background, location and time ***
70> Behold he said to his father and his people: "What worship ye?"
71> They said: "We worship idols and we remain constantly in attendance on them."
72> He said: "Do they listen to you when ye call (on them)
73> "Or do you good or harm?"
74> They said: "Nay but we found our fathers doing thus (what we do)."
75> He said: "Do ye then see whom ye have been worshipping
76> "Ye and your fathers before you?
77> "For they are enemies to me; not so the Lord and Cherisher of the Worlds;
78> "Who created me and it is He Who guides me;
79> "Who gives me food and drink
80> "And when I am ill it is He Who cures me;
81> "Who will cause me to die and then to live (again);
82> "And Who I hope will forgive me my faults on the Day of Judgment...
83> O my Lord! bestow wisdom on me and join me with the righteous;
84> "Grant me honorable mention on the tongue of truth among the latest (generations);
85> "Make me one of the inheritors of the Garden of Bliss;
86> "Forgive my father for that he is among those astray;
87> "And let me not be in disgrace on the Day when (men) will be raised up
88> The Day whereon neither wealth nor sons will avail
89> "But only he (will prosper) that brings to Allah a sound heart;
90> "To the righteous the Garden will be brought near
91> "And to those straying in Evil the Fire will be placed in full view;
92> "And it shall be said to them: `Where are the (gods) ye worshipped
93> " `Besides Allah? Can they help you or help themselves?'
94> "Then they will be thrown headlong into the (Fire) they and those straying in Evil
95> "And the whole hosts of Iblis together.
96> "They will say there in their mutual bickerings:
97> " `By Allah we were truly in an error manifest
98> " `When we held you as equals with the Lord of the Worlds;
99> " `And our seducers were only those who were steeped in guilt.
100> " `Now then we have none to intercede (for us)
101> " `Nor a single friend to feel (for us).
102> " `Now if we only had a chance of return we shall truly be of those who believe!'
103> Verily in this is a Sign but most of them do not believe.
104> And verily the Lord is He the Exalted in Might Most Merciful.
105> The people of Noah rejected the apostles.
106> Behold their brother Noah said to them: "Will ye not fear (Allah)?
#3186 Noah's generation had lost all faith and abandoned themselves to evil. They had rejected the Message of messengers previously sent to the world. Noah was sent to them as one of themselves ("their brother"). His life was open before them: he had proved himself pure in heart and conduct (like the holy Prophet of Islam long after him), and worthy of every trust. Would they fear Allah and follow his advice? They could see that he had no ends of his own to serve. Would they not listen to him?#
*** As mentioned earlier, we now have the Quranic version of the Noah story (106-122) which is taken again from Rabbinical literature and not from the Bible.
Either way, the Quran is only paraphrasing and or copying from, the traditions of the Jews what suits its purposes.
This is followed by the Ad, Thamud and Lot stories in (123- 191) which are repeats of earlier verses ***
107> "I am to you an apostle worthy of all trust:
108> "So fear Allah and obey me.
109> "No reward do I ask of you for it: my reward is only from the Lord of the Worlds:
110> "So fear Allah and obey me."
111> They said: "Shall we believe in thee when it is the meanest that follow thee?"
112> He said: "And what do I know as to what they do?
113> "Their account is only with my Lord if ye could (but) understand.
114> "I am not one to drive away those who believe.
115> "I am sent only to warn plainly in public."
116> They said: "If thou desist not O Noah! thou shalt be stoned (to death)."
117> He said: "O my Lord! truly my people have rejected me.
118> "Judge thou then between me and them openly and deliver me and those of the Believers who are with me."
119> So we delivered him and those with him in the Ark filled (with all creatures).
120> Thereafter We drowned those who remained behind.
121> Verily in this is a Sign: but most of them do not believe.
122> And verily thy Lord is He the Exalted in Might Most Merciful.
123> The `Ad (people) rejected the apostles.
124> Behold their brother Hud said to them: "Will ye not fear (Allah)?
125> "I am to you an apostle worthy of all trust.
126> "So fear Allah and obey me.
127> "No reward do I ask of you for it: my reward is only from the Lord of the Worlds.
128> "Do ye build a landmark on every high place to amuse yourselves?
129> "And do ye get for yourselves fine buildings in the hope of living therein (forever)?
130> "And when ye exert your strong hand do ye do it like men of absolute power?
131> "Now fear Allah and obey me.
132> "Yea fear Him Who has bestowed on you freely all that ye know.
133> "Freely has He bestowed on you cattle and sons
134> And Gardens and Springs.
135> "Truly I fear for you the Penalty of a Great Day."
136> They said: "It is the same to us whether thou admonish us or be not among (our) Admonishers!
137> "This is no other than a customary device of the ancients
138> "And we are not the ones to receive Pains and Penalties!"
139> So they rejected him and We destroyed them verily in this is a Sign: but most of them do not believe.
140> And verily thy Lord is He the Exalted in Might Most Merciful.
141 The Thamud (people) rejected the apostles
142 Behold their brother Salih said to them: "Will you fear (Allah)?
143 "I am to you an apostle worthy of all trust.
144 "So fear Allah and obey me.
145 "No reward do I ask of you for it: my reward is only from the Lord of the Worlds.
146 "Will ye be left secure in (the enjoyment of) all that ye have here?--
147 "Gardens and Springs
148 "And corn-fields and date-palms with spathes near breaking (with the weight of fruit)?
149 "And ye carve house out of (rocky) mountains with great skill.
150 "But fear Allah and obey me;
151 "And follow not the bidding of those who are extravagant
152 "Who make mischief in the land and mend not (their ways)."
153 They said: "Thou art only the of those bewitched!
154 "Thou art no more than a mortal like us: then bring us a Sign if thou tellest the truth!"
155 He said: "Here is a she-camel: she has a right of watering and ye have a right of watering (severally) on a day appointed.
156> "Touch her not with harm lest the Penalty of a Great Day seize you."
157 But they hamstrung her: then did they become full of regrets.
158> But the Penalty seized them. Verily in this is a Sign: but most of them do not believe.
159> And verily thy Lord is He the Exalted in Might Most Merciful.
160> The people of Lut rejected the apostles.
161> Behold their brother Lut said to them: "Will ye not fear (Allah)?
162> "I am to you an apostle worthy of all trust.
163> "So fear Allah and obey me.
164> "No reward do I ask of you for it: my reward is only from the Lord of the Worlds.
165> "Of all the creatures in the world will ye approach males.
166> "And leave those whom Allah has created for you to be your mates? Nay ye are a people transgressing (all limits)!"
167> They said: "If thou desist not O Lut! thou wilt assuredly be cast out!"
168> He said: "I do detest your doings."
169> "O my Lord! deliver me and my family from such things as they do!"
170> So We delivered him and his family all
171> Except an old woman who lingered behind.
172> But the rest We destroyed utterly.
173> We rained down on them a shower (of brimstone): and evil was the shower on those who were admonished (but heeded not)!
174> Verily in this is a Sign: but most of them do not believe.
175> And verily thy Lord is He the Exalted in Might Most Merciful.
176 The Companions of the Wood rejected the apostles.
177 Behold Shuaib said to them: "Will ye not fear (Allah)?
178 "I am to you an apostle worthy of all trust.
179 "So fear Allah and obey me.
180 "No reward do I ask of you for it: my reward is only from the Lord of the Worlds.
181> "Give just measure and cause no loss (to others by fraud).
182> "And weigh with scales true and upright.
183> "And withhold not things justly due to men nor do evil in the land working mischief.
184> "And fear Him Who created you and (Who created) the generations before (you).
185 They said: "Thou art only one of those bewitched!
186 "Thou art no more than a mortal like us and indeed we think thou art a liar!
187 "Now cause a piece of the sky to fall on us if thou art truthful!"
188 He said: "My Lord knows best what ye do."
189> But they rejected him. Then the punishment of a day of overshadowing gloom seized them and that was the Penalty of a Great Day.
190> Verily in that is a Sign: but most of them do not believe.
191> And verily thy Lord is He. The Exalted in Might Most Merciful.
192> Verily this is a Revelation from the Lord of the Worlds:
193> With it came down the Spirit of Faith and Truth
194 To thy heart and mind that thou mayest admonish
195 In the perspicuous Arabic tongue.
196> Without doubt it is (announced) in the mystic Books of former peoples.
197> Is it not a Sign to them that the learned of the Children of Israel knew it (as true)?
#3227 Many of the Jewish Doctors recognised the holy Prophet's Message as a Message from Allah, e.g., 'Abdullah ibn Salam and Mukhairiq. The latter was a man of property, which he left for Islam. (There were also Christian monks and learned men who recognised the Prophet's mission.)#
*** This verse is pregnant with meaning, since it was 'revealed' when Muhammad was in Mecca showing that even there, the Jews were active as part of the community to the extent that they had several Rabbis who allegedly accepted Muhammad's revelations.
There is no doubt - based on Arab historical grounds - that the Jews were favourably inclined to the monotheistic pronouncements of Muhammad to such an extent that they welcomed him amongst themselves in Madina.
The problems between the two parties arose, when they refused to convert to his novel Cult Belief System especially since it is a mere faint and adulterated copy of theirs ***
198 Had We revealed it to any of the non-Arabs
199 And had he recited it to them they would not have believed in it.
#3228 The turn of Arabia having come for receiving Allah's Revelation, as was foretold in previous Revelations, it was inevitable that it should be in the Arab tongue through the mouth of an Arab. Otherwise it would have been unintelligible, and the Arabs could not have received the Faith and become the vehicles for its promulgation as actually happened in history.#
*** Nothing about Muhammad or his Quran was ever foretold in previous revelations and no Arab or any Muhammadan scholar can show such a preposterous declaration***
200 Thus have We caused it to enter the hearts of the Sinners.
#3229 "Thus" I think means through the medium of the Arabic language and the Arab people. The Qur-an penetrated through their language and their hearts. If the hard-hearted among them did not believe, they will see when the Penalty comes, how grievous a mistake they made. For the Penalty must come; even when they least expected it. They will be caught saying or thinking, "There is plenty of time; we can get another respite," when already it will have become too late for them to turn over a new leaf.#
*** Interpreting 197-200 is not as difficult as the interpreter pretends it to be.
In 197, the Quran admits that the Jews understood Muhammad's 'revelations' because they already had their own and prior revelations on which the Quran is based.
In 198-199, the non-Arabs are all peoples outside Arabia, and they would not have understood it or believed Muhammad or his Quran because it was in the Arabic medium.
The last category of people left are the pagan Arabs themselves (the sinners) who were more inclined to understand it and accept it because it was by one of their men and in their language.
The interpreter of the Quran is therefore wrong in his assessment of verse 199 since it is related to 198 (the non Arabs) and not to 200 (the sinners, pagan Arabs)***
201> They will not believe in it until they see the grievous Penalty;
202> But the (Penalty) will come to them of a sudden while they perceive it not;
203 Then they will say: "Shall we be respited?"
204> Do they then ask for Our Penalty to be hastened on?
205 Seest thou? If We do let them enjoy (this life) for a few years
206 Yet there comes to them at length the (Punishment) which they were promised!
207 It will profit them not that they enjoyed (this life)!
208> Never did We destroy a population but had its warners
209> By way of reminder; and We never are unjust.
210 No evil ones have brought down this (Revelation):
211 It would neither suit them nor would they be able (to produce it).
212 Indeed they have been removed far from even (a chance of) hearing it.
213> So call not on any other god with Allah or thou wilt be among those under the Penalty.
214 And admonish thy nearest kinsmen
215 And lower thy wing to the Believers who follow thee.
216 Then if they disobey thee say: "I am free (of responsibility) for what ye do!"
217> And put thy trust on the Exalted in Might the Merciful
218 Who seeth thee standing forth (in prayer)
219 And thy movements among those who prostrate themselves.
220> For it is He Who heareth and knoweth all things.
221 Shall I inform you (O people!) on whom it is that the evil ones descend?
222 They descend on every lying wicked person
223 (Into whose ears) they pour hearsay vanities and most of them are liars.
224 And the Poets it is those straying in Evil who follow them:
225 Seest thou not that they wander distracted in every valley?
226 And that they say what they practice not?
227 Except those who believe work righteousness engage much in the remembrance of Allah and defend themselves only after they are unjustly attacked. And soon will the unjust assailants know what vicissitudes their affairs will take!
*** If any reader was able to truly understand the meaning and context of all the verses above, then this would truly be a miracle ***
