AL HADID (Iron)
In the Name of God,1 the Gracious, the Merciful 2
1 Whatever is in the heavens and on earth, let it declare the praises and glory of God: for he is the exalted in might, the wise.
2 To him belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth: it is he who gives life and death; and he has power over all things.
3 He is the first and the last, the evident and the immanent: and he has full knowledge of all things.
4 He it is who
“created the heavens and the earth in six days,” 3
and is moreover firmly established on the throne. He knows what enters within the earth and what comes forth out of it, what comes down from heaven and what mounts up to it. And he is with you wherever you may be. And God sees well all that you do.
5 To him belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth: and all affairs are referred back to God.
6 He merges night into day, and he merges day into night; and he has full knowledge of the secrets of hearts.
7 Believe in God and his Messenger, and spend out of that whereof he has made you heirs. For, those of you who believe and spend, for them is a great reward.
8 What cause have you why you should not believe in God? And the Messenger invites you to believe in your Lord, and has indeed taken your covenant, if you are men of faith.
9 He is the one who sends to his servant clear signs, that he may lead you from the depths of darkness into the light. And truly, God is to you most kind and merciful.
10 And what cause have you why you should not spend in the cause of God? For to God belongs the heritage of the heavens and the earth. Not equal among you are those who spent and fought, before the victory. Those are higher in rank than those who spent and fought afterwards, but to all has God promised a goodly reward. And God is well acquainted with all that you do.
11 Who is he that will loan to God a beautiful loan? For God will increase it manifold to his credit, and he will have a liberal reward.
12 One day shall you see the believing men and the believing women, and how their light runs forward before them and by their right hands. There is good news for you this day of gardens beneath which flow rivers. To dwell in them forever is indeed the highest achievement!
13 One day will the hypocrites men and women say to the believers: Wait for us! Let us borrow from your light! It will be said: Turn back to your rear! Then seek a light! So a wall will be put up between them, with a gate in it. Within it will be mercy throughout, and without it, all alongside, will be punishment!
14 They will call out, Were we not with you? The others will reply, True! But you led yourselves into temptation; you looked forward to our ruin; you doubted; and your desires deceived you; until these issued the command of God. And the deceiver deceived you in respect of God.
15 This day shall no ransom be accepted of you, nor of those who rejected God. Your abode is the fire: that is the proper place to claim you: and an evil refuge it is!
16 Has not the time arrived for the believers that their hearts in all humility should engage in the remembrance of God and of the truth which has been revealed, and that they should not become like those to whom was given Al-Kitab aforetime, but long ages passed over them and their hearts grew hard? For many among them are rebellious transgressors.
17 Know that God gives life to the earth after its death! Already have we shown the signs plainly to you, that you may learn wisdom.
18 For those who give in charity, men and women, and loan to God a beautiful loan, it shall be increased manifold, and they shall have a liberal reward.
19 And those who believe in God and his messengers, they are the sincere, and the witnesses, in the eyes of their Lord: they shall have their reward and their light. But those who reject God and deny our signs, they are the companions of hell-fire.
20 Know that the life of this world is but play and amusement, pomp and mutual boasting and multiplying riches and children. Here is a comparison: how rain and the growth which it brings forth, delight the tillers; soon it withers; you will see it grow yellow; then it becomes dry and crumbles away. But in the hereafter is a penalty severe. And forgiveness from God and good pleasure. And what is the life of this world, but goods and chattels of deception?
21 Be foremost in seeking forgiveness from your Lord, and a garden the width of which is as the width of heaven and earth, prepared for those who believe in God and his messengers: that is the grace of God, which he bestows on whom he pleases: and God is the Lord of grace abounding.
22 No misfortune can happen on earth or in your souls but is recorded in a decree before we bring it into existence: that is truly easy for God:
23 In order that you may not despair over matters that pass you by, nor exult over favours bestowed upon you. For God loves not any vainglorious boaster,
24 Such persons as are covetous and commend covetousness to men. And if any turn back, truly God is free of all needs, worthy of all praise.
25 We sent aforetime our messengers with clear signs and sent down with them Al-Kitab and the balance, that men may stand forth in justice; and we sent down iron, in which is mighty war, as well as many benefits for mankind, that God may test who it is that will help, unseen, him and his messengers: for God is full of strength, exalted in might.
26 And we sent Nuh and Ibrahim, and established in their line prophethood and Al-Kitab: and some of them were on right guidance, but many of them became rebellious transgressors.
27 Then, in their wake, we followed them up with our messengers: We sent after them ‘ISA4 Ibn Maryam. And bestowed on him the Injil;5 and we ordained in the hearts of those who followed him grace and mercy,6 but the monasticism which they invented for themselves, we did not prescribe for them. Only the seeking for the good pleasure of God, but that they did not foster as they should have done. Yet we bestowed, on those among them who believed, their reward, but many of them are rebellious transgressors.
28 O you that believe! Fear God, and believe in his Messenger, and he will bestow on you a double portion of his mercy: he will provide for you a light by which you shall walk, and he will forgive you: for God is oft-forgiving, most merciful:
29 That the people of Al-Kitab may know that they have no power whatever over the grace of God, that grace is in his hand, to bestow it on whomever he wills. For God is the Lord of grace abounding.
- God, in Arabic allah, referring to the one true God, as opposed to an idol or “god.” It is the Arabic equivalent of elohim and eloah (Hebrew), alaha (Syriac), and theos (Greek), all of which accurately translate into English as “God.” This translation choice is consistent with respected English Quran translations including those of A. Yusuf Ali (original edition), S.H. Nasr (Study Quran), T.B. Irving, and T. Itani (Clear Quran). ↩︎
- the Gracious, the Merciful, the highlighting of God’s grace and mercy predates the Quran, coming down from the many hundreds of references in the Taurat, Zabur, and Injil. A few samples follow:
Taurat, Exodus 34:6 — …YAHWEH, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth.
Zabur 145:8 — YAHWEH is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great loving kindness.
Taurat, Joel 2:13 — Tear your heart, and not your garments, and turn to YAHWEH your God; for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and relents from sending calamity.
Taurat, Yunus 4:2 — …I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and you relent of doing harm.”
Injil, 1 Timothy 1:2 — …Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and AL-MASIH ‘ISA our Lord.
Injil, Hebrews 4:16 — Let us therefore draw near with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace for help in time of need. ↩︎ - 57:4 Similar wording is found in the Taurat: “in six days YAHWEH made the heavens and earth, the sea, and all that is in them” (Exodus 20:11). The six days of creation are described in detail in the Taurat, Genesis, chapter one. ↩︎
- 57:27 ‘ISA – The names ‘ISA (Arabic), ISHO (Syriac) and JESUS (Greek, IESOUS) are all derived from the Hebrew name YEHOSHUA, which means “YAHWEH SAVES.” (YAHWEH is God’s personal name revealed to Prophet Musa in the Taurat, Exodus 3:15 – God said moreover to Musa, “You shall tell Bani-Israel this, ‘YAHWEH, the God of your fathers, the God of Ibrahim, the God of Ishaq, and the God of Yaqub, has sent me to you.’ This is my Name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered to all generations.”) ↩︎
- 57:27 Injil, this Arabic word is derived from Euangel (Greek) and means “good news” or “Gospel” (old English for ‘good news’). Depending on context, Injil can refer to,
1. the whole Christian New Testament containing 27 books,
2. the first 4 books of the New Testament, that is, the Injil or Gospel according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, or,
3. the message or “good news” of forgiveness of sins through ‘ISA AL-MASIH, revealed in the holy Injil (or New Testament). ↩︎ - 57:27 The followers of ‘ISA AL-MASIH are said to be gracious and merciful, the very qualities or names which Al-Kitab ascribes to God himself. To this day, the truth of this statement can be seen in the many humanitarian efforts conducted by Christians around the world. Indeed, the existence of those qualities in Christians is ordained by God, and shows that they truly are followers of the Prophet ‘ISA AL-MASIH, just as the verse says. ↩︎