AL SAFF (The Battle Array)
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 O you who believe! Why do you say that which you do not do?
3 Grievously odious is it in the sight of God that you say that which you do not do.
4 Truly God loves those who fight in his cause in battle array, as if they were a solid cemented structure.
5 And remember, Musa3 said to his people: O my people! Why do you vex and insult me, though you know that I am the messenger of God sent to you?” Then when they went wrong, God let their hearts go wrong. For God guides not those who are rebellious transgressors.
6 And remember, ‘ISA4 Ibn Maryam said: “O Bani-Israel! I am the Messenger of God sent to you, confirming the Taurat before me, and giving glad tidings of a messenger to come after me, whose name is praiseworthy.”5 But when he came to them with clear signs, they said, “This is evident sorcery!”6
7 Who does greater wrong than one who invents falsehood against God, even as he is being invited to submit? And God does not guide those who do wrong.
8 Their intention is to extinguish God’s light with their mouths: but God will complete his light, even though the unbelievers may detest.
9 It is he who has sent his Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth, that he may proclaim it over all religion, even though the pagans may detest it.
10 O you who believe! Shall I lead you to a bargain that will save you from a grievous penalty?
11 That you believe in God and his Messenger, and that you strive in the cause of God, with your property and your persons: that will be best for you, if you but knew!
12 He will forgive you your sins, and admit you to gardens beneath which rivers flow, and to beautiful mansions in gardens of eternity: that is indeed the supreme achievement.
13 And another thing which you love, help from God and a speedy victory. So give the glad tidings to the believers.
14 O you who believe! Be helpers of God. As said ‘ISA Ibn Maryam to the disciples, Who will be my helpers for God? Said the disciples, We are God’s helpers! Then a portion of Bani-Israel believed, and a portion disbelieved: but we gave power to those who believed, against their enemies, and they became the ones that prevailed.
- 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. ↩︎ - 61:5 Musa, this Arabic name is derived from the Hebrew name Moses meaning “to pull out” or “draw out” (of water); referring to the biblical story where he was rescued from the Nile River by Firaun’s daughter.* ↩︎
- 61:6 ‘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.”) ↩︎
- 61:6 whose name is praiseworthy, Or, whose name is Ahmad. The Arabic adjective ahmad, was not in use as a proper name until it later came to be used as a name for Prophet Muhammad. If ahmad here is simply a descriptive adjective, the verse could refer to any messenger who came after ‘ISA Ibn Maryam. The Injil nowhere predicts the coming of a messenger with the actual name Ahmad, but it does speak of a messenger who would be praiseworthy. In Galatians 1:22-24 we read of the Apostle Paul where it says, “I was still unknown by face to the congregations of Judea which were in AL-MASIH, but they only heard: ‘He who once persecuted us now preaches the faith that he once tried to destroy.’ And they praised God because of me.” ↩︎
- 61:6 Alternate reading: “O Bani-Israel! I am the Messenger of God to you, and I announce to you a prophet whose community will be the last community and by which God will put the seal on the prophets and messengers.” This is the reading that was contained in the Quran of Ubayy (or Ubai) bin Kab, one of the secretaries of Muhammad, said to be the “best of reciters.” Ubayy’s Quran was in wide use, but caliph Uthman tried to destroy it in order to eliminate variations in the text of the Quran. The validity of this alternate reading is also attested to by Ibn Ishaq and Ibn Hisham (Ibn Ishaq, The Life of Muhammad, tr. Guillaume, pp. 103-104). ↩︎