Gems from the Holy Qur’an
From the translation by Muhammad Asad (Leopold Weiss)
Muhammad Asad, Leopold Weiss, was born of Jewish parents in Livow, Austria (later Poland) in 1900, and at the age of 22 made his first visit to the Middle East. He later became an outstanding foreign correspondent for the Franfurter Zeitung, and after years of devoted study became one of the leading Muslim scholars of our age. His translation of the Holy Qur'an is one of the most lucid and well-referenced works in this category, dedicated to “li-qawmin yatafakkaroon” (people who think). Forwarded by Dr Ismat Kamal.
Chapter 19, Verses 66 -67
With all this, man [often] says, “What! Once I am dead, shall I again be brought forth alive?”
But does not man bear in mind that We have created him aforetime out of nothing?
Chapter 19, Verse 76-82
And God endows those who avail themselves of [His] guidance with an ever deeper consciousness of the right way; and good deeds, the fruit whereof endures forever, are, in thy Sustainer’s sight, of far greater merit [than worldly goods], and yield far better returns.
And hast thou ever considered [the kind of man] who is bent on denying the truth of Our messages and says, “I will surely be given wealth and children”?
Has he, perchance attained to a realm which is beyond the reach of a created being’s perception? – or has he concluded a covenant with the Most Gracious?
Nay, We shall record what he says, and We shall lengthen the length of his suffering [in the hereafter], and divest him of all that he is [now] speaking of: for [on Judgment Day] he will appear before Us in a lonely state.
For [such as] these who have taken to worshipping deities other than God, hoping that they would be [a source of] strength for them. [ 1 ] But nay! [On Judgment Day] these very objects of adoration] will disavow the worship that was paid to them, and will turn against those [who had worshipped them]!
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Translator’s Notes
[ 1 ] This refers to the type of man spoken of in the preceding passage as well as in verses 73 – 75: people who “worship” wealth and power with an almost religious devotion, attributing to these manifestations of worldly success the status of divine forces.
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