Gems from the Holy Qur’an
From the translation by Muhammad Asad (Leopold Weiss)
About the translator:
Muhammad Asad, Leopold Weiss, was born to 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 Frankfurter 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 30, verses 31-34
[Turn, then, away from all that is false,] turning unto Him [alone]; and remain conscious of Him, and be constant in prayer, and be not among those who ascribe divinity to aught beside Him, [or] among those who have broken the unity of their faith and have become sects, each group delighting in but what they themselves hold [by way of tenets].
Now [thus it is:] when affliction befalls men, they cry unto their Sustainer, turning unto Him [for help]; but as soon as He lets them taste of His grace, lo! Some of them [begin to] ascribe to other powers a share in their Sustainer’s divinity, [as if] to prove their ingratitude for all that We have granted them! Enjoy, then, your [brief] life: but in time you will come to know [the truth]!
Chapter 30, verses 36
And [thus it is:] when we let men taste [Our] grace, they rejoice in it; but if evil befalls them as an outcome of what their own hands have wrought – lo! they lose all hope!
Chapter 30, verses 38
Hence, give his due to the near of kin, as well as to the needy and the wayfarer; this is best for all who seek God’s countenance: for it is they, they that shall attain to a happy state!
Chapter 30, verse 60
Remain, then, patient in adversity: verily, God’s promise [of resurrection] is true indeed – so let not those who are devoid of all inner certainty disquiet thy mind!
Chapter 31, verses 2 – 6
These are messages of the divine writ, full of wisdom, providing guidance and grace unto the doers of good who are constant in charity: for it is they, they who in their innermost are certain of the life to come!
It is they who follow the guidance [that comes to them] from their Sustainer; and it is they, they who shall attain to a happy state!
But among men there is many a one that prefers a mere play with words [to divine guidance], so as to lead [those] without knowledge astray from the path of God, and to turn it to ridicule: for such there is a shameful suffering in store.
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