Praise, which means to describe in beautiful terms, be, ˹ever˺ established, to God: is this meant to be informative, so that one believes in it? Or, is it meant as a eulogy, or both? These are three possibilities, the most likely of which is the last, as the Shaykh ˹Jalāl al-Dīn al-Mahallī˺ states in ˹his commentary on˺ sūrat alKahf ˹Q. 18:1˺; Who created the heavens and the earth — He singles out these two for mention because for the observer they constitute the most awesome ˹visible˺ creation; and He appointed, He created, darknesses and light, that is, every darkness (zulma) and every light: the use of the plural only in the case of the former is because it ˹darkness˺ has many causes; and this is one of the proofs of His Oneness; then those who disbelieve, despite the existence of this proof, ascribe equals to their Lord, they worship others equally.

{الحمد} وهو الوصف الجميل ثابت {لله} وهل المراد الإعلام بذلك للإيمان به الثناء به أوهما احتمالات أفيدها الثالث قاله الشيخ في سورة الكهف {الذي خلق السماوات والأرض} خصهما بالذكر لأنهما أعظم المخلوقات للناظرين {وجعل} خلق {الظلمات والنور} أي كل ظلمة ونور وجمعها دونه لكثرة أسبابها، وهذا من دلائل وحدانيته {ثم الذين كفروا} مع قيام هذا الدليل {بربهم يعدلون} يسوون غيره في العبادة.

It is He Who created you from clay, by creating your father Adam from it; then He decreed a term, for ˹each of˺ you, at the conclusion of which you die. A term is stated, fixed, with Him, for your resurrection; yet thereafter you, O disbelievers, doubt, you are uncertain about the Resurrection, when you know that it was He Who initiated your creation, and One Who has the power to initiate ˹creation˺, is even more capable of bringing you back ˹to life after death˺.

{هو الذي خلقكم من طين} بخلق أبيكم آدم منه {ثم قضى أجلا} لكم تموتون عند انتهائه {وأجلٌ مسمّىّ} مضروب {عنده} لبعثكم {ثم أنتم} أيها الكفار {تمترون} تشكون في البعث بعد علمكم أنه ابتدأ خلقكم ومن قدر على الإبتداء فهو على الإعادة أقدر.

He is God, the One worthy of being worshipped, in the heavens and in the earth. He knows your secrets and your utterance, what you keep secret and what you utter openly among yourselves, and He knows what you earn, what you do of good and evil.

{وهو الله} مستحق للعبادة {في السماوات وفي الأرض يعلم سركم وجهركم} ما تسرون وما تجهرون به بينكم {ويعلم ما تكسبون} تعملون من خير وشرِّ.

Not a verse (min āya: min introduces a relative clause) of the verses of their Lord, in the Qur’ān, comes to them, that is, ˹to˺ the Meccans, but they turn away from it.

{وما تأتيهم} أي أهل مكة {من} زائدة {آية من آيات ربهم} من القرآن {إلا كانوا عنها معرضين}.

They denied the truth, the Qur’ān, when it came to them, but there shall come to them the news, the consequences, of what they were mocking.

{فقد كذٌبوا بالحق} بالقرآن {لما جاءهم فسوف يأتيهم أنباء} عواقب {ما كانوا به يستهزئون}.

Have they not seen, in their travels to Syria and to other places, how many, (kam is predicative ˹and not interrogative˺, meaning ‘many’) a generation, ˹how many˺ a community of past communities, We destroyed before them; We established them, We assigned them an ˹established˺ place, in the earth, through strength and abundance, as We have not established, ˹as˺ We have ˹not˺ assigned, you (there is a shift in the address here from third person ˹to second˺); and how We unleashed the heaven, the rain, upon them in torrents, one torrent after another, and made the rivers to flow beneath them?, beneath their dwellings. Then We destroyed them because of their sins, because of their denial of the prophets; and We raised up after them another generation.

{ألم يروا} في أسفارهم إلى الشام وغيرها {كم} خبرية بمعنى كثيرا {أهلكنا من قبلهم من قرن} أمة من الأمم الماضية {مكَّناهم} أعطيناهم مكانا {في الأرض} بالقوة والسعة {ما لم نمكن} نعط {لكم} فيه التفات عن الغيبة {وأرسلنا السماء} المطر {عليهم مدرارا} متتابعا {وجعلنا الأنهار تجري من تحتهم} تحت مساكنهم {فأهلكناهم بذنوبهم} بتكذيبهم الأنبياء {وأنشأنا من بعدهم قرنا آخرين}.

And had We revealed to you a Scripture, inscribed, on parchment, as they requested, and had they then touched it with their hands — this is more powerful than saying, ‘had they seen it with their eyes’, since it ˹touch˺ is more effective in eliminating doubt; the disbelievers would have said, in disobedience and obduracy: ‘This is nothing but manifest sorcery’.

{ولو نزلَّنا عليك كتابا} مكتوبا {في قرطاس} رَق كما اقترحوا {فلمسوه بأيديهم} أبلغ من عاينوه لأنه أنفى للشك {لقال الذين كفروا إن} ما {هذا إلا سحر مبين} تعنُّنا وعنادا.

And they say, ‘Why has an angel not been sent down to him?’, to Muhammad (s), to confirm his truthfulness; yet had We sent down an angel, as they have requested and if they then did not believe, the matter, that they be destroyed, would have been decreed, and then they would not be given any respite, they would ˹not˺ be given any extra time for repentance or an excuse, as is God’s custom ˹in dealing˺ with those before them, destroying them when they disbelieve after their request is granted.

{وقالوا لولا} هلا {أنزل عليه} على محمد ﷺ {ملك} يصدقه {ولو أنزلنا ملكا} كما اقترحوا فلم يؤمنوا {لقضي الأمر} بهلاكهم {ثم لا ينظرون} يمهلون لتوبة أو معذرة كعادة الله فيمن قبلهم من إهلاكهم عند وجود مقترحهم إذا لم يؤمنوا.

And had We appointed him, the one who is sent down to them, an angel, We would assuredly have made him, the angel, a man, that is, ˹We would have sent him˺ in the form of a man, so that they would be able to see him, since no human being is capable of seeing an angel; and, had We sent him down and made him a man, We would have assuredly confused, obscured, for them what they are confusing, for themselves, when they say, ‘This is but a mere mortal like the rest of you’.

{ولو جعلناه} أي المنزل إليهم {ملكا لجعلناه} أي الملك {رجلا} أي على صورته ليتمكنوا من رؤيته إذ لا قوَّه للبشر على رؤية الملك {و} لو أنزلناه وجعلنا رجلا {للبسنا} شبهنا {عليهم ما يلبسون} على أنفسهم بأن يقولوا ما هذا إلا بشر مثلكم.

And messengers were indeed mocked before you — this is meant as a consolation for the Prophet, (s) — but those who scoffed at them were encompassed by that which they mocked, namely, ˹by the˺ punishment ˹sent down on them˺: those who mock you will be encompassed likewise.

{ولقد استُهزئ برسل من قبلك} فيه تسلية للنبي ﷺ {فحاق} نزل {بالذين سخروا منهم ما كانوا به يستهزئون} وهو العذاب فكذا يحيق بمن استهزأ بك.

Say, to them: ‘Travel in the land, and see the nature of the consequence for the deniers’, of the messengers, how they were destroyed through chastisement; perhaps they will take heed.

{قل} لهم {سيروا في الأرض ثم انظروا كيف كان عاقبة المكذبين} الرسل من هلاكهم بالعذاب ليعتبروا.

Say: ‘To whom belongs what is in the heavens and in the earth?’ Say: ‘To God, for even if they do not say this, there is no other response. He has prescribed, He has decreed, for Himself mercy, as a bounty from Him — this is a gentle summoning of them to the faith. He will surely gather you together on the Day of Resurrection of which there is no doubt, no uncertainty, in order to requite you for your deeds. Those who have forfeited their own souls (this is the subject) — by exposing them to the chastisement — they do not believe (this is the predicate).

{قل لمن ما في السماوات والأرض قل لله} إن لم يقولوه لا جواب غيره {كتب على نفسه} قضى على نفسه {الرحمة} فضلا منه وفيه تلطف في دعائهم إلى الإيمان {لَيجمعنكم إلى يوم القيامة} ليجازيكم بأعمالكم {لا ريب} شك {فيه الذين خسروا أنفسهم} بتعريضها للعذاب مبتدأ خبره {فهم لا يؤمنون}.

And to Him, exalted be He, belongs all that inhabits, resides ˹in˺, the night and the day, that is to say, everything — He is its Lord, its Creator and its Possessor; and He is the Hearer, of what is said, the Knower’, of what is done.

{وله} تعالى {ما سكن} حلُ {في الليل والنهار} أي كل شيء فهو ربه وخالقه ومالكه {وهو السميع} لما يقال {العليم} بما يفعل.

Say, to them: ‘Shall I take as a protector, to worship, other than God, the Originator of the heavens and the earth, the One Who has created them without any precedent, He Who feeds, Who gives sustenance, and is not fed?’, and is not given sustenance. Say: ‘I have been commanded to be the first to submit, to God, from among this community, and, it was said to me: “Do not be among those who associate others” ’, with Him.

{قل} لهم {أغير الله أتَّخذ وليّاً} أعبده {فاطر السماوات والأرض} مبدعهما {وهو يُطعم} يرزق {ولا يُطعم} يُرزق {قل إني أمرت أن أكون أول من أسلم} لله من هذه الأمة {و} قيل لي {لا تكوننَّ من المشركين} به.

Say: ‘Indeed I fear, if I should rebel against my Lord, by worshipping other than Him, the chastisement of a dreadful day’, namely, the Day of Resurrection.

{قل إني أخاف إن عصيت ربي} بعبادة غيره {عذاب يوم عظيم} هو يوم القيامة.

He from whom it is averted (read passive yusraf, ‘it is averted’, namely, ‘the chastisement’; or read active yasrif, ‘He averts’, namely, ‘God’ ˹as the subject˺; the referential noun has been omitted) on that day, He, the Exalted One, will have had mercy on him, He will have desired good for him; that is the manifest triumph, evident salvation.

{من يُصرف} بالبناء للمفعول أي العذاب وللفاعل أي الله والعائد محذوف {عنه يومئذ فقد رحمه} تعالى أي أراد له الخير {وذلك الفوز المبين} النجُاة الظاهرة.

And if God touches you with an affliction, a trial, such as an illness or impoverishment, then none can remove it, ˹none can˺ lift it, except Him; and if He touches you with good, such as health and affluence, then He has power over all things, including His touching you with this, and none other than Him has the power to remove it from you.

{وإن يمسسك الله بضر} بلاء كمرض وفقر {فلا كاشف} رافع {له إلا هو وإن يمسسك بخير} كصحة وغنىّ {فهو على كل شىء قدير} ومنه مسُّك به ولا يقدر على ردِّه عنك غيره.

He is the Vanquisher, the Omnipotent, for Whom nothing is impossible, Superior ˹is He˺, over His servants, and He is the Wise, in His creation, the Aware, of their innermost ˹thoughts˺ as well as their outward ˹actions˺.

{وهو القاهر} القادر الذي لا يعجزه شيء مستعليا {فوق عباده وهو الحكيم} في خلقه {الخبير} ببواطنهم كظواهرهم.

When they said to the Prophet (s), ‘Bring us someone to testify to the truth of your prophethood, for the People of the Scripture have denied you’, the following was revealed: Say, to them: ‘What thing is greatest in testimony?’ (shahādatan: this is for specification, and is derived from the ˹implied˺ subject of the sentence). Say: ‘God — even if they do not say this, there is no other response — He, is Witness between me and you, to my truthfulness; and this Qur’ān has been revealed to me that I may warn you, ˹that I may˺ make you fear, O people of Mecca, thereby, and whomever it may reach (wa-man balagha: this is a supplement to the ˹suffixed˺ pronoun ˹‘you’˺ of undhira-kum, ‘I may warn you’), that is to say, whomever among men and jinn the Qur’ān may reach. Do you indeed bear witness that there are other gods with God?’ (this interrogative is meant as a disavowal). Say, to them: ‘I do not bear witness’, to this. Say: ‘He is only One God, and I am innocent of what you associate’, with Him of idols.

ونزل لما قالوا للنبي ﷺ إئتنا بمن يشهد لك بالنبوة فإن أهل الكتاب أنكروك {قل} لهم {أيُّ شيءٍ أكبر شهادة} تمييز محول عن المبتدأ {قل اللهُ} إن لم يقولوه لا جواب غيره، وهو {شهيد بيني وبينكم} على صدقي {وأوحي إليَّ هذا القرآن لأنذركم} أخوفكم يا أهل مكة {به ومن بلغ} عطف على ضمير أنذركم أي بلغة القرآن عن الأنس والجن {أئنَّكم لتشهدون أن مع الله آلهة أخرى} إستفهام إنكاري {قل} لهم {لا أشِهدُ} بذلك {قل إنما هو إله واحد وإنني بريء مما تشركون} معه من الأصنام.

Those to whom We have given the Scripture recognise him, that is, Muhammad (s), by the descriptions of him in their Scripture, as they recognise their sons; those, of them, who have forfeited their own souls do not believe, in him.

{الذين آتيناهم الكتاب يعرفونه} أي محمدا بنعته في كتابهم {كما يعرفون أبناءهم الذين خسروا أنفسهم} منهم {فهم لا يؤمنون} به.

And who, that is, none, does greater evil than he who invents a lie against God, by ascribing to Him an associate, or denies His signs?, the Qur’ān; it is verily the case that, they the evildoers shall not prosper, on account of this.

{ومن} أي لا أحد {أظلم ممن افترى على الله كذبا} بنسبه الشريك إليه {أو كذَّب بآياته} القرآن {إنه} أي الشأن {لا يفلح الظالمون} بذلك.

And, mention, on the day We shall gather them all together, then We shall say, in rebuke, to those who associated other gods with God, ‘Where are those associates of yours whom you were claiming?’, to be associates of God?

{و} اذكر {يوم نحشرهم جميعا ثم نقول للذين أشركوا} توبيخا {أين شركاؤكم الذين كنتم تزعمون} أنهم شركاء الله.

Then their dissension (read accusative fitnatahum or nominative fitnatuhum) their apology, was (read lam takun or lam yakun) only to say, in other words, ˹was only˺ their saying, ‘By God, our Lord (read rabbinā as an adjective of ˹wa’Llāhi, ‘by God’˺, or rabbanā as a vocative) we were never idolaters’.

{ثم لم تكن} بالتاء والياء {فتنتّهم} بالنصب والرفع أي معذرتهم {إلا أن قالوا} أي قولهم {والله ربِّنا} بالجر نعت والنصب نداء {ما كنا مشركين}.

God, exalted be He, says: See, O Muhammad (s), how they lie against themselves, by denying that their idolatry, and how that which they were forging, against God, in the way of associates, has failed, is absent ˹before˺, them!

قال تعال: {أنظر} يا محمد {كيف كذبوا على أنفسهم} بنفي الشرك عنهم {وضلَّ} غاب {عنهم ما كانوا يفترونـ} ـه على الله من الشركاء.

And there are some of them who listen to you, when you recite, and We have placed veils, covers, upon their hearts so that they do not understand it, ˹so that˺ they ˹do not˺ comprehend the Qur’ān; and in their ears a heaviness, a deafness, so that they do not hear it with a willingness to accept it. And if they were to see every sign, they would not believe in it, so that when they come to you to argue with you, the disbelievers say, ‘This, Qur’ān, is nothing but the fables, the lies, of the ancients’, similar to ˹their˺ jokes and strange tales (asātīr, ‘fables’, is the plural of ustūra).

{ومنهم من يستمع إليك} إذا قرأت {وجعلنا على قلوبهم أكنة} أغطية لـ {أن} لا {يفقهوه} يفهموا القرآن {وفي آذانهم وقرا} صما فلا يسمعونه سماع قبول {وإن يروا كل آية لا يؤمنوا بها حتى إذا جاءُوك يجادلونك يقول الذين كفروا إن} ما {هذا} القرآن {إلا أساطير} أكاذيب {الأولين} كالأضاحيك والأعاجيب جمع أسطورة بالضم.

And, to people, they forbid it, the following of the Prophet (s), and keep away from it, and so they do not believe in him: it is said that this was revealed regarding Abū Tālib, who used to forbid ˹people from˺ hurting him, but did not ˹himself˺ believe in him; and it is only themselves they destroy, when they keep away from him, because the harm thereof will befall them, but they do not perceive, this.

{وهم ينهون} الناس {عنه} عن اتباع النبي ﷺ {وينأون} يتباعدون {عنه} فلا يؤمنون به، وقيل: نزلت في أبي طالب كان ينهى عن أذاه ولا يؤمن به {وإن} ما {يهلكون} بالنأي عنه {إلا أنفسهم} لأن ضرره عليهم {وما يشعرون} بذلك.

If you, O Muhammad (s), could see when they are made to stand, ˹when˺ they are exposed, before the Fire, and they say, ‘Oh (yā is for exclamation) would that we might be returned, to the world; then we would not deny the signs of our Lord, but we would be among the believers!’ (read nukadhdhibu and nakūnu as a new ˹independent˺ sentence; or read nukadhdhiba and nakūna as the ˹subjunctive˺ response to the optative ˹clause˺; or read nukadhdhibu and nakūna). The response to the clause ‘if ˹you could see˺’ would be ‘you would be seeing a terrible thing indeed’.

{ولو ترى} يا محمد {إذ وُقفوا} عرضوا {على النار فقالوا يا} للتنبيه {ليتنا نردُّ} إلى الدنيا {ولا نكذِّبُ بآيات ربنا ونكونُ من المؤمنين} برفع الفعلين إستئنافا ونصبهما في جواب التمني ورفع الأول ونصب الثاني وجواب لو رأيت أمرا عظيما.

God, exalted be He, says: Nay — ˹here used˺ in order to reject the desire to believe implied by the optative ˹exclamation˺ — that which they used to conceal, to hide, before, by their saying, By God, our Lord, we were never idolaters! ˹Q. 6:23˺) has now become evident to them, as their limbs have borne witness ˹against them˺, and so they ˹now˺ wish for that ˹mentioned in the previous verse˺; and even if, hypothetically, they were returned, to the world, they would return to that which they are forbidden, of idolatry; they are truly liars, when they promise that they would believe ˹if they were to be returned˺.

قال تعالى: {بل} للإضراب عن إرادة الإيمان المفهوم من التمني {بدا} ظهر {لهم ما كانوا يخفون من قبل} يكتمون بقولهم (والله ربنا ما كنا مشركين) شهادة جوارحهم فتمنوا ذلك {ولو ردوا} إلى الدنيا فرضا {لعادوا لما نُهوا عنه} من الشرك {وإنهم لكاذبون} في وعدهم بالإيمان.

And they, those who deny the Resurrection, say, ‘There is no other, life, than our present life; we shall not be resurrected’.

{وقالوا} أي منكر والبعث {إن} ما {هي} أي الحياة {إلا حياتنا الدنيا ومانحن بمبعوثين}.

If you could see when they are made to stand, ˹when they are˺ presented, before their Lord, you would certainly see an awesome thing! He will say, to them, by the tongue of the angels, in rebuke: ‘Is this, resurrection and reckoning, not the truth?’ They will say, ‘Yes indeed, by our Lord’, it is the truth! He will say, ‘Then taste the chastisement because you disbelieved’, during life on earth.

{ولو ترى إذ وقفوا} عرضوا {على ربِّهم} لرأيت أمرا عظيما {قال} لهم على لسان الملائكة توبيخا {أليس هذا} البعث والحساب {بالحق قالوا بلى وربِّنا} إنه لحق {قال فذوقوا العذاب بما كنتم تكفرون} به في الدنيا.