11. Hud

Alif lām rā’ God knows best what He means by these letters; this is a Book whose verses have been set clear through marvellous arrangement and wonderful meanings and then detailed expounded through rulings stories and admonitions from One Wise Informed that is from God.

Saying ‘Worship none but God. Truly I am to you a warner from Him of chastisement if you disbelieve and a bearer of good tidings’ of reward if you believe.

And bidding you ‘Ask forgiveness of your Lord for your idolatry then repent return to Him through acts of obedience and He will give you in this world fair enjoyment in the way of pleasant living and abundant provision until a time appointed namely death and He will give in the Hereafter every person of merit in deed the due for his merit his reward. But if you turn away tawallaw one of the two tā’ letters of tatawallaw has been omitted in other words if you object I fear for you the chastisement of an awful day namely the Day of Resurrection.

Unto God is your return and He has power over all things’ including reward and chastisement.

And there is not wa-mā min min is extra a creature dābba is that creature which treads dabba in the earth but the sustenance thereof rests on God sustenance which He has undertaken to provide out of His bounty exalted be He. And He knows its habitation its dwelling-place in this world — or in the loins — and its repository after death or in the womb. All that which is mentioned is in a manifest a clear Book which is the Preserved Tablet al-lawh al-mahfūz.

And He it is Who created the heavens and the earth in six days the first of which was Sunday and the last Friday — and His Throne before creating them was upon the water borne by the winds — that He might try you li-yabluwakum is semantically connected to khalaqa ‘He Who created’ in other words He created them and all that is beneficial and good for you in them in order to test you which of you is best in conduct that is which of you is most obedient to God. And if you were to say O Muhammad (s) to them ‘Truly you shall be raised again after death’ those who disbelieve will say ‘This Qur’ān that speaks of resurrection — or this that you are saying — is nothing but manifest clear sorcery’ sihrun a variant reading has sāhirun ‘sorcerer’ in which case the reference is to the Prophet s.

And if we postpone the chastisement for them until the arrival of a reckoned time reckoned moments they will surely say in mockery ‘What is detaining it?’ what is preventing it from being sent down? God exalted be He says Verily on the day when it comes to them it cannot be averted warded off from them and that chastisement which they derided shall surround them it shall come down upon them.

And if We cause the disbelieving man to taste some mercy from Us such as wealth and good health and then wrest it from him lo! he is despairing having lost hope of God’s mercy ungrateful intensely ungrateful to Him.

But if We cause him to taste prosperity after some misery such as impoverishment and hardship that had befallen him assuredly he will say ‘The ills the afflictions have gone from me’ when he had not anticipated that they would go away; yet still he does not give thanks for this; lo! he is exultant wanton boastful to people of what he has been given;