6. Al-An'aam

And this Qur’ān is a blessed Book We have revealed confirming that which was before it of scriptures and that you may warn li-tundhira or read li-yundhira ‘that it may warn’ as supplement to the import of the preceding statement sc. ‘to confirm that which was before it and to warn’ in other words We have revealed it for the blessings it gives as a vindication of previous scripture and for you to warn therewith the Mother of Towns and those around it that is the inhabitants of Mecca and all other people; and those who believe in the Hereafter believe in it and they observe their prayers fearing the punishment thereof.

And who that is none does greater evil than he who invents lies against God by claiming prophethood when he has not been called to it or who says ‘It is revealed to me’ when nothing has been revealed to him — this was revealed regarding the false prophet Musaylama al-Kadhdhāb — or he who says ‘I will reveal the like of what God has revealed’? — these were the mockers who would say If we wish we can speak the like of this Q. 831; If you could only see O Muhammad (s) when the mentioned evildoers are in the agonies the throes of death and the angels extend their hands against them beating and torturing them saying to them in stern censure ‘Give up your souls! to us that we may seize them. Today you shall be requited with the chastisement of humiliation because you used to say about God other than the truth of claiming prophethood and inspiration falsely and that you used to scorn His signs’ disdaining to believe in them. The response to the conditional statement beginning with law ‘if you could only see’ is ‘you would be seeing a terrifying thing’.

And it is said to them upon their resurrection ‘And now you have come to Us singly each alone without family possessions or children as We created you the first time that is barefoot naked and with foreskins and you have left what We conferred on you of wealth behind your backs in the world without you having any choice; and — it is said to them in rebuke — We do not see with you your intercessors the idols whom you claimed to be associates of God amongst you that is in deserving your worship; it has been severed between you that is to say your bond has been dissolved a variant reading for baynukum ‘your union’ has baynakum ‘between you’ making it an adverbial qualifier that is the bond ‘between you’ has been severed’ and that intercession of theirs which you claimed in the world has failed abandoned you’.

God it is Who splits the grain from the plants and the date-stone from the palm-trees. He brings forth the living from the dead such as the human being from the sperm and the bird from the egg; and is the Bringer-forth of the dead the sperm and the egg from the living. That Splitter and Bringer-forth is God. How then are you deluded? so how then are you turned away from faith despite the proof being established?

He is the Cleaver of the daybreak al-isbāh is the verbal noun meaning al-subh ‘dawn’ in other words He splits the morning shaft the first light that appears after the darkness of night and He has appointed the night for stillness in which creatures rest from toil and the sun and the moon read both in the accusative wa’l-shamsa wa’l-qamara as a supplement to the syntactical status of al-layla ‘the night’ for reckoning for the calculation of periods of time or if the prefixed preposition bā’ is considered to have been omitted bi-husbān making it husbān a circumstantial qualifier referring to an implied verb such as yajriyān ‘they follow courses’ that is ‘they follow courses precisely calculated bi-husbān’ as is stated in the verse of sūrat al-Rahmān Q. 555.That mentioned is the ordaining of the Mighty in His kingdom the Knowing of His creation.

And He it is Who appointed for you the stars that you may guide your course by them amid the darkness of land and sea when travelling. Verily We have distinguished We have elucidated the signs the proofs of Our power for a people who have knowledge a people who reflect.

And He it is Who produced you created you from a single soul namely Adam such that some of you are established in the womb and some of you are deposited in the loins a variant reading of mustaqirrun ‘established’ has mustaqarrun that is a resting place for you. Verily We have distinguished the signs for a people who understand what is being said to them.

And He it is Who sent down water from the heaven and therewith with the water We bring forth there is a shift away from the third to the second person in this address plants of every kind that produces shoots and therefrom from the shoots We bring forth some verdure meaning ‘the greens’ in other words vegetation bringing forth from it from the verdure thick-clustered grain in dense clusters — such as the spikes of wheat and the like — and from the palm-tree wa-mina’l-nakhli is the predicate and is substituted by the following min tal‘ihā ‘from its pollen’ from its pollen — that which is the first to be produced by it — spring bunches of dates qinwānun is the subject of the sentence stalks with date clusters bunched up one near the other and We bring forth from it gardens orchards of grapes and olives and pomegranates the leaves of both of these being similar mushtabihan is a circumstantial qualifier but the fruits of which are not alike. Look O you addressed in reflection upon their fruits read thamarihi or thumurihi the plural of thamara like shajara ‘tree’ as plural of shajar and khashaba ‘a piece of wood’ for khashab when they have borne fruit when this first begins how it looks and look upon their ripening after they have reached full growth and the state to which they return. Surely in all that are signs proofs of His power exalted be He to resurrect and to do all other things for a people who believe it is these people that are specifically mentioned because they are the ones to profit from those signs by their believing in them in contrast to the disbelievers.

Yet they ascribe to God li’Llāhi the indirect object as associates shurakā’a the direct object which is substituted by the following al-jinn the jinn since they obey them by worshipping graven images even though He created them so how can they be associates? And they falsely impute to Him read kharaqū or kharraqū that is they invent sons and daughters without any knowledge saying Ezra ‘Uzayr is the son of God and the angels are the daughters of God. Glory be to Him — an affirmation of His transcendence — and exalted be He above what they describe! of Him having a child.