Stem ظُّلُمَٰتُ - Quranic Morphology

English - Hazrat Molavi Sher Ali ^ra

Say, ‘Who is the Lord of the heavens and the earth?’ Say, ‘Allah.’ Say, ‘Have you then taken beside Him helpers who have no power for good or harm even for themselves?’ Say, ‘Can the blind and the seeing be equal? Or, can darkness be equal to light? Or, do they assign to Allah partners who have created the like of His creation so that the two creations appear similar to them?’ Say, ‘Allah alone is the Creator of all things, and He is the One, the Most Supreme.’

اردو ترجمہ مرزا طاہر احمد خلیفة المسیح الرابعؒ

تو پوچھ آسمانوں اور زمین کا ربّ کون ہے؟ (اور) کہہ دے کہ اللہ ہی ہے۔ تُو کہہ دے کیا پھر تم اس کے سوا ایسے دوست پکڑ بیٹھے ہو جو خود اپنے لئے بھی نہ نفع کی اور نہ نقصان کی کچھ قدرت رکھتے ہیں؟ تو پوچھ کیا اندھا اور دیکھنے والا برابر ہو سکتے ہیں؟ اور اندھیرے اور روشنی ایک جیسے ہو سکتے ہیں؟ یا کیا انہوں نے اللہ کے سوا ایسے شرکاءبنا رکھے ہیں جنہوں نے اس کی تخلیق کی طرح تخلیق کی ہے پس ان پر تخلیق مشتبہ ہوگئی؟ تُو کہہ دے کہ اللہ ہی ہر چیز کا خالق ہے اور وہ یکتا (اور) صاحبِ جبروت ہے۔

French

Dis : « Qui est le Seigneur des cieux et de la terre ? » Dis : « Allāh. » Dis : « Avez-vous donc pris à Sa place des aides qui n’ont aucun pouvoir pour faire le bien ou le mal ne serait-ce que pour eux-mêmes ? » Dis : « L’aveugle et le voyant peuvent-ils être égaux ? Ou, l’obscurité peut-elle égaler la lumière ? Ou, attribuent-ils à Allāh des associés qui ont créé comme Sa création, de sorte que la création leur paraisse confuse ? » Dis : « Allāh Seul est le Créateur de toutes choses, et Il est l’Unique, le Tout-Dominant de par Sa majesté et Sa gloire. »

German

Sprich: "Wer ist der Herr der Himmel und der Erde?" Sprich: "Allah." Sprich: "Habt ihr euch Helfer außer Ihm genommen, die sich selbst weder nützen noch schaden können?" Sprich: "Können der Blinde und der Sehende gleich sein? Oder kann die Finsternis gleich sein dem Licht? Oder stellen sie Allah Götter zur Seite, die eine Schöpfung geschaffen wie die Seine, also dass (beide) Schöpfungen ihnen gleichartig erscheinen?" Sprich: "Allah ist der Schöpfer aller Dinge, und Er ist der Einige, der Allmächtige."

Chinese

[c]你 (向他们) 说: “谁是天地的养主?” (他们对这个问题能作什么答复?) 你 (自己) 说: “安拉。” (继而对他们) 说: “难道你们除开安拉[d]把那不能自主利害的当做帮助者?” 你 (再向他们) 说: [e]“瞎子与有眼的人 (能) 是一样的? 黑暗和光明 (能) 是相同的?” 难道他们设立的与安拉同等的崇拜对象, 像安拉那样创造 (万物) , 以致他们不能分辨 (两者的) 受造物? 你 (对他们) 说: “安拉是每一个东西的创造者。他是独一无二的[638]。他完全掌握着 (每一件东西)。”

Italian

Di': «Chi è il Signore dei cieli e della terra?» Rispondi: «Allah.» Di': «Avete dunque scelto all'infuori di Lui altri dei che non hanno potere sul bene e sul male neppure per sé stessi?» Dì: «Possono il cieco e il vedente essere uguali? O può l'oscurità essere uguale alla luce? O forse essi attribuiscono ad Allah dei compagni che hanno creato qualcosa di simile alla Sua creazione, sì che le due creazioni appaiono a loro simili?» Dì: «Allah solo è il Creatore di tutte le cose. Ed Egli è l'Unico, il Supremo.»

Spanish

Diles: “¿Quién es el Señor de los cielos y la tierra?”. Responde: “Al-lah”. Diles: ¿Habéis tomado, pues, en lugar de Él, socorredores que o tienen poder para hacer ningún bien ni ningún mal ni siquiera a ellos mismos?”. Diles: “¿Pueden equipararse el ciego y el vidente? o ¿pueden ser las tinieblas iguales a la luz? o ¿asignan socios a Al-lah que hayan creado algo similar a Su Creación hasta el punto de que aparezcan similares las dos creaciones ante ellos?”. Diles: “Sólo Al-lah es el Creador de todas las cosas, Él es el Único, el Supremo”.

اردو تفسیرِ صغیر

تو ان سے کہہ (کہ بتاؤ) آسمانوں اور زمین کا رب کون ہے؟ (اس کا جواب وہ تو کیا دیں گے) تو (خود ہی) کہہ دے (کہ) اللہ‘ (اور پھر تو ان سے) کہہ‘ کیا پھر (بھی) تم نے اس کے سوا (اپنے) ایسے مددگار تجویز کر رکھے ہیں جو خود اپنے لئے (بھی) کسی نفع (کو حاصل کرنے) کی قدرت نہیں رکھتے۔ اور نہ کسی نقصان کو روکنے کی (اور ان سے) کہہ (کہ) کیا اندھا اور دیکھنے والا برابر (ہوسکتا) ہے؟ یا کیا تاریکی اور روشنی برابر (ہوسکتی) ہے؟ کیا انہوں نے اللہ کے ایسے شریک تجویز کئے ہیں جنہوں نے اس کی طرح (کچھ) مخلوق پیدا کی ہے۔ جس کی وجہ سے (اس کی اور دوسروں کی) مخلوق ان کے لئے مشتبہ ہو گئی ہے تو ان سے کہہ (کہ) اللہ (ہی) ہر ایک چیز کا خالق ہے اور وہ کامل طور پر یکتا (اور ہر ایک چیز پر) کامل اقتدار رکھنے والا ہے۔

English - Short Commentary Translation

[b]Say, ‘Who is the Lord of the heavens and the earth?’ Say, ‘Allah.’ Say, ‘Have you then taken instead of Him helpers [c]who have no power for good or harm even for themselves?’ Say, [d]‘Can the blind and the seeing be equal? Or, can darkness be equal to light? Or, do they assign to Allah partners who have created the like of His creation so that the two creations appear similar to them?’ Say, ‘Allah alone is the Creator of all things, and He is the One,[1432] the Most Supreme.’

English - Five Volume Translation

[a]Say, ‘Who is the Lord of the heavens and the earth?’ Say, ‘Allah.’ Say, ‘Have you then taken beside Him helpers [b]who have no power for good or harm even for themselves?’ Say, [c]‘Can the blind and the seeing be equal? Or, can darkness be equal to light? Or, do they assign to Allah partners who have created the like of His creation so that the two creations appear similar to them?’ Say, ‘Allah alone is the Creator of all things, and He is the One, the Most Supreme.’[1628]

23:87.

25:4.

11:25; 35:20.

Commentary:

The words, who have no power for good or harm even for themselves, spoken about false deities point to a strange coincidence. Generally, the lives of all those persons who later came to be worshipped as deities were full of hardship and privation. Jesus, Imam Husain, Rama, etc., all led very hard lives. This fact seems to entail a strong warning to their misguided worshippers that they could expect no benefit or help from those who could not even protect themselves from harm or danger.

In the words, Can the blind and the seeing be equal?, disbelievers are told that they, being spiritually and morally blind, should not be deceived by their power and their numbers against the Holy Prophet, as even an army of blind men is powerless against one person who has eyes. The Prophet and his followers possess sight, while disbelievers are blind.

The powerlessness of the disbelievers is further brought home to them in the simile of light and darkness referred to in the words, can darkness be equal to light? Disbelievers are told that as darkness possesses no independent existence, being only the negation of light, it must flee before light. So disbelievers cannot stand against the Holy Prophet. In the last part of the verse disbelievers are challenged to produce anything which they think has been created by their false deities.

The Quran has used two different words to express the Unity of God, viz. (1) احد and (2) واحد. Whereas the former denotes the absolute Unity of God without relation to any other being, the latter means only "the first" or "the starting point" and requires a second and a third to follow it. The Divine attribute of واحد (One) is thus intended to show that God is the real "source" from which all creation springs. Although none of His creatures is similar to Him in perfection and He is Independent of all, yet everything does point to Him, just as a second or a third thing necessarily points to the first. The attribute واحد (One) has therefore been used here as an evidence of the truth of the previous statement, viz. Allah alone is the Creator of all things. As against this, where the Quran seeks to refute the doctrine of the son-ship of those who have been falsely given that status, it uses the word احد i.e. He Who has ever been One and alone and has begotten no child (112:2).

The addition of the attribute of "Most Supreme" to "One" signifies that God does not need the help or assistance of any being for the control and governance of the universe He has brought into existence, because He is not only the source of all things but is also Supreme and Powerful over them. Hence it is useless and absurd for disbelievers to worship their false deities.

اردو ترجمہ مودودی

اِن سے پوچھو، آسمان و زمین کا رب کون ہے؟ کہو، اللہ پھر ان سے کہو کہ جب حقیقت یہ ہے تو کیا تم نے اُسے چھوڑ کر ایسے معبودوں کو اپنا کارساز ٹھیرا لیا جو خود اپنے لیے بھی کسی نفع و نقصان کا اختیار نہیں رکھتے؟ کہو، کیا اندھا اور آنکھوں والا برابر ہوا کرتا ہے؟ کیا روشنی اور تاریکیاں یکساں ہوتی ہیں؟ اور اگر ایسا نہیں تو کیا اِن ٹھیرائے ہوئے شریکوں نے بھی اللہ کی طرح کچھ پیدا کیا ہے کہ اُس کی وجہ سے اِن پر تخلیق کا معاملہ مشتبہ ہو گیا؟ کہو، ہر چیز کا خالق صرف اللہ ہے اور وہ یکتا ہے، سب پر غالب!

English - Sahih

Say, "Who is Lord of the heavens and earth?" Say, "Allah." Say, "Have you then taken besides Him allies not possessing [even] for themselves any benefit or any harm?" Say, "Is the blind equivalent to the seeing? Or is darkness equivalent to light? Or have they attributed to Allah partners who created like His creation so that the creation [of each] seemed similar to them?" Say, "Allah is the Creator of all things, and He is the One, the Prevailing."

اردو ترجمہ احمد علی

کہو آسمانوں اور زمین کا رب کون ہے کہہ دو الله کہو پھر کیا تم نے الله کے سوا ان چیزوں کو معبود نہیں بنا رکھا جو اپنے نفسوں کے نفع اور نقصان کےبھی مالک نہیں کہو کیا اندھا اور دیکھنے والا برابر ہوسکتا ہے یا کہیں اندھیرا اور روشنی برابر ہو سکتے ہیں کیا جنہیں انہوں نے الله کا شریک بنا رکھا ہے انہو ں نے بھی الله کی مخلوق جیسی کوئی مخلوق بنائی ہے پھر مخلوق ان کی نظر میں مشتبہ ہو گئی ہے پیدا کرنے والااللہ ہے اور وہ اکیلا زبردست ہے

English - Talal Itani

Say, "Who (is) the Lord (of) the heavens and the earth?" Say, "Allah." Say, "Have you then taken from besides Him, protectors, not they have power for themselves (to) benefit and not (to) harm?" Say, "Is equal the blind and the seeing? Or is equal the darkness[es] and the light? Or they attribute to Allah partners who created like His creation, so that seemed alike the creation to them?" Say, "Allah (is) the Creator of all things, and He (is) the One the Irresistible."

Chinese Commentary ^*

Cross Refs:

c

23:87.

d

25:4.

e

11:25; 35:20.

638

«古兰经» 用两个不同的单词, اَحَدْ (Ahad) 和 وَاحِدْ (Wahid) 来表示安拉的独一性。前一个单词指安拉的绝对独一, 他与任何其他人没有关系; 后者仅仅意为 ‘第一个’ 或 ‘始点’, 因而需要有第二、第三个紧随其后。安拉的特性--------独一 (وَاحِدْ, Wahid), 表明安拉是一切创造源泉的真正 ‘源泉’ 。就象第二或第三个事物必然指向第一个事物那样, 一切事物都仰向安拉。有些人被错误地给予安拉的儿子的身份。«古兰经» 在驳斥这一教条时, 使用 اَحَدْ (Ahad) 这词。也就是说, 安拉是, 而且一直是独一的, 他从未有过子女。(112:2)

اردہ تفصیرِ صغیر نوٹس ^*

English - Arberry

Say: 'Who is the Lord of the heavens and of the earth?' Say: 'God.' Say: 'Then have you taken unto you others beside Him to be your protectors, even such as have no power to profit or hurt themselves?' Say: 'Are the blind and the seeing man equal, or are the shadows and the light equal? Or have they ascribed to God associates who created as He created, so that creation is all alike to them?' Say: 'God is the Creator of everything, and He is the One, the Omnipotent.'

English - Maududi

Ask them: "Who is the Lord of the heavens and the earth?" Say: "Allah." Tell them: "Have you taken beside Him as your patrons those who do not have the power to benefit or to hurt even themselves?" Say: "Can the blind and the seeing be deemed equals? Or can light and darkness be deemed equals?" If that is not so, then have those whom they associate with Allah in His Divinity ever created anything like what Allah did so that the question of creation has become dubious to them? Say: "Allah is the creator of everything. He is the One, the Irresistible."

English - Ahmed Ali

Ask them: "Who is the Lord of the heavens and the earth?" (They will) say: "God." Say: "Then why do you take protectors besides Him who have no power over their own gain or loss?" Say: "Can a blind man and one who can see be equal? Or, darkness and light be the same? Or, have those they have appointed equal of God created, as He has created, so that the (two) creations look alike to them?" Say: "God is the creator of everything. He is One, the omnipotent."

English - Yusuf Ali

Say: "Who is the Lord and Sustainer of the heavens and the earth?" Say: "(It is) Allah." Say: "Do ye then take (for worship) protectors other than Him, such as have no power either for good or for harm to themselves?" Say: "Are the blind equal with those who see? Or the depths of darkness equal with light?" Or do they assign to Allah partners who have created (anything) as He has created, so that the creation seemed to them similar? Say: "Allah is the Creator of all things: He is the One, the Supreme and Irresistible."

English - Five Volume Commentary ^*

Cross Refs:

a

23:87.

b

25:4.

c

11:25; 35:20.

1628

Commentary:

The words, who have no power for good or harm even for themselves, spoken about false deities point to a strange coincidence. Generally, the lives of all those persons who later came to be worshipped as deities were full of hardship and privation. Jesus, Imam Husain, Rama, etc., all led very hard lives. This fact seems to entail a strong warning to their misguided worshippers that they could expect no benefit or help from those who could not even protect themselves from harm or danger.

In the words, Can the blind and the seeing be equal?, disbelievers are told that they, being spiritually and morally blind, should not be deceived by their power and their numbers against the Holy Prophet, as even an army of blind men is powerless against one person who has eyes. The Prophet and his followers possess sight, while disbelievers are blind.

The powerlessness of the disbelievers is further brought home to them in the simile of light and darkness referred to in the words, can darkness be equal to light? Disbelievers are told that as darkness possesses no independent existence, being only the negation of light, it must flee before light. So disbelievers cannot stand against the Holy Prophet. In the last part of the verse disbelievers are challenged to produce anything which they think has been created by their false deities.

The Quran has used two different words to express the Unity of God, viz. (1) احد and (2) واحد. Whereas the former denotes the absolute Unity of God without relation to any other being, the latter means only "the first" or "the starting point" and requires a second and a third to follow it. The Divine attribute of واحد (One) is thus intended to show that God is the real "source" from which all creation springs. Although none of His creatures is similar to Him in perfection and He is Independent of all, yet everything does point to Him, just as a second or a third thing necessarily points to the first. The attribute واحد (One) has therefore been used here as an evidence of the truth of the previous statement, viz. Allah alone is the Creator of all things. As against this, where the Quran seeks to refute the doctrine of the son-ship of those who have been falsely given that status, it uses the word احد i.e. He Who has ever been One and alone and has begotten no child (112:2).

The addition of the attribute of "Most Supreme" to "One" signifies that God does not need the help or assistance of any being for the control and governance of the universe He has brought into existence, because He is not only the source of all things but is also Supreme and Powerful over them. Hence it is useless and absurd for disbelievers to worship their false deities.

English - Short Commentary Notes ^*

Cross Refs:

b

23:87.

c

25:4.

d

11:25; 35:20.

1432

The Qur’an has used two different words to express Divine Unity: (1) Ahad and (2) Wahid. Whereas the former word denotes the absolute Unity of God without relation to any other being, the latter means only 'the first' or 'the starting point,' and requires a second and a third to follow it. The Divine attribute, Wahid (One), shows that God is the real 'source' from which all creation springs, and everything points to Him just as a second or a third thing necessarily points to the first. But where the Qur’an seeks to refute the doctrine of the sonship of those who have been falsely given that status, it uses the word Ahad, i.e. He Who is and has ever been One and Alone and Who has begotten no child (112:2).

English - Pickthall

Say (O Muhammad): Who is Lord of the heavens and the earth? Say: Allah. Say: Take ye then (others) beside Him for protectors, which, even for themselves, have neither benefit nor hurt? Say: Is the blind man equal to the seer, or is darkness equal to light? Or assign they unto Allah partners who created the like of His creation so that the creation (which they made and His creation) seemed alike to them? Say: Allah is the Creator of all things, and He is the One, the Almighty.

English - Muhammad Ali ^ra

Say: Who is the Lord of the heavens and the earth? Say: Allah. Say: Do you then take besides Him guardians who control no benefit or harm even for themselves? Say: Are the blind and the seeing alike? Or, are darkness and light equal? Or, have they set up with Allah associates who have created creation like His, so that what is created became confused to them? Say: Allah is the Creator of all things, and He is the One, the Supreme.

English - Sir Muhammad Zafrullah Khan ^ra

Ask them: Who is the Lord of the heavens and the earth? Then tell them: It is Allah. Again ask them: Have you, then, taken beside Him helpers who have no power to acquire good or to repel harm even in respect of their own selves? Can the blind and the seeing be equal? Or, can darkness and light be the same? Or, do they assign to Allah partners who have created the like of His creation so that the two creations appear indistinguishable to them? Tell them: Allah alone is the Creator of all things, and He is the Single, the Most Supreme.

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