Al-Bayan, Discourses on the Qur'an Javed Ahmad Ghamidi Al-Bayan Preamble (Part 1) Gratitude is only for God, the Lord of the worlds, and may His peace and mercy be on Muhammad; the trustworthy. I seek refuge with God from the accursed Devil. In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Ever Merciful. Ladies and Gentlemen. We are beginning the study of Al-Bayan. I have written in the preface that this is a translation of the Qur’an in the Urdu Language. Originally, I wished to accomplish a translation of the Qur'an that would make the coherence of the discourse amply clear to a reader; a translation that would, to an extent, take the place of a commentary, which normally explains the relation between the passages, indicates the beginning of the discourse, the turn it has taken and other points. In other words, the need for presenting these points isn't felt. Rather, our position that the chapters of the Qur'an are of the genre of sermons, becomes clear by going through the translation itself. I have written that it is not possible to translate the majesty and grandeur of this masterpiece of divine literature. Everyone knows that this book emanates from the Divine Majesty; from the heavens. It is Gabriel's Melody, sent down by the Master of the Cosmos. And it is a literary masterpiece. It is not a monotonous piece of writing that has been handed over to us, neither is it a legal manual. The syle of this book is literary, giving rise to unparalleled beauty. This beauty cannot be easily carried into another language. When a literary piece is created, it has its own vocabulary; its sentences have their own peculiar form, giving rise to a distinctive diction, such that we identify a writer with it. The Qur'an has its own peculiar style. And then, the way this book conveys its intent, the subtlety it carries, the construction of its words the uniqueness of its style is a whole new world in itself. Carrying all of this in another language is like transferring refined poetry in a different language, a new phraseology; Translating the likes of Ghalib, Iqbal, Mir and Firdousi is not easy. I have, however, attempted to translate the meanings of the Qur'an in the Urdu language keeping in view the coherence of the discourse. In other words, this is my objective in this translation. I have attempted to convey its sense in the Urdu language, keeping all its stylistic features intact, so that the coherence of the discourse becomes clear. That is, the beginning of the discourse, its trajectory and its culmination after passing through many stages; the turns it takes, the audience it addresses, etc. should all become clear while a reader goes through the translation itself. In this capacity, it is the first translation in history in which the coherence of the Qur’an becomes evident from its very translation. The concept of Nazm (Coherence) that Imam Hamid al-Din Farahi explained and I have reiterated this time and again, that it was nothing other than the proper appreciation of the language of the Quran, which in turn highlighted the Nazm (coherence) of the Quran, all by itself. To transmit this coherence into the Urdu language, we keep the Qur'anic style in front of us and then see the needs of the Urdu reader. Also, the words which are understood to be implied but suppressed are opened up in the translation by using the brackets. I have written that no further explanation is required, if this method is adopted. I have also provided marginal annotations with the translation. The annotations of this translation are mostly a summary of my mentor Imam Amin Ahsan Islahi's exegesis, Taddabur-i Quran. Quite evidently, my work didn't ensue after any prolonged interval. Rather, it commenced in Ustaz Imam's very life. In fact, its need was felt because the translation in his exegesis was not carried out according to this principle. My original intention was to produce a translation that would not only convey the meaning but also the subtlety of the Qur'an, its elegance, its stresses, its rhetoric, its coherence, the burden of its song, implications and much more. Only when one would need to get some extra details; such as any latent meaning, the desired allusion, the direction of the address etc. would he turn towards the annotations, which I have provided. And since this work had commenced in the final phase of the Tadabbur-i Qur'an, I have only provided a summarized version of the notes in that commentary. There are many places where I hold a different view. At many places, after thorough reflection, I could not agree with Ustaz Imam's view. One way of stating my differences would have been to write them down somewhere, i.e if I had not taken up this work. But once I worked on this translation, I pointed out my differences wherever they surfaced, in addition to preparing the summarized notes. Serious readers can themselves determine these through a comparative study. When your objective is to communicate the message of the Qur'an, then you cannot go about specifying such things everywhere. Those who embark on a comparative study of both these works can easily discover them. It is not possible to express them at every place in such treatises. I hope that alongside the coherence of the discourse, those having a literary taste will also be able to witness the grandeur and beauty of the Qur’an’s sublime style in this translation. I have considered two things here The first is bringing out the coherence of the discourse and the second is carrying the Qur'an's stylistic beauty into another language. To whatever extent the Urdu language can carry the beauty of the work, or, say, to whatever extent any language can bear it. The Qur'an has its own unique style. It is a royal discourse, having its own majesty, its own diction, its own pattern, its own style, and its own modes of rhetoric. It's really a singular, unique, book. I hope those with a literary taste can appreciate these qualities of the Qur'an in this translation. Only the morning bird can duly value a flower-bed. Not everyone who can read a page can understand its meaning. This is a brief introduction to my work, explaining why I took it up, it's purpose even though the commentary of my mentor was available, what was its need? Hence, this foreword to the translation explains that background. In summary, had the translation in Tadabbur-i-Qur'an been of this type, there was no need for a fresh translation. I could have pursued a different project. And when I did take up the work of a fresh translation, I realized that many discussions in Tadabbur-i-Qur'an were overly lengthy, in a way that the exegete sort of formed a barrier between the reader and the Qur'an. Keeping this in view, I tried to write very brief and precise notes. If this work of mine gets completed, three important things will emerge to cogently convey the message of the Qur'an. Firstly, if anyone wants to go through a simple translation of the Qur'an, they should be given only the translation part of Al-Bayan. It will be published separately once it is completed, along with a foreword, and an introduction to the Surahs and groups in the Quran, devoid of footnotes. That is, the lay reader can grasp the translation of the Surahs of the Quran and also the order and coherence within it This is the primary purpose of my work. Then, if someone wants to go further and delve a bit deeper, to find out various aspects of the purport expressed in the Qur'an, one can refer to the notes of Al-Bayan. For a more extensive understanding of the issues, one may check Tadabbur-i-Qur'an. Thus, we will have with us a condensed, medium-sized and an expansive commentary. So, this was the objective of my work. After this, I have written a preamble, explaining the nature of the Qur'anic text I have not touched the stylistic aspect of the Qur'an in this preamble. I will cover that in a study of the hermeneutical grounds from my other work 'Meezan'. In that book, I have thoroughly discussed the principles underlying Tadabbur-i Quran such as its language, literary genre of the Quran and much more. Therefore, I will not discuss those topics at this time. Here, I only intend to provide a decent introduction to the Qur'an, explaining its subject matter and the arrangement of its chapters. This much introduction is needed to understand the Qur'an. If you read the Qur'an without this introduction, you would be approaching it with a preconceived mindset. You won't have any idea about the kind of text that you are going to study. I have usually observed that if the Qur'an is handed over to a common person, he feels confused while reading it, because he is unaware of this aspect. We are accustomed to reading books with topics arranged in a particular sequence Let's say, it would start with a certain discourse on God, say a chapter, then move on to Prophethood, and finally to some other teachings of religion. The Qur'an is unlike such books. To make others understand the kind of book it is, I have given some simple examples. To understand Shakespeare, you need to see how he tries to communicate his ideas. He uses the medium of allegory. I'm only giving a very rudimentary example to make you understand. In a parable in which there are characters engaged in dialogue with one another. The context starts revealing itself. Through these, he conveys his ideas. The case of the Qur'an is somewhat similar. Seen from the perspective of its subject-matter, the most prominent feature of the Qur'an reveals itself. I have stated it in the very first sentence of the Preamble. Concerning its subject-matter, the Qur'an is a chronicle of a Prophet's warning. What does this mean? It means that God raised a Rasool (a special term in the Qur'an, a Messenger). Muhammad, son of Abdullah, (pbuh) was also a Rasool in addition to being a Nabi. He was a Nabi in the sense that he brought the Divine Guidance and the Divine Law. In order to rectify the condition of human beings, he brought forth the Shariah of God to his people. Additionally, he was also appointed to the position of Risalah i.e. made a Rasool. Being a Rasool means that God sent him to bring the Divine Judgment to his people. Nubuwwah (Prophethood) means that a person conveys the Divine Message to the people, invites people to the true religion, instructs them in faith and morality, as well as imparts certain Divine Laws. This is Nubuwwah (according to the Quran). Receiving revelation from God as a Prophet and conveying that guidance to the people. Now there is another level beyond this. A Prophet cautions his nation and says that he has been sent as a Rasool to them, such that he brings down God's Judgment on them to decide their fate in this world. On what principle has this world been created? It is created by the Almighty on the principle of trial. The verdict about this trial would be pronounced on the Greater Day of Judgment. A Rasool (Messenger) pronounces that verdict for his nation in this very world. How is this verdict pronounced? A Rasool warns his people and conveys God's Message to them. He makes it clear that he is not simply a petitioner making a plea, and that it is up to the people to believe or disbelieve in him. He makes it clear that he is God's envoy, and if his word isn't accepted, then the nation would be purged of all opponents. That is, the believers and the disbelievers will be separated. And then, exactly how it shall happen on the Greater Day of Judgment, the believers will be rewarded and the disbelievers punished in this world, just as they would have been on the day of Judgment. This task of a Rasool warning his nation can be rendered by the term "inzar". God's Apostles, besides conveying God's Guidance, warn people about the Divine Punishment in the capacity of a Rasool. Then, according to God's Sunnah (practice) the people face the Divine Punishment, if they insist on disbelief and reject the Messenger's call. The Qur'an terms it as 'inzar'. Thus, the Qur'an is a chronicle of a Rasool's inzar (warning). In other words, a Rasool was raised and he accomplished all these tasks. The Qur'an has preserved this entire story as it happened. Therefore, I say, and I have also written in the introduction to my work 'Mizan', that with regards to its subject-matter, it is a chronicle of inzar. This depiction might sound strange to many people, may be because it hasn't been used before. Hence, it is essential to thoroughly comprehend it and what it entails. Without knowing this, one would not grasp the kind of text the Qur'an is. We usually hear that the Qur'an addresses humans, guides them, talks about religion, sets down the laws, and on and on. This gives people the impression that the Qur'an would be a random collection of credal statements, ethical teachings, and legal injunctions placed in some order The Qur'an is not like this. Undoubtedly, all these things find a place in the Qur'an, but not in the way people imagine them to be. A Messenger of God cautions his people and while doing so brings up all these things, in the form of sermons. But fundamentally, he is carrying out inzaar (warning). So, it is a chronicle of inzaar of a rasool. It is known that Muhammad (pbuh) was not merely a nabi (prophet). He was also a rasool (messenger). Prophets are personalities to whom the Almighty reveals divine guidance so that they are sent to guide the people of their nations. According to God’s scheme that has been put in place in this world, He first inspired essential guidance in human nature and then continued the institution of prophethood for a long time. These prophets admonished the people and conveyed God’s message to them. However, not every nabi (prophet) is a rasool (messenger). A Rasool has a higher rank. Risalah is specific whereas Nubuwwah is general. However, not every nabi (prophet) is a rasool (messenger). Risalat (messengerhood) is a position bestowed to only some prophets. A hadith report details that the number of prophets that Allah sent numbered 124000, among which the number of messengers were to the tune of 313. If taken as authentic, it points out that some of the prophets, i.e. those who were for people's guidance, among them some were delegated with the authority to bring God’s Judgment on their nations. According to its details furnished in the Qur'an, a rasool decides the fate of his addressees and implements the judgment of God on them in this very world. The court of justice that is to be convened on the Last Day, in which the believers and disbelievers in God will be judged, is set up for the messenger's nation in this very world. A rasool brings forth that judgment. According to its details furnished in the Qur'an, a rasool decides the fate of his addressees and implements the judgment of God on them in this very world. A rasool comes, conveys God's message, and warns his people. He makes it abundantly clear that He has come to set up the divine court for them and will leave only after deciding their fate. And then the court's verdict is then pronounced in this very world. The Quran informs us that this final phase in the preaching endeavour of a rasool, you see the verdict is to be pronounced. Consider a trial scene, in which people are being presented in a court. They are being informed of their actions. Their charge sheet is being read to them. And one day, their fate will be decided. That is, who among them shall be exonerated and who shall be punished with what sentence. The Quran informs us that this final phase in the preaching endeavour of a rasool comes after it passes through the phases of inzar, inzar al-'am, itmam al-Hujjah, and hijrah wa bara'ah. It is in this phase that the divine court of justice is set up on this earth. Punishment is meted out to the deniers of truth, and those who have accepted it are rewarded (daynunah), and in this way, a miniature Day of Judgment is witnessed on the face of the earth. Please understand this whole thing. A Rasool has arrived as an embodiment of God's Judgment. The first task he undertakes is that of 'inzar' (warning). In the first stage, this task is carried out in individual meetings, or in small gatherings. The Surahs of the Qur'an revealed in this phase give us an insight into the way the Rasool communicates the message to the people. After this phase, the Rasool is commanded to convey the message publicly. It is just like a person visiting Lahore, meeting some people, some leaders, and influential people in private meetings, and expresses his point of view. Then, a time comes when he starts addressing the public at large. This is what happens in the phase of inzar al 'aam. Following this, the call enters the phase of itmam al hujjah, i.e. the final word. The truth is made clear in every way possible. All the questions are answered, and the final word is put forward. The truth is made conclusively clear in a way that no excuse is left to deny it. This is termed as itmam al hujjah (conclusive communication of the truth). No one is left with the possibility to deny the message. Now the time comes for the Rasool to leave his people and announce his acquittal. This is the phase of hijrah and bara'ah (Migration and Acquittal). Bara'ah means that the Rasool announces his separation from his people. He declares that he has fully carried out his responsibility, and he will now have to leave them. This is the stage after which the Almighty pronounces His Judgment. I expect you to remember these phases. That is why, in Al-Bayan, you will never see me giving details of which Surah was revealed in which year, 2nd or 4th or 5th. Rather, in all the places, I have presented them according to these phases. A careful study of any Surah helps us to know the phase in which it was revealed. It was revealed in the phase of indhar, if the tone of the address doesn't betray any passion, but is in fact quite mild, than what we see in the phase of inzar al 'aam. Or the leadership is not addressed in a formidable way yet. After all, the task of cautioning has only just begun. Then comes the phase of indhar al 'aam In this phase everyone, the whole nation, including its leadership is addressed. Next comes a time when it becomes clear that the message has been conclusively communicated, and things are made absolutely clear. This is the phase of itmam al hujjah. Then the Rasool prepares to leave his nation and migrate. Needless to say that all these phases will come to pass only when a nation sticks to the approach of denial and rejection. That is, the nation and its leadership repudiate the messenger. If they accept the message, they would be blessed by their profession of faith. But if the nation refuse to accept it, the preaching passes through these phases. The final verdict is arrived at after the message passes through the stages of itmam ul'hujjah and hijrah and bara'ah. And this happens as if God's court is established on this very earth. The court of justice that is to be convened on the Last Day, is set up for that nation in this very world. The Almighty speaks directly through His Messenger. The facts have been made clear and the case has been established. The whole nation is standing trial. The believers, the hypocrites and the disbelievers are sorted out. The scene is similar to what happens in a court room. Finally, the Almighty pronounces the verdict just as we see in a court room. God's Daynunah (reward and punishment) is manifested for these people. God's judgment, which is deferred until the day of judgment, becomes manifest in a lesser form for that nation to which God's Messenger was being sent. One is that Greater Day of Judgment which will inevitably engulf all human beings, but that nation witnesses it in a minor form in this very world! If this detail is not considered while reading the Qur'an, one cannot grasp the style, the narrative, the theme of its chapters at all. This is the kind of text the Qur'an is, a chronicle. On one side is God's Messenger and the court stands convened. The people who are on trial are being addressed on the other side. Sometimes the addressees are the disbelievers, sometimes the hypocrites, and sometimes the believers. Obviously, all this didn't happen at once, but in different phases. People are being addressed in different capacities to convey the message, their questions are answered, their self purification is also taken up, they are instructed in chastity, and ultimately informed of what will happen; i.e. what the fate, the end result will be They are being cautioned about it. When all these phases are over, the final verdict is pronounced. This is made clear in the very beginning of the Rasool's preaching mission. The final verdict becomes manifest along with all its features. This is what I term as Qayamat-e Sugra, a miniature Day of Judgment. In this way, people sort of perceive God with their own eyes. After the advent of a Rasool, the case for religion no longer remains just rational. It goes beyond intellectual reasoning and offers a sharp vision of that reality, which is the very foundation of religion. After all, what is the call of religion? To put it simply, we have a Lord who created us and one day all humans would be held accountable in His Presence. This accountability will be of both our knowledge and actions. This accountability will produce the appropriate results. That is, either Heaven or Hell. The Rasool's nation witnesses this process on a smaller scale, with their own eyes. A Rasool arrived, conveyed the message, answered every question to convince them, conclusively communicated the truth in every way, going through different phases, and then finally pronounced the verdict. But before this verdict is passed, people are separated into various groups. The group deserving wrath and the group that shall triumph are segregated. Then God's Verdict manifests itself. Thus, after seeing this judgment, humans are left with no excuse to deny it. Please understand that when this happens for a nation, whether it takes 10 years, 20 years or as in the case of Noah (pbuh), 950 years, but once this judgment manifests, it suffices for the people witnessing it. No further evidence is required. If they are now invited to believe, they have no choice but to accept. For the truth has been unveiled, and the curtains have been lifted. At many places in my book 'Meezan', I have compared it to a scientist making a claim, and then establishing it through an experiment in the laboratory. Likewise, a nation is invited by a Rasool and then it is as if that nation us turned into a laboratory. And whatever is due to happen to humans in the aferlife, is demonstrated to them in this very world. Please understand this thoroughly. The history of the preaching endeavours of God's messengers related in the Qur'an shows that at this stage generally only two situations arise. i.e. how does the verdict get implemented? We already saw its different stages. Inzar, individually and severally to the leadership, and then to the masses, the proof was decidedly communicated to them, thereafter, migration and acquittal, and finally arrived the time for pronouncing the verdict. Now let us see the two situations that can arise. In the first case, a Rasool has a few companions only and there is no place available to him for migration. So this is one case. In this case, not many people profess belief. Take the case of Syedna Lot (pbuh). We know that even his own wife refused to believe. And it may also happen that a substantial number of people accept faith and they also have a place to migrate. I have written Firstly, a Rasool has a few companions only and there is no place available to him for migration. In fact, you may count the Prophet's followers on the fingers of one hand. Such was the case of Noah (pbuh) as well. He preached for 950 long years. After such a great struggle, all he got is so many people who would fit in an ark. So there's very small number. Also, they also have no place to migrate to, for the Prophet and his companions, where they can set up their own collective order. The Darul Hijrah for a Rasool is a place where he can establish a collective order, in other words, a government. In the cases of Lot, Saleh, Hud, Noah (pbut) they couldn't find any such place. Only a few people believed, who are to be saved. The rest would face punishment. This is one scenario. Secondly, a Rasool's companions are in substantial numbers. A large number of people profess belief. And the Almighty also furnishes them with a place where they can migrate, live freely and be bestowed with political authority. Thus, both conditions are fulfilled. The believers are in substantial numbers, as well as a place is also available to them for migration. We know that when the preaching endeavour of the Holy Prophet reached this stage, after all the previous phases had elapsed, inzar, inzar-e aam, itmam-e hujjah, and the occasion for hijrah is coming close, so what did the Prophet (pbuh) do? he went and presented himself before various tribes, to see if they were willing to offer him and his companions a place to migrate, a place they could make their residence, a base to decide the fate of his people. But most of the tribes rejected this request. No tribe was willing to accept this offer. But, the people of the Yathrib settlement accepted this message. The tribal elders accepted this request and invited the Prophet to come over. Thus, the Dar-ul Hijrah was procurred. Once the Prophet received Dar-ul Hijrah in Yathrib, so the 2nd condition was also met The Prophet now had a sizeable number of companions as well as a place to migrate, where they could then established their own political authority. You can understand this in the context of your own country. Let's say a messenger stood up with a message, cautioned the people, and completed the hujjah is every way. Then, people from tribal areas came and invited him over to form a government. This kind of situation emerged. More or less a similar situation developed after the invitation from Yathrib. What happens after any one of these two situations emerge? In both these situations, the established practice of the Almighty, concerning Rasools, manifests itself. The practice which the Qur'an refers to in the following way. Now, we shall see the special law of God concerning a Rasool. The same law of reward and punishment, that gets manifested in this very world. Establishment of a miniature Day of Judgment. This Sunnah of Allah gets manifested. It means the unalterable practice of God. The Qur'an describes this in Aayah 47 of Surah Yunus (10) as follows Wa li kulli ummatir rasul, fa iza ja'a rasuluhum qudiya bainahum bil qisti wa hum la_yuzlamun(a). For each community, there is a Rasool (messenger). i.e., before the time of Abraham (pbuh), a Rasool was raised in every nation. Abraham (pbuh) himself was installed to the position of Risalah. Then, Moses and Jesus (pbut) were given the position of Risalah among the Israelites. Finally, Muhammad (pbuh) was raised as the final Rasool. For each community, there is a Rasool (messenger). Then when their messenger comes, then their fate is decided with total fairness. Quran's words are, quziya baynahum bilqist i.e. when a nation is sent its rasul, the verdict is passed with perfect justice for the direct addressees of a Rasool, and no oppression is done against them just as it would be passed for everyone on the Greater Day of Judgment. Those deserving the punishment, face it, and those meriting reward, achieve triumph We shall continue this discussion and see how it has been expressed in the Qur'an. I say these words of mine and I ask God's forgiveness.