literally, “set your face.”
10:108Arabic fa-man ihtada fa innama yahtadi linafsihi: literally, “so whoever is guided, is guided for, or to, himself.”
10:108Arabic yadillu ʿalayha: literally, “he strays against it.”
Sura 11
Hud (Hud)
11:1On these disconnected letters, see muqattaʿat in Glossary, page 531.
11:1Arabic ‘uhkimat ayatuhu: literally, “its verses made clear.” This passage is parallel to 3:7 (“Some of its verses are clear in meaning”), where the original Arabic ayat muhkamat literally translates as “verses with clear meaning.”
11:3Arabic yawm kabir: literally, “a great day.”
11:17Arabic wa-man yakfur bihi min al-ahzab fa-al-nar mawʿiduhu: literally, “and whoever among the groups denies it, the fire will be his appointed place.”
11:21Arabic wa-dalla ʿanhum ma kanu yaftarun: literally, “and all that they invented strayed from them.”
11:35This verse is best understood as a parenthetic comment within the narrative about Noah. It is inserted to verify the truthfulness of the Prophet Muhammad, harking back to the reproof of vv. 13–14.
11:40Arabic wafara al-tannur: literally, “and the oven boiled over.”
11:44Mount Judi is located near Lake Van, within the greater region known as Ararat.
11:49Arabic inna al-ʿaqiba lil-muttaqin: literally, “the outcome belongs to those mindful of God.”
11:50I.e., their fellow countryman.
11:50Arabic in antum illa muftarun: literally, “you are merely inventors [of gods].”
11:54Arabic anni bariʾ mimma tushrikun: literally, “I am innocent of what you associate.”
11:78The implication seems clear: Lot wanted to commend his daughters as partners in preference to the guest messengers, males, whom his townsmen were intent on violating. But it is equally important to note that they were corrupt people “who before this had performed evil deeds.” It is greed, selfishness, and inhospitality that marks these people, not their homosexuality.
11:83Each stone had inscribed on it the person to be killed; parallel to 51:34.
11:88Or “I only want to set things right.”
11:101Arabic wa-ma zaduhum ghayra tatbib: literally, “and increased them in nothing but ruin.”
11:107Arabic faʿʿal lima yurid: literally, “an Accomplisher of whatever He wishes.”
11:108The implication is that a higher reward exists for some of the most favored, to wit, those foremost in faith, noted in 56:10–11: “the foremost [in faith] shall be foremost [in place]; these will be nearest to God.”
11:117Some translators render muslihun as “reformers,” but “righteous” seems to make better sense in this context.
Sura 12
Joseph (Yusuf)
12:1On these disconnected letters, see muqattaʿat in Glossary, page 531.
12:8Arabic wa-nahnu ʿusba: literally, “though we are a group.”
12:9Arabic wajh abikum: literally, “your father’s face.”
12:9Arabic wa-takunu min baʿdihi qawm salihin: literally, “and after this, you can be a righteous people.”
12:15Arabic wa-la yashʿurun: literally, “while they are not aware.”
12:18Arabic bal sawwalat lakum anfusukum amr: literally, “no, your souls have enticed you to a matter.”
12:18Arabic fa-sabr jamil: literally, “so patience is beautiful.”
12:18Arabic tasifun: literally, “you describe.”
12:20Arabic darahim: literally, “dirhams,” a form of coinage.
12:26Arabic shahid min ahliha: literally, “a witness from her family.”
12:36Arabic min al-muhsinin: literally, “one of those who do good.”
12:41Arabic qudiya al-amr alladhi fihi tastaftiyan: literally, “the matter has been decreed about which you both inquire.”
12:52Several translators attribute these words to the governor’s wife but they do not make sense as such; Joseph specifically asked the king to question the women so that his name can be cleared.
12:54Arabic astakhlishu linafsi: literally, “I may keep him for myself.”
12:59Benjamin.
12:61Arabic inna lafaʿilun: literally, “we will certainly act.”
12:102This and the verses that follow are addressed to Muhammad.
Sura 13
Thunder (Al-Raʿd)
13:1On these disconnected letters, see muqattaʿat in Glossary, page 531.
13:14Arabic illa fi dalal: literally, “nothing but in error or deviance.”
13:38Arabic likull ajal kitab: sometimes translated as “there is a decreed time for everything.” See ajal in Glossary, page 529.
13:39The phrase umm al-kitab means literally “the Mother of the Book,” as also in 3:7. See Glossary, page 532.
Sura 14
Abraham (Ibrahim)
14:1On these disconnected letters, see muqattaʿat in Glossary, page 531.
14:2Arabic wa-wayl lil-kafirin min ʿadhab shadid: literally, “and woe to the unbelievers from a severe punishment.”
14:9ʿAd and Thamud are the tribes to whom earlier prophets, Hud and Salih, had been sent, as recounted in 7:65–79.
14:9Arabic fa-raddu aydiyahum fi afwahihim: literally, “then they placed their hands in their mouths.”
14:12Arabic wa-ʿala Allah falyatawakkal al-mutawakkilun: literally, “and in God let all who trust, trust.”
14:15Arabic wa-istaftahu wa khaba kull jabbar ʿanid: literally, “and they sought victory, and every obstinate tyrant was disappointed.”
14:16Arabic maʾ sadid: literally, “purulent water,” or pus mixed with blood.
14:19Arabic bi ʿl-haqq: literally, “with truth.”
14:32Arabic wa-sakhkhara lakum al-fulk: literally, “and He subjected the ships to you.”
14:39This is the sole verse where Isaac and Ishmael are mentioned together. 37:101–2 mention a son to be sacrificed, and commentators disagree about which of the two sons was to be sacrificed. Some give preference to Ishmael since there, like here, he is the first mentioned, though indirectly. The biblical story (Genesis 22:1–19) mentions only Isaac as a potential sacrifice.
14:43Arabic la yartaddu ilayhim tarfuhum: literally, “their gaze not returning to them.”
Sura 15
The Rocky Plain (Al-Hijr)
15:1On these disconnected letters, see muqattaʿat in Glossary, page 531.
15:4Arabic illa wa laha kitab maʿlum: literally, “without its being decreed a fixed notice.”
15:6Arabic innaka lamajnun: literally, “you are possessed by jinn.”
15:11Arabic ma yaʾtihim min rasul illa kanu bihi yastahziʾun: literally, “no messenger came to them that they did not mock.”
15:13Arabic wa-qad khalat sunnat al-awwalin: literally, “and the practice of the ancients had preceded [them].”
15:17Arabic shaitan rajim: literally, “an accursed devil.” This is the last part of an invocation, “I take refuge from the accursed devil,” made before every recitation of the Quran.
15:18A similar punishment, in parallel terms, is indicated for the “rebellious devil” in 37:7–10.
15:29Similarly, it is the Archangel Gabriel who breathes God’s spirit into Mary to form the child Jesus (see 66:12).
15:47Arabic ikhwan: literally, “brothers.”
15:54Arabic fa-bima tubashshirun: literally, “about what do you give good news then?”
15:67The angels who came to Lot were disguised as handsome boys, and the townspeople came with the intention of coercing them into being sexual partners.
15:70Arabic alam nanhaka ʿan al-ʿalamin: literally, “did we not forbid you from the worlds?” This phrase has been variously interpreted as Lot’s people telling him not to interfere when they approached anyone with sexual motives or not to extend hospitality to any guests. Given the context, the former implication seems more plausible.
15:71According to some commentators, as a last resort, Lot offers his own daughters in order to save the young men, whom he does not as yet apprehend to be angels. But “my daughters” could be interpreted more generically as referring to the women of the town, and as urging the townspeople to seek females in marriage.
15:78The forest dwellers are thought to be the people of Midian, summoned by the prophet Shuʿayb (26:176–77).
15:80An area north of Medina, linked to the tribe of Thamud, discussed in vv. 80–84.
15:87The “seven much recited verses” are often thought to be the primary seven verses of the Quran, i.e., the seven verses of Sura 1, al-Fatiha, the Mother of the Book.
15:88The same tender image of lowering one’s wing is used in 17:24, with reference to protecting one’s parents.
15:99Arabic hatta yaʾtiyaka al-yaqin: literally, “until the certainty (of death) comes to you.”
Sura 16
The Bee (Al-Nahl)
16:2Arabic bi al-ruh min amrihi: literally, “with the spirit by His command.” See note for 16:102 and see also ruh in Glossary, page 532.
16:8Arabic wa zina: literally, “as ornament.”
16:10Arabic fihi tusimuna: literally, “you graze in it.”
16:25Arabic saʾa ma yazirun: literally, “what they will bear is evil.”
16:57Arabic wa-lahum ma yashtahun: literally, “and to themselves what they desire”—i.e., sons. Ascribing daughters to God seems to refer to the goddesses of 53:19, prompting the alleged “Satanic verses” controversy.
16:59A common practice among early-seventh-century Arabs, before the coming of Islam, was to bury unwanted female children in the sand, noted and critiqued in 81:8–9.
16:60Most High (Aʿla) is one of the Beautiful Names, as well as the name of a Quranic sura, number 87.
16:62That is, daughters rather than sons.
16:62Sons are “the best things.”
16:65Arabic baʿda mawtiha: literally, “after its death.”
16:74Arabic inna allaha yaʿlamu wa-antum la taʿlamuna: literally, “God knows and you do not know.”
16:77Arabic wa-ma amru al-saʿati: literally, “and what is the command of the hour.”
16:82Arabic al-balaghu al-mubinu: literally, “the manifest message.”
16:89Arabic shahidun ʿalayhim min anfusihim: literally, “a witness against them, from among themselves.”
16:92Tafsir al-Jalalayn, a classical Quranic commentary, speaks of a woman in Mecca who would weave her yarn all day and then undo it. Also, there is a famous precedent for this strategy in Homer’s Odyssey, where Odysseus’ wife, Penelope, wards off her suitors by telling them that she will make a decision concerning them when she has finished weaving a shroud for Odysseus’ father, Laertes. She weaves it by day and unravels it by night.
16:98This injunction has led to the practice of always renouncing Satan the accursed before reciting any sura or verse of the Quran.
16:101The notion that God replaces one verse of the Quran with another, known technically as “abrogation,” is a matter of great dispute. See naskh in Glossary, page 532. The burden of proof is on the interpreter, to understand each verse in context. See note for 2:106 and also 41:41–42, where it is declared that “it is a Book of great power that no falsehood might reach from any side.”
16:102The Archangel Gabriel, named as such here and also elsewhere (2:87, 253; 5:110; 16:2; 19:17; 40:15; 42:52; and 97:4), but not to be confused with the Holy Spirit linked to God the Father and God the Son in Christian belief. See ruh al-quds in Glossary, page 532.
16:103The Arabic aʿajami, translated here as “a foreign tongue,” literally means any language that is not Arabic, especially Persian. This may be a reference to scripture that the Prophet heard from Christians and Jews while he was still a merchant.
16:115The command about forbidden food, combined with leniency for circumstances, is reiterated elsewhere in the Quran (2:173, 5:3, and 6:145–46).
16:118See 6:146 for a parallel injunction.
16:126Arabic lahuwa khair lil-sabirin: literally, “it will be better for those who are patient.”
16:127Arabic wa-ma sabruka illa bi Allah: literally, “and