يس

يسٓ ١

{ يس } الله أعلم بمراده به.

Yā sīn: God knows best what He means by these [letters].

وَٱلْقُرْءَانِ ٱلْحَكِيمِ ٢

{ والقرءان الحكيم } المحكم بعجيب النظم وبديع المعاني.

By the Definitive Qur’ān, made definitive by its marvellous arrangement and unique meanings,

إِنَّكَ لَمِنَ ٱلْمُرْسَلِينَ ٣

{ إنك } يا محمد { لمن المرسلين }.

you, O Muhammad (s), are indeed of those sent [by God],

عَلَىٰ صِرَٰطٍ مُّسْتَقِيمٍ ٤

{ على } متعلق بما قبله { صرط مستقيم } أي طريق الأنبياء قبلك التوحيد والهدى، والتأكيد بالقسم وغيره رد لقول الكفار له { لست مرسلا }.

on a (‘alā is semantically connected to the preceding [statement]) straight path, that is, [you follow] the way of the prophets before you, [enjoining] the affirmation of God’s Oneness and guidance (the emphasis expressed by the oath [in ‘by the definitive Qur’ān’] and the remainder [of the statement] is a response to the disbelievers’ saying to him, ‘You have not been sent [by God]!’ [Q. 13:43].

تَنزِيلَ ٱلْعَزِيزِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ ٥

{ تنزيل العزيز } في ملكه { الرحيم } بخلقه خبر مبتدأ مقدر، أي القرآن.

A revelation from the Mighty, in His kingdom, the Merciful, to His creatures (tanzīla’l-‘azīzi’l-rahīm is the predicate of an implicit subject, namely, al-qur’ān),

لِتُنذِرَ قَوْمًا مَّآ أُنذِرَ ءَابَآؤُهُمْ فَهُمْ غَـٰفِلُونَ ٦

{ لتنذر } به { قوما } متعلق بتنزيل { مآ أنذر ءابآؤهم } أي لم ينذروا في زمن الفترة { فهم } أي القوم { غفلون } عن الإيمان والرشد.

that you may warn, therewith, a people (qawman, connected to tanzīla, ‘a revelation’) whose fathers were not warned, in the period of the interval (al-fatra), so they, this people, are oblivious, to faith and right guidance.

لَقَدْ حَقَّ ٱلْقَوْلُ عَلَىٰٓ أَكْثَرِهِمْ فَهُمْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ ٧

{ لقد حق القول } وجب { على أكثرهم } بالعذاب { فهم لا يؤمنون } أي الأكثر.

The word, for chastisement, has already proved true, it has become due, for most of them, for they, in other words, most of them, will not believe.

إِنَّا جَعَلْنَا فِىٓ أَعْنَـٰقِهِمْ أَغْلَـٰلًا فَهِىَ إِلَى ٱلْأَذْقَانِ فَهُم مُّقْمَحُونَ ٨

{ إنا جعلنا فى أعنقهم أغللا } بأن تضم إليها الأيدي لأن الغل يجمع اليد إلى العنق { فهى } أي الأيدي مجموعة { إلى الأذقان } جمع ذقن وهي مجتمع اللحيين { فهم مقمحون } رافعون رؤوسهم لا يستطيعون خفضها، وهذا تمثيل، والمراد أنهم لا يذعنون للإيمان ولا يخفضون رؤوسهم له.

Indeed We have put fetters around their necks, to bind to them their hands (because ghull [is a fetter that] shackles the hands to the neck), such that they, the hands, are, bound, up to the chins (adhqān is the plural of dhaqan, which is where the two sides of the beard meet) so that their heads are upturned, they are unable to lower them: this [statement] is figurative and is meant to indicate their inability to yield to faith or to lower their heads to it.

وَجَعَلْنَا مِنۢ بَيْنِ أَيْدِيهِمْ سَدًّا وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِمْ سَدًّا فَأَغْشَيْنَـٰهُمْ فَهُمْ لَا يُبْصِرُونَ ٩

{ وجعلنا من بين أيديهم سدا ومن خلفهم سدا } بفتح السين وضمها في الموضعين { فأغشينهم فهم لا يبصرون } تمثيل أيضا لسد طرق الإيمان عليهم.

And We have set before them a barrier (read saddan or suddan in both instances) and behind them a barrier; so We have covered them, so they do not see — this is also figurative, depicting the way in which the paths of faith are closed to them.

وَسَوَآءٌ عَلَيْهِمْ ءَأَنذَرْتَهُمْ أَمْ لَمْ تُنذِرْهُمْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ ١٠

{ وسوآء عليهم ءأنذرتهم }؟ بتحقيق الهمزتين وإبدال الثانية ألفا وتسهيلها وإدخال ألف بين المسهلة والأخرى وتركه { أم لم تنذرهم لا يؤمنون }.

And it is the same to them whether you warn them (read a-andhartuhum, pronouncing both hamzas; or by substituting an alif for the second one; or by not pronouncing the second one but inserting an alif between the one not pronounced and the other one, or without [the insertion]) or do not warn them, they will not believe.

إِنَّمَا تُنذِرُ مَنِ ٱتَّبَعَ ٱلذِّكْرَ وَخَشِىَ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنَ بِٱلْغَيْبِ ۖ فَبَشِّرْهُ بِمَغْفِرَةٍ وَأَجْرٍ كَرِيمٍ ١١

{ إنما تنذر } ينفع إنذارك { من اتبع الذكر } القرآن { وخشى الرحمن بالغيب } خافه ولم يره { فبشره بمغفرة وأجر كريم } هو الجنة.

You can only warn, in other words, your warning will only benefit, him who follows the Remembrance, the Qur’ān, and fears the Compassionate One in secret, who fears Him despite not having seen Him; so give him the good tidings of forgiveness and a noble reward, namely, Paradise.

إِنَّا نَحْنُ نُحْىِ ٱلْمَوْتَىٰ وَنَكْتُبُ مَا قَدَّمُوا۟ وَءَاثَـٰرَهُمْ ۚ وَكُلَّ شَىْءٍ أَحْصَيْنَـٰهُ فِىٓ إِمَامٍ مُّبِينٍ ١٢

{ إنا نحن نحى الموتى } للبعث { ونكتب } في اللوح المحفوظ { ما قدموا } في حياتهم من خير وشر ليجازوا عليه { وءاثرهم } ما استن به بعدهم { وكل شىء } نصبه بفعل يفسره { أحصينه } ضبطناه { فى إمام مبين } كتاب بين، هو اللوح المحفوظ.

Truly it is We Who bring the dead to life, for the resurrection, and record, in the Preserved Tablet, what they have sent ahead, during their lives, of good or evil, that they may be requited for it, and their vestiges, what conduct was followed after them as good practice. And everything (kulla shay’in is in the accusative because of the verb that governs it [and is the following]) We have numbered, We have recorded precisely, in a clear register, a clear Book, namely, the Preserved Tablet.