AL JUMU’AH (Friday)
In the Name of God,1 the Gracious, the Merciful 2
1 Whatever is in the heavens and on earth, declares the praises and glory of God, the sovereign, the holy one, the exalted in might, the wise.
2 It is he who has sent among the unlettered a messenger from among themselves, to rehearse to them his signs, to sanctify them, and to instruct them in Al-Kitab and wisdom, although they had been, before in clear error,
3 As well as others of them, who have not already joined them: and he is exalted in might, wise.
4 Such is the bounty of God, which he bestows on whom he will: and God is the Lord of the highest bounty.
5 The comparison of those who were entrusted with the Taurat, but did not obey it, is that of a donkey carrying books.3 Evil is the comparison of people who falsify the signs of God: and God guides not people who do wrong.
6 Say: O you Jews! If you think that you are friends to God, to the exclusion of other men, then express your desire for death, if you are truthful!
7 But never will they express their desire, because of what their hands have sent on before them! And God knows well those that do wrong!
8 Say: The death from which you flee will truly overtake you: then will you be sent back to the knower of things secret and open: and he will tell you the things that you did!
9 O you who believe! When the call is proclaimed to prayer on Friday, hasten earnestly to the remembrance of God, and leave off business: that is best for you if you but knew!
10 And when the prayer is finished, then may you disperse through the land, and seek of the bounty of God: and celebrate the praises of God often, that you may prosper.
11 But when they see some bargain or some amusement, they disperse headlong to it, and leave you standing. Say: That which is from the presence of God is better than any amusement or bargain! And God is the best to provide.
- God, in Arabic allah, referring to the one true God, as opposed to an idol or “god.” It is the Arabic equivalent of elohim and eloah (Hebrew), alaha (Syriac), and theos (Greek), all of which accurately translate into English as “God.” This translation choice is consistent with respected English Quran translations including those of A. Yusuf Ali (original edition), S.H. Nasr (Study Quran), T.B. Irving, and T. Itani (Clear Quran). ↩︎
- the Gracious, the Merciful, the highlighting of God’s grace and mercy predates the Quran, coming down from the many hundreds of references in the Taurat, Zabur, and Injil. A few samples follow:
Taurat, Exodus 34:6 — …YAHWEH, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth.
Zabur 145:8 — YAHWEH is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great loving kindness.
Taurat, Joel 2:13 — Tear your heart, and not your garments, and turn to YAHWEH your God; for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and relents from sending calamity.
Taurat, Yunus 4:2 — …I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and you relent of doing harm.”
Injil, 1 Timothy 1:2 — …Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and AL-MASIH ‘ISA our Lord.
Injil, Hebrews 4:16 — Let us therefore draw near with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace for help in time of need. ↩︎ - 62:5 This helps us understand how the Jews could have been unfaithful to the Taurat, and yet the Taurat itself is free from corruption. The Jewish scribes were very careful in preserving the text of the Taurat generation through generation. But that pure text of the Taurat did many of the people no good because they did not obey it. It is one thing to have God’s book, but another thing to obey it. See lesson 2 of “Eternal Word” which deals with this very verse. ↩︎