Inquiry in Paradise

Moiz Amjad · June 28, 1999

Title:

Inquiry in Paradise

Article:

Mr.

Katz, in one of his writings, has pointed out a contradiction in the Qur’an, on

the basis of its three separate verses^[1].

These verses of the Qur’an are as follows:

Al-Mu’minoon
23: 101
Al-Saaffaat
37: 27
Al-Toor
52: 25

The

verses with their simple English translation are as follows:

Al-Mu’minoon

23: 101 reads as:

For

when the trumpet is blown, that day there shall be no kinship any more between

them, neither will they question one another.

Al-Saaffaat

37: 27 and Al-Toor 52: 25

read as:

And

they will turn to each other, questioning.

For a

person who does not know the Arabic language, the two kinds of verses are so

obviously contradictory that Mr. Katz has, rightly, given only the translation

of these verses and has allowed the reader to make his own deductions from these

verses. But for a person who has some knowledge of the Arabic language, the two

kinds of verses imply two different kinds of meanings.

The

Arabic verb

(yatasaa’aloon) means

“they [shall] mutually question each other”, “they [shall]

mutually inquire each other” or “they [shall] mutually ask each

other” etc. But the noun

(su’aal) normally implying

“question”, “inquiry” etc. is used in a number of

connotations. For instance, it is used to connote “demand” or

“beg” or “ask for help” etc. Now, The Arabic verb

(yatasaa’aloon) may be used

in all these connotations. Thus, it may mean: “Mutually demand from each

other”, or “Mutually beg each other” or “Mutually ask each

other” etc. In this sense, the word is quite close to the English word

“ask”. We know that the English word “ask” is not used only

to imply “asking a question”. It is used to request information about

something or somebody (as in: “Ask him about your dog”), it is used to

request that somebody gives or does something (as in: “Ask him to solve

your problem”), it is used to request permission to do something (as in:

“He asked me for my car”), it is used to invite somebody (as in:

“He asked me out”), it is used to request something as a price (as in:

“They are asking too much for this piece of cloth”)^[2].

Now

suppose if someone says: “Don’t ask him for anything” and then

immediately following this sentence he says: “Ask him: Why did he not

return our calls”. The two statements may seem contradictory to a person

who is not well versed in the English language due to the obvious reason that

one says “Don’t ask him” and the other says: “Ask him”. But

anyone who is familiar with the different connotations of the word

“Ask” will easily understand that the two statements imply two

different meanings and are, therefore, not contradictory. The first statement

actually means: “Don’t request him to give you anything” while the

second statement means: “Inquire from him: Why did he not return our

calls”.

In more

or less the same way, the Arabic word

(yatasaa’aloon) has been used in the Qur’an in more than one

connotation. For instance, in Surah Al-Nisaa 4: 1, it is used to

imply “pleading with one another” or “mutually asking one another

for help”. The verse reads as:

O mankind, reverence your Lord,

Who created you all from a single being, and created from like nature his mate

and from these two, He scattered innumerable men and women. Fear God, in whose

name you plead with one another and [respect] the wombs [that bore you].

With

this explanation in mind, let us now once again consider the two kinds of verses

that Mr. Katz has referred to. The first among these verses Al-Mu’minoon 23:

101 is once again reproduced below:

For when the trumpet is blown,

that day there shall be no kinship any more between them, neither will they

ask of each other’s help.

The verse simply states that when

the Day of Reckoning comes, and the trumpet is blown, the rejectors — who

considered themselves to be very strong — shall find themselves all alone. The

relationship that exists between them, which makes them strong and the mutual

help that they extend to each other in fighting against the Prophet of God shall

all cease to exist. All relations between them shall be severed and they shall

not even be able to ask each other’s help.

The word

(yatasaa’aloon) in this context is clearly used to negate

the possibility of asking or getting each other’s help on the Day of Judgment.

This connotation is so obvious that even N. J. Dawood has also translated this

verse as:

“And when the trumpet is

sounded, on that day, their ties of kindred shall be broken nor shall they ask

help of one another.”

contrast to this verse, Al-Saaffaat 37: 27 clearly uses the word

The word

(yatasaa’aloon) to imply “mutual conversation”. The

verse with its following verses reads as:

And they shall turn toward each

other mutually conversing. They shall say: [So] you were the ones who who

would come to us from the right… They shall reply: No! it was you yourselves

who would not believe. We had no power over you, you yourselves were a

transgressing people.

Obviously,

the word

(yatasaa’aloon) in this verse refers to the dialogue that

follows it. Thus, in this verse it implies “mutual conversation” or

“mutual inquiry”. It is exactly the same case in Al-Toor

52: 25. The verse, with three of its following verses reads as:

And they shall turn toward each

other, mutually conversing. They will say: We used to be fearful, when among

our family. But God has bestowed upon us [His mercy] and has saved us from the

fiery scourge. Indeed, we used to call Him [asking for His mercy]. He is

indeed faithful to His promises, Ever merciful.

the light of the explanation given above, we can say that the contradiction

pointed out by Mr. Katz is actually based on an incorrect understanding of the

Arabic word in question. Because the connotation of the word is different in the

two kinds of verses, therefore there does not arise the question of any

contradiction(s).

^[1]