Translation:
Nor can goodness and Evil 4504 be equal. Repel (Evil) with what is better: Then will he between whom and you was hatred become as it were your friend and intimate! 4505
Nor can goodness and Evil 4504 be equal. Repel (Evil) with what is better: Then will he between whom and you was hatred become as it were your friend and intimate! 4505
Translation:
But [since] good and evil cannot be equal, repel thou [evil] with something that is better 31 and lo! he between whom and thyself was enmity [may then become] as though he had [always] been close [unto thee], a true friend!
But [since] good and evil cannot be equal, repel thou [evil] with something that is better 31 and lo! he between whom and thyself was enmity [may then become] as though he had [always] been close [unto thee], a true friend!
Commentary:
31 See note 44 on 13:22 . In the present instance, the injunction to "repel [evil] with something that is better" relates to scurrilous objections to, and hostile criticism of, the Qur’an. The whole of this passage (verses 33 ff.) connects with verse 26.
31 See note 44 on 13:22 . In the present instance, the injunction to "repel [evil] with something that is better" relates to scurrilous objections to, and hostile criticism of, the Qur’an. The whole of this passage (verses 33 ff.) connects with verse 26.
4504 You do not return good for evil, for there is no equality or comparison between the two. You repel or destroy evil with something which is far better, just as an antidote is better than poison. You foil hatred with love. You repel ignorance with knowledge, folly and wickedness with the friendly message of Revelation. The man who was in the bondage of sin, you not only liberate from sin, but make him your greatest friend and helper in the cause of Allah! Such is the alchemy of the Word of Allah! (Cf. 23:96, 28:54, and 42:40).
4505 Hamim: the keyword of the Ha Mim Surahs. See n. 4500 above, and Introduction to S. 40.