Quote:
{4:116} Indeed, God does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills. And he who associates others with God has certainly gone far astray.
I suggest,
{4:116} Verily, God does not forgive being associated with [in worship], but He forgives what is below that for whom He wills. And He who associates others with God [in worship] has certainly strayed quite a far straying.Quote:
{4:117} They call upon instead of Him none but female [deities], and they [actually] call upon none but a rebellious Satan.
I'd only add punctuation for easier reading. I suggest,
{4:117} They call upon, instead of Him, none but female [deities], and they [actually] call upon none but a rebellious Satan,Quote:
{4:118} Whom God has cursed. For he had said, "I will surely take from among Your servants a specific portion.
I love Irving's translation of
مفروضا in this context as "stipulated." I suggest,
{4:118} [Whom] God has cursed. And he (Satan) had said, "I will surely take for myself from among Your worshipers a stipulated share."Quote:
{4:119} And I will mislead them, and I will arouse in them [sinful] desires, and I will command them so they will slit the ears of cattle, and I will command them so they will change the creation of God." And whoever takes Satan as an ally instead of God has certainly sustained a clear loss.
"Arouses desire in them" is a reasonable translation of
أمنينهم. However, the verb literally means "cause them to develop wishes." Sarwar caught that best when he translated it, "tempts them to develop longings which can never be realized." I suggest,
{4:119} [Satan continued saying,] "And I will surely mislead them, and I will surely tempt them into wishful thinking, and I will surely command them so they will slit the ears of cattle, and I will surely command them so they will surely alter the creation of God." And whoever takes for himself Satan as an ally, instead of God, has certainly lost quite a manifest loss.Quote:
{4:120} Satan promises them and arouses desire in them. But Satan does not promise them except delusion.
I suggest,
{4:120} He (Satan) promises them and tempts them into wishful thinking. And Satan does not promise them but delusion.