到目前为止，本章中与有经典的民众——即犹太教徒和基督教徒——的辩论，主要围绕以色列人的历史记载、他们对前来引导他们的众先知的回应、这些先知所传布的教义，以及以色列人所承诺和立下的盟约与誓言。这段论述的历史跨度从穆萨的时代一直延续到穆罕默德ﷺ的时代（愿二人平安）。迄今为止的论证大部分针对犹太教徒，对基督教徒的论述较为简短，并偶尔提及多神教徒，尤其是在他们与前两个群体有某些相同特征的时候。

So far in the sūrah, the debate with the people of earlier revelations, i.e. the Jews and the Christians, has mainly focused on the historical record of the Israelites and their response to the Prophets who came to lead them, the teachings that these Prophets preached, and the covenants and pledges to which the Israelites committed themselves. This covered a historical span from the era of Moses to the time of Muĥammad (peace be upon them both). The argument so far was in the most part with the Jews, shorter ones with the Christians, with a few references to the idolaters, particularly when they shared certain features with the other two groups.

在本节中,我们被带回到更久远的历史,回到易卜拉欣的时代。这里所呈现的事件和细节,与整章经文的主题恰好吻合。它们也与经文降示之时在麦地那穆斯林与犹太人之间那场漫长而艰难的辩论直接相关。

In this section we are taken farther back in history, to the era of Abraham. The events and amount of detail presented here fall neatly into context with the subject matter of the sūrah as a whole. They are also immediately relevant to the long and hard debate that was taking place between the Muslims and the Jews in Madinah when these verses were revealed.

早期启示的信众追溯自己的起源，是经由易卜拉欣（愿他平安）及其儿子易斯哈格（愿他平安）。可以理解，他们一直以这一渊源为荣，也珍视神向易卜拉欣所许下的祝福他及其后裔的应许，以及神与他们所立的盟约。这使他们对正义以及神向人类传达之启示的守护权提出了专属的主张。他们也因此误以为，无论自己做什么，天堂都只属于他们。

The people of earlier revelations trace their origins back to Abraham by way of his son Isaac (peace be upon them). Understandably, they have always been proud of this relationship, just as they have cherished the promises God made to Abraham to bless him and his seed, and the covenant God made with them. This has led them to make exclusive claims to righteousness and custodianship of God’s message to mankind. It has also misled them into believing that heaven is exclusively theirs, whatever they do.

居住在麦加的古莱什阿拉伯部落,同样是易卜拉欣的后裔,其血脉来自他的另一个儿子易司马仪。他们和犹太人一样,以自己的世系为荣。正因为他们是麦加圣殿天房克尔白的看守者,这一身份赋予他们宗教上的权威、荣誉、权力和地位,使他们在其他阿拉伯人之上享有这些特权。

The Quraysh Arab tribe living in Makkah were also Abraham’s descendants through his other son, Ishmael. They were also just as proud of their ancestry as the Jews were of theirs. It gave them the privilege of being the custodians of the sacred shrine of the Ka`bah in Makkah, which had, in turn, given them the religious authority, honour, power and position they enjoyed over the rest of the Arabs.

在上一段的结尾，我们看到《古兰经》如何驳斥犹太教徒和基督教徒关于独享正义与救赎的主张："他们说：'除非是犹太教徒或基督教徒，否则不得进入乐园。'"（第111节）他们还竭力想让穆斯林改信犹太教或基督教："他们说：'你们当信奉犹太教，或信奉基督教，便可获得正道。'"（第135节）经文也谴责那些阻止人们在真主的礼拜场所崇拜的人——正如我们所说，这很可能与穆斯林礼拜时的朝向从耶路撒冷改为天房（Ka'bah，在麦加）的问题有关，也与那些企图利用这一问题在穆斯林内部制造分裂和混乱的努力有关。

当他的主用某些命令考验易卜拉欣，他便完成了这些命令时，主说：“我要使你成为众人的领袖。”易卜拉欣说：“那我的后裔呢？”主说：“我的盟约不及于不义者。”（第124节）

When his Lord tested Abraham with certain commandments and he fulfilled them, He said, I have appointed you a leader of mankind.’ Abraham asked, And what of my descendants?’ God said, ‘My covenant does not apply to the wrongdoers.’ (Verse 124)

先知在此被提醒：真主曾向易卜拉欣颁布某些诫命并赋予他一些责任，以考验他的信仰、忠诚与决心。在《古兰经》的其他地方，他被描述为“履行了使命的易卜拉欣”（53:37）。这是真主对易卜拉欣忠实且完整地履行这些责任的认可，使他在真主的评价中享有极高的地位。因此，真主应许道：“我已任命你为众人的领袖。”于是，易卜拉欣成为了被效法的领袖，成为了向人们指明通往一切善行之路的人。

The Prophet is here reminded of how God had imparted certain commandments and obligations to Abraham in order to test his faith, loyalty and resolve. Elsewhere in the Qur’ān, he is described as “Abraham, who was faithful to his trust.” (53: 37) This is a recognition by God of Abraham’s faithful and complete fulfilment of those obligations, according him a very high rank in God’s estimation. Hence, God’s promise: “I have appointed you a leader of mankind” Thus, Abraham becomes the leader to be followed, the one who shows people the way to all goodness.

作为人类，亚伯拉罕立即希望将这份祝福与恩宠延及他的后裔。亚伯拉罕所表达的，是一种自然而本能的人类反应，因为人总是渴望延续并传承自己的成就与所得。通过知识与经验从一代传到下一代，人类的境况得以改善，生命得以延续。这一自然而必要的人类进程，曾是批评与攻击的目标；而伊斯兰教承认其重要性，并通过其继承法加以推行，使其充分服务于人类社会。

Being human, Abraham is immediately prompted to wish for that blessing and privilege to be extended to his offspring. What Abraham expressed was a natural instinctive human reaction, because man is always eager to multiply and perpetuate his achievements and attainments. By the passing of knowledge and experience from one generation to the next, the human lot is improved and life is preserved. This natural and necessary human process has been a target for criticism and attack, while Islam recognizes its importance, and promotes it through its law of inheritance, so that it serves human society to the full.

某些社会中为破坏这一自然进程而做出的误导性努力，实际上是试图完全压制人的本性。此类努力暴露出在应对社会与道德问题时的短视、不人道以及随意的方式。若不加以纠正，这些做法将导致社会的分崩离析与毁灭。

The misguided efforts made in some societies to undermine this natural progression in fact try to suppress human nature altogether. Such efforts betray short-sightedness, inhumanity and arbitrary methods in tackling social and moral ills. Unless remedied, these will lead to the fragmentation and destruction of society.

然而，违背人性本能的解决方案，必然以失败告终。

However, solutions that run contrary to human nature will inevitably end in failure.

需要的是一种既能纠正偏差和社会弊病，又不违背人性的解决方案。这样的方法只有在神圣的指引和信仰的框架之内才能被采纳并真正发挥作用。它们需要对人性和人心有深刻而开明的理解，并需要一种不偏不倚、不怀怨恨、不具破坏倾向的态度。

我们使天房成为人们的归宿和安全之所；你们应当以易卜拉欣的立足处为礼拜之所。”我们曾嘱咐易卜拉欣和伊斯玛仪：“你们应当为绕行者、闭关静修者以及叩头者和鞠躬者清洁我的房屋。”（第125节）

We made the House [i.e. the Ka`bah] a resort for mankind and a sanctuary: Make the place where Abraham stood as a place of prayer.’ We assigned to Abraham and Ishmael the task of purifying My House for those who walk around it, those who sojourn there for meditation and those who bow down and prostrate themselves in prayer. (Verse 125)

圣殿天房，即克尔白（Ka`bah），被被托付看守和管理它的古莱氏阿拉伯人所玷污。他们骚扰、迫害信士，并将他们驱逐出麦加。然而，真主希望这座殿成为各个种族的人都前来归向的圣地。在这里，人们应当找到和平与安宁。

The Sacred House, the Ka`bah, was defiled by the Arabs of the Quraysh who were supposed to be its trusted caretakers and custodians. They harassed and persecuted the believers and drove them out of Makkah. Yet God wanted this House to be a sanctuary to which people of all races resort. In there people should find peace and security for all.

阿拉伯人已被指示将“易卜拉欣站立之处”（指整个天房周围的区域）作为礼拜之地。这一点使其随后被确定为古拉布（qiblah），即穆斯林礼拜时朝向的方向，成为一个非常自然的发展，也没有引起任何人的异议。毕竟，那里正是穆斯林——易卜拉欣一神教信仰的合法继承者——在礼拜时最初朝向的地方，因为它是专为真主而设立的，不归属于其他任何人。易卜拉欣和易斯玛仪这两位虔诚而诚挚的仆人，受命清洁这一地方，并为前来朝觐、敬拜和冥想的朝圣者做好准备。他们不会主张对它的所有权，也无权将这种所有权转让给任何人。他们只是全能真主的仆人，以及祂神圣而受人敬仰的殿宇的看守者。

The Arabs had been directed to establish “the place where Abraham stood”, which is a reference to the whole area surrounding the Ka`bah, as a place for prayer, which makes its subsequent designation as a qiblah, a spot towards which Muslims turn in Prayer, a very natural progression raising no objections from anyone. After all, it had been the very first place to which Muslims, the legitimate heirs of Abraham’s monotheistic religion, had turned in their prayer, because it had been dedicated to God and to no one else. Abraham and Ishmael, two pious and sincere servants of God, had been charged with cleansing it and preparing it for pilgrims who would come to it for worship and meditation. They would make no claim to its ownership, nor did they have it in their power to pass such ownership to anyone else. They were mere servants of God Almighty and keepers of His sacred and revered House.

易卜拉欣说："我的主啊！求你使这地方成为安全之地，使其中信仰真主和末日的人们得到各种果实作为给养。"主说："至于不信的人，我将让他暂时享受，然后把他驱赶到火刑中；那归宿是多么恶劣！"（第126节）

Abraham said, ‘Lord, make this a land of security and make provisions of fruits for those of its people who believe in God and the Last Day.’ God said, ‘And as for he who disbelieves, I shall let him enjoy life for a while and then I shall drive him to suffering through the fire; and what a terrible end!’ (Verse 126)

在仍然祈求天房成为一个让后世子孙普遍享有和平与安全之地的同时，亚伯拉罕显然已经留意到了真主先前的告诫，因为我们现在看到，他特别指出，只有信士才应当蒙受真主的恩惠。

While still pleading for the House to be made a universal place of peace and security for posterity, Abraham has clearly heeded God’s earlier admonition, as we now find him making the exception that only the believers should receive God’s favour.

此时我们目睹另一幅令人敬畏的场景：雅各伯临终之际，在他身边聚集的众子女面前，留下了他最后的智慧之言与教诲。

At this point we come to witness another awesome scene: Jacob on his deathbed, giving his last words of wisdom and advice to his children, gathered around him:

“你们在雅各伯临终时在场吗？当时他问他的儿子们：‘我死后，你们将崇拜谁？’他们回答说：‘我们将崇拜您的神，即您祖先亚伯拉罕、以实玛利和以撒的神，那位独一的神。我们只顺服于祂。’”（第133节）

“Were you present when death approached Jacob? He asked his children, ‘Whom will you worship when I am gone?’ They replied, ‘We will worship your God, the God of your forefathers Abraham, Ishmael and Isaac, the One God. To Him we submit ourselves.’“ (Verse 133)

这确实是一个庄严而重大的时刻。雅各伯临终之际，唯一真正挂念的问题，就是他死后子女将遵循怎样的宗教。他担心自己所托付的遗产，以及那份托付于他的宗教的未来。他的儿子们的回答，想必令他大为安心，也使他深感欣慰。这条传承的链条不会断绝，易卜拉欣的遗产必将延续许多代。

It is indeed a tremendous and solemn occasion. The most important and only issue that concerned Jacob as he drew his last breath was the religion his children were to follow after his death. He was worried about the fate of his legacy and the future of the religion placed in his trust. His children’s reply must have been most reassuring and gratifying for him. The chain would not be broken, and the legacy of Abraham was sure to live on for many generations to come.

雅各问他的儿子们："我去世之后，你们将崇拜谁？"（第133节）他借此说明了自己为何召集他们，以及他在临终前最想确定的事情——那就是这个蒙福之家的托付与遗产。他的儿子们向雅各保证，他们会忠于这份托付。于是，易卜拉欣的同一份遗产在雅各的儿子们那里得到了保全，他们明确表示自己已经顺服于真主。

Jacob asks his children: “Whom will you worship when I am gone?” (Verse 133) He thus tells them why he gathered them, and the issue he wanted to be sure of before his death. It is the trust and the heritage of that blessed house. His children reassure Jacob that they would be true to their trust. Thus, the same heritage of Abraham was safe with Jacob’s children, who clearly state that they have submitted themselves to God.

这节经文以一个修辞性的问句开始，问的是犹太人：“雅各伯临终的时候，你们在场吗？”（第133节）经文告诉他们当时发生的事情，而这是真主亲自见证的。在真主已经陈述了所发生的事情之后，他们既无法质疑所发生事情的真实性，也无法歪曲它。

The verse opens with a rhetorical question addressed to the Jews: “Were you present when death approached Jacob?” (Verse 133) It tells them what went on as witnessed by God Himself. They could not question the truth of what had happened or distort it after God has stated what went on.

根据这些论断，便清楚地区分了那一代已逝之人与当时在麦地那面对伊斯兰的一代人：“那是一个已经逝去的民族，他们所得的是他们自己的，你们所得的是你们自己的，你们不会因他们所做的而受到问责。”（第134节）

In the light of these assertions, a clear distinction is established between that bygone generation and the one that was facing Islam in Madinah: “That community has passed away. Theirs is what they had earned and yours is what you have earned. You shall not be questioned about what they did.” (Verse 134)

在这一历史背景之下，即真主与易卜拉欣所立的盟约、克尔白的建造，以及对易卜拉欣宗教遗产的继承权，本章进一步审视犹太教徒和基督教徒的一些论点与主张。它指出这些论点的薄弱之处，以及其背后隐藏的不良动机。本段最后将伊斯兰呈现为人类全面而普世的宗教，唯有顽固不化、忘恩负义的人才会加以反对和拒绝。

Against this historical background of God’s covenant with Abraham, the building of the Ka`bah and the entitlement to the religious heritage of Abraham, the sūrah takes a closer look at some Jewish and Christian arguments and claims. It exposes the weakness in those arguments and the insidious ulterior motives behind them. The passage is rounded off by presenting Islam as man’s comprehensive and universal religion, opposed and rejected only by those who are stubborn and ungrateful:

他们说:"你们当信犹太教,或信基督教,这样你们就能遵循正道。"你说:"不,我们信奉的是易卜拉欣的教法,他是纯正归一的人,并不是以物配主的人。"你们说:"我们信仰真主,信仰降示给我们的经典,也信仰降示给易卜拉欣、伊斯玛仪、易斯哈格、叶尔孤白及其后裔的经典,信仰赐予穆萨和尔撒的经典,以及众先知从主那里所获得的经典。我们对他们中的任何人都不加区别,我们已向真主归顺。" 如果他们像你们那样信仰,他们就遵循了正道;如果他们背弃,那他们就陷入了分裂,真主将保佑你免受他们的伤害,他是全聪的,是全知的。(第135-137节)

They say, ‘Follow the Jewish faith — or, follow the Christian faith — and you shall be rightly guided.’ Say, ‘No. We follow the faith of Abraham, who was truly devoted to God, and was not of those who associated partners with God.’ Say [all of you], ‘We believe in God and in what has been revealed to us, and in what was revealed to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob and their descendants, and in what was given to Moses and Jesus, and in what all prophets have been given by their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and to God we have surrendered ourselves. ‘ If they come to believe in the way you believe, they will be rightly guided; but if they turn away, they will be in schism, but God will protect you from them; He hears all and knows all.’ (Verses 135-137)

先知被指示，要以同一个挑战同时面对犹太人和基督徒，并同样呼吁他们与穆斯林一道，回归易卜拉欣的原初宗教。易卜拉欣是地上伊斯兰信仰的奠基人。他曾与真主立约，并忠于自己的约定。 Note: the prophet's name in the original is "the Prophet", so ﷺ should follow it. Correcting my output to follow the rules precisely: 先知ﷺ被指示，要以同一个挑战同时面对犹太人和基督徒，并同样呼吁他们与穆斯林一道，回归易卜拉欣的原初宗教。易卜拉欣是地上伊斯兰信仰的奠基人。他曾与神立约，并忠于自己的约定。

The Prophet is instructed here to confront the Jews and the Christians together with the same challenge, and call upon them equally to revert, together with the Muslims, to the original religion of Abraham, the founding father of the faith of Islam on earth. He was the one to make a covenant with God and he was true to his covenant.

然后，穆斯林被号召承认并宣告一种总体的信仰统一，从亚伯拉罕的信仰一直到耶稣和穆罕默德ﷺ的信仰。

Then the Muslims are called upon to acknowledge and declare an overall unity of faith, from that of Abraham right up to that of Jesus and Muĥammad.

信仰的统一性与普遍性原则，以及历代所有先知和使者的一体性，是伊斯兰信仰的基石。它使穆斯林社群对易卜拉欣的遗产所主张的权利，以及在世间守护真主宗教的托管权，获得了正当性。正是这一原则作为伊斯兰教的根本支柱，赋予了它普世的特质，使人们在同一面旗帜下聚合，不受任何偏见或歧视的束缚。它也使穆斯林社群以真诚的爱与和平的精神，向所有人敞开胸怀。