在这一章中,人们寻求主、君王与人类的神的庇护,以抵御那潜藏的耳语者——无论他是精灵还是人类——他在人们心中散布邪恶的念头。本章展示了神的相关属性,用以驱除这种无形的邪恶,而心灵凭一己之力是无法将其阻挡在外的。因为主是保护、引导、养育和庇护人类的那一位;君王是拥有、掌管并独立运行世界的那一位;神是超越一切存在并监督其一切事务的那一位。这里特别提到人类,是为了使人更接近神的保护与眷顾。

In this sūrah refuge is sought in the Lord, Sovereign and God of mankind from the insidious whisperer, jinn or human, who prompts evil ideas in people’s minds. The sūrah presents God’s relevant attributes to keep away this invisible evil which the mind on its own cannot shut out. For the Lord is He who preserves, directs, cherishes and protects mankind; the Sovereign is He who owns, governs and independently runs the world; and God is the One who supersedes all other beings and supervises over all their affairs. The particular mention of mankind here brings man closer to God’s protection and care.

真主以其恩惠，指示祂的使者以及跟随他的信众，要认识真主的这些属性，并寻求祂的庇护，以抵御那潜藏于人心之中的邪恶耳语。因为人若不得真主——那主宰、那君主——的佑助，便无法摆脱这种暗中、不觉地潜入心中的邪恶。

God, in His grace, instructs His Messenger and his community of followers to recognize these of His attributes, and to seek His protection against this sneaking evil which locates itself within their hearts. For they cannot rid themselves of such an evil which surreptitiously and imperceptibly creeps into their hearts, unless they are helped by God, the Lord, the Sovereign.

这种传播邪恶的媒介的本质，经文首先将其描述为"潜伏退缩的教唆者"。其作用被概括为"在世人的胸中耳语"。随后，经文说明其来源是"来自精灵和世人"。此处所采用的表达方式颇为重要，因为在描述其本质之后，它将我们的注意力完全引向这位潜行的耳语者的身份，从而揭示此类邪恶被暗中灌输的过程。这使我们能够保持警觉，并有能力对抗它。当我们得到完整的图景，便知道这位潜行的耳语者是秘密运作的。我们也因此认识到，它既可能是精灵，也可能是人类，因为人类同样能够悄无声息地散布自己的邪恶。

The nature of this evil-importing medium is identified in the text first as ‘the slinking prompter.’ Its function is outlined as to ‘whisper in the hearts of mankind.’ Then its origin is specified as ‘from among jinn and mankind.’ The style adopted here is quite significant because it draws our attention fully to the identity of this sneaking whisperer after describing its nature in order to show the process by which such evil is insinuated. This enables us to be alert and able to confront it. When we are given the full picture we know that this sneaking whisperer operates secretly. We also realize that it can be either jinn or human, for human beings can easily spread their evil stealthily.

我们不知道jinn是如何进行这种低语的,但我们确实能在个人的行为以及整个人类生活中看到它的后果。我们确定地知道,亚当(人类)与易卜劣思(撒旦)之间的争斗由来已久。

We do not know how the jinn perform this whispering, but we certainly find its repercussions in the behaviour of individuals as well as in human life generally. We know for sure that the battle between Adam (man) and Iblīs (Satan) is a very old one.

两者之间的战争是由撒旦宣告的，源于他内在的邪恶、傲慢、嫉妒以及对人类的怨恨。他得到了真主的许可，去进行这场战斗，其目的只有真主知道。但值得注意的是，人并未被撇下不管，未被剥夺必要的保护手段。他被赋予了信仰的力量，[即通过确信和真诚的虔敬，对真主及其属性有意识的信仰与认识]。冥想和寻求真主的庇护是最有效的武器之一。当人忽视这些安全与防御的手段时，他确实只能怪自己。

War between the two was declared by Satan out of the evil inherent in him, his conceit, envy and resentment of man. He was given God’s permission to carry out this battle for some purpose which only God knows. But, significantly, man has not been left alone, dispossessed of the necessary means of protection. He has been provided with the power of faith, [that is, conscious belief in, and knowledge of, God and His attributes through conviction and sincere devotion]. Meditation and seeking refuge in God are among the most effective weapons. When man neglects these means of security and defence, he indeed has only himself to blame.

伊本·阿拔斯引述先知ﷺ的话说:“撒旦围困人的心,但每当这人虔诚地记念真主时,他便退缩。只有人疏忽真主时,他才会挑唆其恶。”至于人类,我们深知他们那些狡猾的耳语与怂恿之道。有些人比魔鬼还要恶毒,例如:1)恶友,他在朋友不知不觉时,将邪恶注入朋友的心灵与思想,而朋友却以为他值得信赖;2)统治者的谋士或顾问,他向统治者耳语各种恶念,试图把他变成暴君;3)无良的诽谤者,他捏造并粉饰故事,使其听起来真实可信;4)从事不道德交易的掮客,他利用人们的感官欲望与肉欲来打动他们。还有无数其他的“耳语者”,他们不动声色地设下陷阱,利用他们刻意寻找的各种弱点。这些人比精灵本身更加恶毒。面对这种伪装的邪恶,人自己无法确保自身的安全。因此真主为他指明了可以在这场激烈的战斗中采用的方法。将“怂恿者”描述为“潜伏者”也具有非常直接的意义。这一描述一方面表明耳语者的隐秘,另一方面也暗示了它在被发现或被抵抗时内在的软弱。当它在明处遭遇时,便会退缩并怯懦地撤离;正如先知ﷺ在其精确的比喻中所说:“每当人虔诚地记念真主时,他(撒旦)便退缩;而每当人疏忽真主时,他便挑唆其恶。”这能坚固信士的心,使其抵御这种怯懦、退缩的耳语者。

Ibn `Abbās quotes the Prophet as saying: “Satan besieges a person’s heart, but he subsides whenever that person conscientiously remembers God. He only insinuates his evil when a person is heedless of Him.” As for humans, we know a great deal of their curious ways of whispering and prompting. Some types are more devilish than the Devil, such as: 1) a bad companion who injects evil into his comrade’s heart and mind while he is unaware, thinking his friend to be trustworthy; 2) a ruler’s counsellor or advisor who ‘whispers’ all sorts of evil thoughts to him, trying to turn him into a tyrant; 3) an unscrupulous slanderer who fabricates and decorates tales to make them sound factual and convincing; 4) a hustler of immoral business dealings who tries to get through to people by exploiting their sensual, carnal desires. There are scores of other ‘whisperers’ who inconspicuously lay their traps, utilizing different weak points which they deliberately look for. These are more devilish than even the jinn themselves. Faced with evil in this guise, man is incapable of ensuring his own safety. God therefore points out to him the means he can employ in this fierce battle. There is also a very direct significance in describing the ‘prompter’ as ‘slinking’. While this description indicates the secretiveness of the whisperer on the one hand, it is, on the other, an illusion to its intrinsic feebleness whenever it is discovered or resisted. It subsides and meekly withdraws when met in the open; or, as the Messenger said in his accurate illustration: “He (Satan) subsides whenever one conscientiously remembers God, but insinuates his evil whenever one is heedless of Him.” This fortifies any believer’s heart against this timid, subsiding whisperer.

然而,这场战斗是永无止境的,因为这个"诱导者"总在伺机而动,一旦人疏忽了对真主的忆念,它便会趁机植入其恶念。信士只是偶尔意识到真主是不够的,因为这场战争会持续到时间的尽头。《古兰经》以一个充满生命力的场景生动地阐明了这一点:

Nevertheless, the battle is everlasting since this ‘prompter’ is always watchful for the right moment, when one neglects remembrance of God, to implant its evils. For a believer to be conscious of God once in a while is not sufficient, as the war continues till the end of time. The Qur’ān vividly states this in a scene that is full of life:

当我对天使们说“你们向阿丹叩头”时，他们都叩了头，唯有易卜劣厮（撒旦）不叩。他说：“我岂肯向你用泥土创造的人叩头吗？”他又说：“你看这个你使他高于我的人吗？如果你宽限我，直到复活日，我必将他的子孙，除少数人外，全都引入我的掌握之中。”（真主）说：“你去吧！他们中凡跟随你的人，你们的报酬就是火狱，那是十分充足的报酬。你可以用你的声音诱惑他们中你所能诱惑的人，用你的骑兵和步兵攻击他们，与他们共享财产和子女，并向他们许诺——撒旦对他们的许诺，不过是一种欺骗。至于我的仆人，你对他们没有权力。你的主足以作他们的保护者。”（17：61-65）

When We said to the angels, ‘Prostrate yourselves before Adam,’ they all prostrated themselves; but not so Iblīs [Satan]. He said, Am I to bow down before one whom You have created out of clay?’ [And] he added: ‘Do You see this being whom You have exalted above me? Indeed, if You will give me respite until the Day of Resurrection, I shall bring his descendants, all but a few, under my sway.’ [God] said: “Begone! As for those of them who follow you, hell will be the recompense of you all, a most ample recompense. Entice with your voice such of them as you can. Muster against them all your cavalry and your infantry, and share with them wealth and offspring, and promise them [what you will] — indeed, whatever Satan promises them is nothing but a means of deception. But over My servants you shall have no power. Your Lord is sufficient as a Guardian. (17: 61-65)

这种关于战斗以及其中恶之根源的观念——无论是由撒旦本身挑起，还是由其人类代理人挑起——使人感到自己在其中并非无能为力；因为真主，即他的主、宇宙的主宰，掌控着一切受造物与事件。

This concept of the battle and the source of evil in it, whether provoked by Satan himself or by his human agent, inspires man to feel that he is not helpless in it; since God, his Lord and Sovereign of the universe controls all creations and events.

尽管真主允许撒旦施加诱惑，但祂对撒旦拥有至高无上的权能，并且祂也为人类提供了引导。真主只把那些疏忽祂的人留给撒旦。相反，那些常怀敬畏祂之心的人是安全的，受到祂的保护，不受撒旦的恐吓和煽动。因此，正义由唯一真正的力量——真主的力量——所支持，而邪恶则依靠一个“潜行的诱导者”、一个鬼鬼祟祟的耳语者来支撑。他在公开场合怯懦，在战争中临阵脱逃，而当我们寻求真主的庇护时，他便很容易被击败。

Though He has permitted Satan to attack, He has supreme power over him and He has also provided guidance for mankind. God leaves to Satan only those who neglect Him. By contrast, those who live in consciousness of Him are safe and protected against his intimidation and incitements. Thus, righteousness is supported by the only true power, God’s, whereas evil is backed by a ‘slinking prompter’, a sneaky whisperer, cowardly in the open field, quick to retreat in war, and easily defeated when we seek refuge with God.

这是关于善与恶之间斗争的最完善的概念。它能保护人类免于失败，并赋予他们力量、信心与安宁。

This is the most perfect concept of the battle between good and evil. It is a concept which protects human beings against defeat and provides them with strength, confidence and contentment.

始终赞美真主。我们凭借祂获得信心与成功，向祂寻求永不落空的扶助。

Praise be to God at the beginning and at the end. From Him we derive confidence and success. To Him we turn for unfailing support.