Verse 47
To Him devolves [all] knowledge of the Hour — when it shall come to pass, none other than Him knows this. And no fruit (thamaratin: a variant reading has [the plural] thamarātin, ‘fruits’) emerges from its sheath, its receptacle (akmām, the plural of kimm), except with His knowledge, and no female bears [child] or delivers except with His knowledge. And on the day when He will call out to them, ‘Where [then] are My associates?’ they will say, ‘We proclaim to You, we now apprise You, that there is no witness amongst us’, that is, a witness [who can testify to the allegation] that You have an associate.
Verse 48
And what they used to call on, [what they used] to worship, before, in this world, of idols, has forsaken them and they suppose, they will be certain, that there is no refuge for them, no escape from the chastisement (the negation in both instances comments on the operation [implied in the nouns of actions; also the negation stands in place of the direct objects in both instances).
Verse 49
Man never wearies of supplicating for good, in other words, he never ceases to ask his Lord for wealth and good health and other [good] things, but should any ill befall him, such as impoverishment or hardship, then he becomes despondent, despairing, of God’s mercy — this and what follows relates to [the attitude of] disbelievers.
Verse 50
And if (wa-la-in: the lām is for oaths) We let him taste, [if] We bestow on him, mercy, [such as] riches or good health, from Us after the harm, the hardship or tribulation, that had befallen him, he will surely say, ‘This is my due!, in other words, [it is] on account of what I do. I do not think that the Hour will ever set in, and even if (wa-la-in: the lām is for oaths) I am returned to my Lord, I will indeed have the best [reward] with Him’, namely, Paradise. But We will assuredly inform those who disbelieve of what they did, and assuredly We will make them taste a harsh chastisement (the lām [prefixed] in both verbs is that for oaths).
Verse 51
And when We bestow graces upon man (insān, the generic noun [is meant]), he shows disregard, of giving thanks, and turns aside, turns his head in arrogance (a variant reading [for nā’a] has na’ā); but when ill befalls him, he makes prolonged supplications.
Verse 52
Say: ‘Consider [this]: if it, the Qur’ān, is from God, as the Prophet says, and you disbelieve in it, who — in other words, none — will be further astray than one who is in extreme defiance?’, of the truth (this [third person singular address] is used instead of ‘[who will be further astray] than you’ in order to point out their status [as disbelievers]).
Verse 53
We shall show them Our signs in the horizons, [in all] the regions of the heavens and the earth, in the way of the luminous [celestial] bodies, [the varieties of] vegetation and trees, and in their own souls, in the way of the exquisite craftsmanship and unique wisdom [inherent in their creation], until it becomes clear to them that it, namely, the Qur’ān, is the truth, revealed by God, informing of the Resurrection, the Reckoning and the Punishment, so that they [realise that they] will be punished for their disbelief in it and in the one who has come with it. Is it not sufficient that your Lord (bi-rabbika, governs the verb yakfi, ‘sufficient’) is witness to all things? (annahu ‘alā kulli shay’in shahīd, substitutes for bi-rabbika). In other words, is not sufficient proof of your truthfulness that nothing whatsoever can be hidden from God?
Verse 54
Nay, verily they are in doubt about the encounter with their Lord, because they deny the Resurrection. Nay, verily He, exalted be He, encompasses all things, in knowledge and in power, and so He will requite them for their disbelief.
Verse 1
Hā mīm
Verse 2
‘ayn sīn qāf: God knows best what He means by these [letters].
Verse 3
Thus — in other words, in the same [manner of] revelation — does He reveal to you and, did He reveal, to those [who were] before you, God (Allāhu, is the agent of [the action of] revelation) the Mighty, in His kingdom, the Wise, in His actions.
Verse 4
To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth, as possession, creation and servants, and He is the Exalted, above His creatures, the Tremendous, the Great.
Verse 5
The heavens are well-nigh (read yakādu, or takādu) rent asunder (yanfatirna: a variant reading has yatafattarna) from above one another, in other words, [well-nigh] is each one torn away from above the one below it because of the magnitude of God, exalted be He, and the angels glorify with praise of their Lord, in other words, they are continuously engaged in praise [of Him], and ask forgiveness for those, believers, on earth. Verily God is the Forgiving, to His friends, the Merciful, to them.
Verse 6
And those who have taken besides Him, namely, idols [as], guardians, God is watchful over them, He keeps count [of their deeds], that He may requite them; and you are not a guardian over them, in order to secure what is demanded of them: your duty is only to deliver the Message.
Verse 7
And thus — in the same [manner of] revelation — have We revealed to you an Arabic Qur’ān, that you may warn, [that you may] threaten, the mother-town and those around it, namely, the inhabitants of Mecca and all other people, and that you may warn, [all] people, of the Day of Gathering, the Day of Resurrection whereat [all] creatures will be gathered, of which there is no doubt. A part, of them, will be in Paradise and a part will be in the Blaze, the Fire.
Verse 8
And had God willed, He would have made them one community, in other words, following one religion, and that is Islam; but He admits whomever He will into His mercy, and the evildoers, the disbelievers, have neither guardian nor helper, to ward off the chastisement from them.
Verse 9
Or have they taken, idols [as], guardians besides Him? (am, ‘or’, is disjunctive, functioning with the sense of bal, ‘nay, but’, the one used to denote a shift [in the subject matter]; the hamza is for denial, in other words ‘those who are taken’ [as guardians] are not [in fact] guardians [of anything]). But God, He [alone] is the Guardian, in other words, then One who helps believers (the fā’ [of fa’Llāhu] is merely for coordination) and He revives the dead, and He has power over all things.
Verse 10
And whatever you may differ, with disbelievers, in, of religion or otherwise, the verdict therein belongs, it will return, to God, on the Day of Resurrection; He will judge between you. Say to them: That then is God, my Lord; in Him I have put my trust, and to Him I turn penitently.
Verse 11
The Originator of the heavens and the earth, the One Who created them [without precedent]. He has made for you, from your own selves, pairs, when He created Eve from Adam’s rib, and [also] pairs, males and females, of the cattle: He multiplies you (read yadhra’ukum) by such [means], by the mentioned ‘making’, that is to say, He multiplies you through this [means] by way of propagation (the [suffixed] pronoun [-kum in yadhra’ukum, ‘He multiplies you’] refers to both human beings and cattle, but predominantly [to humans]). There is nothing like Him (ka-mithlihi: the kāf is extra, as there is no likeness of Him, exalted be He). He is the Hearer, of what is said, the Seer, of what is done.
Verse 12
To Him belong the keys of the heavens and the earth, the keys to their storehouses of rain and vegetation and other things. He extends provision, He makes it abundant, for whomever He will, as a test [of their gratitude], and He restricts [it], He straitens it for whomever He will, as a trial. Truly He has knowledge of all things.
Verse 13
He has prescribed for you as a religion that which He enjoined upon Noah — for he was the first of the prophets [sent] with a [Divine] Law — and that which We have revealed to you, and that which We enjoined upon Abraham, and Moses, and Jesus [declaring], ‘Establish religion and do not be divided in it’: this is what has been prescribed and enjoined upon [those mentioned above], and what has been revealed to Muhammad (s), and it is the affirmation of [God’s] Oneness. Dreadful is for the idolaters that to which you summon them, in the way of affirming the Oneness [of God]. God chooses for it, for the [task of] affirming [His] Oneness, whomever He will, and He guides to it whomever turns penitently, [whomever] applies himself to obedience of Him.
Verse 14
And they did not become divided, that is, the adherents of the [monotheistic] religions [did not become divided] in religion — so that some affirmed the Oneness [of God], while others rejected it — except after the knowledge, of His Oneness, had come to them, out of [jealous] rivalry, on the part of the disbelievers, among themselves. And were it not for a Word that preceded from your Lord, to defer requital [of them], until an appointed term, [until] the Day of Resurrection, it would have [already] been judged between them, to chastise the disbelievers in this world. And indeed those who were made heirs to the Scripture after them, namely, the Jews and the Christians, are truly in grave doubt concerning him, Muhammad (s).
Verse 15
So to that then, [to that] affirmation of [God’s] Oneness, summon, O Muhammad (s), people, and be upright, in [summoning them to] this, just as you have been commanded, and do not follow them in their desires, to abandon it. And say: ‘I believe in whatever Book God has revealed. And I have been commanded to be just between you, in passing judgement. God is our Lord and your Lord. Our deeds concern us and your deeds concern you, and so each [one of us] will be requited according to his [own] deeds. There is no argument, [no] dispute, between us and you — this was [revealed] before the command to struggle [against them]. God will bring us together, at the [time of the] Return to decide [definitively] between us, and to Him is the [final] destination’, the [ultimate] return.
Verse 16
And those who argue, with the Prophet, concerning, the religion of, God after His call has been answered, through faith, on account of His miracle having been manifested — and they are the Jews — their argument stands refuted, [is] invalid, with their Lord, and [His] wrath shall be upon them, and there will be a severe chastisement for them.
Verse 17
God it is Who has revealed the Book, the Qur’ān, with the truth (bi’l-haqqi is semantically connected to anzala, ‘revealed’) as well as the Balance, Justice. And what do you know — perhaps the Hour, that is, its arrival, is near! (la‘alla, ‘perhaps’, comments on the verb describing the action, with what follows it functioning as two direct objects).
Verse 18
Those who do not believe in it seek to hasten it: they say, ‘When will it come?’, as a presumption on their part that it will never come; but those who believe are apprehensive of it and know that it is the truth. Nay, but verily those who are in doubt, those who argue, concerning the Hour are indeed in extreme error!
Verse 19
God is Gracious to His servants, both the pious and the profligate, for He does not destroy them through hunger, despite their acts of disobedience. He provides for whomever He will, from among each of the two [classes of individuals] whatever He will. And He is the Strong, in [effecting] what He wants, the Mighty, Whose way [always] prevails.
Verse 20
And whoever desires, in return for his actions, the harvest of the Hereafter, in other words, its gains, and that is reward, We will enhance for him his harvest, by multiplying in it the good deed up tenfold or more; and whoever desires the harvest of this world, We will give him of it, without multiplying [any of it], [giving him] only what is his [preordained] share; but in the Hereafter he will have no share.
Verse 21
Or have they, the Meccan disbelievers, associates — these being their devils — who have prescribed for them, for the disbelievers, a religion, a corrupt [religion], which God has not given permission for?, such as idolatry and denial of resurrection? And were it not for a [prior] decisive word, in other words, a prior decree to the effect that requital will take place on the Day of Resurrection, it would have been judged between them, and the believers, by chastising the former in this world. Truly the wrongdoers, the disbelievers, will have a painful chastisement.
Verse 22
You will see the wrongdoers, on the Day of Resurrection, apprehensive because of what they had earned, in this world, in the way of evil deeds, lest they be requited for these; and it, that is, the requital for these [deeds], will surely befall them, on the Day of Resurrection, inevitably; but those who believe and perform righteous deeds will be in the lushest Gardens, in other words, in the best of these [Gardens] in comparison with the other ones. They will have whatever they wish near their Lord; that is the great favour.
Verse 23
That is the good tidings (read yubshiru or yubashshiru, from bishāra, ‘good news’) which God gives to His servants who believe and perform righteous deeds. Say: ‘I do not ask of you any reward for it, for delivering the Message, except the affection for [my] kinsfolk (illā, ‘except’: this represents a discontinuous exception, in other words, ‘but I do ask of you that you show affection for my kinship [with you], which at the same time is your kinship’; for he [the Prophet] had kinship ties with all the subdivisions of the [tribe of] Quraysh). And whoever acquires a good deed, an act of obedience, We shall enhance for him its goodness, by multiplying [the reward for] it. Surely God is Forgiving, of sins, Appreciative, [even] of little [good], and so He multiplies it [manifold].
Verse 24
Or (am here is like bal) do they say, ‘He has invented a lie against God?’, in ascribing the Qur’ān to God, exalted be He. For if God will, He can seal, He can fortify, your heart, with patience to endure the hurt they cause [you] by such sayings and otherwise — and God did this. And God will efface the falsehood, which they speak, and vindicate, confirm, the truth with His words, [the ones] revealed to His Prophet. Truly He is Knower of what is in the breasts, of what is in the hearts [of people].
Verse 25
And He it is Who accepts repentance from His servants, and pardons evil deeds, those from which repentance has been made, and knows what they do (yaf‘alūna, may also be read taf‘alūna, ‘you do’).
Verse 26
And He answers those who believe and perform righteous deeds, He grants them what they ask for, and He enhances them of His bounty. And as for the disbelievers, for them there will be a severe chastisement.
Verse 27
For were God to extend His provision to His servants, [to] all of them, they would, all of them, surely become covetous, in other words, they would become tyrants, in the earth; but He sends down (read yunzilu or yunazzilu) of provisions, in the measure that He will, thus extending it for some of His servants to the exclusion of others — and from [such] extending [of provision to some] emerges tyranny. Surely He is Aware, Seer of His servants.
Verse 28
And He it is Who sends down the [saving] rain after they have despaired, [after] they have given up hope of its being sent down, and unfolds His mercy, He extends His rain, and He is the [true] Patron, the Benevolent towards believers, the Praised, by them.
Verse 29
And of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth and, the creation of, whatever He has scattered, [whatever] He has divided and spread, in them in the way of creatures (dābba: this denotes all those [creatures] which tread [yadubbu] upon the earth, whether human beings or otherwise). And He is able to bring them together, for the Gathering, whenever He will (rational beings as opposed to others predominate in the [suffixed] pronoun [-him of jam‘ihim, ‘to bring them together’]).
Verse 30
And whatever affliction, [whatever] misfortune or hardship, may befall you — [this is] an address to the believers — is on account of what your [own] hands have earned, that is to say, [for] the sins that you have committed — the use of ‘hands’ to express this is because most actions are effected by them. And He pardons much, of these [sins] and does not requite them, for God’s kindness is greater than that He should [for example] double the requital in the Hereafter; as for those who do not commit [grave] sins, then what befalls them in this world [of hardship] raises their degree in the [reward of the] Hereafter.
Verse 31
And you, O idolaters, cannot escape, from God, by fleeing, on earth, and thus elude Him, and, besides God, that is to say, other than Him, you have neither protector nor helper, to ward off His chastisement from you.
Verse 32
And of His signs are the ships [that run] on the sea [appearing] like landmarks, like mountains, in terms of their magnitude.
Verse 33
If He will, He stills the wind, whereat they remain, they become, motionless, fixed, not moving, on its surface. Surely in that there are signs for every steadfast, grateful [servant] — this is the believer, who is steadfast during hardship and grateful in [times of] comfort.
Verse 34
Or He wrecks them (yūbiqhunna, a supplement to yuskin, ‘He stills’), that is to say, [or] He sinks them, including their passengers, by sending violent winds [upon them], because of what they, that is, the passengers of these [ships], have earned, of sins. And He pardons much, of such [sin] and does not cause those who have sinned to drown.
Verse 35
And that those who dispute concerning Our signs may know (read [indicative] wa-ya‘lamu, ‘and [they] know’, beginning a new sentence; or [subjunctive] wa-ya‘lama, ‘and that [they] may know’, as a supplement to an implicit reason, in other words: ‘He drowns them in order to exact vengeance against them and so that they may know that …’) they have no refuge, no escape from the chastisement (the negation represents two direct objects of [the verb] ya‘lamu [or ya‘lama], ‘[they] know’; the negation is also a comment on the [implied] action [of ‘escaping’]).
Verse 36
So whatever you — [this is] an address is to believers and others — have been given, of the luxuries of this world, is [but] the enjoyment of the life of this world, enjoyed for the duration of it but then perishes. But what is with God, of reward, is better and more lasting for those who believe and put their trust in their Lord (li’lladhīna āmanū wa-‘alā rabbihim yatawakkalūna, is supplemented by [the following clause]),
Verse 37
and those who avoid grave sins and indecencies, those [acts] that require [the implementing of] the prescribed legal punishments (hudūd) ([the supplement above is] an example of supplementing the part to the whole) and [who], when they are angry, forgive, they let it pass;
Verse 38
and those who answer their Lord, [those who] respond to what He has summoned them in the way of affirming His Oneness and worship [of Him], and observe prayer, maintaining it regularly, and whose courses of action, those [courses of action] that seem good to them, are [a matter of] counsel between them, in which they consult one another and do not act hastily, and who, of what We have bestowed on them, expend, in obedience to God — such mentioned [individuals] constitute one category;
Verse 39
and those who, when they suffer aggression, injustice, defend themselves — these are another category — that is to say, they retaliate against those who wrong them in the same manner in which the latter wronged them, as God, exalted be He, says:
Verse 40
For the requital of an evil deed is an evil deed like it: the latter is [also] referred to as ‘an evil deed’ because in [outward] form it resembles the former; this is evident in what concerns retaliation for wounds. Some [scholars] say that even if another were to say, ‘May God disgrace you!’, then one should respond [equally] with, ‘May God disgrace you!’. But whoever pardons, his wrongdoer, and reconciles, the amity between himself and the one pardoned, his reward will be with God, that is to say, God will give him his reward without doubt. Truly He does not like wrongdoers, that is, those who initiate acts of wrongdoing and so merit His punishment.
Verse 41
And whoever defends himself after he has been wronged, that is to say, after the wrongdoer has wronged him — for such, there will be no course [of action] against them, no blame [on them].
Verse 42
A course [of action] is only [open] against those who wrong people and seek [to commit], [who] commit, in the earth what is not right, [what are] acts of disobedience. For such there will be a painful chastisement.
Verse 43
But verily he who is patient, and defend himself [by retaliating], and forgives, excuses [the wrong done to him] — surely that, patience and excusing, is [true] constancy in [such] affairs, that is to say, it is one of those [courses of action] for which one must have firm resolve, meaning those which are required [of the believer] by [God’s] Law.
Verse 44
And whomever God leads astray has no protector after Him, that is to say, none to take charge of guiding him after God has led him astray. And you will see the wrongdoers, when they sight the chastisement, saying, ‘Is there any way, any route [by which], to return?’, to this world.
Verse 45
And you will see them being exposed to it, namely, the Fire, submissive, fearful and humbled, by abasement, looking, at it, with a furtive glance, a slight look, stealthily (min [of min tarfin khafiyyin, ‘with a furtive glance’] is to indicate inceptiveness, or it functions with the sense of a bā’, ‘with’ [sc. bi-tarfin khafiyyin]). And those who believe will say, ‘Verily the [true] losers are those who have lost themselves and their families on the Day of Resurrection, for being condemned to abide forever in the Fire and for not being able to attain [the blissful company of] the houris prepared for them in Paradise had they been believers (the relative clause [alladhīna khasirū ..., ‘those who have lost …’] constitutes the predicate of the particle inna, ‘verily’). Truly the wrongdoers, the disbelievers, will be in lasting, everlasting, chastisement — these [words] constitute God’s speech, exalted be He.
Verse 46
And they have no guardians to help them besides God, that is to say, other than Him, to ward off His chastisement from them, and whomever God leads astray has no course [of action]’, no route to the truth in this world or to Paradise in the Hereafter.
Verse 47
Answer your Lord, respond to Him by affirming His Oneness and worshipping [Him], before there comes a day, namely, the Day of Resurrection, for which there is no revoking from God, in other words, one which when He brings about He will not revoke. On that day you will have no refuge, in which to seek refuge in, and for you there will be no [way of] denying, your sins.
Verse 48
But if they are disregardful, of answering [God], We have not sent you as a keeper over them, to keep [track of] their deeds by securing what is demanded of them. Your duty is only to deliver the Message — this was [revealed] before the command to struggle [against them]. And indeed when We let man taste from Us some mercy, some grace, such as wealth and good health, he exults in it; but if some ill, [some] calamity, befalls them (the pronoun here refers to ‘man’, on the basis of the [plural import of the] generic noun) because of what their [own] hands have sent ahead, [because of what] they have offered [of deeds] — the expression refers to ‘the hands’ because most actions are effected by them), then lo! man is ungrateful, for the grace.
Verse 49
To God belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth. He creates whatever He will; He gives to whomever He will, in the way of children, females, and He gives to whomever He will males.
Verse 50
Or He combines them, that is to say, [or] He makes them, males and females; and He makes whomever He will infertile, such that she is unable to conceive or he cannot have a child. Surely He is Knower, of what He creates, Powerful, in [bringing about] whatever He will.
Verse 51
And it is not [possible] for any human that God should speak to him except, that He should reveal to him, by revelation, in sleep or by inspiration, or, except, from behind a veil, where He makes the person able to hear His speech but without seeing Him — as was the case with Moses, peace be upon him; or, except, that He should send a messenger, an angel, such as Gabriel, and he, the messenger, then reveals, to the person to whom he has been sent, that is to say, [and then] he speaks to him, with His permission, that is, God’s, whatever He, God, will. Truly He is Exalted, above the attributes of created beings, Wise, in His actions.
Verse 52
And thus, in the same way that We have revealed to messengers other than you, have We revealed to you, O Muhammad (s), a Spirit, namely, the Qur’ān, by which hearts are revived, from Our command, that [command] which We reveal to you. You did not know, before revelation came to you, what the Book was, [what] the Qur’ān [was], nor faith, that is, its ordinances and [ritual] ceremonies (the negation comments in place of the verb on the action, and what has come after it constitutes two direct objects); but We have made it, namely, the Spirit — or the Qur’ān — a light by which We guide whomever We will of Our servants. And verily you guide, you are summoning [people], by means of what is revealed to you, to a straight path, [a straight] way: the religion of Islam,
Verse 53
the path of God, to Whom belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth, as possessions, creatures and servants. Surely with God all matters end [their journey], [all matters] return.
Verse 1
Hā mīm: God knows best what He means by these [letters].
Verse 2
By the Book, the Qur’ān, that clarifies, the one that manifests the path of guidance and what one needs of [the prescriptions of] the Law.
Verse 3
Lo! We have made it, We have brought the Book into existence [as], an Arabic Qur’ān, in the language of the Arabs, that perhaps you, O people of Mecca, may understand, [that you may] comprehend its meanings.
Verse 4
And it is indeed, fixed, in the Mother Book, the source of all the scriptures, namely, the Preserved Tablet, [which is] with Us (ladaynā substitutes [for fī ummi’l-kitābi, ‘in the Mother Book’]) [and it is] indeed exalted, above [all] the scriptures [that came] before it, wise, containing excellent wisdoms.
Verse 5
Shall We turn away, [shall We] withhold, from you the Remembrance, the Qur’ān, utterly, an utter withholding, so that you are then neither commanded nor forbidden, because you are a profligate, an idolatrous, folk? No!
Verse 6
And how many a prophet did We send among the ancients!
Verse 7
And never did a prophet come to them but that they used to deride him, in the same way that your people deride you — this [statement] is intended to comfort the Prophet (s).
Verse 8
So We destroyed those who were mightier than them — than your people — in prowess, strength, and [already] there passed, there has been mentioned in previous verses, the example of the ancients, the description of how they were destroyed, and thus the sequel for your people will be the same.
Verse 9
And if (wa-la-in: the lām is for oaths) you ask them, ‘Who created the heavens and the earth?’ they will surely say (the indicative nūn has been omitted because of the other nūn coming after it, and likewise the wāw [replaced by the damma in -lunna], because of two unvowelled consonants coming together), ‘The Mighty, the Knower created them’ — [this would have to be] their eventual response, that is to say, God [created them], Lord of Might and Knowledge. God, exalted be He, adds:
Verse 10
He Who made the earth a cradle for you, a flat resting-place, like a child’s cradle, and placed for you therein ways, routes, that perhaps you may be guided, to your destinations during your travels;
Verse 11
and Who sent down water from the heaven in measure, that is to say, in the measure that you require thereof and did not send it down in a deluge, and We revived with it a dead land. Thus — like this revivification — will you be brought forth, from your graves, alive;
Verse 12
and Who created the pairs, the species, all of them, and made for you ships and cattle, such as camels, on which you ride (the referential pronoun has been omitted here for brevity; it is genitive in the case of the first, that is, fīhi [sc. tarkabūna fīhi, ‘you ride in them’] and accusative in the case of the second [sc. tarkabūnahā, ‘you ride them’]),
Verse 13
that you may sit, that you may find a firm position, upon their backs (He has made the [suffixed] pronoun a masculine plural and rendered zahr, ‘back’, plural because of the particle mā and its [plural] import); and then remember your Lord’s grace when you are settled on them, and say, ‘Glory be to Him Who has disposed this for us, and we [by] ourselves were no match for it, [not] capable [of it].
Verse 14
And indeed it is to our Lord that we shall return’, [to Him that] we shall depart.
Verse 15
And they assign to Him from among His own servants a part, when they say that the angels are God’s daughters — for a child is a part of its parent — even though the angels are [like them] servants of His, exalted be He. Man, [such as the one] who says the above-mentioned [words], is verily a manifest ingrate, one whose ungratefulness is manifest and clear.
Verse 16
Or (am has the significance of the hamza of denial; the ‘saying’ is implied, in other words, a-taqūlūna, ‘[or] do you say that …’) He has adopted, from all that He has created, daughters, for Himself, and preferred you, privileged you, with sons? — that which is the necessary inference from what you claim and which by itself is an abomination.
Verse 17
And when one of them is given the good tidings of that which he has attributed to the Compassionate One, [of that which] he has likened to Him by the ascription to Him of daughters — for a child is likened to its parent; in other words, when one of them is informed that a daughter has been born to him, his face becomes darkened, transformed into one laden with anguish, and he chokes inwardly, filled with anguish: so how can such a person then attribute daughters to Him? Exalted be He high above such [claims].
Verse 18
What! (a-wa contains both the hamza of denial and the conjunctive waw, ‘and’, in other words, ‘do they ascribe to God …’) one that is brought up amid trinkets, ornaments, and is incoherent in a dispute?, [unable] to argue clearly because of an [inherent] inability [in this respect] as a result of [that person belonging to] the female sex.
Verse 19
And they have made the angels, who are themselves servants of the Compassionate One, females. Did they witness, were they present at, their creation? Their testimony, to the effect that they are females, will be written down and they will be questioned, about it in the Hereafter, wherefore punishment will ensue for them.
Verse 20
And they say, ‘Had the Compassionate One [so] willed, we would not have worshipped them’, the angels: therefore our worship of them happens by His will and so He must be satisfied with it. God, exalted be He, says: They do not have any knowledge of that, which is said of His being satisfied with the worship of these [angels]; and they are only surmising, inventing lies in this [respect] and so punishment will befall them as a result thereof.
Verse 21
Or have We brought them a scripture before, that is, [before] the Qur’ān, that they should worship other than God, so that they are holding fast to it? In other words, this never happened.
Verse 22
Nay, but they say, ‘Lo! we found our fathers following a [certain] creed and we are indeed, proceeding, in their footsteps to be guided’, by them, for they used to worship other than God.
Verse 23
And thus We never sent a warner before you into any city without that its affluent folk, those of comfortable means, said, the like of what your people say: ‘Lo! we found our fathers following a [certain] creed and [so] we are indeed following in their footsteps’.
Verse 24
Say, to them: ‘What! Will you follow them, even if I bring you a better [means to] guidance than what you found your fathers following?’ They say, ‘Lo! we disbelieve in what you, and those before you, are sent with’. God, exalted be He, says to them, as a threat to them:
Verse 25
So We took vengeance on them, that is to say, on those who denied the messengers before you; behold then how was the sequel for the deniers.
Verse 26
And, mention, when Abraham said to his father and his people, ‘Surely I am innocent of that which you worship,
Verse 27
except Him Who originated, created, me; for He will indeed guide me’, He will show me the way to His religion.
Verse 28
And he made it, namely, the statement of the affirmation of [God’s] Oneness, understood from his words, I shall indeed depart to my Lord; He will guide me [Q. 37:99], a word enduring among his posterity, his descendants, and thus there still remains among them those who affirm the Oneness of [God]; that perhaps they, that is, the people of Mecca, might recant, what they follow [and return] to the religion of their forefather Abraham.
Verse 29
Nay, but I have let these, idolaters, and their fathers enjoy [life], without hastening to punish them, until there came to them the truth, the Qur’ān, and a messenger who makes [things] clear, one who manifests to them the stipulations of the Law — and this [messenger] is Muhammad (s).
Verse 30
But when the truth, the Qur’ān, came to them, they said, ‘This is sorcery, and we are indeed disbelievers in it’.
Verse 31
And they said, ‘If only this Qur’ān had been revealed to some great man from, the inhabitants of, the two towns!’, in other words, from either of the two; such as al-Walīd b. al-Mughīra at Mecca or ‘Urwa b. Mas‘ūd al-Thaqafī at Tā’if.
Verse 32
Is it they who apportion the mercy of your Lord?, [the mercy being] prophethood. We have apportioned among them their livelihood in the life of this world, making some of them wealthy and others poor, and raised some of them, in wealth, above others by degrees, so that some of them, who are wealthy, may take others, who are poor, in service, disposed to work for them in return for a wage (the [final] yā’ [in sukhriyyā] is attributive; a variant reading has sikhriyyan); and the mercy of your Lord, that is, Paradise, is better than what they amass, in this world.
Verse 33
And were it not [for the danger] that mankind would be one community, following disbelief, We would have made, for those who disbelieve in the Compassionate One, roofs (read saqfan, or plural suqufan) of silver for their houses (li-buyūtihim substitutes for li-man, ‘for those who’) and stairs, such as steps, [also] of silver, by which they ascend, [by which] they go up to the roof;
Verse 34
and doors, of silver, for their houses, and, We would have made for them, couches, of silver (surur, ‘couches’, is the plural of sarīr) on which they recline,
Verse 35
and ornaments, gold: in other words, were it not for fear that a believer might disbelieve as a result of Our giving the disbeliever what has been mentioned, We would have given him such [luxuries], since the [affairs of this] world represent no danger to Us and he [the disbeliever] would then have no share in the Bliss of the Hereafter. Yet surely (wa-in: in is softened from the hardened form [inna]) all that would be nothing (read lamā, with the mā as extra; or read lammā to mean ‘but’, making the particle in for negation) but the [transient] enjoyment of the life of this world, enjoyed during it, but then perishes, and the Hereafter, Paradise, with your Lord is for the God-fearing.
Verse 36
And whoever withdraws from, [whoever] is oblivious, to the Remembrance of the Compassionate One, namely, the Qur’ān, We assign, We produce, for him a devil and he becomes his companion, never leaving his side.
Verse 37
And indeed they, that is, the devils, bar them, the blind, from the way, [from] the path of guidance, while they suppose that they are [rightly] guided (the plural [muhtadūna] takes into account the [potentially plural] sense of man, ‘whoever’, [of the previous verse]),
Verse 38
until when he comes to Us, such a blind one, together with his companion, on the Day of Resurrection, he says, to him: ‘O (yā is for calling attention) would that there were between me and you the distance of the two easts!’, that is to say, like the distance between the east and the west, What an evil companion then!, you are for me. God, exalted be He, says:
Verse 39
And it, your wishes or your remorse, will not benefit you, blind ones, this day, given that you did wrong, that is to say, [given that] it has become clear to you that you were wrongdoers, through your idolatry in this world, that you, together with your companions, will be sharing in the chastisement (this constitutes the justification, on the basis of an implied lām [sc. li-annakum …], for the ‘lack of benefit’; idh substitutes for al-yawma, ‘this day’).
Verse 40
Can you, then, make the deaf hear, or can you guide the blind and one who is in manifest error?, in other words, such [individuals] will not believe.
Verse 41
So if (fa-immā: the conditional particle in has been assimilated herein with an extra mā) We take you away, by making you die before chastising them, then We will take vengeance on them, in the Hereafter;
Verse 42
or We show you, during your lifetime, that which We have promised them, in the way of chastisement, for surely We have power over, [surely] We are able to chastise, them.
Verse 43
So hold fast to that which has been revealed to you, namely, the Qur’ān; surely you are on a straight path, [a straight] way.
Verse 44
And it is indeed a Reminder, an honour, for you and for your people, as it has been revealed in their language. And you will [eventually] be questioned, about [the extent of] your fulfilling your duty towards it.
Verse 45
And ask those of Our messengers whom We sent before you: Did We [ever] appoint, besides the Compassionate One, that is to say, [any] other than Him, gods to be worshipped? It is said that this is to be understood literally, in other words, that God gathered for him all the messengers on the Night [of the] Journey; but it is also said that this meant [that he should ask] any communities belonging to either of the two Peoples of the Scripture. According to one of the two opinions, he never asked [anyone] since the point of this command to ask is to affirm to the idolaters of Quraysh that no messenger or scripture ever came from God with the command to worship [any] other than God.
Verse 46
And verily We sent Moses with Our signs to Pharaoh and his council, namely, the Egyptians (al-Qibt), and he said, ‘I am indeed the messenger of the Lord of the Worlds’.
Verse 47
But when he brought them Our signs, those proving his mission [from God], behold! they laughed at them.
Verse 48
And We never showed them a sign, from among the signs of chastisement, such as the flood, which was when the waters [of the Nile] penetrated their dwellings and for seven days rose as high as their throats as they sat, or [the chastisement of] the locusts, but it was greater than the one before it, the one immediately preceding it. And We seized them with chastisement, that perhaps they might recant, their disbelief.
Verse 49
And they said, to Moses, upon seeing the chastisement, ‘O sorcerer! — that is to say, ‘[O] knowledgeable, perfect one’, since for them sorcery was an awesome [form of] knowledge — supplicate your Lord for us by the covenant that He has made with you, [to the effect] that He would relieve us from chastisement if we believe. Assuredly we will be guided’, that is to say, [we will become] believers.
Verse 50
But as soon as We relieved them, by the supplication of Moses, from the chastisement, behold! they had broken their pledge, reneging on their covenant and persisting in their disbelief.
Verse 51
And Pharaoh proclaimed, boastfully, among his people, ‘O my people, does not the kingdom of Egypt belong to me, and these rivers, of the Nile, flowing beneath me?, that is to say, beneath my palaces. Do you not perceive?, my magnificence.
Verse 52
Or, do you perceive, in which case, am I not better than this one, namely, Moses, who is contemptible, feeble and lowly, and who can scarcely speak clearly?, [who can scarcely] articulate his speech, because of his lisp — which was the result of his [accidentally] placing a hot coal in his mouth when he was a child.
Verse 53
Why then, if he were being truthful, have bracelets of gold (asāwira, is the plural of aswira, which is the plural of siwār, similar [in pattern] to [ghurāb] aghriba) not been cast on him — as according to their custom with those whom they made their leaders, dressing them with gold bracelets and gold necklaces — or the angels not come with him one after the other?’, in succession, to testify to his truthfulness.
Verse 54
Thus did he, Pharaoh, persuade, incite, his people and they obeyed him, in his wish that Moses be denied. They were truly an immoral folk.
Verse 55
So when they had angered Us, We took vengeance on them and drowned them all.
Verse 56
And We made them a thing past (salaf, is the plural of sālif, similar [in pattern] to khādim, khadam) that is to say, a precedent, as a lesson, and an example for others, after them, that they [posterity] might take their predicament as a lesson and so not engage in actions similar to theirs.
Verse 57
And when the son of Mary is cited as an example — after God’s [following] words were revealed: ‘Truly you and what you worship besides God shall be fuel for Hell’ [Q. 21:98] and the idolaters said, ‘We are satisfied that our gods be together with Jesus [in Hell], for he too was worshipped besides God’ — behold! your people, that is, the idolaters, laugh at it, at this example — they clamour with joy at what they hear.
Verse 58
And they say, ‘Are our gods better or he?’, Jesus. We are satisfied that our gods be [in the same predicament] with him. They only cite this, that is, the example, to you for the sake of contention, [merely] arguing with falsehood, for they know that [the particle] mā [of wa-mā ta‘budūna, ‘and what you worship’] refers [only] to non-rational beings and cannot therefore include Jesus, peace be upon him. Nay, but they are a contentious lot, an extremely disputatious folk.
Verse 59
He, Jesus, is only a servant [of Ours] on whom We bestowed favour, through prophethood, and We made him, by his [coming into] being without a father, an exemplar for the Children of Israel, that is to say, like an example because of the wondrousness of his case, one from which one is able to infer God’s power, exalted be He, to do whatever He will.
Verse 60
And had We willed, We would have appointed among you, instead of you, angels to be [your] successors in the earth, by Our destroying you.
Verse 61
And indeed he, that is, Jesus, is a portent of the Hour — [the arrival of] it is known by the sending down of him — so do not doubt it (tamtarunna: the indicative nūn has been omitted for apocopation together with the wāw of the [third] person [plural] on account of two unvowelled consonants coming together) but, say to them: ‘Follow me, in the affirmation of [God’s] Oneness. This, to which I command you, is a straight path’.
Verse 62
And do not let Satan bar you, [do not let him] turn you away from God’s religion. Indeed he is a manifest enemy of yours, one whose enmity is manifest.
Verse 63
And when Jesus came with the clear signs, the miracles and the prescriptions [of the Law], he said, ‘Verily I have brought you wisdom, prophethood and the prescriptions of the Gospel, and [I have come] to make clear to you some of what you are at variance over, in the way of the rulings of the Torah for what concerns religion and otherwise — and he [indeed] made clear to them the matters of religion. So fear God and obey me.
Verse 64
Assuredly God is my Lord and your Lord; so worship Him — that is a straight path’.
Verse 65
But the factions differed among themselves, regarding [the status of] Jesus: was he God, or the son of God, or the third of Three [deities]? So woe (waylun is a term implying chastisement) to those who do wrong, [those] who blaspheme in what they say about Jesus, from the chastisement of a painful day.
Verse 66
Are they, that is, the Meccan disbelievers, awaiting anything, that is to say — they are [in fact] awaiting nothing — but that Hour should come upon them (an ta’tiyahum substitutes for al-sā‘ata, ‘the Hour’) suddenly, unexpectedly, while they are unaware?, of the time of its coming beforehand.
Verse 67
Friends, [who shared] in acts of disobedience in this world, will, on that day, the Day of Resurrection (yawma’idhin is semantically connected to His [following] words) be foes of one another, except for the God-fearing, those who have love for one another through their [commitment to] obedience of God — such will be friends [on that day] and it will be said to them:
Verse 68
‘O My servants, there is no fear for you this day, nor will you grieve,
Verse 69
those who believed (alladhīna āmanū adjectivally qualifies ‘ibādī, ‘My servants’) in Our signs — the Qur’ān — and had submitted themselves [to Me].
Verse 70
Enter Paradise, you (antum, the subject) and your spouses, your wives, to be made joyful, to be made happy and to be honoured (tuhbarūna, ‘to be made joyful’, is the predicate of the [above] subject).
Verse 71
They will be served from all around with [large] dishes of gold and goblets (akwāb is the plural of kūb, which is a [drinking] vessel without a handle so that the person can drink from whichever side he wants) and therein will be whatever souls desire, to relish, and eyes delight in, contemplating, and you will abide in it [forever].
Verse 72
And that is the Paradise which you have been given to inherit [as the reward] for what you used to do.
Verse 73
Therein are abundant fruits for you, from which, that is, parts of which, you will eat’, for whatever is eaten is [immediately] replaced [with more of the same].
Verse 74
Indeed the guilty will abide [forever] in the chastisement of Hell —
Verse 75
it will not be lightened for them and they will be [utterly] despondent in it, silent in despair.
Verse 76
And We never wronged them, but they themselves were the wrongdoers.
Verse 77
And they will call out, ‘O Mālik — the [name of the] Keeper of the Fire — let your Lord finish us off!’, let Him make us die. He will say, after [the passing of] a thousand years, ‘You will surely remain!’, you will remain in the chastisement forever.
Verse 78
God, exalted be He, says: ‘Verily We brought you, O people of Mecca, the truth, by the tongue of the Messenger, but most of you were averse to the truth’.
Verse 79
Or have they, that is, the disbelievers of Mecca, contrived, consolidated, some matter?, in plotting against the Prophet Muhammad (s). For We [too] are indeed contriving, [We too] are consolidating Our plan to destroy them.
Verse 80
Or do they reckon that We do not hear their secret thoughts and their conspiring?, that is to say, what they secretly communicate to others and what they openly conspire about among themselves. Yes indeed!, We hear [all of] that, and Our messengers, the guardians, are with them keeping a record, of that.
Verse 81
Say: ‘If the Compassionate One had a son, hypothetically [speaking], I would have been first among the worshippers, of that son; but it is established that He, exalted be He, does not have a child and thus there can be no worshipping of such [a child].
Verse 82
Glory be to the Lord of the heavens and the earth, the Lord of the Throne (the ‘arsh is the [same as the] kursī) above what they allege!’, [above] the lies which they speak in ascribing a child to Him.
Verse 83
So leave them to indulge, their falsehoods, and play, in this world of theirs, until they encounter that day of theirs which they are promised, chastisement in, and that is the Day of Resurrection.
Verse 84
And He it is Who in the heaven is God (fi’l-samā’i ilāhun: pronounce here both hamzas, or drop the first one or softening it into a yā’), in other words, [Who in the heaven] is the Worshipped One, and in the earth is God (both adverbials are semantically connected to what follows); and He is the Wise, in the management of His creatures, the Knower, of their welfare.
Verse 85
And Blessed, Magnificent, be He to Whom belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them; and with Him is the knowledge of the Hour, [of] when it shall come to pass, and to Him they will [all] be returned (yurja‘ūna, may also be read [second person plural] turja‘ūna, ‘you will be returned’).
Verse 86
And those whom they, the disbelievers, call on, [those whom] they worship, besides Him, that is, besides God, have no power of intercession, for anyone, except those who bear witness to the truth, that is, those who say ‘there is no god except God’, with [full] knowledge, in their hearts of what they have testified to with their tongues — such are Jesus, Ezra, and the angels, who will intercede for believers.
Verse 87
And if (wa-la-in: the lām is for oaths) you ask them who created them, they will surely say, ‘God’ (la-yaqūlunna: the indicative nūn and the [plural] person indicator wāw have been omitted). How can they then deviate?, [how] can they be turned away from worshipping God?
Verse 88
And [as] for his saying: that is, the saying of the Prophet Muhammad (s) (wa-qīlihi is [accusative] dependent because it is a verbal noun followed by an implicit verb, in other words wa-qāla [qīlihi], ‘and he said [his saying]’) ‘O my Lord! These are indeed a people who have no faith’.
Verse 89
God, exalted be He, says: Then disregard them, leave [them] be, and say, ‘Peace!’, [I will stay away] from you — this was [revealed] before he was commanded to fight them. For they will [soon] come to know (ya‘lamūna, may also be read as [second person plural] ta‘lamūna, ‘you will [come to] know’), [meant] to threaten them.
Verse 1
Hā mīm: God knows best what He means by these [letters].
Verse 2
By the Book, the Qur’ān, that clarifies, the one that distinguishes what is lawful from what is unlawful.
Verse 3
Indeed We revealed it on a blessed night, the Night of Ordainment (laylat al-qadr), or the eve of the middle of Sha‘bān, in which it was revealed from the Mother Book, from the seventh heaven to the heaven of this world. Indeed We have been warning, We have been causing [people] by it to have fear [of God].
Verse 4
In it, that is to say, on the Night of Ordainment, or on the eve of the middle of Sha‘bān, every definitive matter, that has been fixed, with regard to the provisions and the terms of life and other things [decreed by God] for the entire year until that same night again [the following year], is distinguished, is decided.
Verse 5
As an ordinance, a distinguishing, from Us. Indeed We have been sending from your Lord, messengers, [such as] Muhammad (s) and those before him,
Verse 6
as a mercy, out of compassion for those to whom these [messengers] have been sent. Surely He is the Hearer, of their sayings, the Knower, of their actions.
Verse 7
Lord of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them (read rabbu’l-samāwāti, in the nominative [to understand it] as a third predicate; or read rabbi’l-samāwāti as a substitution for rabbika, ‘your Lord’), if you should be certain, O people of Mecca, that God, exalted be He, is the Lord of the heavens and the earth, then also be certain that Muhammad (s) is His Messenger.
Verse 8
There is no god except Him. He gives life and brings death. Your Lord and the Lord of your forefathers.
Verse 9
Nay, but they linger in doubt, concerning the Resurrection, playing, in mockery of you, O Muhammad (s), and so he said, ‘My God, assist me against them with seven [years of drought] like the seven of Joseph’.
Verse 10
God, exalted be He, says: So watch out for the day when the heaven will produce a visible smoke. Thus the earth became barren and famine became so severe that they began to see what looked like smoke rising between the heaven and the earth,
Verse 11
that will envelop the people, and so they said: ‘This is a painful chastisement!
Verse 12
Our Lord, relieve us from the chastisement; indeed we have believed’, we have [now] affirmed the sincerity of Your Prophet.
Verse 13
God, exalted be He, says: How can there be a reminder for them, that is to say, faith will not benefit them once the chastisement has been sent down, when already there has come to them a manifest Messenger, whose Message is plain [to understand],
Verse 14
but they turned away from him and said, ‘He has been taught — that is, a human being is teaching him the Qur’ān — [he is] a madman!’
Verse 15
‘Indeed We will remove the chastisement, the famine from you [for], a little, time; and so it was removed from them. [But] you will indeed revert!’, to your disbelief — and they did.
Verse 16
Mention, the day when We shall assault with the most mighty assault — this was the day of [the battle of] Badr — [then] indeed We shall take vengeance, on them (al-batsh, means ‘to seize violently’).
Verse 17
And certainly We tried, We tested, before them the people of Pharaoh, together with him, when a messenger came to them, namely, Moses, peace be upon him, who was honoured, before God, exalted be He,
Verse 18
[saying], ‘Give over to me, what I summon you to in the way of faith, that is, manifest your faith to me, O, servants of God; indeed I am for you a messenger [who is] faithful’, in what he has been sent with,
Verse 19
and, ‘Do not rebel, [do not] try to act strong, against God, by neglecting obedience to Him. Lo! I bring you a clear warrant’, [clear] proof of [the sincerity of] my Mission — but they threatened to stone him to death.
Verse 20
So he said, ‘And truly I seek refuge in my Lord and your Lord, lest you should stone me, [to death] with rocks.
Verse 21
And if you do not believe me, then stay away from me’, [that is] then refrain from harming me — but they did not refrain from such [action].
Verse 22
So he called to his Lord, saying, ‘These are indeed a guilty, an idolatrous, lot!’
Verse 23
God, exalted be He, said: ‘Then set out (read fa-asri or fa’sri) with My servants, the Children of Israel, by night; for you will assuredly be pursued, [surely] Pharaoh and his people will pursue you.
Verse 24
And leave the sea behind, once you and your companions have crossed it, at rest, still and calm, until the Egyptians enter it: indeed they will be a drowned host’ — he [Moses] was reassured by this [statement] — and they were [indeed] drowned.
Verse 25
How many gardens, orchards, and, flowing, fountains did they leave behind,
Verse 26
as well as sown fields and many a glorious residence, [many] a splendid court,
Verse 27
and the bounty, the comforts, in which they rejoiced!, [in which] they lived luxuriously.
Verse 28
So [it was] (kadhālika is the predicate of a subject [that is missing], such as ‘the matter was [so]’) and We made these an inheritance, that is to say, their riches, for another people, namely, the Children of Israel.
Verse 29
So neither the heaven nor the earth wept for them — in contrast to the [case with] believers, at the point of whose death weep both their places of prayer on earth and the route by which their deeds ascend the heaven; nor were they reprieved, [nor] were they deferred [until they were able] to make repentance.
Verse 30
And verily We delivered the Children of Israel from the humiliating chastisement, of having their children slain and their womenfolk taken as servants,
Verse 31
from Pharaoh (min Fir‘awna, is said to be a substitution for al-‘adhābi, on the basis of an implied annexation, that is to say, [min] ‘adhābi [Fir‘awna]; or it is said to be a circumstantial qualifier referring to al-‘adhāb, ‘the chastisement’). Truly he was a tyrant of the wanton ones.
Verse 32
And verily We chose them, that is, the Children of Israel, with a knowledge, that We had of their state, over [all] the worlds, that is, the worlds of their time, [those of] the rational beings.
Verse 33
And We gave them signs in which there was a manifest trial, an obvious grace, such as the parting of the sea, [the sending down of] manna and quails and other such [signs].
Verse 34
Indeed these ones, that is, the Meccan disbelievers, say,
Verse 35
‘It, that death after which there is life, is nothing more than our first death, that is, when they were sperm-drops, and we shall not be resurrected, [we shall not be] raised alive after the second one.
Verse 36
Bring us then our fathers, alive, if you are being truthful’, about our being resurrected after we have died, that is to say, that we will be given life [again].
Verse 37
God, exalted be He, says: Are they better, or the people of Tubba‘ — [he was] a prophet or a righteous man — and those, communities, before them? We destroyed, because of their disbelief. In other words: they are not mightier than those, and yet they were destroyed; indeed they were criminals.
Verse 38
And We did not create the heavens and the earth and all that is between them, [intending] to play, by creating all that (lā‘ibīna, ‘to play’, is a circumstantial qualifier).
Verse 39
We did not create them, and all that is between them, except with the truth, that is to say, [We created them] rightfully so that one might infer thereby Our power and Our Oneness and other matters; but most of them, that is, the Meccan disbelievers, do not know.
Verse 40
Assuredly the Day of Decision, the Day of Resurrection, in which God will decide between servants, will be the tryst for all of them, for everlasting chastisement;
Verse 41
the day when a friend will not avail a friend, on account of kinship or friendship, that is to say, [the day when] he will not [be able to] ward off from the other, anything, of the chastisement, nor will they be helped — [nor will they] be protected from it (yawma, ‘the day’, is a substitution for yawma’l-fasl, ‘the Day of Decision’),
Verse 42
except for him on whom God has mercy — and these are the believers, for they will intercede for one another with God’s permission. He is indeed the Mighty, the Victor in His retribution of the disbelievers, the Merciful, to believers.
Verse 43
Lo! the tree of Zaqqūm, one of the vilest of the bitter trees of the Tihāma region: God, exalted be He, will make it grow forth in the Hell-fire,
Verse 44
will be the food of the sinful, Abū Jahl and his companions, the gravest of sinners.
Verse 45
Like molten copper, that is to say, like the dregs of black oil (ka’l-muhli, is the second predicate) it will boil inside the bellies ([if] read taghlī, then it is a third predicate; [if] yaghlī, then it is a circumstantial qualifier referring to al-muhl, ‘molten copper’),
Verse 46
as the boiling of boiling water, [hamīm means] water of the most extreme temperature.
Verse 47
‘Seize him, it will be said to the Zabāniya [the Guards of Hell], ‘seize the sinner’, and drag him (read fa‘tilūhu or fa‘tulūhu), haul him away violently and brutally, to the midst of Hell-fire, [al-jahīm means] the centre of the Fire.
Verse 48
Then pour over his head the torture of boiling water!’, that is to say, the boiling water which is ever-torturous (this [use of ‘the torture of boiling water’] is rhetorically more intense than what is stated by the verse: boiling water will be poured over their heads [Q. 22:19]).
Verse 49
And it will be said to him: ‘Taste!, that is, [taste] the chastisement. Indeed you are the mighty, the noble one!, as you claimed when you used to say, ‘There is nothing between its two mountains [sc. Mecca] that is mightier or nobler than me!’
Verse 50
And it will be said to them: This, that you see of the chastisement, is indeed that which you used to doubt’, about which you used to be uncertain.
Verse 51
Assuredly the God-fearing will be in a secure place, a seat in which there will be security from [all] fear,
Verse 52
amid gardens, orchards, and springs,
Verse 53
dressed in fine silk and [heavy] silk brocade, that is to say, in fine and thick silks (sundusin wa’stabraqin, respectively), sitting face to face (mutaqābilīna is a circumstantial qualifier), that is to say, they do not look upon each other backs, since the couches revolve with them in them.
Verse 54
So [shall it be] (an implied al-amru, ‘the matter’, should be read as preceding this); and We shall pair them, either in conjugality or [meaning] We shall join them, with houris of beautiful eyes, women of the fairest complexion with wide and beautiful eyes.
Verse 55
They will call, they will request from servants, therein, that is, in Paradise, to bring, every fruit, thereof, [remaining] secure, [in their knowledge] that it will not come to an end or cause harm and [secure] from all danger (āminīna, ‘secure’, is a circumstantial qualifier’).
Verse 56
They will not taste death therein, other than the first death, namely, the one [that came] in this world after they had lived in it (some [scholars] think that illā, ‘other than’, here means ba‘da, ‘after’). And He will shield them from the chastisement of Hell-fire —
Verse 57
a bounty from your Lord (fadlan is a verbal noun, with the sense of tafaddulan, and is in the accusative [dependent status] because of an implied [preceding] tafaddala). That is the supreme triumph.
Verse 58
For We have made it easy, We have facilitated the Qur’ān, in your tongue, in your language, so that the Arabs may understand it from you, that perhaps they may remember, [that perhaps] they may be admonished and become believers — but they do not believe.
Verse 59
So be on the look out, await their destruction. Indeed they [too] are on the look out, for your death — this was before the revelation of the command to struggle against them.
Verse 1
Hā mīm: God knows best what He means by these [letters].
Verse 2
The revelation of the Book, the Qur’ān (tanzīlu’l-kitābi, the subject) is from God (mina’Llāhi, the predicate thereof) the Mighty, in His kingdom, the Wise, in His actions.
Verse 3
Truly in the heavens and the earth, that is to say, in their creation, there are signs, indicating the power of God and His Oneness, exalted be He, for believers.
Verse 4
And in your creation, that is to say, and in the creation of every one of you from a sperm-drop, then a blood clot, then an embryo until it becomes a human being; and, [in] the creation of, what He has scattered, [what] He has dispersed throughout the earth, of animals — [dābba denotes] whatever treads on (yadubbu) the earth of [both] human beings and other [animals] — there are signs for a people who are certain, of the Resurrection;
Verse 5
and, in, the alternation of night and day, their passing and their arrival, and what God sends down from the heaven [in the way] of provision, rain, for it constitutes a means of provision, with which He revives the earth after it is dead, and the circulation of the winds, its alternation between southerly and northerly, hot and cold, there are signs for a people who understand, proofs and therefore have faith.
Verse 6
These, mentioned signs, are the signs of God, the proofs of His that indicate His Oneness, which We recite, relate, to you with truth (bi’l-haqqi is semantically connected to natlū, ‘We recite’). So in what [kind of] discourse then, after God, that is to say, [after] His discourse, namely, the Qur’ān, and His signs, His definitive arguments, will they, that is, the disbelievers of Mecca, believe? In other words: they will not believe [in anything] (a variant reading [for yu’minūna, ‘they believe’] has tu’minūna, ‘you believe’).
Verse 7
Woe (waylun is an expression implying chastisement) to every sinful liar,
Verse 8
who hears the signs of God, the Qur’ān, being recited to him, then persists, in his disbelief, arrogantly, disdainful of faith, as if he had not heard them. So give him tidings of a painful chastisement.
Verse 9
And should he come to know anything of Our signs, namely, the Qur’ān, he takes them in mockery. For such, liars — there is a degrading chastisement.
Verse 10
Beyond them, that is to say, ahead of them — because they are [still] in this world — is Hell, and that which they have earned, of wealth and deeds, will not avail them in any way, nor those whom they took besides God, that is, idols, as patrons. And for them there will be a great chastisement.
Verse 11
This, that is, the Qur’ān, is a guidance, from error; and those who disbelieve in the signs of their Lord, for them there will be a torture, a lot, of a painful, an excruciating, chastisement.
Verse 12
God it is Who disposed for you the sea so that the ships may sail upon it by His command, by His permission, and that you may seek, that you may request, by way of trade, of His bounty, and that perhaps you may give thanks.
Verse 13
And He has disposed for you whatever is in the heavens, of sun, moon, stars, water and otherwise, and whatever is in the earth, of animals, trees, vegetation, rivers and otherwise, that is to say, He created [all] that for your benefit, all (jamī‘an is for emphasis) being from Him (minhu is a circumstantial qualifier, that is to say, He has disposed them as something from Him, exalted be He). Surely in that there are signs for a people who reflect, on them and therefore believe.
Verse 14
Tell those who believe to forgive those who do not anticipate, [those who do not] fear, the days of God, the events which He precipitates, that is to say, forgive the disbelievers the harm which they have caused you — this was before the command to struggle against them [had been revealed] — that He, God, may requite (a variant reading [for li-yajziya] has li-najziya, ‘that We may requite’) a people for what they used to earn, when they used to forgive disbelievers the harm which they did.
Verse 15
Whoever acts righteously, it is for [the benefit of] his own soul, that he acts [so], and whoever does evil, it is to the detriment thereof, that he has done evil; then to your Lord you will be returned, [with your Lord] you shall end up, whereupon He will requite the one of righteous deeds and the evildoer.
Verse 16
And verily We gave the Children of Israel the Scripture, the Torah, and [the means of] judgement, therewith between people, and prophethood, for Moses and Aaron among them, and We provided them with the good things, the lawful things, such as manna and quails, and We favoured them above [all] worlds, the worlds of their time, [that is, above all other] rational beings.
Verse 17
And We gave them clear illustrations of the commandment, the commandment of religion, in the way of what is lawful or unlawful, and the Mission of Muhammad (s), upon whom be the most excellent blessings and peace. And they did not differ, regarding his Mission, except after the knowledge had come to them, out of rivalry among themselves, that is to say, because of some rivalry that came about among them, out of envy of him. Surely your Lord will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection concerning that in which they used to differ.
Verse 18
Then We set you, O Muhammad (s), upon a [clear] course, [a clear] way, of the commandment, the commandment of religion; so follow it, and do not follow the desires of those who do not know, in worshipping other than God.
Verse 19
Assuredly they will not avail, they [will not] protect, you in any way against God, against His chastisement. And assuredly the wrongdoers, the disbelievers, are allies of one another; but God is the ally [only] of the God-fearing.
Verse 20
This, Qur’ān, is [a set of] insights for mankind, guideposts with which they can discern [God’s] rulings and legal proscriptions, and guidance and mercy for a people who have certainty, with regard to the [truth of the] Resurrection.
Verse 21
Or (am has the significance of the [rhetorical] hamza of denial) do those who have perpetrated evil acts, [such as] disbelief and disobedience, suppose that We shall treat them as those who believe and perform righteous deeds, equally (sawā’an is the predicate) in their life and in their death? (mahyāhum wa-mamātuhum, [this clause] constitutes the subject and a supplement; the sentence [itself] is a substitution for the kāf [of ka’lladhīna, ‘as those’], and both [suffixed] pronouns [-hum] refer to the disbelievers). The meaning is: do they suppose that in the Hereafter We will assign them [a] good [fate] like believers, [that they will enjoy] a life of plenty, one equal to their life in this world, as when they said to the believers: ‘Surely if we were to be resurrected, we will be given the same good things that you will be given!’ God, exalted be He, says, in accordance with His denial [implicit] in the [rhetorical interrogative] hamza: How evil is that judgement which they make! In other words, it will not be so, for in the Hereafter they will be [suffering] in the chastisement, in contrast to their lives in this world; the believers, on the other hand, will be [delighting] in the Reward in the Hereafter because of their righteous deeds in this world, such as [their observance of] prayers, [their] alms-giving, fasting and otherwise (the mā, ‘that … which’, relates to the verbal action, that is to say, ba’isa hukman hukmuhum hādhā, ‘awful as a judgement is this judgement of theirs’).
Verse 22
And God created the heavens and, He created, the earth with the truth (bi’l-haqqi is semantically connected to khalaqa, ‘He created’), so that He may indicate His power and His Oneness, and so that every soul may be requited for what it has earned, in the way of acts of disobedience or obedience, and therefore the disbeliever cannot be equal to the believer, and they will not be wronged.
Verse 23
Have you then seen, inform Me [about], him who has taken as his god his [own] desire, [that is] whatever [new] stone he may desire after [having desired] some other stone, considering this [new one] to be better, and whom God has led astray knowingly, on His part, exalted be He, that is to say, knowing him to be of those who follow misguidance before he was created, and set a seal upon his hearing and his heart, so that he cannot hear guidance or understand it, and laid a covering, a darkness, over his sight?, so that he cannot perceive guidance (here one should understand as implied the second direct object of [the verb] a-ra’ayta, ‘have you seen’, namely: a-yahtadī, ‘can he find guidance?). So who will guide him after God?, that is to say, after His leading him astray? In other words, he will not find guidance. Will you not then remember?, [will you not then] be admonished? (tadhakkarūna: one of the two tā’ letters [of the original form tatadhakkarūna] has been assimilated with the dhāl).
Verse 24
And they, those who deny the Resurrection, say, ‘There is only, that is to say, [the only] life [is], our life, the one that is, in this world. We die and we live, that is to say, some die, while others are given life by [virtue of] being born, and nothing but time, that is, [nothing but] the passage of time, destroys us’. God, exalted be He, says: Of that, saying, they have no knowledge; they are only making conjectures.
Verse 25
And when Our signs, of the Qur’ān, indicating Our power to resurrect, are recited to them, being clear signs, evident [signs] (bayyinātin, ‘clear signs’, is a circumstantial qualifier), their only argument is to say, ‘Bring us our fathers, alive, if you are being truthful’, [when you say] that we will be resurrected.
Verse 26
Say: ‘God [is the One Who] gives you life, when you are sperm-drops, then makes you die, then gathers you, alive, to the Day of Resurrection, in which there is no doubt; but most people, and these are the one who say the above-mentioned, do not know’.
Verse 27
And to God belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth. And on the day when the Hour sets in (yawma taqūmu’l-sā‘atu is substituted by [the following, yawma’idhin]) on that day the followers of falsehood, the disbelievers, will be losers, that is to say, their loss will become manifest by their ending up in the Fire.
Verse 28
And you will see every community, that is, [all] members of a religion, crouching, on their knees — or [jāthiya means] ‘gathered together’. Every community will be summoned to its record, the record of its deeds and it will be said to them: ‘Today you will be requited for what you used to do, that is, [you will be given] the desert thereof.
Verse 29
This is Our book, the register of [deeds recorded by] the guardian angels, which pronounces against you with truth. Indeed We used to write down, record and preserve, what you used to do’.
Verse 30
So as for those who believed and performed righteous deeds, their Lord will admit them into His mercy, His Paradise. That is the manifest triumph, the clear and evident [triumph].
Verse 31
But as for those who disbelieved, it will be said to them: ‘Were not My signs, [was not] the Qur’ān, recited to you, but you were disdainful, you were arrogant, and were a guilty, a disbelieving, lot?
Verse 32
And when it was said, to you, O disbelievers: “God’s promise, of resurrection, is indeed true, and there is no doubt about the Hour”, (read al-sā‘atu or al-sā‘ata) you said, “We do not know what the Hour is. We only make conjectures (al-Mubarrad said that this actually [means] in nahnu illā nazunnu zannan) and we are by no means certain” ’, that it will come to pass.
Verse 33
And there will appear before them, in the Hereafter, the evils of what they did, in this world, that is to say, the requital thereof, and they will be besieged by, there shall befall [them], what they used to deride, namely, the chastisement [of the Hereafter].
Verse 34
And it will be said: ‘Today We will forget you, We will abandon you in the Fire, just as you forgot the encounter of this day of yours, that is to say, [just as] you neglected to perform [those good] deeds [in preparation] for the encounter with it, and your abode will be the Fire, and you will not have any helpers, [any] protectors therefrom.
Verse 35
That is because you took God’s signs, the Qur’ān, in mockery, and the life of this world deceived you’, to the extent that you said, ‘There is neither Resurrection nor Reckoning’. So today they will not be brought out (read either active yakhrujūna, ‘they will [not] come out’, or passive yukhrajūna, ‘they will [not] be brought out’) of it, of the Fire, nor will they asked to make amends: they will not be asked to [try to] attain the pleasure of their Lord by repenting or being obedient, for such [action] will be of no use then.
Verse 36
So to God belongs [all] praise, the attribution to Him of what is beautiful [in words] for fulfilling His promise regarding the deniers; Lord of the heavens and Lord of the earth, the Lord of the Worlds, the Creator of all that has been mentioned (‘ālam, ‘world’, denotes everything other than God; it is in the plural [‘ālamīn] because of the different types [of beings] in them; rabbi, ‘Lord’, [in the last clause] is a substitution [for the previous ones]).
Verse 37
And to Him belongs [all] grandeur, [all] majesty, in the heavens and the earth (fī’l-samāwāti wa’l-ardi is a circumstantial qualifier), and He is the Mighty, the Wise — as [explained in a similar statement] above.