Verse 28
And We did not send (mā here is for negation) down on his people, namely, Habīb’s, after him, after his death, any host from the heaven, that is, any angels to destroy them, nor do We [ever] send down, any angels to destroy anyone.
Verse 29
It, their punishment, was but one Cry — Gabriel gave a cry to them — and lo! they were extinguished, silent, dead.
Verse 30
Ah, the anguish for servants, [such as] these and their like from among those who denied the messengers and were destroyed (this [word, hasra] denotes ‘extreme agony’; the vocative here is being used metaphorically, in other words, ‘It is time for you [O anguish], so come now!’). Never did a messenger come to them but that they mocked him (this [statement] is given as an explanation of the cause thereof [of the ‘agony’] since it [the statement] entails their mockery which itself results in their being destroyed and which in turn is the cause of the ‘anguish’).
Verse 31
Have they — that is, those inhabitants of Mecca who said to the Prophet, ‘You have not been sent [by God]!’ [Q. 13:43] — not seen, [not] come to know (the interrogative is meant [rhetorically] as an affirmative) how many (kam here is predicative [as opposed to interrogative], in other words [it is to be understood as] kathīran, ‘many’; it is operated by the statement that comes next [below] and it comments on the operative clause for the statement that preceded it); the meaning then is as follows: indeed, many, generations, communities, We have destroyed before them, [how] that they, the ones destroyed, never return?, to those deniers [who are now alive]? So will they not learn from their example? (from annahum, ‘[how] that they’, to the end [of the verse] is a substitution for the preceding clause [kam ahlaknā qablahum mina’l-qurūni], bearing in mind the aforementioned general meaning).
Verse 32
And indeed (in, is either for negation or is in its softened form) every one of them, that is, every single creature (kullun is the subject) will be gathered (jamī‘un is the predicate of the subject) before Us, at the Scene, following their resurrection, arraigned (muhdarūna is a second predicate) for the Reckoning (read lammā with the sense of illā, or lamā with the lām functioning as a separator and the mā being extra).
Verse 33
And a sign for them, of the [truth of] resurrection (wa-āyatun lahum is a preceding predicate) is the dead earth (read maytatu or mayyitatu) which We revive, with water (ahyaynāhā is the subject) and out of which We bring forth grain, such as wheat, so that they eat thereof;
Verse 34
and We have placed therein gardens, orchards, of date-palms and vines, and We have caused, a number of, springs to gush forth therein,
Verse 35
that they might eat of its fruits (read thamarihi or thumurihi) in other words, [of] the fruits of the mentioned date-palms and otherwise; but it was not their hands that made it, namely, they did not cultivate the fruits. Will they not then give thanks?, for His favours to them, exalted be He?
Verse 36
Glory be to Him Who created all the pairs, the specimens, of what the earth produces, of seeds and other things, and of themselves, of males and females, and of what they do not know, of marvellous and strange creatures.
Verse 37
And a sign for them, of the tremendous power [of God], is the night, from which We strip, We separate, the day and, behold, they find themselves in darkness, passing into the darkness [of the night].
Verse 38
And the sun [which] runs (from wa’l-shamsu tajrī to the end [of the statement] is subsumed by [the introductory] wa-āyatun lahum, ‘and a sign for them’; alternatively, it constitutes another sign [for them]; similar is the case with wa’l-qamara, ‘and the moon’ [further below]) to its resting-place, in other words, it does not overstep it. That, namely, its running, is the ordaining of the Mighty, in His kingdom, the Knower, of His creation.
Verse 39
And the moon — (read wa’l-qamaru, in the nominative, or wa’l-qamara, in the accusative; and it may be in the accusative because of a following verb that governs it) We have determined it, with respect to its course, [to run] in phases — twenty eight phases in twenty eight nights of every month; it becomes concealed for two nights when the month has thirty days, and for one night when it has twenty nine days — until it returns, during its final phase seeming to the [human] eye, like an aged palm-bough, in other words, like the stalk with a date cluster when it ages, becoming delicate, arched and yellowish.
Verse 40
It does not behove — it is [neither] facilitated nor is it right for — the sun to catch up with the moon, and so appear together with it at night, nor may the night outrun the day, and thus it [the night] never arrives before the latter ends and each (kullun: the nunation compensates for the [missing] genitive annexation [that would have been constructed] with al-shams, ‘the sun’, al-qamar, ‘the moon’, and al-nujūm, ‘the stars’) [of these] is in an orbit, swimming, moving — these [celestial bodies] are being treated as [though they were] rational beings.
Verse 41
And a sign for them, of Our power, is that We carried their seed (dhurriyatahum: a variant reading has dhurriyyātihim), that is to say, their original ancestors, in the laden Ark, that is, Noah’s fully-loaded ship,
Verse 42
and We have created for them the like of it, that is, the like of Noah’s Ark, namely, the small and large ships resembling it which they have made, by the instruction of God, exalted be He, in which they ride.
Verse 43
And if We will, We drown them, despite the existence of ships [for them to ride safely in], whereat they have no one to call to, [none] to succour [them], nor are they rescued, delivered —
Verse 44
except by a mercy from Us and for an enjoyment until some time, in other words, they can only be saved by Our showing them mercy and Our permitting them to enjoy those pleasures of theirs until their terms [of life] are concluded.
Verse 45
And when it is said to them, ‘Beware of that which is before you, of the chastisement of this world, as [it is said] to others, and that which is behind you, of the chastisement of the Hereafter, that perhaps you might find mercy’, they turn away [in aversion].
Verse 46
And never did a sign of the signs of their Lord come to them, but that they turned away from it.
Verse 47
And when it is said, that is, [when] the poor ones from among the Companions [of the Prophet] say, to them: ‘Expend, on us, of what God has provided you’, of wealth, those who disbelieve say to those who believe, in mockery of them: ‘Are we to feed those whom, if God willed, He would feed?, as you are wont to believe? You, in saying this to us, together with this believe of yours, are only in manifest error!’ — as an explicit declaration of their disbelief this [statement] is very effective [in the way that it has been expressed].
Verse 48
And they say, ‘When will this promise, of resurrection, be [fulfilled], if you are being truthful?’, therein.
Verse 49
God, exalted be He, says: They await but a single Cry, namely [the cry of] Isrāfīl’s First Blast, that will seize them while they are disputing (read yakhassimūna, which is actually yakhtasimūna, where the vowel of the tā’ has been moved to the khā’ and it [the tā’] has been assimilated with the sād, in other words: while they are oblivious to it, busily engaged in disputes, concluding bargains, eating and drinking and so on; a variant reading has yakhsimūna similar [in pattern] to yadribūna, in which case the meaning is: while they dispute with one another).
Verse 50
Then they will not be able to make any testament, that is, to make a bequest, nor will they return to their folk, from their markets and their businesses, rather they will die then and there.
Verse 51
And the Trumpet is blown — this is the Horn — at the second Blast for the Resurrection [to take place]; between the two Blasts is an interval of forty years; and lo! they, those interred, will be scrambling out of their graves towards their Lord, emerging therefrom hurriedly.
Verse 52
They, the disbelievers among them, will say, ‘O (yā is for calling attention [to something]) woe to us! (waylanā means halākanā, ‘[O] our destruction!’, and it is a verbal noun which has no [regular] verbal conjugation) Who has raised us from our place of sleep?, [they say this] because they will have been asleep in the interval between the two blasts and will not have been punished [yet]. This, that is, [this] raising, is that which the Compassionate One had promised and, regarding which, the messengers had spoken the truth’: they affirm [this truth] when such affirmation is no longer of any benefit to them — but it is also said that this is said to them.
Verse 53
It is but a single Cry, and, behold, they will all be arraigned before Us!
Verse 54
So today no soul shall be wronged in any way, and you shall not be requited, except, the requital of, what you used to do.
Verse 55
Indeed today the inhabitants of Paradise are busy (read fī shughlin or fī shughulin), [oblivious] to what the inhabitants of the Fire are suffering, [busy] delighting in pleasures such as deflowering virgins — not busy with anything wearisome, as there is no toil in Paradise — rejoicing, blissful (fākihūna is a second predicate of inna, the first being fī shugulin, ‘busy’);
Verse 56
they (hum, the subject) and their spouses, beneath the shade (zilāl is the plural of zulla or zill, and is the predicate) in other words, no [blinding] sunlight affects them, reclining upon (muttaki’ūna is a second predicate, connected to ‘alā, ‘upon’) couches (arā’ik is the plural of arīka, which is a bed inside a curtained canopy, or the bedding therein).
Verse 57
They have fruits therein and, therein, they have whatever they call for, [whatever] they wish for.
Verse 58
“Peace!” (salāmun is a subject) — the word (qawlan is its predicate), that is, [peace] by way of a word, from a Lord [Who is] Merciful, to them, in other words, He says to them, ‘Peace be on you!’
Verse 59
And, He says: ‘Stand apart, O you sinners, on this day!, in other words, separate yourselves from the believers — [said to them] upon their mingling with the latter.
Verse 60
Did I not charge you, command you, O children of Adam, by the tongues of My messengers, that you should not worship Satan, [that you should] not obey him; truly he is a manifest enemy to you, one whose enmity is evident,
Verse 61
and that [you should] worship Me, [and that you should] affirm My Oneness and obey Me — that is the straight path?
Verse 62
For verily he has led astray from among you many a creature (jibillan is the plural of jabīl, similar [in pattern] to qadīm, ‘old’; a variant reading has jubulan). Did you not use to comprehend?, his enmity and his misguidance, or the chastisements that befell them and so believe? And it will be said to them in the Hereafter:
Verse 63
This is Hell, which you were promised!
Verse 64
Burn therein today [as chastisement] for that which you used to reject!’
Verse 65
Today We shall seal up their mouths, namely, [the mouths of] the disbelievers for their saying: By God, our Lord, we were never idolaters!’ [Q. 6:23]; and their hands shall speak to Us, and their feet shall bear witness, as will other [parts of their bodies] concerning what they used to earn, and so each limb will speak of that [sinful action] which issued from it.
Verse 66
And had We willed We would have obliterated their eyesight, We would have rendered them blind by obliterating them, then, they [would have tried to] advance towards the path, to be on their way as usual, but how would they have seen?, then. In other words, they would not have been to see.
Verse 67
And had We willed We would have transformed them, [into] apes or swine or stones, in their place (makānatihim, variant reading has makānātihim, the plural of makāna, meaning makān, in other words ‘in their dwellings’); then they would have neither been able to go ahead nor to return, in other words, they would not then be able to come and go.
Verse 68
And whomever We give long life, by prolonging his term [of life], We cause him to regress (nankushu; a variant reading has [2nd verbal form] nunakkishu, derived from al-tankīs) in creation, that is, in terms of his physical form, so that after having enjoyed strength and youth, he becomes feeble and decrepit. Will they then not understand?, that One Who is able to effect such [a state] — with which they are familiar — is also able to resurrect, that they might then become believers? (a variant reading [for ya‘qilūna, ‘they understand’] has [the second person plural] ta‘qilūna, ‘you understand’).
Verse 69
And We did not teach him, that is, the Prophet, poetry — this was [revealed] to refute their saying, ‘This Qur’ān that he has brought is but poetry!’ — nor is it, poetry, seemly, [nor is it] facilitated, for him. It — that which he has brought — is just Remembrance, an admonition, and a Qur’ān that clarifies, that manifests [God’s] rulings and other matters;
Verse 70
that he may warn (li-yundhira; or read li-tundhira, ‘that you may warn’), therewith, whoever is alive, able to comprehend what is being said to him — and such are the believers — and that the Word, of chastisement [from God], may be fulfilled against the disbelievers, who are like the dead, unable to comprehend what is said to them.
Verse 71
Or, have they not seen, have they [not] realised (the interrogative is meant as an affirmative, and the wāw inserted therein [in a-wa-lam] is for supplementation) that We have created for them, and for all human beings, of what Our hands worked, [of] what We have made without any partner or helper, cattle, namely, camels, cows and sheep, so that they are their owners?, masters [controlling them].
Verse 72
And We have subdued, We have disposed, these [cattle] for them, so that some of them provide rides for them and some of them they eat.
Verse 73
And there are other benefits for them therein, such as their wool, fur and hairs, and drinks, [made] from their milk (mashārib is the plural of mashrab meaning shurb, ‘a drink’; or [what is meant is] the place [from which the drink issues]). Will they not then give thanks?, to the One Who has bestowed these graces upon them and so become believers? In other words, they do not do [any of] this.
Verse 74
And they have taken besides God, in other words, other than Him, [other] gods, idols, which they worship, that perhaps they might be helped, protected against God’s chastisement by their gods’ interceding for them, as they are wont to claim.
Verse 75
They, their gods, cannot help them — they are being treated as [though they were] rational beings — and they, their idol gods, are their host, as they claim, their supporters, ever-present, [but] in the Fire, together with them.
Verse 76
So do not be grieved by their remarks, to you, that you have not been sent [by God] and otherwise. Assuredly We know what they conceal and what they proclaim, in this respect and otherwise, and We will requite them accordingly.
Verse 77
Or has man — namely, [the like of] al-‘Āsī b. Wā’il — not seen, [has he not] realised, that We created him from a drop, of sperm [and so on in stages] until We made him powerful and strong. Then lo! he is an open adversary, severely antagonistic towards Us, [openly] making this manifest by his denial of resurrection.
Verse 78
And he strikes for Us a similitude, in this respect, and forgets [the manner of] his creation, from a sperm-drop, a thing more curious than his similitude; he says, ‘Who will revive the bones when they are rot?’, in other words, [when they have become] withered (He does not say ramīmatun, ‘decayed’, because it [ramīmun, ‘rot’] is a noun and not an adjective). It is reported that he [al-‘Āsī] took some withered bones and crushed them into pieces and said to the Prophet (s), ‘Do you think that God can revive these [bones] after they have decayed and become rot?’ And so the Prophet (s) said, ‘Yes indeed! And He will also throw you into the Fire’.
Verse 79
Say: ‘He will revive them Who originated them the first time, and He is Knower of all creation, [of every single] creature, generally and in detail, before and after it has been created —
Verse 80
He Who has made for you, and for all human beings, fire from the green tree, namely, [from] the markh and ‘afār [variety], or [from] all trees, except for the jujube (‘unnāb), and, behold, from it you kindle’, [from it] you strike fire: this is proof of the power [of God] to resurrect, for in this [example of the green tree] He has combined [the elements of] water, fire and wood; but neither the water extinguishes the fire, nor does the fire ignite the wood.
Verse 81
Is not He Who created the heavens and the earth, in all their immensity, able to create the like of them?, namely, human beings, in all their minuteness? Yes indeed, He is able to do this — God Himself replies here. And He is the Creator (khallāq means Creator of many things), the Knower, of all things.
Verse 82
His command, His affair, when He wills a thing, that is, [when He will] to create something, is just to say to it ‘Be’, and it is (a variant reading [for fa-yakūnu] has fa-yakūna, as a supplement to yaqūla, ‘to say’).
Verse 83
So glory be to Him in Whose hand is the dominion of all things (malakūt means mulk: the wāw and tā’ have been added for hyperbole) and to Whom you will be returned, restored, in the Hereafter.
Verse 1
By those who are ranged in ranks — [by] the angels who range their souls in worship or their wings in the air awaiting their orders;
Verse 2
and the drivers who drive [away], the angels who drive the clouds;
Verse 3
and those who recite, that is to say, the readers of the Qur’ān, they recite it, by way remembrance (dhikran is a verbal noun referring to [the action of] al-tāliyāt, ‘those who recite’).
Verse 4
Indeed your God, O people of Mecca, is certainly One,
Verse 5
Lord of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them, and Lord of the sun’s risings, that is, as well as the sun’s settings — each day it [the sun] has a rising and a setting.
Verse 6
We have indeed adorned the lowest heaven with an adornment, the stars, that is to say, [adorned] with their light or with them [the stars] (the genitive annexation [bi-zīnati’l-kawākib] is for explication; similarly [explicative] is the reading of bi-zīnatin, ‘with an adornment’, with nunation, [the adornment] explained as being ‘the stars’);
Verse 7
and to guard (wa-hifzan is in the accusative because of an implied verb) that is to say, ‘We have guarded it with meteors’, from every (min kulli is semantically connected to the implied verb) any rebellious devil, who is a transgressor, in rebellion against obedience.
Verse 8
They, namely, the devils (lā yasma‘ūna, this is [the beginning of] a new sentence) cannot listen in — this ‘listening’ of theirs represents that faculty with which they memorise [what they hear] — on the High Council, the angels in the heavens (the [normally transitive verb] al-samā‘ is complemented with the preposition ilā, ‘to’ [here ‘in on’] because it includes the additional sense of ‘paying attention’ [while listening]; a variant reading has yassamma‘una, which is actually yatasamma‘ūna, the tā’ have been assimilated with the sīn), for they, the devils, are pelted, with flames, from every side, from the remotest regions of the heavens,
Verse 9
to repel [them] (duhūran is a verbal noun from daharahu, meaning, ‘he repelled him, driving him away’; it is an object denoting reason) and theirs, in the Hereafter, is an everlasting chastisement;
Verse 10
except him who snatches a fragment (al-khatfa is the verbal noun, that is to say, ‘[that] one time’; the exceptive clause refers to the subject [of the verb] yasma‘ūna, in other words, ‘the only devil that is able to listen is the one that hears a word from the angels and snatches it away quickly’) and who is then pursued by a piercing flame (shihāb is a meteor) that pierces him, or burns him or robs him of his senses.
Verse 11
So ask them, in other words, inquire of the people of Mecca for affirmation or by way of rebuke: Are they stronger as a creation, or those [others] whom We created?, of angels, heavens, the two earths and all that is in them (the use of man, ‘those whom’ [in man khalaqnā] indicates that the reference is predominantly to [other] rational creatures). Indeed We created them, that is, their origin, Adam, from a viscous clay, that sticks to the hand. The [intended] meaning is that their physical make-up is fragile so let them not behave arrogantly by rejecting the Prophet and the Qur’ān, a fact which will result in their — easily accomplished — destruction.
Verse 12
Nay, but (bal is for effecting a transition from one object to another, which in this case is to inform of his state and theirs) you marvel, (‘ajibta) addressing the Prophet (s), that is, [you marvel] that they deny you, while they engage in ridicule, at your marvelling,
Verse 13
and [even] when they are reminded, [when] they are admonished with the Qur’ān, they are not mindful, they do not heed the admonition,
Verse 14
and when they see a sign, such as the splitting of the moon [cf. Q. 54:1], they make it an object of ridicule, they deride it.
Verse 15
And they say, regarding it: ‘This is nothing but manifest sorcery — and they say in denial of the Resurrection —
Verse 16
When we are dead and have become dust and bones, shall we indeed be resurrected? (In both places [sc. a-idhā and a-innā] either pronounce both hamzas, or read without pronouncing the second one and inserting an alif between them, in both cases).
Verse 17
And our forefathers too?’ (read aw ābā’unā indicating a supplement; or read a-wa-ābā’unā as an interrogative, effecting the supplement with the wāw; so that what is being supplemented is either the inna together with its subject [sc. a-inna la-mab‘ūthūna], or the subject [of the verb] la-mab‘ūthūna, in which case the interrogative hamza is a separator).
Verse 18
Say: ‘Yes, you will be resurrected, and you will be utterly humiliated!’
Verse 19
For it will be only (innamā hiya, this [hiya] is a demonstrative pronoun explained by [the following, zajratun) a single cry and, lo! they, all creatures, will be, alive, watching, [to see] what will be done with them.
Verse 20
And they, the disbelievers, will say, ‘O (yā is for calling attention) woe to us!’, [O] our destruction [is here] (waylanā is a verbal noun without any [regular] verbal conjugation). And the angels will say to them: ‘This is the Day of Retribution’, the Day of Reckoning and Requital.
Verse 21
‘This is the Day of Judgement, between [all] creatures, that you used to deny!’
Verse 22
It is then said to the angels: ‘Gather those who did wrong, to their own souls through idolatry, together with their mates, their associates from among the devils, and what they used to worship,
Verse 23
besides God, in other words, other than Him, in the way of graven images, and lead them, direct them and drive them, to the path of Hell, the way to the Fire.
Verse 24
But [first] stop them, detain them on the path, for they must be questioned, about all their sayings and deeds, and it will be said to them in rebuke:
Verse 25
“What is wrong with you that you do not help one another?”, as was the case with you in this world. And it will be said to them:
Verse 26
Nay, but today they offer complete submission, [they are] compliant, abased.
Verse 27
And some of them will turn to others, questioning each other, blaming one another and disputing.
Verse 28
They, that is, the followers among them, will say, to those whom they followed: ‘Indeed you used to approach us from the right’, in other words, from that aspect in which we used to trust you, for you used to swear that you followed the truth, and so we believed you and we followed you — in other words, ‘Indeed, you have led us astray!’
Verse 29
They, the ones who were followed, say, to them [the followers]: ‘On the contrary! You were [simply] not believers, for it would only be true that we led you astray if you had actually been believers [in the first place] and then rejected faith and followed us.
Verse 30
And we did not have any warrant, any sway or power, over you, to compel you to follow us. Nay, but you [yourselves] were a rebellious folk, astray, like us.
Verse 31
So our Lord’s Words, of chastisement — namely, His Words: ‘Verily I shall fill Hell with jinn and mankind together’ [Q. 11:119] — have become due against us, both. Indeed we shall, both, taste, the chastisement with these Words — which prompts them to say:
Verse 32
So we led you astray — the reason for which is given by their saying — indeed we [ourselves] were astray’.
Verse 33
God, exalted be He, says: So they on that day, the Day of Resurrection, will share in the chastisement, for they shared in the error.
Verse 34
Indeed so, in the same way that We deal with these, We deal with sinners, other than these, in other words, We chastise both of them the followers and those who were followed.
Verse 35
For truly it was they who, in other words, [it was] these [sinners] who — given the context that follows — when it was said to them, ‘There is no god except God’, used to be scornful,
Verse 36
and would say, ‘Are we to abandon our gods for a mad poet?’, that is, for the sake of what Muhammad (s) says? (as regards the hamzas [in a-innā, ‘are we’], the same applies as mentioned above).
Verse 37
God, exalted be He, says: Nay, but he has brought [them] the truth and confirmed the [earlier] messengers, namely, those who had also brought this [truth], which is that there is no god except God.
Verse 38
‘You shall certainly (there is a shift from the third person address [to the second] here) taste the painful chastisement,
Verse 39
and you will only be requited, the requital for, what you used to do’.
Verse 40
Except for God’s sincere servants, namely, the believers (the exception clause here is a discontinuous one),
Verse 41
whose requital is mentioned in His saying: For them there will be, in Paradise, a distinct provision, morning and evening —
Verse 42
fruits (fawākihu either substitutes for rizqun, or is an explication thereof) here these [fruits] represent what is eaten for delight and not for the sake of preserving one’s health [as in this world], for the inhabitants of Paradise are in no need of preserving it given that their bodies will be created to be everlasting — and they will honoured, with God’s reward, glory be to Him, exalted be He,
Verse 43
in the Gardens of Bliss,
Verse 44
[reclining] upon couches, facing one another, so that they do not see the back of one another;
Verse 45
they are served from all round, each one of them [is so served], with a cup (ka’san, [this denotes] the vessel with the drink in it) from a spring, of wine that flows along the ground like streams of water,
Verse 46
white, whiter than milk, delicious to the drinkers, in contrast to the wine of this world which is distasteful to drink,
Verse 47
wherein there is neither madness, nothing to snatch away their minds, nor will they be spent by it (read yunzafūna or yunzifūna, from [1st form] nazafa or [4th form] anzafa, said of one drinking, in other words, they are [not] inebriated [by it], in contrast to the wine of this world),
Verse 48
and with them will be maidens of restrained glances, who reserved their glances [exclusively] for their spouses and do not look upon any other — because of the beauty they [the maidens] see in them — with beautiful eyes (‘īn means with large and beautiful eyes),
Verse 49
as if they were, in terms of [the starkness of their white] colour, hidden eggs, of ostriches, sheltered by their feathers from dust, the colour being that whiteness with a hint of pallor, which is the most beautiful of female complexions.
Verse 50
Some of them, some of the inhabitants of Paradise, will turn to others, questioning each other, regarding what they experienced in the [life of the] world.
Verse 51
One of them will say, ‘Indeed I had a comrade, a companion who used to reject [the idea of] resurrection,
Verse 52
who used to say, to me in reproach, “Are you really among those who affirm as truth, the Resurrection [and],
Verse 53
[that] when we are dead and have become dust and bones, we shall actually be called to account?” ’, that we shall be requited and reckoned with — he rejects [the truth of] this as well (as regards all three instances of the hamzas [sc. a-innaka, a-idhā, and a-innā] what has been mentioned above [applies]).
Verse 54
He, the one speaking, says, to his brethren [in Paradise], ‘Will you have a look?’, together with me into the Fire, to see his condition — but they will say, ‘No’.
Verse 55
Then he, that speaker, will take a look, through one of the apertures in Paradise, and he will catch sight of him, that is, he will see his comrade, in the centre of Hell, in the middle of the Fire.
Verse 56
He will say, to him, acknowledging that he [the latter] deserves his fate: ‘By God! You very nearly destroyed me, you [almost] ruined me through your misguidance (in, this has been softened from the hardened form [inna]).
Verse 57
And had it not been for the favour of my Lord, His grace to me in giving me faith, I [too] would have been of those arraigned’, with you, in the Fire. The inhabitants of Paradise will say:
Verse 58
Do we then not die [anymore],
Verse 59
aside from our first death, that is, the one [which we suffered] in this world, and are we not to be chastised?’ — this interrogative statement is one made out of [sheer] delight and in order to speak [at length] of the graces of God, exalted be He, in [His] granting of everlasting life and refraining from inflicting any punishment.
Verse 60
Truly this, that has mentioned [as being the reward] for the inhabitants of Paradise, is indeed the mighty success.
Verse 61
For the like of this let [all] the workers work — it is said that this is said to them, or it is what they say [themselves].
Verse 62
Is that, which is mentioned to them, a better hospitality (nuzul, denotes what is prepared for one who is being received as a guest and so forth) or the Zaqqūm tree, that is prepared for the inhabitants of the Fire — it is the vilest and most bitter tree of the Tihāma region, which God causes to grow in the Fire, as will be stated shortly.
Verse 63
We have indeed made it, for that reason [sc. its being a tree in the Fire], a trial for the wrongdoers?, namely, [for] the disbelievers of Mecca, for they said, ‘Fire consumes trees so how can it make them grow forth?’
Verse 64
Indeed it is a tree that comes forth from the very source of Hell, in other words, from the depths of Hell, with its branches extending up through all its [different] levels.
Verse 65
Its spathes, likened to the spathes of a date-palm, are like the heads of devils, [as] vile-looking snakes.
Verse 66
And indeed they, the disbelievers, will eat of it, despite its vileness, because of the severity of their hunger, and will fill their bellies from it.
Verse 67
Then, lo!, on top of it they will have a brew of boiling water, which they drink and which mixes with what they have eaten and becomes a brew thereof.
Verse 68
Then indeed their return shall be to Hell-fire — this suggests that they exit from it [only] to drink the boiling water, which is located outside it.
Verse 69
Lo! they found their fathers to be astray,
Verse 70
and so they are [also now] hurrying in their footsteps: they shall be prodded to follow them and they end up hurrying towards it [Hell-fire].
Verse 71
And verily most of the ancients, of past communities, went astray before them,
Verse 72
and We certainly had sent among them warners, in the way of messengers to threaten [them].
Verse 73
So behold how was the consequence for them who were warned, namely, the disbelievers: in other words the sequel for them was [that they ended up in] the chastisement;
Verse 74
[all] except God’s sincere servants, namely, the believers, who are saved from chastisement because they were sincere in their worship (mukhlisīna); or (if one reads mukhlasīna) because God has made them sincerely devoted to such [worship].
Verse 75
And verily Noah called to Us, when he said, ‘My Lord: I have been overcome, so help [me] [Q. 54:10], and how excellent were the Hearers of the prayer, for him, were We: in other words he invoked Us against his people, so We destroyed them by drowning [them].
Verse 76
And We delivered him and his family from the great distress, which was the drowning,
Verse 77
and made his descendants the survivors, thus all human beings are descended from him, peace be upon him. He had three sons: Shem (Sām), the ancestor of the Arabs, the Persians and the Byzantines; Ham (Hām), the ancestor of the Negroes; and Japheth (Yāfith), the ancestor of the Turks, the Khazar and [the peoples of] Gog and Magog and [the inhabitants of] such regions.
Verse 78
And We left, We preserved, for him, fair praise, among posterity: [among] the prophets and communities [after him] until the Day of Resurrection [which is]:
Verse 79
‘Peace, from Us, be to Noah among the worlds!’
Verse 80
Thus indeed, in the way that We requited them, We requite the virtuous.
Verse 81
He was indeed one of Our faithful servants.
Verse 82
Then We did drown the others, the disbelievers from among his folk.
Verse 83
And truly of his adherents, that is, of those who agreed with him on the fundaments of religion, was Abraham, despite the fact that there was a long interval between them, 2640 years, and between them came [the prophets] Hūd and Sālih.
Verse 84
When he came to his Lord, in other words, he continued to follow Him upon coming to Him, with a heart that was pure, of any doubt or the like,
Verse 85
when he said, [while still] in this continuous state of his, to his father and his folk, in reproach: ‘What do — what is it that — you worship?
Verse 86
Is it a calumny (a-ifkan, as regards the two hamzas, the same applies as mentioned before) — gods other than God — that you desire? (ifkan is an object denoting reason; ālihatan is the direct object of turīdūna, ‘you desire’; ifk denotes the worst kind of lie). In other words: do you worship [any] other than God?
Verse 87
What then is your supposition regarding the Lord of the Worlds?’, having worshipped other than Him, [do you think] that He will leave you without punishment? No! They were a people of astrologers. On one occasion, they went out to celebrate a festival of theirs and left their food behind with their idols, claiming that they were securing thereby blessings for it and that they would eat it upon their return. They had said to the lord Abraham: ‘Come out with us’.
Verse 88
And he cast a glance at the stars — to delude them into thinking that he relies on them, so that they would then trust him —
Verse 89
and said, ‘Indeed I feel [I will be] sick’, that is, I will fall ill.
Verse 90
So they went away, to their festival, leaving him behind.
Verse 91
Then he turned, he stole away, to their gods, the idols, in front of which the food had been placed, and said, mockingly: ‘Will you not eat? — but they failed to utter [a word].
Verse 92
He then said: What is wrong with you that you do not speak?’ — but [still] he received no response.
Verse 93
He then turned on them striking [them] with his right hand, with might, smashing them. Those who saw him reported this to [the rest of] his people.
Verse 94
So they came running towards him, walking hurriedly, and they said to him, ‘We worship them while you smash them?!’
Verse 95
He said, to them in reproach: ‘Do you worship what you [yourselves] have carved, out of stone and other materials, idols,
Verse 96
when God created you and whatever you make?’, [whether it be] your act of carving and that which you have carved? So worship Him alone! (the mā [in wa-mā ta‘malūna, ‘and whatever you make’] is that of the verbal noun; but it is also said to introduce a relative clause, or it is adjectivally qualified).
Verse 97
They said, amongst themselves: ‘Build for him a structure, then fill it with firewood and set it on fire, and when it is ablaze, then cast him into the fierce fire’.
Verse 98
So they sought to outwit him, by flinging him into the fire, so that it may destroy him, but We made them the lowermost, the vanquished, as he came out of the fire unharmed.
Verse 99
And he said, ‘I shall indeed depart to my Lord, I shall emigrating to Him from the abode of disbelief — He will guide me, to the place to which My Lord has commanded that I end up in, and this was Syria. When he reached the Holy Land, he said:
Verse 100
My Lord! Grant me, a child, of the righteous’.
Verse 101
So We gave him the good tidings of a forbearing son.
Verse 102
And when he was old enough to walk with him, that is, to go about with him and help him out — this is said to have been [either] at the age of seven or at the age of thirteen — he said, ‘O my dear son, I see, that is, I have seen, in a dream that I shall sacrifice you — and the visions of prophets are [always] true and their actions are [inspired] by the command of God, exalted be He. So see what you think’, of this dream. He consulted him so that he [his son] might accept the idea of being sacrificed and comply with the command for it. He said, ‘O my father (the [final] tā’ [in abati] replaces the yā’ of the genitive [possessive] annexation [yā abī]) do whatever you have been commanded, to do. You shall find me, God willing, of the steadfast’, in this [affair].
Verse 103
And when they had both submitted, [when] they had submitted to and were prepared to comply with God’s command, exalted be He, and he had laid him down on his forehead, [when] he had pushed him down to the ground thereon — every human being has two brows (jabīn) between which is the forehead (jabha); this was at Minā. Abraham passed the knife across his [son’s] throat but it did not do anything, by some impediment of the Divine Power,
Verse 104
We called to him, ‘O Abraham!
Verse 105
Verily you have fulfilled the vision’, by what you have done, in that you were able to go through with the act of sacrifice. In other words, that [which you have done] suffices for you [as redemption] (the statement nādaynāhu, ‘We called to him’, is the response to the lammā, ‘when’, so that the wāw [in wa-nādaynāhu, ‘We called to him’] is extra). So, in the same way that We have rewarded you, do We reward those who are virtuous, to their own souls in obeying the Command [of God], by removing from them their distress.
Verse 106
Truly this, sacrifice to which he was commanded, was indeed a clear test’, that is to say, the ultimate test [of faith].
Verse 107
Then We ransomed him, the one whom he had been commanded to sacrifice, namely, Ishmael or Isaac — two different opinions — with a mighty sacrifice, [a mighty] ram from Paradise, the same one that Abel had offered as as sacrifice: Gabriel, peace be upon him, brought it and the lord Abraham sacrificed it as he cried, Allāhu akbar, ‘God is Great’.
Verse 108
And We left, We preserved, for him among posterity, fair praise [namely]:
Verse 109
‘Peace, from Us, be to Abraham!’
Verse 110
So, in way that We rewarded him, do We reward those who are virtuous, to their own souls.
Verse 111
Indeed he is one of Our faithful servants.
Verse 112
And We gave him the good tidings of [the birth of] Isaac — some have argued that this proves that the one who was sacrificed was not him [Isaac] — a prophet (nabiyyan is a future circumstantial qualifier, that is to say, ‘he will come to be, with his prophethood decreed), one of the righteous.
Verse 113
And We blessed him, by multiplying his descendants, and Isaac, his son, [We also blessed] by appointing the majority of prophets from among his progeny. And among their descendants is he who is virtuous, [he who is] a believer, and he who plainly wrongs his soul, [he who is] a disbeliever, whose disbelief is manifest.
Verse 114
And verily We favoured Moses and Aaron, with prophethood,
Verse 115
and We delivered them and their people, the Children of Israel, from the great distress, namely, Pharaoh’s enslavement of them.
Verse 116
And We helped them, against the Egyptians, so that they became the victors.
Verse 117
And We gave them the enlightening scripture, the one whose statements concerning prescribed punishments and rulings and otherwise are excellently expressed — this is the Torah.
Verse 118
And We guided them to the straight path, [the straight] way,
Verse 119
and We left, We preserved, for them among posterity, fair praise [namely]:
Verse 120
‘Peace, from Us, be to Moses and Aaron!’
Verse 121
So, just as We rewarded them both, do We reward the virtuous.
Verse 122
Indeed both were among Our faithful servants.
Verse 123
And truly Elias (read [wa-inna Ilyās] with the initial hamza or without [wa-inna’l-yāsa) was [also] one of the messengers. Some think that this [Elias] was the son of Aaron’s brother — [Aaron] the brother of Moses; but some say that this [Elias] was some other [person], who was sent to the people living in and around Baalbak.
Verse 124
When (idh is dependent because of an implicit [verb] udhkur, ‘mention’) he said to his people, ‘Will you not fear [God]?
Verse 125
Do you call on Baal — this was the name of an idol of theirs which was made of gold, from which the name of their city derives, with the addition of [the suffix] bak — that is to say, do you worship him, and abandon the Best of Creators, and not worship Him,
Verse 126
God, your Lord, and the Lord of your forefathers?’ (read [as predicates] allāhu, rabbukum and rabbu, in the nominative, because of the [implicit] omitted huwa [being the subject]; or read allāha, rabbakum and rabba, in the accusative, as supplements to ahsana, ‘the best of’).
Verse 127
But they denied him. So they will indeed be arraigned, in the Fire,
Verse 128
— [all] except God’s delivered servants, namely, the believers, who will be saved from it,
Verse 129
and We left for him among posterity, fair praise [namely]:
Verse 130
‘Peace, from Us, be to Elias!’. It is said that this [ilyāsīn] is [the same] Elias mentioned above; but it is also said that this denotes him together with [all] those who were believers with him, and so they have been coupled [under the same term] with him being the predominant, as when one might say al-Muhallabūn, ‘the Muhallabids’, to mean al-Muhallab and his folk; a variant reading has āl yāsīn, by which is meant his family as well as Elias himself.
Verse 131
Indeed so — just as We rewarded him — do We reward the virtuous.
Verse 132
Truly he is one of Our faithful servants.
Verse 133
And indeed Lot was one of the messengers;
Verse 134
mention, when We delivered him together with all his family,
Verse 135
except an old woman [who was] among those who stayed behind, in other words, those who stayed behind in the chastisement.
Verse 136
Then We destroyed [all] the others, the disbelievers from among his people.
Verse 137
And indeed you pass by them, by their remains and [the remains of] their dwellings during your travels, [both] in the morning, that is, during the daytime,
Verse 138
and at night: will you, O people of Mecca, not then understand?, what befell them and so take heed therefrom?
Verse 139
And indeed Jonah was one of the messengers;
Verse 140
when he fled to the laden ship — after he became furious with his people, as the chastisement which he had promised them did not come down on them; so he boarded the ship, which then stopped out in the deep sea. The seamen said, ‘There is a runaway slave here [upon this ship] who has fled from his master: a casting of lots should expose him!’
Verse 141
Then he drew lots, with the passengers on the ship, and was of those rejected, of the losers in the draw and so they threw him into the sea.
Verse 142
Then the whale swallowed him while he was blameworthy, that is, while he was guilty of a blameworthy thing, having gone to sea and embarked the ship without his Lord’s permission.
Verse 143
And had he not been one of those who glorify [God], that is to say, those who make remembrance [of God], for inside the whale’s belly he was repeatedly saying [the words] ‘There is no god except You. Glory be to You! I have indeed been one of the wrongdoers’ [Q. 21:87],
Verse 144
he would have tarried in its belly until the day when they are raised, in other words, the whale’s belly would have been his tomb until the Day of Resurrection.