The Day of Reckoning

Ask your Sustainer to forgive you your sins, and then turn towards Him in repentance - [whereupon] He will grant you a goodly enjoyment of life [in this world] until a term set [by Him is fulfilled]; and [in the life to come] He will bestow upon everyone possessed of merit [a full reward for] his merit. But if you turn away, then, verily, I dread for you the suffering [which is bound to befall you] on that awesome Day!

And thus it is: if We defer their suffering until a time-limit set [by Us], they are sure to say, "What is preventing it [from coming now]?" Oh, verily, on the Day when it befalls them there will be nothing to avert it from them; and they shall be overwhelmed by the very thing which they were wont to deride.

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And that was [the end of the tribe of] 'Ad, [who] had rejected their Sustainer's messages, and rebelled against His apostles, and followed the bidding of every arrogant enemy of the truth.

And they were pursued in this world by [God's] rejection, and [shall finally be overtaken by it] on the Day of Resurrection. Oh, verily, [the tribe of] 'Ad denied their Sustainer! Oh, away with the 'Ad, the people of Hud!

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[And so] he shall go before his people on the Day of Resurrection, having led them [in this world] towards the fire [of the life to come]; and vile was the destination towards which they were led -

seeing that they were pursued by [God's] rejection in this [world], and [shall be finally overtaken by it] on the Day of Resurrection; [and] vile was the gift which they were given! 127 In classical Arabic usage, as well as in the speech of certain bedouin tribes to this day, the phrase ittakhadhahu (or ja'lahu) zihriyyan (lit., "he put him behind his back") has the meaning of "he held him in contempt", or "he forgot him", or "regarded him as something that may be forgotten". This last rendering seems to be the most appropriate in the above context. 128 See verse 67 of this surah and the corresponding note 98; also surah 7, note 73. 129 Lit., "was not right-guided (rashid)". The short passage dealing with Pharaoh and his followers. (verses 96-99) connects with, and amplifies, the reference to the tribe of 'Ad, who "followed the bidding of every arrogant enemy of the truth" (verse 59 of this surah). Thus, the main point of this passage is the problem of immoral leadership and, arising from it, the problem of man's individual, moral responsibility for wrongs committed in obedience to a "higher authority". The Qur'an answers this question emphatically in the affirmative: the leader and the led are equally guilty, and none can be absolved of responsibility on the plea that he was but blindly following orders given by those above him. This indirect allusion to man's relative free will - i.e., his freedom of choice between right and wrong - fittingly concludes the stories of the earlier prophets and their wrongdoing communities as narrated in this surah. 130 See note 37 on the last clause of verse 18 of this surah, as well as verse 60, which refers in identical terms to the destiny of the tribe of 'Ad.

Herein, behold, lies a message indeed for all who fear the suffering [which may befall them] in the life to come, (and are conscious of the coming of] that Day on which all mankind shall be gathered together - that Day [of Judgment] which shall be witnessed [by all that ever lived],

When that Day comes, not a soul will speak, unless it be by His leave; and of those [that are gathered together], some will be wretched and some, happy.

Do they, then, feel free from the fear that there might fall upon them the overwhelming terror of God's chastisement, or that the Last Hour might come upon them of a sudden, without their being aware [of its approach]? (12:108 ) Say [O Prophet]: "This is my way: Resting upon conscious insight accessible to reason, I am calling [you all] unto God 104 - and they who follow me." And [say:] "Limitless is God in His glory; and I am not one of those who ascribe divinity to aught beside Him!" (12:109 ) And [even] before thy time, We never sent [as Our apostles] any but [mortal] men, whom We inspired, [and whom We always chose] from among the people of the [very] communities [to whom the message was to be brought]. Have, then, they [who reject this divine writ] never journeyed about the earth and beheld what happened in the end to those [deniers of the truth] who lived before them? - and [do they not know that] to those who are conscious of God the life in the hereafter is indeed better [than this world]? Will they not, then, use their reason?

And all [mankind] will appear before God [on the Day of Judgment]; and then the weak will say unto those who had gloried in their arrogance: "Behold, We were but your followers: can you, then, relieve us of something of God's chastisement?" [And the others] will answer: "If God would but show us the way [to salvation], we would indeed guide you [towards it]. It is [now] all one, as far as we are concerned, whether we grieve impatiently or endure [our lot] with patience: there is no escape for us!"

- hell - which they [themselves] will have to endure? And how vile a state to settle in!

For, they claimed that there are powers that could rival God, and so they strayed from His path. Say: "Enjoy yourselves [in this world], but, verily, the fire will be your journey's end!"

Grant Thy forgiveness unto me, and my parents, and all the believers, on the Day on which the [last] reckoning will come to pass!"

AND DO NOT think that God is unaware of what the evildoers are doing: He but grants them respite until the Day when their eyes will stare in horror,

Hence, warn men of the Day when this suffering may befall them, and when those who did wrong [in their lifetime] will exclaim: "O our Sustainer! Grant us respite for a short while, so that we might respond to Thy call and follow the apostles!" [But God will answer:] "Why - were you not aforetime wont to swear that no kind of resurrection and retribution awaited you?

[His promise will be fulfilled] on the Day when the earth shall be changed into another earth, as shall be the heavens 63 and when [all men] shall appear before God, the One who holds absolute sway over all that exists.

For on that Day thou wilt see all who were lost in sin linked together in fetters,

Said [Iblis]: "Then, O my Sustainer, grant me a respite till the Day when all shall be raised from the dead!"

till the Day the time whereof is known [to Me alone]."

Hence, on Resurrection Day they shall bear the full weight of their own burdens, as well as some of the burdens of those ignorant ones whom they have led astray:18 oh, how evil the load with which they shall be burdened!

And then, on Resurrection Day, He will cover them [all] with ignominy, and will say: "Where, now, are those beings to whom you ascribed a share in My divinity, [and] for whose sake you cut yourselves off [from My guidance]?" [Whereupon] those who [in their lifetime] were endowed with knowiedge will say: "Verily, ignominy and misery [have fallen] this day upon those who have been denying the truth-

And89, God's [alone] is the knowledge of the hidden reality of the heavens and the earth. And so, the advent of the Last Hour will but manifest itself [in a single moment,] like the twinkling of an eye, or closer still:91 for, behold, God has the power to will anything.

But one Day We shall raise up a witness out of every community, whereupon they who were bent on denying the truth will not be allowed to plead [ignorance], and neither will they be allowed to make amends.

And on that Day will they [who had thus been sinning, belatedly] proffer their surrender to God; and all their false imagery will have forsaken them.

for one Day We shall raise up within every community a witness against them from among themselves. And thee [too, O Prophet,] have We brought forth to bear witness regarding those [whom thy message may have reached], inasmuch as We have bestowed from on high upon thee, step by step, this divine writ, to make everything clear, and to provide guidance and grace and a glad tiding unto all who have surrendered themselves to God.

Hence, be not like her who breaks and completely untwists the yarn which she [herself] has spun and made strong - [be not like this by] using your oaths as a means of deceiving one another, simply because some of you may be more powerful than others. By all this, God but puts you to a test - and [He does it] so that on Resurrection Day He might make clear unto you all that on which you were wont to differ.

[Be conscious, then, of] the Day when every human being shall come to plead for himself [alone], and every human being shall be repaid in full for whatever he has done, and none shall be wronged. 132 I.e., the scurrilous allegation referred to in verse 103. Although this statement alludes, in the first instance, to the hostile contemporaries of the Prophet, it extends, by obvious implication, to people of all times who refuse to believe in the reality of Muhammad's revelations, and try to explain them away as obsessive illusions or even as deliberate fabrications. 133 Lit., "except" - but the Arabic construction of the sentence that follows makes it necessary to render the simple particle ills in the manner adopted by me ("and this, to be sure, does not apply to ..., etc.). 134 Lit., "one who is coerced, the while his heart is at rest in [his] faith". This relates to believers who, under torture or threat of death, ostensibly "recant" in order to save themselves. Although the Qur'an makes it clear in several places that martyrdom in the cause of faith is highly meritorious, "God does not burden any human being with more than he is well able to bear" (cf. 2:233 and 286, 6:152, 7:42, 23:62, and many other Qur'anic statements to the same effect). 135 Sc., "of what is good and what is bad for them". - For an explanation of God's "sealing" the hearts of those who are bent on denying the truth, see 2:7 and the corresponding note. 136 For an explanation of the concept of fitnah (appearing here in the verbal form futinu) and of my rendering it as "temptation to evil", see surah 8, note 25. As regards the expression alladhina hajaru in its spiritual connotation, see surah 2, note 203 and surah 4, note 124.

[and know that the observance of] the Sabbath was ordained only for those who came to hold divergent views about him; but, verily, God will judge between them on Resurrection Day with regard to all on which they were wont to differ. 142 I.e., in 6:146, revealed shortly before the present surah. The conjunctive particle "And" at the beginning of this sentence establishes a connection with the precept laid down in verse 114 above, "partake of all the lawful, good things which God has provided for you as sustenance": the implication being (as in 6:145) that none of the really good and wholesome things have been forbidden to the believer, and that the many dietary prohibitions and restrictions imposed on the Jews were imposed on them alone in punishment of their persistent sinning (cf. 3:93). 143 For this rendering of thumma, see surah 6, note 31. 144 This is one of the many meanings of the term ummah and, to my mind, the one most appropriate in the above context. - The mention of Abraham at this place contains a subtle allusion to verse 118, where the Jews are spoken of: for, the latter claim to be "the chosen people" on account of their descent from Abraham, whereas the Qur'an consistently rejects all claims to a special status by virtue of one's descent. Moreover, the Qur'an states in many places that whereas this particular ancestor of the Hebrews - and, by the way, of most of the Arab tribes as well - was a personification of all that is good and upright, so that "God exalted him with His love" (4:125), his Jewish descendants always tended to rebel against God and, thus, "persistently wronged themselves". 145 For an explanation of this rendering of the term han1f, see surah 2, note 110. 146 Lit., "thereafter" or "afterwards" (thumma): but since this particle evidently alludes here to the climax of all revelation as manifested in the Qur'an, the above rendering seems to be suitable. 147 I.e., about Abraham. The implication is that the majority of the Jews had deviated from the true creed of Abraham (which is the meaning of the phrase, "those who came to hold divergent views about him") inasmuch as most of them became convinced that they were "God's chosen people" simply because of their physical descent from that great Prophet: an assumption which obviously runs counter to every truly religious principle. As the Qur'an repeatedly points out, this spiritual arrogance was punished by God's imposition ou the children of Israel - and on them alone - of all manner of severe restrictions and rituals, of which the obligation to refrain from all work and even travel on the Sabbath was one. In its widest implication, this passage is meant to stress the fact that all God-imposed rituals are only a means towards the achievement of spiritual discipline, and never a religious goal in themselves. 148 I.e., He will judge between those who are convinced of their ultimate salvation on the basis of their alleged status of "God's chosen people", and those who believe in man's individual responsibility before God: and thus the discourse returns to the problem of God-consciousness and righteous living.

And every human being's destiny have We tied to his neck; and on the Day of Resurrection We shall bring forth for him a record which he will find wide open;

on a Day when He will call you, and you will answer by praising Him, thinking all the while that you have tarried [on earth] but a little while."

And [bear in mind:] there is no community which We will not destroy before the Day of Resurrection, or chastise [even earlier, if it proves sinful,] with suffering severe: all this is laid down in Our decree.

[And] he added: "Tell me, is this [foolish being] the one whom Thou hast exalted above me? Indeed, if Thou wilt but allow me a respite till the Day of Resurrection, I shall most certainly cause his descendants - all but a few - to obey me blindly!"

[but] one Day We shall summon all human beings [and judge them] according to the conscious disposition which governed their deeds [in life]:84 whereupon they whose record shall be placed in their right hand - it is they who will read their record [with happiness]. Yet none shall be wronged by as much as a hair's breadth:86

And he whom God guides, he alone has found the right way; whereas for those whom He lets go astray thou canst never find anyone to protect them from Him: and [so, when] We shall gather them together on the Day of Resurrection, [they will lie] prone upon their faces, blind and dumb and deaf, with hell as their goal; [and] every time [the fire] abates, We shall increase for them [its] blazing flame."

And after that We said unto the children of Israel: "Dwell now securely on earth - but [remember that] when the promise of the Last Day shall come to pass, We will bring you forth as [parts of] a motley crowd!"

Hence, [bear in mind] the Day, on which We shall cause the mountains to disappear and thou shalt behold the earth void and bare: for [on that Day] We will [resurrect the dead and] gather them all together, leaving out none of them.

AND ON that Day We shall [call forth all mankind and] leave them to surge like waves [that dash] against one another; and the trumpet [of judgment] will be blown, and We shall gather them all together.

And on that Day We shall place hell, for all to see, before those who denied the truth -

it is they who have chosen to deny their Sustainer's messages and the truth that they are destined to meet Him." Hence, all their [good] deeds come to nought, and no weight shall We assign to them on Resurrection Day.

"Hence, peace was upon me on the day when I was born, and [will be upon me] on the day of my death, and on the day when I shall be raised to life [again]!"

And yet, the sects [that follow the Bible] are at variance among themselves [about the nature of Jesus]! Woe, then, unto all who deny the truth when that awesome Day will appear!

Say: "As for him who lives in error, may the Most Gracious lengthen the span of his life!" [And let them say whatever they say62] until the time when they behold that [doom] of which they were forewarned - whether it be suffering [in this world] or [at the coming of] the Last Hour -: for then they will understand which [of the two kinds of man] was worse in station and weaker in resources!

On the Day when We shall gather the God-conscious unto [Us,] the Most Gracious, as honoured guests,

and every one of them will appear before Him on Resurrection Day in a lonely state.

"Behold, [although] I have willed to keep it hidden, the Last Hour is bound to come, so that every human being may be recompensed in accordance with what he strove for [in life].

All who shall turn away from it will, verily, bear a [heavy] burden on the Day of Resurrection:

AND THEY WILL ask thee about [what will happen to] the mountains [when this world comes to an end]. Say, then: "My Sustainer will scatter them far and wide,

But as for him who shall turn away from remembering Me - his shall be a life of narrow scope; and on the Day of Resurrection We shall raise him up blind." 106 This symbolic tree is designated in the Bible as "the tree of life" and "the tree of knowledge of good and evil" (Genesis ii, 9), while in the above Qur'anic account Satan speaks of it as "the tree of life eternal (al-khuld)". Seeing that Adam and Eve did not achieve immortality despite their tasting the forbidden fruit, it is obvious that Satan's suggestion was, as it always is, deceptive. On the other hand, the Qur'an tells us nothing about the real nature of that "tree" beyond pointing out that it was Satan who described it - falsely - as "the tree of immortality": and so we may assume that the forbidden tree is simply an allegory of the limits which the Creator has set to man's desires and actions: limits beyond which he may not go without offending against his own, God-willed nature. Man's desire for immortality on earth implies a wishful denial of death and resurrection, and thus of the ultimate reality of what the Qur'an describes as "the hereafter" or "the life to come" (al-akhirah). This desire is intimately connected with Satan's insinuation that it is within man's reach to become the master of "a kingdom that will never decay": in other words, to become "free" of all limitations and thus, in the last resort, of the very concept of God - the only concept which endows human life with real meaning and purpose. 107 Regarding the symbolism of Adam and Eve's becoming "conscious of their nakedness", see note 105 above as well as the reference, in 7:26-27, to "the garment of God-consciousness", the loss of which made man's ancestors "aware of their nakedness", i.e., of their utter helplessness and, hence, their dependence on God. 108 See surah 7, note 16. 109 I.e., sterile and spiritually narrow, without any real meaning or purpose: and this, as is indicated in the subsequent clause, will be a source of their suffering in the hereafter.

But We shall set up just balance-scales on Resurrection Day, and no human being shall be wronged in the least: for though there be [in him but] the weight of a mustard-seed [of good or evil], We shall bring it forth; and none can take count as We do!

who stand in awe of their Sustainer although He is beyond the reach of human perception, and who tremble at the thought of the Last Hour.

The supreme awesomeness [of the Day of Resurrection] will cause them no grief, since the angels will receive them with the greeting, "This is your Day [of triumph - the Day] which you were promised!"

On the Day when you behold it, every woman that feeds a child at her breast will utterly forget her nursling, and every woman heavy with child will bring forth her burden [before her time]; and it will seem to thee that all mankind is drunk, although they will not be drunk - but vehement will be [their dread of] God's chastisement.

scornfully turning aside [from the truth] so as to lead [others] astray from the path of God. Disgrace [of the spirit] is in store for him in this world; and on the Day of Resurrection We shall make him taste suffering through fire;

Verily, as for those who have attained to faith [in this divine writ], and those who follow the Jewish faith, and the Sabians, and the Christians, and the Magians, [on the one hand,] and those who are bent on ascribing divinity to aught but God, [on the other,] verily, God will decide between them on Resurrection Day: for, behold, God is witness unto everything.

whereas those who are bent on denying the truth will not cease to be in doubt about Him until the Last Hour comes suddenly upon them and [supreme] suffering befalls them on a Day void of all hope.

[For, indeed,] God will judge between you [all] on Resurrection Day with regard to all on which you were wont to differ.

and then, behold! you shall be raised from the dead on Resurrection Day.

people whom neither [worldly] commerce nor striving after gain can divert from the remembrance of God, and from constancy in prayer, and from charity:58 [people] who are filled with fear [at the thought] of the Day on which all hearts and eyes will be convulsed,

Or: "(Why has not] a treasure been granted to him (by God)?" Or: "He should (at least] have a (bountiful] garden, so that he could eat thereof [without effort]!" And so these evildoers say (unto one another], "If you were to follow (Muhammad, you would follow) but a man bewitched!"

But nay! It is (the very coming of] the Last Hour to which they give the lie! However, for such as give the lie to [the announcement of] the Last Hour We have readied a blazing flame:

[but] shall have his suffering doubled on Resurrection Day: for on that [Day] he shall abide in ignominy.

and who, I hope, will forgive me my faults on Judgment Day!

and do not put me to shame on the Day when all shall be raised from the dead:41

And on that Day We shall gather from within every community a host of those who gave the lie to Our messages; and they will be grouped [according to the gravity of their sins]

[We destroyed them,] and We set them up as archetypes [of evil] that show the way to the fire [of hell]; and [whereas] no succour will come to them on Resurrection Day,

Is, then, he to whom We have given that goodly promise which he shall see fulfilled [on his resurrection] comparable to one on whom We have bestowed [all] the enjoyments of this worldly life but who, on Resurrection Day, will find himself among those that shall be arraigned [before Us]?

Say: "Have you ever considered [this]: If God had willed that there should always be night about you, without break, until the Day of Resurrection - is there any deity other than God that could bring you light? Will you not, then, listen [to the truth]?"

Say: "Have you ever considered [this]: If God had willed that there should always be daylight about you, without break, until the Day of Resurrection - is there any deity other than God that could bring you [the darkness of] night, wherein you might rest? Will you not, then, see [the truth]?"

VERILY, [O believer,] He who has laid down this Qur'an in plain terms, making it binding on thee, will assuredly bring thee back [from death] to a life renewed. Say [unto those who reject the truth]: "My Sustainer knows best as to who is right-guided and who is obviously lost in error!"

Yet most certainly will they have to bear their own burdens, and other burdens besides their own; and most certainly will they be called to account on Resurrection Day for all their false assertions!

And [Abraham] said: "You have chosen to worship idols instead of God for no other reason than to have a bond of love, in the life of this world, between yourselves [and your forebears]:20 but then, on Resurrection Day, you shall disown one another and curse one another - for the goal of you all will be the fire, and you will have none to succour you.

And when the Last Hour dawns, those who were lost in sin will be broken in spirit:

And when the Last Hour dawns - on that Day will all [men] be sorted out:

And He it is who creates [all life] in the first instance, and then brings it forth anew:18 and most easy is this for Him, since His is the essence of all that is most sublime in the heavens and on earth, and He alone is almighty, truly wise.

IT IS GOD who has created you, and then has provided you with sustenance, and then will cause you to die, and then will bring you to life again. Can any of those beings or powers to whom you ascribe a share in His divinity do any of these things? Limitless is He in His glory, and sublimely exalted above anything to which men may ascribe a share in His divinity!

[He it is who will cause you to die, and in time will resurrect you.] And when the Last Hour dawns, those who had been lost in sin will swear that they had not tarried [on earth] longer than an hour: thus were they wont to delude themselves [all their lives]!

But those who (in their lifetime] were endowed with knowledge and faith will say: "Indeed, you have been tardy in [accepting as true] what God has revealed, [and you have waited] until the Day of Resurrection: this, then, is the Day of Resurrection: but you you were determined not to know it!"

Verily, with God alone rests the knowledge of when the Last Hour will come; and He [it is who] sends down rain; and He [alone] knows what is in the wombs:31 whereas no one knows what he will reap tomorrow, and no one knows in what land he will die. Verily, God [alone] is all-knowing, all-aware. 30 For instance, the self-deluding expectation, while deliberately committing a sin, that God will forgive it (Sa'id ibn Jubayr, as quoted by Tabari, Baghawi, Zamakhshari). According to Tabari, the term gharur denotes "anything that deludes" (ma gharra) a person in the moral sense, whether it be Satan, or another human being, or an abstract concept, or (as in 57:14) "wishful thinking". 31 This relates not merely to the problem of the sex of the as yet unborn embryo, but also to the question of whether it will be born at all, and if so, what its natural endowments and its character will be, as well as what role it will be able to play in life; and life itself is symbolized by the preceding mention of rain, and the end of all life in this world, by the mention of the Last Hour.

(14) [And He will say unto the sinners:] "Taste, then, [the recompense] for your having been oblivious of the coming of this your Day [of Judgment] - for, verily, We are [now] oblivious of you: taste, then, [this] abiding suffering for all [the evil] that you were wont to do!" 32; ONLY THEY [truly] believe in Our messages who, whenever they are conveyed to them, fall down, prostrating themselves in adoration, and extol their Sustainer's limitless glory and praise; and who are never filled with false pride;

VERILY, it is God alone who will decide between men on Resurrection Day with regard to all on which they were wont to differ.

VERILY, in the Apostle of God you have a good example for everyone who looks forward (with hope and awe] to God and the Last Day, and remembers God unceasingly. 20 Lit., "and would not have tarried more than a little [while]". 21 Lit., "for then" or "in that case" (idhan), signifying here "however it may be". 22 Sc., "but would come back in force and resume the siege". 23 Lit.,"'they would not fight except a little". 24 This verse (and the passage that follows) connects with verses 9- above, and especially with verse 11 - "there and then were the believers tried, and shaken with a shock severe" - which summarizes, as it were, their experiences during the critical days and weeks of the War of the Trench. Although it is addressed, in the first instance, to those early defenders of Medina who were thus exhorted to emulate the Prophet's faith, courage and steadfastness, the above verse is timeless in its import and its validity for all situations and conditions. - Since the verb rajawa, as well as the noun-forms rajw, rujuww and raja' derived from it, carry the connotation of both "hope" and "fear" (or "awe"), I have rendered yarju accordingly.

On the Day when they meet Him, they will be welcomed with the greeting, "Peace"; and He will have readied for them a most excellent reward.

PEOPLE will ask thee about the Last Hour. Say: "Knowledge thereof rests with God alone; yet for all thou knowest, the Last Hour may well be near!"

On the Day when their faces shall be tossed about in the fire, they will exclaim, "Oh, would that we had paid heed unto God, and paid heed unto the Apostle!"

And yet, they who are bent on denying the truth assert, "Never will the Last Hour come upon us!" Say: "Nay, by my Sustainer! By Him who knows all that is beyond the reach of a created being's perception: it will most certainly come upon you!" Not an atom's weight [of whatever there is] in the heavens or on earth escapes His knowledge; and neither is there anything smaller than that, or larger, but is recorded in [His] clear decree,

If you invoke them, they do not hear your call; and even if they could hear, they would not [be able to] respond to you. And [withal,] on the Day of Resurrection they will utterly disown your having associated them with God. And none can make thee understand [the truth] like the One who is all-aware.

and will say: "Oh, woe unto us! This is the Day of Judgment!"

[that] after we have died and become mere dust and bones we shall, forsooth, be brought to judgment?'"

As it is, they say [mockingly]: "O our Sustainer! Hasten on to us our share [of punishment even] before the Day of Reckornng!"

[And We said:] "O David! Behold, We have made thee a [prophet and, thus, Our] vicegerent on earth: judge, then, between men with justice, and do not follow vain desire, lest it lead thee astray from the path of God: verily, for those who go astray from the path of God there is suffering severe in store for having forgotten the Day of Reckoning!"

This is what you are promised for the Day of Reckoning:

Said [Iblis): "Then, O my Sustainer, grant me a respite till the Day when all shall be raised from the dead!"

Say: "Behold, I would dread, were I to rebel against my Sustainer, the suffering [which would befall me] on that awesome Day [of Judgment]."

and [it is up to you, O sinners, to] worship whatever you please instead of Him!" Say: "Behold, the [true] losers will be they who shall have lost their own selves and their kith and kin on Resurrection Day:18 for is not this, this, the [most] obvious loss?

Could, then, one who shall have nothing but his [bare] face to protect him from the awful suffering [that will befall him] on Resurrection Day [be likened to the God-conscious]? [On that Day,) the evildoers will be told: "Taste [now) what you have earned [in life]!"

and then, behold, on the Day of Resurrection you all shall place your dispute before your Sustainer.

But if those who are bent on evildoing possessed all that is on earth, and twice as much, they would surely offer it as ransom from the awful suffering [that will befall them] on the Day of Resurrection:52 for, something with which they had not reckoned before will [by then] have been made obvious to them by God;

And [so,] on the Day of Resurrection thou wilt see all who invenied lies about God [with] their faces darkened [by grief and ignominy]. Is not hell the [proper] abode for all who are given to false pride?

And no true understanding of God have they [who worship aught beside Him], inasmuch as the whole of the earth will be as a [mere] handful to Him on Resurrection Day, and the heavens will be rolled up in His right hand:66 limitless is He in His glory, and sublimely exalted above anything to which they may ascribe a share in His divinity!

and preserve them from [doing] evil deeds: for anyone whom on that Day [of Judgment] Thou wilt have preserved from [the taint of] evil deeds, him wilt Thou have graced with Thy mercy: and that, that will be the triumph supreme!"

But Moses said: "With [Him who is] my Sustainer as well as your Sustainer have I indeed found refuge from everyone who, immersed in false pride, will not believe in (the coming of] the Day of Reckoning!"

the Day when you will [wish to] turn your backs and flee, having none to defend you against God: for he whom God lets go astray can never find any guide.

the fire [of the hereafter - that fire] which they had been made to contemplate [in vain], morning and evening:31 for on the Day when the Last Hour dawns [God will say], "Make Pharaoh's folk enter upon suffering most severe!"

BEHOLD, We shall indeed succour Our apostles and those who have attained to faith, [both] in this world's life and on the Day when all the witnesses shall stand up -

Verily, the Last Hour is sure to come: of this there is no doubt; yet most men will not believe it.

And, indeed, [O Muhammad,] We sent forth apostles before thy time; some of them We have mentioned to thee, and some of them We have not mentioned to thee. And it was not given to any apostle to bring forth a miracle other than by God's leave. Yet when God's will becomes rqanifest, judgment will [already] have been passed in all justice, and lost will be, then and there, all who tried to reduce to pothing [whatever they could not understand].

But their attaining to faith after they had beheld Our punishment could not possibly benefit them - such being the way of God that has always obtained for His creatures -: and so, then and there, lost were they who had denied the truth.

VERILY, they who distort the meaning of Our messages are not hidden from Us: hence, which [of the two) will be in a better state - he that is [destined to be] cast into the fire, or he that shall come secure [before Us) on Resurrection Day? Do what you will: verily, He sees all that you do.

In Him alone is vested the knowledge of when the Last Hour will come. And no fruit bursts forth from its calyx, and no female ever conceives, nor ever gives birth, save with His knowledge. And so, on the Day when He shall call out to them, "Where, now, are those [alleged] partners of Mine?" - they will [surely) answer, "We confess unto Thee that none of us can bear witness [to anyone's having a share in Thy divinity]!"

Yet whenever We let him taste some of Our grace after hardship has visited him, he is sure to say, "This is but my due!" and, "I do not think that the Last Hour will ever come:43 but if [it should come, and] I should indeed be brought back unto my Sustainer, then, behold, the ultimate good awaits me with Him!" But [on the Day of Judgment] We shall most certainly give those who were bent on denying the truth full understanding of all that they ever did, and shall most certainly give them [thereby] a taste of suffering severe.

[Thou art but entrusted with Our message:] and so We have revealed unto thee a discourse in the Arabic tongue in order that thou mayest warn the foremost of all cities and all who dwell around it - to wit, warn [them) of the Day of the Gathering, [the coming of) which is beyond all doubt: [the Day when] some shall find themselves in paradise, and some in the blazing flame.

[for] it is God [Himself] who has bestowed revelation from on high, setting forth the truth, and [thus given man] a balance [wherewith to weigh right and wrong]. And for all thou knowest, the Last Hour may well be near!

Those who do not believe in it [mockingly] ask for its speedy advent - whereas those who have attained to faith stand in awe of it, and know it to be the truth. Oh, verily, they who call the Last Hour in question have indeed gone far astray!

And thou wilt see them exposed to that [doom], humbling themselves in abasement, looking [around] with a furtive glance - the while those who had attained to faith will say, "Verily, lost on [this] Day of Resurrection are they who have squandered their own and their followers' selves!" 46 Oh, verily, the evildoers will fall into long-lasting suffering,

ARE THEY [who are lost in sin] but waiting for the Last Hour - [waiting] that it come upon them of a sudden, without their being aware [of its approach]?

But leave them to indulge in idle talk and play [with words] until they face that [Judgment) Day of theirs which they have been promised:

And hallowed be He unto whom the dominion over the heavens and the earth and all that is between them belongs, and with whom the knowledge of the Last Hour rests, and unto whom you all shall be brought back!

VERILY, the Day of Distinction [between the true and the false] is the term appointed for all of them:23

And We gave them clear indications of the purpose [of faith]; and it was only after all this knowledge had been vouchsafed to them that they began, out of mutual jealousy, to hold divergent views:16 [but,] verily, thy Sustainer will judge between them on Resurrection Day regarding all whereon they were wont to differ.

Now as for those who indulge in sinful doings - do they think that We place them, both in their life and their death, on an equal footing with those who have attained to faith and do righteous deeds? Bad, indeed, is their judgment:

Say: "It is God who gives you life, and then causes you to die; and in the end He will gather you together on Resurrection Day, [the coming of] which is beyond all doubt - but most human beings understand it not."

For, God's is the dominion over the heavens and the earth; and on the Day when the Last Hour dawns on that Day will be lost all who [in their lifetime] tried to reduce to nothing [whatever they could not understand].

for when it was said, 'Behold, God's promise always comes true, and there can be no doubt about [the coming of] the Last Hour' - you would answer, 'We do not know what that Last Hour may be: we think it is no more than an empty guess, and [so] we are by no means convinced!'"

And [the word] will be spoken: "Today We shall be oblivious of you as you were oblivious of the coming of this your Day [of Judgment]; and so your goal is the fire, and you shall have none to succour you:

this, because you made God's messages the target of your mockery, having allowed the life of this world to beguile you!" On that Day, therefore, they will not be brought out of the fire, nor will they be allowed to make amends.

And who could be more astray than one who invokes, instead of God, such as will not respond to him either now or on the Day of Resurrection, and are not even conscious of being invoked? -

Are, then, they [whose hearts are sealed] waiting for the Last Hour [waiting] that it come upon them of a sudden? But it has already been foretold! And what will their remembrance [of their past sins] avail them, once it has come upon them?

and [in the end] the trumpet [of resurrection] will be blown: that will be the Day of a warning fulfilled.

The judgment passed by Me shall not be altered; but never do I do the least wrong unto My creatures!"

[and bethink thyself, too, of] the Day on which all [human beings) will in truth hear the final blast - that Day of [their] coming-forth [from death].

and, verily, judgment is bound to come!

they who [mockingly] ask, "When is that Day of Judgment to be?"

Hence, leave them alone until they face that [Judgment] Day of theirs, when they will be stricken with terror:

But nay - the Last Hour is the time when they shall truly meet their fate; and that Last Hour will be most calamitous, and most bitter:

On the Day when they shall be dragged into the fire on their faces, [they will be told:] "Taste now the touch of hell-fire!"

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Such will be their welcome on Judgment Day!

And, indeed, [to the same end45] We sent forth Noah and Abraham [as Our message-bearers], and established prophethood and revelation among their descendants; and some of them were on the right way, but many were iniquitous.

on the Day when God will raise them all from the dead and will make them truly understand all that they did [in life]: God will have taken [all of] it into account, even though they [themselves] may have forgotten it - for God is witness unto everything.

ART THOU NOT aware that God knows all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth? Never can there be a secret confabulation between three persons without His being the fourth of them, nor between five without His being the sixth of them; and neither between less than that, or more, without His being with them wherever they may be. But in the end, on Resurrection Day, He will make them truly understand what they did: for, verily, God has full knowledge of everything.

On the Day when God will raise them all from the dead, they will swear before Him as they [now] swear before you, thinking that they are on firm ground [in their assumptions]. Oh, verily, it is they, they who are the [greatest] liars!

Thou canst not find people who [truly) believe in God and the Last Day and [at the same time) love anyone who contends against God and His Apostle - even though they be their fathers, or their sons, or their brothers, or [others of] their kindred. (As for the true believers,] it is they in whose hearts He has inscribed faith, and whom He has strengthened with inspiration from Himself, and whom [in time] He will admit into gardens through which running waters flow, therein to abide. Well-pleased is God with them, and well-pleased are they with Him. They are God's partisans: oh, verily, it is they, the partisans of God, who shall attain to a happy state!

But [bear in mind that] neither your kinsfolk nor [even] your own children will be of any benefit to you on Resurrection Day, [for then] He will decide between you [on your merit alone]: and God sees all that you do.

In them, indeed, you have a good example for everyone who looks forward [with hope and awe8] to God and the Last Day. And if any turns away, [let him know that] God is truly self-sufficient, the One to whom all praise is due."

O YOU who have attained to faith! Whenever believing women come unto you, forsaking the domain of evil, examine them, [although only] God is fully aware of their faith; and if you have thus ascertained that they are believers, do not send them back to the deniers of the truth, [since] they are [no longer] lawful to their erstwhile husbands, and these are [no longer] lawful to them. None the less, you shall return to them whatever they have spent [on their wives by way of dower]; and [then, O believers,] you will be committing no sin if you marry them after giving them their dowers. On the other hand, hold not to the marriage-tie with women who [continue to] deny the truth, and ask but for [the return of] whatever you have spent [by way of dower] - just as they [whose wives have gone over to you] have the right to demand [the return of] whatever they have spent. Such is God's judgment: He judges between you [in equity] - for God is all-knowing, wise.

And [this happened, too,] when Jesus, the son of Mary, said: "O children of Israel! Behold, I am an apostle of God unto you, [sent] to confirm the truth of whatever there still remains of the Torah, and to give [you] the glad tiding of an apostle who shall come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad." But when he [whose coming Jesus had foretold] came unto them with all evidence of the truth, they said: "This [alleged message of his] is [nothing but] spellbinding eloquence!"

[Think of 8] the time when He shall gather you all together unto the Day of the [Last] Gathering - that Day of Loss and Gain! For, as for him who shall have believed in God and done what is just and right, He will [on that Day] efface his bad deeds, and will admit him into gardens through which running waters flow, therein to abide beyond the count of time: that will be a triumph supreme!

But as soon as they beheld [the garden and could not recognize] it, they exclaimed, "Surely we have lost our way!"

Or have you received a solemn promise, binding on Us till Resurrection Day, that yours will assuredly be whatever you judge [to be your rightful due]?

and the earth and the mountains shall be lifted up and crushed with a single stroke!

On that Day you shall be brought to judgment: not [even] the most hidden of your deeds will remain hidden.

Now as for him whose record shall be placed in his right hand, he will exclaim: "Come you all!" Read this my record!

and who accept as true the [coming of the] Day of Judgment;

How, then, if you refuse to acknowledge the truth, will you protect yourselves on that Day which shall turn the hair of children grey,

and the Day of Judgment we were wont to call a lie

NAY! I call to witness the Day of Resurrection!

asking [derisively], "When is that Resurrection Day to be?"

[The truly virtuous are] they [who] fulfil their vows, and stand in awe of a Day the woe of which is bound to spread far and wide,

Await, then, in all patience thy Sustainer's judgment, and pay no heed to any of them, who is a wilful sinner or an ingrate;

and when all the apostles are called together at a time appointed...

For the Day of Distinction [between the true and the false]!

that Day of Distinction [between the true and the false, when they will be told]: "We have brought you together with those [sinners] of olden times;

VERILY, the Day of Distinction [between the true and the false] has indeed its appointed time:

the Day when the trumpet [of resurrection] is sounded and you all come forward in multitudes;

[HENCE, think of] the Day when a violent convulsion will convulse [the world],

AND SO, when the piercing call [of resurrection] is heard

WHEN THE SUN is shrouded in darkness,

Nay, [O men,] but you [are lured away from God whenever you are tempted to] give the lie to [God's] Judgment!

[a fire] which they shall enter on Judgment Day,

Do they not know that they are bound to be raised from the dead

those who give the lie to the [coming of] Judgment Day:

and [then bethink thyself of] the promised Day,

HAS THERE COME unto thee the tiding of the Overshadowing Event?'

Nay, but [how will you fare on Judgment Day,] when the earth is crushed with crushing upon crushing,

Is not God the most just of judges?

WHEN THE EARTH quakes with her [last] mighty quaking,

OH, the sudden calamity!