50QāfQسُورَةُ ق

Qāf [Q]. By [the literal composition miracle of] the glorious Qur’an!

But no! They [the Arabian mushriks] deemed it strange that a warner from among them would come to them [with a divine writ]; and so the God-deniers [among them] said, “This [combination of a mortal with a divine scripture] is something bizarre!

“[Do you mean to tell us that] when we die and [our bodies] disintegrate into soil [we will be brought back to life]? Such [transition from death to life] is remote and far-fetched.”

We certainly know what portion [of them] goes back to [its] earth [origin], for We keep a meticulous record [of their physical and non-physical reality].

No [to their assumptions]. Rather they took issue with truth and justice when it came to them [from on high], and so they are in a state of [mental] commotion.

Did they not take a look at the sky above them — how We built it and decorated it and made it free of any breaches [in structure]?

And the earth — [how] We stretched it out and placed anchors in it and sprouted in it of every beautiful and corresponding match?

[This is meant as] an eye-opener and an uplift of conscience for every reevaluating subject [of Ours].

And We brought down from the skies water rich in results [fulfilling all expectations], and We sprout therewith gardens and grains of harvest,

And soaring palm trees with their manifold dates —

[Amounting to] sustenance for [God’s] people [on earth]; and We brought back to life unresponsive terra firma: [and] thus will be the exit [out of death into life].

Contradicting Allah [in times] before them [the Arabian mushriks] were the people of Nūḥ, and the folk of al-Rass, and [the tribal nation of] Thamūd,

And [the civilization of] ‘Ād, and [the empire of] Pharaoh, and Lūṭ’s society members,

And the dwellers of the Aykah [jungle], and the people of Tubba‘ [in Yemen]: all of them imputed lies to the [God-sent] apostles [of theirs], thereupon triggering the [divine] promise [of social annihilation].

Do they [the Arabian mushriks] think that We have been exhausted by initiating the first creation [of matter and life]? More exactly, they are the ones who are confused about [the initiation of] a renewal of [life-bearing] creation!

[Now], in truth, it is We who have created the social human and We know [exactly] what his inner thoughts are [what goes through his mind] — for We are closer to him than the movement of blood from head to heart.

Bear in mind that the two receivers [angels] on the right and on the left are permanent attendees [of every person],

[And so] he cannot utter one word except that there is a ubiquitous [angelic] monitor in his presence.

And [finally] the dizzying effect of death sets in, in harmony with truth and justice: that is the moment [O man!] you have been dodging [all your life]!

And [in conclusion] the trumpet [of life restoration] shall be blown: that will be the Day of [the fulfilled divine] promise.

And every living being will come forward accompanied by an impetus and a conscience,

[And he who was entrenched in the lure of the world will be told], “Indeed, you have been oblivious of this [Day], but now We have lifted the veneer [of materialism] from you [your sight], and today your vision is laser-sharp.”

And his [satanic] counterpart will say, “This [person] is what has been obstinate, ever-present with me [through life’s journey]!”

[And to that Allah will command], “Cast, cast into Hell every stubborn God- and truth- denier,

“[Everyone] who tenaciously holds back what is good, a contentious aggressor,

“[Everyone] who ascribed along with Allah another deity/divinity: cast him, then, cast him into very severe suffering!”

His satanic counterpart will say, “Our Sustainer! I did not overpower him; rather he was in faraway murkiness [of his own accord]!”

[And Allah] will say, “Do not quarrel in My presence, [O you villains], for I offered you a forewarning [of this Day of Reckoning].

“The stated verdict shall not be amended in My attendance; nonetheless I am not one who does injustice to [accountable] subordinates.”

On that Day We will ask Hell, “Are you full?” — and it will answer, “[No], is there yet more [to come]?”

And [on that Day] Paradise will be brought into contiguity with those who avoided [Allah’s corrective power by obeying Him], all this is no longer a distant occurrence [as was their worldly impression].

[And they will hear it said], “This is what you have been promised — all you who were quick to reference Allah [in whatever you did] and sustain a vigilance [about His power existence in world affairs],

“[All you] who were anxious about Allah, even with the distance of the unknown [between subject and Sustainer], and return to Allah with a heart compliant [with Him]:

“Enter it [Paradise] in peace; this is the Day when eternity begins!”

Therein lies whatever they desire — but We still have more [to give].

And how many a generation before them [the Arabian mushriks] have We enervated [unto demise] — generations that had much more standing power [than they had] — [who, after losing their power], went about wondering throughout the land? But can there be an escape [from Allah]?

In that [the collapse of empires and civilizations] there is a wakefulness for he who has a [perceptive] heart or [for he who] is “tuned in” [to such historical lessons] and is an observer [of how the past serves as a lesson for the present]:

For, indeed, We [it is who] created the heavens and the earth and all that is between them in six eons, and never have We been tinged by exhaustion.

Therefore, be patient with whatever they [the Arabian mushriks] are saying and extol your Sustainer’s incomparable glory before the rising of the Sun and before its setting,

And during the night, too, extol [His matchless glory], and at the end of every expression of meekness.

And be attentive to a Day when an announcer [the angel of death] declares from a short distance [the restoration of life to all who died]:

[That is] the Day when everyone shall hear the final rumble corresponding to the precepts of truth and justice — the Day of reemergence [from a death in the world to an eternity in the afterlife].

Surely, it is We who bring [people] into life and We take [them] into death; and to Us is the final destination

[On the] Day when the earth around [their dead bodies] will splinter as they hasten [to their positions in the court of divine justice]: that gathering [of the dead who are now alive again] is very easy for Us [to reconstitute].

We know very well what they [the mushriks] are saying [when they deny life after death]; and you [Muhammad] are not expected to be a dictator [imposing yourself on their freedom of choice]. Nonetheless, employ the Qur’an to stimulate the conscience of he who is apprehensive about My warning.