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Asad, Surah 37: Those drawn up in Ranks (As-Saaffaat)

Surahs

[1] CONSIDER these [messages] ranged in serried ranks,

[2] and restraining [from evil] by a call to restraint,

[3] and conveying [to all the world] a reminder:

[4] Verily, most surely, your God is One –

[5] the Sustainer of the heavens and the earth and of all that is between them, and the Sustainer of all the points of sunrise!

[6] Behold, We have adorned the skies nearest to the earth with the beauty of stars,

[7] and have made them secure against every rebellious, satanic force,

[8] [so that] they [who seek to learn the unknowable] should not be able to overhear the host on high, but shall be repelled from all sides,

[9] cast out [from all grace], with lasting suffering in store for them [in the life to come];

[10] but if anyone does succeed in snatching a glimpse [of such knowledge], he is [henceforth] pursued by a piercing flame.

[11] AND NOW ask those [who deny the truth] to enlighten thee: Were they more difficult to create than all those [untold marvels] that We have created? - for, behold, them have We created out of [mere] clay commingled with water!

[12] Nay, but whereas thou dost marvel, they [only] scoff;

[13] and when they are reminded [of the truth], they refuse to take it to heart;

[14] and when they become aware of a [divine] message, they turn it to ridicule

[15] and say: “This is clearly nothing but [a mortal’s] spellbinding eloquence!

[16] Why - after we have died and become mere dust and bones, shall we, forsooth, be raised from the dead? –

[17] and perhaps also our forebears of old?”

[18] Say: “Yea, indeed - and most abject will you then be!” –

[19] for that [resurrection which they deride] will be [upon them of a sudden, as if it were] but a single accusing cry - and then, lo! they will begin to see [the truth]

[20] and will say: “Oh, woe unto us! This is the Day of Judgment!”

[21] [And they will be told:] “This is the Day of Distinction [between the true and the false - the Day] which you were wont to call a lie!”

[22] [And God will thus command:] “Assemble all those who were bent on evildoing, together with others of their ilk and [with] all that they were wont to worship

[23] instead of God, and lead them all onto the way to the blazing fire,

[24] and halt them [there]!” [And then,] behold, they shall be asked,

[25] “How is it that [now] you cannot succour one another?”

[26] Nay, but on that Day they would willingly surrender [to God];

[27] but [since it will be too late,] they will turn upon one another, demanding of each other [to relieve them of the burden of their past sins].

[28] Some [of them] will say: “Behold, you were wont to approach us [deceptively] from the right!”

[29] [To which] the others will reply: “Nay, you yourselves were bereft of all faith!

[30] Moreover, we had no power at all over you: nay, you were people filled with overweening arrogance!

[31] But now our Sustainer’s word has come true against us [as well]: verily, we are bound to taste [the fruit of our sins].

[32] So then, [if it be true that] we have caused you to err grievously - behold, we ourselves had been lost in grievous error!”

[33] And, verily, on that Day they all will share in their common suffering.

[34] Verily, thus shall We deal with all who were lost in sin:

[35] for, behold, whenever they were told, “There is no deity save God,” they would glory in their arrogance

[36] and would say, “Shall we, then, give up our deities at the bidding of a mad poet?”

[37] Nay, but he [whom you call a mad poet] has brought the truth; and he confirms the truth of [what the earlier of God’s] message-bearers [have taught].

[38] Behold, you will indeed taste grievous suffering [in the life to come],

[39] although you shall not be requited for aught but what you were wont to do.

[40] Not so, however, God’s true servants:

[41] [in the hereafter,] theirs shall be a sustenance which they will recognize

[42] as the fruits [of their life on earth]; and honoured shall they be

[43] in gardens of bliss,

[44] facing one another [in love] upon thrones of happiness.

[45] A cup will be passed round among them [with a drink] from unsullied springs,

[46] clear, delightful to those who drink it:

[47] no headiness will be in it, and they will not get drunk thereon.

[48] And with them will be mates of modest gaze, most beautiful of eye,

[49] [as free of faults] as if they were hidden [ostrich] eggs.

[50] And they will all turn to one another, asking each other [about their past lives].

[51] One of them speaks thus: “Behold, I had [on earth] a close companion

[52] who was wont to ask [me], ‘Why - art thou really one of those who believe it to be true

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

[54] [And] he adds: “Would you like to look [and see him]?” –

[55] and then he looks and sees that [companion of his] in the midst of the blazing fire,

[56] and says: “By God! Verily, thou hast almost destroyed me [too, O my erstwhile companion]

[57] for had it not been for my Sustainer’s favour, I would surely be [now] among those who are given over [to suffering]!

[58] But then, [O my friends in paradise,] is it [really] so that we are not to die

[59] [again,] beyond our previous death, and that we shall never [again] be made to suffer?

[60] Verily, this - this indeed - is the triumph supreme!”

[61] For the like of this, then, let them labour, those who labour [in God’s way]!

[62] Is such [a paradise] the better welcome - or the [hellish] tree of deadly fruit?

[63] Verily, We have caused it to be a trial for evildoers:

[64] for, behold, it is a tree that grows in the very heart of the blazing fire [of hell],

[65] its fruit [as repulsive] as satans’ heads;

[66] and they [who are lost in evil] are indeed bound to eat thereof, and to fill their bellies therewith.

[67] And, behold, above all this they will be confounded with burning despair!

[68] And once again: Verily, the blazing fire is their ultimate goal –

[69] for, behold, they found their forebears on a wrong way,

[70] and [now] they make haste to follow in their footsteps!

[71] Thus, indeed, most of the people of old went astray before them,

[72] although, verily, We had sent warners unto them:

[73] and behold what happened in the end to those that had been warned [to no avail]!

[74] EXCEPT for God’s true servants, [most people are apt to go astray.]

[75] And, indeed, [it was for this reason that] Noah cried unto Us - and how excellent was Our response:

[76] for We saved him and his household from that awesome calamity,

[77] and caused his offspring to endure [on earth];

[78] and We left him thus to be remembered among later generations:

[79] “Peace be upon Noah throughout all the worlds!”

[80] Verily, thus do We reward the doers of good –

[81] for he was truly one of our believing servants:

[82] [and so We saved him and those who followed him] and then We caused the others to drown.

[83] AND, BEHOLD, of his persuasion was Abraham, too,

[84] when he turned to his Sustainer with a heart free of evil,

[85] and [thus] spoke to his father and his people: “What is it that you worship?

[86] Do you want [to bow down before] a lie - [before] deities other than God?

[87] What, then, do you think of the Sustainer of all the worlds?”

[88] Then he cast a glance at the stars,

[89] and said, “Verily, I am sick [at heart]!”

[90] and at that they turned their backs on him and went away.

[91] Thereupon he approached their gods stealthily and said, “What! You do not eat [of the offerings placed before you]?

[92] What is amiss with you that you do not speak?”

[93] And then he fell upon them, smiting them with his right hand.

[94] [But] then the others came towards him hurriedly [and accused him of his deed].

[95] He answered: “Do you worship something that you [yourselves] have carved,

[96] the while it is God who has created you and all your handiwork?”

[97] They exclaimed: “Build a pyre for him, and cast him into the blazing fire!”

[98] But whereas they sought to do evil unto him, We [frustrated their designs, and thus] brought them low?

[99] And [Abraham] said: “Verily, I shall [leave this land and] go wherever my Sustainer will guide me!”

[100] [And he prayed:] “O my Sustainer! Bestow upon me the gift of [a son who shall be] one of the righteous!” –

[101] whereupon We gave him the glad tiding of a boy-child gentle [like himself]?

[102] And [one day,] when [the child] had become old enough to share in his [father’s] endeavours, the latter said: “O my dear son! I have seen in a dream that I should sacrifice thee: consider, then, what would be thy view!” [Ishmael] answered: “O my father! Do as thou art bidden: thou wilt find me, if God so wills, among those who are patient in adversity!”

[103] But as soon as the two had surrendered themselves to [what they thought to be] the will of God, and [Abraham] had laid him down on his face,

[104] We called out to him: “O Abraham,

[105] thou hast already fulfilled [the purpose of] that dream- vision!” Thus, verily, do We reward the doers of good:

[106] for, behold, all this was indeed a trial, clear in itself.

[107] And We ransomed him with a tremendous sacrifice,

[108] and left him thus to be remembered among later generations:

[109] “Peace be upon Abraham!”

[110] Thus do We reward the doers of good –

[111] for he was truly one of our believing servants.

[112] And [in time] We gave him the glad tiding of Isaac, [who, too, would be] a prophet, one of the righteous;

[113] and We blessed him and Isaac: but among the offspring of these two there were [destined] to be both doers of good and such as would glaringly sin against themselves.

[114] THUS, INDEED, did We bestow Our favour upon Moses and Aaron;

[115] and We saved them and their people from the awesome calamity [of bondage],

[116] and succoured them, so that [in the end] it was they who achieved victory.

[117] And We gave them the divine writ that made [right and wrong] distinct,

[118] and guided them the straight way,

[119] and left them thus to be remembered among later generations:

[120] “Peace be upon Moses and Aaron!”

[121] Thus do We reward the doers of good –

[122] for those two were truly among Our believing servants.

[123] AND, BEHOLD, Elijah [too] was indeed one of Our message-bearers

[124] when he spoke [thus] to his people: “Will you not remain conscious of God?

[125] Will you invoke Baal and forsake [God,] the best of artisans -

[126] God, your Sustainer and the Sustainer of your forebears of old?”

[127] But they gave him the lie: and therefore they will most surely be arraigned [on Judgment Day],

[128] excepting only [those who were] God’s true servants;

[129] and him We left thus to be remembered among later generations:

[130] “Peace be upon Elijah and his followers!”

[131] Verily, thus do We reward the doers of good –

[132] for he was truly one of Our believing servants!

[133] AND, BEHOLD, Lot was indeed one of Our message-bearers;

[134] [and so,] when [We decreed the doom of his sinful town,] We saved him and his household,

[135] except an old woman who was among those that stayed behind;

[136] and then We utterly destroyed the others:

[137] and, verily, [to this day] you pass by the remnants of their dwellings at morning-time

[138] and by night. Will you not, then, use your reason?

[139] AND, BEHOLD, Jonah was indeed one of Our message-bearers

[140] when he fled like a runaway slave onto a laden ship.

[141] And then they cast lots, and he was the one who lost;

[142] [and they cast him into the sea,] whereupon the great fish swallowed him, for he had been blameworthy.

[143] And had he not been of those who [even in the deep darkness of their distress are able to] extol God’s limitless glory,

[144] he would indeed have remained in its belly till the Day when all shall be raised from the dead:

[145] but We caused him to be cast forth on a desert shore, sick [at heart] as he was,

[146] and caused a creeping plant to grow over him [out of the barren soil].

[147] And [then] We sent him [once again] to [his people,] a hundred thousand [souls] or more:

[148] and [this time] they believed [in him] and so We allowed them to enjoy their life during the time allotted to them?

[149] AND NOW ask them to enlighten thee: Has thy Sustainer daughters, whereas they would have [only] sons?

[150] - or is it that We have created the angels female, and they [who believe them to be divine] have witnessed [that act of creation]?

[151] Oh, verily, it is out of their own [inclination to] falsehood that some people assert,

[152] “God has begotten [a son]”; and, verily, they are lying [too, when they say],

[153] “He has chosen daughters in preference to sons”!

[154] What is amiss with you and your judgment?

[155] Will you not, then, bethink yourselves?

[156] Or have you, perchance, a clear evidence [for your assertions]?

[157] Produce, then, that divine writ of yours, if you are speaking the truth!

[158] And some people have invented a kinship between Him and all manner of invisible forces although [even] these invisible forces know well that, verily, they [who thus blaspheme against God] shall indeed be arraigned [before Him on Judgment Day: for]

[159] limitless is God in His glory, above anything that men may devise by way of definition!

[160] Not thus, however, [behave] God’s true servants:

[161] for, verily, neither you [blasphemers] nor the objects of your worship

[162] can cause anyone to fall prey to your temptation

[163] unless it be such as rushes towards the blazing fire [of his own accord]!

[164] [All forces of nature praise God and say:] “Among us, too, there is none but has a place assigned to it [by Him];

[165] and, verily, we too are ranged [before Him in worship];

[166] and, verily, we too extol His limitless glory!”

[167] AND, INDEED, they [who deny the truth] have always been wont to say,

[168] “If only we had a tradition [to this effect] from our forebears,

[169] we would certainly be true servants of God.”

[170] And yet, [now that this divine writ has been placed before them,] they refuse to acknowledge it as true! In time, however, they will come to know [what it was that they had rejected]:

[171] for, long ago has Our word gone forth unto Our servants, the message- bearers,

[172] that, verily, they - they indeed - would be succoured,

[173] and that, verily, Our hosts - they indeed - would [in the end] be victorious!

[174] Hence, turn thou aside for a while from those [who deny the truth],

[175] and see them [for what they are]; and in time they [too] will come to see [what they do not see now].

[176] Do they, then, [really] wish that Our chastisement be hastened on?

[177] But then, once it alights upon them, hapless will be the awakening of those who were warned [to no avail]!

[178] Hence, turn thou aside for a while from them,

[179] and see [them for what they are]; and n time they [too] will come to see [what they do not see now].

[180] LIMITLESS in His glory is thy Sustainer, the Lord of almightiness, [exalted] above anything that men may devise by way of definition!

[181] And peace be upon all His message-bearers!

[182] And all praise is due to God alone, the Sustainer of all the worlds!