* | quran | * | 53. an-najm. the star      <   > 

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1.  *     By the Star when it goes down,-     CONSIDER this unfolding [of God's message], as it comes down from on high! [Or: "Consider the star when it sets" - an interpretation which for some reason has the preference of the majority of the commentators. However, almost all of them admit that the term najm - derived from the verb najama, "it appeared", "began", "ensued", or "proceeded" - denotes also the "unfolding" of something that comes or appears gradually, as if by installments. Hence, this term has from the very beginning been applied to each of the gradually-revealed parts (nujum) of the Quran and, thus, to the process of its gradual revelation, or its "unfolding", as such. This was, in fact, the interpretation of the above verse given by Abd Allah ibn Abbas (as quoted by Tabari; in view of the sequence, this interpretation is regarded as fully justified by Raghib, Zamakhshari, Razi, Baydawi, Ibn Kathir and other authorities. Raghib and Ibn Kathir, in particular, point to the phrase mawaqi an-nujum in 56:75, which undoubtedly refers to the step-by-step revelation of the Quran. As regards my rendering of the adjective particle wa as "Consider", see note on 74:32.]     By/and the star/planet if (it) fell/dropped.     swr+ alnjm  bsm allh alrHmn alrHym ? walnjm aXa hwi
 
2.  *     Your Companion is neither astray nor being misled.     This fellow-man of yours has not gone astray, nor is he deluded, [See note on 7:184.]     Your companion/friend did not become misguided/lost, and did not become misguided/failed.     maDl SaHbkm wmaGwi
 
3.  *     Nor does he say (aught) of (his own) Desire.     and neither does he speak out of his own desire:     And (your friend) does not speak/clarify from the self attraction for desire.     wmaynTq `n alhwi
 
4.  *     It is no less than inspiration sent down to him:     that [which he conveys to you] is but [a divine] inspiration with which he is being inspired -     That truly it is except inspiration/revelation (that) is being inspired/revealed.     an hw ala wHy ywHi
 
5.  *     He was taught by one Mighty in Power,     something that a very mighty one has imparted to him: [I.e., the Angel of Revelation, Gabriel.]     The powers'/strength's strong (severe) taught/instructed him.     `lmh $dyd alqwi
 
6.  *     Endued with Wisdom: for he appeared (in stately form);     [an angel] endowed with surpassing power, who in time manifested himself in his true shape and nature,     (Owner) of strength/wisdom, so he/He straightened/leveled.     Xw mr+ fastwi
 
7.  *     While he was in the highest part of the horizon:     appearing in the horizon's loftiest part, [Cf. 81:23 and the corresponding note. According to the Quran and the testimony of authentic Traditions, the Prophet had no more than twice in his lifetime a vision of this angelic force "manifested in its true shape and nature" (which, as pointed out by Zamakhshari, is the meaning of the expression istawa in this context): once after the period called fatrat al-wahy (see introductory note to surah 74), and another time, as alluded to in verses 13-18, in the course of his mystic vision known as the "Ascension" (see Appendix IV).]     And he/He (is) at/by the highest horizon/direction.     whw balafq ala`li
 
8.  *     Then he approached and came closer,     and then drew near, and came close,     Then he neared, so he lowered/dropped.     xm dna ftdli
 
9.  *     And was at a distance of but two bow-lengths or (even) nearer;     until he was but two bow-lengths away, or even nearer. [This graphic "description" of the angel's approach, based on an ancient Arabian figure of speech, is meant to convey the idea that the Angel of Revelation became a clearly perceptible, almost tangible, presence.]     So he was (a) short measure of length (of) two arm's/bow's (lengths) or nearer.     fkan qab qwsyn aw adni
 
10.  *     So did ((Allah)) convey the inspiration to His Servant- (conveyed) what He (meant) to convey.     And thus did [God] reveal unto His servant whatever He deemed right to reveal. [Lit., "whatever He revealed": an allusion to the exceptional manifestation of the angel "in his true shape and nature" as well as to the contents of divine revelation as such. In its deeper sense the above phrase implies that even to His chosen prophets God does not entirely unveil the ultimate mysteries of existence, of life and death, of the purpose for which He has created the universe, or of the nature of the universe itself.]     So he/He inspired/revealed to His worshipper/slave/servant what He inspired/revealed.     fawHi ali `bdh maawHi
 
11.  *     The (Prophet's) (mind and) heart in no way falsified that which he saw.     The [servant's] heart did not give the lie to what he saw: [Inasmuch as the Prophet was fully aware of the spiritual character of his experience, there was no conflict between his conscious mind and his intuitive perception (the "vision of the heart") of what is normally not perceptible.]     The heart did not lie/falsify what he/it saw/understood.     makXb alfWad marai
 
12.  *     Will ye then dispute with him concerning what he saw?     will you, then, contend with him as to what he saw? [Thus the Quran makes it clear that the Prophet's vision of the angel was not a delusion but a true spiritual experience: but precisely because it was purely spiritual in nature, it could be conveyed to others only by means of symbols and allegories, which skeptics all too readily dismiss as fancies, "contending with him as to what he saw".]     So do you argue/discuss with him on what he sees/understands?     aftmarwnh `li mayri
 
13.  *     For indeed he saw him at a second descent,     And, indeed, he saw him* a second time [I.e., he saw the angel "manifested in his true shape and nature".]     And he had (E) seen/understood him another/other one descent.     wlqd rah nzl+ aKri
 
14.  *     Near the Lote-tree beyond which none may pass:     by the lote-tree of the farthest limit, [I.e., on the occasion of his mystic experience of the "Ascension" (miraj). Explaining the vision conveyed in the expression sidrat al-muntaha, Raghib suggests that owing to the abundance of its leafy shade, the sidr or sidrah (the Arabian lote-tree) appears in the Quran as well as in the Traditions relating to the Ascension as a symbol of the "shade" - i.e., the spiritual peace and fulfillment - of paradise. One may assume that the qualifying term al-muntaha ("of the utmost [or "farthest"] limit") is indicative of the fact that God has set a definite limit to all knowledge accessible to created beings, as pointed out in the Nihayah: implying, in particular, that human knowledge, though potentially vast and penetrating, can never - not even in paradise (the "garden of promise" mentioned in the next verse) - attain to an understanding of the ultimate reality, which the Creator has reserved for Himself (cf. note on verse 10 above).]     At the lote-tree (at) the ultimate/absolute end.     `nd sdr+ almnthi
 
15.  *     Near it is the Garden of Abode.     near unto the garden of promise.     At it (is) the shelter's/refuge's treed garden/paradise.     `ndha jn+ almawi
 
16.  *     Behold, the Lote-tree was shrouded (in mystery unspeakable!)     with the lote-tree veiled in a veil of nameless splendour.... [Lit., "when the lote-tree was veiled with whatever veiled [it]": a phrase deliberately vague (mubham), indicative of the inconceivable majesty and splendour attaching to this symbol of paradise "which no description can picture and no definition can embrace" (Zamakhshari).]     When what covers/darkens covers/darkens the lote-tree.     aX yG$i alsdr+ mayG$i
 
17.  *     (His) sight never swerved, nor did it go wrong!     [And withal,] the eye did not waver, nor yet did it stray:     The eye sight/knowledge did not deviate/turn away, and (it) did not exceed the limit.     mazaG albSr wmaTGi
 
18.  *     For truly did he see, of the Signs of his Lord, the Greatest!     truly did he see some of the most profound of his Sustainer's symbols. [Lit., "[some] of the greatest of his Sustainer's symbols (ayat)". For this specific rendering of the term ayah, see note on 17:1, which refers to the same mystic experience, namely, the Ascension. In both these Quranic allusions the Prophet is said to have been "made to see" (i.e., given to understand) some, but not all, of the ultimate truths (cf. also 7:187-188); and this, too, serves to explain the idea expressed in verse 10 above.]     He had (E) seen/understood from his Lord's greatest/magnified evidences/signs.     lqd rai mn ayat rbh alkbri
 
19.  *     Have ye seen Lat. and 'Uzza,     HAVE YOU, then, ever considered [what you are worshipping in] Al-Lat and Al-Uzza,     Did you see/understand Allata/Hashtaroot (most famous idol goddess in pre-Islamic ignorance) and Elozza (idol statue)?     afraytm allat wal`zi
 
20.  *     And another, the third (goddess), Manat?     as well as [in] Manat, the third and last [of this triad]? [After pointing out that the Prophet was granted true insight into some of the most profound verities, the Quran draws our attention to the "false symbols" which men so often choose to invest with divine qualities or powers: in this instance - by way of example - to the blasphemous imagery of the Propheet's pagan contemporaries epitomized in the triad of Al-Lat, Manat and Al-Uzza. These three goddesses - regarded by the pagan Arabs as "God's daughters" side by side with the angels (who, too, were conceived of as females) - were worshipped in most of pre-Islamic Arabia, and had several shrines in the Hijaz and in Najd. The worship of Al-Lat was particularly ancient and almost certainly of South-Arabian origin; she may have been the prototype of the Greek semi-goddess Leto, one of the wives of Zeus and mother of Apollo and Artemis.]     And Manat, the third the other?     wmna+ alxalx+ alaKri
 
21.  *     What! for you the male sex, and for Him, the female?     Why - for yourselves [you would choose only] male offspring, whereas to Him [you assign] female: [In view of the contempt which the pagan Arabs felt for their female offspring (cf. 16:57-59 and 62, as well as the corresponding notes), their attribution of "daughters" to God was particularly absurd and self-contradictory: for, quite apart from the blasphemous belief in God's having "offspring" of any kind, their ascribing to Him what they themselves despised gave the lie to their alleged "reverence for Him whom they, too, regarded as the Supreme Being - a point which is stressed with irony in the next sentence.]     Are for you the male and for Him the female?     alkm alXkr wlh alanxi
 
22.  *     Behold, such would be indeed a division most unfair!     that, lo and behold, is an unfair division!     That (is) then unjust apportionment/division.     tlk aXa qsm+ Dyzi
 
23.  *     These are nothing but names which ye have devised,- ye and your fathers,- for which Allah has sent down no authority (whatever). They follow nothing but conjecture and what their own souls desire!- Even though there has already come to them Guidance from their Lord!     These [allegedly divine beings] are nothing but empty names which you have invented - you and your forefathers - [and] for which God has bestowed no warrant from on high. [Cf. 12:40.] They [who worship them] follow nothing but surmise and their own wishful thinking - although right guidance has now indeed come unto them from their Sustainer. [An allusion to the pagan idea that those goddesses, as well as the angels, would act as "mediators" between their worshippers and God: a wishful idea which lingers on even among adherents of higher religions in the guise of a veneration of saints and deified persons.]     That truly it is except names, you named it, you and your fathers/forefathers, God did not descend with it from a proof/evidence, that truly they follow except the doubt/suspicion, and what the selves desire/attract, and the guidance had (E) come to them from their Lord.     an hy ala asma' smytmwha antm wabaWkm maanzl allh bha mn slTan an ytb`wn ala alZn wmathwi alanfs wlqd ja'hm mn rbhm alhdi
 
24.  *     Nay, shall man have (just) anything he hankers after?     Does man imagine that it is his due to have [Lit., "Is it for man to have...", etc.] all that he might wish for,     Or (is it) to the human/mankind what he wished/desired?     am llansan matmni
 
25.  *     But it is to Allah that the End and the Beginning (of all things) belong.     despite the fact that [both] the life to come and this present [one] belong to God [alone]? [I.e., despite the fact (which is the meaning of the particle fa in this context) that God is omnipotent and omniscient and does not, therefore, require any "mediator" between Himself and His creatures.]     So to God (is) the end (other life) and the first/beginning.     fllh alaKr+ walawli
 
26.  *     How many-so-ever be the angels in the heavens, their intercession will avail nothing except after Allah has given leave for whom He pleases and that he is acceptable to Him.     For, however many angels there be in the heavens, their intercession can be of no least avail [to anyone] - except after God has given leave [to intercede] for whomever He wills and with whom He is well-pleased. [For an explanation of the Quranic concept of "intercession", see note on 10:3, as well as notes on 10:18.]     And how many from (an) angel (is) in the skies/space, their mediation does not enrich/suffice a thing except from after that God permits/allows to whom He wills/wants/intends, and He accepts/approves.     wkm mn mlk fy alsmawat latGny $fa`thm $yYa ala mn b`d an yaXn allh lmn y$a' wyrDi
 
27.  *     Those who believe not in the Hereafter, name the angels with female names.     Behold, it is [only] such as do not [really] believe in the life to come that regard the angels as female beings; [Lit., "that name the angels with a female name" - i.e., think of them as being endowed with sex and/or as being "God's daughters". As the Quran points out in many places, the people spoken of in this context do believe in life after death, inasmuch as they express the hope that the angels and the imaginary deities which they worship will "mediate" between them and God, and will "intercede" for them. However, their belief is far too vague to make them realize that the quality of man's life in the hereafter does not depend on such outside factors but is causally, and directly, connected with the manner of his life in this world: and so the Quran declares that their attitude is, for all practical purposes, not much different from the attitude of people who reject the idea of a hereafter altogether.]     That truly those who do not believe with (in) the end (other life) they name (E) the angels the female's naming.     an alXyn layWmnwn balaKr+ lysmwn almlaYk+ tsmy+ alanxi
 
28.  *     But they have no knowledge therein. They follow nothing but conjecture; and conjecture avails nothing against Truth.     and [since] they have no knowledge whatever thereof, they follow nothing but surmise: yet, behold, never can surmise take the place of truth. [Namely, of the real nature and function of the category of beings spoken of in the Quran as angels, inasmuch as they belong to the realm of al-ghayb, "that which is beyond the reach of human perception". Alternatively, the pronoun in bihi may relate to God, in which case the phrase could be rendered as "they have no knowledge whatever of Him" - implying that both the attribution of "progeny" to Him and the belief that His judgment depends on, or could be influenced by, "mediation" or "intercession" is the result of an anthropomorphic concept of God and, therefore, far removed from the truth.]     And (there is) no knowledge for them with it, that truly they follow except the doubt/suspicion, and that truly the doubt/suspicion does not enrich/suffice from the truth a thing.     wmalhm bh mn `lm an ytb`wn ala alZn wan alZn layGny mn alHq $yYa
 
29.  *     Therefore shun those who turn away from Our Message and desire nothing but the life of this world.     Avoid thou, therefore, those who turn away from all remembrance of Us and care for no more than the life of this world,     So turn away from who turned away from mentioning/remembering Us, and he did not want/intend except the life the present/worldly life.     fa`rD `n mn twli `n Xkrna wlm yrd ala alHya+ aldnya
 
30.  *     That is as far as knowledge will reach them. Verily thy Lord knoweth best those who stray from His Path, and He knoweth best those who receive guidance.     which, to them, is the only thing worth knowing. [Lit., "that is their sum-total [or "goal"] of knowledge".] Behold, thy Sustainer is fully aware as to who has strayed from His path, and fully aware is He as to who follows His guidance.     That (is) their capacity/limit from the knowledge, that truly your Lord, He is more knowledgeable with who was misguided from His way/path, and He is more knowledgeable with who was guided.     Xlk mblGhm mn al`lm an rbk hw a`lm bmn Dl `n sbylh whw a`lm bmn ahtdi
 
31.  *     Yea, to Allah belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth: so that He rewards those who do evil, according to their deeds, and He rewards those who do good, with what is best.     Indeed, unto God belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth: and so He will reward those who do evil in accordance with what they did, and will reward those who do good with ultimate good. [I.e., whereas good deeds will be rewarded with far more than their merits may warrant, evil will be recompensed with no more than its equivalent (cf. 6:160); and either will be decided by the Almighty without the need of "mediation" or "intercession".]     And to God what (is) in the skies/space and what (is) in the earth/Planet Earth, to reimburse those who did bad/evil because (of) what they made/did, and reimburse those who did good with the best/goodness.     wllh mafy alsmawat wmafy alarD lyjzy alXyn asawa bma `mlwa wyjzy alXyn aHsnwa balHsni
 
32.  *     Those who avoid great sins and shameful deeds, only (falling into) small faults,- verily thy Lord is ample in forgiveness. He knows you well when He brings you out of the earth, And when ye are hidden in your mothers' wombs. Therefore justify not yourselves: He knows best who it is that guards against evil.     As for those who avoid the [truly] grave sins and shameful deeds - even though they may sometimes stumble [Lit., "save for a touch [thereof]": a phrase which may be taken to mean "an occasional stumbling into sin" - i.e., not deliberately - followed by sincere repentance (Baghawi, Razi, Ibn Kathir).] - behold, thy Sustainer is abounding in forgiveness. He is fully aware of you [Sc., "and of your inborn weakness" - an implied echo of the statement that "man has been created weak"     Those who avoid/distance themselves (from) the sin's/crime's greatest/biggest and the enormous/atrocious deeds, except the minor sins, that truly your Lord (is) rich/spread (in) the forgiveness, He is more knowledgeable with (of) you, when He created/originated you from the earth/Planet Earth and when you are embryos/fetuses/hidden in your mother's bellies/insides, so do not commend/claim righteousness (for) yourselves, He is more knowledgeable with who feared and obeyed.     alXyn yjtnbwn kbaYr alaxm walfwaH$ ala allmm an rbk was` almGfr+ hw a`lm bkm aX an$akm mn alarD waX antm ajn+ fy bTwn amhatkm fla tzkwa anfskm hw a`lm bmn atqi
 
33.  *     Seest thou one who turns back,     HAST THOU, then, ever considered him who turns away [from remembering Us, and cares for no more than the life of this world],     So did you see/understand who turned away?     afr'yt alXy twli
 
34.  *     Gives a little, then hardens (his heart)?     and gives so little [of himself for the good of his soul], and so grudgingly? [My rendering of the above two verses (together with the two interpolations between brackets) is based on Razi's convincing interpretation of this passage as a return to the theme touched upon in verses 29-30.]     And gave little and skimped/stinged?     wa`Ti qlyla wakdi
 
35.  *     What! Has he knowledge of the Unseen so that he can see?     Does he [claim to] have knowledge of something that is beyond the reach of human perception, so that he can see [it clearly]? [I.e., "How can he be so sure that there is no life in the hereafter, and no judgment?"]     Is it at him the unseen's/absents knowledge so he sees/understands ?     a`ndh `lm alGyb fhw yri
 
36.  *     Nay, is he not acquainted with what is in the Books of Moses-     Or has he never yet been told of what was [said] in the revelations of Moses,     Or he did not get informed with what (is) in Moses' sheets/pages (scriptures) ?     am lm ynba bma fy SHf mwsi
 
37.  *     And of Abraham who fulfilled his engagements?-     and of Abraham, who to his trust was true: [Cf. 2:124 and the corresponding note. It is obvious that the names of Abraham and Moses are cited here only by way of example, drawing attention to the fact that all through human history God has entrusted His elect, the prophets, with the task of conveying certain unchangeable ethical truths to man.]     And Abraham who fulfilled/completed.     wabrahym alXy wfi
 
38.  *     Namely, that no bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another;     that no bearer of burdens shall be made to bear another's burden; [This basic ethical law appears in the Quran five times - in 6:164, 17:15, 35:18, 39:7, as well as in the above instance, which is the oldest in the chronology of revelation. Its implication is threefold: firstly, it expresses a categorical rejection of the Christian doctrine of the "original sin" with which every human being is allegedly burdened from birth; secondly, it refutes the idea that a person's sins could be "atoned for" by a saint's or a prophet's redemptive sacrifice (as evidenced, for instance, in the Christian doctrine of Jesus' vicarious atonement for mankind's sinfulness, or in the earlier, Persian doctrine of man's vicarious redemption by Mithras); and, thirdly, it denies, by implication, the possibility of any "mediation" between the sinner and God.]     That no sinner/burdener bears/carries another's sin/burden.     ala tzr wazr+ wzr aKri
 
39.  *     That man can have nothing but what he strives for;     and that nought shall be accounted unto man but what he is striving for; [Cf. the basic, extremely well-authenticated saying of the Prophet, "Actions will be [judged] only according to the conscious intentions [which prompted them]; and unto everyone will be accounted only what he consciously intended", i.e., while doing whatever he did. This Tradition is quoted by Bukhari in seven places - the first one as a kind of introduction to his Sahih - as well as by Muslim, Tirmidhi, Abu Daud, Nasai (in four places), Ibn Majah, Ibn Hanbal, and several other compilations. In this connection it is to be noted that in the ethics of the Quran, the term "action" (amaI) comprises also a deliberate omission of actions, whether good or bad, as well as a deliberate voicing of beliefs, both righteous and sinful: in short, everything that man consciously aims at and expresses by word or deed.]     And that (E) (there is) not to the human except what he strived/endeavored.     wan lys llansan ala mas`i
 
40.  *     That (the fruit of) his striving will soon come in sight:     and that in time [the nature of] all his striving will be shown [to him in its true light], [Lit., "his striving will be seen", i.e., on the Day of Judgment, when - as the Quran states in many places - God "will make you [truly] understand all that you were doing [in life]".]     And that (E) his striving/endeavor will be seen.     wan s`yh swf yri
 
41.  *     Then will he be rewarded with a reward complete;     whereupon he shall be requited for it with the fullest requital;     Then he (will) be reimbursed the reimbursement, the most fulfilling/completing.     xm yjzah aljza' alawfi
 
42.  *     That to thy Lord is the final Goal;     and that with thy Sustainer is the beginning and the end [of all that exists]; [Lit., "the utmost limit" or "goal", circumscribing the beginning and the end of the universe both in time and in space, as well as the source from which everything proceeds and to which everything must return.]     And that truly to your Lord (is) the ultimate/absolute end.     wan ali rbk almnthi
 
43.  *     That it is He Who granteth Laughter and Tears;     and that it is He alone who causes [you] to laugh and to weep;     And that He made laugh,and He made to weep.     wanh hw aDHk wabki
 
44.  *     That it is He Who granteth Death and Life;     and that it is He alone who deals death and grants life;     And that He made to die, and He revived/gave life.     wanh hw amat waHya
 
45.  *     That He did create in pairs,- male and female,     and that it is He who creates the two kinds - the male and the female -     And that He created the pairs/couples, the male and the female.     wanh Klq alzwjyn alXkr walanxi
 
46.  *     From a seed when lodged (in its place);     out of a [mere] drop of sperm as it is poured forth,     From a drop/males or female's secretion, if/when (it be) ejaculated/discharged semen/sperm.     mn nTf+ aXa tmni
 
47.  *     That He hath promised a Second Creation (Raising of the Dead);     and that [therefore] it is within His power to bring about a second life; [Lit., "that upon Him rests the other [or "second"] coming to life (nashah)", i.e., resurrection.]     And that on Him (is) the creation, the other.     wan `lyh aln$a+ alaKri
 
48.  *     That it is He Who giveth wealth and satisfaction;     and that it is He alone who frees from want and causes to possess;     And that He, He enriched/sufficed, and He made content/satisfied.     wanh hw aGni waqni
 
49.  *     That He is the Lord of Sirius (the Mighty Star);     and that it is He alone who sustains the brightest star; [Lit., "who is the Sustainer of Sirius (ash-shira)", a star of the first magnitude, belonging to the constellation Canis Major. Because it is the brightest star in the heavens, it was widely worshipped in pre-Islamic Arabia. Idiomatically, the phrase rabb ash-shira is used as a metonym for the Creator and Upholder of the universe.]     And that He is the star's (dog star's) Lord.     wanh hw rb al$`ri
 
50.  *     And that it is He Who destroyed the (powerful) ancient 'Ad (people),     and that it is He who destroyed the ancient [tribes of] Ad     And that He destroyed Aad the first/beginning.     wanh ahlk `ada alawli
 
51.  *     And the Thamud nor gave them a lease of perpetual life.     and Thamud, leaving no trace [of them], [For the story of the tribe of Ad, see second half of note on 7:65; for that of the Thamud, note on 7:73.]     And Thamud, so none (were) left/protected.     wxmwd fma abqi
 
52.  *     And before them, the people of Noah, for that they were (all) most unjust and most insolent transgressors,     as well as the people of Noah before them - [since,] verily, they all had been most willful in their evildoing and most overweening -     And Noah's nation from before, that they truly were, they (were) more unjust/oppressive, and more tyrant/arrogant.     wqwm nwH mn qbl anhm kanwa hm aZlm waTGi
 
53.  *     And He destroyed the Overthrown Cities (of Sodom and Gomorrah).     just as He thrust into perdition those cities that were overthrown     And the overturned/destroyed (city was) more dropping/tumbling down.     walmWtfk+ ahwi
 
54.  *     So that (ruins unknown) have covered them up.     and then covered them from sight forever. [Lit., "so that there covered them that which covered": a reference to Sodom and Gomorrah, the cities of "Lot's people" (see, in particular, 11:77-83).]     So covered/came upon it what covers.     fG$aha maG$y
 
55.  *     Then which of the gifts of thy Lord, (O man,) wilt thou dispute about?     About which, then, of thy Sustainer's powers canst thou [still] remain in doubt? [This rhetorical question is evidently addressed to the type of man spoken of in verses 33-35. For the reason of my rendering of ala (lit., "blessings" or "bounties") as "powers", see second half of note on 55:13.]     So with which (of) your Lord's blessings (do) you argue/discuss?392     fbay ala' rbk ttmari
 
56.  *     This is a Warner, of the (series of) Warners of old!     THIS IS a warning like those warnings of old: [Lit., "a warning of [or "from among"] the warnings of old" - implying that the revelation granted to Muhammad does not aim at establishing a "new" religion but, on the contrary, continues and confirms the basic message entrusted to the earlier prophets - in this particular instance alluding to the certainty of the coming of the Last Hour and of God's ultimate judgment.]     That (is) a warning/notice from the warnings/notices, the first/beginning.     hXa nXyr mn alnXr alawli
 
57.  *     The (Judgment) ever approaching draws nigh:     that [Last Hour] which is so near draws ever nearer,     The Resurrection approached/neared.     azft alazf+
 
58.  *     No (soul) but Allah can lay it bare.     [although] none but God can unveil it....     (There is) not a remover/uncoverer (reliever) for it from other than God.     lys lha mn dwn allh ka$f+
 
59.  *     Do ye then wonder at this recital?     Do you, perchance, find this tiding strange?     Is it from this the information/speech you wonder/surprise ?     afmn hXaalHdyx t`jbwn
 
60.  *     And will ye laugh and not weep,-     And do you laugh instead of weeping,     And you laugh/wonder, and you do not weep ?     wtDHkwn wlatbkwn
 
61.  *     Wasting your time in vanities?     and divert yourselves all the while?     And you are astonished singing/arrogant ?     wantm samdwn
 
62.  *     But fall ye down in prostration to Allah, and adore (Him)!     [Nay,] but prostrate yourselves before God, and worship [Him alone]!     So prostrate to God and worship.393     fasjdwa llh wa`bdwa