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| 1. * | ONE who is minded to ask might ask [1]1 about the suffering which [in the hereafter] is bound to befall |
| 2. * | those who deny the truth. [2]2 [Know, then, that] nothing can ward it off, |
| 3. * | [since it will come] from God, unto whom there are many ways of ascent: [3]3 |
| 4. * | all the angels and all the inspiration [ever granted to man] ascend unto Him [4]4 [daily,] in a day the length whereof is [like] fifty thousand years... [5]5 |
| 5. * | Therefore, [O believer,] endure all adversity with goodly patience: |
| 6. * | behold, men [6]6 look upon that [reckoning] as something far away - |
| 7. * | but, We see it as near! |
| 8. * | [It will take place] on a Day when the sky will be like molten lead, |
| 9. * | and the mountains will be like tufts of wool, |
| 10. * | and [when] no friend will ask about his friend, |
| 11. * | though they may be in one another's sight: [for,] everyone who was lost in sin will on that Day but desire to ransom himself from suffering at the price of his own children, |
| 12. * | and of his spouse, and of his brother, |
| 13. * | and of all the kinsfolk who ever sheltered him, |
| 14. * | and of whoever [else] lives on earth, all of them - so that he could but save himself. |
| 15. * | But nay! Verily, all [that awaits him] is a raging flame, |
| 16. * | tearing away his skin! |
| 17. * | It will claim all such as turn their backs [on what is right], and turn away [from the truth], |
| 18. * | and amass [wealth] and thereupon withhold [it from their fellow-men]. |
| 19. * | VERILY, man is born with a restless disposition. [7]7 |
| 20. * | [As a rule,] whenever misfortune touches him, he is filled with self-pity; [8]8 |
| 21. * | and whenever good fortune comes to him, he selfishly withholds it [from others]. |
| 22. * | Not so, however, those who consciously turn towards God in prayer. [9]9 |
| 23. * | [and] who incessantly persevere in their prayer |
| 24. * | and in whose possessions there is a due share, acknowledged [by them], |
| 25. * | for such as ask [for help] and such as are deprived [of what is good in life]; [10]10 |
| 26. * | and who accept as true the [coming of the] Day of Judgment; |
| 27. * | and who stand in dread of their Sustainer's chastisement - |
| 28. * | for, behold, of their Sustainer's chastisement none may ever feel [wholly] secure; [11]11 |
| 29. * | and who are mindful of their chastity, [12]12 |
| 30. * | [not giving way to their desires] with any but their spouses - that is, those whom they rightfully possess [through wedlock] - : [13]13 for then, behold, they are free of all blame, |
| 31. * | whereas such as seek to go beyond that [limit] are truly transgressors; |
| 32. * | and who are faithful to their trusts and to their pledges: |
| 33. * | and who stand firm whenever they bear witness; |
| 34. * | and who guard their prayers [from all worldly intent]. |
| 35. * | These it is who in the gardens [of paradise] shall be honoured! |
| 36. * | WHAT, THEN, is amiss with such as are bent on denying the truth, that they run about confusedly to and fro before thee, |
| 37. * | [coming upon thee] from the right and from the left, in crowds? [14]14 |
| 38. * | Does every one of them hope to enter [by this means] a garden of bliss? [15]15 |
| 39. * | Never! For, behold, We have created them out of something that they know [only too well]! [16]16 |
| 40. * | But nay! I call to witness [Our being] the Sustainer of all the points of sunrise and sunset: [17]17 verily, well able are We |
| 41. * | to replace them with [people] better than they are; for there is nothing to prevent Us [from doing what We will]. [18]18 |
| 42. * | Hence, leave them to indulge in idle talk and play [with words] [19]19 until they face that [Judgment] Day of theirs which they have been promised - |
| 43. * | the Day when they shall come forth in haste from their graves, as if racing towards a goal-post, |
| 44. * | with downcast eyes, with ignominy overwhelming them: that Day which they were promised again and... [20]20 |