English - Chapter 37

By those angels. who draw up in ranks arranged in even rows

And by those who take a firm stand against evil and bring it into reproach to be a reproach to the wrongdoer

And by those who recite the Quran to hear the voice of Allah expressing his will

Allah your creator is but One and only

Creator and Sovereign of the heavens and the earth and of all that lies between and He is their Supreme controlling power. He is the Sovereign of all eastern cardinal points near which the sun rises in its apparent passage through the signs of the zodiac

We have embellished the vault of the lowermost heaven with the brilliancy and splendour of the inlaid stars

That are posted to serve also as sentinels against every bold satanic and a lawless and wicked spirit

Who peers inquisitively into the realm making an effort to hear what is discussed in the August Assembly, but they are debarred, being assailed with flames on every side

Fiery discharges forcing them back, that is besides what awaits them of an eternal suffering induced by the lasting torment laid upon the damned

And he who ventures upon catching whatever comes to his hearing of the secrets or future events is pursued by a piercing flame which does not miss

Therefore, ask them O Muhammad: Are they the more difficult to bring into being or the others of Our inanimate created beings We created them -mankind- from coherent clay

And there, you Muhammad are filled with Admiration and wonder at Allah's infinite power to create what He will and you marvel at His Omnipotence to restore the dead to life Hereafter while they mock the issue and laugh it to scorn

And when exhorted to acknowledge Allah's Oneness, Uniqueness, Omnipotence and Omniscience, they pay no heed

And when they see a sign attesting to these attributes they look at it as an occasion of derision

And they express their thoughts in words, thus: "This is nothing but sorcery made evident to the eye and the mind

Maintaining the false dictum, they add: "How can we be raised after death and be restored to life after we have been reduced to dust and disintegrated bones

And does this", they say, also apply to our forefathers who have long been disintegrated and strewed upon the surface of the earth

Say to them O Muhammad: "Yes indeed, and you shall be incensed with multiplied wrongs and humiliation

All it takes is only one single loud call inciting to action and there they get up and rise from bed and be able to look around

And there, they -the infidels- will exclaim thus: "Woe betide us, this is the promised Day of Judgement

There and then they will be told: "This is the Day of Judgement and final decision, the Day on which the faithful are segregated from the infidels, this is the Day you have always denied

Throng all the wrongful of actions together with their wives who habited in falsehood and with those they revered and adored with appropriate acts and rites

Who regarded their false gods with extreme devotion besides Allah. Guide them all O angels toward the path leading directly into the abysm of Hell

But stop them here for now they have much to answer for

They are asked: "How is it that you do not help one another Hereafter as you did her below

But they are at a disadvantage in this Day of Judgement, they give themselves up into Allah's power and they resign themselves to His command

They will convey their thoughts reciprocally in talk, holding discourse of the why and the wherefore and of the how and when of life and past events relative to their actions, their responses, their reactions and their fate

Those who yielded to external influence will recriminate those who led them by the nose into error, they will say: "You had always approached us from the right-hand side which we presumed to be the way of moral rightness and spiritual salvation

But", the accused will say: "You yourselves were a people whose hearts never reflected the image of religious and spiritual virtues nor were you receptive of the truth

Nor did we have authority over you or impose on you an edict or edicts; the fact is that you played the tyrant and were people given to transgression

And the word of Allah", they Will add, "which was predicted beforehand is being fulfilled, and now will all of us experience the taste of the punishment falling to us as our lot and making us bewail at the day we were born

And they will say in addition: "We made you depart from the path of righteousness for we ourselves were holders of mistaken and false beliefs

Wherefore shall all those who denied Allah and incorporated with Him other deities go shares in what falls to their lot in Day of Judgement of the torment laid upon the damned from hence forever

For thus do We requite the sinful who grow daily more and more wicked

When they were told in life: "There is no supreme being but Allah", they responded with extravagance in their accounts of themselves and displayed inordinate self-esteem

And they expressed their thoughts in words, thus: "shall we" they said, "forsake our gods on account of what has been said by whom we hold certainly a demoniac

When to the contrary, he presented to them the spirit of truth that guides into all truth, confirming the divine message related to the people by the Messengers who were sent before him

Then they, will be told: You -infidels- shall certainly experience the taste of the torment laid upon the damned

And you shall be requited with what is commensurate with your deeds

But excluded from punishment in the abysm of Hell shall be those who were faithful to Allah and sincerely conformed to His system of faith and worship

Such persons shall be provisioned with what Allah has mercifully reserved for them of expected grace and of what is replete with choice of all delights

They are presented with fruits, and they will be bearing their honours thick upon them and treated with honour

In the beatitude of heaven in the gardens of supreme blessedness and happiness

Seated on thrones of dignity facing each other

Attended upon and served with a drink in the cup of Joy procured from a spring flowing like a fountain

Clear white procuring alacrity to those who drink it

Free from intoxicants and not exhaustive to the faculties of the brain

Companioned with beautiful women of modest gaze and gleaming eyes radiating splendour

Beauties who look as though they were clear pure white eggs affording keen pleasure to the eye, guarded under the shadow of a gracious wing

And there shall the faithful convey their thoughts reciprocally in talk holding discourse of the why and the wherefore of past events in life below

One of them (a representative) will say: "I had a companion in life below

Who used to say to me: Do you honestly believe in resurrection and its aftermath

Do you mean, that after we die and be reduced to dust and disintegrated bones, we will be restored to life and have much to answer for

Then he will say to those around: "Do you see those who made their abode in Hell

And he looks, only to see him -his companion in life- in the abyss of Hell

And there, he will exclaim against his companion: "Good gracious, you almost succeeded in making of me a child of perdition and an inheritor of Hell

Had it not been", he will say, "for Allah's mercy and grace l would have been among those dragged and hauled over the flames in the pit of Hell

And he will ask himself wondering thus: "is it then that having paid nature its debt we suffer no death

Other than that first death we suffered in the world below and we live from hence to forever exempt from heavens high jurisdiction and punishment

This is indeed great", he will say, "and triumph supreme

For the accomplishment of a like exalted end Hereafter shall endeavour those who aspire to attain it

Now is this honoured end affording happiness and delightful provision better or the entertainment which provides the evil fruit plucked from the obnoxious tree of zaqqum

The tree We caused to grow especially for the trial in sharp tribulation and misery of the wrongful of actions

It is a tree springing up from the pit in the abysm of Hell

A tree whose branches are full of spadicies looking as though they were the abhorrent heads of the devils

It is the source of aliment the infidels shall eat and fill their bellies

And their thirst shall be quenched with a mixture of repulsive ingredients dissolved in boiling water

Having drunk the cup of misery they are cast back into the abysm of Hell

They found their fathers treading the wrong path leading to the loss in the maze of error

And with their hearts' ears closed and with their minds' eyes blind they insisted on walking in their fathers' footsteps

Similarly behaved long before them most of those of old; they insisted on treading the path of error

Notwithstanding that We did send to them Messengers as spectacles and warnings

And there you can see the fatal consequence of those whom We exhorted -but they counselled deaf

But excluded from that ill-fate were those votaries faithful to Allah and sincere in mind and spirit

Nuh invoked Us appealing for aid and how excellent was the divine response

And We delivered him together with his family excluding his son and the few of his people who followed him from the distressful event exhaustive to the mind

And We destined his posterity to be the survivors who inhabit the earth

And We praised his name to fame that he be honoured by those to come of future and later generations

Peace be unto Nuh and hailed shall he be with reverential salutations among succeeding generations

For thus do We requite those who perfect their illustrious toils and turn their thoughts on moral excellence and benevolence and imprint their deeds with wisdom and piety

He was one of Our votaries whose purpose was the heart of Our purpose

And We drowned the others who were at variance with Our system of faith and worship

And among those who followed his doctrine which mirrored Allah's will and His religious principles was Ibrahim

Who presented himself to Allah, his Creator, with a pure, undefiled and sound heart

He questioned the truth of his peoples' system of faith and worship. He said to his father and to his people: "What is it that you worship

Do you choose", he said, "to revere false gods besides Allah, the Creator, and adore them with appropriate acts and rites". Is this what you boldly deem the right path to tread and you insist on brewing falsehood and thinking falsehood

He asked, "What do you think then of Allah Creator of the worlds, past, present and those to come

He took a look and directed his attention to the stars

And there, he exclaimed: "I feel really sick at heart of such irreverent society

They -his people- turned their backs upon him and they went away

Then he turned to their false gods (food was set before them) and asked them, thus: "Do you not eat

Are you mute" he asked "what ails you that you do not talk nor do you say something to the purpose

Secluded from observation he kept striking them right and left with the right hand

But when the damage was noticed, his people came back rushing

And there said Ibrahim to them: "Do you worship the stones and the material you carve with your own hands

When it is Allah Who brought you Into being together with all the elements you use in your handiwork

Offended as they seemed, they decided to get rid of him and so they said: "Build for him a chamber full of combustibles and cast him into the blazing fire

And they thought of contriving against him but We made them the losers who lost the most

And there decided Ibrahim to emigrate? soul and body, spiritually and physically. He said: "I am quitting my home land and will settle where I can best serve Allah, my Creator, Who will guide me to His path of righteousness

And he prayed, thus: "I pray and beseech You O Allah, my Creator, to grace me with a son invested with wisdom and piety

And there, We intimated to him the birth of a son vested with the virtue of patience and with the attribute of nobleness which would teach him forbearance from so foul a wrong

And when the son attained maturity and was able to participate in his father's divine service the father intimated to him his mystical vision. He said: "my son I saw in my dream that I offer you up to Allah as a sacrifice and so, see what you think and what you have to say". But the son said: " O father do what you have been commanded, you shall find me with patience, Allah willing, bearing your act

And when they both had given themselves up to the course of action imposed by Allah and Ibrahim positioned his son's forehead downwards

We forthwith called upon him: "O Ibrahim", We said

Allah's command and your inspired vision have been thus accorded". For thus do We requite those who faithfully and sincerely give up themselves to Allah's command -the redemption by an offerings

This was indeed a severe but a sure test of action and reaction echoing the true belief and the prevalent inclination

And We redeemed him -the son- with a great sacrifice. the slaughter of an animal -the ram- as an offering to Allah

And We praised his name to fame that he be honoured by those to come of future and later generations

Peace be unto Ibrahim from Allah and His angels and from succeeding generations

Thus do We requite those who perfect their illustrious toils and turn their thoughts on moral excellence and benevolence and imprint their deeds with wisdom and piety

He was one of Our votaries whose purpose was the heart of Our purpose

And We intimated to him the birth of Ishaq (Isaac) who would be chosen as a Prophet invested with wisdom and piety

And We blessed him together with Ishaq. And of their progeny were those whose deeds were imprinted with wisdom and piety as well as those who were wrongful of actions

And We made Our sufficient grace (which renders the soul capable of performing a supernatural act, Allah willing) and Our efficacious grace (which effects the end for which it is given) abound in Mussa and Harun

And We saved them and delivered them together with their people from the distressful event which was really exhaustive to the mind

And We made victory sit on their helm and by consequence were they the victors

And We entrusted them with the Book AL-Tawrah (the Torah) of enlightenment and illumination, The Book distinctly expressing all that was meant leaving nothing merely implied

And We guided them to the path of righteousness

And We praised their names to fame that they be honoured by those to come of future and later generations

Peace be unto Mussa and Harun from Allah and His angels and from succeeding generations

For thus do We requite those who perfect their illustrious toils and turn their thoughts on moral excellence and benevolence and imprint their deeds with wisdom and piety

They were among Our votaries whose purpose was the heart of Our purpose

And Elias (Elijah) whom We chose to be a spectacle and a warning and We entrusted with Our divine message

He urged his people by words to laudable conduct and said to them: "Will you not keep in awe of Allah and entertain the profound reverence dutiful to Him

Do you invoke the idol Ba'l (Baal), he asked, "and neglect the Supreme Creator

Who is Allah, your Creator and the Creator of your forefathers

But they counselled deaf and accused him of falsehood and by consequence they shall have much to answer for in Day of Judgement

But excluded from that ill-fate shall be Allah's votaries who were faithful to Him and sincere in mind and spirit

And We praised his name to fame that he be honoured by those to come of future and later generations

Peace be unto Eliaseen -from Allah and His angels- and hailed shall he be with reverential salutations among succeeding generations

For, thus do We requite those who perfect their illustrious toils and turn their thoughts on moral excellence and benevolence and imprint their deeds with wisdom and piety

He was one of Our votaries whose purpose was the heart of Our purpose

And We chose Lut and We sent him to his people as a spectacle and a warning and entrusted him with Our divine message

We saved him and delivered him together with his family and those of his people who fell into line with him and from the irretrievable disaster

Except an old woman -his wife- who was left behind to perish in the general ruin

And We reduced all the others to a useless form

And you -people- go by their ruined dwellings and you evidence the fatal consequence by day

And you do evidence them also by night and so can you not reflect

And so was Yunus; he was one of Our Messengers whom We entrusted with Our divine message

He withdrew from his people, -with whom he grew impatient- and without Allah's instructions, he hurriedly fled them and went aboard a fully laden ship

He participated in casting lots and the lot fell on him and he was the one rejected and thrown overboard

And there he was swallowed by the fish and it was him who had incurred the blame

Had he not been one of those who in lowliest plight repentant stood and constantly praised Allah and extolled His glorious attributes

He would have remained burried in that grave -the belly of the fish- till Resurrection

And We made the fish regurgitate him in the open on the desert shore feeble and sickly

We caused a tree to grow over him for protection, a tree which grew decumbently and straggingly to a considerable length so as to rest upon the ground (possibly some kind of pumpkin)

And when recovered We sent him as a spectacle and a warning to a people who numbered one hundred thousand or more

And his mission was accepted with the consenting minds of the whole who conformed their will to Allah's will and by consequence We made them enjoy life up to a predetermined point of time

And now ask them -the infidels- O Muhammad and question the truth of their dictum: "Has Allah chosen as they irreverently alleged the females and left for them the males

Or did We create the angels females and they bore witness to their creation and therefore they have ground for their belief

Indeed their perversion of facts and their intentional assertion of falsehood induced them to falsify the words, wittingly, endeavouring to attain their blasphemous and irreverent object, namely

Allah has begotten a son" and make it seem divine which is not. They are indeed pathological liars who lie in their teeth and commit errors at the grossness of which common sense revolts

Did He exercise choice and He preferred daughters to sons

What ails you - people - that you deviate from sense! How could your minds assent to such proposition and induce you to judge and defend this belief

Can you not deviate into sense and turn your thoughts upon the truth

Or do you have a divine authorization to sanction this belief that you speak like a book

(If so) then produce your Sacred Writ that has been issued by Providence if indeed you are declaring the truth

And they -the infidels- go further and fare worse; they ascribe to Him affinity to the Jinn when the Jinn themselves do know that they shall be thronged before Him for Judgement

Glory be to Him and extolled are His glorious attributes. He is infinitely far above what they ascribe to Him

Excluded are those (of the Jinn and mankind) who are sincere in mind and spirit and free of that intended mischief that is wrought by want of thought

And you -infidels- together with those you revere and adore besides Allah

Shall not be able to influence any to deviate from sense

Except him who has already been justly predestined to suffer the blazes and Hell asserts him as her own

And none of us say the angels but has a place in a certain rank

And the angels add "we draw up ourselves in ranks arranged in even rows to engage in the act of worship and in divine service

And it is We who constantly celebrate the praises of Allah and adore His Eternal Name, express our feelings of warm adoration and extol His glorious attributes

Notwithstanding that before the Prophet's mission there were those* who habited in falsehood and expressed their thoughts in words, thus

Had we received a Book", they said, "like the Scriptures of those of old

We would have been of Allah's votaries who are sincere in mind and spirit

And when the Quran was revealed to them they denied its divine nature and rejected it, but they shall come to know that

However, Our word was already proclaimed beforehand to Our Messengers whom We sent as spectacles and warnings

That they shall certainly be afforded help

And that Our forces shall in the end and at the right time be the winners and victory shall sit on their helm

Therefore keep away from them O Muhammad for a while

But keep a vigilant eye upon them for they will be firm and vigilant, anxious to see what falls to your lot and what can happen to them in this life

Do they wish Our punishment be hastened on as a challenge to the truth of the measure and its wisdom

But when it hits their court-yard, what an evil morning shall it be for those who were warned and counselled deaf

Stay away from them O Muhammad or a while

And keep a vigilant eye upon them for they will be firm and vigilant, anxious to see what falls to your lot and what can happen to them in this life

Glory be to Allah, your Creators the Fountain -Head of glory and honour whose divine and eternal nature exclude Him and absolutely exempt Him from the attributes they ascribe to Him

And peace be extended from Allah and His angels to all Messengers whom He entrusted with His divine message to relate to their people

And by consequence impel -you people- yourselves to the feeling of gratitude and gratefulness and express your praying in words, thus: "Our bosoms surge up and answer thanks to Allah, Creator of the worlds, past, present and those to come