English - Chapter 69 - Al-Haqqah

OH, THE LAYING-BARE of the truth

How awesome that laying-bare of the truth

And what could make thee conceive what that laying-bare of the truth will be

THE LIE gave [the tribes of] Thamud and ‘Ad to [all tidings of] that sudden calamity

Now as for the Thamud - they were destroyed by a violent upheaval [of the earth]

and as for the ‘Ad - they were destroyed by a storm wind furiously raging

which He willed against them for seven nights and eight days without cease, so that in the end thou couldst see those people laid low [in death], as though they were so many [uprooted] trunks of hollow palm trees

and dost thou now see any remnant of them

And there was Pharaoh, too, and [many of] those who lived before him, and the cities that were overthrown - [all of them] indulged in sin upon sin

and rebelled against their Sustainer's apostles: and so He took them to task with a punishing grasp exceedingly severe

[And] behold: when the waters [of Noah's flood] burst beyond all limits, it was We who caused you to be borne [to safety] in that floating ark

so that We might make all this a [lasting] reminder to you all, and that every wide-awake ear might consciously take it in

Hence, [bethink yourselves of the Last Hour,] when the trumpet [of judgment] shall be sounded with a single blast

and the earth and the mountains shall be lifted up and crushed with a single stroke

And so, that which must come to pass will on that day have come to pass

and the sky will be rent asunder - for, frail will it have become on that Day

and the angels [will appear] at its ends, and, above them, eight will bear aloft on that Day the throne of thy Sustainer’s almightiness…

On that Day you shall be brought to judgment: not [even] the most hidden of your deeds will remain hidden

Now as for him whose record shall be placed in his right hand, he will exclaim: "Come you all!" Read this my record

Behold, I did know that [one day] I would have to face my account

And so he will find himself in a happy state of life

in a lofty paradise

with its fruits within easy reach

[And all who are thus blest will be told:] "Eat and drink with good cheer in return for all [the good deeds] that you have sent ahead in days gone by

But as for him whose record shall be placed in his left hand, he will exclaim: "Oh, would that I had never been shown this my record

and neither known this my account

Oh, would that this [death of mine] had been the end of me

Of no avail to me is all that I have [ever] possessed

[and] all my power of argument has died away from me

[Thereupon the command will go forth:] "Lay hold of him, and shackle him

and then let him enter hell

and then thrust him into a chain [of other sinners like him - a chain] the length whereof is seventy cubits

for, behold, he did not believe in God, the Tremendous

and did not feel any urge to feed the needy

and so, no friend has here today

nor any food save the filth

which none but the sinners eat

BUT NAY! I call to witness an that you can see

as well as all that you cannot see

Behold, this [Qur’an] is indeed the [inspired] word of a noble apostle

and is not – however little you may [be prepared to] believe it - the word of a poet

and neither is it - however little you may [be prepared to] take it to heart - the word of a soothsayer

[it is] a revelation from the Sustainer of all the worlds

Now if he [whom We have entrusted with it] had dared to attribute some [of his own] sayings unto Us

We would indeed have seized him by his right hand

and would indeed have cut his life-vein

And, verily, this [Qur’an] is a reminder to all the God-conscious

And, behold, well do We know that among you are such as will give the lie to it

yet, behold, this [rejection] will indeed become a source of bitter regret for all who deny the truth [of God's revelation] –

for, verily, it is truth absolute

Extol, then the limitless glory of thy Sustainer's mighty name