English - Chapter 37 - As-Saffat

By those ˹angels˺ lined up in ranks

and those who diligently drive ˹the clouds˺

and those who recite the Reminder

Surely your God is One

˹He is˺ the Lord of the heavens and the earth and everything in between, and the Lord of all points of sunrise

Indeed, We have adorned the lowest heaven with the stars for decoration

and ˹for˺ protection from every rebellious devil

They cannot listen to the highest assembly ˹of angels˺ for they are pelted from every side

˹fiercely˺ driven away. And they will suffer an everlasting torment

But whoever manages to stealthily eavesdrop is ˹instantly˺ pursued by a piercing flare

So ask them ˹O Prophet˺, which is harder to create: them or other marvels of Our creation? Indeed, We created them from a sticky clay

In fact, you are astonished ˹by their denial˺, while they ridicule ˹you˺

When they are reminded, they are never mindful

And whenever they see a sign, they make fun of it

saying, “This is nothing but pure magic

When we are dead and reduced to dust and bones, will we really be resurrected

And our forefathers as well?”

Say, “Yes! And you will be fully humbled.”

It will only take one Blast, then at once they will see ˹it all˺

They will cry, “Oh, woe to us! This is the Day of Judgment!”

˹God will say to the angels,˺ “Gather ˹all˺ the wrongdoers along with their peers, and whatever they used to worship

instead of God, then lead them ˹all˺ to the path of Hell

And detain them, for they must be questioned.”

˹Then they will be asked,˺ “What is the matter with you that you can no longer help each other?”

In fact, on that Day they will be ˹fully˺ submissive

They will turn on each other, throwing blame

The misled will say, “It was you who deluded us away from what is right.”

The misleaders will reply, “No! You disbelieved on your own

We had no authority over you. In fact, you yourselves were a transgressing people

The decree of our Lord has come to pass against us ˹all˺: we will certainly taste ˹the punishment˺

We caused you to deviate, for we ourselves were deviant.”

Surely on that Day they will ˹all˺ share in the punishment

That is certainly how We deal with the wicked

For whenever it was said to them ˹in the world˺, “There is no god ˹worthy of worship˺ except God,” they acted arrogantly

and argued, “Should we really abandon our gods for a mad poet?”

In fact, he came with the truth, confirming ˹earlier˺ messengers

You will certainly taste the painful torment

and will only be rewarded for what you used to do

But not the chosen servants of God

They will have a known provision

fruits ˹of every type˺. And they will be honoured

in the Gardens of Bliss

facing each other on thrones

A drink ˹of pure wine˺ will be passed around to them from a flowing stream

crystal-white, delicious to drink

It will neither harm ˹them˺, nor will they be intoxicated by it

And with them will be maidens of modest gaze and gorgeous eyes

as if they were pristine pearls

Then they will turn to one another inquisitively

One of them will say, “I once had a companion ˹in the world˺

who used to ask ˹me˺, ‘Do you actually believe ˹in resurrection˺

When we are dead and reduced to dust and bones, will we really be brought to judgment?’”

He will ˹then˺ ask, “Would you care to see ˹his fate˺?”

Then he ˹and the others˺ will look and spot him in the midst of the Hellfire

He will ˹then˺ say, “By God! You nearly ruined me

Had it not been for the grace of my Lord, I ˹too˺ would have certainly been among those brought ˹to Hell˺.”

˹Then he will ask his fellow believers,˺ “Can you imagine that we will never die

except our first death, nor be punished ˹like the others˺?”

This is truly the ultimate triumph

For such ˹honour˺ all should strive

Is this ˹bliss˺ a better accommodation or the tree of Zaqqûm

We have surely made it a test for the wrongdoers

Indeed, it is a tree that grows in the depths of Hell

bearing fruit like devils’ heads

The evildoers will certainly ˹be left to˺ eat from it, filling up their bellies with it

Then on top of that they will be given a blend of boiling drink

Then they will ultimately return to ˹their place in˺ Hell

Indeed, they found their forefathers astray

so they rushed in their footsteps

And surely most of the earlier generations had strayed before them

although We had certainly sent warners among them

See then what was the end of those who had been warned

But not the chosen servants of God

Indeed, Noah cried out to Us, and how excellent are We in responding

We delivered him and his family from the great distress

and made his descendants the sole survivors

And We blessed him ˹with honourable mention˺ among later generations

“Peace be upon Noah among all peoples.”

Indeed, this is how We reward the good-doers

˹For˺ he was truly one of Our faithful servants

Then We drowned the others

And indeed, one of those who followed his way was Abraham

˹Remember˺ when he came to his Lord with a pure heart

and said to his father and his people, “What are you worshipping

Is it false gods that you desire instead of God

What then do you expect from the Lord of all worlds?”

He later looked up to the stars ˹in contemplation˺

then said, “I am really sick.”

So they turned their backs on him and went away

Then he ˹stealthily˺ advanced towards their gods, and said ˹mockingly˺, “Will you not eat ˹your offerings˺

What is wrong with you that you cannot speak?”

Then he swiftly turned on them, striking ˹them˺ with his right hand

Later, his people came rushing towards him ˹furiously˺

He argued, “How can you worship what you carve ˹with your own hands˺

when it is God Who created you and whatever you do?”

They said ˹to one another˺, “Build him a furnace and cast him into the blazing fire.”

And so they sought to harm him, but We made them inferior

He later said, “I am leaving ˹in obedience˺ to my Lord. He will guide me

My Lord! Bless me with righteous offspring.”

So We gave him good news of a forbearing son

Then when the boy reached the age to work with him, Abraham said, “O my dear son! I have seen in a dream that I ˹must˺ sacrifice you. So tell me what you think.” He replied, “O my dear father! Do as you are commanded. God willing, you will find me steadfast.”

Then when they submitted ˹to God’s Will˺, and Abraham laid him on the side of his forehead ˹for sacrifice˺

We called out to him, “O Abraham

You have already fulfilled the vision.” Indeed, this is how We reward the good-doers

That was truly a revealing test

And We ransomed his son with a great sacrifice

and blessed Abraham ˹with honourable mention˺ among later generations

“Peace be upon Abraham.”

This is how We reward the good-doers

He was truly one of Our faithful servants

We ˹later˺ gave him good news of Isaac—a prophet, and one of the righteous

We blessed him and Isaac as well. Some of their descendants did good, while others clearly wronged themselves

And We certainly showed favour to Moses and Aaron

and delivered them and their people from the great distress

We helped them so it was they who prevailed

We gave them the clear Scripture

and guided them to the Straight Path

And We blessed them ˹with honourable mention˺ among later generations

“Peace be upon Moses and Aaron.”

Indeed, this is how We reward the good-doers

They were truly ˹two˺ of Our faithful servants

And Elias was indeed one of the messengers

˹Remember˺ when he said to his people, “Will you not fear ˹God˺

Do you call upon ˹the idol of˺ Ba’l and abandon the Best of Creators—

God, your Lord and the Lord of your forefathers?”

But they rejected him, so they will certainly be brought ˹for punishment˺

But not the chosen servants of God

We blessed him ˹with honourable mention˺ among later generations

“Peace be upon Elias.”

Indeed, this is how We reward the good-doers

He was truly one of Our faithful servants

And Lot was indeed one of the messengers

˹Remember˺ when We delivered him and all of his family

except an old woman, who was one of the doomed

Then We ˹utterly˺ destroyed the rest

You ˹Meccans˺ certainly pass by their ruins day

and night. Will you not then understand

And Jonah was indeed one of the messengers

˹Remember˺ when he fled to the overloaded ship

Then ˹to save it from sinking,˺ he drew straws ˹with other passengers˺. He lost ˹and was thrown overboard˺

Then the whale engulfed him while he was blameworthy

Had he not ˹constantly˺ glorified ˹God˺

he would have certainly remained in its belly until the Day of Resurrection

But We cast him onto the open ˹shore˺, ˹totally˺ worn out

and caused a squash plant to grow over him

We ˹later˺ sent him ˹back˺ to ˹his city of˺ at least one hundred thousand people

who then believed ˹in him˺, so We allowed them enjoyment for a while

Ask them ˹O Prophet˺ if your Lord has daughters, while the pagans ˹prefer to˺ have sons

Or ˹ask them˺ if We created the angels as females right before their eyes

Indeed, it is one of their ˹outrageous˺ fabrications to say

“God has children.” They are simply liars

Has He chosen daughters over sons

What is the matter with you? How do you judge

Will you not then be mindful

Or do you have ˹any˺ compelling proof

Then bring ˹us˺ your scripture, if what you say is true

They have also established a ˹marital˺ relationship between Him and the jinn. Yet the jinn ˹themselves˺ know well that such people will certainly be brought ˹for punishment˺

Glorified is God far above what they claim

But not the chosen servants of God

Surely you ˹pagans˺ and whatever ˹idols˺ you worship

can never lure ˹anyone˺ away from Him

except those ˹destined˺ to burn in Hell

˹The angels respond,˺ “There is not one of us without an assigned station ˹of worship˺

We are indeed the ones lined up in ranks ˹for God˺

And we are indeed the ones ˹constantly˺ glorifying ˹His praise˺.”

They certainly used to say

“If only we had a Reminder like ˹those of˺ earlier peoples

we would have truly been God’s devoted servants.”

But ˹now˺ they reject it, so they will soon know

Our Word has already gone forth to Our servants, the messengers

that they would surely be helped

and that Our forces will certainly prevail

So turn away from the deniers for a while ˹O Prophet˺

You will see ˹what will happen to˺ them, and they too will see

Do they ˹really˺ wish to hasten Our punishment

Yet when it descends upon them: how evil will that morning be for those who had been warned

And turn away from them for a while

You will see, and they too will see

Glorified is your Lord—the Lord of Honour and Power—above what they claim

Peace be upon the messengers

And praise be to God—Lord of all worlds