English - Chapter 51 - Adh-Dhariyat

BY THE dust-scattering winds

and the heavily-laden clouds

by the smoothly-gliding ships

and by the angels who deal out as commanded

that which you are promised shall truly be fulfilled

and the Last Judgement shall surely come to pass

By the heaven with its starry highways

the words you utter are inconsistent

None but the perverse turn away from the Truth

Perish the liars

who dwell in darkness and are heedless of the life to come

When will the Day of Judgement be?‘ they ask

On that day they shall be scourged in the Fire

Taste this, the punishment you sought to hasten!‘

The righteous shall dwell amidst gardens and fountains

and shall receive what their Lord will give them. For they did good works before

sleeping but little in the night-time

praying at dawn for God‘s pardon

and sharing their goods with the beggars and the dispossessed

On earth there are signs for firm believers

and in your own souls. Can you not see

Heaven holds your sustenance and all that you are promised

I swear by the Lord of heaven and earth that this is true, as true as you are speaking now

Have you heard the story of Abraham‘s honoured guests

They went in to him and said: ‘Peace!‘ ‘Peace!‘ he said and, seeing that they were strangers

betook himself to his family and returned with a fatted calf

He placed it before them, saying: ‘Will you not eat?‘

He grew afraid of them, but they said, ‘Have no fear,‘ and told him he was to have a son endowed with knowledge

His wife came crying and beating her face. ‘Surely I am a barren old woman,‘ she said

Such is the will of your Lord,‘ they said. ‘He surely is the Wise One, the All-knowing.‘

Messengers,‘ said he, ‘what is your errand?‘

They said: ‘We are sent forth to a perverted people

that we may bring down on them a shower of clay-stones

marked by your Lord for the destruction of the sinful.‘

We led all the believers out of the town ―

We found but one household of true Muslims ―

and left therein a Sign for those who fear the woeful scourge

And in Moses there was a sign. We sent him forth to Pharaoh with manifest authority

but he turned his back, he and his nobles, saying: ‘A sorcerer, or a man possessed.‘

So We seized him and his warriors, and cast them into the sea. Indeed, he deserved much blame

In the fate of ‘Ād there was another sign. We let loose on them a blighting wind

which pounded into dust all that it swept before it

And in Thamūd. They had been told: ‘Enjoy yourselves till a time decreed;‘

but they disobeyed the commandments of their Lord. The thunderbolt struck them as they looked on

they could not rise up from their fall, nor did they gain their end

And the people of Noah before them. Surely they too were a degenerate people

The heaven We built with mighty hands, giving it a vast expanse

and stretched the earth beneath it: gracious is He who spread it out

And all things We have made in pairs, so that you may take thought

Therefore seek God. From Him I come to you with clear warning

You shall not set up another deity besides God. From Him I come to you with a clear warning

Thus no apostle ever came to those before them¹ but that they said: ‘Sorcerer!‘ or ‘A man possessed!‘

Have they handed down this down from one generation to the next? Surely they are transgressors all

Pay no heed to them; you shall incur no blame

Exhort them; exhortation helps the true believers

I created the jinn and mankind only that they might worship Me

I demand no livelihood of them, nor do I ask that they should feed Me

God alone is the Munificent Giver, the Mighty One, the Invincible

The wrongdoers‘ sins are like the sins of those that sinned before them; so let them not hurry Me on

Woe betide then the unbelievers when their promised day is come