English - Chapter 52 - At-Tur

BY THE Mount,¹

and by a Book

penned on an unrolled parchment

by the Visited House,²

the Lofty Vault,³

and the swelling sea

your Lord‘s punishment shall surely come to pass

No power shall ward it off

On that day the heaven will shake and reel

and the mountains move and pass away

Woe betide on that day the unbelievers

who now divert themselves with profane talk

On that day they shall be hurled into the fire of Hell

This is the Fire which you denied

Is this sorcery, or can you not see

Burn in its flames. It is the same whether or not you show forbearance. You shall be recompensed according only to your deeds.‘

But in fair Gardens the righteous shall dwell in bliss, rejoicing in what their Lord will give them

Their Lord will shield them from the scourge of Hell

Eat and drink to your hearts‘ content, in recompense for what you did.‘

They shall recline on couches ranged in rows. To dark-eyed houris We shall wed them

We shall unite the true believers with those of their descendants who follow them in their faith, and shall not deny them the reward of their good works; each man is the hostage of his own deeds

Fruits We shall give them, and such meats as they desire

They will pass from hand to hand a cup inspiring no idle talk, no sinful urge

and there shall wait on them young boys of their own, as fair as virgin pearls

They will approach one another, asking questions

When we were living among our kin,‘ they will say, ‘we were troubled by many fears

But God has been gracious to us; He has preserved us from the fiery scourge

for we prayed to Him in days gone by. He alone is the Beneficent One, the Compassionate.‘

Therefore give warning. By the grace of God, you are neither soothsayer nor madman

Or do they say: ‘He is but a poet: we are waiting for the uncertainty of Fate to befall him‘

Say: ‘Wait if you will; I will wait with you.‘

Or does their reason bid them say this? Or is it that they are wicked people

Or do they say: ‘He has invented it¹ himself‘? Indeed, they have no faith

Let them produce a scripture like it, if what they say be true

Or were they created out of the void? Or were they their own creators

Or did they create the heavens and the earth? Surely they have no faith

Or do they hold the treasures of your Lord, and have control absolute

Or have they a ladder by means of which they overhear Him? Let their eavesdropper bring a positive proof

Or are you³ demanding payment of them, that they should fear to be weighed down with debts

Or have they knowledge of what is hidden? Can they write it down

Or are they scheming? It is the unbelievers‘ schemes that shall come to nothing

Or have they a deity other than God? Exalted be God above their idols

And if they saw a piece of heaven falling down, they would still say: ‘It is but a pile of clouds!‘

So let them be, until they face the day when they shall stand dumbfounded

the day when their schemes shall be of no avail to them; and they shall not be helped

And besides this a scourge awaits the wrongdoers, though most of them do not know it

Await with patience the judgement of your Lord: you are ever in Our sight. And give glory to your Lord when you rise

in the night-time praise Him, and at the setting of the stars