|
|
56: Al-Waqia - الواقعة
Introduction
This is the seventh and last Surah of the series devoted to Revelation and hereafter, as explained in the introduction to Surah 50. It belongs to early Makkan period, with the possible exception of one or two verses. the theme is the certainty of the day of Judgement and its adjustment of true Values (56:1-56); Allah's Power, Goodness and Glory (56:57-74); and the truth of Revelation (56:75-96). Summary- When the Day of Judgement comes, the world as we know it will be shaken to its foundation, and men shall be sorted out into three sorts; those nearest to Allah, in exalted Misery (56:1-56, and C. 234). Surely the power and Goodness of Allah, of which Revelation is a Sign, should lead man to accept the Message and glorify Him (56:57-96) and C. 235).
56:1
[ Original ]
إِذَا وَقَعَتِ الْوَاقِعَةُ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
When the Event Inevitable cometh to pass,
Tafseer Commentary
5222 The Event Inevitable is the Hour of Judgement. People may doubt now whether it will come. But when it comes, as it will come, suddenly upon them, it will come with such tremendous reality that it will be burnt deep into the experience of every soul. No one can then be deceived or entertain false notions about it.
56:2
[ Original ]
لَيْسَ لِوَقْعَتِهَا كَاذِبَةٌ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
Then will no (soul) entertain falsehood concerning its coming.
56:3
[ Original ]
خَافِضَةٌ رَافِعَةٌ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
(Many) will it bring low; (many) will it exalt;
Tafseer Commentary
5223 There will be a sorting out of Good and Evil. Or rather, (verse 7 below), there will be three main classes. Among the Good there will be the specially exalted class, those nearest to Allah ( al muqarrabun,56:11-26), and the righteous people generally, called the Companions of the Right Hand (Ashab al maymanah, 56:27-40). And there will be those in agony, the Companions of the Left Hand (Ashab al mash'amah. 56:41-56). Many who were high and mighty in this life will be brought low for their sins, and many who were lowly but virtuous will be exalted to various ranks and degrees. The old landmarks will be lost in the inner world, as they will be in the outer world.
56:4
[ Original ]
إِذَا رُجَّتِ الْأَرْضُ رَجًّا
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
When the earth shall be shaken to its depths,
56:5
[ Original ]
وَبُسَّتِ الْجِبَالُ بَسًّا
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
And the mountains shall be crumbled to atoms,
Tafseer Commentary
5224 The old physical world will disappear in the New Creation.
56:6
[ Original ]
فَكَانَتْ هَبَاءً مُنْبَثًّا
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
Becoming dust scattered abroad,
56:7
[ Original ]
وَكُنْتُمْ أَزْوَاجًا ثَلَاثَةً
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
And ye shall be sorted out into three classes.
Tafseer Commentary
5225 See n. 5223 above.
56:8
[ Original ]
فَأَصْحَابُ الْمَيْمَنَةِ مَا أَصْحَابُ الْمَيْمَنَةِ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
Then (there will be) the Companions of the Right Hand;- What will be the Companions of the Right Hand?
56:9
[ Original ]
وَأَصْحَابُ الْمَشْأَمَةِ مَا أَصْحَابُ الْمَشْأَمَةِ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
And the Companions of the Left Hand,- what will be the Companions of the Left Hand?
56:10
[ Original ]
وَالسَّابِقُونَ السَّابِقُونَ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
And those Foremost (in Faith) will be Foremost (in the Hereafter).
Tafseer Commentary
5226 Foremost (in Faith): There are two meanings, and both are implied. (1) Those who have reached the highest degree in spiritual understanding, such as the great prophets and teachers of mankind, will also take precedence in the Hereafter. (2) Those who are the first in time-the quickest and readiest-to accept Allah's Message-will have the first place in the Kingdom of Heaven . Verses 8, 9 and 10 mention the three main categories or classifications after Judgement. In the subsequent verses their happiness or misery are symbolised. This category, Foremost in Faith, is nearest to Allah.
56:11
[ Original ]
أُولَٰئِكَ الْمُقَرَّبُونَ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
These will be those Nearest to Allah:
Tafseer Commentary
5227 See n. 5223 above. Nearness to Allah is the test of the highest Bliss, (see also n. 3779). (R).
56:12
[ Original ]
فِي جَنَّاتِ النَّعِيمِ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
In Gardens of Bliss:
56:13
[ Original ]
ثُلَّةٌ مِنَ الْأَوَّلِينَ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
A number of people from those of old,
Tafseer Commentary
5228 Of great Prophets and Teachers there were many before the time of the Prophet Muhammad. As he was the last of the Prophets, he and the great Teachers under his Dispensation will be comparatively fewer in number, but their teaching is the sum and flower of all mankind's spiritual experience.
56:14
[ Original ]
وَقَلِيلٌ مِنَ الْآخِرِينَ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
And a few from those of later times.
56:15
[ Original ]
عَلَىٰ سُرُرٍ مَوْضُونَةٍ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
(They will be) on Thrones encrusted (with gold and precious stones),
56:16
[ Original ]
مُتَّكِئِينَ عَلَيْهَا مُتَقَابِلِينَ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
Reclining on them, facing each other.
Tafseer Commentary
5230 But they will not be separate each in his own corner. They will face each other. For they are all one, and their mutual society will be part of their Bliss.
56:17
[ Original ]
يَطُوفُ عَلَيْهِمْ وِلْدَانٌ مُخَلَّدُونَ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
Round about them will (serve) youths of perpetual (freshness),
Tafseer Commentary
5231 Cf. 52:24. and n. 5058. The youth and freshness with which the attendants will serve is a symbol of true service such as we may expect in the spiritual world. That freshness will be perpetual and not subject to any moods, or chances, or changes.
56:18
[ Original ]
بِأَكْوَابٍ وَأَبَارِيقَ وَكَأْسٍ مِنْ مَعِينٍ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
With goblets, (shining) beakers, and cups (filled) out of clear-flowing fountains:
56:19
[ Original ]
لَا يُصَدَّعُونَ عَنْهَا وَلَا يُنْزِفُونَ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
No after-ache will they receive therefrom, nor will they suffer intoxication:
Tafseer Commentary
5232 The Feast of Reason and the Flow of Soul are typified by all that is best in the feasts in this imperfect world, but there will be none of the disadvantages incident to such feasts in this world, such as satiety, aches, excess, a sense of exhaustion, or loss of senses, etc. Cf. 37:47, and n. 4063. A goblet is a bowl without handles; a beaker has a "lip" and a stem; "cup" is a general term.
56:20
[ Original ]
وَفَاكِهَةٍ مِمَّا يَتَخَيَّرُونَ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
And with fruits, any that they may select:
56:21
[ Original ]
وَلَحْمِ طَيْرٍ مِمَّا يَشْتَهُونَ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
And the flesh of fowls, any that they may desire.
56:22
[ Original ]
وَحُورٌ عِينٌ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
And (there will be) Companions with beautiful, big, and lustrous eyes,-
Tafseer Commentary
5233 Cf. 44:54, and n. 4729. The companionship of Beauty and Grace is one of the highest pleasures of life. In this bodily life it takes bodily form. In the higher life it takes a higher form. (R).
56:23
[ Original ]
كَأَمْثَالِ اللُّؤْلُؤِ الْمَكْنُونِ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
Like unto Pearls well-guarded.
Tafseer Commentary
5234 Cf. 52:24, where this description is applied to the youths who serve. See also n. 5058 there. In56:78 below the adjective maknun is applied to the Qur'an, "the well-guarded Book".
56:24
[ Original ]
جَزَاءً بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
A Reward for the deeds of their past (life).
56:25
[ Original ]
لَا يَسْمَعُونَ فِيهَا لَغْوًا وَلَا تَأْثِيمًا
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
Not frivolity will they hear therein, nor any taint of ill,-
Tafseer Commentary
5235 Cf. 52:23. Apart from the physical ills, worldly feasts or delights are apt to suffer from vain or frivolous discourse, idle boasting, foolish flattery, or phrases pointed with secret venom or moral mischief. The negation of these from spiritual Bliss follows as a matter of course, but it is specially insisted on to guard against the perversities of human nature, which likes to read ill into the best that can be put in words.
56:26
[ Original ]
إِلَّا قِيلًا سَلَامًا سَلَامًا
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
Only the saying, "Peace! Peace".
Tafseer Commentary
5236 Qil is best translated "saying", rather than "word". For the saying is an act, a thought, a fact, which may be embodied in a word, but which goes far beyond the word. The "Peace of Allah" is an atmosphere which sums up Heaven even better than "Bliss".
56:27
[ Original ]
وَأَصْحَابُ الْيَمِينِ مَا أَصْحَابُ الْيَمِينِ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
The Companions of the Right Hand,- what will be the Companions of the Right Hand?
56:28
[ Original ]
فِي سِدْرٍ مَخْضُودٍ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
(They will be) among Lote-trees without thorns,
56:29
[ Original ]
وَطَلْحٍ مَنْضُودٍ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
Among Talh trees with flowers (or fruits) piled one above another,-
Tafseer Commentary
5238 Talk: some understand by this the plantain or banana tree, of which the fruit is borne in bunches, one tier above another; but the banana tree does not grow in Arabia and its ordinary Arabic name is Mawz; perhaps it is better to understand a special kind of Acacia tree, which flowers profusely, the flowers appearing in tiers one above another.
56:30
[ Original ]
وَظِلٍّ مَمْدُودٍ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
In shade long-extended,
56:31
[ Original ]
وَمَاءٍ مَسْكُوبٍ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
By water flowing constantly,
56:32
[ Original ]
وَفَاكِهَةٍ كَثِيرَةٍ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
And fruit in abundance.
56:33
[ Original ]
لَا مَقْطُوعَةٍ وَلَا مَمْنُوعَةٍ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
Whose season is not limited, nor (supply) forbidden,
Tafseer Commentary
5239 As it is not like earthly fruit, its season is not limited, nor is there any prohibition by law or custom or circumstance as to when or how it is to be consumed. (R).
56:34
[ Original ]
وَفُرُشٍ مَرْفُوعَةٍ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
And on Thrones (of Dignity), raised high.
56:35
[ Original ]
إِنَّا أَنْشَأْنَاهُنَّ إِنْشَاءً
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
We have created (their Companions) of special creation.
Tafseer Commentary
5240 The pronoun in Arabic is in the feminine gender, but lest grosser ideas of sex should intrude, it is made clear that these Companions for heavenly society will be of special creation-of virginal purity, grace, and beauty inspiring and inspired by love, with the question of time and age eliminated. Thus every person among the Righteous will have the Bliss of Heaven and the Peace of Allah.
56:36
[ Original ]
فَجَعَلْنَاهُنَّ أَبْكَارًا
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
And made them virgin - pure (and undefiled), -
56:37
[ Original ]
عُرُبًا أَتْرَابًا
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
Beloved (by nature), equal in age,-
56:38
[ Original ]
لِأَصْحَابِ الْيَمِينِ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
For the Companions of the Right Hand.
56:39
[ Original ]
ثُلَّةٌ مِنَ الْأَوَّلِينَ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
A (goodly) number from those of old,
Tafseer Commentary
5241 This class-the righteous-will be a large company in Heaven, belonging to all the ages of the world. Cf.n. 5228 to 56:13 above. Such is the unbounded Bounty of Allah,
56:40
[ Original ]
وَثُلَّةٌ مِنَ الْآخِرِينَ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
And a (goodly) number from those of later times.
56:41
[ Original ]
وَأَصْحَابُ الشِّمَالِ مَا أَصْحَابُ الشِّمَالِ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
The Companions of the Left Hand,- what will be the Companions of the Left Hand?
56:42
[ Original ]
فِي سَمُومٍ وَحَمِيمٍ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
(They will be) in the midst of a Fierce Blast of Fire and in Boiling Water,
Tafseer Commentary
5242 Notice the parallelism in the contrast between those in Bliss and those in Misery. The allegory in each case pursues the idea of contrast, and the allegories about Misery lose nothing by their terse brevity. The fierce Blast of Fire and the Boiling Water are in contrast to the happy Lote tree and the flowers and fruits in verses 28-29 above.
56:43
[ Original ]
وَظِلٍّ مِنْ يَحْمُومٍ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
And in the shades of Black Smoke:
Tafseer Commentary
5243 Even the Shades get a different quality in the Abode of Misery: shades of black smoke in contrast to the cool and refreshing long extended shades of trees by brooks in verses 30-31 above.
56:44
[ Original ]
لَا بَارِدٍ وَلَا كَرِيمٍ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
Nothing (will there be) to refresh, nor to please:
56:45
[ Original ]
إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا قَبْلَ ذَٰلِكَ مُتْرَفِينَ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
For that they were wont to be indulged, before that, in wealth (and luxury),
Tafseer Commentary
5244 Cf. 34:34, and 43:23. We must read verses 45-46 together. They had wealth and the good things of life, but they used them in self-indulgence and shameless crime, and now they are in humiliation.
56:46
[ Original ]
وَكَانُوا يُصِرُّونَ عَلَى الْحِنْثِ الْعَظِيمِ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
And persisted obstinately in wickedness supreme!(5244-A)
Tafseer Commentary
5244-A Wickedness supreme: i.e., their associating others with Allah in His divinity. [Eds.].
56:47
[ Original ]
وَكَانُوا يَقُولُونَ أَئِذَا مِتْنَا وَكُنَّا تُرَابًا وَعِظَامًا أَإِنَّا لَمَبْعُوثُونَ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
And they used to say, "What! when we die and become dust and bones, shall we then indeed be raised up again?-
Tafseer Commentary
5245 Their want of belief and ridicule of Allah's Message contrasts with the stern reality which they see around them now.
56:48
[ Original ]
أَوَآبَاؤُنَا الْأَوَّلُونَ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
"(We) and our fathers of old?"
56:49
[ Original ]
قُلْ إِنَّ الْأَوَّلِينَ وَالْآخِرِينَ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
Say: "Yea, those of old and those of later times,
56:50
[ Original ]
لَمَجْمُوعُونَ إِلَىٰ مِيقَاتِ يَوْمٍ مَعْلُومٍ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
"All will certainly be gathered together for the meeting appointed for a Day well-known.
Tafseer Commentary
5246 In 26:38 (see n. 3159) the phrase a day well-known is used for a solemn day of festival, when the multitude of people gather together. The Day of Judgement is such a day in the supreme sense of the word.
56:51
[ Original ]
ثُمَّ إِنَّكُمْ أَيُّهَا الضَّالُّونَ الْمُكَذِّبُونَ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
"Then will ye truly,- O ye that go wrong, and treat (Truth) as Falsehood!-
56:52
[ Original ]
لَآكِلُونَ مِنْ شَجَرٍ مِنْ زَقُّومٍ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
"Ye will surely taste of the Tree of Zaqqum.
56:53
[ Original ]
فَمَالِئُونَ مِنْهَا الْبُطُونَ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
"Then will ye fill your insides therewith,
56:54
[ Original ]
فَشَارِبُونَ عَلَيْهِ مِنَ الْحَمِيمِ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
"And drink Boiling Water on top of it:
56:55
[ Original ]
فَشَارِبُونَ شُرْبَ الْهِيمِ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
"Indeed ye shall drink like diseased camels raging with thirst!"
Tafseer Commentary
5248 A terrible picture of Misery in contrast to the Companionship of the Good, the True, and the Beautiful, on Thrones of Dignity, for the Companions of the Right Hand, in verses 34-38 above.
56:56
[ Original ]
هَٰذَا نُزُلُهُمْ يَوْمَ الدِّينِ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
Such will be their entertainment on the Day of Requital!
56:57
[ Original ]
نَحْنُ خَلَقْنَاكُمْ فَلَوْلَا تُصَدِّقُونَ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
It is We Who have created you: why do ye not testify to this truth?
Tafseer Commentary
5249 Man is apt to forget his Creator, and even the fact that he, man, is a created being. The seed of his body, out of which his physical life starts, is not created by man, but by Allah in the process of the unfoldment of the world. Why will not man recognise and bear witness of this fact by a life of obedience to Allah's Law?
56:58
[ Original ]
أَفَرَأَيْتُمْ مَا تُمْنُونَ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
Do ye then see?- The (human Seed) that ye throw out,-
56:59
[ Original ]
أَأَنْتُمْ تَخْلُقُونَهُ أَمْ نَحْنُ الْخَالِقُونَ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
Is it ye who create it, or are We the Creators?
56:60
[ Original ]
نَحْنُ قَدَّرْنَا بَيْنَكُمُ الْمَوْتَ وَمَا نَحْنُ بِمَسْبُوقِينَ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
We have decreed Death to be your common lot, and We are not to be frustrated
Tafseer Commentary
5250 Just as Allah has created this life that we see, so He has decreed that Death should be the common lot of all of us. Surely, if He can thus give life and death, as we see it, why should we refuse to believe that He can give us other forms when this life is over? The Future Life, though indicated by what we know now, is to be on a wholly different plane. (R).
56:61
[ Original ]
عَلَىٰ أَنْ نُبَدِّلَ أَمْثَالَكُمْ وَنُنْشِئَكُمْ فِي مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
from changing your Forms and creating you (again) in (forms) that ye know not.
56:62
[ Original ]
وَلَقَدْ عَلِمْتُمُ النَّشْأَةَ الْأُولَىٰ فَلَوْلَا تَذَكَّرُونَ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
And ye certainly know already the first form of creation: why then do ye not celebrate His praises?
56:63
[ Original ]
أَفَرَأَيْتُمْ مَا تَحْرُثُونَ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
See ye the seed that ye sow in the ground?
Tafseer Commentary
5251 Having appealed to our own nature within us, He appeals now to the external nature around us, which should be evidence to us (1) of His loving care for us, and (2) of its being due to causes other than those which we produce and control. Three examples are given: (1) the seed which we sow in the soil; it is Allah's processes in nature, which make it grow; (2) the water which we drink; it is Allah's processes in nature, that send it down from the clouds as rain, and distribute it through springs and rivers; (3) the fire which we strike; it is again a proof of Allah's Plan and Wisdom in nature.
56:64
[ Original ]
أَأَنْتُمْ تَزْرَعُونَهُ أَمْ نَحْنُ الزَّارِعُونَ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
Is it ye that cause it to grow, or are We the Cause?
56:65
[ Original ]
لَوْ نَشَاءُ لَجَعَلْنَاهُ حُطَامًا فَظَلْتُمْ تَفَكَّهُونَ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
Were it Our Will, We could crumble it to dry powder, and ye would be left in wonderment,
56:66
[ Original ]
إِنَّا لَمُغْرَمُونَ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
(Saying), "We are indeed left with debts (for nothing):
Tafseer Commentary
5252 The Cultivator contracts debts for seed and gives labour for ploughing, swing, watering, and weeding, in the hope of reaping a harvest. Should he not give thanks to Allah when his harvest is in?
56:67
[ Original ]
بَلْ نَحْنُ مَحْرُومُونَ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
"Indeed are we shut out (of the fruits of our labour)"
56:68
[ Original ]
أَفَرَأَيْتُمُ الْمَاءَ الَّذِي تَشْرَبُونَ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
See ye the water which ye drink?
56:69
[ Original ]
أَأَنْتُمْ أَنْزَلْتُمُوهُ مِنَ الْمُزْنِ أَمْ نَحْنُ الْمُنْزِلُونَ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
Do ye bring it down (in rain) from the cloud or do We?
56:70
[ Original ]
لَوْ نَشَاءُ جَعَلْنَاهُ أُجَاجًا فَلَوْلَا تَشْكُرُونَ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
Were it Our Will, We could make it salt (and unpalatable): then why do ye not give thanks?
Tafseer Commentary
5253 The mystery of the two streams of water, one sweet and the other salt, constantly mingling, and yet always separate, is referred to more than once. The never-ending circuit is established by streams and rivers mingling with the ocean, the ocean sending forth mists and steam through a process of evaporation which forms clouds, and the clouds by condensation pouring forth rain to feed the streams and rivers again: see notes n. 3111-3112 to 25:53, and n. 5185 to 55:19, and the further references given there.
56:71
[ Original ]
أَفَرَأَيْتُمُ النَّارَ الَّتِي تُورُونَ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
See ye the Fire which ye kindle?
56:72
[ Original ]
أَأَنْتُمْ أَنْشَأْتُمْ شَجَرَتَهَا أَمْ نَحْنُ الْمُنْشِئُونَ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
Is it ye who grow the tree which feeds the fire, or do We grow it?
Tafseer Commentary
5254 The relation of Fire to Trees is intimate. In nearly all the fire that we burn, the fuel is derived from the wood of trees. Even mineral coal is nothing but the wood of prehistoric forests petrified under the earth through geological ages. Fire produced out of green trees is referred to in 36:80; and n. 4026 there gives instances.
56:73
[ Original ]
نَحْنُ جَعَلْنَاهَا تَذْكِرَةً وَمَتَاعًا لِلْمُقْوِينَ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
We have made it a memorial (of Our handiwork), and an article of comfort and convenience for the denizens of deserts.
Tafseer Commentary
5255 Fire is a fit memorial of Allah's handiwork in nature. It is also an emblem of man's earliest civilisation. It can stand as a symbol of physical comfort and convenience to man, of the source of spiritual light, and also of the warning to Evil about its destruction. In the same way the sower's seed has a symbolical meaning in the preaching of the Message: see 48:29, and n. 4917: and the Rain and the Streams of water have a symbolical meaning: see notes 2404-5 to 18:60.
5256 Cf. 20:10 , and n. 2541, where the mystic meaning of the Fire which Moses saw in the desert is explained. Even ordinarily, a fire in a desert is a sign of human habitation; by following it you may get human society and human comfort. A fire, or light, or beacon in many places directs a traveller on the way. Lighthouses at sea and beacons in modern aerodromes serve the same purpose for mariners and airmen. Another parable about fire will be found in 2:17-18, and n. 38.
56:74
[ Original ]
فَسَبِّحْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الْعَظِيمِ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
Then celebrate with praises the name of thy Lord, the Supreme!
Tafseer Commentary
5257 Seeing all these Signs in nature and their symbolical meaning in the spiritual world, man must turn to Allah and do His Will.
56:75
[ Original ]
فَلَا أُقْسِمُ بِمَوَاقِعِ النُّجُومِ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
Furthermore I call to witness the setting of the Stars,-
Tafseer Commentary
5258 The setting of the Stars: a number of mystic meanings are attached. Here are three. (1) Cf. 43:1 andn. 5085; the setting of a glorious star is a symbol of humility before the power, beauty, and goodness of Allah. (2) It may refer to the extinction of the stars at the Day of Judgement, betokening the establishment of Allah's Justice and the Truth of His Revelation. (3) What is bright or beautiful to our senses may disappear from our ken within a few hours, even though its own existence may continue. All light is relative except the Light of Allah.
56:76
[ Original ]
وَإِنَّهُ لَقَسَمٌ لَوْ تَعْلَمُونَ عَظِيمٌ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
And that is indeed a mighty adjuration if ye but knew,-
Tafseer Commentary
5259 The glory of the firmament as it exists, and the wonder of its passing away, are both evidence, to the discerning mind, of the Future which Allah has prepared, but this evidence can only be effective if men "but knew", i.e., turned their earnest attention to it.
56:77
[ Original ]
إِنَّهُ لَقُرْآنٌ كَرِيمٌ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
That this is indeed a Qur'an most honourable,
Tafseer Commentary
5260 Your attention is drawn to the momentous issues of the Future by the Qur'an. It is a Revelation described by four characteristics. (1) It is most honourable, karim, which implies, besides the fact that it is worthy of receiving honour, that it confers great favours on those who receive it. (2) It is well-guarded, maknun; precious in itself, and well-preserved in its purity; see n. 5234 to 56:23; see also 15:9, and n. 1944. (3) None but the clean shall touch it-clean in body, mind, thought, intention, and soul; only such can achieve real contact with its full meaning. (4) It is a Revelation from the Lord of the Worlds, and therefore universal for all.
56:78
[ Original ]
فِي كِتَابٍ مَكْنُونٍ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
In Book well-guarded,
56:79
[ Original ]
لَا يَمَسُّهُ إِلَّا الْمُطَهَّرُونَ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
Which none shall touch but those who are clean:
56:80
[ Original ]
تَنْزِيلٌ مِنْ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
A Revelation from the Lord of the Worlds.
56:81
[ Original ]
أَفَبِهَٰذَا الْحَدِيثِ أَنْتُمْ مُدْهِنُونَ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
Is it such a Message that ye would hold in light esteem?
Tafseer Commentary
5261 The Message being such as is described in the last note, how can anyone ignore it or treat it with contempt or refuse to allow it to improve his life?
56:82
[ Original ]
وَتَجْعَلُونَ رِزْقَكُمْ أَنَّكُمْ تُكَذِّبُونَ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
And have ye made it your livelihood that ye should declare it false?
Tafseer Commentary
5262 The worst indictment of an enemy of Revelation would be that he should make Falsehood a source of filthy lucre for himself, or that he should let his precious life be corrupted by such unholy occupation.
56:83
[ Original ]
فَلَوْلَا إِذَا بَلَغَتِ الْحُلْقُومَ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
Then why do ye not (intervene) when (the soul of the dying man) reaches the throat,-
Tafseer Commentary
5263 There is a hiatus after why do ye not?-and two parenthetical clauses-after which the clause why do ye not? is resumed again in verse 86 below, with its complement in verse 87. It is permissible to the translator to add some such word as intervene here, to make the translation run smoothly.
56:84
[ Original ]
وَأَنْتُمْ حِينَئِذٍ تَنْظُرُونَ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
And ye the while (sit) looking on,-
Tafseer Commentary
5264 The dying man's friends, relatives and companions may be sitting round him and quite close to him in his last moments, but Allah is nearer still at all times for He is nearer than the man's own jugular vein (50:16), and one of Allah's own titles is "Ever Near" (34:50).
56:85
[ Original ]
وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْكُمْ وَلَٰكِنْ لَا تُبْصِرُونَ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
But We are nearer to him than ye, and yet see not,-
56:86
[ Original ]
فَلَوْلَا إِنْ كُنْتُمْ غَيْرَ مَدِينِينَ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
Then why do ye not,- If you are exempt from (future) account,-
Tafseer Commentary
5265 These words resume the sentence begun at verse 83 above and interrupted by the two parenthetical clauses in verses 84 and 85. See n. 5263 above.
56:87
[ Original ]
تَرْجِعُونَهَا إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
Call back the soul, if ye are true (in the claim of independence)?
Tafseer Commentary
5266 The sentence may now be briefly paraphrased. 'If you disbelieve in Revelation and a future Judgement, and claim to do what you like and be independent of Allah, how is it you cannot call back a dying man's soul to his body when all of you congregate round him at his death-bed? But you are not independent of Judgement. There is a Day of Accounts, when you will have to be judged by your deeds in this life.'
56:88
[ Original ]
فَأَمَّا إِنْ كَانَ مِنَ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
Thus, then, if he be of those Nearest to Allah,
Tafseer Commentary
5267 See above, 56:11-26 and notes.
56:89
[ Original ]
فَرَوْحٌ وَرَيْحَانٌ وَجَنَّتُ نَعِيمٍ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
(There is for him) Rest and Satisfaction, and a Garden of Delights.
Tafseer Commentary
5268 Rayhan: sweet-smelling plants, as in 55:12. Here used as symbolical of complete Satisfaction and Delight.
56:90
[ Original ]
وَأَمَّا إِنْ كَانَ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ الْيَمِينِ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
And if he be of the Companions of the Right Hand,
Tafseer Commentary
5269 See above, 56:27-38 and notes.
56:91
[ Original ]
فَسَلَامٌ لَكَ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ الْيَمِينِ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
(For him is the salutation), "Peace be unto thee", from the Companions of the Right Hand.
Tafseer Commentary
5270 In 56:26 above the salutation of "Peace, Peace!" is addressed to those Nearest to Allah. Here we learn that it is also addressed to the Companions of the Right Hand. Both are in Gardens of Bliss: only the former have a higher Dignity than the latter.
56:92
[ Original ]
وَأَمَّا إِنْ كَانَ مِنَ الْمُكَذِّبِينَ الضَّالِّينَ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
And if he be of those who treat (Truth) as Falsehood, who go wrong,
Tafseer Commentary
5271 Cf. above 56:51-55.
56:93
[ Original ]
فَنُزُلٌ مِنْ حَمِيمٍ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
For him is Entertainment with Boiling Water.
56:94
[ Original ]
وَتَصْلِيَةُ جَحِيمٍ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
And burning in Hell-Fire.
56:95
[ Original ]
إِنَّ هَٰذَا لَهُوَ حَقُّ الْيَقِينِ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
Verily, this is the Very Truth and Certainly.
Tafseer Commentary
5272 "The assurance of the Hereafter" is one of the strongest features of Faith. For without it the apparent inequalities and injustices of this Life cannot be satisfactorily explained.
56:96
[ Original ]
فَسَبِّحْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الْعَظِيمِ
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
So celebrate with praises the name of thy Lord, the Supreme.
Tafseer Commentary
5273 Cf. 56:74 above. That was the conclusion of the argument about the Future from the examples of Allah's goodness in nature. Now we have the conclusion of the same argument from Allah's revelation through His inspired Messengers.
|
|