تَبَارَكَ الَّذِي بِيَدِهِ الْمُلْكُ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
HALLOWED be He in whose hand all dominion rests, since He has the power to will anything: (1)
الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْمَوْتَ وَالْحَيَاةَ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْغَفُورُ
He who has created death as well as life, so that He might put you to a test [and thus show] which of you is best in conduct, and [make you realize that] He alone is almighty, truly forgiving. (2)
الَّذِي خَلَقَ سَبْعَ سَمَاوَاتٍ طِبَاقًا مَا تَرَىٰ فِي خَلْقِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ مِنْ تَفَاوُتٍ فَارْجِعِ الْبَصَرَ هَلْ تَرَىٰ مِنْ فُطُورٍ
[Hallowed be] He who has created seven heavens in full harmony with one another: no fault wilt thou see in the creation of the Most Gracious. And turn thy vision [upon it] once more: canst thou see any flaw? (3)
ثُمَّ ارْجِعِ الْبَصَرَ كَرَّتَيْنِ يَنْقَلِبْ إِلَيْكَ الْبَصَرُ خَاسِئًا وَهُوَ حَسِيرٌ
Yea, turn thy vision [upon it] again and yet again: [and every time] thy vision will fall back upon thee, dazzled and truly defeated.... (4)
وَلَقَدْ زَيَّنَّا السَّمَاءَ الدُّنْيَا بِمَصَابِيحَ وَجَعَلْنَاهَا رُجُومًا لِلشَّيَاطِينِ وَأَعْتَدْنَا لَهُمْ عَذَابَ السَّعِيرِ
And, indeed, We have adorned the skies nearest to the earth with lights, and have made them the object of futile guesses for the evil ones [from among men]: and for them have We readied suffering through a blazing flame (5)
وَلِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِرَبِّهِمْ عَذَابُ جَهَنَّمَ وَبِئْسَ الْمَصِيرُ
for suffering in hell awaits all who are [thus] bent on blaspheming against their Sustainer: and how vile a journey's end! (6)
إِذَا أُلْقُوا فِيهَا سَمِعُوا لَهَا شَهِيقًا وَهِيَ تَفُورُ
When they are cast into that [hell], they will hear its breath indrawing as it boils up, (7)
تَكَادُ تَمَيَّزُ مِنَ الْغَيْظِ كُلَّمَا أُلْقِيَ فِيهَا فَوْجٌ سَأَلَهُمْ خَزَنَتُهَا أَلَمْ يَأْتِكُمْ نَذِيرٌ
well-nigh bursting with fury; [and] every time a host [of such sinners] is flung into it, its keepers will ask them, "Has no warner ever come to you?" (8)
قَالُوا بَلَىٰ قَدْ جَاءَنَا نَذِيرٌ فَكَذَّبْنَا وَقُلْنَا مَا نَزَّلَ اللَّهُ مِنْ شَيْءٍ إِنْ أَنْتُمْ إِلَّا فِي ضَلَالٍ كَبِيرٍ
They will reply: "Yea, a warner did indeed come unto us, but we gave him the lie and said, `Never has God sent down anything [by way of revelation]! You [self-styled warners] are but lost in a great delusion!'" (9)
وَقَالُوا لَوْ كُنَّا نَسْمَعُ أَوْ نَعْقِلُ مَا كُنَّا فِي أَصْحَابِ السَّعِيرِ
And they will add: "Had we but listened [to those warnings], or [at least] used our own reason, we would not [now] be among those who are destined for the blazing flame!" (10)
فَاعْتَرَفُوا بِذَنْبِهِمْ فَسُحْقًا لِأَصْحَابِ السَّعِيرِ
Thus will they come to realize their sins: but [by that time,] remote will have become all good from those who are destined for the blazing flame. (11)
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَخْشَوْنَ رَبَّهُمْ بِالْغَيْبِ لَهُمْ مَغْفِرَةٌ وَأَجْرٌ كَبِيرٌ
[As against this,] behold, for those who stand in awe of their Sustainer although He is beyond the reach of their perception, there is forgiveness in store and a great reward. (12)
وَأَسِرُّوا قَوْلَكُمْ أَوِ اجْهَرُوا بِهِ إِنَّهُ عَلِيمٌ بِذَاتِ الصُّدُورِ
AND [know, O men, that] whether you keep your beliefs secret or state them openly, He has full knowledge indeed of all that is in [your] hearts. (13)
أَلَا يَعْلَمُ مَنْ خَلَقَ وَهُوَ اللَّطِيفُ الْخَبِيرُ
How could it be that He who has created [all] should not know [all]? Yea, He alone is unfathomable [in His wisdom], all-aware! (14)
- And they will add: "Had we but listened [to those warnings], or [at least] used our own reason, we would not [now] be among those who are destined for the blazing flame!"8
- 8 Reason, properly used, must lead man to a cognition of God's existence and, thus, of the fact that a definite plan underlies all His creation. A logical concomitant of that cognition is the realization that certain aspects of the divine plan touching upon human life - in particular, the distinction between right and wrong - are being continuously disclosed to man through the medium of the revelation which God bestows on His chosen message-bearers, the prophets. This innate "bond with God" (referred to in 2:27 and explained in the corresponding note 19) may be broken only at the expense of man's spiritual future, with suffering in the life to come as the inevitable alternative.
- They will further say: "Had we but listened or used our intelligence,5567 we should not (now) be among the Companions of the Blazing Fire!"
- 5567 Man has himself the power given to him to distinguish good from evil, and he is further helped by the teachings of the great Messengers or World Teachers. Where such Teachers do not come into personal contact with an individual or a generation, the true meaning of their teaching can be understood by means of the Reason which Allah has given to every human soul to judge by. It is failure to follow a man's own lights sincerely that leads to his degradation and destruction.
-
They will further say: "Had we but listened or used our intelligence, we should not (now) be among the Companions of the Blazing Fire!"
— Abdullah Yusuf Ali -
And they say: Had we been wont to listen or have sense, we had not been among the dwellers in the flames.
— Marmaduke Pickthall -
And they shall say: Had we but listened or pondered, we should not have been among the inmates of the burning fire.
— M. Habib Shakir -
And they will say: "Had we but listened or used our intelligence, we would not have been among the dwellers of the blazing Fire!"
— Taqiuddin Hilali and M. Mohsin Khan -
And they will say: had we been wont to hearken or to reflect, we had not been among the fellows of the Blaze.
— Abdul-Majid Daryabadi -
And they will then say: 'If only we had listened and understood we should not now be among the inhabitants of the Blaze. '
— Hasan Qaribullah and Ahmed Darwish -
And they say, `if we had only listened or had understood, we would not have been among the inhabitants of the Blaze.'
— Ayub Khan -
And they will say, 'Had we but listened or had sense, we should not have been among the inmates of the blazing Fire.'
— Sher Ali -
And they will add: "Had we but listened [to those warnings], or [at least] used our own reason, we would not [now] be among those who are destined for the blazing flame!"
— Muhammad Asad -
They also say, If we had only heard, or had understood, we would not have been of the inhabitants of the Blaze.
— Arthur Arberry -
They will say: 'If we had only listened and understood,{{16}} we would not be among the inmates of the Blazing Fire.'"
— Abu'l Ala Maududi