yet you shall not pass
without [Our] warrant.
34And which of your Lord’s favor
will you both deny?
35Against you both will be hurled
a fiery flame, and smoke—
you shall find no quarter.
36Which, then, of your Lord’s favors
will you both deny?
37When the sky is torn asunder,
turning crimson like red leather.°
38Which of your Lord’s favors
will you then both deny?
39On that day, none will be
questioned about his sin,
neither humans nor jinn.
40And which of your Lord’s favors
will you both deny?
41The sinners shall be known
by their marks, and seized
by their forelocks and their feet.
42Which, then, of your Lord’s favors
will you both deny?
43This is hell, which sinners deny—
44they will wander in circles
between it and boiling water.
45Which, then, of your Lord’s favors
will you both deny?
SECTION 3
46But whoever fears [the day]
when he stands before his Lord—
shall have two gardens—
47so which of your Lord’s favors
will you both deny?
48With spreading branches.
49So which of your Lord’s favors
will you both deny?
50In them both will be
two fountains, flowing.
51So which of your Lord’s favors
will you both deny?
52In them both will be fruits
of every kind, in pairs.
53So which of your Lord’s favors
will you both deny?
54Reclining on couches,
lined in rich brocade,
with fruit of both gardens
within close reach.°
55So which of your Lord’s favors
will you both deny?
56In the gardens will be females
of modest glance, untouched
before by human or jinn—
57so which of your Lord’s favors
will you both deny?
58[In beauty] like rubies and coral.
59So which of your Lord’s favors
will you both deny?
60What is the reward for goodness,
beyond goodness?°
61Which, then, of your Lord’s favors
will you both deny?
62And besides these two,
shall be two more gardens—
63which, then, of your Lord’s favors
will you both deny?
64Both hued in deepest green.
65And which of your Lord’s favors
will you both deny?
66In them both will be
two fountains, overflowing.
67Which, then, of your Lord’s favors
will you both deny?
68In them both will be fruit,
date palm, and pomegranate.
69Which, then, of your Lord’s favors
will you both deny?
70In them will be maidens,
virtuous and beautiful—
71which of your Lord’s favors
would you then both deny?
72Houris,° large eyed,
secluded in pavilions—
73and which of your Lord’s favors
will you both deny?
74Untouched before by human or jinn.
75Which, then, of your Lord’s favors
will you both deny?
76Reclining on cushions of green
and luscious carpets.
77Which, then, of your Lord’s favors
will you both deny?
78Blessed is the Name
of your Lord, forever,
in Majesty and Munificence.
SURA 56
The Inexorable Event (Al-Waqiʿa)
As with many suras, the opening verse of its 96 verses provides the title for this early Meccan invocation of “a noble Quran, in a Book well guarded” (v. 77–78). It begins with a vivid description of judgment day, then divides those arrayed into the ones nearest to God, followed by those on the right, and those on the left (vv. 10–56). Signs of God’s power and providence (vv. 57–74) underscore the universal need to acknowledge “the truth, certain,” glorifying “the Name of your Lord, Most Great” (vv. 95–96).
In the Name of God, the All Merciful, Ever Merciful
SECTION 1
1When the inexorable event arrives,
2none shall deny its arrival.
3Many will it abase
and many will it exalt—
4when the earth is convulsed
to its core,
5and the mountains crumbled
6to dust, scattered wide—
7then you shall be ranked
into three groups:
8some on the right—who?°
9and some on the left—who?
10While the foremost [in faith]
shall be foremost [in place];
11these will be nearest to God°
12in gardens of bliss:
13many from the first generations,
14few from later generations,
15on couches adorned with gold,
16reclining, facing one another.
17Immortal youths shall pass
among them, [serving them]
18with goblets, jugs, and a cup
[filled] from a flowing stream,
19inducing neither headache
nor stupor;
20and whatever fruits they choose;
21and the flesh of whatever
fowl they desire;
22and houris, large-eyed,
23like pearls preserved
in their shells—
24a reward for all their deeds.
25There, they will hear neither gossip
nor sinful talk—
26only the words “Peace . . . peace.”
27Those on the right—
how will they be?
28[They will be] among lote-trees
shorn of their thorns,°
29among acacias laden with fruit,
30under spreading shade,
31with flowing water,
32and fruit in abundance
33without limit or constraint,
34seated on couches raised high.
35We created companions,
36whom We have made chaste,
37loving, and well suited°—
38for those on the right—
SECTION 2
39many from former times,
40and many from later generations.
41Those on the left—
how will they be?
42They will be in scorching wind
and scalding water,
43in the shade of black smoke
44neither cool nor soothing.
45Before this, they had indulged
in luxury,
46persisting in great sin,
47and they used to say,
“So when we die, and turn to
dust and bones, will we
really be resurrected—
48“along with our ancestors?”
49Say, “Yes, both former
and later generations
50“shall be gathered together
at an appointed time
on a stipulated day.
51“Then you who are astray,
and deny the truth,
52“shall eat from the bitter
tree of Zaqqum,°
53“filling your bellies with it,
54“while drinking scalding water,
55“slurping it like thirsty camels.”
56This will be their welcome
on the day of reckoning.
57It is We Who created you—
so why will you not accept the truth?
58Do you see the [semen]
that you emit?
59Did you create it,
or are We the Creator?
60We decreed death
to be your common lot°—
nor could We be thwarted°
61[if We wished] to transform
your form and re-create you
in forms unknown to you.
62And of course you know well
your original form of creation—
so why will you not take heed?°
63Do you see the seed
that you sow?
64Is it you who cause it to grow
or We?
65Had We wished, We could have
crushed it to rubble,
and left you musing,
66“We are deep in debt,
67“in fact, we’re dispossessed.”
68Do you not see the water
that you drink?
69Is it you who send it down
from the rain clouds—or We?
70If We willed, We could make it
bitter [and undrinkable]—
so why will you not give thanks?
71Do you see the fire
that you light?
72Is it you who produce
the tree that fuels it, or We?
73We made it a reminder,
and a provision for desert travelers.
74So glorify the Name
of your Lord, Most Great.
SECTION 3
75Indeed—I swear
by the setting of the stars°
76—this is a momentous oath,
if only you knew—
77that this is a noble Quran,
78in a Book well guarded,
79which only the pure shall touch—
80a revelation from
the Lord of the worlds.
81Would you, then,
take this message lightly?
82And do you make your living
by denying it?
83Why do you not [intercede]
when the [soul of a dying man]
wells up to his throat,
84while you merely gaze on?
85We are nearer to him
than you are—but you do not see.
86And why, if you are exempt
from judgment,
87do you not bring back [his soul],
if you are speaking the truth?
88If [that dying person] is among
those brought near to God,
89they shall have repose,
fragrant delight,
and a garden of bliss.
90And if he is one of those
on the right,
91[he shall hear the greeting]
“Peace be to you” from those
on the right.
92But if he is one of those
who denied [Our message]
and went astray,
93his welcome will be
scalding water,
94and burning in hellfire.
95This is the truth, certain.
96So, glorify the name
of your Lord, Most Great.
SURA 57
Iron (Al-Hadid)
Only 29 verses, this early Medinan sura takes its title from the mention of iron, sent down to provide “great strength and benefits for people” (v. 25). Extolling the glory of God and His messenger (vv. 1–11), it then separates the believers and hypocrites, with disparate fates awaiting each (vv. 12–20) and an appeal to believers: “Race to gain forgiveness from your Lord” (v. 21). It concludes with praise for the earlier followers of Noah, Abraham, and Jesus and emphasis on the light as a mark of God’s guidance and forgiveness (v. 28).
In the Name of God, the All Merciful, Ever Merciful
SECTION 1
1All that is in the heavens and on earth
hymns the glory of God,
for He is Almighty, All Wise.
2His is the dominion
over the heavens and the earth;
He gives life and brings death,
and He has Power over all things.
3He is the First and the Last,
the Manifest and the Hidden,
Knower of all things.
4It is He Who created
the heavens and the earth
in six days, then took up the throne.
He knows what enters the earth
and what leaves it,
what descends from the sky
and what ascends to it.
He is with you wherever
you are—for God Sees
all that you do.
5His is the dominion
over the heavens and the earth,
and all affairs are returned to God.
6He fades night into day,
and day into night; and He Knows
what your hearts contain.
7Believe in God and His messenger,
and give freely° from what
He has entrusted to you. For those
of you who believe and give freely,
there is a great reward.
8Why do you not believe in God
when the messenger calls you
to believe in your Lord
—and has taken a pledge from you—
if you are truly believers?
9It is He Who sends clear signs
to His servant, so he might lead you
out of the darkness into light—
for God is Most Kind,
Ever Merciful.
10And why do you not spend
in God’s cause? For the legacy of
the heavens and the earth is God’s.
Not all among you are equal:
those who gave and fought
before the victory°
are higher in rank than those
who gave and fought afterward.
But God has promised all
a fine reward—
for God is Aware of all that you do.
SECTION 2
11Who will lend to God
a beautiful loan, that God
will multiply for them?
Theirs will be a noble reward.
12On a day when you see
the believers, men and women,
with their light moving before them,
on their right, [they will hear,]
“What joyous news for you this day—
gardens, beneath which rivers flow,
to live there forever—
that is the supreme triumph.”
13On that day, the hypocrites, both men
and women, will say to the believers,
“Wait for us! Let us share
some of your light.” They will be told,
“Go back behind and seek a light.”
Then a wall shall be raised
between them, with a door—
mercy inside it and torment outside.
14[Those outside] will call out,
“Were we not with you?
[The others] will reply,
“Yes, but you fell into temptation.
You were hesitant, in doubt,
and false desires deceived you—
until God’s command came.
The deceiver deceived you about God.
15“This day no ransom
shall be accepted of you, nor
of the disbelievers. Your home
is the fire, your true patron—
a wretched destination.”
16Has not the time come
for the believers to humble
their hearts in remembrance of God
and of the truth revealed [to them],
and not to be like those who were
given the Book earlier,
whose hearts grew hard over time,
many of whom were disobedient.
17Know that God gives life
to the earth after its death;
We have made the signs clear to you
that you might comprehend.
18For the men and
