The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics)

a
9So
remind, if reminding will help.
b
10Those who stand in awe of God
will heed the reminder, 
11but it will be ignored by the most wicked,
12who will enter the Great Fire, 13where they will neither die nor
live.
c
14Prosperous are those who purify themselves, 15remember the
name of their Lord, and pray. 
16Yet you [people] prefer the life of
this world, 
17even though the Hereafter is better and more lasting.
18All this is in the earlier scriptures, 19the scriptures of Abraham and
Moses.
a
Or ‘We shall make things easy for you’ Literally: ‘We shall ease you towards ease’.
b
Razi cites many instances in the Qur
an where this structure conveys the meaning
‘warn [everyone], whether [or not] warning will help’.
c
They will neither be granted the respite of death, nor be able to enjoy their
continued state of life (Razi).
(
418)

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88. THE OVERWHELMING EVENT
This Meccan sura serves to warn the disbelievers, encourage the Prophet and
the believers, and absolve him of responsibility for the disbelievers. The title
comes from the description of events on the Day of Judgement in the 
first verse,
and the downcast faces of the disbelievers on that Day are contrasted with the
radiant faces of the believers.
In the name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy
1Have you heard tell
a
[Prophet] about the Overwhelming Event?
2On that Day, there will be downcast faces, 3toiling and weary, 4as
they enter the blazing Fire 
5and are forced to drink from a boiling
spring, 
6with no food for them except bitter dry thorns 7that neither
nourish nor satisfy hunger. 
8On that Day there will also be faces
radiant with bliss, 
9well pleased with their labour, 10in a lofty garden,
11where they will hear no idle talk, 12with a flowing spring, 13raised
couches, 
14goblets placed before them, 15cushions set in rows, 16and
carpets spread. 
17Do the disbelievers not see how rain clouds
b
are
formed, 
18how the heavens are lifted, 19how the mountains are raised
high,
20how the earth is spread out?
21So [Prophet] warn them: your only task is to give warning, 22you
are not there to control them. 
23As for those who turn away and
disbelieve, God will in
flict the greatest torment upon them. It is to
Us they will return, 
24and then it is for Us to call them to account.
a
An Arabic convention to draw attention to what follows.
b
The word ibl can mean ‘camel’ as well as ‘rain cloud’. However, the latter is better in
this context amongst all the other geographical images presented. Rain is often used to
illustrate the concept of resurrection.
(
419)

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89. DAYBREAK
A Meccan sura in which God emphasizes (by oath) that the tyrants of the
Prophet’s time will be like those He dealt with in the past. The sura compares
the destiny of the ungrateful with that of the souls at peace.
In the name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy
1By the Daybreak, 2by the Ten Nights,
a
3by the even and the odd,
b
4by the passing night
c
––
5is this oath strong enough for a rational
person?
6Have you [Prophet] considered how your Lord dealt with [the
people] of 
 Ad,
d
7of Iram, [the city] of lofty pillars, 8whose like has
never been made in any land, 
9and the Thamud,