Surah 22. Al-Hajj

O MEN! Be conscious of your Sustainer: for, verily, the violent convulsion of the Last Hour will be an awesome thing!

  - Mohammad Asad

O mankind! Have fear of your Rabb; the catastrophic quaking of the Hour of Doom will be terrible indeed.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

O mankind! Fear your Lord. Lo! the earthquake of the Hour (of Doom) is a tremendous thing.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

On the Day when you behold it, every woman that feeds a child at her breast will utterly forget her nursling, and every woman heavy with child will bring forth her burden [before her time]; and it will seem to thee that all mankind is drunk,¹ although they will not be drunk - but vehement will be [their dread of] God's chastisement.²

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "thou shalt see [or "behold"] mankind drunk", i.e., behaving as if they were drunk. The illusory, purely subjective character of this "seeing" - implied in the use of the singular form tara ("thou shalt see") after the plural "you" employed in the first clause of this verse - justifies the rendering "it will seem to thee that...", etc.

My interpolation of the words "their dread of" is based on the statement in 21:103 that, as far as the righteous are concerned, "the supreme awesomeness [of the Day of Resurrection] will cause them no grief" despite the dread with which it will overwhelm every human being.

On that Day you shall see that every nursing mother will forget her nursing-babe and every pregnant female will miscarry, and you will see people as if they are intoxicated, though they will not be drunk: such will be the horror of Allah's chastisement.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

On the day when ye behold it, every nursing mother will forget her nursling and every pregnant one will be delivered of her burden, and thou (Muhammad) wilt see mankind as drunken, yet they will not be drunken, but the Doom of Allah will be strong (upon them).

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And yet, among men there is many a one who argues about God without having any knowledge [of Him], and follows every rebellious satanic force³

  - Mohammad Asad

See first half of note [16] on 15:17 .

Yet there are some among people, who in their ignorance, argue about Allah and follow every rebellious devil,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Among mankind is he who disputeth concerning Allah without knowledge, and followeth each froward devil;

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

about which it has been decreed that whoever entrusts himself to it, him will it lead astray and guide towards the suffering of the blazing flame!

  - Mohammad Asad

though they are doomed to seduce whoever takes them as their friends and lead him to the punishment of burning fire.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

For him it is decreed that whoso taketh him for friend, be verily will mislead him and will guide him to the punishment of the Flame.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

O MEN! If you are in doubt as to the [truth of] resurrection, [remember that,] verily, We have created [every one of] you out of dust, then out of a drop of sperm, then out of a germ-cell, then out of an embryonic lump complete [in itself] and yet incomplete,⁴ so that We might make [your origin] clear unto you. And whatever We will [to be born] We cause to rest in the [mothers'] wombs for a term set [by Us], and then We bring you forth as infants and [allow you to live] so that [some of] you might attain to maturity: for among you are such as are caused to die [in childhood], just as many a one of you is reduced in old age to a most abject state, ceasing to know anything of what he once knew so well.⁵ And [if, O man, thou art still in doubt as to resurrection, consider this:] thou canst see the earth dry and lifeless - and [suddenly,] when We send down waters upon it, it stirs and swells and puts forth every kind of lovely plant!

  - Mohammad Asad

This rendering conforms with the interpretation of the phrase mukhallaqah wa-ghayr mukhallaqah by Ibn 'Abbas and Qatadah (the latter quoted by Tabari and the former by Baghawi), alluding to the various stages of embryonic development. In addition, Tabari explains the expression ghayr mukhallaqa as denoting the stage at which the embryonic lump (mudghah) has as yet no individual life - or, in his words, "when no soul has as yet been breathed into it" (la yunfakh fiha ar-ruh). - As regards the expression "created out of dust", it is meant to indicate man's lowly biological origin and his affinity with other "earthy" substances; see in this connection the second half of note [47] on 3:59 , and note [4] on 23:12 .

See note [79] on 16:70 .

O mankind! If you doubt that there is life after death remember that We first created you from dust, then from a sperm, then from a leech- like mass, then from a morsel of flesh, partly formed and partly unformed, so that We may manifest to you Our power. We cause to remain in the womb whom We wish for an appointed term, and then We bring you forth as infants; then We nourish you so that you may reach your age of full strength. There are some of you who die young and some who live on to their abject old age when all that they once knew they know no more. You sometimes see the land dry and barren; but no sooner do We pour down rain upon it then it begins to stir and swell, putting forth every kind of beautiful growth in pairs.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

O mankind! if ye are in doubt concerning the Resurrection, then lo! We have created you from dust, then from a drop of seed, then from a clot, then from a little lump of flesh shapely and shapeless, that We may make (it) clean for you. And We cause what We will to remain in the wombs for an appointed time, and afterward We bring you forth as infants, then (give you growth) that ye attain your full strength. And among you there is he who dieth (young), and among you there is he who is brought back to the most abject time of life, so that, after knowledge, he knoweth naught. And thou (Muhammad) seest the earth barren, but when We send down water thereon, it doth thrill and swell and put forth every lovely kind (of growth).

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

All this [happens] because God alone is the Ultimate Truth,⁶ and because He alone brings the dead to life, and because He has the power to will anything.

  - Mohammad Asad

See surah {20}, note [99].

This is because Allah is the Reality: it is He Who gives life to the dead and it is He Who has power over everything,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

That is because Allah, He is the Truth. Lo! He quickeneth the dead, and lo! He is Able to do all things;

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And [know, O man] that the Last Hour is bound to come, beyond any doubt, and that God will [indeed] resurrect all who are in their graves.

  - Mohammad Asad

and this is a proof that the Hour of Doom is sure to come - there is no doubt about it; and that Allah will raise up those who are in the graves.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And because the Hour will come, there is no doubt thereof; and because Allah will raise those who are in the graves.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And yet, among men there is many a one that argues about God without having any knowledge [of Him], without any guidance, and without any light-giving revelation -

  - Mohammad Asad

Yet there are others among people who wrangle about Allah, though they neither have knowledge nor guidance, nor an enlightening Book,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And among mankind is he who disputeth concerning Allah without knowledge or guidance or a Scripture giving light.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

scornfully turning aside [from the truth] so as to lead [others] astray from the path of God. Disgrace [of the spirit] is in store for him in this world;⁷ and on the Day of Resurrection We shall make him taste suffering through fire;

  - Mohammad Asad

Since many unrighteous people apparently "prosper" in this world, it is clear that the disgrace of which the above verse speaks is of a moral nature - namely, a gradual coarsening of all moral perceptions and. thus. a degradation of the spirit.

twisting things around in order to lead others astray from the Path of Allah - for such persons there is disgrace in this life, and on the Day of Judgment we shall make them taste the punishment of burning fire,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Turning away in pride to beguile (men) from the way of Allah. For him in this world is ignominy, and on the Day of Resurrection We make him taste the doom of burning.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[and he shall be told:] "This is an outcome of what thine own hands have wrought - for, never does God do the least wrong to His creatures!"

  - Mohammad Asad

saying: "This is what you prepared and sent forth with your own hands." Rest assured that Allah is not unjust to His worshippers.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

(And unto him it will be said): This is for that which thy two hands have sent before, and because Allah is no oppressor of His slaves.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And there is, too, among men many a one who worships God on the border-line [of faith]:⁸ thus, if good befalls him, he is satisfied with Him; but if a trial assails him, he turns away utterly,⁹ losing [thereby both] this world and the life to come: [and] this, indeed, is a loss beyond compare!¹⁰

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., wavering between belief and disbelief, and not really committed to either.

Lit., "he turns about on his face" - the "face" (wajh) of man signifying metonymically his whole being.

Lit., "the [most] obvious loss".

There are some people who worship Allah standing on the verge of faith (half faith and half disbelief). When such a person is blessed with good fortune he is content; but if he encounters a trial he turns back headlong; thus losing both this world and the Hereafter, which is a clear-cut loss.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And among mankind is he who worshippeth Allah upon a narrow marge so that if good befalleth him he is content therewith, but if a trial befalleth him, he falleth away utterly. He loseth both the world and the Hereafter. That is the sheer loss.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[By behaving thus,] he invokes, instead of God, something that can neither harm nor benefit him:¹¹ [and] this is indeed the utmost one can go astray.¹²

  - Mohammad Asad

By failing to commit himself unreservedly to the faith which he professes, man is often inclined to attribute to all manner of extraneous forces, be they real or imaginary, a decisive "influence" on his own destiny, and thus invests them, as it were, with divine qualities.

Lit., "this, this (dhalika huwa) is the straying far-away". For an explanation of my paraphrase, see note [25] on the last sentence of 14:18 .

Then instead of Allah, he starts calling those deities who can neither harm nor help him; now that is going too far off in deviation from the Right Way.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

He calleth, beside Allah, unto that which hurteth him not nor benefiteth him. That is the far error.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[And sometimes] he invokes [another human being -] one that is far more likely to cause harm than benefit: vile, indeed, is such a patron, and vile the follower!¹³

  - Mohammad Asad

The interpolation of "another human being" in the opening clause of this verse is necessitated by the relative pronoun man ("one that" or "who"), which almost always relates to an animate person - in this case, a human being who, by allowing himself to be idolized by those who "worship God on the border-line of faith", causes infinite spiritual harm to himself and to his followers.

He is calling upon those who are more likely to harm than help; what an evil master and what an evil friend he chooses for help!

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

He calleth unto him whose harm is nearer than his benefit; verily an evil patron and verily an evil friend!

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

VERILY, God will admit those who have attained to faith and have done righteous deeds into gardens through which running waters flow: for, behold, God does whatever He wills.

  - Mohammad Asad

As for those who believe and do good deeds, Allah will admit them to gardens beneath which the rivers flow. Surely Allah does what He wants.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Lo! Allah causeth those who believe and do good works to enter the Gardens underneath which rivers flow. Lo! Allah doth what He intendeth.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

If anyone thinks that God will not succour him¹⁴ in this world and in the life to come, let him reach out unto heaven by any [other] means and [thus try to] make headway:¹⁵ and then let him see whether this scheme of his will indeed do away with the cause of his anguish.¹⁶

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., that God is not enough to succour him: obviously an allusion to the type of man who "worships God on the border-line of faith" (verse {11} above) and therefore doubts His power to guide men towards happiness in this world and in the hereafter. The assumption of the majority of the commentators that the personal pronoun "him" relates to the Prophet Muhammad is, to my mind, very far-fetched and certainly not warranted by the context.

The rendering of la-yaqta' as "let him [try to] make headway" is based on the accepted, tropical use of the verb qata'a (lit., "he cut") in the sense of "traversing a distance": and this is the interpretation of yaqtac by Abu Muslim (as quoted by Razi). The expression "by any [other] means" (bi-sabab) relates to what has been said in verses {12-13} above.

Lit., "that which causes anger" or "exasperation", i.e., anguish at finding himself helpless and abandoned.

If anyone thinks that Allah will not help His Rasool in this world and in the Hereafter, let him stretch out a rope to the sky if he can and cut a hole to peep through and see for himself whether his device can avert that which irritates him.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Whoso is wont to think (through envy) that Allah will not give him (Muhammad) victory in the world and the Hereafter (and is enraged at the thought of his victory), let him stretch a rope up to the roof (of his dwelling), and let him hang himself. Then let him see whether his strategy dispelleth that whereat he rageth!

  - Marmaduke Pickthall