Surah 44. Ad-Dukhan

Ha. Mim.¹

  - Mohammad Asad

See Appendix II.

Ha M'im.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Ha-Mim.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Ha. Mim.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Ha Mim. ⁴⁶⁸⁸

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

These Abbreviated Letters are discussed in the Introduction to S. xi.

CONSIDER this divine writ, clear in itself and clearly showing the truth!²

  - Mohammad Asad

See note [2] on 12:1 .

We swear by the Glorious Book

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

By the clear Book!

  - Mustafa Khattab

By the Scripture that maketh plain

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

By the Book that makes things clear ⁴⁶⁸⁹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The Qur-an is its own evidence. In the last Sura (xliii. 3) stress was laid on the fact that everyone could understand it. Here the stress is on the fact that it is a Message of Mercy from Allah in that it warns mankind against evil.

Behold, from on high have We bestowed it on a blessed night:³ for, verily, We have always been warning [man].⁴

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., the night on which the revelation of the Qur'an began: see surah {97}.

The revelation of the Qur'an is but a continuation and, indeed, the climax of all divine revelation which has been going on since the very dawn of human consciousness. Its innermost purpose has always been the warning extended by God to man not to abandon himself to mere material ambitions and pursuits and, thus, to lose sight of spiritual values.

that We revealed this Qur'an in a blessed night (Layla-tul Qadr); for We wanted to forewarn mankind.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Indeed, We sent it down on a blessed night,¹ for We always warn 'against evil'.

  - Mustafa Khattab

 The revelation of the Quran started on the 27 th  night of Ramaḍân—the 9 th  month of the Islamic calendar (see 97:1 and 2:185)

Lo! We revealed it on a blessed night.--Lo! We are ever warning.--

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

We sent it down during a blessed night: for We (ever) wish to warn (against Evil). ⁴⁶⁹⁰

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Usually taken to be a night in the month of Ramadhan, say the 23rd, 25th, or 27th night of that month. It is referred to as the Night of Power in xcvii. 1-2. See also ii. 185. But perhaps we need not fix it literally by the calendar. The night that a Message descends from Allah is indeed a blessed night like a day of rain for a parched land.

On that [night] was made clear, in wisdom, the distinction between all things [good and evil]⁵

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "was made distinct everything wise", i.e., "wisely" or "in wisdom": a metonymical attribution of the adjective "wise" - which in reality relates to God, the maker of that distinction to what has thus been made distinct (Zamakhshari and Razi). The meaning is that the revelation of the Qur'an, symbolized by that "blessed night" of its beginning, provides man with a standard whereby to discern between good and evil, or between all that leads to spiritual growth through an ever-deepening realization (ma'rifah) of God's existence, on the one hand, and all that results in spiritual blindness and self-destruction, on the other.

In that night every matter is decided wisely

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

On that night every matter of wisdom is ordained

  - Mustafa Khattab

Whereupon every wise command is made clear

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

In that (night) is made distinct every affair of wisdom ⁴⁶⁹¹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Such an occasion is one on which divine Wisdom places before us through Revelation the solution of spiritual problems of the highest import to mankind.

at a behest from Ourselves: for, verily, We have always been sending [Our messages of guidance]

  - Mohammad Asad

by a command from Ourself. Surely We send it (The Qur'an) down,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

by a command from Us, for We have always sent 'messengers'

  - Mustafa Khattab

As a command from Our presence.--Lo! We are ever sending--

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

By command from Our presence. For We (ever) send (revelations)

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

in pursuance of thy Sustainer's grace [unto man]. Verily, He alone is all-hearing, all-knowing,

  - Mohammad Asad

as a blessing from your Rabb; it is He Who is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

as a mercy from your Lord. He 'alone' is truly the All-Hearing, All-Knowing-

  - Mustafa Khattab

A mercy from thy Lord. Lo! He is the Hereafter, the Knower,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

As a Mercy from thy Lord: for He hears and knows (all things); ⁴⁶⁹²

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

It is because Allah is the friend of the friendless and the help of the helpless that He hears all sincere prayers, and as His knowledge embraces all things, He grants to us whatever is best for us, not as we see it, but as He knows it in His perfect knowledge.

the Sustainer of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them - if you could but grasp it with inner certainty!⁶

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "if you had but inner certainty". According to Abu Muslim al-Isfahani (as quoted by Razi), this means, "you would know it if you would but truly desire inner certainty and would pray for it".

The Rabb of the heavens and the earth and all that lies between them, mark this, if you are true believers!

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

the Lord of the heavens and the earth and everything in between, if only you had sure faith.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Lord of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them, if ye would be sure.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

The Lord of the heavens and the earth and all between them if ye (but) have an assured faith. ⁴⁶⁹³

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. ii. 4. They cannot fully realise what a tremendous thing it is that Allah is their own Lord and Cherisher (nex verse), as He is the Lord and Cherisher of the whole Universe, until they firmly believe,-until their Faith amounts to a certainty, secure and unshakable.

There is no deity save Him: He grants life and deals death: He is your Sustainer as well as the Sustainer of your forebears of old.

  - Mohammad Asad

There is no god but Him. He gives life and death. He is your Rabb and the Rabb of your forefathers.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

There is no god 'worthy of worship' except Him. He 'alone' gives life and causes death. 'He is' your Lord, and the Lord of your forefathers.

  - Mustafa Khattab

There is no God save Him. He quickeneth and giveth death; your Lord and Lord of your forefathers.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

There is no god but He: it is He Who gives life and gives death the Lord and Cherisher to you and your earliest ancestors.

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Nay, but they [who lack inner certainty] are but toying with their doubts.⁷

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "are toying in doubt": i.e., their half-hearted admission of the possibility that God exists is compounded of doubt and irony (Zamakhshari) - doubt as to the proposition of God's existence, and an ironical amusement at the idea of divine revelation.

Yet they play about in doubt.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

In fact, they are in doubt, amusing themselves.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Nay, but they play in doubt.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Yet they play about in doubt. ⁴⁶⁹⁴

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The story is mainly about the Quraish. But there is a wider meaning behind it, applicable to men generally, and at all times. As a body the Quraish, especially in the earlier stages of the preaching of Islam, before they started persecution, received the Message with more amusement than hatred. They played about with it, and expressed doubts about it, whereas the Preacher was most earnest about it, with all his heart and soul in it, as he loved his people and wished to save them from their wickedness and folly.

WAIT, THEN, for the Day when the skies shall bring forth a pall of smoke which will make obvious [the approach of the Last Hour],

  - Mohammad Asad

Well! Wait for the Day when the sky will pour down visible smoke.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Wait then 'O Prophet' for the day 'when' the sky will be veiled in haze,¹ clearly visible,

  - Mustafa Khattab

 This refers to the drought that affected the Meccan pagans so badly that they came to the Prophet (ﷺ), begging him to pray to Allah to remove the affliction from them.

But watch thou (O Muhammad) for the day when the sky will produce visible smoke

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Then watch thou for the Day that the sky will bring forth a kind of smoke (or mist) plainly visible. ^{4695 4696}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

What Day is this? It obviously refers to great calamity, and from the wording it is to be a great calamity in the future, seen with the prophetic eye. The word yagsha in verse 11 may be compared to gashiya in lxxxviii. 1, which obviously refers to the final Day of Judgment. But verse 15 below ("We shall remove the Penalty for a while") shows that it is not the final Judgment referred to here, but some calamity that was to happen soon afterwards. Perhaps it was a famine, about which see the next note.

The "smoke" or "mist" is interpreted on good authority to refer to a severe famine in Makkah, in which men were so pinched with hunger that they saw mist before their eyes when they looked at the sky. Ibn Kathir in his Tarikh mentions two famines in Makkah, one in the 8th year of the Mission, say the fourth year before the Hijra, and another about the 8th year after the Hijra. But as either or both of these famines lasted as many as seven years, the dates are to be taken very roughly. It is even possible that the two famines were continuous, of varying severity from year to year. Bukhari mentions only the post-Hijrat famine, which was apparently so severe that men began to eat bones and carrion. Abu Sufyan (about 8 A.H.) approached the holy Prophet to intercede and pray for the removal of the famine, as the Pagans attributed it to the curse of the Prophet. Sura xxiii., which is also Makkan, but of later date than the present Sura, also refers to a famine: see xxiii. 75, and n. 2921. As Suras were not all revealed entire, but many came piecemeal, it is possible that particular verses in a given Sura may be of different dates from the Sura as a whole.

enveloping all mankind, [and causing the sinners to exclaim:] "Grievous is this suffering!

  - Mohammad Asad

Enveloping all mankind; this will be a painful punishment.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

overwhelming the people. 'They will cry,' 'This is a painful torment.

  - Mustafa Khattab

That will envelop the people. This will be a painful torment.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Enveloping the people: this will be a Penalty Grievous.

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

O our Sustainer, relieve us of suffering, for, verily, we [now] believe [in Thee]!"

  - Mohammad Asad

Then the mankind will say: "Our Rabb! Remove from us this punishment, surely we have become real believers."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Our Lord! Remove 'this' torment from us, 'and' we will certainly believe.'

  - Mustafa Khattab

(Then they will say): Our Lord relieve of the torment. Lo! we are believers:

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

(They will say:) "Our Lord! remove the Penalty from us for We do really believe!"

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

[But] how shall this remembrance avail them [at the Last Hour], seeing that an apostle had previously come unto them, clearly expounding the truth,

  - Mohammad Asad

But how can the acceptance of Our Message at that time be beneficial to them? A Rasool (Muhammad), who made the things clear, has come to them

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

How can they be reminded when a messenger has already come to them, making things clear,

  - Mustafa Khattab

How can there be remembrance for them, when a messenger making plain (the truth) had already come unto them,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

How shall the Message be (effectual) for them seeing that an Apostle explaining things clearly has (already) come to them ⁴⁶⁹⁷

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The Quraish had before them a prophet whose purity of life was openly known to them; they themselves called him al-Amin (worthy of all trust); he preached in their own language in words of burning eloquence and transparent clearness; yet they turned away from him and called him a madman, or one whose Message was not inspired by Allah, but written by some hidden hand (see next note)! How will the teaching of spiritual Truth make way among such unreasonable people?

whereupon they turned their backs on him and said, "Taught [by others] is he,⁸ a madman"?

  - Mohammad Asad

A reference to the allegation of the Prophet's opponents that someone else had "imparted" to him the ideas expressed in the Qur'an (see 16:103 and the corresponding notes [129] and [130]), or at least had "helped" him to compose it (cf. 25:4 and notes [5] and [6]).

yet they deny him, saying: "He is a madman, taught by others!"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

then they turned away from him, saying, 'A madman, taught by others!'?

  - Mustafa Khattab

And they had turned away from him and said: One taught (by others), a madman?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Yet they turn away from him and say: "Tutored (by others) a man possessed!" ⁴⁶⁹⁸

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Tutored: see xvi. 103, and n. 2143. Possessed: see xv. 6, and n. 1940.

[Still,] behold, We shall postpone⁹ this suffering for a little while, although you are bound to revert [to your evil ways: but]

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "remove". This is apparently said on the time-level of the present - i.e., before the coming of the Last Hour - so as to give the sinners an opportunity to repent.

We shall remove the affliction (famine from which they were suffering) for a while, but you will revert to the same old ways.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Indeed, We will remove 'that' torment for a while, and you 'Meccans' will return 'to disbelief'.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Lo! We withdraw the torment a little. Lo! ye return (to disbelief).

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

We shall indeed remove the Penalty for a while (but) truly ye will revert (to your ways). ⁴⁶⁹⁹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Allah gives every chance to all His creatures, however rebellious. He gives them a little trial, perhaps personal, perhaps economic, to see if that would bring them to their bearings, and train their will in the right direction. Some are thus reclaimed, and some do not learn. Perhaps, for the latter, he gives them a chance by removing the trial; some are reclaimed, and some still remain obdurate. And so, in His wisdom, He allows His grace to work, again and again, until, at the last, Judgment must seize the last and irreclaimable remnant "with a mighty onslaught". Such working of Allah's Providence is clearly visible in the story of the Quraish. It is a pity that the economic conditions of Makkah have not been studied in detail in any of the standard biographies of the Prophet. The so-called biographies by non-Muslims, e.g. , Muir's Life, do not even mention any Makkan famine or its reactions on the Quraish mind!