Surah 50. Qaf

And every human being will come forward with [his erstwhile] inner urges and [his] conscious mind,¹⁴

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "with that which drives (sa'iq) and that which bears witness (shahid)". While the former term evidently circumscribes man's primal urges - and particularly those which drive him into unrestrained self-indulgence and, thus, into sin - the term shahid (rendered by me as "conscious mind") alludes here to the awakening of the deeper layers of man's consciousness, leading to a sudden perception of his own moral reality - the "lifting of the veil" referred to in the next verse - which forces him to "bear witness" against himself (cf. 17:14 , 24:24 , 36:65 , 41:20 ff.).

Each soul will come forth; with it there will be a an angel to drive and an angel to bear witness.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Each soul will come forth with an angel to drive it and another to testify.

  - Mustafa Khattab

And every soul cometh, along with it a driver and a witness

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And there will come forth every soul: with each will be an (angel) to drive and an (angel) to bear witness. ⁴⁹⁵⁷

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Several interpretations are possible, leading to the same truth, that the Judgment will be set up; the Record will be produced; the good and bad deeds will speak for and against; and complete justice will be done, each act leading to its own due fruit. (1) The (angel) to drive and the (angel) to bear witness may be the Recording Angels of the left and the right (verse 17); or (2) it may not be angels, but the evil deeds will drive like task-masters, and the good deeds will bear witness for the soul on trial; or (3) his misused limbs and faculties will drive him to his doom, while his well-used limbs and faculties will witness for him.

[and will be told:] "Indeed, unmindful hast thou been of this [Day of Judgement]; but now We have lifted from thee thy veil, and sharp is thy sight today!"

  - Mohammad Asad

It will be said: "You were heedless of this, but now We have removed your veil, so your eyesight is sharp today!"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

'It will be said to the denier,' 'You were totally heedless of this. Now We have lifted this veil of yours, so Today your sight is sharp!'

  - Mustafa Khattab

(And unto the evil doer it is said): Thou wast in heedlessness of this. Now We have removed from thee thy covering, and piercing is thy sight this day.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

(It will be said:) "Thou wast heedless of this; now have We removed thy veil and sharp is thy sight this Day!" ⁴⁹⁵⁸

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The clearness of vision will now be even greater: see n. 4955 above.

And one part¹⁵ of him will say: "This it is that has been ever-present with me!"¹⁶

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "his intimate companion" (qarinuhu). The term qarin denotes something that is "connected", "linked" or "intimately associated" with another thing (cf. 41:25 and 43:36 , where qarin is rendered as "[one's] other self"). In the present instance - read together with verse {21} - the term apparently denotes "one part" of man, namely, his awakened moral consciousness.

I.e., the sinner's reason will plead that he had always been more or less conscious, and perhaps even critical, of the urges and appetites that drove him into evildoing: but, as is shown in the sequence, this belated and, therefore, morally ineffective rational cognition does not diminish but, rather, enhances the burden of man's guilt.

His companion will say: "Here is my testimony ready with me."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And one's accompanying-angel will say, 'Here is the record ready with me.'

  - Mustafa Khattab

And (unto the evil doer) his comrade saith: This is that which I have ready (as testimony).

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And his companion will say: "Here is (his record) ready with me!" ⁴⁹⁵⁹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Qarin: Companion. If we take No. 1 of the constructions suggested in n. 4957, the Companion will be one of the Recording Angels mentioned above, in verse 21, perhaps the one that drives; or perhaps the third one mentioned in verse 18, for he has the Record ready with him. If we take any of the other constructions mentioned in n. 4957, it will be the evil deeds or the misused faculties. In any case it will be the factors on whose testimony his conviction will be based.

[Whereupon God will command:] "Cast, cast¹⁷ into hell every [such] stubborn enemy of the truth,

  - Mohammad Asad

In this instance, as well as in verse {26}, the imperative "cast" has the dual form (alqiya). As many classical philologists (and almost all of the commentators) point out, this is linguistically permissable for the sake of special stress, and is equivalent to an emphatic repetition of the imperative in question. Alternatively, the dual form may be taken as indicative of an actual duality thus addressed: namely, the two manifestations within man's psyche alluded to in verse {17} and described in verse {21} as sa'iq and shahid (see note [14] above), both of which, in their interaction, are responsible for his spiritual downfall and, hence, for his suffering in the life to come.

The sentence will be: "Throw into hell every stubborn disbeliever,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

'It will be said to both angels,' 'Throw into Hell every stubborn disbeliever,

  - Mustafa Khattab

(And it is said): Do ye twain hurl to hell each rebel ingrate,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

(The sentence will be:) "Throw throw into Hell every contumacious Rejector (of Allah)! ⁴⁹⁶⁰

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The original for "throw", here and in verse 26 below, is in the dual number, which some Commentators explain by saying that the dual form is used for emphasis, as if the verb ("throw, throw") were twice repeated. Examples of this are found in Arabic. But is it possible that the dual refers to the two angels mentioned in verses 17 and 21? In that case the Companion in verse 27 will be the third one mentioned in verses 18 and 23. In any case the third one will be the one on whose Record the sentence will be passed.

[every] withholder of good [and] sinful aggressor [and] fomentor of distrust [between man and man - everyone]

  - Mohammad Asad

every opponent of good, and every doubting transgressor

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

withholder of good, transgressor, and doubter,

  - Mustafa Khattab

Hinderer of good, transgressor, doubter,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

"Who forbade what was good transgressed all bounds cast doubts and suspicions;

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

who has set up another deity beside God:¹⁸ cast him, then, cast him into suffering severe!"

  - Mohammad Asad

This relates not merely to the veneration of real or imaginary beings or forces to which one ascribes divine qualities, but also to the "worship" of false values and immoral concepts to which people often adhere with an almost religious fervour.

who set up other gods besides Allah. Throw him into severe punishment."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

who set up another god with Allah. So cast them into the severe punishment.'

  - Mustafa Khattab

Who setteth up another god along with Allah. Do ye twain hurl him to the dreadful doom.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

"Who set up another god besides Allah: throw him into a severe Penalty."

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Man's other self¹⁹ will say: "O our Sustainer! It was not I that led his conscious mind²⁰ into evil [nay,] but it had gone far astray [of its own accord]!"²¹

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., as in verse {23}, "his intimate companion" (qarin): but whereas there it may be taken as denoting man's moral consciousness or reason (cf. note [15] above), in the present instance the "speaker" is obviously its counterpart, namely, the complex of the sinner's instinctive urges and inordinate, unrestrained appetitites summarized in the term sa'iq ("that which drives") and often symbolized as shaytan ("satan" or "satanic force": see Razi's remarks quoted in note [31] on 14:22 .) In this sense, the term qarin has the same connotation as in 41:25 and 43:36 .

Lit., "him" or "it" - referring to man's faculty of conscious, controlling reason (shahid).

I.e., man's evil impulses and appetites cannot gain ascendancy unless his conscious mind goes astray from moral verities: and this explains the purport, in the present context, of verses {24-25} above.

His companion will say: "Our Rabb! I did not mislead him. He himself had gone far astray."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

One's 'devilish' associate will say, 'Our Lord! I did not make them transgress. Rather, they were far astray 'on their own'.'

  - Mustafa Khattab

His comrade saith: Our Lord! I did not cause him to rebel, but be was (himself) far gone in error.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

His companion will say: "Our Lord! I did not make him transgress but he was (himself) far astray." ^{4961 4962 4963}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

See last note. But some people understand by "Companion" here an evil associate in the world, an evil one who misled.

Our Lord. One man speaks: "I did not", etc. Yet he uses the plural pronoun in saying, "Our Lord". This is beautifully appropriate, as he is speaking so as to include the person to be judged: as if he were to say. "Thou art my Lord, or the Lord of us angels or of all Creation, but Thou art his Lord also, for Thou didst cherish him and warn him, and he owed duties to Thee."

Neither the Recording Angels nor the misused limbs and faculties, nor anything else whatever was responsible for the Evil: it was the personal responsibility of the Doer himself, with his free-will.

[And] He will say: "Contend not before Me, [O you sinners,] for I gave you a forewarning [of this Day of Reckoning].

  - Mohammad Asad

Allah will say: "Do not dispute with each other in My presence. I gave you warning beforehand.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Allah will respond, 'Do not dispute in My presence, since I had already given you a warning.

  - Mustafa Khattab

He saith: Contend not in My presence, when I had already proffered unto you the warning.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

He will say: "Dispute not with each other in My Presence: I had already in advance sent you Warning. ^{4964 4965}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

It is suggested that sinners whose Record is black, driven into a comer, accuse others of misleading them: the others may be the Recorders, or their faculties or opportunities or surroundings or their associates in the world, or anything but themselves. Such recriminations are not allowed in the Court of Judgment.

Besides, personal responsibility had already been clearly preached to them in Allah's Message, and they had been warned of the consequences. "You" is in the plural number: 'all of you who are before the Judgment-Seat had clear warning of the consequences of your conduct.'

The judgment passed by Me shall not be altered; but never do I do the least wrong unto My creatures!"

  - Mohammad Asad

My words cannot be changed, nor am I unjust to My servants."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

My Word cannot be changed,¹ nor am I unjust to 'My' servants.'

  - Mustafa Khattab

 Meaning, the decree to punish wicked humans and jinn (see 11:119 and 32:13).

The sentence that cometh from Me cannot be changed, and I am in no wise a tyrant unto the slaves.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

"The Word changes not before Me and I do not the least injustice to My Servants." ⁴⁹⁶⁶

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

"'Abd" has two plurals: (1) 'Abid, as here, means all Servants of Allah, i.e., all his creatures; (2) 'Ibad has the further connotation of Servants of Allah, devoted to his service; I have translated it in many cases by the word "devotees". The Sentence before the Judgment-Seat is pronounced with perfect justice; it does not change, and requires no change; the inevitable consequences of sin must follow; the time for Mercy is past.

On that Day We will ask hell, "Art thou filled?" - and it will answer, "[Nay,] is there yet more [for me]?"

  - Mohammad Asad

On that Day, We shall ask hell: "Are you full?" And hell will answer: "Are there any more?"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

'Beware of' the Day We will ask Hell, 'Are you full 'yet'?' And it will respond, 'Are there any more?'

  - Mustafa Khattab

On the day when We say unto hell: Art thou filled? and it saith: Can there be more to come?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

One Day We will ask Hell "art thou filled to the full?" It will say "are there any more (to come)?" ⁴⁹⁶⁷

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

As the capacity of Reward is unlimited, so is the capacity of Punishment-unlimited. Hell is personified and asked, "Art thou sated to the full?" It replies, "If there are more to come, let them come. " It is not satisfied.

And [on that Day] paradise will be brought within the sight of²² the God-conscious, and will no longer be far away; [and they will be told:]

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "brought near to".

Paradise shall be brought close to the righteous, which will be no more a thing distant,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And Paradise will be brought near to the righteous, not far off.

  - Mustafa Khattab

And the Garden is brought nigh for those who kept from evil, no longer distant.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And the Garden will be brought nigh to the righteous no more a thing distant. ⁴⁹⁶⁸

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

In this life, the ideas of the spirit, the accomplishment of the things in our hearts and our hopes, seem to be ever so far, seem even to recede as we think we come nearer. Not so in the Hereafter. The fruits of righteousness will no longer be in the distance. They will be realised. They will seem themselves to approach the Righteous.

"This is what you were promised - [promised] unto everyone who was wont to turn unto God and to keep Him always in mind -

  - Mohammad Asad

and it will be said: "Here is what you were promised. It is for every penitent faithful person,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

'And it will be said to them,' 'This is what you were promised, for whoever 'constantly' turned 'to Allah' and kept up 'His commandments'-

  - Mustafa Khattab

(And it is said): That is that which ye were promised. (It is) for every penitent and heedful one,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

(A voice will say:) "This is what was promised for you for everyone who turned (to Allah) in sincere repentance who kept (his law). ⁴⁹⁶⁹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The description of the Righteous is given in four masterly clauses: (1) those who turned away from Evil in sincere repentance; (2) those whose new life was good and righteous; (3) those who in their innermost hearts and in their most secret doings were actuated by Allah-fearing love, the fear that is akin to love in remembering Allah under His title of "Most Gracious"; and (4) who gave up their whole heart and being to Him.

[everyone] who stood in awe of the Most Gracious although He is beyond the reach of human perception, and who has come [unto Him] with a heart full of contrition.²³

  - Mohammad Asad

See last sentence of 24:31 and the corresponding note [41].

who feared the Compassionate (Allah) without seeing Him and come before Him with a devoted heart."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

who were in awe of the Most Compassionate without seeing 'Him',¹ and have come with a heart turning 'only to Him'.

  - Mustafa Khattab

 This can also mean that they are in awe of their Lord as much in private as they are in public.

Who feareth the Beneficent in secret and cometh with a contrite heart.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

"Who feared (Allah) Most Gracious unseen and brought a heart turned in devotion (to Him): ⁴⁹⁷⁰

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. xxxvi. 11 and n. 3952; and xxxv. 18, and n. 3902.

Enter this [paradise] in peace; this is the Day on which life abiding begins!"²⁴

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "the Day of Abiding".

Allah will say: "Enter it in peace; this is the Day of Eternal Life!"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Enter it in peace. This is the Day of eternal life!'

  - Mustafa Khattab

Enter it in peace. This is the day of immortality.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

"Enter ye therein in Peace and Security; this is a Day of Eternal Life!" ⁴⁹⁷¹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The true meaning of Islam: peace, security, salutation, and accord with Allah's Plan in all Eternity.

In that [paradise] they shall have whatever they may desire - but there is yet more with Us.

  - Mohammad Asad

There they shall have all that they wish, and We shall have yet more to give.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

There they will have whatever they desire, and with Us is 'even' more.¹

  - Mustafa Khattab

 i.e., looking at the Face of the Almighty (see 10:26 and 75:22-23).

There they have all that they desire, and there is more with Us.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

There will be for them therein all that they wish and more besides in Our Presence. ⁴⁹⁷²

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

To get all that our purified wishes and desires comprehend may seem to sum up final Bliss; but there is something still wanting, which is supplied by the sight of Allah, the Light of His Countenance.