Surah 52. At-Tur

Or do they have access to 'the Record in' the unseen, so they copy it 'for all to see'?

  - Mustafa Khattab

Or that the Unseen is in their hands and they write it down? ⁵⁰⁷⁵

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The Unseen is a subject of Revelation, though it works through the common everyday life of man. The men who reject Revelation simply because it is outside their own experience ought on the contrary to try to learn about it and seek to understand it.

Or do they intend to scheme 'against the Prophet'? Then it is the disbelievers who will fall victim to 'their' schemes.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Or do they intend a plot (against thee)? But those who defy Allah are themselves involved in a Plot! ⁵⁰⁷⁶

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Shallow men who plot against Good are themselves the willing victims of insidious plots laid by Evil.

Or do they have a god other than Allah? Glorified is Allah far above what they associate 'with Him'!

  - Mustafa Khattab

Or have they a god other then Allah? exalted is Allah far above the things they associate with Him! ⁵⁰⁷⁷

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

This is the final and decisive question: Is there really any god other than Allah the One True God? Every argument points to the negative. A series of questions has been asked above pointing to the negative of the superstitions of the godless. The gospel of Unity, Revelation, and the Hereafter has thus been preached by a searching examination of the position of the Unbelievers. And the Sura ends with an exhortation to leave alone those who will not believe because they wish not to believe, and to let Time work out the web and pattern of Allah's Plan.

If they were to see a 'deadly' piece of the sky fall down 'upon them', still they would say, ''This is just' a pile of clouds.'

  - Mustafa Khattab

Were they to see a piece of the sky falling (on them) they would (only) say: "clouds gathered in heaps!" ⁵⁰⁷⁸

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

In xxvi. 187, Shu'aib, the Prophet of Allah, is challenged by the Companions of the Wood "to cause a piece of the sky to fall on us, if thou art truthful." Such a challenge, in some form or other, is addressed to all prophets of Allah. It is mere defiance. It has no meaning. If a piece of the sky were to fall on them, it would not convince them, for they would only say: "These are only clouds gathered in heaps." They do not wish to believe. Otherwise there are ample Signs and Evidences of Allah's Plan in Creation and in man's own heart.

So leave them until they face their Day in which they will be struck dead-

  - Mustafa Khattab

So leave them alone until they encounter that Day of theirs wherein they shall (perforce) swoon (with terror) ⁵⁰⁷⁹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

That is, the Day of Judgment. Cf. xxxix. 68, and n. 4343.

the Day their scheming will be of no benefit to them whatsoever, nor will they be helped.

  - Mustafa Khattab

The Day when their plotting will avail them nothing and no help shall be Given them.

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Also, the wrongdoers will certainly have another torment before that 'Day', but most of them do not know.¹

  - Mustafa Khattab

 i.e., famine, droughts, or the defeat at the Battle of Badr (see 32:21). The Battle of Badr took place in the 15 th  year of the Prophet’s mission. The previous passage poses fifteen questions to the Meccan pagans before warning them in this passage.

And verily for those who do wrong there is another punishment besides this: but most of them understand not. ⁵⁰⁸⁰

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The final Judgment is for all. But in addition, wrong-doers have to fear a retribution or punishment in this very life, an open punishment through external events, or at least the bitter pangs of conscience within.

So be patient with your Lord's decree, for you are truly under Our 'watchful' Eyes. And glorify the praises of your Lord when you rise.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Now await in patience the command of thy Lord: for verily thou art in our eyes: and celebrate the praises of thy Lord the while thou standest forth. ^{5081 5082}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The messenger of Allah must strive his utmost to proclaim the Message of Allah: as for results, it is not for him to command them. He must wait patiently, in the knowledge that he is not forgotten by Allah, but is constantly under Allah's eyes,-under His loving care and protection. And he must glorify Allah's name, as he is a standard-bearer of Allah's Truth.

The translators and Commentators nearly all understand taqumu in the sense of rising up from sleep. But the rendering I have given is consistent with Quranic usage. In xxvi. 218, we have the same two words hina taqumu, meaning "standing forth (in prayer)". In lvii. 25, we have "li-yaqum an-nasu bil-qisti", which obviously means "that men may stand forth in justice," i.e., do all their business in justice. In lxxviii. 38, we have yaqumu used for the angels standing forth in ranks. On my rendering the meaning will be: 'celebrate Allah's praises when you stand forth in prayer, or at all times when you go about your business; but also for part of the night and at early dawn when worldly life is at a standstill.'

And glorify Him during part of the night and at the fading of the stars.

  - Mustafa Khattab

And for part of the night also praise thou Him and at the retreat of the stars! ^{5083 5084}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

It is not necessary to understand this for any particular canonical prayers. It is good to spend a part of the night in prayer and praise: Cf. lxxiii. 6. And the Dawn is a daily recurring miracle, full of spiritual influences and "testimony": Cf. xvii. 78-79.

Idbar-un-nujum: the setting of the stars: the glorious hour of early dawn. In cxiii. 1, we seek Allah's protection as "Lord of the Dawn".