Surah 69. Al-Haqqah

and then let him enter hell,

  - Mohammad Asad

then cast him in the blazing fire,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

then burn them in Hell,

  - Mustafa Khattab

And then expose him to hell fire

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

"And burn ye him in the Blazing Fire.

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

and then thrust him into a chain [of other sinners like him¹⁷ - a chain] the length whereof is seventy cubits:¹⁸

  - Mohammad Asad

See 14:49 - "on that Day thou wilt see all who were lost in sin (al-mujrimin) linked together in fetters" - and the corresponding note [64], which explains my above interpolation of the phrase, "of other sinners like him".

I.e., a chain exceedingly long - the number "seventy" being used here metonymically, as is often done in classical Arabic, in the sense of "very many" (Zamakhshari); hence "of a measure the length whereof is known only to God" (Tabari; also Al-Hasan, as quoted by Razi).

then fasten him with a chain seventy cubits long.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

then tie them up with chains seventy arms long.

  - Mustafa Khattab

And then insert him in a chain whereof the length is seventy cubits.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

"Further make him march in a chain whereof the length is seventy cubits! ⁵⁶⁶¹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The sinful men who will be given their record on the Day of Judgment in their left hands will be in utter despair. Their power and authority which they misused to perpetrate injustice and oppression will be gone. The wealth that had made them turn a deaf ear to the call of Truth will be no more. They will cry out in agony: "O would that we were never raised again!. 0 would that death had obliterated us once for all". But their cries will be of no avail. They will be seized, bound in chains and drawn into the Blazing Fire for their crimes against Allah and man.

for, behold, he did not believe in God, the Tremendous,

  - Mohammad Asad

For he did not believe in Allah, the Most High,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

For they never had faith in Allah, the Greatest,

  - Mustafa Khattab

Lo! he used not to believe in Allah the Tremendous,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

"This was he that would not believe in Allah Most High ⁵⁶⁶²

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The grip of sin was fastened on sinners because they forsook Allah. They ran after their own lusts and worshipped them, or they ran after Allah's creatures, ignoring Him Who is the cause and source of all good.

and did not feel any urge¹⁹ to feed the needy:

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "did not urge", i.e., himself.

nor did he care to feed the poor.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

nor encouraged the feeding of the poor.

  - Mustafa Khattab

And urged not on the feeding of the wretched,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

"And would not encourage the feeding of the indigent! ⁵⁶⁶³

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. cvii. 3; lxxxix, 18. The practical result of their rebellion against the God of Mercy was that their sympathies dried up. Not only did they not help or feed those in need, but they hindered others from doing so. And they have neither friend nor sympathy (food) in the Hereafter.

and so, no friend has he here today,

  - Mohammad Asad

Today he neither has a true friend here,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

So this Day they will have no close friend here,

  - Mustafa Khattab

Therefor hath he no lover here this day,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

"So no friend hath he here this Day.

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

nor any food save the filth

  - Mohammad Asad

nor any food except the pus from the washing of wounds,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

nor any food except 'oozing' pus,

  - Mustafa Khattab

Nor any food save filth

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

"Nor hath he any food except the corruption from the washing of wounds ⁵⁶⁶⁴

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

They wounded many people by their cruelty and injustice in this life, and it is befitting that they should have no food other than "the foul pus from the washing of wounds.!"

which none but the sinners eat!"²⁰

  - Mohammad Asad

The noun ghislin, which appears in the Qur'an only in this one instance, has been variously - and very contradictorily - explained by the early commentators. Ibn 'Abbas, when asked about it, frankly answered, "I do not know what grisly denotes" (Razi). The term "filth" used by me contains an allusion to the "devouring" of all that is abominable in the spiritual sense: cf. its characterisation in the next verse as "[that] which none but the sinners eat" - i.e., (metaphorically) in this world and, consequently, in the hereafter as well.

which none but the wrongdoers eat."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

which none will eat except the evildoers.'

  - Mustafa Khattab

Which none but sinners eat.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

"Which none do eat but those in sin."

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

BUT NAY! I call to witness all that you can see,

  - Mohammad Asad

Nay! I swear by all that you can see,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Now, I do swear by whatever you see,

  - Mustafa Khattab

But nay! I swear by all that ye see

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

So I do call to witness what ye see ⁵⁶⁶⁵

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

This is an adjuration in the same form as that which occurs in lvi. 75, lxx. 40, xc. 1, and elsewhere. Allah's Word is the quintessence of Truth. But what if someone doubts whether a particular Message is Allah's Word comunicated through His Messenger, or merely an imaginary tale presented by a poet, or a soothsayer's vain prophecy? Then we have to exanmine it in the light of our highest spiritual facilities. The witness to that Word is what we know in the visible world, in which falsehood in the long run gives place to truth, and what we know in the invisible world, through our highest spiritual faculties. We are asked to examine and test it in both these ways.

as well as all that you cannot see!²¹

  - Mohammad Asad

The phrase "all that you can see" comprises all the observable phenomena of nature - including man himself and the organic conditions of his own existence - as well as the configuration of human society and the perceptible rules of its growth and decay in the historical sense; whereas "that which you cannot see" relates to the intangible spiritual verities accessible to man's intuition and instinct, including the voice of his own conscience: all of which "bears witness", as it were, to the fact that the light which the divine writ (spoken of in the sequence) casts on the innermost realities and interrelations of all that exists objectively - or, as the case may be, manifests itself subjectively in man's own psyche - must be an outcome of genuine revelation, inasmuch as it goes far beyond anything that unaided human intellect could ever acheive.

and all that you cannot see,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

and whatever you cannot see!

  - Mustafa Khattab

And all that ye see not

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And what ye see not

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Behold, this [Qur'an] is indeed the [inspired] word of a noble apostle,

  - Mohammad Asad

that this is the word of a noble Rasool.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Indeed, this 'Quran' is the recitation of a noble Messenger.

  - Mustafa Khattab

That it is indeed the speech of an illustrious messenger.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

That this is verily the word of an honored apostle; ⁵⁶⁶⁶

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Honoured messenger: one that is worthy of honour on account of the purity of his life, and may be relied upon not to invent things but to give the true word of revelation which he received.

and is not - however little you may [be prepared to] believe it - the word of a poet;

  - Mohammad Asad

is it not the word of a poet - little is it that you believe,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

It is not the prose of a poet 'as you claim', 'yet' you hardly have any faith.

  - Mustafa Khattab

It is not poet's speech--little is it that ye believe!

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

It is not the word of a poet: little it is ye believe! ⁵⁶⁶⁷

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

A poet draws upon his imagination, and the subjective factor is so strong that though we may learn much from him, we cannot believe as facts the wonderful tales he has to tell. And the poet who is not a Seer is merely a vulgar votary of exaggerations and falsehoods.

and neither is it - however little you may [be prepared to] take it to heart - the word of a soothsayer:

  - Mohammad Asad

nor it is the word of a soothsayer - little admonition is that you take.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Nor is it the mumbling of a fortune-teller, 'yet' you are hardly mindful.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Nor diviner's speech--little is it that ye remember!

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Nor is it the word of a soothsayer: little admonition it is ye receive. ⁵⁶⁶⁸

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

A soothsayer merely pretends to foretell future events of no profound spiritual consequence. Most of his prophecies are frauds, and none of them is meant to teach lessons of real admonition. Such admonition is the work of an honoured prophet.

[it is] a revelation from the Sustainer of all the worlds.

  - Mohammad Asad

This is a revelation from the Rabb of the worlds.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

'It is' a revelation from the Lord of all worlds.

  - Mustafa Khattab

It is a revelation from the Lord of the Worlds.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

(This is) a Message sent down from the Lord of the Worlds.

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Now if he [whom We have entrusted with it] had dared to attribute some [of his own] sayings unto Us,

  - Mohammad Asad

Had he (Muhammad) invented false statement concerning Us,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Had the Messenger made up something in Our Name,

  - Mustafa Khattab

And if he had invented false sayings concerning Us,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And if the apostle were to invent any sayings in Our name

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

We would indeed have seized him by his right hand,²²

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., deprived him of all ability to act - the "right hand" symbolizing power.

We would certainly have seize him by his right hand

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

We would have certainly seized him by his right hand,

  - Mustafa Khattab

We assuredly had taken him by the right hand

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

We should certainly seize him by his right hand ⁵⁶⁶⁹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The right hand is the hand of power and action. Any one who is seized by his right hand is prevented from acting as he wishes or carrying out his purpose. The argument is that if an impostor were to arise, he would soon be found out. He could not carry out his fraud indefinitely. But the prophets of Allah, however much they are persecuted, gain more and more power every day, as did the holy Prophet, whose truth, earnestness, sincerity, and love for all, were recognised as his life unfolded itself.