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Surah 74. Al-Muddaththir

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74:16
كَلَّآ ۖ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ لِـَٔايَـٰتِنَا عَنِيدًا Kall a innahu k a na li a y a tin a AAaneed a n
Nay, verily, it is against Our messages that he knowingly, stubbornly sets himself7 -
  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "he is wont (kana) to set himself". The noun 'anid, derived from the verb 'anada, denotes "one who opposes or rejects something that is true, knowing it to be true" (Lisan al-'Arab). The element of human contrariness and stubbornness is implied in the use of the auxiliary verb kana, which indicates here a permanently recurring phenomenon despite its past-tense formulation. I am, therefore, of the opinion that verses {18-25}, although ostensibly formulated in the past tense, must also be rendered in the present tense.

By no means! Because he has stubbornly denied Our revelations.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
But no! 'For' he has been truly stubborn with Our revelations.
  - Mustafa Khattab
Nay! For lo! he hath been stubborn to Our revelations.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
By no means! For to Our Signs he has been refractory!
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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74:17
سَأُرْهِقُهُۥ صَعُودًا Saorhiquhu s aAAood a n
[and so] I shall constrain him to endure a painful uphill climb!8
  - Mohammad Asad

In combination with the verb urhiquhu ("I shall constrain him to endure") the term sa'ud (lit., "ascent" or "climb") has the tropical connotation of something extremely difficult, painful or distressing. In the above context, it is an allusion to the loss of all instinctive innocence - and, hence, to the individual and social suffering - which unavoidably follows upon man's wilful neglect of moral and spiritual truths ("God's messages") in this world and bars his spiritual development in the life to come.

Soon I shall make him suffer mounting calamities,
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
I will make his fate unbearable,
  - Mustafa Khattab
On him I shall impose a fearful doom.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Soon will I visit him with a mount of calamities! 5788
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

"A mount of calamities" or disasters: may be understood as a phrase for cumulative disasters.

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74:18
إِنَّهُۥ فَكَّرَ وَقَدَّرَ Innahu fakkara waqaddar a
Behold, [when Our messages are conveyed to one who is bent on denying the truth,] he reflects and meditates [as to how to disprove them] -
  - Mohammad Asad
surely he pondered and devised a plot.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
for he contemplated and determined 'a degrading label for the Quran'.
  - Mustafa Khattab
For lo! he did consider; then he planned
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
For he thought and he plotted
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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74:19
فَقُتِلَ كَيْفَ قَدَّرَ Faqutila kayfa qaddar a
and thus he destroys himself,9 the way he meditates:
  - Mohammad Asad

The expression qutila reads, literally, "he has been killed" or, as an imprecation, "may he be killed". Since a literal rendering of this expression - whether conceived as a statement of fact or an imprecation - would be meaningless here, many commentators (Tabari among them) understand it as signifying "he is rejected from Gods grace" (lu'ina) i.e., "killed" spiritually by his own action or attitude; hence my rendering, "he destroys himself".

May he perish, how he plotted!
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
May he be condemned! How evil was what he determined!
  - Mustafa Khattab
(Self) destroyed is he, how he planned!
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
And woe to him! how he plotted! 5789
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. li. 10: "Woe to the falsehood-mongers!"

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74:20
ثُمَّ قُتِلَ كَيْفَ قَدَّرَ Thumma qutila kayfa qaddar a
yea, he destroys himself, the way he meditates!
  - Mohammad Asad
Again, may he perish, how he plotted!
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
May he be condemned even more! How evil was what he determined!
  - Mustafa Khattab
Again (self) destroyed is he, how he planned!
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Yea woe to him! how he plotted!
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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74:21
ثُمَّ نَظَرَ Thumma na th ar a
and then he looks [around for new arguments],
  - Mohammad Asad
He looked around,
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
Then he re-contemplated 'in frustration',
  - Mustafa Khattab
Then looked he,
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Then he looked round;
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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74:22
ثُمَّ عَبَسَ وَبَسَرَ Thumma AAabasa wabasar a
and then he frowns and glares,10
  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., he becomes emotionally involved because he suspects in his heart that his arguments are weak (Razi).

frowned and scowled,
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
then frowned and scowled,
  - Mustafa Khattab
Then frowned he and showed displeasure.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Then he frowned and he scowled;
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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74:23
ثُمَّ أَدْبَرَ وَٱسْتَكْبَرَ Thumma adbara wa i stakbar a
and in the end he turns his back [on Our message], and glories in his arrogance,
  - Mohammad Asad
then he turned his back in scornful pride
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
then turned his back 'on the truth' and acted arrogantly,
  - Mustafa Khattab
Then turned he away in pride
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Then he turned back and was haughty;
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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74:24
فَقَالَ إِنْ هَـٰذَآ إِلَّا سِحْرٌ يُؤْثَرُ Faq a la in h atha ill a si h run yuthar u
and says, "All this is mere spellbinding eloquence handed down [from olden times]!12
  - Mohammad Asad

The term sihr, which usually denotes "sorcery" or "magic", primarily signifies "the turning of something from its proper [or "natural"] state of being into another state"; hence, it is often applied to the fascination or enchantment caused by exceptional, "spellbinding" eloquence (Taj al-'Arus). In its pejorative sense - as used by deniers of the truth to describe a divine message - it has also the connotation of "wilful deception" or "delusion".

and said: "This is nothing but counterfeited magic,
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
saying, 'This 'Quran' is nothing but magic from the ancients.
  - Mustafa Khattab
And said: This is naught else than magic from of old;
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Then said he: "This is nothing but magic derived from of old;" 5790
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The Commentators understand the reference to be to Walid ibn Mugaira, who was a wealthy Sybarite, Pagan to the core, and an inveterate enemy to the holy Prophet. He and Abu Jahl did all they could, from the beginning of the preaching of Islam, to abuse and persecute the Preacher, to run down his doctrine, and to injure those who believed in it. But the meaning for us is much wider. There are Walids in all ages. They cannot understand divine inspiration, and seek to explain its wonderful influence over the lives of men by some such unmeaning formula as "magic". The eternal Hope is to them mere human delusion!

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74:25
إِنْ هَـٰذَآ إِلَّا قَوْلُ ٱلْبَشَرِ In h atha ill a qawlu albashar i
This is nothing but the word of mortal man!"
  - Mohammad Asad
this is nothing but the word of a human being."
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
This is no more than the word of a man.'
  - Mustafa Khattab
This naught else than speech of mortal man.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
"This is nothing but the word of a mortal!"
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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74:26
سَأُصْلِيهِ سَقَرَ Sao s leehi saqar a
[Hence,] I shall cause him to endure hell-fire [in the life to come]!13
  - Mohammad Asad

This is unquestionably the earliest instance of the term saqar ("hell-fire"), one of the seven metaphorical names given in the Qur'an to the concept of the suffering in the hereafter which man brings upon himself by sinning and deliberately remaining blind and deaf, in this world, to spiritual truths (cf. surah {15}, note [33]). The allegorical character of this and all other Qur'anic descriptions of man's condition and destiny in the hereafter is clearly alluded to in the subsequent verse as well as in verse {28} ff.

Soon I shall cast him into Saqar.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
Soon I will burn him in Hell!
  - Mustafa Khattab
Him shall I fling unto the burning.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Soon will cast him into Hell-Fire! 5791
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The Sinner's perversity can only end in the Fire of Punishment. It enters his very being. See next note.

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74:27
وَمَآ أَدْرَىٰكَ مَا سَقَرُ Wam a adr a ka m a saqar u
And what could make thee conceive what hell-fire is?
  - Mohammad Asad
What will make you understand, what Saqar is?
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
And what will make you realize what Hell is?
  - Mustafa Khattab
--Ah, what will convey unto thee what that burning is!--
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
And what will explain to thee what Hell-Fire is?
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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74:28
لَا تُبْقِى وَلَا تَذَرُ L a tubqee wal a ta th ar u
It does not allow to live, and neither leaves [to die],
  - Mohammad Asad
It is burning fire which leaves nothing and spares none.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
It does not let anyone live or die,1
  - Mustafa Khattab

 Another possible translation: “It spares none and leaves nothing.”

I leaveth naught; it spareth naught
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Naught doth it permit to endure and naught doth it leave alone! 5792
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

He is in a state in which he neither lives nor dies (lxxxvii. 13). Looked at in another way, the things that in a good man are meant to last and grow, are for the sinner destroyed, and no part of his nature is left untouched. The brightness of his very manhood is darkened and extinguished by sin.

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74:29
لَوَّاحَةٌ لِّلْبَشَرِ Laww ah atun lilbashar i
making [all truth] visible to mortal man.14
  - Mohammad Asad

Most of the commentators interpret the above elliptic phrase in the sense of "changing the appearance of man" or "scorching the skin of man". The rendering adopted by me, on the other hand, is based on the primary significance of the verb laha - "it appeared", "it shone forth" or "it became visible". Hence, the primary meaning of the intensive participial noun lawwah is "that which makes [something] visible". In the above context, it relates to the sinner's belated cognition of the truth, as well as to his distressing insight into his own nature, his past failings and deliberate wrongdoings, and the realisation of his own responsibility for the suffering that is now in store for him: a state neither of life nor of death (cf.{87:12-13}).

It shrivels human flesh.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
scorching the skin.
  - Mustafa Khattab
It shrivelleth the man.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Darkening and changing the color of man!
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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74:30
عَلَيْهَا تِسْعَةَ عَشَرَ AAalayh a tisAAata AAashar a
Over it are nineteen [powers].15
  - Mohammad Asad

Whereas most of the classical commentators are of the opinion that the "nineteen" are the angels that act as keepers or guardians of hell, Razi advances the view that we may have here a reference to the physical, intellectual and emotional powers within man himself: powers which raise man potentially far above any other creature, but which, if used wrongly, bring about a deterioration of his whole personality and, hence, intense suffering in the life to come. According to Razi, the philosophers (arbab al-hikmah) identify these powers or faculties with, firstly, the seven organic functions of the animal - and therefore also human-body (gravitation, cohesion, repulsion of noxious foreign matter, absorption of beneficent external matter, assimilation of nutrients, growth, and reproduction); secondly, the five "external" or physical senses (sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste); thirdly, the five "internal" or intellectual senses, defined by Ibn Sina - on whom Razi apparently relies - as (1)perception of isolated sence-images, (2)conscious apperceptions of ideas, (3)memory of sense-images, (4)memory of conscious apperceptions; and, lastly, the emotions of desire or aversion (resp. fear or anger), which have their roots in both the "external" and "internal" sense-categories - thus bringing the total of the powers and faculties which preside over man's spiritual fate to nineteen. In their aggregate, it is these powers that confer upon man the ability to think conceptually, and place him, in this respect, even above the angels (cf. 2:30 ff. and the corresponding notes; see also the following note).

It is guarded by nineteen guards.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
It is overseen by nineteen 'keepers'.
  - Mustafa Khattab
Above it are nineteen.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Over it are Nineteen. 5793
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The figure nineteen refers to angels appointed to guard Hell. See verse 31 below and the corresponding note.

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74:31
وَمَا جَعَلْنَآ أَصْحَـٰبَ ٱلنَّارِ إِلَّا مَلَـٰٓئِكَةً ۙ وَمَا جَعَلْنَا عِدَّتَهُمْ إِلَّا فِتْنَةً لِّلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ لِيَسْتَيْقِنَ ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُوا۟ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ وَيَزْدَادَ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ إِيمَـٰنًا ۙ وَلَا يَرْتَابَ ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُوا۟ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ وَٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ ۙ وَلِيَقُولَ ٱلَّذِينَ فِى قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌ وَٱلْكَـٰفِرُونَ مَاذَآ أَرَادَ ٱللَّهُ بِهَـٰذَا مَثَلًا ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ يُضِلُّ ٱللَّهُ مَن يَشَآءُ وَيَهْدِى مَن يَشَآءُ ۚ وَمَا يَعْلَمُ جُنُودَ رَبِّكَ إِلَّا هُوَ ۚ وَمَا هِىَ إِلَّا ذِكْرَىٰ لِلْبَشَرِ Wam a jaAAaln a a s ha ba a l nn a ri ill a mal a ikatan wam a jaAAaln a AAiddatahum ill a fitnatan lilla th eena kafaroo liyastayqina alla th eena ootoo alkit a ba wayazd a da alla th eena a manoo eem a nan wal a yart a ba alla th eena ootoo alkit a ba wa a lmuminoona waliyaqoola alla th eena fee quloobihim mara d un wa a lk a firoona m atha ar a da All a hu bih atha mathalan ka tha lika yu d illu All a hu man yash a o wayahdee man yash a o wam a yaAAlamu junooda rabbika ill a huwa wam a hiya ill a th ikr a lilbashar i
For We have caused none but angelic powers to lord over the fire [of hell];16 and We have not caused their number to be aught but a trial for those who are bent on denying the truth17 - to the end that they who have been granted revelation aforetime might be convinced [of the truth of this divine writ];18 and that they who have attained to faith [in it] might grow yet more firm in their faith; and that [both] they who have been granted the earlier revelation and they who believe [in this one] might be freed of all doubt; and that they in whose hearts is disease19 and they who deny the truth outright might ask, "What does [your] God mean by this parable?"20 In this way God lets go astray him that wills [to go astray],and guides aright him that wills [to be guided].21 And none can comprehend thy Sustainer's forces save Him alone: and all this22 is but a reminder to mortal man.
  - Mohammad Asad

Since it is by virtue of his powers of conscious perception and conceptual thinking that man can arrive at a discriminating cognition of good and evil and, thus, rise to great spiritual heights, these powers are described here as "angelic" (lit., "angels" - this being the earliest occurrence of the term malak in the history of Qur'anic revelation). On the other hand, since a neglect or a deliberately wrong use of these angelic powers is at the root of all sinning on the part of man and, therefore, of his suffering in the hereafter, they are spoken of as "the lords (ashab) of the fire [of hell]", which complements the expression "over it" in the preceding verse.

This is apparently an allusion to the allegorical character of this passage, which "those who are bent on denying the truth" are unwilling to recognize as such and, hence, fail to grasp its real purport. By speculating on the reasons which allegedly induced Muhammad - whom they regard as the "author" of the Qur'an - to lay stress on one particular number, they tend to take the allegory in a literal sense, thus missing its point entirely.

Namely, by being enabled, through an understanding of the above allegory, to appreciate the rational approach of the Qur'an to all questions of faith. The reference to "those who have been granted revelation aforetime" is the earliest statement outlining the principle of continuity in mankind's religious experience.

I.e., in this instance, the half-hearted ones who, despite their ability to discern between right and wrong, incline towards unbelief.

Cf. the identical phrase in 2:26 , together with the corresponding note [18]. My interpolation, in both these passages, of the word "your" between brackets is necessitated by the fact that it is the unbelievers who ask this question.

Or: "God lets go astray whomever He wills, and guides aright whomever He wills" (see surah {14}, note [4]). The stress on the allegorical nature of the above passage, spoken of as a "parable" (mathal), has here the same purpose as in 2:26 - namely, to prevent the followers of the Qur'an from attaching a literal meaning to its eschatological descriptions - a purpose that is unmistakably expressed in the concluding sentence of this passage: "All this is but a reminder to mortal man". (See also next note.)

Lit., "it" or "these" - depending on whether the personal pronoun hiya is taken to denote a singular - in which case it would refer to the feminine noun saqar, "hell-fire" (Tabari, Zamakhshari, Baghawi, Ibn Kathir) - or a plural, referring to what Razi pinpoints as "those [Qur'anic] verses dealing with these allegories (hadhihi 'l-mutashabihat)": hence my compromise rendering "all this".

We have appointed none but angels as wardens of the fire; and We have made their number a trial for the unbelievers, so that the People of the Book may be convinced and the faith of the true believers may be increased, and that no doubts will be left for the People of the Book and the believers, and that those in whose hearts there is a disease and the disbelievers may say: "What could Allah mean by this parable?" Thus, Allah leaves to stray whom He wills and guides whom He pleases. No one knows the forces of your Rabb except Himself, and this (Qur'an) is nothing but a reminder to mankind.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
We have appointed only 'stern' angels as wardens of the Fire. And We have made their number only as a test for the disbelievers,1 so that the People of the Book will be certain, and the believers will increase in faith, and neither the People of the Book nor the believers will have any doubts, and so that those 'hypocrites' with sickness in their hearts and the disbelievers will argue, 'What does Allah mean by such a number?' In this way Allah leaves whoever He wills to stray and guides whoever He wills. And none knows the forces of your Lord except He. And this 'description of Hell' is only a reminder to humanity.
  - Mustafa Khattab

 Some pagans made fun of the Prophet (ﷺ) when they were told that the keepers of Hell are nineteen angels. One of them said mockingly to other pagans, “You take care of two angels and I will vanquish the rest all by myself.”

We have appointed only angels to be wardens of the fire, and their number have We made to be a stumbling block for those who disbelieve; that those to whom the scripture hath been given may have certainty, and that believers may increase in faith; and that those to whom the Scripture hath been given and believers may not doubt; and that those in whose hearts there is disease, and disbelievers, may say: What meaneth Allah by this similitude? Thus Allah sendeth astray whom He will, and whom He will He guideth. None knoweth the hosts of thy Lord save Him. This is naught else than a Reminder unto mortals.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
And We have set none but angels as guardians of the Fire; and We have fixed their number only as a trial for Unbelievers in order that the people of the Book may arrive at certainty and the Believers may increase in Faith and that no doubts may be left for the People of the Book and the Believers and that those in whose hearts is a disease and the Unbelievers may say "What symbol doth Allah intend by this?" Thus doth Allah leave to stray whom He pleaseth and guide whom He pleaseth; and none can know the forces of the Lord except He and this is no other than a warning to mankind. 5794 5795 5796 5797
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. lxvi. 6, and n. 5540. There was a great volume of angelology in the religious literature of the People of the Book (i.e., the Jews and Christians) to whom (among others) an appeal is made in this verse. The Essenes, a Jewish brotherhood with highly spiritual ideas; to which perhaps the prophet Jesus himself belonged, had an extensive literature of angelology. In the Midrash also, which was a Jewish school of exegesis and mystical interpretation, there was much said about angels. The Eastern Christian sects contemporary with the birth of Islam had borrowed and developed many of these ideas, and their mystics owed much to the Gnostics and the Persian apocalyptic systems. In the New Testament the relation of the angels with Fire is referred to more than once. In Rev. ix. 11 we have "the angel of the bottomless pit, whose naine in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon". In Rev. xiv. 18 there is an "angel which had power over fire", and in Rev. xvi. 8 an angel has "power ... given unto him to scorch men with fire". In the Old Testament (Daniel vii. 9-10) the essence of all angels is fire: thousand thousands of them issued as a fiery stream from before the Ancient of Days, whose "throne was like the fiery flame, and His wheels as burning fire".

The significance of numbers is a favourite theme with some writers, but I lay no stress on it. In Christian theology the number of the Beast, 666, in Rev. xiii. 18 has given rise to much controversy, and may refer only to the numerical value of the letters in the name of the Roman Emperor Nero. In our own literature I think that we ought to avoid too much insistence on speculative conjectures.

There are four classes of people mentioned here. (1) The Muslims will have their faith increased, because they believe that all revelation is from Allah Most Merciful, and all His forces will work in their favour. (2) The People of the Book, those who had received previous revelations of an analogous character, the Jews and Christians, had numerous sects disputing with each other on minute points of doctrine; but they will now, if they believe, find rest from controversies in a broad understanding of scripture. (3) Those in whose hearts is a disease (see ii. 8-10, notes 33-34), the insincere ones, the hypocrites, will only be mystified, because they believe nothing and have rejected the grace and mercy of Allah. (4) The Unbelievers have frankly done the same and must suffer similar consequences.

It is a necessary consequence of moral responsibility and freedom of choice in man, that he should be left free to stray if he chooses to do so, in spite of all the warning and the instruction he receives. Allah's channels of warning and instruction-his spiritual forces-are infinite, as are His powers. No man can know them. But this warning or reminder is addressed to all mankind. All things are referred to Allah. But we must not attribute evil to Him. In iv. 79 we are expressly told that the good comes from Allah, and the evil from ourselves.

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74:32
كَلَّا وَٱلْقَمَرِ Kall a wa a lqamar i
NAY, but consider the moon!23
  - Mohammad Asad

This is the earliest Qur'anic instance of the adjurative particle wa used in the sense of a solemn, oathlike assertion - a calling to witness, as it were - meant (as in the expression "by God!") to give weight to a subsequently stated truth or evidence of the truth: hence, I am rendering it here and elsewhere as "consider". In the present case, the truth thus to be stressed is the implied statement that just as the changing phases of the moon and the alternation of night and day are the outcome of God-given, natural laws, so, too, a sinner's suffering in the hereafter is but a natural outcome of his deliberate wrongdoing in this world. (See also note [7] on 2:7 .)

Nay! By the moon,
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
But no! By the moon,
  - Mustafa Khattab
Nay, by the Moon
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Nay verily: by the Moon 5798
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

An oath in human speech calls in evidence something sacred in the heart of man. In Allah's Message, also, when delivered in human language, solemn emphasis is indicated by an appeal to something striking among the Signs of Allah, which will go straight to the human heart which is addressed. In each case the symbol of the appeal has reference to the particular point enforced in the argument. Here we are asked to contemplate three wonderful phenomena, and they lead up to the conclusion in verse 38. (1) The moon, next after the sun, is the most striking luminary to our sight. Its reflected light has for us even a greater mystery than the direct light of the sun, which looks to us like pure fire. The moon was worshipped as a deity in times of darkness. But in reality, though she rules the night, her rays are only reflections, and are wanting in warmth and vitality. So every soul which looks up to a mere creature of Allah for a sort of vicarious salvation is in spiritual darkness or error; for the true source of spiritual light and life is Allah, and Allah alone. For (2) the Night and (3) the Dawn, see the following note.

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74:33
وَٱلَّيْلِ إِذْ أَدْبَرَ Wa a llayli i th adbar a
Consider the night when it departs,
  - Mohammad Asad
by the departing night
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
and the night as it retreats,
  - Mustafa Khattab
And the night when it withdraweth
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
And by the Night as it retreateth 5799
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

(2) The Night when it is illuminated by the Moon is light in a sense, but it is really dark and must give place to (3) the Dawn when it comes, as the harbinger of the Sun. So in spiritual matters, when every soul realises its own responsibility, it will look less and less to reflected lights, and through the beauty of a dawn-like awakening, will be prepared more and more for the splendour of the light of Allah Himself, the goal of the Heaven of our dreams.

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74:34
وَٱلصُّبْحِ إِذَآ أَسْفَرَ Wa al ss ub h i i tha asfar a
and the morn when it dawns!
  - Mohammad Asad
and by the coming of dawn,
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
and the day as it breaks!
  - Mustafa Khattab
And the dawn when it shineth forth,
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
And by the Dawn as it shineth forth
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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74:35
إِنَّهَا لَإِحْدَى ٱلْكُبَرِ Innah a lai h d a alkubar i
Verily, that [hell-fire] is indeed one of the great [forewarnings] -
  - Mohammad Asad
surely this hellfire is one of mighty scourge,
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
Surely Hell is one of the mightiest catastrophes-
  - Mustafa Khattab
Lo! this is one of the greatest (portents)
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
This is but one of the mighty (Portents) 5800
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

"This is but one," etc. There are numerous Signs of Allah, of which Judgment is one, and one of the mightiest portents. Or the reference may be to the waning of the Moon, the decline of the night, and the glorious sunrise, as tokens or symbols of the world renewed when the present transitory world passes away. According to some commentators "This" here refers to Hell.

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Al-Muddaththir

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Al-Muddaththir

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