Surah 83. Al-Mutaffifin

witnessed by all who have [ever] been drawn close unto God.⁶

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., by the prophets and saints of all times as well as by the angels.

attested by those who are nearest to Allah (angels).

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Attested by those who are brought near (unto their Lord).

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Behold, [in the life to come] the truly virtuous will indeed be in bliss:

  - Mohammad Asad

Surely the righteous will be in bliss,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Lo! the righteous verily are in delight,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[resting] on couches, they will look up [to God]:⁷

  - Mohammad Asad

Cf. 75:23 . As elsewhere in the Qur'an, the "couches" of the virtuous in paradise symbolize complete restfulness and inner fulfilment.

reclining on soft couches, looking all around,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

On couches, gazing,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

upon their faces thou wilt see the brightness of bliss.

  - Mohammad Asad

and you will recognize in their faces the brightness of bliss.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Thou wilt know in their faces the radiance of delight

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

They will be given a drink of pure wine whereon the seal [of God] will have been set,

  - Mohammad Asad

Their thirst will be quenched with the choicest sealed wine,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

They are given to drink of a pure wine, sealed,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

pouring forth with a fragrance of musk.⁸ To that [wine of paradise], then, let all such aspire as [are willing to] aspire to things of high account:

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "the end whereof (khitamuhu) will be musk". My rendering of the above phrase reflects the interpretation given to it by several authorities of the second generation of Islam, and by Abu 'Ubaydah ibn al-Muthanna (all of them quoted by Razi). The "pure wine" (rahiq) of the hereafter - which, contrary to the wine of this world, will carry "the seal" (i.e., the sanction) of God because "no headiness will be in it, and they will not get drunk thereon" ( 37:47 ) - is another symbol of paradise, alluding, by means of comparisons with sensations that can be experienced by man, to the otherworldly sensations of joy which, in a form intensified beyond all human imagination, are in store for the righteous. Some of the great Muslim mystics (e.g., Jalal ad-Din Runi) see in that "pure wine" an allusion to a spiritual vision of God: an interpretation which, I believe, is fully justified by the sequence.

and the seal will be of musk. Those who wish to excel above others, let them endeavor to excel in this.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Whose seal is musk. For this let (all) those strive who strive for bliss

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

for it is composed of all that is most exalting⁹

  - Mohammad Asad

Whereas most of the classical commentators regard the infinitive noun tasnim as the proper name of one of the allegorical "fountains of paradise", or, alternatively, refrain from any definition of it, it seems to me that the derivation of tasnim from the verb sannama - "he raised [something]" or "made [it] lofty" - points, rather, to the effect which the "wine" of divine knowledge will have on those who "drink" of it in paradise. Hence, the tabi'i 'Ikrimah (as quoted by Razi) equates tasnim with tashrif, "that which is ennobling" or "exalting".

That wine shall have a mixture of Tasnim,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And mixed with water of Tasnim,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

a source [of bliss] whereof those who are drawn close unto God shall drink.¹⁰

  - Mohammad Asad

Cf. {76:5-6} and the corresponding notes.

a spring, at which those nearest to Allah will drink.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

A spring whence those brought near to Allah drink

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

BEHOLD, those who have abandoned themselves to sin are wont to laugh at such as have attained to faith;¹¹

  - Mohammad Asad

In the original, verses {29-33} are in the past tense, as if viewed from the time-level of Judgment Day. However, since the preceding and the following passages (i.e., verses {18-28} and {34-36}) are formulated in the future tense, verses {29-33} (which relate to life in this world) may be adequately rendered in the present tense.

During their life on earth, the culprits used to mock at the believers,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Lo! the guilty used to laugh at those who believed,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

and whenever they pass by them, they wink at one another [derisively];

  - Mohammad Asad

and wink at one another as they passed them by.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And wink one to another when they passed them;

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

and whenever they return to people of their own kind,¹² they return full of jests;

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "to their [own] people".

When they returned to their own people they returned jesting.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And when they returned to their own folk, they returned jetting;

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

and whenever they see those [who believe,] they say, "Behold, these [people] have indeed gone astray!"

  - Mohammad Asad

And when they saw the believers, they used to say: "These are the people who have surely gone astray,"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And when they saw them they said: Lo! these have gone astray.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And, withal, they have no call to watch over [the beliefs of] others....¹³

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "they have not been sent as watchers over them" - implying that none who is devoid of faith has the right to criticize the faith of any of his fellow-men.

although they had not been sent as guardians over them.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Yet they were not sent as guardians over them.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

But on the Day [of Judgment], they who had attained to faith will [be able to] laugh at the [erstwhile] deniers of the truth:¹⁴

  - Mohammad Asad

Speaking of the righteous, the Qur'an repeatedly stresses that on the Day of Judgment God "shall have removed whatever unworthy thoughts or feelings (ghill) may have been [lingering] in their bosoms" ( 7:43 and 15:47 ). Since an expression of vengeful joy on the part of the blest at the calamity which in the hereafter will befall the erstwhile sinners would certainly fall within the category of "unworthy feelings", their "laughing" can only have a metaphorical meaning, denoting no more than a realization of their own good fortune.

On that Day, the believers shall be laughing at the unbelievers,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

This day it is those who believe who have the laugh of disbelievers,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[for, resting in paradise] on couches, they will look on [and say to themselves]:

  - Mohammad Asad

as they recline on couches and gaze at them:

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

On high couches, gazing.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall