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Surah 88. Al-Ghashiyah

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88:6
لَّيْسَ لَهُمْ طَعَامٌ إِلَّا مِن ضَرِيعٍ Laysa lahum t aAA a mun ill a min d areeAA in
No food for them save the bitterness of dry thorns,
  - Mohammad Asad
They shall have no food except bitter thorny fruit,
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
They will have no food except a foul, thorny shrub,
  - Mustafa Khattab
No food for them save bitter thorn fruit
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
No food will there be for them but a bitter Dhari 6099
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The root-meaning implies again the idea of humiliation. It is a plant, bitter and thorny, loathsome in smell and appearance, which will neither give fattening nourishment to the body nor in any way satisfy the burning pangs of hunger,-a fit plant for Hell, like Zaqqum (lvi. 52; or xvii. 60, n. 2250).

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88:7
لَّا يُسْمِنُ وَلَا يُغْنِى مِن جُوعٍ L a yusminu wal a yughnee min jooAA in
which gives no strength and neither stills hunger.2
  - Mohammad Asad

According to Al-Qiffal (as quoted by Razi), this kind of hellish drink and food is a metonym for utter hopelessness and abasement. As regards the noun dari' - which is said to be a bitter, thorny plant in its dried state (Jawhari) - it is to be borne in mind that it is derived from the verb dara'a or dari'a, which signifies "he [or "it"] became abject" or "abased", (ibid.): hence my rendering of this (obviously metaphorical) expression as "the bitterness of dry thorns". A similarly metaphorical meaning attaches to the expression "a boiling spring" in verse {5}, which recalls the term hamim so often mentioned in the Qur'an (see note [62] on the last sentence of 6:70 ).

which will neither provide nourishment nor satisfy hunger.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
neither nourishing nor satisfying hunger.
  - Mustafa Khattab
Which doth not nourish nor release from hunger.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Which will neither nourish nor satisfy hunger.
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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88:8
وُجُوهٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ نَّاعِمَةٌ Wujoohun yawmai th in n a AAima tun
[And] some faces will on that Day shine with bliss,
  - Mohammad Asad
While some faces on that Day shall be radiant,
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
On that Day 'other' faces will be glowing with bliss,
  - Mustafa Khattab
In that day other faces will be calm,
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Other) faces that Day will be joyful.
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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88:9
لِّسَعْيِهَا رَاضِيَةٌ LisaAAyih a r ad iya tun
well-pleased with [the fruit of] their striving,
  - Mohammad Asad
well pleased with their endeavors,
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
'fully' pleased with their striving,
  - Mustafa Khattab
Glad for their effort past,
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Pleased with their Striving 6100
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Notice the parallelism in contrast, between the fate of the Wicked and that of the Righteous. In the one case there was humiliation in their faces; in the other, there is joy; where there was labour and weariness in warding off the Fire, there is instead a healthy Striving, which is itself pleasurable, -a Striving which is a pleasant consequence of the spiritual Endeavour in the earthly life, which may have brought trouble or persecution from without, but which brought inward peace and satisfaction.

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88:10
فِى جَنَّةٍ عَالِيَةٍ Fee jannatin AA a liya tin
in a garden sublime,
  - Mohammad Asad
in a lofty garden.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
in an elevated Garden,
  - Mustafa Khattab
In a high garden
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
In a Garden on high 6101
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The most important point is their inward state of joy and satisfaction, mentioned in verses 8-9. Now are mentioned the outer things of bliss, the chief of which is the Garden. The Garden is in contrast to the Fire. Its chief beauty will be that they will hear there nothing unbecoming, or foolish, or vain. It will be a Garden on high, in all senses,-fit for the best, highest, and noblest.

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88:11
لَّا تَسْمَعُ فِيهَا لَـٰغِيَةً L a tasmaAAu feeh a l a ghiya tan
wherein thou wilt hear no empty talk.
  - Mohammad Asad
Therein they shall hear no loose talk.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
where no idle talk will be heard.
  - Mustafa Khattab
Where they hear no idle speech,
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Where they shall hear no (word) of vanity:
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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88:12
فِيهَا عَيْنٌ جَارِيَةٌ Feeh a AAaynun j a riya tun
Countless springs3 will flow therein,
  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "a spring" - but, as Zamakhshari and Ibn Kathir point out, the singular form has here a generic import, implying "a multitude of springs". This metaphor of the life-giving element is analogous to that of the "running waters" (anhar) frequently mentioned in Qur'anic descriptions of paradise.

Therein they shall have running springs.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
In it will be a running spring,
  - Mustafa Khattab
Wherein is a gushing spring,
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Therein will be a bubbling spring: 6102
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Instead of the boiling hot spring (verse 5) there will be a bubbling spring of sparkling water. Instead of the grovelling and grumbling in the place of Wrath, there Will be couches, with all the accompaniments of a brilliant assembly.

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88:13
فِيهَا سُرُرٌ مَّرْفُوعَةٌ Feeh a sururun marfooAAa tun
[and] there will be thrones [of happiness] raised high,4
  - Mohammad Asad

See note [34] on 15:47 .

Therein they shall be reclining on raised soft couches,
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
along with thrones raised high,
  - Mustafa Khattab
Wherein are couches raised
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Therein will be Thrones (of dignity) raised on high.
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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88:14
وَأَكْوَابٌ مَّوْضُوعَةٌ Waakw a bun maw d ooAAa tun
and goblets placed ready,
  - Mohammad Asad
with goblets placed before them;
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
and cups set at hand,
  - Mustafa Khattab
And goblets set at hand
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Goblets placed (ready).
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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88:15
وَنَمَارِقُ مَصْفُوفَةٌ Wanam a riqu ma s foofa tun
and cushions ranged,
  - Mohammad Asad
silky cushions ranged in order
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
and 'fine' cushions lined up,
  - Mustafa Khattab
And cushions ranged
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
And Cushions set in rows
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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88:16
وَزَرَابِىُّ مَبْثُوثَةٌ Wazar a biyyu mabthootha tun
and carpets spread out....
  - Mohammad Asad
and fine carpets richly spread.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
and 'splendid' carpets spread out.
  - Mustafa Khattab
And silken carts spread
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
And rich carpets (All) spread out.
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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88:17
أَفَلَا يَنظُرُونَ إِلَى ٱلْإِبِلِ كَيْفَ خُلِقَتْ Afal a yan th uroona il a alibili kayfa khuliqat
DO, THEN, they [who deny resurrection] never gaze at the clouds pregnant with water, [and observe] how they are created?5
  - Mohammad Asad

Implying that a denial of resurrection and life in the hereafter renders the concept of a conscious Creator utterly meaningless; hence my interpretation of the words "who deny resurrection" in the first part of this verse. - As regards the noun ibil, it denotes, as a rule, "camels": a generic plural which has no singular form. But one must remember that it also signifies "clouds bearing rain-water" (Lisan al-'Arab, Qamus, Taj al-'Arus) - a meaning which is preferable in the present context. If the term were used in the sense of "camels", the reference to it in the above verse would have been primarily - if not exclusively - addressed to the Arabian contemporaries of the Prophet, to whom the camel was always an object of admiration on account of its outstanding endurance, the many uses to which it could be put (riding, load-bearing, and as a source of milk, flesh and fine wool) and its indispensability to people living amid deserts. But precisely because a reference to "camels" would restrict its significance to people of a particular environment and a particular time (without even the benefit of a historical allusion to past events), it must be ruled out here, for the Qur'anic appeals to observe the wonders of the God-created universe are invariably directed at people of all times and all environments. Hence, there is every reason to assume that the term ibil relates here not to camels but to "clouds pregnant with water": the more so as such an allusion to the miraculous, cyclic process of the evaporation of water, the skyward ascension of vapour, its condensation and, finally, its precipitation over the earth is definitely more in tune with the subsequent mention (in verses {18-20}) of sky, mountains and earth, than would be a reference to "camels", however admirable and noteworthy these animals may be.

Do they not look at the camels, how they were created?
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
Do they not ever reflect on camels- how they were 'masterfully' created;1
  - Mustafa Khattab

 Another possible translation: “Do they not ever reflect on rainclouds—how they are formed?”

Will they not regard the camels, how they are created?
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Do they not look at the Camels how they are made? 6103
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

In case men neglect the Hereafter as of no account, they are asked to contemplate four things, which they can see in every-day life, and which are full of meaning, high design, and the goodness of Allah to man. The first mentioned is the domesticated animal, which for Arab countries is par excellence the Camel. What a wonderful structure has this Ship of the Desert? He can store water in his stomach for days. He can live on dry and thorny desert shrubs. His limbs are adapted to his life. He can carry men and goods. His flesh can be eaten. Camel's hair can be used in weaving. And withal, he is so gentle! Who can sing his praises enough?

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88:18
وَإِلَى ٱلسَّمَآءِ كَيْفَ رُفِعَتْ Wail a a l ssam a i kayfa rufiAAat
And at the sky, how it is raised aloft?
  - Mohammad Asad
The heaven, how it was raised high?
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
and the sky- how it was raised 'high';
  - Mustafa Khattab
And the heaven, how it is railed?
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
And at the Sky how it is raised high? 6104
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The second thing they should consider is the noble blue vault high above them,-with the sun and moon, the stars and planets, and other heavenly bodies. This scene is full of beauty and magnificence, design and order, plainness and mystery. And yet we receive our light and warmth from the sun, and what would our physical lives be without these influences that come from such enormous distance&

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88:19
وَإِلَى ٱلْجِبَالِ كَيْفَ نُصِبَتْ Wail a aljib a li kayfa nu s ibat
And at the mountains, how firmly they are reared?
  - Mohammad Asad
The mountains, how they were firmly set?
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
and the mountains- how they were firmly set up;
  - Mustafa Khattab
And the hills, how they are set up?
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
And at the Mountains How they are fixed firm? 6105
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

From every-day utility and affection in the Camel, to the utility in grandeur in the heavens above us, we had two instances touching our individual as well as our social lives. In the third instance, in the Mountains we come to the utility to human kind generally in the services the Mountains perform in storing water, in moderating climate, and in various other ways which it is the business of Physical Geography to investigate and describe.

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88:20
وَإِلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ كَيْفَ سُطِحَتْ Wail a alar d i kayfa su t i h at
And at the earth, how it is spread out?
  - Mohammad Asad
And the earth, how it is spread out?
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
and the earth- how it was levelled out?
  - Mustafa Khattab
And the earth, how it is spread?
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
And at the Earth how it is spread out? 6106
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The fourth and last instance given is that of the Earth as a whole, the habitation of mankind in our present phase of life. The Earth is a globe, and yet how marvellously it seems to be spread out before us in plains, valleys, hills, deserts, seas, etc! Can man, seeing these things, fail to see a Plan and Purpose in his life, or fail to tum to the great Creator before Whom he will have to give an account after this life is done?

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