Surah 37. As-Saffat

The evildoers will certainly 'be left to' eat from it, filling up their bellies with it.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Truly they will eat thereof and fill their bellies therewith. ⁴⁰⁷⁴

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The parable of fruits and drinks in the contrasted fortunes of the Good and the Evil is further elaborated in xlvii. 15, where the boiling water given to the evil ones cuts up their entrails.

Then on top of that they will be given a blend of boiling drink.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Then on top of that they will be given a mixture made of boiling water.

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Then they will ultimately return to 'their place in' Hell.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Then shall their return be to the (Blazing) Fire. ⁴⁰⁷⁵

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

When they eat of the zaqqum in the lowest depths of hell, they are apparently brought up to drink of the mixture as a further punishment, after which they go back to repeat the round.

Indeed, they found their forefathers astray,

  - Mustafa Khattab

Truly they found their fathers on the wrong Path;

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

so they rushed in their footsteps!

  - Mustafa Khattab

So they (too) were rushed down on their footsteps! ⁴⁰⁷⁶

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

A grim reproach. 'You found your fathers doing wrong; and you must rush headlong in their footsteps to perdition!'

And surely most of the earlier generations had strayed before them,

  - Mustafa Khattab

And truly before them many of the ancients went astray

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

although We had certainly sent warners among them.

  - Mustafa Khattab

But We sent aforetime among them (apostles) to admonish them ⁴⁰⁷⁷

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

It is human to err. The error is forgiven if there is repentance and amendment. The point is that Allah in His mercy at all times in history sent messengers and teachers to give His Message, and men deliberately rejected that Message.

See then what was the end of those who had been warned.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Then see what was the end of those who were admonished (but heeded not) ⁴⁰⁷⁸

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

It is on the reception or rejection of Allah's teachings and guidance that judgment will come. In this world itself, see what is the teaching of history. Unrighteousness and wrong-doing never prosper in the long run.

But not the chosen servants of Allah.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Except the sincere (and devoted) servants of Allah. ⁴⁰⁷⁹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

But there is always a band of sincere and devoted men who serve Allah, and the highest form of life is open to them. Note that this verse occurs at xxxvii. 40 above, where the argument of the difference between the fates of the righteous and the unrighteous was begun. Here it is rounded off with the same phrase, and now we proceed to take illustrations from the early Prophets.

Indeed, Noah cried out to Us, and how excellent are We in responding!

  - Mustafa Khattab

(In the days of old) Noah cried to Us and We are the Best to hear prayer. ⁴⁰⁸⁰

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. xxi. 76-77. The story of Noah occurs in many places: here the point is that when men gird themselves against evil, Allah protects them, and Evil cannot triumph against Allah's Plan.

We delivered him and his family¹ from the great distress,

  - Mustafa Khattab

 i.e., the believers in his family.

And We delivered him and his people from the Great Calamity. ⁴⁰⁸¹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The Deluge, the Flood of Noah. The main story will be found in xi. 25-48.

and made his descendants the sole survivors.¹

  - Mustafa Khattab

 Noah’s sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

And made his progeny to endure (on this earth); ⁴⁰⁸²

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Noah's posterity survived the Flood in the Ark, while the rest perished.

And We blessed him 'with honourable mention' among later generations:

  - Mustafa Khattab

And We left (this blessing) for him among generations to come in later times: ⁴⁰⁸³

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

His name is remembered for ever, commencing a new era in religious history. Note that the words in verses 78-81, with slight modifications, form a sort of refrain to the following paragraphs about Abraham, Moses, and Elias, but not about Lot and Jonah. Lot was a nephew of Abraham, and may be supposed to belong to the story of Abraham. Jonah's career nearly ended in a tragedy for himself, and his people got a further lease of power "for a time" (xxxvii. 148). And both Lot and Jonah belong to a limited local tradition.

'Peace be upon Noah among all peoples.'

  - Mustafa Khattab

"Peace and salutation to Noah among the nations!" ⁴⁰⁸⁴

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The story of the Flood is found in some form or other among all nations, and not only among those who follow the Mosaic tradition. In Greek tradition, the hero of the Flood is Deukalion, with his wife Pyrrha: in Indian tradition (Shatapatha Brahmana and Mahabharata) it is the sage Manu and the Fish. The Chinese tradition of a great Flood is recorded in Sha-King. Among American Indians the tradition was common to many tribes.

Indeed, this is how We reward the good-doers.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Thus indeed do We reward those who do right.

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali