Surah 50. Qaf

NOW, VERILY, it is We who have created man, and We know what his innermost self whispers within him: for We are closer to him than his neck-vein.

  - Mohammad Asad

We created man, We know the prompting of his soul, and We are closer to him than his jugular vein.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

We verily created a man and We know what his soul whispereth to him, and We are nearer to him than his jugular vein.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[And so,] whenever the two demands [of his nature] come face to face, contending from the right and from the left,¹¹

  - Mohammad Asad

The first part of the above sentence - i.e., the phrase yatalaqqa al-mutalaqqiyan - may be understood in either of two senses: "the two that are meant to receive do receive", or "the two that aim at meeting each other do meet". The classical commentators adopt, as a rule, the first sense and, consequently, interpret the passage thus: "...the two angels that are charged with recording man's doings do record them, sitting on his right and on his left". In my opinion, however, the second of the two possible meanings ("the two that aim at meeting each other") corresponds better with the preceding verse, which speaks of what man's innermost self (nafs) "whispers within him", i.e., voices his subconscious desires. Thus, "the two that aim at meeting" are, I believe, the two demands of, or, more properly, the two fundamental motive forces within man's nature: his primal, instinctive urges and desires, both sensual and non-sensual (all of them comprised in the modern psychological term "libido"), on the one side, and his reason, both intuitive and reflective, on the other. The "sitting (qa'id) on the right and on the left" is, to my mind, a metaphor for the conflicting nature of these dual forces which strive for predominance within every human being: hence, my rendering of qa'id as "contending". This interpretation is, moreover, strongly supported by the reference, in verse {21}, to man's appearing on Judgment Day with "that which drives and that which bears witness" - a phrase which undoubtedly alludes to man's instinctive urges as well as his conscious reason (see note [14] below).

Besides this direct knowledge ,We have assigned to every one two scribes (guardian angels), the one seated on his right and the other on his left,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

When the two Receivers receive (him), seated on the right hand and on the left,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

not even a word can he utter but there is a watcher with him, ever-present.¹²

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., his conscience. The "uttering of a word" is conceptually connected with the "whispering" within man's psyche spoken of in the preceding verse.

not a single word does he utter but there is a vigilant guardian ready to note it down.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

He uttereth no word but there is with him an observer ready.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And [then,] the twilight of death brings with it the [full] truth¹³ - that [very thing, O man,] from which thou wouldst always look away! -

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., full insight into one's own self.

When the agony of death will bring the truth before his eyes, they will say: "This is what you were trying to escape!"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And the agony of death cometh in truth. (And it is said unto him): This is that which thou wast wont to shun.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

and [in the end] the trumpet [of resurrection] will be blown: that will be the Day of a warning fulfilled.

  - Mohammad Asad

And the Trumpet shall be blown; that will be the Day of which you were threatened!

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And the trumpet is blown. This is the threatened Day.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And every human being will come forward with [his erstwhile] inner urges and [his] conscious mind,¹⁴

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "with that which drives (sa'iq) and that which bears witness (shahid)". While the former term evidently circumscribes man's primal urges - and particularly those which drive him into unrestrained self-indulgence and, thus, into sin - the term shahid (rendered by me as "conscious mind") alludes here to the awakening of the deeper layers of man's consciousness, leading to a sudden perception of his own moral reality - the "lifting of the veil" referred to in the next verse - which forces him to "bear witness" against himself (cf. 17:14 , 24:24 , 36:65 , 41:20 ff.).

Each soul will come forth; with it there will be a an angel to drive and an angel to bear witness.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And every soul cometh, along with it a driver and a witness

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[and will be told:] "Indeed, unmindful hast thou been of this [Day of Judgement]; but now We have lifted from thee thy veil, and sharp is thy sight today!"

  - Mohammad Asad

It will be said: "You were heedless of this, but now We have removed your veil, so your eyesight is sharp today!"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

(And unto the evil doer it is said): Thou wast in heedlessness of this. Now We have removed from thee thy covering, and piercing is thy sight this day.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And one part¹⁵ of him will say: "This it is that has been ever-present with me!"¹⁶

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "his intimate companion" (qarinuhu). The term qarin denotes something that is "connected", "linked" or "intimately associated" with another thing (cf. 41:25 and 43:36 , where qarin is rendered as "[one's] other self"). In the present instance - read together with verse {21} - the term apparently denotes "one part" of man, namely, his awakened moral consciousness.

I.e., the sinner's reason will plead that he had always been more or less conscious, and perhaps even critical, of the urges and appetites that drove him into evildoing: but, as is shown in the sequence, this belated and, therefore, morally ineffective rational cognition does not diminish but, rather, enhances the burden of man's guilt.

His companion will say: "Here is my testimony ready with me."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And (unto the evil doer) his comrade saith: This is that which I have ready (as testimony).

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[Whereupon God will command:] "Cast, cast¹⁷ into hell every [such] stubborn enemy of the truth,

  - Mohammad Asad

In this instance, as well as in verse {26}, the imperative "cast" has the dual form (alqiya). As many classical philologists (and almost all of the commentators) point out, this is linguistically permissable for the sake of special stress, and is equivalent to an emphatic repetition of the imperative in question. Alternatively, the dual form may be taken as indicative of an actual duality thus addressed: namely, the two manifestations within man's psyche alluded to in verse {17} and described in verse {21} as sa'iq and shahid (see note [14] above), both of which, in their interaction, are responsible for his spiritual downfall and, hence, for his suffering in the life to come.

The sentence will be: "Throw into hell every stubborn disbeliever,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

(And it is said): Do ye twain hurl to hell each rebel ingrate,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[every] withholder of good [and] sinful aggressor [and] fomentor of distrust [between man and man - everyone]

  - Mohammad Asad

every opponent of good, and every doubting transgressor

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Hinderer of good, transgressor, doubter,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

who has set up another deity beside God:¹⁸ cast him, then, cast him into suffering severe!"

  - Mohammad Asad

This relates not merely to the veneration of real or imaginary beings or forces to which one ascribes divine qualities, but also to the "worship" of false values and immoral concepts to which people often adhere with an almost religious fervour.

who set up other gods besides Allah. Throw him into severe punishment."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Who setteth up another god along with Allah. Do ye twain hurl him to the dreadful doom.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Man's other self¹⁹ will say: "O our Sustainer! It was not I that led his conscious mind²⁰ into evil [nay,] but it had gone far astray [of its own accord]!"²¹

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., as in verse {23}, "his intimate companion" (qarin): but whereas there it may be taken as denoting man's moral consciousness or reason (cf. note [15] above), in the present instance the "speaker" is obviously its counterpart, namely, the complex of the sinner's instinctive urges and inordinate, unrestrained appetitites summarized in the term sa'iq ("that which drives") and often symbolized as shaytan ("satan" or "satanic force": see Razi's remarks quoted in note [31] on 14:22 .) In this sense, the term qarin has the same connotation as in 41:25 and 43:36 .

Lit., "him" or "it" - referring to man's faculty of conscious, controlling reason (shahid).

I.e., man's evil impulses and appetites cannot gain ascendancy unless his conscious mind goes astray from moral verities: and this explains the purport, in the present context, of verses {24-25} above.

His companion will say: "Our Rabb! I did not mislead him. He himself had gone far astray."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

His comrade saith: Our Lord! I did not cause him to rebel, but be was (himself) far gone in error.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[And] He will say: "Contend not before Me, [O you sinners,] for I gave you a forewarning [of this Day of Reckoning].

  - Mohammad Asad

Allah will say: "Do not dispute with each other in My presence. I gave you warning beforehand.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

He saith: Contend not in My presence, when I had already proffered unto you the warning.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

The judgment passed by Me shall not be altered; but never do I do the least wrong unto My creatures!"

  - Mohammad Asad

My words cannot be changed, nor am I unjust to My servants."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

The sentence that cometh from Me cannot be changed, and I am in no wise a tyrant unto the slaves.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

On that Day We will ask hell, "Art thou filled?" - and it will answer, "[Nay,] is there yet more [for me]?"

  - Mohammad Asad

On that Day, We shall ask hell: "Are you full?" And hell will answer: "Are there any more?"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

On the day when We say unto hell: Art thou filled? and it saith: Can there be more to come?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall