Surah 56. Al-Waqia

from changing the nature of your existence²² and bringing you into being [anew] in a manner [as yet] unknown to you.

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "changing your likenesses (amthal)". However, the term mathal signifies also, tropically, the state, condition and the qualities (sifat) of a thing or person - in brief, "the nature of his [or its] existence".

in replacing you by others like yourselves or transforming you into beings that you do not know.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

That We may transfigure you and make you what ye know not.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And [since] you are indeed aware of the [miracle of your] coming into being in the first instance - why, then, do you not bethink yourselves [of Us]?

  - Mohammad Asad

You already know well your first creation, why then do you not take heed?

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And verily ye know the first creation. Why, then, do ye not reflect?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Have you ever considered the seed which you cast upon the soil?

  - Mohammad Asad

Have you ever considered the seed that you sow in the ground?

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Have ye seen that which ye cultivate?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Is it you who cause it to grow - or are We the cause of its growth?

  - Mohammad Asad

Is it you who cause it to grow or are We the grower?

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Is it ye who foster it, or are We the Fosterer?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[For,] were it Our will, We could indeed turn it into chaff, and you would be left to wonder [and to lament],

  - Mohammad Asad

If it be Our Will, We could crumble your harvest into chaff, and you would then be left in lamenting:

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

If We willed, We verily could make it chaff, then would ye cease not to exclaim:

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

"Verily, we are ruined!

  - Mohammad Asad

"We are indeed left laden with debts,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Lo! we are laden with debt!

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Nay, but we have been deprived [of our livelihood]!"

  - Mohammad Asad

indeed we have been deprived from the fruits of our labor!"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Nay, but we are deprived!

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Have you ever considered the water which you drink?

  - Mohammad Asad

Have you ever considered the water which you drink?

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Have ye observed the water which ye drink?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Is it you who cause it to come down from the clouds - or are We the cause of its coming down?

  - Mohammad Asad

Is it you who send it down from the clouds or are We the sender?

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Is it ye who shed it from the rain cloud, or are We the shedder?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[It comes down sweet - but] were it Our will, We could make it burningly salty and bitter: why, then, do you not give thanks [unto Us]?

  - Mohammad Asad

If it be Our Will, We could turn it salty. Why then do you not give thanks?

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

If We willed We verily could make it bitter. Why, then, give ye not thanks?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Have you ever considered the fire which you kindle?

  - Mohammad Asad

Have you ever considered the fire that you kindle?

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Have ye observed the fire which ye strike out;

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Is it you who have brought into being the tree that serves as its fuel²³ - or are We the cause of its coming into being?

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "its tree": a metonym pointing to the plant-origin, direct or indirect, of almost all the known fuels, including mineral fuels like coal, which is but petrified wood, or petroleum, which is a liquefied residue of plant-nourished organisms buried in the earth for millions of years.

Is it you who grow the tree which feeds the fire or are We the grower?

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Was it ye who made the tree thereof to grow, or were We the grower?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

It is We who have made it a means to remind [you of Us],²⁴ and a comfort for all who are lost and hungry in the wilderness [of their lives].²⁵

  - Mohammad Asad

Inasmuch as "fire" (in the widest sense of this word) is the source of all light known to man, it is apt to remind him that "God is the light of the heavens and the earth" (see 24:35 and the corresponding notes).

The participial noun muqw is derived from the verb qawiya, "it became deserted" or "desolate". From the same root is derived the noun qawa' (or qiwa'), which signifies "desert", "wilderness" or "wasteland" as well as "hunger" or "starvation". Hence, muqw denotes "one who is hungry" as well as "one who is lost [or "who wanders"] in a deserted place". In the above verse this expression is evidently used tropically, for it is difficult to imagine that, as some commentators assume, it relates merely to "wayfarers in the desert". My composite rendering of al-muqwin as "all who are lost and hungry in the wilderness", on the other hand, is literal and tropical at the same time, inasmuch as it describes people who are lonely, unfortunate and confused, and who hunger after human warmth and spiritual light.

We have made it a reminder for man as to what would be the life without it, and a provision of life for the travellers of desert.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

We, even We, appointed it a memorial and a comfort for the dwellers in the wilderness.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Extol, then, the limitless glory of thy Sustainer's mighty name!

  - Mohammad Asad

So glorify the name of your Rabb, Who is the Greatest.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Therefor (O Muhammad), praise the name of thy Lord, the Tremendous.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

NAY, I call to witness the coming-down in parts [of this Qur'an]²⁶

  - Mohammad Asad

Or: "the setting [or "orbiting"] of the stars". The term mawqi' (of which mawaqi' is the plural) denotes the "time [or "place" or "manner"] at which something comes down". Although many of the commentators think that the phrase mawaqi' an-nujum relates to the break-up of the stars at the Last Hour, Ibn 'Abbas, 'Ikrimah and As-Suddi were definitely of the opinion, strongly supported by the subsequent verses, that this phrase refers to the step-by-step revelation - or "coming-down in parts (nujum)" - of the Qur'an (cf. Tabari and Ibn Kathir; see also note [1] on 53:1 ). By "calling to witness" the gradual manner of its revelation, the Qur'an points implicitly to the astounding fact that it has remained free of all inconsistencies and inner contradictions (cf. 4:82 and the corresponding note [97]) despite all the dramatic changes in the Prophet's life during the twenty-three years of the "unfolding" of the divine writ: and this explains, too, the subsequent parenthetic clause (verse {76}).

I swear by the setting of the stars,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Nay, I swear by the places of the stars

  - Marmaduke Pickthall