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Surah 78. An-Naba

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78:1
عَمَّ يَتَسَآءَلُونَ AAamma yatas a aloon a
ABOUT WHAT do they [most often] ask one another?
  - Mohammad Asad
About what are they asking?
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
What are they asking one another about?
  - Mustafa Khattab
Whereof do they question one another?
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Concerning what are they disputing?
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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78:2
عَنِ ٱلنَّبَإِ ٱلْعَظِيمِ AAani a l nnabai alAAa th eem i
About the awesome tiding [of resurrection],
  - Mohammad Asad
About the mighty event
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
About the momentous news,
  - Mustafa Khattab
(It is) of the awful tidings,
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Concerning the Great News 5889
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Great News: usually understood to mean the News or Message of the Resurrection or the Hereafter, about which there are various schools of thought among the Jews and Christians and other nations. There is practically nothing about the Resurrection in the Old Testament, and the Jewish sect of Sadducees even in the time of Christ denied the Resurrection altogether. The Pagan ideas of a future life-if any-varied from place to place and from time to time. Even in the early Christian Church, as we learn from Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians, there were contentions in that little community (1, Corinthians, i. 11), and some definitely denied the resurrection of the dead (ib., xv. 12). Great News may also be translated Great Message or a Message Supreme as I have translated at xxxviii. 67. In that case it would refer to the Qur-an, or the Message of Revelation, or the Message of the Holy Prophet, about which there was great contention in those days. As this Message also lays great stress on the Day of Judgment and the Resurrection, the practical result by either mode of interpretation amounts to the same.

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78:3
ٱلَّذِى هُمْ فِيهِ مُخْتَلِفُونَ Alla th ee hum feehi mukhtalifoon a
on which they [so utterly] disagree.1
  - Mohammad Asad
- the theme of their disputes.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
over which they disagree.1
  - Mustafa Khattab

 The pagans used to mock the teachings of the Quran (e.g., resurrection and judgment). They disagreed whether the Quran was magic, poetry, or fortune-telling.

Concerning which they are in disagreement.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
About which they cannot agree.
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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78:4
كَلَّا سَيَعْلَمُونَ Kall a sayaAAlamoon a
Nay, but in time they will come to understand [it]!
  - Mohammad Asad
Very soon they shall come to know;
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
But no! They will come to know.
  - Mustafa Khattab
Nay, but they will come to know!
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Verily they shall soon (come to) know!
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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78:5
ثُمَّ كَلَّا سَيَعْلَمُونَ Thumma kall a sayaAAlamoon a
And once again:2 Nay, but in time they will come to understand!
  - Mohammad Asad

For this rendering of the particle thumma, see surah {6}, note [31].

We repeat, very soon they shall come to know.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
Again, no! They will come to know.
  - Mustafa Khattab
Nay, again, but they will come to know!
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Verily verily they shall soon (come to) know!
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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78:6
أَلَمْ نَجْعَلِ ٱلْأَرْضَ مِهَـٰدًا Alam najAAali alar d a mih a d a n
HAVE WE NOT made the earth a resting-place [for you],
  - Mohammad Asad
Is it not true that We have spread the earth like a bed,
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
Have We not smoothed out the earth 'like a bed',
  - Mustafa Khattab
Have We not made the earth an expanse,
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Have We not made the earth as a wide expanse 5890
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

See n. 2038 to xvi. 15. Cf. also xiii. 3 and xv. 19. The spacious expanse of the earth may be compared to a carpet, to which the mountains act as pegs. The Signs of Allah are thus enumerated: the great panorama of outer nature (verses 6-7); the creation of Man in pairs, with the succession of rest and work fitting in with the succession of night and day (verses 8-11); the firmaments above, with their splendid lights (verses 12-13); and the clouds and rain and abundant harvests, which knit sky and earth and man together (verses 14-16). These point to Allah, and Allah's Message points to the Future Life.

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78:7
وَٱلْجِبَالَ أَوْتَادًا Wa a ljib a la awt a d a n
and the mountains [its] pegs?3
  - Mohammad Asad

See 16:15 - "He has placed firm mountains on earth, lest it sway with you" - and the corresponding note [11], which explains the reference to mountains as "pegs". - The whole of this passage (verses {6-16}) is meant to illustrate God's almightiness and creativeness, as if to say, "Is not He who has created the universe equally able to resurrect and re-create man in whatever form He deems necessary?"

and the mountains as pegs,
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
and 'made' the mountains as 'its' pegs,1
  - Mustafa Khattab

 Just like tent pegs and icebergs, mountains go deep below the surface, slowing tectonic movement.

And the high hills bulwarks?
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
And the mountains as pegs?
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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78:8
وَخَلَقْنَـٰكُمْ أَزْوَٰجًا Wakhalaqn a kum azw a j a n
And We have created you in pairs;4
  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., "with the same creative power We have created the miraculous polarity of the two sexes in you and in other animated beings". The phenomenon of polarity, evident throughout the universe (see 36:36 and the corresponding note [18]), is further illustrated in verses {9-ll}.

created you in pairs,
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
and created you in pairs,
  - Mustafa Khattab
And We have created you in pairs,
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
And (have We not) created you in pairs
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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78:9
وَجَعَلْنَا نَوْمَكُمْ سُبَاتًا WajaAAaln a nawmakum sub a t a n
and We have made your sleep [a symbol of] death5
  - Mohammad Asad

Thus Zamakhshari, stressing the primary significance of subat as "cutting-off" (qat'), i.e., "death"; also the famous second-century philologist Abu 'Ubaydah Ma'mar ibn al-Muthanna, who (as quoted by Razi) explains the above Qur'anic phrase as an "analogue (shibh) of death".

provided you rest in sleep,
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
and made your sleep for rest,
  - Mustafa Khattab
And have appointed your sleep for repose,
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
And made your sleep for rest
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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78:10
وَجَعَلْنَا ٱلَّيْلَ لِبَاسًا WajaAAaln a allayla lib a s a n
and made the night [its] cloak
  - Mohammad Asad
made the night a mantle,
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
and made the night as a cover,
  - Mustafa Khattab
And have appointed the night as a cloak,
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
And made the night as a covering 5891
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The darkness of the night is as a covering. Just as a covering protects us from exposure to cold or heat, so this covering gives us spiritual respite from the buffets of the material world, and from the tiring activities of our own inner exertions. The rest in sleep (in verse 9) is supplemented by the covering of the night with which we are provided by Allah.

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78:11
وَجَعَلْنَا ٱلنَّهَارَ مَعَاشًا WajaAAaln a a l nnah a ra maAA a sh a n
and made the day [a symbol of] life.6
  - Mohammad Asad

According to Zamakhshari, the term ma'ash ("that whereby one lives") is here synonymous with "life". In the polarity of sleep (or "death") and wakefulness (or "life") we see the allusion to bodily death and subsequent resurrection already touched upon in 6:60 .

made the day to work for earning your livelihood,
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
and made the day for livelihood,
  - Mustafa Khattab
And have appointed the day for livelihood.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
And made the day as means of subsistence? 5892
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

"Subsistence" in English only partly covers the idea of ma'ash, which includes every kind of life activity. The Day is specially illuminated, so runs the figure of speech, in order that these life-activities of all kinds may be fully exercised.

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78:12
وَبَنَيْنَا فَوْقَكُمْ سَبْعًا شِدَادًا Wabanayn a fawqakum sabAAan shid a d a n
And We have built above you seven firmaments,7
  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "seven firm ones", indicating the multiplicity of cosmic systems (see surah {2}, note [20]).

built above you seven firmaments,
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
and built above you seven mighty 'heavens',
  - Mustafa Khattab
And We have built above you seven strong (heavens),
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
And (have We not) built over you the seven firmaments 5893
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

See n. 5526 to lxv. 12 and n. 2876 to xxiii. 17, also xxxvii. 6 and notes there.

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78:13
وَجَعَلْنَا سِرَاجًا وَهَّاجًا WajaAAaln a sir a jan wahh a j a n
and have placed [therein the sun,] a lamp full of blazing splendour.
  - Mohammad Asad
placed therein a shining lamp,
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
and placed 'in them' a shining lamp,
  - Mustafa Khattab
And have appointed a dazzling lamp,
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
And placed (therein) a Light of Splendor? 5894
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

That is, the sun. Cf. xxv. 61; xxxiii. 46 (where it is used metaphorically for the holy Prophet); and lxxi. 16.

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78:14
وَأَنزَلْنَا مِنَ ٱلْمُعْصِرَٰتِ مَآءً ثَجَّاجًا Waanzaln a mina almuAA s ir a ti m a an thajj a j a n
And from the wind-driven clouds We send down waters pouring in abundance,
  - Mohammad Asad
sent down abundant water from the clouds,
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
and sent down from rainclouds pouring water,
  - Mustafa Khattab
And have sent down from the rainy clouds abundant Water,
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
And do We not send down from the clouds water in abundance 5895
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Note how the evidences of Allah and His beneficence arc set out in four groups. (1) Look to external nature on the earth around you (verses 6-7); (2) your own nature, physical, mental and spiritual (verses 8-11); (3) the starry heavens, and the glory of the sun (verses 12-13); and (4) the interdependence of earth, air, and sky in the cycle of water, clouds, rain, corn and gardens, all serving in their several ways to further the whole plan of the World as it affects us. Can you not then believe that a Creator who does this will sort out Good and Evil on an appointed Day with real justice and power?

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78:15
لِّنُخْرِجَ بِهِۦ حَبًّا وَنَبَاتًا Linukhrija bihi h abban wanab a t a n
so that We might bring forth thereby grain, and herbs,
  - Mohammad Asad
bringing forth grain, vegetation
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
producing by it grain and 'various' plants,
  - Mustafa Khattab
Thereby to produce grain and plant,
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
That We may produce therewith corn and vegetables
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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78:16
وَجَنَّـٰتٍ أَلْفَافًا Wajann a tin alf a f a n
and carders dense with foliage.8
  - Mohammad Asad

Implying that the overwhelming evidence of purpose and plan in all observable nature points to the existence of a conscious Creator who has "not created [anything of] this without meaning and purpose" ( 3:191 ), and who - as is stressed in the sequence - will one day pronounce His judgment on every human being's willingness or unwillingness to live up to the standards of morality made clear to him through inborn instinct as well as through divine revelation.

and gardens of luxurious growth?
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
and dense orchards?
  - Mustafa Khattab
And gardens of thick foliage.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
And gardens of luxurious growth?
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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78:17
إِنَّ يَوْمَ ٱلْفَصْلِ كَانَ مِيقَـٰتًا Inna yawma alfa s li k a na meeq a t a n
VERILY, the Day of Distinction [between the true and the false]9 has indeed its appointed time:
  - Mohammad Asad

See note [6] on 77:13 . This passage connects with verses {4-5}.

The Day of decision is already fixed.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
Indeed, the Day of 'Final' Decision is an appointed time-
  - Mustafa Khattab
Lo! the Day of Decision is a fixed time,
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Verily the Day of Sorting Out is a thing appointed 5896
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. xxxvii. 21, n. 4047, and xxxvi. 59, n. 4005 (end), The Day of Judgment is the Day of Sorting Out, as between Good and Evil.

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78:18
يَوْمَ يُنفَخُ فِى ٱلصُّورِ فَتَأْتُونَ أَفْوَاجًا Yawma yunfakhu fee a l ss oori fatatoona afw a j a n
the Day when the trumpet [of resurrection] is sounded and you all come forward in multitudes;
  - Mohammad Asad
On that Day, the Trumpet shall be sounded and you shall come forth in multitude.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
'it is' the Day the Trumpet will be blown, and you will 'all' come forth in crowds.
  - Mustafa Khattab
A day when the trumpet is blown, and ye come in multitudes,
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
The Day that the Trumpet shall be sounded and ye shall come forth in crowds; 5897
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The angel charged with the sounding of the Trumpet is Israfil. It will herald Judgment. Cf. 1. 20; also xxxix. 68, and n. 4343; and lxix. 13, n. 5648.

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78:19
وَفُتِحَتِ ٱلسَّمَآءُ فَكَانَتْ أَبْوَٰبًا Wafuti h ati a l ssam a o fak a nat abw a b a n
and when the skies are opened and become [as wideflung] gates;10
  - Mohammad Asad

Allegorically, "its mysteries will be opened to man's understanding" - thus further amplifying the concept of "the Day of Distinction between the true and the false".

The sky shall be opened as if there were doors.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
The sky will be 'split' open, becoming 'many' gates,
  - Mustafa Khattab
And the heaven is opened and becometh as gates,
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
And the heavens shall be opened as if there were doors 5898
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

A sign that the present order of things will have ceased to exist, and a new world will have come into being. Such a figure applies to the heavens in this verse and to the earth in the next verse. The mystery of what is beyond the heavens will have vanished through the doors which will then be opened. The solid mountains, as we suppose them to be, will have vanished like an unsubstantial mirage.

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78:20
وَسُيِّرَتِ ٱلْجِبَالُ فَكَانَتْ سَرَابًا Wasuyyirati aljib a lu fak a nat sar a b a n
and when the mountains are made to vanish as if they had been a mirage.11
  - Mohammad Asad

See note [90] on {20:105-107}, as well as note [63] on 14:48 .

The mountains shall vanish as if they were a mirage.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
and the mountains will be blown away, becoming 'like' a mirage.
  - Mustafa Khattab
And the hills are set in motion and become as a mirage.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
And the mountains shall vanish as if they were a mirage.
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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