Surah 79. An-Naziat

Lo! His Sustainer called out to him in the twice-hallowed valley:⁷

  - Mohammad Asad

See note [9] on 20:12 . - For the meaning of the particle idh at the beginning of this sentence, rendered by me as "Lo!", see surah {2}, note [21].

When His Rabb called him in the sacred valley of Tuwa,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

His Lord called him in the sacred valley of Ṭuwa,

  - Mustafa Khattab

How his Lord called him in the holy vale of Tuwa,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Behold thy Lord did call to him in the sacred valley of Tuwa ⁵⁹²⁸

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. xx. 12.

"Go unto Pharaoh - for, verily, he has transgressed all bounds of what is right -

  - Mohammad Asad

and said: "Go to Fir'on (Pharaoh) for he has indeed transgressed all bounds,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

'commanding,' 'Go to Pharaoh, for he has truly transgressed 'all bounds'.

  - Mustafa Khattab

(Saying:) Go thou unto Pharaoh--Lo! he hath rebelled--

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

"Go thou to Pharaoh for he has indeed transgressed all bounds. ⁵⁹²⁹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. xx. 24.

and say [unto him], 'Art thou desirous of attaining to purity?

  - Mohammad Asad

and tell him, `Have you the desire to purify yourself?

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And say, 'Would you 'be willing to' purify yourself,

  - Mustafa Khattab

And say (unto him): Hast thou (will) to grow (in grace)?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

"And say to him `Wouldst thou that thou shouldst be purified (from sin)?

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

[If so,] then I shall guide thee towards [a cognition of] thy Sustainer, so that [henceforth] thou wilt stand in awe [of Him].'"⁸

  - Mohammad Asad

Implying that so long as man is not fully aware of the existence of God, he cannot really discern between what is morally right or wrong; and since God is just, He does not punish anyone who has not yet attained to such a discernment (or, as expressed in the preceding sentence, "to [moral] purity"): cf. 6:131 - "thy Sustainer would never destroy a community for its wrongdoing so long as its people are still unaware [of the meaning of right and wrong]".

If so, I shall guide you towards your Rabb, so that you may fear Him.'"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

and let me guide you to your Lord so that you will be in awe 'of Him'?''

  - Mustafa Khattab

Then I will guide thee to thy Lord and thou shalt fear (Him).

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

"`And that I guide thee to thy Lord so thou shouldst fear Him?' " ⁵⁹³⁰

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Even for such a one as Pharaoh, intoxicated with his own power and greatness, guidance and grace were offered through Moses.

And thereupon he [went to Pharaoh and] made him aware of the great wonder [of God's grace].⁹

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "showed him the great wonder", i.e., of the guidance which God, in His measureless grace, offers even to the most recalcitrant sinner.

Then Musa showed Fir'on the mighty sign,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Then Moses showed him the great sign,¹

  - Mustafa Khattab

 The staff turning into a snake. See 20:17-23.

And he showed him the tremendous token.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Then did (Moses) show him the Great Sign. ⁵⁹³¹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

What was the Great Sign? Some Commentators understand by it the "White Shining Hand": see n. 2550 to xx. 22-23. Others think it was the miracle of the rod that became a "snake active in motion": see xx. 20, n. 2549. These were among the Greater Signs: xx. 23. In xvii. 101 there is a reference to nine Clear Signs given to Moses, and these are specified in detail in n. 1091 to vii. 133. The fact is, there were many Signs given, "openly self-explained," but Pharaoh and his men "were steeped in arrogance,-a people given to sin" (vii. 133). The preeminently Great Sign was therefore the fact of Moses being sent to Pharaoh, which subsequently converted the magicians and the more learned Egyptians to the true God (xx. 70-73), though Pharaoh and his Chiefs resisted and suffered for their sins.

But [Pharaoh] gave him the lie and rebelliously rejected [all guidance],

  - Mohammad Asad

but he denied and disobeyed.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

but he denied and disobeyed 'Allah',

  - Mustafa Khattab

But be denied and disobeyed,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

But (Pharaoh) rejected it and disobeyed (guidance);

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

and brusquely turned his back [on Moses];

  - Mohammad Asad

Then he quickly turned back,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

then turned his back, striving 'against the truth'.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Then turned he away in haste,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Further he turned his back striving hard (against Allah).

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

and then he gathered [his great ones], and called [unto his people],

  - Mohammad Asad

assembled his people and made a proclamation;

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Then he summoned 'his people' and called out,

  - Mustafa Khattab

Then gathered he and summoned

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Then he collected (his men) and made a proclamation

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

and said, "I am your Lord All-Highest!"¹⁰

  - Mohammad Asad

"I am your lord, the most high."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

saying, 'I am your lord, the most high!'

  - Mustafa Khattab

And proclaimed: "I (Pharaoh) am your Lord the Highest."

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Saying "I am your Lord Most High."

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

And thereupon God took him to task, [and made him] a warning example in the life to come as well as in this world.¹¹

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "in the first [life]". See last sentence of 7:137 - "We utterly destroyed all that Pharaoh and his people had wrought, and all that they had built" - and the corresponding note [100].

Consequently, Allah seized him for punishment, both in the Hereafter and in this life.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

So Allah overtook him, making him an example in this life and the next.

  - Mustafa Khattab

So Allah seized him (and made him) an example for the after (life) and for the former.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

But Allah did punish him (and made an) example of him in the Hereafter as in this life. ⁵⁹³²

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

See xx. 78-79, also vii. 135-137.

In this, behold, there is a lesson indeed for all who stand in awe [of God].

  - Mohammad Asad

Surely in this there is a lesson for the Godfearing.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Surely in this is a lesson for whoever stands in awe of 'Allah'.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Lo! herein is indeed a lesson for him who feareth.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Verily in this is an instructive warning for whosoever feareth (Allah): ⁵⁹³³

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. xxiv. 44.

[O MEN!] Are you more difficult to create than the heaven which He has built?¹²

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "or the heaven...", etc. The "heaven" is here, as in many other places in the Qur'an, a metonym for "cosmic system" (cf. note [20] on 2:29 ). The above verse is an echo of an earlier, more explicit passage - namely, {40:56-57}, which should be read together with the corresponding notes [40] and [41]. Both these passages refute the "man-centred" view of the universe by pointing out man's insignificance as compared with the vastness and complexity of the whole God-created universe.

O mankind, is your creation harder than the heaven that He built?

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Which is harder to create: you or the sky?¹ He built it,

  - Mustafa Khattab

 This is from a human perspective. Otherwise, both the creation of the universe and the resurrection of humans are easy for Allah.

Are ye the harder to create, or is the heaven that He built?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

What! are ye the more difficult to create of the heaven (above)? (Allah) hath constructed it: ⁵⁹³⁴

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

If man grows arrogant or forgets his accountability to Allah, in his ignorance or thoughtlessness, he is reminded that he is only an insignificant speck in Allah's spacious Creation. All the excellence that man acquires is the gift of Allah. Who has bestowed on him a high Destiny if he fulfils the purpose of his creation: ii. 30-39. Then follows a nature passage, pointing to the glory of the heavens and the earth, and how they are both made to subserve the life of man.

High has He reared its vault and formed it in accordance with what it was meant to be;¹³

  - Mohammad Asad

See 87:2 , which is the earliest instance, in the chronology of Qur'anic revelation, of the use of the verb sawwa in the above sense.

He raised its canopy and fashioned it to perfection,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

raising it high and forming it flawlessly.

  - Mustafa Khattab

He raised the height thereof and ordered it;

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

On high hath He raised its canopy and He hath given it order and perfection. ⁵⁹³⁵

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. ii. 29. The mystery of the heavens with their countless stars and the planets obeying the laws of motion, and the sun and moon influencing the temperature and climates of the earth from thousands or millions of miles, illustrate the order and perfection which Allah has given to His Creation. Can man then remain exempt from his responsibility for his deeds, endowed as he is with a will, or deny the Day of Sorting Out, which is the Day of Judgment?

and He has made dark its night and brought forth its light of day.

  - Mohammad Asad

He gave darkness to the night and brightness to the day.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

He dimmed its night, and brought forth its daylight.

  - Mustafa Khattab

And He made dark the night thereof, and He brought forth the morn thereof.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Its night doth He endow with darkness and its splendor doth He bring out (with light). ⁵⁹³⁶

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Its of course refers to the starry heaven. Both the Night and the Day have each its own beauty and its utility for man, as has been frequently pointed out in the Qur-an. The night is a period of darkness, but it has also its splendours of light in the moon, or the planets Jupiter or Venus, or stars like Sirius or the Milky Way. These countless lights of night have their own beauty, and by day there is the splendour of the sun for us, which in Creation as a whole, is just one of countless stars.

And after that, the earth: wide has He spread its expanse,

  - Mohammad Asad

After that He spread out the earth,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

As for the earth, He spread it out as well,¹

  - Mustafa Khattab

 The Arabic verb daḥa also suggests that the earth is egg-shaped. The noun form diḥya is still used in some Arab dialects to mean an egg. Based on 2:29, 41:9-12, and 79:27-33, Allah ordained both realms, then formed the earth and created its provisions, then formed the heaven into seven heavens—all in six ˹heavenly˺ Days. See footnote for 7:54.

And after that He spread the earth,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And the earth moreover; hath He extended (to a wide expanse): ⁵⁹³⁷

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Moreover: or, more literally, after that. See n. 4475 to xli. 11.

and has caused its waters to come out of it, and its pastures,¹⁴

  - Mohammad Asad

The term "pasture" (mar'a) connotes here, metonymically, all herbal produce suitable for consumption by man or animal (Razi).

then from it He brought forth its water and its pasture,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

bringing forth its water and pastures

  - Mustafa Khattab

And produced therefrom the water thereof and the pasture thereof,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

He draweth out therefrom its moisture and its pasture; ⁵⁹³⁸

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The underground springs and wells of water as well as rivers and glaciers in northren climates are due to the different levels of highlands not lowlands. They spread the moisture evenly as wanted, and give corn, fruits, and vegetables to man, and pastures and feeding grounds to beasts of the fields. For the wonderful circuit or cycle of water between heaven and earth, see notes 3106 (xxv. 49) and 3111 (xxv. 53).

and has made the mountains firm:

  - Mohammad Asad

set its mountains,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

and setting the mountains firmly 'upon it'-

  - Mustafa Khattab

And He made fast the hills,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And the mountains hath He firmly fixed ⁵⁹³⁹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

See n. 2038 to xvi. 15. The "eternal hills" are the main reservoirs for the storage and gradual distribution of water, the very basis of the life of man and beast.

[all this] as a means of livelihood for you and your animals.¹⁵

  - Mohammad Asad

Implying (as in {80:24-32}) that man ought to be grateful to God, and should always be conscious of His being the Provider: hence the subsequent return of the discourse to the theme of resurrection and ultimate judgment.

and made them beneficial for you and your cattle.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

all as 'a means of' sustenance for you and your animals.

  - Mustafa Khattab

A provision for you and for your cattle.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

For use and convenience to you and your cattle. ⁵⁹⁴⁰

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

This clause I construe to apply to verses 30, 31, and 32 above. Everything on earth has, by Allah's bountiful providence, been arranged to subserve the use and convenience of man and the lower life which depends upon him. The intermediary between Allah's providence and the actual use made of Allah's other gifts is man's own intelligence and initiative, which are also gifts of Allah.

AND SO, when the great, overwhelming event [of resurrection] comes to pass -

  - Mohammad Asad

When the great disaster will strike,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

But, when the Supreme Disaster¹ comes to pass-

  - Mustafa Khattab

 This is the second Blast which will cause the dead to come to life for judgment. See 39:68.

But when the great disaster cometh,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Therefore when there comes the great overwhelming (Event) ⁵⁹⁴¹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The Judgment, the time for sorting out all things according to their true, intrinsic, and eternal values.

on that Day man will [clearly] remember all that he has ever wrought;

  - Mohammad Asad

the Day when man will call to mind all that he had striven for.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

the Day every person will remember all 'their' striving,

  - Mustafa Khattab

The day when man will call to mind his (whole) endeavor,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

The Day when Man shall remember (all) that he strove for ⁵⁹⁴²

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The Judgment will be not only for his acts but for his motives, "all he strove for". In this life he may forget his ill-deeds, but in the new conditions he will not only remember them, but the Fire of Punishment will be plainly visible to him, and not only to him, but it will be "for all to see". This will add to the sinner's humiliation.