Surah 88. Al-Ghashiyah

1.

HAS THERE COME unto thee the tiding of the Overshadowing Event?¹

I.e., the Day of Resurrection.

2.

Some faces will on that Day be downcast,

3.

toiling [under burdens of sin], worn out [by fear],

4.

about to enter a glowing fire,

5.

given to drink from a boiling spring.

6.

No food for them save the bitterness of dry thorns,

7.

which gives no strength and neither stills hunger.²

According to Al-Qiffal (as quoted by Razi), this kind of hellish drink and food is a metonym for utter hopelessness and abasement. As regards the noun dari' - which is said to be a bitter, thorny plant in its dried state (Jawhari) - it is to be borne in mind that it is derived from the verb dara'a or dari'a, which signifies "he [or "it"] became abject" or "abased", (ibid.): hence my rendering of this (obviously metaphorical) expression as "the bitterness of dry thorns". A similarly metaphorical meaning attaches to the expression "a boiling spring" in verse {5}, which recalls the term hamim so often mentioned in the Qur'an (see note [62] on the last sentence of 6:70 ).

8.

[And] some faces will on that Day shine with bliss,

9.

well-pleased with [the fruit of] their striving,

10.

in a garden sublime,

11.

wherein thou wilt hear no empty talk.

12.

Countless springs³ will flow therein,

Lit., "a spring" - but, as Zamakhshari and Ibn Kathir point out, the singular form has here a generic import, implying "a multitude of springs". This metaphor of the life-giving element is analogous to that of the "running waters" (anhar) frequently mentioned in Qur'anic descriptions of paradise.

13.

[and] there will be thrones [of happiness] raised high,⁴

See note [34] on 15:47 .

14.

and goblets placed ready,

15.

and cushions ranged,

16.

and carpets spread out....

17.

DO, THEN, they [who deny resurrection] never gaze at the clouds pregnant with water, [and observe] how they are created?⁵

Implying that a denial of resurrection and life in the hereafter renders the concept of a conscious Creator utterly meaningless; hence my interpretation of the words "who deny resurrection" in the first part of this verse. - As regards the noun ibil, it denotes, as a rule, "camels": a generic plural which has no singular form. But one must remember that it also signifies "clouds bearing rain-water" (Lisan al-'Arab, Qamus, Taj al-'Arus) - a meaning which is preferable in the present context. If the term were used in the sense of "camels", the reference to it in the above verse would have been primarily - if not exclusively - addressed to the Arabian contemporaries of the Prophet, to whom the camel was always an object of admiration on account of its outstanding endurance, the many uses to which it could be put (riding, load-bearing, and as a source of milk, flesh and fine wool) and its indispensability to people living amid deserts. But precisely because a reference to "camels" would restrict its significance to people of a particular environment and a particular time (without even the benefit of a historical allusion to past events), it must be ruled out here, for the Qur'anic appeals to observe the wonders of the God-created universe are invariably directed at people of all times and all environments. Hence, there is every reason to assume that the term ibil relates here not to camels but to "clouds pregnant with water": the more so as such an allusion to the miraculous, cyclic process of the evaporation of water, the skyward ascension of vapour, its condensation and, finally, its precipitation over the earth is definitely more in tune with the subsequent mention (in verses {18-20}) of sky, mountains and earth, than would be a reference to "camels", however admirable and noteworthy these animals may be.

18.

And at the sky, how it is raised aloft?

19.

And at the mountains, how firmly they are reared?

20.

And at the earth, how it is spread out?

21.

And so, [O Prophet,] exhort them; thy task is only to exhort:

22.

thou canst not compel them [to believe].⁶

Lit., "thou hast no power over them".

23.

However, as for him who turns away, being bent on denying the truth,

24.

him will God cause to suffer the greatest suffering [in the life to come]:

25.

for, behold, unto Us will be their return,

26.

and, verily, it is for Us to call them to account.