50 - Qaf

By the Qur’an I swear what you, Muhammad, warn the disbelievers of what will come

Yet they say ‘what a far-fetched idea, such a thing cannot be done -

How will we be raised after death, and reformed when we are dust?’

But We know well what occurs to bodies after death, the Earth is in Our trust.

We keep a detailed record, thorough and comprehensive,

Yet the disbelievers abhor the truth you bring, turning fearful and apprehensive.

Do they not note the sky, from its tiniest clouds and grandest constellations?

Do they not see that their perfection is a more complex element of creation?

What then in comparison is the reforming of dust, back to bone and flesh?

Consider too the extent of the earth and mountains - will the disbelievers not reflect?

Have they not seen a plant wither, rot, go underground and soon re-grow.

Is this process familiar to them or is something yet unknown?

Do they not see the water fall from the sky, making dead land fertile once again?

Providing date palms, green gardens, and row upon row of harvestable grain?

And as it is with the re-emergence of plants from a single pollen dot

So will be the resurrection of man, who was made from a tiny clot.

The disbelieving words of the Quraysh and others like them are not new.

So it was with people of Noah, Ad, Rass, Thamud and many others too

For them - punishment was due

And these disbelievers head for the same fate for ignoring the warnings brought by you.

To make it clearer still – Did We not give the disbelievers life in this first creation?

Is it not then just as easy for Us to create them again and flesh their bones into reanimation?

We created man and know the desires and warnings his soul whispers to him,

And We are closer to him than the main vein which his life's blood flows in.

We have assigned man watchers on his shoulders, recording every deed.

Noting all he’s said and done, for him on Judgement day to see.

And a devil of the jinn is assigned him too

Who will incite him to evil or be mastered to encourage him to truth

And those of the disbelievers will learn this, and other truths at death -

Will know My warnings and Messengers were true, and see the life they left was just a test.

And that is just the start of the endless regret

that is sure to beset them

For when they are raised again, they‘ll be informed ‘THIS IS THE DAY,

The Day of Judgement, the day of which’s warnings you arrogantly cast away.’

Man’s recording angels will spur him and his devil on to the meeting place and say:

‘See you now the truth of that which you called a lie and deemed frivolous poetic word play?’

And his devil will tell of all the evil he enticed him to do

And his hands and feet will speak and bear witness too

And Hell will be his home where he will be accompanied by

Malicious, aggressive, rumour spreaders and those who would lie

Along with idol worshippers and those who mocked the warnings sent

They will taste the endless, fiery, bitterness of God’s punishment.

And even then his scheming jinn will try to absolve himself of sin

Saying ‘I did not force his hand once, all those transgressions were done by him’

And God will ensure their silence and remind them of the chance that passed

And that His words will never change

And that He is just to all His creatures, cared for them all the same. 

On that day Hell will be asked if whether it’ll be full soon

And it will respond in loyal tones ‘my Lord ensures, I will always have room’

And Paradise will be brought to the righteous, an abode truly one of a kind

They’ll be told ‘this is the reward for those who were aware of God, and kept Him firmly in mind,

Who believed in God even though He was unseen,

Who presents his heart in the best of states, utterly pure, thoroughly clean.

They will have ever lasting joy and all of what they wish

And God will then, also bestow on them, so much more than this.

So remind the disbelievers, We destroyed more powerful previous generations

Search their remnants I have left as signs, did they escape the annihilation?

Those whose hearts are wise will heed the lessons learnt of those from the previous age

Knowing We created the heavens and the earth and all between, with ease, in six days.

Those who claim I rested on the 7^th day, tell a terrible lie

They will come to know the severity of such a claim when death comes to them and they die

So Prophet, bear what they say and be of the patient ones,

Praise your Lord before the rising and the setting of the sun

And proclaim his Glory all during the night, supplicate, perform extra prayers

And await the call from Israfeel in Jerusalem, commanding the earth to peel back its layers

The graves will burst forth and all creatures will be brought back to life

And for the disbelievers this will be the only evidence of the hereafter that will suffice

Only then they will realise that We were in control of life, death and the resurrection

On that Day some taste My wrath and some will be adorned with My protection

All that We mention will indeed, surely unfold as such

And the disbelievers will plainly see it was all so easy for Us

So caution them again with this Quran, but never force a soul to do anything

For the believers this sacred text is enough, for them to heed My warnings.

The Format of the Chapters

The Qur’an cannot be translated and should be taught one to one by a teacher with ijaza to do so for a full understanding as one without knowledge may miss or misinterpret the meanings of the verses.

In Islam there is a whole science behind this that includes hadeeth exploration, reasons for Qur’anic revelation, the rules and intricacies of Arabic language and grammar, knowledge of abrogated verses, etc etc. This list could go on.

Most laymen do not have the time to engage fully in all of the above and so ‘translations’ have been deemed the best way to convey the meaning of the Arabic to an English reading audience.

In trying to make this clearer and more detailed than other English versions, this poetic rendition is colour coded for the reader, to offer a clear understanding of where the information is coming from and what is behind a verse.

Key:

Items written in black are a rendition of the qur’anic text – this is to say the meaning has been turned into English in what is hopefully easy to read and follow as well as being memorable through rhyme. The rhyme is attempted as a respectful attempt at replicating the way of Islamic teachers of the past who would sometimes advise and teach rules of Islam through poetry as it was better remembered.

Example:       Abu Lahab's hands will be destroyed and so will he
Nothing he has in wealth will make what's to come easy.

Explanation: This meaning is conveyed even if it is laboured to fit the rhyme scheme

Items in blue are hadeeth inclusions – this is done in the hope of providing first hand reference material for a specific verse. The majority of hadeeth are used from the direct explanation from Ibn Abaas (R.A) and the tafsir of the Jalalayin (R.A). On occasion a hadeeth may also be used from Bukhari (R.A) and Muslim (R.A) as it is understood to support the section being rendered. I will try to maximize use of the hadeeth where appropriate to facilitate a better understanding for readers.

Example:         We have blessed you with plenty
  And you'll have a river in Heaven by that name

Explanation:   The double meaning of ‘Kawthar’ is noted by the scholars and an important addition to understanding the favours given by Allah to his Prophet (pbuh)

Items in red are qur’anic additions from other parts of the Qur’an that help to explain the meaning or link the meaning from another section. This is very common practice as the Qur’an often revisits topics and material to shed new light on them and to reinforce their importance.

Example:        There will be no nourishment in either, or hunger relief

An ample reward for those who wallowed in disbelief

Explanation: The reference to the punishment of the disbelievers is often mentioned and therefore here it is referenced: namely they will be punished for their disbelief.

Items in green are stylistic additions to generally make the transitions between sections smoother and if needs be to provide a few words, to complete a rhyme set, but the words chosen MUST be in keeping with the qur’anic verse and will be in line with general Islamic understanding.

Example:         It is written on honoured pages, by the hands of truthful scribes

Offering mankind divine knowledge on how to live their lives

Explanation: The ending a topic in a chapter would ideally be at the end of a couplet, however this is dictated by the text that is being reflected. As such, sometimes such lines are needed to complete one section before moving to the next one. In the example above the addition is in keeping with Islamic understanding but is not, to my knowledge, directly referencable from one source; it is an understanding gathered from several sources and therefore not easy to label as an isolated piece of hadeeth or Qur’an. For this reason I have labeled it green. I will try and minimize any use of this.