Al-Jathiyah

Hā mīm: God knows best what He means by these [letters].

The revelation of the Book, the Qur’ān (tanzīlu’l-kitābi, the subject) is from God (mina’Llāhi, the predicate thereof) the Mighty, in His kingdom, the Wise, in His actions.

Truly in the heavens and the earth, that is to say, in their creation, there are signs, indicating the power of God and His Oneness, exalted be He, for believers.

And in your creation, that is to say, and in the creation of every one of you from a sperm-drop, then a blood clot, then an embryo until it becomes a human being; and, [in] the creation of, what He has scattered, [what] He has dispersed throughout the earth, of animals — [dābba denotes] whatever treads on (yadubbu) the earth of [both] human beings and other [animals] — there are signs for a people who are certain, of the Resurrection;

and, in, the alternation of night and day, their passing and their arrival, and what God sends down from the heaven [in the way] of provision, rain, for it constitutes a means of provision, with which He revives the earth after it is dead, and the circulation of the winds, its alternation between southerly and northerly, hot and cold, there are signs for a people who understand, proofs and therefore have faith.

These, mentioned signs, are the signs of God, the proofs of His that indicate His Oneness, which We recite, relate, to you with truth (bi’l-haqqi is semantically connected to natlū, ‘We recite’). So in what [kind of] discourse then, after God, that is to say, [after] His discourse, namely, the Qur’ān, and His signs, His definitive arguments, will they, that is, the disbelievers of Mecca, believe? In other words: they will not believe [in anything] (a variant reading [for yu’minūna, ‘they believe’] has tu’minūna, ‘you believe’).

Woe (waylun is an expression implying chastisement) to every sinful liar,

who hears the signs of God, the Qur’ān, being recited to him, then persists, in his disbelief, arrogantly, disdainful of faith, as if he had not heard them. So give him tidings of a painful chastisement.

And should he come to know anything of Our signs, namely, the Qur’ān, he takes them in mockery. For such, liars — there is a degrading chastisement.

Beyond them, that is to say, ahead of them — because they are [still] in this world — is Hell, and that which they have earned, of wealth and deeds, will not avail them in any way, nor those whom they took besides God, that is, idols, as patrons. And for them there will be a great chastisement.

This, that is, the Qur’ān, is a guidance, from error; and those who disbelieve in the signs of their Lord, for them there will be a torture, a lot, of a painful, an excruciating, chastisement.

God it is Who disposed for you the sea so that the ships may sail upon it by His command, by His permission, and that you may seek, that you may request, by way of trade, of His bounty, and that perhaps you may give thanks.

And He has disposed for you whatever is in the heavens, of sun, moon, stars, water and otherwise, and whatever is in the earth, of animals, trees, vegetation, rivers and otherwise, that is to say, He created [all] that for your benefit, all (jamī‘an is for emphasis) being from Him (minhu is a circumstantial qualifier, that is to say, He has disposed them as something from Him, exalted be He). Surely in that there are signs for a people who reflect, on them and therefore believe.

Tell those who believe to forgive those who do not anticipate, [those who do not] fear, the days of God, the events which He precipitates, that is to say, forgive the disbelievers the harm which they have caused you — this was before the command to struggle against them [had been revealed] — that He, God, may requite (a variant reading [for li-yajziya] has li-najziya, ‘that We may requite’) a people for what they used to earn, when they used to forgive disbelievers the harm which they did.

Whoever acts righteously, it is for [the benefit of] his own soul, that he acts [so], and whoever does evil, it is to the detriment thereof, that he has done evil; then to your Lord you will be returned, [with your Lord] you shall end up, whereupon He will requite the one of righteous deeds and the evildoer.

And verily We gave the Children of Israel the Scripture, the Torah, and [the means of] judgement, therewith between people, and prophethood, for Moses and Aaron among them, and We provided them with the good things, the lawful things, such as manna and quails, and We favoured them above [all] worlds, the worlds of their time, [that is, above all other] rational beings.

And We gave them clear illustrations of the commandment, the commandment of religion, in the way of what is lawful or unlawful, and the Mission of Muhammad (s), upon whom be the most excellent blessings and peace. And they did not differ, regarding his Mission, except after the knowledge had come to them, out of rivalry among themselves, that is to say, because of some rivalry that came about among them, out of envy of him. Surely your Lord will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection concerning that in which they used to differ.

Then We set you, O Muhammad (s), upon a [clear] course, [a clear] way, of the commandment, the commandment of religion; so follow it, and do not follow the desires of those who do not know, in worshipping other than God.

Assuredly they will not avail, they [will not] protect, you in any way against God, against His chastisement. And assuredly the wrongdoers, the disbelievers, are allies of one another; but God is the ally [only] of the God-fearing.

This, Qur’ān, is [a set of] insights for mankind, guideposts with which they can discern [God’s] rulings and legal proscriptions, and guidance and mercy for a people who have certainty, with regard to the [truth of the] Resurrection.

Or (am has the significance of the [rhetorical] hamza of denial) do those who have perpetrated evil acts, [such as] disbelief and disobedience, suppose that We shall treat them as those who believe and perform righteous deeds, equally (sawā’an is the predicate) in their life and in their death? (mahyāhum wa-mamātuhum, [this clause] constitutes the subject and a supplement; the sentence [itself] is a substitution for the kāf [of ka’lladhīna, ‘as those’], and both [suffixed] pronouns [-hum] refer to the disbelievers). The meaning is: do they suppose that in the Hereafter We will assign them [a] good [fate] like believers, [that they will enjoy] a life of plenty, one equal to their life in this world, as when they said to the believers: ‘Surely if we were to be resurrected, we will be given the same good things that you will be given!’ God, exalted be He, says, in accordance with His denial [implicit] in the [rhetorical interrogative] hamza: How evil is that judgement which they make! In other words, it will not be so, for in the Hereafter they will be [suffering] in the chastisement, in contrast to their lives in this world; the believers, on the other hand, will be [delighting] in the Reward in the Hereafter because of their righteous deeds in this world, such as [their observance of] prayers, [their] alms-giving, fasting and otherwise (the mā, ‘that … which’, relates to the verbal action, that is to say, ba’isa hukman hukmuhum hādhā, ‘awful as a judgement is this judgement of theirs’).

And God created the heavens and, He created, the earth with the truth (bi’l-haqqi is semantically connected to khalaqa, ‘He created’), so that He may indicate His power and His Oneness, and so that every soul may be requited for what it has earned, in the way of acts of disobedience or obedience, and therefore the disbeliever cannot be equal to the believer, and they will not be wronged.

Have you then seen, inform Me [about], him who has taken as his god his [own] desire, [that is] whatever [new] stone he may desire after [having desired] some other stone, considering this [new one] to be better, and whom God has led astray knowingly, on His part, exalted be He, that is to say, knowing him to be of those who follow misguidance before he was created, and set a seal upon his hearing and his heart, so that he cannot hear guidance or understand it, and laid a covering, a darkness, over his sight?, so that he cannot perceive guidance (here one should understand as implied the second direct object of [the verb] a-ra’ayta, ‘have you seen’, namely: a-yahtadī, ‘can he find guidance?). So who will guide him after God?, that is to say, after His leading him astray? In other words, he will not find guidance. Will you not then remember?, [will you not then] be admonished? (tadhakkarūna: one of the two tā’ letters [of the original form tatadhakkarūna] has been assimilated with the dhāl).

And they, those who deny the Resurrection, say, ‘There is only, that is to say, [the only] life [is], our life, the one that is, in this world. We die and we live, that is to say, some die, while others are given life by [virtue of] being born, and nothing but time, that is, [nothing but] the passage of time, destroys us’. God, exalted be He, says: Of that, saying, they have no knowledge; they are only making conjectures.

And when Our signs, of the Qur’ān, indicating Our power to resurrect, are recited to them, being clear signs, evident [signs] (bayyinātin, ‘clear signs’, is a circumstantial qualifier), their only argument is to say, ‘Bring us our fathers, alive, if you are being truthful’, [when you say] that we will be resurrected.

Say: ‘God [is the One Who] gives you life, when you are sperm-drops, then makes you die, then gathers you, alive, to the Day of Resurrection, in which there is no doubt; but most people, and these are the one who say the above-mentioned, do not know’.

And to God belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth. And on the day when the Hour sets in (yawma taqūmu’l-sā‘atu is substituted by [the following, yawma’idhin]) on that day the followers of falsehood, the disbelievers, will be losers, that is to say, their loss will become manifest by their ending up in the Fire.

And you will see every community, that is, [all] members of a religion, crouching, on their knees — or [jāthiya means] ‘gathered together’. Every community will be summoned to its record, the record of its deeds and it will be said to them: ‘Today you will be requited for what you used to do, that is, [you will be given] the desert thereof.

This is Our book, the register of [deeds recorded by] the guardian angels, which pronounces against you with truth. Indeed We used to write down, record and preserve, what you used to do’.

So as for those who believed and performed righteous deeds, their Lord will admit them into His mercy, His Paradise. That is the manifest triumph, the clear and evident [triumph].

But as for those who disbelieved, it will be said to them: ‘Were not My signs, [was not] the Qur’ān, recited to you, but you were disdainful, you were arrogant, and were a guilty, a disbelieving, lot?

And when it was said, to you, O disbelievers: “God’s promise, of resurrection, is indeed true, and there is no doubt about the Hour”, (read al-sā‘atu or al-sā‘ata) you said, “We do not know what the Hour is. We only make conjectures (al-Mubarrad said that this actually [means] in nahnu illā nazunnu zannan) and we are by no means certain” ’, that it will come to pass.

And there will appear before them, in the Hereafter, the evils of what they did, in this world, that is to say, the requital thereof, and they will be besieged by, there shall befall [them], what they used to deride, namely, the chastisement [of the Hereafter].

And it will be said: ‘Today We will forget you, We will abandon you in the Fire, just as you forgot the encounter of this day of yours, that is to say, [just as] you neglected to perform [those good] deeds [in preparation] for the encounter with it, and your abode will be the Fire, and you will not have any helpers, [any] protectors therefrom.

That is because you took God’s signs, the Qur’ān, in mockery, and the life of this world deceived you’, to the extent that you said, ‘There is neither Resurrection nor Reckoning’. So today they will not be brought out (read either active yakhrujūna, ‘they will [not] come out’, or passive yukhrajūna, ‘they will [not] be brought out’) of it, of the Fire, nor will they asked to make amends: they will not be asked to [try to] attain the pleasure of their Lord by repenting or being obedient, for such [action] will be of no use then.

So to God belongs [all] praise, the attribution to Him of what is beautiful [in words] for fulfilling His promise regarding the deniers; Lord of the heavens and Lord of the earth, the Lord of the Worlds, the Creator of all that has been mentioned (‘ālam, ‘world’, denotes everything other than God; it is in the plural [‘ālamīn] because of the different types [of beings] in them; rabbi, ‘Lord’, [in the last clause] is a substitution [for the previous ones]).

And to Him belongs [all] grandeur, [all] majesty, in the heavens and the earth (fī’l-samāwāti wa’l-ardi is a circumstantial qualifier), and He is the Mighty, the Wise — as [explained in a similar statement] above.