75. Al-Qiyamah

I swear by the Day of Resurrection

By the Day of Resurrection

Nay! I call to witness the Day of Resurrection

And I swear by the reproaching soul1 [to the certainty of resurrection].

and by the self-reproaching soul

Nay, I call to witness the person who shows remorse after wrongdoing. (12:53. Notice the Law taking the first step instantly)

Does man think that We will not assemble his bones?

Does man think that We cannot [resurrect him and] bring his bones together again

Does the human being think that We will not assemble his bones? ((36:78), (37:16). Life goes on without its essence, the 'Self', undergoing disintegration

Yes. [We are] Able [even] to proportion his fingertips.

Indeed, We have the power to restore his very finger tips

Yes indeed, Yes, We have the Power to restore even his finger tips with finger prints

But man desires to continue in sin.1

Yet man wants to deny what is ahead of him

But man is after subverting his own future

He asks, "When is the Day of Resurrection?"

he asks, "When is this Day of Resurrection to be

(Yet) he asks, "When will this Day of Resurrection be

So when vision is dazzled.

But [on that Day], when mortal sight is confounded

But when the sight is dazzled

And the moon darkens.

and the moon is eclipsed

And the moon is darkened. (The banner of the Age of Ignorance bearing the moon logo goes down)

And the sun and the moon are joined,

when the sun and the moon are brought together

And the sun and the moon are brought together. (Persia and Arabia come under one Rule. Sun being the logo on the Persian banner)

Man will say on that Day, "Where is the [place of] escape?"

on that Day man will ask, "Where can I escape

On that Day man will wonder, "Where to flee!" (In this life and in the life to come. Verses 7-10 could easily allude to the merging of the super power of the times, Persia with the newly enlightened Arabia in 642 C.E., 10 years after the exalted Prophet's death)

No! There is no refuge.

But there is nowhere to take refuge

But, nay! No height to mount above the turmoil

To your Lord, that Day, is the [place of] permanence.

on that Day, to your Lord alone is the recourse

Unto your Lord that Day is the resting place

Man will be informed that Day of what he sent ahead1 and kept back.2

On that Day, man will be told of all that he has sent before and what he has left behind

On the Day when man is apprised of all his acts of commission and omission. (All he has done and left undone. All deeds that advanced him and kept him behind)

Rather, man, against himself, will be a witness,1

Indeed, man shall be a witness against himself

Oh, but man is a telling witness against himself

Even if he presents his excuses.

in spite of all the excuses he may offer

Even though he were to put forward all his excuses

Move not your tongue with it, [O Muḥammad], to hasten with it [i.e., recitation of the Qur’ān].

[Prophet], do not move your tongue too fast in your attempt to learn this revelation

(Now whenever you read the verses of the Qur'an) read not in haste stirring your tongue

Indeed, upon Us is its collection [in your heart] and [to make possible] its recitation.

We Ourself shall see to its collection and recital

Behold, it is up to Us to gather it (in your heart) and the reading of it. (He will bless whatever effort we put into learning it)

So when We have recited it [through Gabriel], then follow its recitation.

When We have recited it, follow its words attentively

Thus, when We read it, follow you the reading. (Allah has revealed the Qur'an, and bestowed upon us the faculty of understanding, hence, "When We read it)

Then upon Us is its clarification [to you].

and then, it will be for Us to make its meaning clear

Then, behold! It is for Us to explain it. (The Qur'an is its own best commentary. It explains itself)

No! But you [i.e., mankind] love the immediate

Truly, you love immediate gain

Nay, but you love instant results

And leave [i.e., neglect] the Hereafter.

and neglect the Hereafter

And give little thought to the long term. ('Akhirah' = Hereafter = Life to come = Future = Long term = What follows = Subsequent = Enduring. Tomorrow is today's 'Akhira)

[Some] faces, that Day, will be radiant,

Some faces will be radiant on that Day

Some faces that Day will beam with happiness

Looking at their Lord.1

looking towards their Lord

Looking up to their Lord

And [some] faces, that Day, will be contorted,

and some faces will on that Day be gloomy

And some faces on that Day will be despondent

Expecting that there will be done to them [something] backbreaking.

dreading some great affliction

Expecting a back breaking calamity

No! When it [i.e., the soul] has reached the collar bones1

But when [man's soul] reaches the throat

Nay, when the last breaths come up to the throat

And it is said, "Who will cure [him]?"

and when it is asked: "Could any magician save him now

And those around cry, "Is there any charmer

And he [i.e., the dying one] is certain that it is the [time of] separation

and he knows that it is the time of parting

But he knows that this is the parting

And the leg is wound about the leg,1

when his legs are brought together [when affliction is combined with affliction]

And it is pang upon pang

To your Lord, that Day, will be the procession.1

on that Day he will be driven towards your Lord

That day the drive is to your Lord

And he [i.e., the disbeliever] had not believed, nor had he prayed.

He neither believed nor prayed

For he neither stood by the Truth, nor did he follow it. ('Sal'= To follow, like the runners-up horse closely follows the winner = To closely follow the Commands of Allah)

But [instead], he denied and turned away.

but rejected the Truth and turned away

Rather, he used to deny and turn away

And then he went to his people, swaggering [in pride].

Then he went off to his people, swaggering

And then used to walk back to his folk and his ways gleefully

Woe to you, and woe!

Woe to you, [O man!], yes, woe to you

This is the most befitting for you - now this is the most befitting

Then woe to you, and woe!

Again, woe to you, [O man!], yes, woe to you

Again! This is the most befitting for you - now this is the most befitting. (The impending requital befits the behavior)

Does man think that he will be left neglected?1

Does man, then, think that he is to be left to himself, to go about at will

Does man think he will be left alone like a soundless broken musical string

Had he not been a sperm from semen emitted?

Was he not once a drop of ejaculated semen

Was he not gametes that moved to join

Then he was a clinging clot, and [Allāh] created [his form] and proportioned [him]

which then became a leech-like clot; then God shaped and fashioned him in due proportion

Then he became a zygote. And He shaped and fashioned him in due proportion

And made of him two mates, the male and the female.

fashioning out of him the two sexes, the male and the female

And He has made of humans pairs, male and female

Is not that [Creator] Able to give life to the dead?

Then is He not able to bring the dead back to life

Is not He, then, Able to bring the dead to life