51DhāriyātThe Soil-Scattering Windsسُورَةُ الذاريات

By the winds that scatter top soil,

And the winds that waft the clouds of precipitation,

And the winds that gently set to sail [vessels on water],

And the [angelic] allocators of [the vital] affair [of human survival]!

Surely what you [the people] have been promised is truthful,

And the [ultimate divine] system is inevitable.

By the firmament and its [precise] orbits!

Verily, you [people in Makkah and elsewhere on earth] have different opinions [about what really matters]:

The contrivances [by which many a one distances himself] away from him [the Prophet, and by extension, the Qur’an] is the responsibility of its bearer!

Doomed [and damned] are those who ascertain baseless suppositions [about Allah, the Prophet, the Qur’an, resurrection, and accountability] —

They who are mindlessly inundated [with their false impressions],

They who [ignorantly] ask, “[So] when is the Day of the Divine System [of truth and justice]?”

[It will be] the Day when they will be in heated discord next to the fire [of Hell],

[And will be told], “Have a taste of [the consequences of] your [earthly discordant] controversy [pertaining to the Final Day and punishment], which you always wanted to happen immediately [when you were back in your earthly world]!”

Indeed, those who were ever on guard [regarding Allah’s prevailing power and ultimate authority] are [now dwelling luxuriously] in gardens and water springs,

Accepting all that their Sustainer gives them [because], verily, in times past [when they were earthlings] they did their best [to oblige the Almighty]:

Slightly sleeping during a short interval of the night,

And fervently asking [Allah] for forgiveness during the last portion of the night,

And [assigning from] their money, wealth, and possessions an entitled [amount] for such as may ask [for financial assistance] and such as may be deprived [and in need].

And on earth there are demonstrations [of Allah’s power and authority] to all who are [divinely] privileged with inner certainty,

As there are [demonstrations of Allah’s power and authority] within your own selves: can you not, thenceforward, think it over?

And in the heaven is [the fount of] your sustenance [on earth] as well as what you have been assured [of reward and punishment]:

For, by the Sustainer of the heaven and earth, it is certainly a matter of truth and justice [that you will live after death] — as sure as the fact that you are able to vocalize words!

Have you [O Muhammad] been privy to the dialogue between Ibrāhīm and his honorable [heavenly] guests?

When they [the angelic guests] paid him a visit with [greetings of] peace, he [Ibrāhīm] replied, “Peace [to you, too]!” — [and thought], “But [to me], you are unfamiliar folks.”

Then he [Ibrāhīm] surreptitiously [and cautiously] went to his household members and brought back [to his guests] a hefty [roasted] calf,

And placed it in front of them, saying, “Will you not eat?”

[And when he realized the guests will not eat], he became worried and alarmed; [but] they [calmed him], saying, “Do not be frightened” — and [then] they gave him the good news of [the birth of] a lad of intense knowledge.

Thereupon his wife [Sarah] came forward hysterically while pressing her face [with trembling hands] and exclaimed, “A barren old woman [like me, having a baby]?!”

They [the angelic guests] answered, “That is the way it is; and that is what your Sustainer decreed — for, indeed, He is the Truly Wise, the Very Knowledgeable!”1

Said [Ibrāhīm], “And what [other important] thing is on your mind, O you [heavenly] messengers?”

They answered, “We have been sent to people who are scandalous [in nature],

“To let loose upon them [as a matter of due punishment] solidified stones from the muck of the earth,

“Designated by your Sustainer [as a reprisal] for those who indulge in the sins [of wasteful life].”

Then We evacuated out [of Lūṭ’s society] those [few] who were faithfully committed [to Allah]:

And except for one dwelling of muslims, We did not find anyone else out of all who were there.

And so, We left therein a demonstration [of Our power and authority] for those who fear the painful torment [that awaits all who veer away from Allah].

And in [the story of] Mūsā [there are illustrations of Our power and attentiveness — for] when We sent him with unambiguous authorization to Pharaoh,

He [Pharaoh] turned to his power structure and said, “[Mūsā is] a magician or a madman.”

Thereupon We took control of him and his troops and We flushed them into the sea: and it was [none but] he who was to blame [for this eradicating punishment].

And [another demonstration of Our power and authority] is in [what happened to] ‘Ād, as We unleashed life-destroying winds against them,

Sparing nothing [with life in it] except that it turned it into an ash-like substance.

And in [the story of the civilization of] Thamūd [too, there are examples of Our “power for justice” and authority of truth], for when they were told, “Enjoy [your temporary hiatus], which will be over in a while,”

They [continued to] abandon their Sustainer’s commands with disdain, whereupon the thunderbolt [of ultimate justice] took them out [of their very existence] as they were looking on:

Thereafter they could not recover and stand on their own, and could never win [when they were in a position inimical to Allah].

And then there was [ample proof of Allah’s mightiness and authority in] the people of Nūḥ [and the way they behaved] in bygone times: they were, indeed, a people of [leadership] degeneration.

And the universe We constructed with many facets of force; and, indeed, it is We who keep expanding it.

And the earth have We padded — and how wonderfully have We cushioned it!

And from everything We have created counterparts, so that you may realize [the creative power of Allah alone].

[Thinking about all this behooves one to listen to the Prophet when he tells him], “Run away [from all of your wrongdoings] to Allah; truly I am assigned by Him to be a clear warner!

“And do not ascribe another divine power-figure alongside Allah: I am, in fact, assigned by Him to be a distinct warner to you.”

And that is the way it has always been: never did an apostle come to those before them [the Arabian mushriks] except that they called him either a sorcerer or a lunatic!

Did they [from the beginning of history all the way down to Muhammad’s time] hand down such an accusation from generation to generation [in a systemic way]? No. Rather they are people of excessive worldly power [which is what they all have in common, and so they confronted the prophets with similar unfounded accusations and responses].

Turn, then, away from them, and you shall incur no blame [for their words and behavior];

But still [try to] raise their consciousness, as an elevated conscience is, indeed, of benefit to committed muslims.

And [tell them that] I have neither created the jinn nor cognizant humans except that they may be compatible with Me.

[That being said], I do not expect any sustenance from them, nor do I expect them to feed Me:

Surely, Allah Himself is the Nurturer, having solid, strong, and sturdy power.

And, verily, justice offenders own their share of contraventions as did their peers [in the historical past]; so let them not be in a haste [to meet their doom].

Thus, woe to the God-deniers on the Day they have been promised [the Day of Accountability and Final Justice].