54al-QamarThe Moonسُورَةُ القمر

The [Final] Hour has come near and the Moon [in those concluding times] will have ruptured!

But if they [the deniers of God and the Last Day] were to see such a demonstration [of Allah’s power and authority] they would turn away and say, “This [phenomenon] is an enduring figment of the imagination!” —

For they persist in [stating] their mendacities and in trailing their own [worldly] passions. Yet all [cosmic and earthly affairs] are steadily [non-randomly moving according to a divine program].

And [in the course of time], many notifications came to them [from Allah] — [notifications] with restraining orders [to inhibit their conceit]:

Such [is Our] widespread wisdom [meant to guide them — but as it turns out, Our] warnings were of no benefit [as they declined Our guidelines];

[Hence], steer clear of them [O Prophet]. [There will come] a Day when the [angelic] announcer will summon [social beings] to a thing that is [beyond] abominable,

[And there and then] they emerge from their graves, with their gazes downcast, crowding around as if they were scattered locusts,

Trying to find their way toward the angelic announcer; [thereupon] the deniers of Allah will say, “This is a very grueling Day!”

Before them [the people of Makkah], the people of Nūḥ contradicted [Allah and His messenger], and then turned to refuting Our attendant [Nūḥ] saying, “Crazy is he!” — and so, he was scorned.

Thereupon he [Nūḥ] appealed to his Sustainer [saying], “Of a certainty, I am overpowered; hence, [from here on] You declare victory!”

Subsequently We opened the outlets of the sky with water cascading in inundations and downpours,

And We had the earth burst out with flowing upsurges of subterranean water, and thus did the [water from sky and earth] converge into a purpose foreordained:

And We carried him [over tidal waters] on a vessel [made] of planks and fasteners,

And it sailed with Our supervision — a recompense for him who had been scorned [by the God-deniers].

And We forwarded this event [to future generations] as a demonstration of Our power and authority: who, then, is perceptive [of this lesson]?

Thus, how [overwhelming] is My infliction and [how dire are My] warnings [upon those who warrant them]!

And We, indeed, have made this Qur’an easy to evoke: who, then, is willing to be perceptive [of its intents and purposes]?

[And then], the people of ‘Ād contradicted [Allah and His messenger, Hūd]; [do the mushriks of Makkah realize] how [severe] My infliction was and [how fateful My] warnings were?

Behold, We let loose upon them a screeching whirlwind on a day of unrelenting trouble;

It dislocated people [from their settings] as though they were uprooted palm-trunks:

For, how [severe] was My infliction and [how revelatory were My] warnings?

And We, indeed, have made this Qur’an easy to evoke: who, then, is willing to be perceptive [of its intents and purposes]?

[And the tribal nation of] Thamūd repudiated the warnings [We relayed to them];

[And so], they said, “Are we to follow a solitary [human] individual who is [after all] one of us? For if we do so, we shall be in [a state of] error and absurdity!

“Are we to believe that from among all of us a [divine] awareness has been bestowed upon him [alone]? Rather he is a liar [who feigns revelation] and a person full of himself!”

[Thamūd was told], “They will come to know in the not too distant future who the [real] liar is and who [in fact] is full of himself!

“Behold, [O Prophet Ṣāliḥ], We are sending out to them this she-camel as [an existential] tribulation for them; thus, [O Ṣāliḥ], keep an eye on them, and put up with them patiently.

“And inform them that the water supply [of their society] is to be divided equitably between them [one day for the she-camel and the following day for the general public], each side to consume its own share of water when its turn comes [without infringing on the other side].”

Afterward they summoned their [bully] buddy [to slay the she-camel], and he mustered the audacity and viciously butchered [the animal]:

[See, then], how [timely] My infliction and warnings were.

Behold, We let loose upon them one single blast [of nature to punish them], and they became much like a mulch-man’s chaff and hay.

And, indeed, We have made this Qur’an easy for [purposes of] awareness: so is there anyone attentive [to its objective]?

[So too], the people of [Prophet] Lūṭ refuted the warnings [coming from Us]:

Behold, We unleashed a [stone] twister on them all, except for Lūṭ’s camaraderie [flock], whom We rescued at the wee end of the night,

As a blessing from Us — in such a manner We do reward each who is grateful.

And, indeed, he did warn them of Our all-out assault, but they fallaciously challenged the warnings [We imparted to them];

And they even tried to persuade him [Lūṭ] to give up his guests [for their perverted sexual gratification], whereupon We superimposed over their eyes [an inability to observe and perceive, but eventually they got Our message], “So experience My infliction and [the consequences of My] warnings!”

And, indeed, steady suffering befell them, beginning early in the day:

[And Lūṭ’s people were told], “Experience, then, My infliction and [the consequences of My] warnings [that you disregarded when they were stated to you].”

And, indeed, We have made this Qur’an easy for [purposes of] awareness: so is there anyone attentive [to its objectives]?

And, to be sure, [divine] warnings did come to the affiliates of Pharaoh;

They, too, refuted all Our authoritative power demonstrations, and so We took them to task in a manner that befits a grand almighty [God].

Are, then, your [Qurayshī] deniers of Allah’s power and authority better off than those [deceased nations and civilizations]? Or have you an acquittal [stated] in books of [divine] wisdom?

Or do they [the Qurayshī operational God-deniers] say, “We are a consolidated bloc destined to victory”?

[But thus it is]: the crowd [of such characters] shall be defeated and they shall retreat fleeing!

Moreover, their appointment [with Us] shall [eventually] be the Final Hour — and the Final Hour is most disturbing and most bitter:

For, behold, the criminals [who violated their compact with Allah in their earthly life] shall be cast down into a situation of error and inferno!

On the Day when they shall be dragged in the Fire on their faces, [they will be told], “Experience the flair of the Incinerator.”

Behold, We have created everything in proper proportionality;

And Our ordaining and command [of anything] is but one [word and deed], like a momentary visual glance [of the eye].

And [in this way] We did indeed destroy your equivalents [nations and civilizations in times past]: so is there anyone attentive [to this fact]?

And everything [wrong] they did had already been [pointed out to them] in the [ancient] books of divine wisdom;

And everything [they did], be it small or big, has been recorded [in a divine register].

Verily, those who were on their guard [concerning Allah’s power and authority] will be [in the course of time] located in [a paradise of] gardens and running waters,

In a seating of truth, in the presence of a Sovereign capable of it all.