69al-ḤāqqahThe Inevitable (Due to Truth and Justice)سُورَةُ الحاقة

The [eventful] culmination [of truth and justice]!

What [exactly] is the [eventful] culmination [of truth and justice]?

And is there anything [capable of] having you recognize the [eventful] culmination [of truth and justice]?

[What will help you understand the eventful culmination of truth and justice is the fact that the tribal nations of] Thamūd and ‘Ād lied about [the inevitability of] the panic [on the Day of Resurrection]:

As for [the power structure of] Thamūd, they were destroyed by that overpowering [natural disaster];

And as for [the power structure of] ‘Ād, they were destroyed by a tempest of howling and ferocious winds,

Which He [decisively] imposed upon them for seven nights and eight days — reducing all to nothing; as a result you see the peoples [of those empires] knocked out [of life] as though they were hollow trunks of palm trees —

So, can you see any of their leftover [lives]?

And [then] came Pharaoh and those [power establishments] before him and the fabricated [artificial] communities [of perverted human nature] — [all of them] produced [structured social] aberration,

And treated with contempt their Sustainer’s apostle(s): and so He took them to task in an exceeding manner!

Certainly, when the [flood] waters became overwhelming [at the time of Nūḥ], it was We who carried you in a floating vessel [to safety],

So that We might turn this [incident] into a [historical] reminder for you, and so that [every] attentive ear is sensitive to this [lesson].

[So, what] if the airstream whizzes through the trumpet [heralding the Final Hour] in a single blast,

And the earth and mountains shall be lifted up and slammed [into a new configuration] with a single stroke!

It is then [at that time] that what was bound to happen will happen;

And the sky will split open — for, on that Day it [the sky] will have become frail —

And the angelic ethos will be [located] at its far distances, and, above them [intelligent beings], the [divine] seat of power belonging to your Sustainer will be carried on that Day by eight.

On that day [you all] will appear [for accountability]: none of your [worldly] efforts shall go unnoticed.

Now, as for he who has been handed his record [of worldly deeds] in his right hand [of honor blessings, he will say], “Come everyone! Read my particular record!

“Indeed, I had a strong feeling that I was one day going to come upon my account [of deeds]!”

Thus, he is [now] in a very pleasing standard of living,

In a soaring paradise,

Its fruits within easy reach,

[Wherein everyone attaining this state of felicity will be told], “Eat and drink; all is yours to be savored owing to what you have devoted from your past [when you were on earth] into the future [where you are now].

But as for him who has been given his record [of worldly deeds] in his left hand [of banes], he will say [with regrets], “Oh, I wish I would have never been given my record [of worldly deeds],

“And [I wish I would] have never known [the results of] my account [of earthly deeds]!

“Oh, how I wish this [my loss of earthly life] was the end of it all!

“Of no benefit to me was my money [and wealth],

“[And] detrimental to me was my own [worldly] power of authority!”

[After these quick internal thoughts of the condemned, the following words will be heard], “Seize him, and leash [shackle] him,

“And, after that, let him heat up in the inferno [of Hell],

“And, thereafter, compel him into a concatenation [of suffering] with measures of countless [painful] cycles:

“[Because] he definitely did not obligate himself to Allah, the Supreme,

“And did not insist on feeding the needy [who are worthy of fellow-human assistance]:

“Consequently, he, today, has no close friend,

“Nor any food except for [human] excretion,

“Which is gulped down only by [those who are] criminal sinners!”

I [Allah] need not affirm [the truth about revelation and prophet] by [pointing out] what you see and grasp [of existence],

As well as [by pointing to] what you cannot see and grasp [of existence]!

Behold, this [Qur’an] is the [transmitted] proclamation of a decent apostle,

And [the Qur’an] is not the utterance of a poet, however disinclined you may be to believe [in Allah, the Prophet, and scripture],

And nor is it the speech of a psychic, however disinclined you may be to take it [the Qur’an] to heart:

[Rather, it is] a revelation made accessible by the Sustainer of all the worlds.

And if he [Muhammad] were to superimpose some [of his] words over Ours,

We would have subjected him to [the sway of] the right force,

And would indeed have ruptured his life-vein,

And there is none of you who could stand between him and such [a fate]!

And, verily, this [Qur’an] is a wakefulness for those who are in cautious positions [regarding Our power and authority].

And, behold, We do know that from among you there are those who assert lies [about Allah, the Qur’an, and the Prophet]:

Though, indeed, it [the rejection of this Qur’an and its facts] will [eventually] turn out to be a source of bitter regret for the God-deniers —

For, verily, it [the Qur’an] is truth and justice borne in the certitude [of Allah and His Prophet]!

Extol, therefore, the name of your Supreme Sustainer!