036 Yaseen

By the Qur’an, full of wisdom,

You [O Muhammad] are indeed one of the messengers,

on a straight path,

[This is] a revelation from the All-Mighty, Most Merciful,

so that you warn a people whose forefathers were not warned, so they are heedless.

The decree [of punishment] has been passed against most of them, for they will not believe.

[It is as if] We have placed shackles around their necks up to their chins, so their heads are forced to remain up,

and We have placed a barrier before them and a barrier behind them, and have blocked their vision so they cannot see[2].

Translation notes: [2] Because of their obstinacy and persistence in disbelief.

It is the same to them whether you warn them or not, they will not believe.

You can only warn one who follows the Reminder[3] and fears the Most Compassionate unseen. So give him glad tidings of forgiveness and a generous reward.

Translation notes: [3] i.e., the Qur’an.

It is We Who give life to the dead, and record what they send forth and what they leave behind, and We keep an account of everything in a clear Record[4].

Translation notes: [4] See footnote 35:11.

Give them an example of the People of the Town when the messengers came to it.

When We sent them two [messengers], but they rejected them, so We strengthened them with a third, and they said, “We are sent to you as messengers.”

They said, “You are no more than human beings like us, and the Most Compassionate has not sent down anything. You are simply lying.”

They said, “Our Lord knows that we are sent to you as messengers.

Our duty is only to convey the message clearly.”

The people said, “We consider you as an evil omen. If you do not desist, we will surely stone you, and we will inflict upon you a painful punishment.”

The messengers said, “Your evil omen is with yourselves [because of your disbelief]. Is it[5] because you are admonished? Rather, you are a people who transgress all bounds.”

Translation notes: [5] i.e., this threat.

A man came from the farthest end of the city, rushing, and said, “O my people, follow the messengers.

Follow those who ask no recompense of you, and who are guided.

Why should I not worship the One Who created me and to Whom you will all be brought back?

Should I take besides Him other gods whose intercession cannot avail me in the least, nor can they come to my rescue, if the Most Compassionate wills to harm me?

Surely I would then be clearly misguided.

I believe in your Lord, so listen to me.”

[But they killed him], so he was told[6], “Enter Paradise.” He said, “If only my people knew[7]

Translation notes: [6] After he was martyred for the sake of Allah. [7] He said so after Allah admitted him into paradise and he saw the pleasures therein.

of how my Lord has forgiven me, and made me among the honored ones.”

After his death, We did not send down any soldiers from heaven against his people, nor would We have done so.

It was no more than a single blast, and immediately they were extinguished.

Alas for the humans! No messenger ever comes to them but they ridicule him.

Do they not see how many generations We destroyed before them who will never come back to them[8]?

Translation notes: [8] i.e., to the life of this world.

Yet all of them will be brought before Us.

There is a sign for them in the dead land: We give it life and produce from it grain for them to eat.

And We have made therein gardens of palm trees and grapevines, and caused springs to gush forth,

so that they may eat of its fruit that was not made by their hands[9]. Will they not then give thanks?

Translation notes: [9] i.e., that which Allah has produced for them without labor on their part.

Glory be to the One Who created all types of things[10] that the earth produces, and of themselves, and of things that they have no knowledge about.

Translation notes: [10] i.e., all species, all things in pairs.

There is another sign for them in the night: We strip from it the daylight, and they are left in darkness.

The sun is running to its determined course. That is the design of the All-Mighty, All-Knowing.

As for the moon, We have determined phases for it, until it becomes like an old palm stalk.

It is not for the sun to catch up with the moon, nor for the night to outstrip the day. Each is floating in its own orbit.

Another sign for them is that We carried their offspring[11] in the loaded Ark,

Translation notes: [11] "Dhurriyyah" (lit., offspring); however, it is used here to denote ancestors (being the offspring of Noah) who were saved from the flood.

and We created for them similar things on which they ride.

If We willed, We could drown them, then there would be no one to respond to their cry, nor could they be rescued,

except by a mercy from Us, leaving them to enjoy for a while.

When it is said to them, “Beware of what is ahead of you and what is behind you[12], so that you may be shown mercy[13].”

Translation notes: [12] Of what awaits you in this life and in the Hereafter, or of the sins of the past and the future. [13] But they ignored the warning.

No sign ever comes to them from their Lord except that they turn away from it.

And when it is said to them, “Spend of what Allah has provided you with”, the disbelievers say to the believers, “Should we feed those whom Allah could feed if He willed? You are clearly misguided!”

They say, “When will this promise come to pass, if you are truthful?”

They are not awaiting but a single Blast that will seize them while they are still disputing[14].

Translation notes: [14] The first blast (lit., a cry or a shriek) of the Trumpet will take them by surprise on the Day of Judgment while they will be disputing in their worldly affairs.

Then they will not be able to make a will, nor will they be able to return to their households.

The Trumpet will be blown[15] [again], and at once they will rush from their graves to their Lord.

Translation notes: [15] i.e., the second blast or blow.

They will say, “Woe to us! Who has resurrected us from our resting place?” [They will be told,] “This is what the Most Compassionate promised, and the messengers told the truth.”

It will only be a single Blast, and at once they will all be brought before Us.

On that Day no soul will be wronged in the least, nor will you be recompensed except for what you used to do.

Indeed, on that Day the people of Paradise will be busy enjoying themselves,

they and their spouses will be reclining on couches in the shade.

They will have therein fruits and all what they ask for[16].

Translation notes: [16] i.e., wish or desire.

“Peace”: a word from a Most Merciful Lord.

“Stand apart [from the believers] this Day, O wicked ones!

Did I not command you, O children of Adam, not to worship Satan, for he is your sworn enemy,

but to worship Me? This is a straight path.

He had already misled great multitudes of you. Did you not then have sense?

This is the Hell that you were promised.

Burn in it Today for your disbelief[17].”

Translation notes: [17] i.e., because you used to disbelieve.

Today We will seal up their mouths, and their hands will speak to Us, and their feet will testify to all what they used to do.

If We willed, We could have taken away their sight, so they would rush to find their way, but then how could they see?

And if We willed, We could have paralyzed them in their places[18], so they could neither move forward nor backward.

Translation notes: [18] i.e., We could turn them into inanimate objects.

Whomsoever We give a long life, We cause his strength to decline[19]. Do they not then understand?

Translation notes: [19] Humans are born weak, then they reach their prime when they are young, then they grow physically and mentally weak when they are old.

We have not taught him poetry, nor is it fitting for him. This is only a Reminder and a clear Qur’an

so that he may warn those who are truly alive[20] and establish the argument against the disbelievers.

Translation notes: [20] In heart and mind, i.e., those who have faith.

Do they not see that We have created for them livestock made by Our Hands, and then they are their owners?

And We have made them subservient to them; some they ride, and from others they eat,

and there are other benefits and drinks therein for them. Will they not then give thanks?

Yet they have taken other gods besides Allah, hoping that they may be helped.

They cannot help them, yet they serve them as their dedicated guards[21].

Translation notes: [21] Or their idols or so-called gods will be assembled to witness the punishment of their worshipers on the Day of Judgment.

Do not let their words grieve you. Surely We know what they conceal and what they reveal.

Does man not see that We have created him from a sperm-drop, then[22] he becomes a clear adversary,

Translation notes: [22] i.e., as soon as he becomes a self-sufficient being.

producing arguments[23] against Us while forgetting his own creation[24]. He says, “Who can give life to the bones after they have crumbled to dust?”

Translation notes: [23] Trying to prove that there is no life after death. [24] That we created him from dead matter to such an extent that he became now a clear disputant before Us.

Say, “The One Who created them in the first place will give life to them, for He has full knowledge of every created being;

the One Who made for you fire out of the green tree, with which you kindle your fires[25].”

Translation notes: [25] It alludes to the "markh" and "‘afār" trees in Arabia, whose green branches if struck against each other, it produces sparks.

Is not the One Who created the heavens and earth able to create the like of these [people]? Yes indeed, for He is the Creator of all, the All-Knowing.

Whenever He wills something to be, He only says to it, “Be”, and it is.

So glory be to the One in Whose Hand is the dominion of everything, and to Him you will all be returned.