This is the third of the group of seven Meccan Suras described in the Introduction to Sura 50. It is, like its predecessor, an early Meccan Sura. The points here emphasized are: That Revelation is in accord with all Allah's Signs, including previous Revelations, and that the Hereafter is inevitable, and we must prepare for it.
Summary.-All Signs of Allah, including previous Revelations, point to the inevitable consequences of ill-deeds and good deeds: How can people deny or ignore the Message of Revelation? (Verses 1 to 49 and commentary C.228).
C.228-(Verses 1 to 49)-By the sacred Symbols -- of the Mount Sublime, the Eternal Record on an open Scroll, the House of Worship thronged with men, the Canopy blue of unfathomed heights, and the boundless Ocean with its resistless tidal Swell, -- all acts of men must have their inevitable fruits. New worlds will be born with the Day of Doom: New values established by Allah's Decree. Consumed will be Evil in the fire of Reality: And Good will come to its own -- in personal and social Bliss, but most in the full realization that Allah is good, the Beneficent, the Merciful...Proclaim, then, the praises of the Lord, nor heed the slanders of Ignorance or Spite: For the Lord Who created will cherish; His Plan will overthrow the puny plots of men. Hold firm with patience in Faith in the Hereafter, and sing His praises even in the busy marts of this world, but chiefly in the stillness of the Night and the holy hour of Dawn as the Stars retreat, singing glory to the Maker of their own most glorious Sun.
52:1 SURA 52. Tur, or the Mount. In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. By the Mount (of Revelation);
52:2 By a Decree Inscribed
52:3 In a Scroll unfolded;
52:4 By the much frequented Fane;
52:5 By the Canopy Raised High;
52:6 And by the Ocean filled with Swell; --
52:7 Verily, the Doom of thy Lord will indeed come to pass; --
52:8 There is none can avert it; --
52:9 On the Day when the firmament will be in dreadful commotion,
52:10 And the mountains will fly hither and thither.
52:11 Then woe that Day to those that treat (Truth) as Falsehood; --
52:12 That play (and paddle) in shallow trifles.
52:13 That Day shall they be thrust down to the Fire of Hell, irresistibly.
52:14 "This", it will be said, "Is the Fire, -- which ye were wont deny!
52:15 "Is this then a fake, or is it ye that do not see?
52:16 "Burn ye therein: The same is it to you whether ye bear it with patience, or not: Ye but receive the recompense of your (own) deeds. "
52:17 As to the Righteous, they will be in Gardens, and in Happiness, --
52:18 Enjoying the (Bliss) which their Lord hath bestowed on them, and their Lord shall deliver them from the Penalty of the Fire.
52:19 (To them will be said:) "Eat and drink ye, with profit and health, because of your (good) deeds. "
52:20 They will recline (with ease) on Thrones (of dignity) arranged in ranks; and We shall join them to Companions, with beautiful big and lustrous eyes.
52:21 And those who believe and whose families follow them in Faith, -- to them shall We join their families: Nor shall We deprive them (of the fruit) of aught of their works: (yet) is each individual in pledge for his deeds.
52:22 And We shall bestow on them, of fruit and meat, anything they shall desire.
52:23 They shall there exchange, one with another, a (loving) cup free of frivolity, free of all taint of ill.
52:24 Round them will serve, (devoted) to them, youths (handsome) as Pearls well-guarded.
52:25 They will advance to each other, engaging in mutual enquiry.
52:26 They will say: "Aforetime, we were not without fear for the sake of our people.
52:27 "But Allah has been good to us, and has delivered us from the Penalty of the Scorching Wind.
52:28 "Truly, we did call unto Him from of old: Truly it is He, the Beneficent, the Merciful!
52:29 Section 2. Therefore proclaim thou the praises (of thy Lord): For by the Grace of thy Lord, thou art no (vulgar) soothsayer, nor art thou one possessed.
52:30 Or do they say: -- "A Poet! We await for him some calamity (hatched) by time!"
52:31 Say Thou: "Await ye! -- I too will wait along with you!"
52:32 Is it that their faculties of understanding urge them to this, or are they but a people transgressing beyond bounds?
52:33 Or do they say, "He fabricated the (Message)"? Nay, they have no faith!
52:34 Let them produce a recital like unto it, -- if (it be) they speak the Truth!
52:35 Were they created of nothing, or were they themselves the creators?
52:36 Or did they create the heavens and the earth? Nay, they have no firm belief.
52:37 Or are the Treasures of thy Lord with them, or are they the managers (of affairs)?
52:38 Or have they a ladder, by which they can (climb up to heaven and) listen (to its secrets)? Then let (such a) listener of theirs produce a manifest proof.
52:39 Or has He only daughters and ye have sons?
52:40 Or is it that thou dost ask for a reward, so that they are burdened with a load of debt? --
52:41 Or that the Unseen is in their hands and they write it down?
52:42 Or do they intend a plot (against thee)? But those who defy Allah are themselves involved in a Plot!
52:43 Or have they a god other than Allah? Exalted is Allah far above the things they associate with Him!
52:44 Were they to see a piece of the sky falling (on them), they would (only) say: "Clouds gathered in heaps!"
52:45 So leave them alone until they encounter that Day of theirs, wherein they shall (perforce) swoon (with terror), --
52:46 The Day when their plotting will avail them nothing and no help shall be given them.
52:47 And verily, for those who do wrong, there is another punishment besides this: But most of them understand not.
52:48 Now await in patience the command of thy Lord: For verily thou art in Our eyes: And celebrate the praises of thy Lord the while thou standest forth,
52:49 And for part of the night also praise thou Him, -- and at the retreat of the stars!
