English Translation and Commentary of the Holy Quran (2010)
by Maulana Muhammad Ali
Chapter 52: At-Tur — The Mountain (Revealed at Makkah: 2 sections, 49 verses)
Section 1 (Verses 52:1–52:28): Success of the Faithful
Translation:
بِسۡمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِیۡمِ
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
وَ الطُّوۡرِ ۙ﴿۱﴾
وَ کِتٰبٍ مَّسۡطُوۡرٍ ۙ﴿۲﴾
52:2 And a Book written
فِیۡ رَقٍّ مَّنۡشُوۡرٍ ۙ﴿۳﴾
52:3 on unfolded vellum!
وَّ الۡبَیۡتِ الۡمَعۡمُوۡرِ ۙ﴿۴﴾
52:4 And the frequented House,
وَ السَّقۡفِ الۡمَرۡفُوۡعِ ۙ﴿۵﴾
52:5 and the elevated canopy,
وَ الۡبَحۡرِ الۡمَسۡجُوۡرِ ۙ﴿۶﴾
52:6 and the swollen sea!
اِنَّ عَذَابَ رَبِّکَ لَوَاقِعٌ ۙ﴿۷﴾
52:7 The punishment of your Lord will surely come1 —
مَّا لَہٗ مِنۡ دَافِعٍ ۙ﴿۸﴾
52:8 there is none to avert it;
یَّوۡمَ تَمُوۡرُ السَّمَآءُ مَوۡرًا ۙ﴿۹﴾
52:9 on the day when the heaven will be in a state of commotion,
وَّ تَسِیۡرُ الۡجِبَالُ سَیۡرًا ﴿ؕ۱۰﴾
52:10 and the mountains will pass away, fleeing.2
فَوَیۡلٌ یَّوۡمَئِذٍ لِّلۡمُکَذِّبِیۡنَ ﴿ۙ۱۱﴾
52:11 Woe on that day to the deniers,
الَّذِیۡنَ ہُمۡ فِیۡ خَوۡضٍ یَّلۡعَبُوۡنَ ﴿ۘ۱۲﴾
52:12 who amuse themselves by idle talk.
یَوۡمَ یُدَعُّوۡنَ اِلٰی نَارِ جَہَنَّمَ دَعًّا ﴿ؕ۱۳﴾
52:13 The day when they are driven to hell-fire with violence.
ہٰذِہِ النَّارُ الَّتِیۡ کُنۡتُمۡ بِہَا تُکَذِّبُوۡنَ ﴿۱۴﴾
52:14 This is the Fire, which you used to deny.
اَفَسِحۡرٌ ہٰذَاۤ اَمۡ اَنۡتُمۡ لَا تُبۡصِرُوۡنَ ﴿ۚ۱۵﴾
52:15 Is it magic or do you not see?
اِصۡلَوۡہَا فَاصۡبِرُوۡۤا اَوۡ لَا تَصۡبِرُوۡا ۚ سَوَآءٌ عَلَیۡکُمۡ ؕ اِنَّمَا تُجۡزَوۡنَ مَا کُنۡتُمۡ تَعۡمَلُوۡنَ ﴿۱۶﴾
52:16 Burn in it; then bear (it) patiently, or do not bear (it), it is the same to you. You are recompensed only for what you did.
اِنَّ الۡمُتَّقِیۡنَ فِیۡ جَنّٰتٍ وَّ نَعِیۡمٍ ﴿ۙ۱۷﴾
52:17 The dutiful will be surely in Gardens and bliss,
فٰکِہِیۡنَ بِمَاۤ اٰتٰہُمۡ رَبُّہُمۡ ۚ وَ وَقٰہُمۡ رَبُّہُمۡ عَذَابَ الۡجَحِیۡمِ ﴿۱۸﴾
52:18 rejoicing because of what their Lord has given them; and their Lord saved them from the punishment of the burning Fire.
کُلُوۡا وَ اشۡرَبُوۡا ہَنِیۡٓـًٔۢا بِمَا کُنۡتُمۡ تَعۡمَلُوۡنَ ﴿ۙ۱۹﴾
52:19 Eat and drink with pleasure for what you did,
مُتَّکِئِیۡنَ عَلٰی سُرُرٍ مَّصۡفُوۡفَۃٍ ۚ وَ زَوَّجۡنٰہُمۡ بِحُوۡرٍ عِیۡنٍ ﴿۲۰﴾
52:20 reclining on thrones set in lines, and We shall join them to pure, beautiful ones.3
وَ الَّذِیۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡا وَ اتَّبَعَتۡہُمۡ ذُرِّیَّتُہُمۡ بِاِیۡمَانٍ اَلۡحَقۡنَا بِہِمۡ ذُرِّیَّتَہُمۡ وَ مَاۤ اَلَتۡنٰہُمۡ مِّنۡ عَمَلِہِمۡ مِّنۡ شَیۡءٍ ؕ کُلُّ امۡرِیًٔۢ بِمَا کَسَبَ رَہِیۡنٌ ﴿۲۱﴾
52:21 And those who believe and whose offspring follow them in faith — We unite with them their offspring and We shall not deprive them of any of their work. Every man is pledged for what he does.4
وَ اَمۡدَدۡنٰہُمۡ بِفَاکِہَۃٍ وَّ لَحۡمٍ مِّمَّا یَشۡتَہُوۡنَ ﴿۲۲﴾
52:22 And We shall aid them with fruit and flesh, as they desire.
یَتَنَازَعُوۡنَ فِیۡہَا کَاۡسًا لَّا لَغۡوٌ فِیۡہَا وَ لَا تَاۡثِیۡمٌ ﴿۲۳﴾
52:23 They pass therein from one to another a cup, in which there is neither idle talk, nor sin.5
وَ یَطُوۡفُ عَلَیۡہِمۡ غِلۡمَانٌ لَّہُمۡ کَاَنَّہُمۡ لُؤۡلُؤٌ مَّکۡنُوۡنٌ ﴿۲۴﴾
52:24 And round them go boys of theirs as if they were hidden pearls.6
وَ اَقۡبَلَ بَعۡضُہُمۡ عَلٰی بَعۡضٍ یَّتَسَآءَلُوۡنَ ﴿۲۵﴾
52:25 And they will advance to each other, questioning —
قَالُوۡۤا اِنَّا کُنَّا قَبۡلُ فِیۡۤ اَہۡلِنَا مُشۡفِقِیۡنَ ﴿۲۶﴾
52:26 saying: Surely we feared before on account of our families.7
فَمَنَّ اللّٰہُ عَلَیۡنَا وَ وَقٰىنَا عَذَابَ السَّمُوۡمِ ﴿۲۷﴾
52:27 But Allah has been gracious to us and He has saved us from the punishment of the hot wind.
اِنَّا کُنَّا مِنۡ قَبۡلُ نَدۡعُوۡہُ ؕ اِنَّہٗ ہُوَ الۡبَرُّ الرَّحِیۡمُ ﴿٪۲۸﴾
52:28 Surely we called upon Him before. Surely He is the Benign, the Merciful.
Commentary:
- Verses 1–6 draw attention to parallels in the revelations of Moses and the Holy Prophet Muhammad. The mount in the one case is Mt. Sinai, and in the other the mount Hira, the Book stands for the Torah in the one case and the Quran in the other; the House that is frequented and the elevated canopy refer, on the one hand, to the tabernacle raised by Moses for the Israelites as a sacred place, where they worshipped God and offered sacrifices, and on the other to the Sacred House at Makkah, which was to be the centre of the Muslims of all nations, all countries, and all ages, and where they were to offer sacrifices. The swollen sea represents the sea which brought destruction to Pharaoh and his armies, while the Holy Prophet’s enemies are told in the next verse that the punishment of their Lord would as surely overtake them on land as it overtook the enemies of Moses in the swollen sea. The whole passage draws attention to the close similarity of the revelations of Moses and the Holy Prophet, and warns the disbelievers that their power will be brought to naught, as it was in the case of Pharaoh. ↩
- The great transformation that was to be brought about by the Holy Prophet Muhammad, the sweeping away of the old order of superstition, ignorance and vice, and its replacement by light, learning and righteousness, the overthrow of a wicked generation and the ushering in of a new era, is here represented as the commotion of the heaven and the passing away of the mountains; see 20:105. ↩
- Two points here must be borne in mind. Firstly, paradise is a place for faithful women as well as for faithful men, and hence the Quran often speaks of the faithful as being in paradise with their wives; see 13:23, 36:56, 40:8 and 43:70. Secondly, the blessings of paradise are alike for women and men, there being not the least difference in this respect between the two sexes; see 4:124, 9:72 and 57:12. As to what is meant by “pure, beautiful ones” (in Arabic ḥūr and ‘īn), wherever blessings of paradise are spoken of, these are nothing but physical manifestations of the spiritual blessings which the doers of good enjoy in this life too. The gardens, trees, rivers, milk, honey, fruits and numerous other blessings spoken of as being met with in paradise are not things of this life. See further 32:17 footnote. Thus the “pure, beautiful ones” are not actually the beautiful women of this life but these are heavenly blessings which the righteous women shall have along with the righteous men, for v. 17 plainly says that those who keep their duty will find these blessings. These blessings are described in words which apply to women because the reward spoken of here is one having special reference to the purity of character and the beautiful deeds of the righteous, and it is womanhood which stands for a symbol of purity and beauty. Moreover, note that in Arabic ṣāliḥāt and ṭayyibāt signify good deeds and pure things as well as good women and pure women. ↩
- Those who have done great deeds of sacrifice are united with their offspring because even their children follow their footsteps and do the deeds their fathers did, reaping the benefit of those deeds. Note the clear doctrine of man’s responsibility for his actions: “Every man is pledged for what he does”. ↩
- This cup is therefore entirely of a different nature from what is known in this life. ↩
- These boys may either be the offspring of the faithful mentioned in v. 21, or heavenly blessings of the nature discussed in v. 20 footnote. ↩
- This clearly shows that righteous women will be in paradise along with righteous men. The difference of sex counts for nothing in the sight of Allah. ↩