Sacred Texts  Islam  Index 
Hypertext Quran  Unicode Quran  Palmer Part II (SBE09)  Yusuf Ali  Rodwell 
Previous  Next 

The Meaning of the Glorious Qur'ân, by M.M. Pickthall, at sacred-texts.com

36. Ya Sin: Ya Sin

1 Ya Sin.

2 By the wise Qur'an,

3 Lo! thou art of those sent

4 On a straight path,

5 A revelation of the Mighty, the Merciful,

6 That thou mayst warn a folk whose fathers were not warned, so they are heedless.

7 Already hath the judgment, (for their infidelity) proved true of most of them, for they believe not.

8 Lo! We have put on their necks carcans reaching unto the chins, so that they are made stiff-necked.

9 And We have set a bar before them and a bar behind them, and (thus) have covered them so that they see not.

10 Whether thou warn them or thou warn them not, it is alike for them, for they believe not.

11 Thou warnest only him who followeth the Reminder and feareth the Beneficent in secret. To him bear tidings of forgiveness and a rich reward.

12 Lo! We it is Who bring the dead to life. We record that which they send before (them, and their footprints. And all things We have kept in a clear Register.

13 Coin for them a similitude: The people of the city when those sent (from Allah) came unto them;

14 When We sent unto them twain, and they denied them both, so We reinforced them with a third, and they said: Lo! we have been sent unto you.

15 They said: Ye are but mortals like unto us. The Beneficent hath naught revealed. Ye do but lie!

16 They answered: Our Lord knoweth that we are indeed sent unto you,

17 And our duty is but plain conveyance (of the message).

18 (The people of the city) said: We augur ill of you. If ye desist not, we shall surely stone you, and grievous torture will befall you at our hands.

19 They said: Your evil augury be with you! Is it because ye are reminded (of the truth) ? Nay, but ye are froward folk!

20 And there came from the uttermost part of the city a man running. He cried: O my people! Follow those who have been sent!

21 Follow those who ask of you no fee, and who are rightly guided.

22 For what cause should I not serve Him Who hath created me, and unto Whom ye will be brought back ?

23 Shall I take (other) gods in place of Him when, if the Beneficent should wish me any harm, their intercession will avail me naught, nor can they save ?

24 Then truly I should be in error manifest.

25 Lo! I have believed in your Lord, so hear me!

26 It was said (unto him): Enter paradise. He said: Would that my people knew

27 With what (munificence) my Lord hath pardoned me and made me of the honoured ones!

28 We sent not down against his people after him a host from heaven, nor do We ever send.

29 It was but one Shout, and lo! they were extinct.

30 Ah, the anguish for the bondmen! Never came there unto them a messenger but they did mock him!

31 Have they not seen how many generations We destroyed before them, which indeed returned not unto them;

32 But all, without exception, will be brought before Us.

33 A token unto them is the dead earth. We revive it, and We bring forth from it grain so that they eat thereof;

34 And We have placed therein gardens of the date-palm and grapes, and We have caused springs of water to gush forth therein,

35 That they may eat of the fruit thereof, and their hands made it not. Will they not, then, give thanks ?

36 Glory be to Him Who created all the sexual pairs, of that which the earth groweth, and of themselves, and of that which they know not!

37 A token unto them is night. We strip it of the day, and lo! they are in darkness.

38 And the sun runneth on unto a resting-place for him. That is the measuring of the Mighty, the Wise.

39 And for the moon We have appointed mansions till she return like an old shrivelled palm-leaf.

40 It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, nor doth the night outstrip the day. They float each in an orbit.

41 And a token unto them is that We bear their offspring in the laden ship,

42 And have created for them of the like thereof whereon they ride.

43 And if We will, We drown them, and there is no help for them, neither can they be saved;

44 Unless by mercy from Us and as comfort for a while.

45 When it is said unto them: Beware of that which is before you and that which is behind you, that haply ye may find mercy (they are heedless).

46 Never came a token of the tokens of their Lord to them, but they did turn away from it!

47 And when it is said unto them: Spend of that wherewith Allah hath provided you, those who disbelieve say unto those who believe: Shall we feed those whom Allah, if He willed, would feed ? Ye are in naught else than error manifest.

48 And they say: When will this promise be fulfilled, if ye are truthful ?

49 They await but one Shout, which will surprise them while they are disputing.

50 Then they cannot make bequest, nor can they return to their own folk.

51 And the trumpet is blown and lo! from the graves they hie unto their Lord,

52 Crying: Woe upon us! Who hath raised us from our place of sleep ? This is that which the Beneficent did promise, and the messengers spoke truth.

53 It is but one Shout, and behold them brought together before Us!

54 This day no soul is wronged in aught; nor are ye requited aught save what ye used to do.

55 Lo! those who merit paradise this day are happily employed,

56 They and their wives, in pleasant shade, on thrones reclining;

57 Theirs the fruit (of their good deeds) and theirs (all) that they ask;

58 The word from a Merciful Lord (for them) is: Peace!

59 But avaunt ye, O ye guilty, this day!

60 Did I not charge you, O ye sons of Adam, that ye worship not the devil - Lo! he is your open foe! -

61 But that ye worship Me ? That was the right path.

62 Yet he hath led astray of you a great multitude. Had ye then no sense ?

63 This is hell which ye were promised (if ye followed him).

64 Burn therein this day for that ye disbelieved.

65 This day We seal up their mouths, and their hands speak out to Us and their feet bear witness as to what they used to earn.

66 And had We willed, We verily could have quenched their eyesight so that they should struggle for the way. Then how could they have seen ?

67 And had We willed, We verily could have fixed them in their place, making them powerless to go forward or turn back.

68 He whom we bring unto old age, We reverse him in creation (making him go back to weakness after strength). Have ye then no sense ?

69 And We have not taught him (Muhammad) poetry, nor is it meet for him. This is naught else than a Reminder and a Lecture making plain,

70 To warn whosoever liveth, and that the word may be fulfilled against the disbelievers.

71 Have they not seen how We have created for them of Our handiwork the cattle, so that they are their owners,

72 And have subdued them unto them, so that some of them they have for riding, some for food ?

73 Benefits and (divers) drinks have they from them. Will they not then give thanks ?

74 And they have taken (other) gods beside Allah, in order that they may be helped.

75 It is not in their power to help them; but they (the worshippers) are unto them a host in arms.

76 So let not their speech grieve thee (O Muhammad). Lo! We know what they conceal and what proclaim.

77 Hath not man seen that We have created him from a drop of seed ? Yet lo! he is an open opponent.

78 And he hath coined for Us a similitude, and hath forgotten the fact of his creation, saying: Who will revive these bones when they have rotted away ?

79 Say: He will revive them Who produced them at the first, for He is Knower of every creation,

80 Who hath appointed for you fire from the green tree, and behold! ye kindle from it.

81 Is not He Who created the heavens and the earth Able to create the like of them ? Aye, that He is! for He is the All-Wise Creator,

82 But His command, when He intendeth a thing, is only that He saith unto it: Be! and it is.

83 Therefor Glory be to Him in Whose hand is the dominion over all things! Unto Him ye will be brought back.

Next: 37. as-Saffat: The Rangers