Surah 38. Sad

hell will they have to endure - and how vile a resting-place!

  - Mohammad Asad

- hell, that is! In which they will burn - the worst abode.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Hell, where they will burn. What an evil place to rest!

  - Mustafa Khattab

Hell, where they will burn, an evil resting place.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Hell! They will burn therein an evil bed (indeed to lie on)! ⁴²¹²

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. xiv. 29. This continues the parallel contrast to the state of the Blessed already described.

This, [then, for them-] so let them taste it: burning despair and ice-cold darkness

  - Mohammad Asad

Such will it be the reward for the wrongdoers. So they will taste scalding water, festering blood (pus)

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Let them then taste this: boiling water and 'oozing' pus,

  - Mustafa Khattab

Here is a boiling and an ice cold draught, so let them taste it,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Yea such! Then shall they taste it a boiling fluid and a fluid dark murky intensely cold! ⁴²¹³

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. x. 4, and n. 1390. The conjunction of the boiling fluid with the dark, murky, intensely cold fluid heightenes the effect of the Penalty. In place of harmony, there is the discord of extreme opposites. And the discord is not confined to this: it runs through the whole idea of Hell. See the next verse.

and coupled with it, further [suffering] of a similar nature.⁴⁷

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "of its kind": i.e., corresponding in intensity to what the Qur'an describes as hamim and ghassaq. For my rendering of hamim as "burning despair", see surah {6}, note [62]. The term ghassaq, on the other hand, is derived from the verb ghasaqa, "it became dark" or "intensely dark" (Taj al-'Arus); thus, al-ghasiq denotes "black darkness" and, tropically, "the night" or, rather, "the black night". According to some authorities, the form ghassaq signifies "intense [or "icy"] cold". A combination of these two meanings gives us the concept of the "ice-cold darkness" of the spirit which, together with "burning despair" (hamim), will characterize the suffering of inveterate sinners in the life to come. All other interpretations of the term ghasseq are purely speculative and, therefore, irrelevant.

and other things of the same sort.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

and other torments of the same sort!

  - Mustafa Khattab

And other (torment) of the kind in pairs (the two extremes)!

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And other Penalties of a similar kind to match them!

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

[And they will say to one another: "Do you see] this crowd of people who rushed headlong [into sin] with you?⁴⁸ No welcome to them! Verily, they [too] shall have to endure the fire!⁴⁹

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., "people whom you had seduced, and who thereupon blindly followed you": an apostrophe stressing the double responsibility of the seducers.

In Arabic usage, the phrase "no welcome to them" or "to you" (la marhaban bihim, resp. bikum) is equivalent to a curse. In this context - carried on into the next verse - it expresses a mutual disavowal of the seducers and the seduced.

It will be said to the ringleaders; "Here are your troops being thrown headlong with you. They are not welcomed here; for they are going to burn in the hellfire.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

'The misleaders will say to one another,' 'Here is a crowd 'of followers' being thrown in with us. They are not welcome, 'for' they 'too' will burn in the Fire.'¹

  - Mustafa Khattab

 Meaning, they are not welcome since their presence in Hell with us will not benefit us in anyway.

Here is an army rushing blindly with you. (Those who are already in the fire say): No word of welcome for them. Lo! they will roast at the Fire.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Here is a troop rushing headlong with you! No welcome for them! Truly they shall burn in the Fire! ⁴²¹⁴

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The wonder is that so many people should embrace Evil, and in so much hurry and eagerness! Here they may be welcomed by the leaders of Evil, but in the final state it will be the opposite of welcome. They will be followed with reproaches and curses.

[And] they [who had been seduced] will exclaim: "Nay, but it is you! No welcome to you! It is you who have prepared this for us: and how vile a state to abide in!"

  - Mohammad Asad

The followers shall say to their miss guided leaders: "But you! There is no welcome for you either! It was you who have brought us to this end. Such an evil abode."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

The followers will respond, 'No! You are not welcome! You brought this upon us. What an evil place for settlement!'

  - Mustafa Khattab

They say: Nay, but you (misleaders), for you there is no word of welcome. Ye prepared this for us (by your misleading). Now hapless is the plight.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

(The followers shall cry to the misleaders:) "Nay ye (too)! No welcome for you! It is ye who have brought this upon us! Now evil is (this) place to stay in!" ⁴²¹⁵

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

It is the nature of Evil to shift the blame on to others. The followers will reproach the leaders, but none can escape personal responsibility for his own acts and deeds!

[And] they will pray: "O our Sustainer! Whoever has prepared this for us. double Thou his suffering in the fire!"⁵⁰

  - Mohammad Asad

Cf. 7:38 (and the corresponding notes [28] and [29]) as well as {33:67-68}.

Then they will pray: "Our Rabb, inflict on those who brought this fate upon us double punishment in the fire."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Adding, 'Our Lord! Whoever brought this upon us, double their punishment in the Fire.'

  - Mustafa Khattab

They say: Our Lord! Whoever did prepare this for Us, oh, give him double portion of the Fire!

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

They will say: "Our Lord! Whoever brought this upon us add to him a double Penalty in the fire!" ⁴²¹⁶

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. vii. 38, and n. 1019. See also xi. 20. The evil ones now vent their spite on others. Here they ask for a double penalty for their misleaders, but they forget their own personal responsibility. In the next verse, they express their surprise that others have escaped the torments, which they themselves have earned!

And they will add: "How is it that we do not see [here any of the] men whom we were wont to count among the wicked,

  - Mohammad Asad

Then they will say to one another: "But why do we not see those whom we deemed wicked

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

The tyrants will ask 'one another', 'But why do we not see those we considered to be lowly?

  - Mustafa Khattab

And they say: What aileth us that we behold not men whom we were wont to count among the wicked?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And they will say: "What has happened to us that we see not men whom we used to number among the bad ones? ⁴²¹⁷

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The bad ones: i.e., the ones whom they (evil ones) ridiculed as fools sure to come to an evil end, because they refused to join in with the evil ones in their plots. The values are now reversed. The good ones are among the Blessed, and are not to be seen in the "Bed of Misery". The ridicule is now against the evil ones.

[and] whom we made the target of our derision?⁵¹ Or is it that [they are here, and] our eyes have missed them?"

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., the prophets and the righteous, who - as the Qur'an points out in many places - have always been derided by people enamoured of the life of this world and, therefore, averse to all moral exhortation.

and whom we use to ridicule? Or have our eyesight failed to notice them?"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Were we wrong in mocking them 'in the world'?¹ Or do our eyes 'just' fail to see them 'in the Fire'?'

  - Mustafa Khattab

 In other words, did we underestimate them?

Did we take them (wrongly) for a laughing-stock, or have our eyes missed them?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

"Did we treat them (as such) in ridicule or have (our) eyes failed to perceive them?"

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Such, behold, will in truth be the [confusion and] mutual wrangling of the people of the fire!

  - Mohammad Asad

Surely, this is the very truth: the people in the hellfire will argue just like that.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

This dispute between the residents of the Fire will certainly come to pass.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Lo! that is very truth: the wrangling of the dwellers in the Fire.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Truly that is just and fitting the mutual recriminations of the People of the Fire! ⁴²¹⁸

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The mutual recriminations and spite are themselves a part of the Penalty, for such feelings increase their unhappiness.

SAY [O Muhammad]: "I am only a warner; and there is no deity whatever save God, the One, who holds absolute sway over all that exists,

  - Mohammad Asad

O Prophet, tell them: "My mission is only as a Warner; there is no divinity except Allah, the One, the Irresistible,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Say, 'O Prophet,' 'I am only a warner. And there is no god 'worthy of worship' except Allah- the One, the Supreme.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Say (unto them, O Muhammad): I am only a warner, and there is no God save Allah, the One, the Absolute,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Say: "Truly am I a Warner: no god is there but the One Allah Supreme and Irresistible ⁴²¹⁹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. xii. 39, where Joseph preaches to the men in prison. The one supreme Message of importance to mankind was (and is) the Unity of Allah: that He is the Creator and Sustainer of all: that His Will is supreme; that He can carry out His Will without question, and no powers of Evil can defeat it; and that He forgives by His grace again and again. This Message the holy Prophet came to deliver, and he delivered it.

the Sustainer of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them, the Almighty, the All-Forgiving!"

  - Mohammad Asad

the Rabb of the heavens and the earth and all that lies between them, the Almighty, the Forgiver."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

'He is the' Lord of the heavens and the earth and everything in between- the Almighty, Most Forgiving.'

  - Mustafa Khattab

Lord of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them, the Mighty, the Pardoning.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

"The Lord of the heavens and the earth and all between Exalted in Might Able to enforce His will forgiving again and again." ^{4220 4221}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

In n. 2818 to xxii. 40, I have explained the full import of 'Aziz as a title applied to Allah, and I have expressed two of the leading ideas involved, in the two lines here. The argument in this Sura turns upon the contrast between earthly Power and the Divine Power: the one is impotent and the other is supreme.

Gaffar is the emphatic intensive form, and I have accordingly translated it as "forgiving again and again". Cf. xx. 82.

Say: "This is a message tremendous:

  - Mohammad Asad

Say: "This is a supreme message:

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Say, 'This 'Quran' is momentous news,

  - Mustafa Khattab

Say: It is tremendous tidings

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Say: "That is a message supreme (above all)

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

[how can] you turn away from it?"

  - Mohammad Asad

yet you pay no heed to it."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

from which you 'pagans' are turning away.'

  - Mustafa Khattab

Whence ye turn away!

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

"From which ye do turn away! ⁴²²²

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The Message which is of supreme import to mankind,-from that they turn away. Instead of profiting by it, they turn away to side issues, or unprofitable speculation: such as: what is the origin of Evil; when will Judgment come? etc.

[Say, O Muhammad:] "No knowledge would I have had of [what passed among] the host on high when they argued [against the creation of man],⁵²

  - Mohammad Asad

For the allegorical contention of the angels ("the host on high") against the creation of man, see 2:30 ff. and the corresponding notes [22-24]. The allegory of man's creation, of God's command to the angels to "prostrate themselves" before the new creature, and of lblis' refusal to do so appears in the Qur'an six times ({2:30-34}, 7:11 ff., {15:28-44}, {17:61-65}, 18:50 , and {38:69-85}) each time with an accent on a different aspect of this allegory. In the present instance (which is undoubtedly the earliest in the chronology of revelation) it is connected with the statement, in 2:31 , that God "imparted unto Adam the names of all things", i.e., endowed man with the faculty of conceptual thinking (see note [23] on 2:31 ) and, thus, with the ability to discern between what is true and what false. Since he possesses this faculty, man has no excuse for not realizing God's existence and oneness - the "message tremendous" referred to in the preceding passage.

Also say: "I have no knowledge of that time when the exalted chiefs disputed among themselves.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

'And say,' 'I had no knowledge of the highest assembly 'in heaven' when they differed 'concerning Adam'.¹

  - Mustafa Khattab

 When the angels obeyed Allah’s orders to prostrate before Adam, whereas Satan refused to comply.

I had no knowledge of the Highest Chiefs when they disputed;

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

"No knowledge have I of the Chiefs on high when they discuss (matters) among themselves. ⁴²²³

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The hierarchy of angels in Heaven, discuss questions of high import in the Universe. Those are not necessarily revealed to men, except in so far as it is good for men to know, as in verses 71-85 below. But the chief thing for man is to know that Allah is Most Merciful, that He forgives again and again, and that Evil has no power over those who trust in Allah.

had it not been revealed unto me [by God] - to no other end than that l might convey [unto you] a plain warning"⁵³

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "otherwise than that I be (illa annama ana) a plain warner" - i.e., of the prospect of spiritual self-destruction inherent in a wilful disregard of the fact of God's existence and oneness, which is the core of all religious cognition and, hence, of all true prophethood.

I am informed about all this through a revelation because I am assigned the mission of a plain Warner."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

What is revealed to me is that I am only sent with a clear warning.'

  - Mustafa Khattab

It is revealed unto me only that I may be a plain warner.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

"Only this has been revealed to me: that I am to give warning plainly and publicly." ⁴²²⁴

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Two things are implied in Mubin: (1) that the warning should be clear and perspicuous; there should be no mincing of matters, no ambiguity, no compromise with evil, vii. 184; (2) that the warning should be delivered publicly, before all people, in spite of opposition and persecution, xxvi. 115. Both these ideas I have tried to express in this passage.