51 - The Winnowing Winds - Adh-Dhāriyāt

By those that winnow with a winnowing

And those that bear the burden (of the rain)

And those that glide with ease (upon the sea)

And those who distribute (blessings) by command,

Lo! that wherewith ye are threatened is indeed true,

And lo! the judgment will indeed befall.

By the heaven full of paths,

Lo! ye, forsooth, are of various opinion (concerning the truth).

He is made to turn away from it who is (himself) averse.

Accursed be the conjecturers

Who are careless in an abyss!

They ask: When is the Day of Judgment?

(It is) the day when they will be tormented at the Fire,

(And it will be said unto them): Taste your torment (which ye inflicted). This is what ye sought to hasten.

Lo! those who keep from evil will dwell amid gardens and watersprings,

Taking that which their Lord giveth them; for lo! aforetime they were doers of good;

They used to sleep but little of the night,

And ere the dawning of each day would seek forgiveness,

And in their wealth the beggar and the outcast had due share.

And in the earth are portents for those whose faith is sure.

And (also) in yourselves. Can ye then not see?

And in the heaven is your providence and that which ye are promised;

And by the Lord of the heavens and the earth, it is the truth, even as (it is true) that ye speak.

Hath the story of Abraham's honoured guests reached thee (O Muhammad)?

When they came in unto him and said: Peace! he answered, Peace! (and thought): Folk unknown (to me).

Then he went apart unto his housefolk so that they brought a fatted calf;

And he set it before them, saying: Will ye not eat?

Then he conceived a fear of them. They said: Fear not! and gave him tidings of (the birth of) a wise son.

Then his wife came forward, making moan, and smote her face, and cried: A barren old woman!

They said: Even so saith thy Lord. Lo! He is the Wise, the Knower.

(Abraham) said: And (afterward) what is your errand, O ye sent (from Allah)?

They said: Lo! we are sent unto a guilty folk,

That we may send upon them stones of clay,

Marked by thy Lord for (the destruction of) the wanton.

Then we brought forth such believers as were there.

But We found there but one house of those surrendered (to Allah).

And We left behind therein a portent for those who fear a painful doom.

And in Moses (too, there is a portent) when We sent him unto Pharaoh with clear warrant,

But he withdrew (confiding) in his might, and said: A wizard or a madman.

So We seized him and his hosts and flung them in the sea, for he was reprobate.

And in (the tribe of) A'ad (there is a portent) when we sent the fatal wind against them.

It spared naught that it reached, but made it (all) as dust.

And in (the tribe of) Thamud (there is a portent) when it was told them: Take your ease awhile.

But they rebelled against their Lord's decree, and so the thunderbolt overtook them even while they gazed;

And they were unable to rise up, nor could they help themselves.

And the folk of Noah aforetime. Lo! they were licentious folk.

We have built the heaven with might, and We it is Who make the vast extent (thereof).

And the earth have We laid out, how gracious is the Spreader (thereof)!

And all things We have created by pairs, that haply ye may reflect.

Therefor flee unto Allah; lo! I am a plain warner unto you from him.

And set not any other god along with Allah; lo! I am a plain warner unto you from Him.

Even so there came no messenger unto those before them but they said: A wizard or a madman!

Have they handed down (the saying) as an heirloom one unto another? Nay, but they are froward folk.

So withdraw from them (O Muhammad), for thou art in no wise blameworthy,

And warn, for warning profiteth believers.

I created the jinn and humankind only that they might worship Me.

I seek no livelihood from them, nor do I ask that they should feed Me.

Lo! Allah! He it is that giveth livelihood, the Lord of unbreakable might.

And lo! for those who (now) do wrong there is an evil day like unto the evil day (which came for) their likes (of old); so let them not ask Me to hasten on (that day).

And woe unto those who disbelieve, from (that) their day which they are promised.