1. Blessed is He who has the Kingdom in His Hand! He is disconnected and above the attributes of all temporal things. He has power – dominion and authority – over all things;

2. He who created death in this world and life in the Next World; or both of them in this world. The drop of sperm is given life and it is by its life that it gains sensation. Death is the opposite or the absence of life. There are two views about that. According to the second view, creation means to decree it – to test which of you is best in action and who is most obedient to Allah while you are alive. He is the Almighty with the power to take revenge on those who disobey Him, the Ever-Forgiving of those who turn to Him in repentance.

3. He who created the seven heavens in layers – one on top of the other without their being in direct contact. You will not find any flaw in the creation of the heavens or anything else of the All- Merciful. There is no lack of proportion or discordance in the creation of Allah. Look again at the sky; do you see any gaps – in other words, fissures or breaks in it?

4. Then look again and again. Your sight will return to you dazzled and exhausted! Your sight will be exhausted without finding any gaps.

5. We have adorned the lowest heaven – the one which is closest to earth – with lamps – meaning the stars – and made some of them stones for the shaytans when they eavesdrop, so that meteors are detached from stars as a brand is taken from a fire, and kill the listening jinn or confuse them. It does not mean that the star moves from its position – for whom We have prepared the punishment of the Blaze (the Fire).

6. Those who reject their Lord will have the punishment of Hell. What an evil destination!

7. When they are flung into it they will hear it gasping harshly as it seethes. This is an unpleasant sound like the braying of a donkey. It will be boiling.

8. It all but bursts (read as tamayyazu and ittamayyazu) with rage – with anger at unbelievers. Each time a group is flung into it its custodians will question them in rebu ke: ‘Did no warner come to you?’ “Did no Messenger come to you to warn you about Allah’s punishment?”

9. They will say, ‘Yes indeed: a warner did come to us, but we denied him and said, “Allah has sent nothing down. You are just greatly misguided.”’ This latter sentence might be something said by angels to the unbelievers when they report their denial, or it might be something said by the unbelievers to the warner.

10. They will say, ‘If only we had really listened – and understood – and used our intellect – and reflected – we would not have been Companions of the Blaze.’

11. Then they will ack n owledge their wrong actions – now that acknowledgement will be of no use to them. Their wrong action is their denial of the warners. Away (read as suhqan and suhuqan) with the Companions of the Blaze! They are far from the mercy of Allah!

12. Those who fear their Lord in the Unseen – when they are not seen by people, so they obey Him in secret as well as publicly – will have forgiveness and an immense reward (the Garden).

13. Whether you, mankind, keep your words secret or say them out loud He knows what the heart contains – let alone what you say. The reason behind this was that the idolaters said to one another, “Conceal your words and the God of Mu˛ammad will not hear you.”

14. Does He who created not know what they conceal? He is the All-Pervading in His knowledge, the All-Aware.

15. It is He who made the earth submissive to you – it submits to being walked on, so walk its broad trails and eat what it provides – created on your behalf. The Resurrection is to Him. When you arise from the graves you will go to Him for repayment.

16. Do you feel secure against – the power and authority of Allah – Him Who is in heaven causing the earth to swallow you up when suddenly it rocks from side to side and rises above you?

17. Or do you feel secure against Him Who is in heaven releasing against you a sudden squall of stones – which will hit you – so that you will know how true My warning was? When you see the punishment with your own eyes, then you will know that My warning of coming punishment was true.

18. Those nations before them also denied, but then how great was My denial of them when they were destroyed! This means that it was true.

19. Have they not looked at the birds above them in the air with wings outspread and folded back? Allah keeps them from falling while they open and close their wings, by His power. Nothing holds them up but the All-Merciful. He sees all things. Why do they not see the stability of the birds in the air as evidence of Our power to punish them in the way that was mentioned?

20. Who is there who could be a force for you, to come to your support, apart from the All Merciful? None can defend you against His punishment, so you have no helper. The unbelievers are only living in delusion. Shaytan has deluded them into believing that they will not be punished.

21. Who is there who could provide for you if He withholds His provision? If Allah withholds rain from you. who can bring it? None provides for you except Him. Yet still they obstinately persist in insolence and evasion, and are far from the truth.

22. Who is better guided: he who goes grovelling on his face or he who walks upright on a straight path? Who is better guided: the unbeliever or the believer?

23. Say: ‘It is He who created you and brought you into being and gave you hearing, sight and hearts. What little thanks you show!’ This conveys the unbelievers’ lack of gratitude for those blessings.

24. Say: ‘It is He who created and scattered you about the earth and you will be gathered to Him for the final reckoning.’

25. They will say to the believers: ‘When will this promise – meaning the gathering – come about if you are telling the truth?’

26. Say: ‘The knowledge of its coming is with Allah alone and I am only a clear warner.’

27. When they see it (the punishment after the gathering) right up close, the faces of those who disbelieve will be appalled and will become black, and they will be told by the Guardians of the Fire: ‘This punishment about which you were warned is what you were calling for when you claimed that you would not be resurrected.’ The verb is in the perfect tense because its occurrence is definite.

28. Say: ‘What do you think? If Allah destroys me and those with me – of the believers with His punishment, as you intend – or if He has mercy on us and does not punish us, who can shelter the unbelievers from a painful punishment?’ If He punishes us none can avert that from them.

29. Say: ‘He is the All-Merciful. We believe in Him and trust in Him. You will soon know (read as sa-ta‘lamuna and sa-ya‘lamuna, “they will soon know”) – when they see the punishment with their own eyes – who is clearly misguided.’ It will become clear who is is in clear misguidance: you or them.

30. Say: ‘What do you think? If one morning your water disappears into the earth, who will bring you running water?’ Who will bring it in buckets if it disappears? This means that no one but Allah can bring it, so how can you deny that He will resurrect you? It is recommended that when the reciter says “ma‘in”(running water), he should say, “Allah, the Lord of the worlds,” as is reported in hadith. This ayat was recited in the presence of someone who espoused fatalism, and he said, “Axes and picks would bring it.” Then the water of his spring disappeared and he went blind. We seek refuge with Allah from being insolent towards Allah or towards His Signs.