1. The Undeniable! It is the Rising, which has been denied but will prove to be true: the Resurrection, the Reckoning and the Repayment, will undoubtedly come to pass.

2. What is the Undeniable?

3. What will convey to you what the Undeniable is? – because it is so great.

4. Thamud and ‘Ad denied the Crushing Blow (the Rising). It is called that because it crushes people’s hearts with its terrors.

5. Thamud were destroyed by the Deafening Blast – a Shout which was beyond measure in its intensity.

6. ‘Ad were destroyed by a savage howling wind. It made a loud noise and had immense strength with which it struck ‘Ad, who considered themselves strong.

7. Allah subjected them to it – sent it against them with force – for seven whole nights and eight whole days without a break. The first day was the morning of Wednesday 22nd Shawwal at the end of winter. It blew non-stop. It is said that the word used here, husum, is the plural of hasim, from hasm, which means cutting, as one cuts for cauterisation for an illness again and again until it is finished (tahassama). You could see the people flattened in their homes – dead and prone – just like the hollow stumps of uprooted palms.

8. Can you see any remnant of them left?

9. Pharaoh and those before him (read as man qablahu as here, meaning previous unbelieving nations, and also as man qibalahu, meaning “those who follow him) and the people of the Overturned Cities of Lut made a great mistake.

10. They disobeyed the Messenger of their Lord, meaning Lut and others, so He seized them in an ever-tightening grip.

11. When the waters rose – above everything, mountains and everything else in the Flood – We carried you – meaning your ancestors, since you were in their loins – in the ship – the Ark which Nuh had made, in which he and those with him were saved while the rest were drowned –

12. …to make it a reminder for you – by enabling the believers to survive and destroying the unbelievers – and something to be retained by retentive ears: remembered when heard.

13. So when the Trumpet is blown with a single blast – the Blast for the Divine Judgement between all creatures, which is the second blast –

14. …and the earth and the mountains are lifted and crushed with a single blow,

15. …on that Day (the Day of Rising) the Occurrence will occur…

16. …and Heaven will be split apart, for that Day it will be very frail and insubstantial.

17. The angels – the singular malak used here is the generic name for angels as a whole – will be gathered round its edge – referring to the sky above them. On that Day, eight angels will bear the Throne of their Lord above their heads, or they will be part of their ranks.

18. On that Day you will be exposed to the Reckoning and no concealed act you did will stay concealed (read as takhfa and yakhfa).

19. As for him who is given his Book in his right hand – addressed to the group who will be delighted with what they receive, he will say, ‘Here, come and read my Book!

20. I counted on meeting my Reckoning and was certain of it.’

21. He will have a very pleasant life…

22. …in an elevated Garden,

23. …its ripe fruit – the word used here, qu†üf, are fruits which are plucked and gathered – hanging close to hand, so that they can be plucked by someone standing, sitting or lying down.

24. They will be told: ‘Eat and drink with relish for what you did before in days gone by in the world!’

25. But as for him who is given his Book in his left hand, he will say, ‘If only I had not been given my Book…

26. …and had not known about my Reckoning!

27. If only death had really been the end! “Would that there had only been death in this world, and its end had been the end of my existence and I had not been raised!”

28. My wealth has been of no use to me.

29. My power – strength and evidence – has vanished.’

30. ‘Seize him and truss him up. This is addressed to the Guardians of Hellfire. Bind his hands to his neck with fetters.

31. Then roast him in the Blazing Fire.

32. Then bind him with a chain which is seventy cubits long. A cubit is measured by the forearm of the king. Put him in the chains after he is admitted into the Fire.

33. He used not to believe in Allah the Magnificent,

34. …nor did he urge that the poor be fed.

35. Therefore here today he has no friend to help him,

36. …nor any food but exuding pus – the word ghislin may be either the pus of the people of the Fire or a tree in the Fire,

37. …which no one will eat except those who were in error – meaning the unbelievers.

38. I swear both by what you see – meaning the creatures you come into contact with –

39. …and what you do not see – meaning all creatures –

40. …that this Qur’an is the word of a noble Messenger – a Message from Allah Almighty.

41. It is not the word of a poet – how little faith you have (read as tu’minuna and yu’minuna, “they have”)! –

42. …nor the word of a fortune-teller – how little heed you pay (read as tadhakkaruna and yadhakkaruna, “they pay”)! The meaning is that they believe in and remember few of the things which the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, brought them about goodness, maintaining ties of kinship and chastity, and so it will not help them at all.

43. It is a revelation from the Lord of all the worlds.

44. If he (the Prophet) had made up any sayings and ascribed them to Us by saying that We said something We did not say,

45. We would have seized him by force – inflicted on him a punishment with strength and power –

46. …and then We would have cut off his life-blood – the vein to the heart. When it is cut, a person dies –

47. …and not one of you could have protected him. The linguistic form used here stresses the fact. “No one could have protected the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, from Our punishment.”

48. It (the Qur’an) is a reminder to the people who are godfearing.

49. We know that some of you – mankind – will deny it (the Qur’an) and some affirm it.

50. It (the Qur’an) is a cause of great distress to the unbelievers – when they see the reward of those who affirmed it and the punishment of those who denied it,

51. …and it (the Qur’an) is undeniably the absolute Truth of Certainty.

52. Glorify, then, the name of your Lord, the Magnificent. Disassociate Him from creation.