54. Surah Al-Qamar
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
أَمْ
يَقُولُونَ
نَحْنُ جَمِيعٌ
مُّنتَصِرٌ
﴿٤٤﴾
54: 44. Or do they say:
"We acting together can defend ourselves"?
سَيُهْزَمُ
الْجَمْعُ
وَيُوَلُّونَ
الدُّبُرَ
﴿٤٥﴾
54: 45. Soon will their multitude be put to flight, and they will show their backs.
بَلِ
السَّاعَةُ
مَوْعِدُهُمْ
...
54: 46. Nay, the Hour (of Judgment) is the time promised them (for their full recompense):
C5160. The calculations of unjust men-on their science, their resources, their numbers, etc.-will in many cases be falsified even in this world, as stated in the last two verses, but their real Punishment will come with Judgment, i.e., when they find their real place in the next world at the restoration of true values. It will then be a most grievous and bitter experience for them, throwing into the shade any calamities they may suffer in this life.
... وَالسَّاعَةُ أَدْهَى وَأَمَرُّ ﴿٤٦﴾
And that Hour will be Most grievous and most bitter.
إِنَّ
الْمُجْرِمِينَ
فِي ضَلَالٍ
وَسُعُرٍ
﴿٤٧﴾
54: 47. Truly those in sin are the ones straying in mind, and mad.
C5161. Cf. 54:24 above.
Note how the tables are turned in the argument by the repetition.
The unjust think that the godly are wandering in mind and mad. They will find that it is really they who were wandering in mind, and mad, even when they were in the plenitude of their power and in the enjoyment of all the good things of this life. These minor echoes heighten the effect of the major refrain mentioned in the Introduction.
يَوْمَ
يُسْحَبُونَ
فِي النَّارِ
عَلَى وُجُوهِهِمْ
...
54: 48. The day they will be dragged through the Fire on their faces,
C5162. "On their faces": the Face is the symbol of Personality. Their whole Personality will be subverted and degraded-in the midst of the Fire of Suffering.
... ذُوقُوا مَسَّ سَقَرَ ﴿٤٨﴾
(they will hear:) "Tastes ye the touch of Hell!"
Asad’s Version:
54:44 Or do they say, "We are a group united, [and therefore] bound to prevail"? 25 (54:45) [Yet] the hosts [of those who deny the truth] shall be routed, and they shall turn their backs [in flight] ! 26
(54:46) But nay - the Last Hour is the time when they shall truly meet their fate; 27 and that Last Hour will be most calamitous, and most bitter:
(54:47) for, behold, those who are lost in sin [will at that time come to know that it is they who] were sunk in error and folly! 28
54:48 On the Day when they shall be dragged into the fire on their faces, 29 [they will be told:] "Taste now the touch of hell-fire!"
[[Asad’s notes - 25 The reasoning which underlies this thought may be summed up thus: "We who reject these so- called divine revelations represent a very large body of opinion; and because our views are held by so many, they are obviously right and, therefore, bound to triumph in the end." In other words, the people characterized as "deniers of the truth" draw their assurance from the mere fact of their being representative of the "majority opinion" - a self-delusion based on a purely materialistic outlook on life.
26 The fact that the Prophet recited this verse just before the battle of Badr (see note 10 on 8:10) has caused most of the commentators to assume that it had been revealed as a specific prophecy of the future victory of the Muslims over the pagan Quraysh. While this is possible, I believe, nevertheless, that the above passage has the much wider, timeless meaning explained in the preceding note. This view finds strong support in the subsequent verses, which speak of the evil otherworldly consequences of deliberate sinning, quite apart from the social and moral defeat, in this world, of the sinful community as a whole.
27 Lit., "the time appointed for them" (maw'iduhum).
28 See verse 24 above.
29 See note 83 on 33:66 as well as note 30 on 25:34. ]]