A Medinan sura that gets its title from the reference to the sacred rite of the pilgrimage first enacted by Abraham (verse 27). This theme condemns those who bar the believers from access to the Sacred Mosque and is followed by permission to fight when attacked. The sura begins with the Day of Judgement and castigates those who worship useless idols, describing them later as powerless to create even a fly. The sura ends by urging the Muslims to persevere in following the faith of Abraham.
In the name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy
Horrors of the Day of Resurrection
1 People, be mindful of your Lord, for the earthquake of the Last Hour will be a mighty thing: 2 on the Day you see it, every nursing mother will think no more of her baby, every pregnant female will miscarry, you will think people are drunk when they are not, so severe will be God’s torment. 3 Yet still there are some who, with no knowledge, argue about God, who follow every devilish rebel 4 fated to lead astray those who take his side, and guide them to the suffering of the blazing flame.
5 People, [remember,] if you doubt the Resurrection, that We created you from dust, then a drop of fluid, then a clinging form, then a lump of flesh, both shaped and unshaped: We mean to make Our power clear to you. Whatever We choose We cause to remain in the womb for an appointed time, then We bring you forth as infants and then you grow and reach maturity. Some die young and some are left to live on to such an age that they forget all they once knew. You sometimes see the earth lifeless, yet when We send down water it stirs and swells and produces every kind of joyous growth: 6 this is because God is the Truth; He brings the dead back to life; He has power over everything.
7 There is no doubt that the Last Hour is bound to come, nor that God will raise the dead from their graves, 8 yet still there are some who, with no knowledge or guidance or any book of enlightenment, argue about God, 9 turning scornfully aside to lead others away from God’s path. Disgrace in this world awaits such a person and, on the Day of Resurrection, We shall make him taste the suffering of the Fire. 10 [It will be said], ‘This is for what you have stored up with your own hands: God is never unjust to His creatures.’
11 There are also some who serve God with unsteady faith: if something good comes their way, they are satisfied, but if they are tested, they revert to their old ways, losing both this world and the next– that is the clearest loss. 12 Instead of God, they call upon what can neither harm nor help them– that is straying far away– 13 or invoke one whose harm is closer than his help: an evil master and an evil companion. 14 But God will admit those who believe and do good deeds to Gardens graced with flowing streams. God does whatever He wishes. 15 Anyone who thinks that God will not support him in this world and the next should stretch a rope up to the sky, climb all the way up it, a and see whether this strategy removes the cause of his anger. 16 In this way, We send the Quran down as clear messages, and God guides whoever He will.
17 As for the believers, those who follow the Jewish faith, the Sabians, [b] the Christians, the Magians, [c] and the idolaters, God will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection; God witnesses all things. 18 Do you not realize [Prophet] that everything in the heavens and earth submits [d] to God: the sun, the moon, the stars, the mountains, the trees, and the animals? So do many human beings, though for many others punishment is well deserved. Anyone disgraced by God will have no one to honor him: God does whatever He will. 19 These two kinds of people disagree about their Lord. Garments of fire will be tailored for those who disbelieve; scalding water will be poured over their heads, 20 melting their insides as well as their skins; 21 there will be iron crooks to restrain them; 22 whenever, in their anguish, they try to escape, they will be pushed back in and told, ‘Taste the suffering of the Fire.’ 23 But God will admit those who believe and do good deeds to Gardens graced with flowing streams; there they will be adorned with golden bracelets and pearls; there they will have silken garments. 24 They were guided to good speech and to the path of the One Worthy of all Praise.
Honor the Sacred Sites of God for All Tested Faith Communities
25 As for the disbelievers, who bar others from God’s path and from the Sacred Mosque– which We made for all people, residents and visitors alike– and who try to violate it with wrongdoing, We shall make them taste a painful punishment. 26 We showed Abraham the site of the House, saying, ‘Do not assign partners to Me. Purify My House for those who circle around it, those who stand to pray, and those who bow and prostrate themselves. 27 Proclaim the Pilgrimage to all people. They will come to you on foot and on every kind of swift mount, emerging from every deep mountain pass 28 to attain benefits and celebrate God’s name, on specified days, over the livestock He has provided for them– feed yourselves and the poor and unfortunate– 29 so let the pilgrims perform their acts of cleansing, fulfil their vows, and circle around the Ancient House.’ 30 All this [is ordained by God]: anyone who honors the sacred ordinances of God will have good rewards from his Lord.
Livestock have been made lawful to you, except for what has been explicitly forbidden. Shun the filth of idolatrous beliefs and practices and shun false utterances. [e] 31 Devote yourselves to God and assign Him no partners, for the person who does so is like someone who has been hurled down from the skies and snatched up by the birds or flung to a distant place by the wind. 32 All this [is ordained by God]: those who honor God’s rites show the piety of their hearts. 33 Livestock are useful to you until the set time. Then their place of sacrifice is near the Ancient House: 34 We appointed acts of devotion for every community, for them to celebrate God’s name over the livestock He provided for them: your God is One, so devote yourselves to Him. [Prophet], give good news to the humble 35 whose hearts fill with awe whenever God is mentioned, who endure whatever happens to them with patience, who keep up the prayer, who give to others out of Our provision to them.
36 We have made camels [f] part of God’s sacred rites for you. There is much good in them for you, so invoke God’s name over them as they are lined up for sacrifice, then, when they have fallen down dead, feed yourselves and those who do not ask, as well as those who do. We have subjected them to you in this way so that you may be thankful. 37 It is neither their meat nor their blood that reaches God but your piety. He has subjected them to you in this way so that you may glorify God for having guided you.
Give good news to those who do good.
Footnotes
a. See also 6: 35. Another interpretation of this verse is ‘stretch a rope up to the ceiling and hang himself ’.
b. See note to 2: 62.
c. Followers of an ancient Persian and Median religion, based on monotheism, identified with Zoroastrians.
d. Literally, prostrates.
e. Dedicating animals to idols.
f. The term budn can refer to either camels or cows.
The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics)
The Qur'an / a new translation by M. A. S. Abdel Haleem, copyright © 2004 Oxford World's Classics (Oxford University Press). Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Comments