— 40 verses
Nay, I swear by the Day of Resurrection
Nay, I swear by the self accusing soul, that the Day of Judgment is a certainty
Does man think that WE shall not assemble his bones
Yea, WE have the power to restore his very finger-tips
But man desires to continue to send forth evil deeds in front of him
He inquires `When will be the Day of Resurrection?
When the eye is dazzled
And the moon is eclipsed
And the sun and the moon are brought together
On that day man will say, `Wither to flee?
Not at all; there is no refuge
With thy Lord alone will be the place of rest that day
On that day will man be informed of that which he has sent forward and of that which he has left behind
In truth man is a witness against himself
Even though he puts forward his excuses
Move not thy tongue, O Prophet, with the revelation of the Qur'an that thou mayest hasten to preserve it
Surely, upon US rests its collection and its recital
So when WE recite it, then follow thou its recital
Then upon US rests the expounding thereof
Hearken ! you love the present life
And you neglect the Hereafter
Some faces on that day will be radiant
Looking eagerly towards their Lord
And some faces on that day will be dismal
Knowing that a back-breaking calamity will befall them
Hearken ! when the soul of the dying man comes up to the throat
And it is said, `Who is the Wizard to save him?
And he is sure that it is the parting
And one shank rubs against the other shank in death-agony
Unto thy Lord that day will be the driving
For, he neither accepted the Truth nor observed Prayer
But he rejected the Truth and turned his back on it
Then he went to kinsfolk, strutting along in pride
`Woe unto thee ! and woe again
`Then woe unto thee ! and woe again
Does man think that he is to be left alone without purpose
Was he not a drop of fluid, emitted forth
The he became a clot, then ALLAH gave him shape and perfected him
Then HE made of him a pair; the male and female
Has not such a one the power to raise the dead to life