WHEN THE SKY is split asunder
obeying its Sustainer, as in truth it must
and when the earth is leveled
and casts forth whatever is in it, and becomes utterly void
obeying its Sustainer, as in truth it must -
[then,] O man - thou [that] hast, verily, been toiling towards thy Sustainer in painful toil - then shalt thou meet Him
And as for him whose record shall be placed in his right hand
he will in time be called to account with an easy accounting
and will [be able to] turn joyfully to those of his own kind
But as for him whose record shall be given to him behind his back
he will in time pray for utter destruction
but he will enter the blazing flame
Behold, [in his earthly life] he lived joyfully among people of his own kin
for, behold, he never thought that he would have to return [to God]
Yea indeed! His Sustainer did see all that was in him
BUT NAY! I call to witness the sunset's [fleeting] afterglow
and the night, and what it [step by step] unfolds
and the moon, as it grows to its fullness
[even thus, O men,] are you bound to move; onward from stage to stage
What, then, is amiss with them that they will not believe [in a life to come]
and [that], when the Qur’an is read unto them, they do not fall down in prostration
Nay, but they who are bent on denying the truth give the lie [to this divine writ]
Yet God has full knowledge of what they conceal [in their hearts]
Hence, give them the tiding of grievous suffering [in the life to come] –
unless it be such [of them] as [repent, and] attain to faith, and do good works: for theirs shall be a reward unending!