37. Surah As-Saffat, English Translation

and those who diligently drive ˹the clouds˺,

and those who recite the Reminder!

Surely your God is One!

˹He is˺ the Lord of the heavens and the earth and everything in between, and the Lord of all points of sunrise.

Indeed, We have adorned the lowest heaven with the stars for decoration

and ˹for˺ protection from every rebellious devil.

They cannot listen to the highest assembly ˹of angels˺ for they are pelted from every side,

˹fiercely˺ driven away. And they will suffer an everlasting torment.

But whoever manages to stealthily eavesdrop is ˹instantly˺ pursued by a piercing flare.

So ask them ˹O Prophet˺, which is harder to create: them or other marvels of Our creation?¹ Indeed, We created them from a sticky clay.²

In fact, you are astonished ˹by their denial˺, while they ridicule ˹you˺.

When they are reminded, they are never mindful.

And whenever they see a sign, they make fun of it,

saying, “This is nothing but pure magic.

When we are dead and reduced to dust and bones, will we really be resurrected?

And our forefathers as well?”

Say, “Yes! And you will be fully humbled.”

It will only take one Blast,¹ then at once they will see ˹it all˺.

They will cry, “Oh, woe to us! This is the Day of Judgment!”

˹They will be told,˺ “This is the Day of ˹Final˺ Decision which you used to deny.”

˹Allah will say to the angels,˺ “Gather ˹all˺ the wrongdoers along with their peers, and whatever they used to worship

instead of Allah, then lead them ˹all˺ to the path of Hell.

And detain them, for they must be questioned.”

˹Then they will be asked,˺ “What is the matter with you that you can no longer help each other?”

In fact, on that Day they will be ˹fully˺ submissive.

They will turn on each other, throwing blame.

The misled will say, “It was you who deluded us away from what is right.”¹

The misleaders will reply, “No! You disbelieved on your own.

We had no authority over you. In fact, you yourselves were a transgressing people.

The decree of our Lord has come to pass against us ˹all˺: we will certainly taste ˹the punishment˺.

We caused you to deviate, for we ourselves were deviant.”

Surely on that Day they will ˹all˺ share in the punishment.

That is certainly how We deal with the wicked.

For whenever it was said to them ˹in the world˺, “There is no god ˹worthy of worship˺ except Allah,” they acted arrogantly

and argued, “Should we really abandon our gods for a mad poet?”

In fact, he came with the truth, confirming ˹earlier˺ messengers.

You will certainly taste the painful torment,

and will only be rewarded for what you used to do.

But not the chosen servants of Allah.

They will have a known provision:

fruits ˹of every type˺.¹ And they will be honoured

in the Gardens of Bliss,

facing each other on thrones.¹

A drink ˹of pure wine˺ will be passed around to them from a flowing stream:

crystal-white, delicious to drink.

It will neither harm ˹them˺, nor will they be intoxicated by it.

And with them will be maidens of modest gaze and gorgeous eyes,

as if they were pristine pearls.¹ 

Then they will turn to one another inquisitively.¹

One of them will say, “I once had a companion ˹in the world˺

who used to ask ˹me˺, ‘Do you actually believe ˹in resurrection˺?

When we are dead and reduced to dust and bones, will we really be brought to judgment?’”