Al-Mursalāt
Makkan Period
In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate
[1] By the (winds) sent forth in quick succession, [2] which then blow tempestuously [3] and raise (clouds) and scatter them around, [4] then winnow them thoroughly, [5] and then cast (Allah’s) remembrance (in people’s hearts), [6] to serve as an excuse or a warning.1 [7] Surely what you are promised shall come to pass.2
[8] So when the stars are extinguished, [9] and the sky is rent asunder, [10] and the mountains are blown away, [11] and the appointed time to bring the Messengers together arrives,3 (then shall the promised event come to pass). [12] To which Day has this task been deferred? [13] To the Day of Judgement. [14] What do you know what the Day of Judgement is? [15] Woe on that Day to those that give the lie to the Truth!
[16] Did We not destroy many a nation of the earlier times? [17] And We shall cause those of later times to follow them. [18] Thus do We deal with the guilty. [19] Woe on that Day to those that give the lie to the Truth!4
[20] Did We not create you of a mean fluid, [21] which We then placed in a secure repository [22] until an appointed time? [23] See that We had the power to do so. Great indeed is our power to do what We will. [24] Woe on that Day to those that give the lie to the Truth!5
[25] Did We not make the earth a receptacle, [26] for the living and the dead, [27] and did We not firmly fix towering mountains on it and give you sweet water to drink? [28] Woe on that Day to those that give the lie to the Truth!6
[29] Proceed7 now towards that which you were wont to deny as false; [30] proceed towards the three-pronged shadow,8 [31] which neither provides (cooling) shade nor protection against the flames; [32] it indeed throws up sparks like castles, [33] which seem as though they are yellow-coloured camels. [34] Woe on that Day to those that give the lie to the Truth!
[35] That will be the Day on which they will not (be able to) utter a word, [36] nor will they be allowed to proffer excuses.9 [37] Woe on that Day to those that give the lie to the Truth!
[38] That is the Day of Judgement on which We have assembled you as well as all those who went before you. [39] So if you have any ploy, try it against Me! [40] Woe on that Day to those that give the lie to the Truth!
[41] Behold, today the God-fearing will be amidst shades and springs, [42] and the fruits that they desire (will be ready at hand). [43] Eat and drink and may every joy attend you as a reward for your deeds. [44] Thus do We reward those that do good. [45] Woe on that Day to those that give the lie to the Truth!
[46] Eat10 and enjoy yourselves for a while. Surely you are evil-doers. [47] Woe on that Day to those that give the lie to the Truth! [48] When it is said to them: “Bow down (before Allah),” they do not bow down. [49] Woe on that Day to those that give the lie to the Truth! [50] In what discourse after this (Qur’ān) will they, then, believe?
1. The winds serve several important purposes. Sometimes when they cease to blow they give rise to the frightful prospect of a famine which tends to soften people’s hearts. This leads people at times to sincerely turn to God and repent. On other occasions, winds bring plentiful rainfall, filling people’s hearts with gratitude to God. On still other occasions they blow tempestuously, inspiring all, including the sordid-hearted, with fear. As a result, many turn to God, dreading His chastisement that would play havoc with them.
2. The system underlying the blowing of the winds, etc., testifies that a time will surely come when Resurrection will take place. For although the winds are an important means to nourish God’s creatures that live on earth, God can, and occasionally does, direct them to cause devastation and strike wicked people down.
3. It is mentioned quite often in the Qur’ān that when God will examine mankind’s Record on the Judgement Day, the Messenger of each nation will be summoned to testify that he conveyed God’s Message to his people. See for instance al-Nisā’ 4: 41.
4. This is said to emphasise that howsoever woeful a person’s lot might be in this world, it does not represent the full measure of the chastisement that might lie in store for him. It is only on the Day of Judgement that each person will come to know the full extent of the chastisement that awaits him.
5. These are the people who deny the possibility of life after death, calling such a notion an utter lie. They do so despite the overwhelming evidence in support of it. on the Judgement Day such people will certainly encounter a woeful chastisement.
6. People decry the Hereafter as false, calling it both impossible and irrational. They do so in spite of the stunning manifestations of God’s power and wisdom. If they wish, they may remain immersed in their puerile fancies. But a Day will certainly come when they will see that many a thing quite contrary to their expectation will come to pass. It is then that they will fully realise how foolish they were in precipitating such devastation upon themselves.
7. After proffering evidence that the Hereafter is bound to occur, the deniers of the Truth are being told about the treatment that will be meted out to them after the Hereafter becomes a reality.
8. “Shadow” here denotes the shadow caused by smoke. What is meant by its being “three-pronged” can be grasped by observing a thick pall of smoke when it splits into numerous branches.
9. That is, the case against them will be established by such solid evidence that they will be left utterly speechless and will be unable to put up any defence whatsoever.
10. The sūrah concludes by addressing these words not only to the Makkan unbelievers of the time, but to the unbelievers of all times, wherever they may be.