Read the Quran
- O, you, wrapped in your cloak,
- arise and give warning!
- Proclaim the glory of your Lord;
- purify your garments;
- shun uncleanness;
- do not bestow a favour in the expectation of receiving more in return;
- and for the sake of your Lord, be patient.
- When the Trumpet is sounded,
- that Day will be a hard and distressing Day.
- It will not be easy for those who deny the truth.
- Leave Me alone [to deal] with him whom I have created alone,
- and to whom I have granted resources in abundance,
- and sons to be by his side,
- and whom I have provided with every resource,
- and yet, he greedily desires that I give him even more!
- By no means! He has been stubbornly hostile to Our revelation:
- I shall force him to endure a painful uphill climb!
- For he thought and he plotted—
- and woe to him; how he plotted!
- Let him be destroyed. How he calculated!
- Then he looked round;
- then he frowned and scowled,
- and he turned his back and behaved arrogantly
- and said, ‘This is nothing but sorcery from the ancients.
- This is nothing but the word of a mortal!’
- Soon I will cast him into hell.
- What could make you conceive what hell-fire is?
- It does not allow anyone to live, and neither does it leave anyone to die;
- it scorches the skin;
- there are nineteen [angels] in charge of it—
- We have appointed only angels to be wardens of the Fire. We have specified their number only as a trial for those who are bent on denying the truth, so that those who were given the Book might gain in certainty, and those who believe might increase in faith—and so that neither those who have been given the Scripture nor the believers might have any doubts, and that those sick at heart and those who deny the truth might ask, ‘What does God mean by this parable?’ In this way, God lets go astray whom He wills, and guides whom He wills. And none knows the forces of your Lord but He. This is but a Reminder for man.
- No, by the moon!
- By the night when it departs.
- By the dawn when it lightens!
- Surely, it is one of the gravest things,
- it is a warning to man,
- alike to every one of you, who want to go forward or hang back.
- Every soul is held in pledge against its own deeds,
- except those of the right hand
- who in their gardens will be enquiring
- about the sinners.
- ‘What has brought you into the Fire of Hell ?’
- and they shall reply, ‘We were not among those who prayed;
- and we did not feed the poor;
- we indulged in vain arguments along with those who indulged in them;
- and we denied the Day of Judgement
- until the Inevitable End [death] overtook us.’
- So no intercession will avail them.
- Then what is wrong with them that they turn away from admonition,
- like frightened donkeys
- fleeing from a lion?
- Indeed, everyone of them desires to have sheets of revelations unfolded before them—
- No! They do not fear the Hereafter—
- but this is truly a reminder.
- Let him who will take heed:
- they will only take heed if God so wills: He is the Lord who is worthy to be feared: the Lord of forgiveness.
74:1-7
The real work of a prophet is warning the people, i.e. informing them of the serious nature of the events which will unfold in the Hereafter. This task can be performed only by one whose heart is overflowing with the realisation of God’s Majesty, who possesses a noble character, who shuns all evil, who does good without aspiring to any recompense, who can be unilaterally tolerant and exercise patience in the face of trouble created by others.
74:8-17
One who finds himself in an affluent position with a horde of companions, develops a false sense of confidence. He imagines that as he is well-to-do in this world, he will fare well in the Hereafter also. But with the advent of Doomsday, the whole situation will change. The individual who was in easy circumstances in this world, will then find himself surrounded by insurmountable difficulties.
74:18-25
The greatest impediment to acceptance of the Truth is a man’s egoism or pride. Those who attain a high status in society do not accept the Truth for the simple reason that, by such acceptance, their greatness will be diminished. In order to cover up their rejection, they try to find defects in the discourse of the preacher of Truth. They try to degrade him by making allegations against him.
74:26-31
The conditions of hell described in the Quran relate to the unseen and hidden world. There being nineteen angels in hell is also a fact of a similar nature. If one resorts to hair-splitting, these matters will only increase one’s doubts. But if the way of complete faith is adopted, these matters will increase one’s fear of the Hereafter.
74:32-48
The earth rotates on its axis and the moon orbits the earth. For this reason, lunar dates change and night and day alternate on the earth. This system of rotation and changes is in fact an indication that the present order will change and that the period of the Hereafter will definitely arrive. Those who take this system into account will want to make full use of their ‘day’, before the arrival of ‘night’. They will avoid all actions which could plunge them into Hell, prefering instead to act in a way which will lead them to Paradise.
74:49-56
Advice, howsoever reasonable and well-supported by arguments, can be effective only when the hearer is serious about it. If the hearer is not serious, the advice will not reach his heart. Such arguments as deeply move a serious-minded person, will only cause a frivolous person to engage in meaningless discussions.
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