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1The Inevitable Hour

2What is the Inevitable Hour

3What will explain to you what the Inevitable Hour is

4The people of Thamud and 'Ad denied that the crashing blowwould come

5Thamud was destroyed by a deafening blast

6Ad was destroyed by a furious wind

7that God let loose against them for seven consecutive nights, eight consecutive days, so that you could have seen its people lying dead like hollow palm-trunks

8Can you see any trace of them now

9Pharaoh, too, and those before him, and the ruined cities: these people committed grave sins

10and disobeyed the messenger of their Lord, so He seized them with an ever-tightening grip

11But when the Flood rose high, We saved you in the floating ship

12making that event a reminder for you: attentive ears may take heed

13When the Trumpet is sounded a single time

14when the earth and its mountains are raised high and then crushed with a single blow

15on that Day the Great Event will come to pass

16The sky will be torn apart on that Day, it will be so frail

17The angels will be on all sides of it and, on that Day, eight of them will bear the throne of your Lord above them

18On that Day you will be brought to judgement and none of your secrets will remain hidden

19Anyone who is given his Record in his right hand will say, ‘Here is my Record, read it

20I knew I would meet my Reckoning,’

21and so he will have a pleasant life

22in a lofty Garden

23with clustered fruit within his reach

24It will be said, ‘Eat and drink to your heart’s content as a reward for what you have done in days gone by.’

25But anyone who is given his Record in his left hand will say, ‘If only I had never been given any Record

26and knew nothing of my Reckoning

27How I wish death had been the end of me

28My wealth has been no use to me

29and my power has vanished.’

30‘Take him, put a collar on him

31lead him to burn in the blazing Fire

32and [bind him] in a chain seventy metres long

33he would not believe in Almighty God

34he never encouraged feeding the hungry

35so today he has no real friend here

36and the only food he has is the filth

37that only sinners eat.’

38So I swear by what you can see

39and by what you cannot see

40this [Quran] is the speech of an honoured messenger

41not the words of a poet- how little you believe

42nor the words of a soothsayer- how little you reflect

43This [Quran] is a message sent down from the Lord of the Worlds

44if [the Prophet] had attributed some fabrication to Us

45We would certainly have seized his right hand

46and cut off his lifeblood

47and none of you could have defended him

48This [Quran] is a reminder for those who are aware of God

49We know that some of you consider it to be lies

50this will be a source of bitter regret for the disbelievers

51but it is in fact the certain Truth

52So [Prophet] glorify the name of your Lord, the Almighty