6. Al-An'aam

They indeed are losers who deny the encounter with God, through resurrection, until (hattā is purposive to expose the [extent of their] mendacity) when the Hour, the Resurrection, comes upon them suddenly, they shall say, ‘Alas for us (yā hasratanā, ‘O grief of ours’, expresses extreme suffering, the [vocative] call to which is figurative, meaning ‘Now is the time for you [O grief], so come forth!’) that we neglected it!’, the worldly life. On their backs they shall be bearing their burdens, so that these come to them at the Resurrection in the vilest of forms and with the most putrid of smells, and they ride them. Ah, evil is that, burden of theirs, which they bear!

We know indeed (qad is a confirmative particle) that it grieves you that, matter, which they say, to you, in denial; yet it is not that they deny you, in secret, for they know that you are truthful (a variant reading [for lā yukadhdhibūnaka, ‘not [that] they deny you’] has lā yukdhibūnak, that is to say, ‘they do not associate you with mendacity’) but evildoers (al-zālimīn replaces the previous pronominalisation [‘they’]) knowingly reject, deny, the signs of God, the Qur’ān.

Messengers indeed have been denied before you — herein is a consolation for the Prophet (s) — yet they endured patiently the denial and the persecution until Our victorious help came to them, through the destruction of their peoples, so be patient until the victorious help comes to you through the destruction of your people. There is none to change the words of God, His promises, and there has already come to you tidings of the messengers, [tidings] through which your heart can be at peace.

And if their aversion, to Islam, is grievous, [too] great, for you, on account of your concern for them, then, if you can, seek out a hole, an underground passage, in the earth, or a ladder, a stairway, to heaven, that you may bring them a sign, from among those they have requested, then go ahead: the meaning is that you will not be able to do this, so be patient until God delivers His judgement — but had God willed, to guide them, He would have gathered them together in guidance, but He did not will this, and so they do not believe; so do not be among the ignorant, of this matter.

Only those who hear, in such a way so as to understand and take heed, will answer, your call to faith; as for the dead, that is, the disbelievers — they are likened to them on account of their inability to hear — God will resurrect them, in the Hereafter, and then to Him they will be returned, and He will requite them for their deeds.

And they, the disbelievers of Mecca, say, ‘Why has a sign not been sent down to him from his Lord?’, [a sign] such as the she-camel [of the prophet Sālih] or the staff [of Moses] or the Table [of Jesus]. Say, to them: ‘Surely God has the power to send down (read yunazzil or yunzil) a sign, from among those they have requested, but most of them do not know’, that its sending down would be a trial for them, for if they then [still] denied it, they would necessarily be destroyed.

There is no (mā min: min is extra) animal, that crawls, on the earth and no bird that flies, through the air, with its wings, but they are communities like to you, in the way that its creation has been ordained, together with its sustenance and affairs. We have neglected nothing (min shay’: min is extra) in the Book, in the Preserved Tablet (al-lawh al-mahfūz), [nothing] that We have not written; then to their Lord they shall be gathered, and judgement shall be passed upon them, and the hornless sheep shall retaliate against the horned ram, and then it will be said to them [the animals], ‘Be dust’.

And those who deny Our signs, the Qur’ān, are deaf, to hearing them in such a way so as to accept [them], and dumb, [unable] to utter truth, in darkness, in unbelief. He whom God wills, to send astray, He sends astray, and whom He wills, to guide, He sets him on a straight path, [a straight] road, the religion of Islam.

Say, O Muhammad (s), to the Meccans: ‘Do you see yourselves, [that is] inform me, if God’s chastisement comes upon you, in this world, or the Hour, the Resurrection, which includes this [chastisement], comes upon you, suddenly, will ye call upon any other than God? No! If you speak truly!’, that the idols can benefit you, then call upon them.