Soora 88
[1] (In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful)
The meaning	More explanation
[2] 1. Have you, [Mohammed, understood] the account of the overwhelming^a [sky, when it had been] conveyed to you [in a previous revelation: 44: 10-11]^b [3] 2. On that day [many] faces will be humble^c. [4] 3. Toiling and laboring hard [in the life of the World: not for God, but for others.]^d [5] 4. Broil in a very hot fire [in the Next Life.] [6] 5. Shall be given to drink from a very hot spring.^e [7] 6. They will have [in the Afterlife, following their death] no food save from [some kind of] thorn. [8] 7. That [thorn] will neither fatten nor satiate.^f [Then God – be glorified – described the condition of believers in the Next Life, and He said:] [9] 8. [Other] faces on that day shall be jocund^g, [10] 9. Well-pleased [with Paradise as a recompense] for their past endeavors [in the life of the World], [11] 10. In a Garden [in the ethereal heavens] higher [than the earth], [12] 11. Where they shall not hear noise. [13] 12. Therein will be a [water] fountain running [into a river.] [14] 13. Therein will be couches up-lifted [from the earth.]^h [15] 14. And goblets, placed [on tables.] [16] 15. And pillows, arrayed [on the couches.] [17] 16. And ‘carpets [and rugs]’, spread.	^1 a Which will overwhelm people with its evil. ^1 b That is His saying – be glorified – in the Quran 44: 10-11, which means: (But watch [O Mohammed] for the day when the sky will bring an obvious smoke. That will overwhelm people, which will be a painful torment.) This has in fact been explained in the interpretation of the Quran, soora (or chapter) 44. ^2 c i.e. lowly, on which appear the signs of poverty and tiredness. In fact, God – be glorified – mentioned the ‘faces’ in particular, because on them the signs of the sadness and delight appear, and by which man is recognized. They are the associaters and the guilty. ^3 d But they work for their idols and toil for their statues. God – be glorified – said in the Quran 25: 23, which means: (And We shall turn to the [righteous] work [which the associaters] did, and We shall make it [as] scattered dust.) As such do they nowadays make feasts, burn incense, kindle the candle-sticks at the tombs of imams, and toil in sweeping and washing them, and they spread the carpet in its passages and corners, and they make vows for the imams, and make celebrations in their death memories, and expend their money to construct their graves. While all such acts are dedicated for those other than God, and so they will not be rewarded for them, but will be punished, because they are acts of association: for they have associated the imams with God in their expenditure and worship; in fact they exceeded in the sanctification of their graves more than the sanctification of God’s houses: the mosques. That is because if you go into one of the mosques for praying, you will not see in it any candle-stick nor incense nor any chandelier like the many chandeliers which you see in the shrines of imams, nor one of such large and precious lamps. Moreover, you will see the doors of the shrines of silver and their windows of gold, while the doors of mosques are of wood and their windows of iron. ^5 e Similar to them in the life of this World are the hot springs, e.g. the sulfur spring at Hammam Aliel near Mosul: its water is very hot. ^7 f They will eat out of such food in the Barzakh world [or the Afterlife]; but when Doomsday will come and they will be admitted into Hell, they will not have any food other than fire only. God – be glorified – said in the Quran 2: 174, which means: (Those [scholars of Jews and others] who conceal that of the Scripture which God has revealed, and purchase a small gain in exchange of it; they [will] eat in their bellies nothing but fire.) ^7 g i.e. prosperous in Paradise, and the expression of delight and joy will be obvious on their faces. ^13 h I have previously said that the ethereal are formed inside the material molds; so the furniture, trees, birds and others in the Garden: all that is the issue of our earth and of another earth which was before our earth. The meaning: Every couch made by the carpenter: the ether particles will enter in the pores of that wooden couch, then at least forty days later, an ethereal couch will form inside the wooden couch; so that if the wooden couch breaks up, the ethereal couch formed inside it will remain forever without breaking or vanishing; so the angels will come and take it to Paradise (or the Garden.) As such will also be all the furniture, ornaments and others. For this reason God – be glorified – said in the Quran 7: 43, which means: (And it shall be cried out to them [by God]: "This is Paradise [with which We promised you in the World] that you have [now] as an inheritance because of the [righteous deeds] which you did [in the life of the World.]) It means: Such furniture had been owned by others : the disbelievers, then it has become an inheritance for believers.
^--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Then God – be glorified – started to describe the making of His creatures: how He perfected their creation, so that people may deduce His oneness, by means of such perfection, and He said:] [18] 17. Do they not consider how the camel is [wisely] created!?^a [Then God – be glorified – mentioned the heaven, and He said:] [19] 18. And the sky: how it is raised high [above the earth, without pillars^b], [Then God – be glorified – mentioned the mountains, and He said:] [20] 19. And the mountains how they are set up [on the earth like pegs^c], [21] 20. And the earth how it acquired a [cold crust and] surface ^d?	^17 a They move in the desert, grazing on the thorn instead of the grass, and can forbear being without water for ten days in summer and for forty days in winter. And they carry loads and walk on the sand. ^18 b For had such suffocating and poisonous gases remained on the ground, people would have died with suffocation; but God – be glorified – raised them with His favor and held them with His might. ^19 c And to be as road marks for guiding them, and that out of their rocks they may take stones for building their houses, and out of their minerals they make their tools like pots and others. ^20 d So it became suitable for dwelling, cultivation and for traveling on it from one place to another.
^--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[22] 21. So admonish^a [with the Quran]; for you are only an admonisher^b. [23] 22. You [Mohammed] are not there to control them [but it is God Who does control them^c.] [24] 23. But he who turns his back [away from you, Mohammed,] and disbelieves [in the Quran,] [25] 24. God will chastise him with the greatest chastisement [in Saqar: the greatest one among suns.] [26] 25. Surely, their return [after death] will be to Us. [27] 26. Then their punishment will be up to Us.	^21 a And warn. ^21 b And a warner. ^22 c For God gives them respite for a little while, because some of them will convert in the future, then will believe.
By God's help, the interpretation of the soora 88 of the Quran is completed; So (praise be to God: Lord of the worlds.)

Next Soora

Previous Soora

Contents

Home Page

---

[1] بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

[2] 1. هَلْ أَتَاكَ حَدِيثُ الْغَاشِيَةِ

[3] 2. وُجُوهٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ خَاشِعَةٌ

[4] 3. عَامِلَةٌ نَّاصِبَةٌ

[5] 4. تَصْلَى نَارًا حَامِيَةً

[6] 5. تُسْقَى مِنْ عَيْنٍ آنِيَةٍ

[7] 6. لَّيْسَ لَهُمْ طَعَامٌ إِلَّا مِن ضَرِيعٍ

[8] 7. لَا يُسْمِنُ وَلَا يُغْنِي مِن جُوعٍ

[9] 8. وُجُوهٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ نَّاعِمَةٌ

[10] 9. لِسَعْيِهَا رَاضِيَةٌ

[11] 10. فِي جَنَّةٍ عَالِيَةٍ

[12] 11. لَّا تَسْمَعُ فِيهَا لَاغِيَةً

[13] 12. فِيهَا عَيْنٌ جَارِيَةٌ

[14] 13. فِيهَا سُرُرٌ مَّرْفُوعَةٌ

[15] 14. وَأَكْوَابٌ مَّوْضُوعَةٌ

[16] 15. وَنَمَارِقُ مَصْفُوفَةٌ

[17] 16. وَزَرَابِيُّ مَبْثُوثَةٌ

[18] 17. أَفَلَا يَنظُرُونَ إِلَى الْإِبِلِ كَيْفَ خُلِقَتْ

[19] 18. وَإِلَى السَّمَاء كَيْفَ رُفِعَتْ

[20] 19. وَإِلَى الْجِبَالِ كَيْفَ نُصِبَتْ

[21] 20. وَإِلَى الْأَرْضِ كَيْفَ سُطِحَتْ

[22] 21. فَذَكِّرْ إِنَّمَا أَنتَ مُذَكِّرٌ

[23] 22. لَّسْتَ عَلَيْهِم بِمُصَيْطِرٍ

[24] 23. إِلَّا مَن تَوَلَّى وَكَفَرَ

[25] 24. فَيُعَذِّبُهُ اللَّهُ الْعَذَابَ الْأَكْبَرَ

[26] 25. إِنَّ إِلَيْنَا إِيَابَهُمْ

[27] 25. إِنَّ إِلَيْنَا إِيَابَهُمْ