| | Bijan Moeinian rendition of Surah The Letter Sad(Sad)
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| 38:1 | | S; Hereby God swears by Qur’an which is full of admonition |
| 38:2 | | The reason for which Qur’an is being rejected is because of the false pride and hard headiness of the disbelievers |
| 38:3 | | How many nations before them I (God) destroyed. At the time of their doom they cried for mercy but it was too late |
| 38:4 | | They wonder how is it possible that a person from among themselves is being appointed as a messenger to them to relay the word of God. They say that Mohammad is a lying sorcerer |
| 38:5 | | Mohammad has come with the idea of One God instead of so many gods that we have! What a weird idea |
| 38:6 | | The chief of the disbelievers running around saying: “Go ahead and worship your gods; for sure Mohammad has a hidden agenda behind his invitation.&rdquo |
| 38:7 | | “If he is right, how come we have not heard anything similar from our ascendants? He is surely fabricating all this&rdquo |
| 38:8 | | “How come he is the only one that God has sent upon His admonitions?” The fact of the matter is they are in doubt about Mohammad’s divine mission as they have not tasted My (God’s) punishment |
| 38:9 | | Who in the heaven these disbelievers think they are to decide who should be sent to them as the Lord’s messenger? Do they think that they have the treasures of the mercy of your Lord, the Mightiest, the Most Generous |
| 38:10 | | Or perhaps they think that they own the kingdom of the heavens and the earth. If so, then let them mount up to the throne with ropes |
| 38:11 | | These disbelievers are only a small group of disbelievers who will be drawn here to meet their miserable destiny |
| 38:12 | | Before them, there were other disbelievers such as people of Noah, people of Ad and people of mighty pharaoh |
| 38:13 | | Among other disbelievers were people of Thamud, people of Lot and people of Aiykan |
| 38:14 | | All the above mentioned people denied their prophets and, therefore, deserved My (God’s) punishment |
| 38:15 | | Today’s disbelievers, too, deserve a single blast enough for their annihilation [so that they get no more relief.] |
| 38:16 | | The [foolish] disbelievers mockingly say: “Our Lord, why wait for the Day of Judgment? send down our punishment now!&rdquo |
| 38:17 | | Be patient with them and recite the story of our servant David [to strengthen your patience and as a lesson to the disbelievers who have falsified his life story]. He was blessed with power and turned to God in every matter |
| 38:18 | | He was given the authority to order the mountains to join him in praising the Lord every morning and every evening |
| 38:19 | | The birds too would join him in praise |
| 38:20 | | I gave him a secure and strong nation to rule and blessed him with the faculty of sound justice |
| 38:21 | | Have you heard this story of David [which is mentioned in Samuel, ch.1-9 in a false manner] when two men climbed the wall in order to talk to him in private |
| 38:22 | | At first he was frightened to see the two strangers in his private quarters. They said: “Do not be afraid; we are here just for your judgment. Be fair and guide us to the right path.&rdquo |
| 38:23 | | One of them said: “This brother of mine owns ship and I own only one. Now he is asking me to give him my only ship [as he can take better care of it!]&rdquo |
| 38:24 | | David said: “This person is definitely wrong. In fact the people who live together are prone to be unjust to each other save a few believer who are extremely righteous.” David suddenly realized that he himself has been tried by this case [as he had asked Uriah to divorce his wife and let David add her to the list of his wives.] David then fell down prostrate and begged his Lord for forgiveness for his wrong intention |
| 38:25 | | Then I (God) forgave David and he [unlike what they have presented him as an adulterous/ murderer in the existing version of the Bible] is one of the closest to Me and has an excellent place in Paradise |
| 38:26 | | [Then his Lord commanded:] “ O David, I have made you My representative in the earth, so rule among the people with justice and do not follow your lust, for it will deviate you from the path of God.” For those who deviate from the path of God, there is an awful punishment because they did not take the Day of judgment seriously |
| 38:27 | | I (God) have not created the heavens, the earth and anything between in vain [so that you play any game without worrying about its consequences.] This is the fancy of those who have chosen to disbelieve. Pity to such disbelievers who will end up in Hellfire |
| 38:28 | | Should I (God) treat those who believe and do good deeds like those who spread evil in the earth? Should I treat the pious and the sinners equally |
| 38:29 | | This Qur’an is a blessed book [in the sense that it is highly useful for man] that I have sent to you so that these people may reflect over its verses; the intelligent ones will learn lessons from it |
| 38:30 | | I granted a son to David known as Solomon who was a role servant of Mine returning to his Lord over and over |
| 38:31 | | One day he became pre-occupied with nice horses all afternoon [which caused a delay in saying his regular afternoon prayers] |
| 38:32 | | Blaming himself] he said: “I enjoyed material things more that the remembrance of my Lord.&rdquo |
| 38:33 | | Then [When he finished worshipping God,] he said: “Bring them back to me [to bid farewell]” and he rubbed their legs and necks [some say he sacrificed them to show that he likes God more than his most favorite belongings.] |
| 38:34 | | This is the way that I put Solomon to test; [unlike Job being tested with poverty] with vast material wealth [and he did not forget God’s regular worshipping while being extremely wealthy from any point of view.] I put a mere body on his throne [probably reference to an out of body experience.] |
| 38:35 | | Then he turned to me in prayer saying: “My Lord, I beg you to forgive my wrongdoings. I also wish that you grant me a kingdom impossible to atop after me [making me the most powerful king ever to be] ; indeed you are the grantor of wishes.&rdquo |
| 38:36 | | I [granted his wish and as a mean of the power] subdued the winds to him so that he may direct them anywhere he wants [and water that place.] |
| 38:37 | | I (God) also imprisoned for him the mean extraterrestrials (Jinns) who [with their advanced technology] would build whatever he wanted and dive for him [to extract the treasures of the seas.] |
| 38:38 | | They were all at his disposal |
| 38:39 | | I told him: “This is your provision. You may share it with the others or you may keep it all to yourself as you wish.&rdquo |
| 38:40 | | Indeed [in account of his behavior] he is honored to be close to me and a wonderful place to live in |
| 38:41 | | Now mention [the other extreme which is the case of] My servant Job who [at the height of his misery] turned to Me imploring: “Satan [is taking advantage of my misery and] tempting me to turn against my Lord.&rdquo |
| 38:42 | | I [decided enough testing in poverty is enough and] told him: “Strike the ground with your foot; a spring will appear for the pleasure of your drinking and healing [your terrible skin disease.]&rdquo |
| 38:43 | | Then I restored to him his family and twice as much as he had lost [for his test in this world.] Such is God’s mercy; a reminder for those who [use their brain to] think |
| 38:44 | | Now instead of beating [your wife who has shown weakness at the height of your trial in the misery], as you have sworn to your Lord, use only weak straws to strike [as a symbol of fulfilling your oath.] I found him patient and an excellent servant of mine who returned to Me over and over again |
| 38:45 | | Mention also our servants Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They were resourceful and men of vision |
| 38:46 | | I chose to purify them in account of their concentration of their efforts towards the Hereafter |
| 38:47 | | They were chosen because of their righteousness |
| 38:48 | | Mention also Ishmael, Elisha [see I Kings, 19,: 15-also the Second Book of the Kings Chs. 2-about his life] and Duhl-Kifl [see EN of Maududi’s translation of Ch. of Qur’an]. They were righteous too |
| 38:49 | | These Prophets are among the righteous ones who earned their wonderful destiny |
| 38:50 | | The Gardens of Eden will open up their gates for them |
| 38:51 | | Relaxing in Paradise they will be offered many kind of fruits and drinks |
| 38:52 | | They will marry the modest young ladies |
| 38:53 | | This is what I have promised for the righteous ones&hellip |
| 38:54 | | in the Day of Judgment: an endless goodies |
| 38:55 | | For the wrongdoers, there will be the most terrible place |
| 38:56 | | They will burn in Hell. What a miserable place to end up in |
| 38:57 | | They will be given boiling water… |
| 38:58 | | and stinky pus-blood type of drinks |
| 38:59 | | When a new group arrives, there will be no welcoming. Only an announcement: “Here is a new group to be burned with you.” They have deserved to burn in the Hellfire |
| 38:60 | | The new comers will complain to the Hell’s residents: “You deviated us from the right path to this end. You deserve to suffer like this.&rdquo |
| 38:61 | | They will pray: “O Lord double the punishment of those who misled us to the Fire.&rdquo |
| 38:62 | | They will say to each other: “How come we do not find any of those [believers] whom we were calling names?&rdquo |
| 38:63 | | “Is it possible that we were wrong at mocking at them or it is only due to our bad eye-sight that we do not see them?&rdquo |
| 38:64 | | This is a fact: The inmates of Fire will engage in such kind of dialogue |
| 38:65 | | Tell people: “I am nothing but a Warner. There is no deity but God, the One, the All-Mighty.&rdquo |
| 38:66 | | God is the Master of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them. He is the Most High, the Most Forgiving |
| 38:67 | | (Mohammad) say: “This [Qur’an in general and the followings in particular] is a great news (source of information).&rdquo |
| 38:68 | | “That you avoid it!” (How can one be objective and completely eliminate Qur’an in Theological discussions? |
| 38:69 | | Say: “I (Mohammad) did not know nothing about the time when the big dispute (as explained below) was taking place among those with high ranks.&rdquo |
| 38:70 | | “I (Mohammad) am informed about all these through divine revelation and my only mission is to relay the message to you (that is why in Islam the Prophets are referred to as Messengers) |
| 38:71 | | Your Lord said to the Angels: “I am going to create [the body of] a human being from clay (the matter).&rdquo |
| 38:72 | | “Once finished, I will bring him into life by blowing My Spirit into him (man’s source of energy, therefore, is divine). Then you prostrate yourself before him.&rdquo |
| 38:73 | | All Angels fell prostrate before man |
| 38:74 | | Except Satan who was arrogant and unappreciative [of God’s best creation] |
| 38:75 | | The Lord said: “O Satan, what prevented you from prostrating [as a sign of appreciation] yourself before the one whom I created directly? Is it beneath your dignity [to obey your Lord] |
| 38:76 | | Satan replied: “I am better than him; you created man from the matter while I am made of fire (pure energy).&rdquo |
| 38:77 | | The Lord said: “Get out of My Sight as you lost your high rank.&rdquo |
| 38:78 | | “My curse is with you till the Day of Judgment [when you will be sentenced.] |
| 38:79 | | The Satan said: “then give me a break till the Day of resurrection.&rdquo |
| 38:80 | | The Lord said: “You will get a relief&hellip |
| 38:81 | | until that Day.&rdquo |
| 38:82 | | The Satan said: “I swear by your majesty that I will entice all men to disobedience.&rdquo |
| 38:83 | | “Only your devote worshipper will escape me.&rdquo |
| 38:84 | | God said: “This is [a part of] the truth… |
| 38:85 | | The [whole] truth is that I will fill Hell with you and whoever that will follow you.&rdquo |
| 38:86 | | Mohammad, say: “I am not asking any fee for this warning [of such importance] as I am not an imposter.&rdquo |
| 38:87 | | “What I say is a reminder from God to the whole humanity.&rdquo |
| 38:88 | | “Whether you believe me or not, you will see it yourself soon.&rdquo |
