SURAH (37) AL-SAFFAT (AYA 51 to 70)

قَالَ قَائِلٌ مِنْهُمْ إِنِّي كَانَ لِي قَرِينٌ {37:51}

[Q37:51] Qaala qaaa'ilum minhum innee kaana lee qareen,
[Q37:51] A speaker from among them shall say: Surely I had a comrade of mine,

[Q37:51] Seorang di antaranya berkata: Sesungguhnya aku (di dunia) dahulu, ada seorang rakan (yang menempelak daku). 

One in the heaven would say that he had an intimate one in his earthly life

(see commentary for verse 50)

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(37:51) One of them will say: “I had a companion in the world

يَقُولُ أَإِنَّكَ لَمِنَ الْمُصَدِّقِينَ {37:52}

[Q37:52] Yaqoolu a'innnaka laminal musaddiqeen 
[Q37:52] Who said: What! Are you indeed of those who accept (the truth)?

[Q37:52] katanya: Adakah engkau juga salah seorang dari golongan yang mengakui benarnya (kebangkitan orang-orang mati pada hari akhirat)?

He wondered at the believer in the truth.

(see commentary for verse 50)

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(37:52) who used to say: ‘Are you also one of those who confirm the Truth (of life after death)?

أَإِذَا مِتْنَا وَكُنَّا تُرَابًا وَعِظَامًا أَإِنَّا لَمَدِينُونَ {37:53}

[Q37:53] 'A-izaa mitnaa wa kunnaa turaabanw wa 'izaaman 'ainnaa lamadeenoon
[Q37:53] What! When we are dead and have become dust and bones, shall we then be certainly brought to judgment?

[Q37:53] Adakah sesudah kita mati dan menjadi tanah dan tulang, adakah kita akan (dihidupkan semula serta) dibalas apa yang telah kita lakukan? 

And doubted about the resurrection after death.

(see commentary for verse 50)

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(37:53) After we are dead and have become all dust and bones shall we still be requited?’ *31

*31 That is, "Were you also one of those credulous people who put their faith in an irrational and impossible thing like life-after-death?" 

قَالَ هَلْ أَنْتُمْ مُطَّلِعُونَ {37:54}

[Q37:54] Qaala hal antum muttali'oon.
[Q37:54] He shall say: Will you look on?

[Q37:54] (Setelah menceritakan perihal rakannya itu) dia berkata lagi: Adakah kamu hendak melihat (keadaan rakanku yang ingkar itu)? 

He shall tell them to see the fate of the disbelievers in Hell.

(see commentary for verse 50)

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(37:54) He will say: ‘Do you wish to know where he is now?’

فَاطَّلَعَ فَرَآهُ فِي سَوَاءِ الْجَحِيمِ {37:55}

[Q37:55] Fattala'a fara aahu fee sawaaa'il Jaheem. 
[Q37:55] Then he looked down and saw him in the midst of hell.

[Q37:55] Maka dia pun memandang (ke arah Neraka), lalu dilihatnya rakannya itu berada ditengah-tengah Neraka yang menjulang-julang.  

(see commentary for verse 50)

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(37:55) Then he will look downwards, and will see him in the depths of Hell.

قَالَ تَاللَّهِ إِنْ كِدْتَ لَتُرْدِينِ {37:56}

[Q37:56] Qaala taLLaahi in kitta laturdeen. 
[Q37:56] He shall say: By ALLAH (SWT)! You had almost caused me to perish;

[Q37:56] Dia pun (menempelaknya dengan) berkata: Demi ALLAH (SwT)! Nyaris-nyaris engkau menceburkan daku dalam kebinasaan. 

(see commentary for verse 50)

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(37:56) He will say to him: ‘By Allah, you almost ruined me.

وَلَوْلَا نِعْمَةُ رَبِّي لَكُنْتُ مِنَ الْمُحْضَرِينَ {37:57}

[Q37:57] Wa law laa ni'matu Rabbee lakuntu minal muhdareen. 
[Q37:57] And had it not been for the favor of my Lord, I would certainly have been among those brought up.

[Q37:57] Dan kalaulah tidak disebabkan nikmat pemberian Tuhanku (dengan hidayat petunjuk), nescaya akan menjadilah daku dari orang-orang yang dibawa hadir (untuk menerima balasan azab).  

(see commentary for verse 50)

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(37:57) But for Allah’s favour, I should be one of those who have been mustered here. *32

*32 THIS SHOWS HOW POWERFUL WILL BE MAN'S HEARING, SEEING AND SPEAKING POWERS IN THE HEREAFTER. Sitting in Paradise he bends his head a little and is able to see a person, who is undergoing torment thousands of miles away in Hell, without the agency of a television set. Then, they not only just see each other, but also commune with each other directly without the medium of the telephone or radio and they speak and hear each other over vast distances. 

أَفَمَا نَحْنُ بِمَيِّتِينَ {37:58}

[Q37:58] Afamaa nahnu bimaiyiteen, 
[Q37:58] Is it then that we are not going to die,

[Q37:58] (Kemudian dia berkata kepada rakan-rakanya yang sedang menikmati kesenangan di Syurga bersama): Bukankah kita (setelah mendapat nikmat-nikmat ini) tidak akan mati lagi; 

Having seen the fate of the disbeliever AND feeling the joy for being safe, the individual gets conscious of the danger of once again being return to the earthly life and asks if there is in future any other life of temptation and the risk of suffering any consequent perdition. Death stands for the turning point from the one state of life to another.

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(37:58) So, are we not going to die,

إِلَّا مَوْتَتَنَا الْأُولَىٰ وَمَا نَحْنُ بِمُعَذَّبِينَ {37:59}

[Q37:59] illa mawtatanal oola wa maa nahnu bimu'azzabeen 
[Q37:59] Except our previous death? And we shall not be chastised?

[Q37:59] Selain dari kematian kita yang dahulu dan kita juga tidak akan terkena seksa?  

(see commentary for verse 50 & 58)

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(37:59) except for our first death? And shall we suffer no chastisement?’ *33

*33 The style clearly shows that while speaking to his friend in Hell, the dweller of Paradise suddenly starts talking to himself. He speaks these three sentences in a way as if he found himself in a state much better than that he ever expected and imagined for himself, and now being beside himself with wonder and joy he is engaged in a sort of soliloquy. In such a state the speaker does not speak to an addressee, nor the questions he asks are meant to find out something from somebody, but in this state the man's own feelings fmd expression through his tongue. The dweller of Paradise, while speaking to the dweller of Hell, suddenly starts feeling how he has been favoured by good fortune: now there is neither death nor any torment: all troubles and distresses have come to an end and he has been blessed with immortality. Under this very feeling he exclaims: "Well arc we not to die any other than our first death? Are we not to be punished?" 

إِنَّ هَٰذَا لَهُوَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ {37:60}

[Q37:60] Inna haazaa falya'ma lil'aamiloon. 
[Q37:60] Most surely this is the mighty achievement.

[Q37:60] Sesungguhnya (nikmat-nikmat kesenangan Syurga) yang demikian, ialah sebenar-benar pendapatan dan kemenangan yang besar. 

(see commentary for verse 50 & 58)

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(37:60) Surely this is the supreme triumph.

لِمِثْلِ هَٰذَا فَلْيَعْمَلِ الْعَامِلُونَ {37:61}

[Q37:61] Limisli haaza falya'ma lil 'aamiloon. 
[Q37:61] For the like of this then let the workers work.

[Q37:61] Untuk memperoleh (kejayaan) yang seperti inilah hendaknya orang-orang yang beramal melakukan amal usahanya dengan bersungguh-sungguh (di dunia). 

(see commentary for verse 50 & 58)

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(37:61) For the like of it should the workers work.

أَذَٰلِكَ خَيْرٌ نُزُلًا أَمْ شَجَرَةُ الزَّقُّومِ {37:62}

[Q37:62] Azaalika khairun nuzulan am shajaratuz Zaqqoom 
[Q37:62] Is this better as an entertainment or the tree of Zaqqum?

[Q37:62] Manakah yang lebih baik, limpah kurniaan yang termaklum itu atau pokok zaqqum?

Refer to the commentary of Bani Israil 17:60. The tree of Zaqqum is a tree having small leaves, stinging, dust coloured, with a pungent odour, bitter taste and knots in its stem. This bitter tree of hell is a symbol of the contrast with the beautiful garden of paradise with its delicious fruits.

When the dwellers of hell eat of the Zaqqum, they are brought up to drink the mixture of boiling water as a further punishment, after which they go back to repeat the round.

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(37:62) Is this a better hospitality or the tree of al-Zaqqum? *34

*34 Zaqqum is a tree of the cactus species found in Tihamah. It is bitter in taste, obnoxious in smell and sheds a milk like juice when cut or broken.

إِنَّا جَعَلْنَاهَا فِتْنَةً لِلظَّالِمِينَ {37:63}

[Q37:63] Innaa ja'alnaahaa fitnatal lizzaalimeen. 
[Q37:63] Surely We have made it to be a trial to the unjust.

[Q37:63] Sesungguhnya Kami jadikan pokok zaqqum itu satu ujian bagi orang-orang yang zalim (di dunia dan azab seksa bagi mereka di akhirat). 

(see commentary for verse 62)

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(37:63) We have made this tree a trial for the wrong-doers. *35

*35 That is, "On hearing this the disbelievers get a new opportunity to taunt the Qur'an and mock the Holy Prophet. They ridicule it saying, `Listen another strange thing: a tree will grow in the blazing fire of Hell'!" 

إِنَّهَا شَجَرَةٌ تَخْرُجُ فِي أَصْلِ الْجَحِيمِ {37:64}

[Q37:64] Innahaa shajaratun takhruju feee aslil Jaheem; 
[Q37:64] Surely it is a tree that-grows in the bottom of the hell;

[Q37:64] Sebenarnya ia sebatang pohon yang tumbuh di dasar Neraka yang marak menjulang; 

(see commentary for verse 62)

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(37:64) It is a tree that grows in the nethermost part of Hell.

طَلْعُهَا كَأَنَّهُ رُءُوسُ الشَّيَاطِينِ {37:65}

[Q37:65] Tal'uhaa ka annahoo ru'oosush Shayaateen; 
[Q37:65] Its produce is as it were the heads of the serpents.

[Q37:65] Buahnya seolah-olah kepala Syaitan-syaitan; 

(see commentary for verse 62)

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(37:65) Its spathes are like the heads of satans. *36

*36 Nobody should have the misunderstanding that since no one has seen the head of Satan, it was no use likening the buds of zaqqum to it. This is, in fact, an imaginative kind of the simile, and is employed in the literature of every language. For example, in order to give an idea of the rare beauty of a woman, it is said she is a fairy, and in order to describe her ugliness, it is said that she is a hag or a demon. Likewise, a pious-looking person is described as an angel and a dreadful-looking person as a devil. 

فَإِنَّهُمْ لَآكِلُونَ مِنْهَا فَمَالِئُونَ مِنْهَا الْبُطُونَ {37:66}

[Q37:66] Fa innahum la aakiloona minhaa famaali'oona minhal butoon. 
[Q37:66] Then most surely they shall eat of it and fill (their) bellies with it.

[Q37:66] Maka sudah tentu mereka akan makan dari buahnya (sekalipun pahit dan busuk), sehingga mereka memenuhi perut darinya.  

(see commentary for verse 62)

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(37:66) (The people of Hell) will surely eat of it, filling their bellies with it.

ثُمَّ إِنَّ لَهُمْ عَلَيْهَا لَشَوْبًا مِنْ حَمِيمٍ {37:67}

[Q37:67] Summa inna lahum 'alaihaa lashawbam min hameem. 
[Q37:67] Then most surely they shall have after it to drink of a mixture prepared in boiling water.

[Q37:67] Kemudian, sesungguhnya mereka akan beroleh lagi (selain itu) satu minuman campuran dari air panas yang menggelegak. 

(see commentary for verse 62)

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(37:67) Then on top of it they will have a brew of boiling water.

ثُمَّ إِنَّ مَرْجِعَهُمْ لَإِلَى الْجَحِيمِ {37:68}

[Q37:68] Summa inna marji'ahum la ilal Jaheem. 
[Q37:68] Then most surely their return shall be to hell.

[Q37:68] Setelah (mereka dibawa minum) maka tempat kembali mereka tetaplah ke dalam Neraka yang menjulang-julang. 

(see commentary for verse 62)

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(37:68) Then their return will be to the same blazing Hell. *37

*37 This shows that when the dwellers of Hell will be in distress due to hunger and thirst, they will be driven to the side where there would be the zaqqum trees and the springs of boiling water. When they will have eaten and drunk, they will be brought back to Hell. 

إِنَّهُمْ أَلْفَوْا آبَاءَهُمْ ضَالِّينَ {37:69}

[Q37:69] Innahum alfaw aabaaa'ahum daaalleen; 
[Q37:69] Surely they found their fathers going astray,

[Q37:69] Sebenarnya mereka telah mendapati datuk nenek mereka berada dalam kesesatan; 

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 (37:69) These are the ones who found their fathers steeped in error,

فَهُمْ عَلَىٰ آثَارِهِمْ يُهْرَعُونَ {37:70}

[Q37:70] Fahum 'alaa aasaarihim yuhra'oon. 
[Q37:70] So in their footsteps they are being hastened on.

[Q37:70] Lalu mereka terburu-buru menurut jejak langkah datuk neneknya. 

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(37:70) and they are running in their footsteps.