Islam
Surah Al-Waaqia (56)"The Inevitable", 96 verses, revealed in Mecca
Text
When the event befalleth -
There is no denying that it will befall -
Abasing (some), exalting (others);
When the earth is shaken with a shock
And the hills are ground to powder
So that they become a scattered dust,
And ye will be three kinds:
(First) those on the right hand; what of those on the right hand?
And (then) those on the left hand; what of those on the left hand?
And the foremost in the race, the foremost in the race:
Those are they who will be brought nigh
In gardens of delight;
A multitude of those of old
And a few of those of later time.
On lined couches,
Reclining therein face to face.
There wait on them immortal youths
With bowls and ewers and a cup from a pure spring
Wherefrom they get no aching of the head nor any madness,
And fruit that they prefer
And flesh of fowls that they desire.
And (there are) fair ones with wide, lovely eyes,
Like unto hidden pearls,
Reward for what they used to do.
There hear they no vain speaking nor recrimination
(Naught) but the saying: Peace, (and again) Peace.
And those on the right hand; what of those on the right hand?
Among thornless lote-trees
And clustered plantains,
And spreading shade,
And water gushing,
And fruit in plenty
Neither out of reach nor yet forbidden,
And raised couches;
Lo! We have created them a (new) creation
And made them virgins,
Lovers, friends,
For those on the right hand;
A multitude of those of old
And a multitude of those of later time.
And those on the left hand: What of those on the left hand?
In scorching wind and scalding water
And shadow of black smoke,
Neither cool nor refreshing.
Lo! heretofore they were effete with luxury
And used to persist in the awful sin.
And they used to say: When we are dead and have become dust and bones, shall we then, forsooth, be raised again,
And also our forefathers?
Say (unto them, O Muhammad): Lo! those of old and those of later time
Will all be brought together to the tryst of an appointed day.
Then lo! ye, the erring, the deniers,
Ye verily will eat of a tree called Zaqqum
And will fill your bellies therewith;
And thereon ye will drink of boiling water,
Drinking even as the camel drinketh.
This will be their welcome on the Day of Judgment.
We created you. Will ye then admit the truth?
Have ye seen that which ye emit?
Do ye create it or are We the Creator?
We mete out death among you, and We are not to be outrun,
That We may transfigure you and make you what ye know not.
And verily ye know the first creation. Why, then, do ye not reflect?
Have ye seen that which ye cultivate?
Is it ye who foster it, or are We the Fosterer?
If We willed, We verily could make it chaff, then would ye cease not to exclaim:
Lo! we are laden with debt!
Nay, but we are deprived!
Have ye observed the water which ye drink?
Is it ye who shed it from the raincloud, or are We the Shedder?
If We willed We verily could make it bitter. Why then, give ye not thanks?
Have ye observed the fire which ye strike out;
Was it ye who made the tree thereof to grow, or were We the grower?
We, even We, appointed it a memorial and a comfort for the dwellers in the wilderness.
Therefor (O Muhammad), praise the name of thy Lord, the Tremendous.
Nay, I swear by the places of the stars -
And lo! that verily is a tremendous oath, if ye but knew -
That (this) is indeed a noble Qur'an
In a Book kept hidden
Which none toucheth save the purified,
A revelation from the Lord of the Worlds.
Is it this Statement that ye scorn,
And make denial thereof your livelihood?
Why, then, when (the soul) cometh up to the throat (of the dying)
And ye are at that moment looking
- And We are nearer unto him than ye are, but ye see not -
Why then, if ye are not in bondage (unto Us),
Do ye not force it back, if ye are truthful?
Thus if he is of those brought nigh,
Then breath of life, and plenty, and a Garden of delight.
And if he is of those on the right hand,
Then (the greeting) "Peace be unto thee" from those on the right hand.
But if he is of the rejecters, the erring,
Then the welcome will be boiling water
And roasting at hell-fire.
Lo! this is certain truth.
Therefor (O Muhammad) praise the name of thy Lord, the Tremendous.
English: Marmaduke Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930), public domain, via alquran.cloud.
✦ Connected Across Traditions
The Golden Rule
Matthew 7:12
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
Leviticus 19:18
“Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Mahabharata 5.1517
“One should never do to another what one regards as injurious to oneself.”
Dhammapada 10:1
“All tremble at violence; all fear death. Putting oneself in the place of another, one should not kill nor cause another to kill.”
Impermanence & Letting Go
Dhammapada 20:277
“All conditioned things are impermanent. When one sees this with wisdom, one turns away from suffering.”
Tao Te Ching 76
“A man is born gentle and weak. At his death he is hard and stiff. The soft and yielding is the disciple of life.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1-2
“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.”
Bhagavad Gita 2:22
“As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones.”
Good vs Evil / Light vs Darkness
Yasna 30:3
“Now the two primal Spirits, who reveal themselves as Twins, are the Better and the Bad, in thought and word and action.”
John 1:5
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Dhammapada 1:1-2
“Mind is the forerunner of all actions. If one speaks or acts with a pure mind, happiness follows like a shadow.”
Genesis 1:3
“And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”