24. Sūrat al-Nūr

٢٤۔ سُورَةُ النُّور

Qurʾān > Chapter 24 > Section 11
القرآن > كتاب ٢٤ > باب ١١

24.11 Deeds of disbelievers are like a mirage in a sandy desert.

٢٤۔١١ مقطع في سُورَةُ النُّور

quran:24:39 –

But those who disbelieved - their deeds are like a mirage in a lowland which a thirsty one thinks is water until, when he comes to it, he finds it is nothing but finds Allah before Him, and He will pay him in full his due; and Allah is swift in account.  

And as for those who disbelieve, their works are like a mirage in a plain (qī‘a is the plural of qā‘, that is to say, fulāt, ‘an open space’). ˹A mirage is˺ a kind of radiation which one might observe therein at midday during extreme heat, resembling running water — which the thirsty man supposes to be water until he comes to it and finds it to be nothing, like what he had supposed. Likewise is ˹the case of˺ the disbeliever who supposes that his deeds, such as some voluntary alms, will benefit him; but when he dies and comes before his Lord he will not find his deed, in other words, it will be of no benefit to him; and he finds God there, namely, in the place of his deeds, Who pays him his account in full, that is, He requites him for it in this world; and God is swift at reckoning, that is, at requiting.
القرآن:٢٤:٣٩ –

وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَعْمَالُهُمْ كَسَرَابٍ بِقِيعَةٍ يَحْسَبُهُ الظَّمْآنُ مَاءً حَتَّىٰ إِذَا جَاءَهُ لَمْ يَجِدْهُ شَيْئًا وَوَجَدَ اللَّهَ عِنْدَهُ فَوَفَّاهُ حِسَابَهُ ۗ وَاللَّهُ سَرِيعُ الْحِسَابِ  

{والذين كفروا أعمالهم كسراب بقيعةِ} جمع قاع: أي فيلاه وهو شعاع يرى فيها نصف النهار في شدة الحر يشبه الماء الجاري {يحسبه} يظنه {الظمآن} أي العطشان {ماءً حتى إذا جاءه لم يجده شيئا} مما حسبه كذلك الكافر يحسب أن عمله كصدقه ينفعه حتى إذا مات وقدم على ربه لم يجد عمله أي لم ينفعه {ووجد الله عنده} أي عند عمله {فوفَّاه حسابه} أي جازاه عليه في الدنيا {والله سريع الحساب} أي المجازاة.
quran:24:40 –

Or ˹they are˺ like darknesses within an unfathomable sea which is covered by waves, upon which are waves, over which are clouds - darknesses, some of them upon others. When one puts out his hand ˹therein˺, he can hardly see it. And he to whom Allah has not granted light - for him there is no light.  

Or, ˹it is that˺ those who disbelieve, their evil deeds are, as the manifold darkness on a deep sea, covered by a billow, above which, that is, ˹above which˺ billow, there is ˹another˺ billow, above which, second billow, there are clouds, these being the, manifold ˹layers of˺ darkness, one on top of another, the darkness of the sea, the darkness of the first billow, the darkness of the second together with the darkness of the clouds. When he, an observer, holds out his hand, in such layers of darkness, he can scarcely see it, in other words, he would not ˹even˺ come close to seeing it. And he whom God has not granted any light has no light, that is to say, he whom God does not guide cannot be guided.
القرآن:٢٤:٤٠ –

أَوْ كَظُلُمَاتٍ فِي بَحْرٍ لُجِّيٍّ يَغْشَاهُ مَوْجٌ مِنْ فَوْقِهِ مَوْجٌ مِنْ فَوْقِهِ سَحَابٌ ۚ ظُلُمَاتٌ بَعْضُهَا فَوْقَ بَعْضٍ إِذَا أَخْرَجَ يَدَهُ لَمْ يَكَدْ يَرَاهَا ۗ وَمَنْ لَمْ يَجْعَلِ اللَّهُ لَهُ نُورًا فَمَا لَهُ مِنْ نُورٍ  

{أو} الذين كفروا أعمالهم السيئة {كظلمات في بحر لجَّي} عميق {يغشاه موج من فوقه} أي الموج {موج من فوقه} أي الموج الثاني {سحاب} أي غيم، هذه {ظلمات بعضها فوق بعض} ظلمة البحر وظلمة الموج الأول، وظلمة الثاني وظلمة السحاب {إذا أخرج} الناظر {يده} في هذه الظلمات {لم يكد يراها} أي لم يقرب من رؤيتها {ومن لم يجعل الله له نورا فما له من نور} أي من لم يهده الله لم يهتد.