Episode 41: Immortal youths, with lovely, pearl-like eyes (Surahs 55-57)

Surah 55: The Beneficent (Ar-Rahman)

The Lord of the two easts (and the two wests)

^1-12 The Beneficent [Allah?] revealed the Quran and created things.

¹³ Which of your Lord's [Alah's] favors do you deny?

^14-15 He created man from clay and the jinn from smokeless fire.

¹⁷ Allah is Lord of the two easts and two wests!

^19-20 He has let loose the two seas. There's a barrier between them, so they don't meet.

³¹ We'll dispose of you, humans and jinn.

³³ You humans and jinn won't be able to penetrate all regions of heaven and earth without our approval.

By their forelocks and their feet

³⁶ Fire and brass will be sent against you. And you won't escape. ^37-39 When heaven splits and turns a rosy-red color neither humans nor jinni will be questioned about their sin. ⁴¹ The guilty will be known by their marks and will be taken by their forelocks and their feet. ^43-44 This is hell which the guilty say doesn't exist. They circle around between it and fierce, boiling water.

Beautiful maidens, never touched by men or jinni

⁴⁸ But for those who stand in fear before their Lord there will be two gardens. ⁵⁶ In these gardens there will be beautiful maidens with modest gaze, who have never been touched by men or jinni. ⁶² Besides them there are two other gardens. ^70-74 In these gardens there are good and beautiful, fair maidens, who are closely guarded in pavilions, who have never been touched by men or jinni.

Surah 56: The Event (Al-Waqiah)

Three groups of people: right, left, and foremost

^1-3 When the event happens, some will be abased and some exalted. ^4-5 The earth will shake with a shock. And the hills will be ground to powder. ^7-10 There will be three kinds of people: those on the right hand, those on the left hand, and the foremost.

Immortal youths, with lovely, pearl-like eyes

^17-23 The foremost group will be brought to gardens of delight, where they'll be waited on by immortal youths, and fair ones with wide, lovely eyes, like hidden pearls.

Those on the right will get newly created, virgin lovers

^27-37Those on the right will get newly created, virgin lovers

Those on the left will eat from the Zaqqum tree

⁴¹ But what about those on the left hand? They will endure scorching wind and scalding water. ⁴⁷ They used to say, “When we're dead can we be raised back to life again?”

^49-54 So say to them (Muhammad), “You made mistakes or denied things. Now fill your bellies with the fruit from the Zaqqum tree, and drink boiling water.”

⁵⁶ That's how they'll be welcomed on judgment day.

This is a noble Quran

^77-80 This is a noble Quran. A hidden book, which only purified people can touch, a revelation from the lord of the worlds.

^89-90 If you're on the right hand, you get the garden of delight.

^92-94 But those who reject or make mistakes will be welcomed with boiling water and roasted in hell. ⁹⁵ That's a certain truth.

Surah 57: Iron (Al-Hadid)

Allah created everything in six days

⁴ Allah created the heavens and earth in six days. Then he mounted the throne.

⁷ Believe in Allah and his messenger [Muhammad].

The wall between believers and disbelievers

¹³ On that day there will be a wall between the hypocritical men and the believers. On one side there will be mercy, on the other side, doom. ^14-15 The believers will say to the disbelievers, “Your home is the fire, a hapless journey's end.”

¹⁹ Those who disbelieve and deny our [Allah's] revelations will be owners of hellfire.

All disasters come from Allah (Lo! that is easy for Allah)

²⁰ The life of the world is only play and illusion.

²⁶ We made Noah and Abraham prophets and gave the scripture to their seed.

²⁷ We gave Jesus, the son of Mary, the gospel. But then monasticism was invented - we had nothing to do with it.

²⁸ Obey Allah and have faith in his messenger [Muhammad].

If you do, Allah will give you a double reward.