Texts of Islam

The Meaning of the Glorious Qur'ân,: 37. as-Saffat: The Rangers

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This is Chapter 37 (As-Saffat, "The Rangers") from M.M. Pickthall's early 20th-century English translation of the Quran, rendered in a formal, archaic register meant to preserve the text's solemnity. The chapter opens with oaths sworn by angelic ranks, affirming God's absolute unity and sovereignty, then pivots to a vivid eschatological scene: the Day of Judgment, where the wicked face hell's torments — including the tree of Zaqqum, whose fruit resembles devils' heads — while the faithful enjoy paradise's gardens, springs, and companionship. A substantial middle section recounts the stories of six prophets (Noah, Abraham, Moses and Aaron, Elias, Lot, and Jonah) as a typological series, each illustrating the pattern of divine rescue for the faithful and destruction for those who reject warning. The Abraham episode is the chapter's dramatic centerpiece, retelling the near-sacrifice of his son as the paradigmatic test of submission, with God substituting "a tremendous victim" at the last moment. The chapter closes by rebuking pagan Arab claims that God has daughters or kinship with jinn, insisting these are outright falsehoods, and reassures Muhammad that his opponents will shortly see the truth vindicated. Readers drawn to Quranic eschatology, prophetic narrative typology, or the history of Quran translation into English will find this chapter representative of the scripture's rhetorical and theological style.

The Meaning of the Glorious Qur'ân,: 37. as-Saffat: The Rangers

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