Ali Quli Qarai, The Qur’ān with a Phrase-by-Phrase English Translation (2005)

29 It burns the skin.
30 There are nineteen [keepers] over it.
31 We have assigned only angels as keepers of the Fire,
and We have made their number
merely a stumbling block for the faithless,
and that those given the Book may be reassured,
and the faithful may increase in [their] faith,
and that those given the Book may not doubt
and the faithful [as well],
and that those in whose hearts is a sickness may say,
and the faithless [along with them],
‘What did Allah mean by this description?’
Thus does Allah lead astray whomever He wishes,
and guides whomever He wishes.
No one knows the hosts of your Lord except Him,
and it 1 is just an admonition for all humans.
32 No indeed!
By the Moon!
33 By the night when it recedes!
34 By the dawn when it brightens!
35 Indeed it is one of the greatest [signs]
36 — a warner to all humans,
37 [alike] for those of you who like to advance ahead
and those who would linger behind.
38 Every soul is hostage to what it has earned,
39 except the People of the Right Hand.
40 [They will be] in gardens, questioning
41 concerning the guilty:
42 ‘What drew you into Hell?’

1 That is, the statement that there are nineteen wardens in charge of hell.

Cite this page

Ali Quli Qarai, The Qur’ān with a Phrase-by-Phrase English Translation, Islamic College for Advance Studies Press (ICAS), London (Distributed by The Centre for Translation of the Holy Qur’ān, Qom, Iran), Consulted online at “Quran Archive - Texts and Studies on the Quran” on 15 Jan. 2025: http://quran-archive.org/explorer/ali-quli-qarai/2005?page=854