Kwa farasi wanaopumua kwa kishindo, wanaotoa cheche za moto, wanaoshambulia alfajiri, wanaoinua wingu la vumbi, wakiingia kwa kasi katikati ya jeshi lolote: hakika mwanadamu ni mwenye kumkufuru Mola wake, na yeye mwenyewe ni shahidi wa hilo; na hakika yeye ana mapenzi makubwa kwa mali.
By the snorting coursers, striking sparks of fire, rushing to assault at dawn, raising a trail of dust, storming into any army: man is surely ungrateful to his Lord, and to this he himself bears witness; and truly, he is passionate in his love of wealth. (Verses 1-8)
Mungu anaapa kwa farasi wa vita na kuelezea miendo yao moja baada ya nyingine:
God swears by the war horses and describes their movements one after the other:
kukimbia, kukoroma na kulia kwa farasi. Wanapiga kwato zao dhidi ya mawe, na kutoa cheche za moto. Wanashambulia mapema alfajiri ili kuwashtukiza adui, na kuacha njia ya vumbi wakati wa mapigano yasiyotarajiwa. Wanapenya kwa kasi safu za adui, wakileta fujo na mkanganyiko miongoni mwao. Hatua hizi mfululizo zilikuwa zikijulikana vizuri kwa wale waliofikiwa kwanza na Qur'ani. Ukweli kwamba Mwenyezi Mungu anaapa kwa farasi ni dalili yenye msisitizo kwamba mwendo unaoelezwa ni wa kupendeza, na kwamba watu wanapaswa kuitikia kwa vitendo. Nao hufanya hivyo tu baada ya kutambua jinsi ilivyo ya thamani kwa kipimo cha Mungu, jambo linaloonekana katika kuzingatiwa kwake. Zaidi ya haya yote kuna mshikamano kati ya tukio hili na matukio yaliyo mada ya kiapo cha Mungu, yaani hali ya nafsi ya binadamu inapokosa imani na msukumo wake. Qur'ani inatuvuta kuiangalia hali hii ili tukusanye nguvu zote za mapenzi yetu kupambana nayo. Kwani Mungu anajua kikamilifu jinsi inavyokita mizizi ndani ya mwanadamu na shinikizo kubwa inavyomwekea.
running, snorting and neighing. They strike their hoofs against rocks, producing sparks of fire. They wage their attack early at dawn in order to take the enemy by surprise, producing a trail of dust during the unexpected battle. They swiftly pierce the enemy ranks creating disorder and confusion amongst them. These successive stages were well known to those who were first addressed by the Qur’ān. The fact that God swears by the horses provides an emphatic suggestion that the movement portrayed is a lovable one and that people should respond to it actively. This they do only after realizing how precious it is in God’s measure, which is reflected in His paying attention to it. Added to all this is the harmony between this scene and the scenes which are the subject of the divine oath, namely the state of the human soul when it is devoid of faith and its impetus. The Qur’ān draws our attention to this state in order that we may gather all our will-power to combat it. For God is perfectly aware of how deeply it is ingrained in man and what great pressure it exercises on him.
“Hakika mwanadamu ni mwenye kumkufuru Mola wake; na yeye mwenyewe ni shahidi juu ya hilo; na hakika yeye ana mapenzi makubwa ya mali.” (Aya ya 68) Ni ukweli kwamba mwanadamu hukifuru kwa kutoshukuru neema zote za Mola wake. Hukataa fadhila ambazo Mungu amempa. Kutokushukuru kwake na ukafiri wake huonekana katika vitendo vingi na kauli nyingi ambazo zitatumika kama ushahidi dhidi yake. Au pengine, siku ya Kiyama, anaweza kushuhudia dhidi ya nafsi yake mwenyewe, akikiri ukafiri wake: “Na yeye mwenyewe ni shahidi juu ya hilo.” (Aya ya 7) Kwa maana siku ya Kiyama atasema ukweli mtupu hata dhidi ya nafsi yake, bila ubishi wala udhuru. “Na hakika yeye ana mapenzi makubwa ya mali.” (Aya ya 8)
“Man is surely ungrateful to his Lord, and to this he himself bears witness; and truly, he is passionate in his love of wealth.” (Verses 68) It is a fact that man reacts with ingratitude to all the bounties of his Lord. He denies the favours which God confers on him. His thanklessness and ingratitude is reflected in a host of actions and verbal statements which will serve as witness against him. Or perhaps, on the Day of Judgement, he may testify against himself, admitting his ingratitude: “and to this he himself bears witness.” (Verse 7) For on the Day of Judgement he will speak the plain truth even against himself, without contention or excuse. “And truly, he is passionate in his love of wealth.” (Verse 8)
Mwanadamu ni mpenda nafsi yake kwa shauku kubwa. Lakini yeye hupenda tu kile anachokiwazia kuwa chema kwake mwenyewe: mali, madaraka na starehe za dunia hii. Hii ndiyo tabia yake, isipokuwa awe na imani ambayo hubadilisha mitazamo yake, maadili yake, na hata mambo anayoyajali.
Imani hubadilisha shukrani zake kuwa unyenyekevu wa kushukuru. Hubadilisha tamaa yake na ubahili wake kuwa ukarimu na huruma. Humfanya atambue thamani sahihi zinazostahili kuwa lengo la kutamani na ushindani mkali. Hakika thamani hizo ni tukufu zaidi kuliko fedha, madaraka na starehe za kidunia.
Man is a passionate self-lover. But he loves only what he imagines to be good for himself: wealth, power and the pleasures of this world. This is his nature unless he has faith which changes his concepts, values and even his concerns. Faith changes his ingratitude to humble thankfulness. It changes his greed and miserliness to benevolence and compassion. It makes him aware of the proper values which are worthy of being the object of ambition and hard competition. Indeed these are much more exalted than money, power and mundane pleasures.
Mtu asiye na imani ni kiumbe duni, asiyekuwa na malengo yoyote isipokuwa madogo na mambo ya kawaida tu. Hata matamanio yake yawe makubwa kiasi gani, hata azma zake ziwe kali na malengo yake yaonekane ya juu kiasi gani, bado anabaki amezama katika dimbwi chafu la dunia hii, amefungwa ndani ya mipaka ya maisha haya, amefungwa gerezani mwa nafsi yake. Hawezi kukombolewa wala kuinuliwa isipokuwa kwa kuambatana na ulimwenguulio bora kuliko dunia hii, unaoenea zaidi ya maisha haya; ulimwengu unaotokana na Mungu, Mwenye Kuwepo wa Kwanza, na unaorejea kwa Mungu, Wa Milele; ulimwengu ambao maisha haya na maisha ya Akhera hukutana, na ambao hauna mwisho.
Man without faith is an ignoble creature, having only trivial ambitions and petty concerns. However large his desires, however strong his ambitions and high his objectives may seem, he remains sunk in the cesspool of this earth, confined within the limits of this life, imprisoned in self. He cannot be freed or elevated except by an attachment to a world superior to this earth, extending beyond this life; a world which originates from God who is the First Being and returning to God the Eternal; a world into which this life and the life hereafter converge and which has no end.
Kwa hiyo, sehemu ya mwisho ya sura inatoa tiba ya kutokushukuru, uchoyo na ubakhili. Inaonyesha picha ya Ufufuo kwa namna inayomfanya mtu ajitetemeshe, na inaondoa mapenzi yake ya mali na anasa za dunia akilini mwake, ikiifungua nafsi yake na kuiweka huru kutokana na viambatanisho vya kidunia: "Je, hajui kwamba itakapotawanywa yaliyomo kwenye makaburi, na yaliyomo vifuani yakatolewa, — siku hiyo Mola wao [atadhihirisha kwamba] Yeye anawajua kikamilifu?" (Aya 9-11)
Hence, the final touch in the sūrah provides the cure for ingratitude, greed and miserliness. It portrays the scene of resurrection in a way that makes man shudder, and puts his love for wealth and indulgence in worldly riches out of his mind, unshackling hi soul and setting it free from earthly attachments: “Does he not know that when the contents of the graves are scattered about, and what is in the breasts is brought out — that on that day their Lord [will show that He] is fully aware of them?” (Verses 9-11)
Ni tukio la kutisha na la kuogofya ambapo tunashuhudia "kutawanywa" kwa yaliyomo ndani ya makaburi na kutolewa kwa siri zilizolindwa kwa ukali. Maneno ya Kiarabu, bu`thira na huşşila, yanayotumika hapa kwa kutawanya na kuvuta, ni makali sana, yakionyesha mazingira ya ghasia na nguvu.
It is a violent and frightening scene in which we witness the ‘scattering about’ of the contents of the graves and the bringing out of closely-guarded secrets. The Arabic terms, bu`thira and huşşila, used here for scattering and pulling are very forceful, suggesting an atmosphere of violence and force.
Je, hajui atakachotokea hayo yatakapotokea? Kujua tu yote haya kunatosha kumvutia mtu kutafuta jibu na kuchunguza kila njia katika kulitafuta. Kwani hatimaye lipo mahali ambapo kila jambo na hatima hupangwa: "siku hiyo Mola wao Mlezi atawaonyesha kwamba Yeye ni Mjuzi kamili wa hali zao?" (Aya ya 11)
Does he not know what happens when this will take place? Mere awareness of all this is enough to inspire man to seek an answer and explore every avenue in search of it. For it finally rests where every matter and destiny is settled: “on that day their Lord [will show that He] is fully aware of them?” (Verse 11)
Kwa hiyo, marejeo yao ni kwa Mola wao. Siku hiyo, Yeye anaonyesha kwamba anawajua wao na mambo yao yote pamoja na siri zao. Mungu hakika anajua kila kitu wakati wote na katika hali zote, lakini kujua kuhusu “siku hiyo” kuna athari ya kuvuta umakini wao. Ni ujuzi unaohitaji hesabu na malipo. Maana hii isiyo wazi ndiyo iliyosisitizwa hapa.
So to their Lord is their end. On that day He shows that He knows them and all their affairs and secrets. God certainly knows everything at all times and in all conditions, but knowledge of “that day” has the effect of drawing their attention. It is a knowledge which necessitates reckoning and reward. This implicit meaning is the one underlined here.
Kwa ujumla, sura hii ni kipande cha haraka, chenye nguvu na kisichopumzika, chenye kukatika ghafla kwa maana, usemi na mdundo kwa wakati mmoja.
All in all this sūrah is a swift, vehement and breathless piece, with a sudden terminus of meaning, expression and rhythm all at the same time.