这一简短的章节提到了前一章《黯然》中所论述的那场大变动，但赋予了它一种特别的色彩。它的节奏不同，深沉而平静，并带有一丝责备之意，同时隐含着一种威胁。因此，它不像前一章那样详细描述大变动的种种景象，因为在那一章中这些景象占据主导。相反，这里的场景较为简短，以契合其较为安静的氛围和较为舒缓的节奏。

This short sūrah refers to the great upheaval discussed in the previous sūrah The Darkening, but gives it a special colour. It has a different rhythm, deep and calm. It adds a touch of expostulation coupled with an implicit threat. Hence, it does not detail the scenes of the great upheaval as in the previous sūrah, where these scenes predominate. Instead the scenes here are shorter, in order to suit its quieter atmosphere and slower rhythm.

在该章的开端，经文提到天空破裂、星辰陨落、海洋涌溢、坟墓被翻转，并将这些与每个灵魂在那重大的日子里知晓自己先前和后来的所作所为相提并论。

At the opening the sūrah mentions the cleaving of the sky, the scattering of the stars, the bursting of the oceans and the hurling of the graves as simultaneous with every soul’s knowledge of its earlier and later actions, on that momentous day.

第二部分以责备开始，并隐含着对那些蒙受丰厚恩典却不知感恩之人的警告。“人啊！是什么使你背离了你慷慨的主？他创造你，塑造你，使你身材匀称。他愿意让你成为什么样子，就能使你成为什么样子。”（第6至8节）

The second part starts with a remonstration combined with an implicit threat to man who is the recipient of abundant grace but who shows no gratitude for it. “O man, what has lured you away from your gracious Lord, who created and moulded you and gave you an upright form? He can give you whatever shape He wills.” (Verses 6-8)

第三部分阐明了人类忘恩负义之态度的原因。这一章告诉我们，否认清算与审判，是一切罪恶的根源。最后审判时赏罚的真实性再次被强调："不然！但你们否认报应日。而你们确有监护者在守护你们，是高尚的记录者，他们知道你们所做的一切。善良的人必定处于福乐之中，而罪恶的人必定处于烈火之中，他们将在报应日进入烈火，永远不能脱离。"（第9至16节）

The third part provides the reason for man’s ungrateful attitude. Denial of reckoning and judgement, the sūrah tells us, is the source of every evil. The reality of meting out reward and punishment at the Last Judgement is re-emphasized; “Shun it! But you deny the Last Judgement. Yet there are guardians watching over you, noble recorders, who know all that you do. Surely the righteous shall be in bliss, while the wicked shall be in a blazing fire, which they shall enter on the Day of Judgement, nor shall they ever be absent from it.” (Verses 9-16)

这一部分让人感受到审判日的可怕，以及人们是多么的无能为力，一切权力都属于真主。经文说："你怎知道审判日是什么？你怎知道审判日是什么？那是一个灵魂无法替另一个灵魂做任何事的日子；那一日，一切主权唯独属于真主。"（第17-19节）由此可见，这章经文以另一种方式，用不同的手法和风格，阐明了《古兰经》第三十卷所强调的同一基本原则。

The final part gives an idea of how fearful the Day of Judgement is, how everyone is absolutely helpless and how all power belongs to God: “Would that you knew what the Day of Judgement is! Oh, would that you knew what the Day of Judgement is! It is the day when no soul can be of any help to any other soul; for on that day all sovereignty is God’s alone.” (Verses 17-19) Thus, the sūrah represents yet another way of portraying the same basic principles stressed in this thirtieth part of the Qur’ān in various methods and styles.

当天空裂开，当星辰散落，当海洋被激荡喷涌，当坟墓被翻腾掀起，每个灵魂都将知道自己先前所做的和后来所做的。（第1-5节）

When the sky is cleft asunder, when the stars are scattered, when the oceans are made to explode, when the graves are hurled about, each soul shall know its earlier actions and its later ones. (Verses 1-5)

在前一篇注释中，我们描述了人们在设想宇宙经历一场剧烈变动时所产生的感受：这场变动之剧烈，使万物都失去了原有的形态与状况。我们还说过，这种感受往往会使人远离一切能给他带来安全感的事物，唯独除外真主——宇宙的创造者，那位在万物消逝、凋零之后依然永存的主。于是人的心被引向唯一真实、不变也不灭的存在，在普遍的剧变面前，向祂寻求依靠与安宁。那些曾经看似如此恒久的事物，都将被这场普遍的剧变所毁灭；唯有创造者永生不灭，而祂是唯一值得崇拜的主。

In the commentary on the previous sūrah we described the feelings generated in people when they visualize the universe undergoing a change so violent that it leaves nothing in its familiar shape and condition. We also said that such feelings tend to pull man away from anything which gives him a sense of security, with the exception of God, the Creator of the universe, the One who lives on after everything has died and withered away. Man’s heart is thus made to turn to the only true being who neither changes nor dies, to seek His support and security in the face of the general upheaval which destroys everything that might once have seemed so permanent. For nothing lives forever except the Creator who is the only one worthy of worship.

这里提到的宇宙剧变的第一个方面，是天空的裂开或崩裂，其他章节中也有提及："当天空裂开，变成玫瑰红色，像新鞣的皮革。"（55：37）"天空崩裂的时候，那日它是脆弱而摇摇欲坠的。"（69：16）"天空崩裂的时候。"（84：1）在那个惊心动魄的日子里，天空必定会裂开或崩裂，这是确定无疑的。至于这种裂开究竟意味着什么，以及天空崩裂之后将呈现怎样的景象，则很难断言。我们所能把握的，只是一种剧烈变化笼罩宇宙的感受，以及一种认识：我们所见的这个宇宙那完美的体系将不再运行。

The first aspect mentioned here of the universal upheaval is the cleaving or rending of the sky, which is mentioned in other sūrahs: “When the sky is split asunder and becomes rose red, like freshly tanned leather.” (55: 37) “When the sky will be rent asunder, for on that day it is frail and tottering.” (69: 16) “When the sky is rent asunder.” (84: 1) That the sky will be split or rent asunder on that hectic day is certain. What is meant exactly by such rending, and how the sky will look after it has been rent are difficult to say. All that we are left with is a feeling of violent change which overwhelms the universe, as we see it, and a realization that its perfect system will no longer be in operation.

宇宙中剧烈的动荡会使星辰四散。星辰原本由一套系统维系在各自的轨道上，使每一颗星都牢牢依附于其轨道，尽管它们的运行速度极快。一旦这套系统被打破——正如星辰生命走到终点时将会发生的那样——它们就会像一粒脱离束缚的尘埃，消失在广袤的空间之中。

The violent upheaval in the universe causes the stars to scatter after they have been held together by a system which makes every star stick to its orbit, even though its movement is exceedingly fast. If this system is broken, as will happen when the life of the stars comes to its end, they will just disappear in the wide space, as does a particle of dust running loose.

在这段开篇之后，本章以温和的责备并隐含警告的方式，触动那些沉溺于琐事之人的心。它提醒人，真主对他最初的恩典，便是将他塑造成如此端正、比例完美的形体。

After this opening which alerts men’s senses and consciences, the sūrah, by means of gentle remonstrance coupled with an implicit threat, touches the hearts of men who busy themselves with trivialities. It reminds man of God’s very first act of grace towards him, namely, his moulding in such an upright, perfectly proportioned form.

真主本可以随意赋予他任何他所希望的形态。然而人却忘恩负义："人啊！是什么使你背离了你慷慨的主？他创造了你，塑造了你，使你成为匀称的人，并按照他所意欲的形态组合了你。"（82:6-8）这种呼唤触动了人最高贵的品质，即他的人性。正是这一品质使人有别于其他一切受造物，并使他在万物之中居于最崇高的地位。这一品质体现了真主对人的恩赐与慷慨的厚爱。

God could have easily given him any form He wished. Yet man is ungrateful: “O man, what has lured you away from your gracious Lord, who created and moulded you and gave you an upright form? He can give you whatever shape He wills.” (Verses 6-8) The address appeals to man’s most noble quality, his humanity, which distinguishes him from all other creatures and assigns to him the highest position among them. This quality represents God’s gracious blessing to man and His abundant generosity.

紧接着这一呼唤的是一句温和的责备:"人啊!是什么引诱你背离你慷慨的主?"(第6节)当主赐予你人性,使你高于祂的一切受造物,并赋予你辨别是非的能力时,是什么使你忽视对你的主应尽的责任,并对祂放肆无礼呢?随后又补充了真主恩惠的几个细节:"人啊!是什么引诱你背离你慷慨的主?祂创造了你,塑造了你,并赋予你端正的形体。"(第6-7节)这是一种直击人心的呼唤。当人继续沉溺于错误的行为,并对主放肆无礼时,他聆听着主的责备,同时也听到祂提醒他所蒙受的恩典。

This appeal is immediately followed by a gentle remonstrance: “What has lured you away from your gracious Lord?” (Verse 6) What makes you neglect your duties to your Lord and behave impudently towards Him when He has given you your humanity which raises you above all His creation and provides you with the ability to distinguish between right and wrong. A few details of God’s generosity are then added: “man, what has lured you away from your gracious Lord, who created and moulded you and gave you an upright form.” (Verses 6-7) It is an address which appeals straight to man’s heart. He listens to God’s remonstrance as He reminds him of His grace while he continues with his erring ways and impudent behaviour towards Him.

诚然,人应当深思自身的受造,以及自己被赋予了一副身体与生理上都十分完美的体格。这种思考应促使他向仁慈的主——真主,即赐予他如此完美、端正、俊美之体格的那位——表达真诚的爱、深切的敬畏与发自内心的感恩。人身体构造中的奇妙之处,远比他所目睹的周遭事物以及他所能想象的更为伟大。人在身体、心智与精神上的完美与均衡,是显而易见的。关于人所体现的造物之完美,已有大部头的著作问世。在此或许可以引用其中的一两段文字。

Indeed, man should reflect deeply over his creation, and the fact that he has been given a physically and physiologically perfect constitution. Reflection should prompt him to show his real love, deep respect and genuine gratitude towards God, his gracious Lord, who has blessed him with such constitution: perfect, upright and handsome. The miraculous aspects of man’s constitution are far greater than what he sees all around him and what he can imagine. Perfection and right balance are easily evident in man’s physical, mental and spiritual constitution. Full volumes have been written on the perfection of creation as evidenced by man. It is perhaps useful to include here one or two quotations from such works.

很多话可以说人体其他每一个系统。然而,这些系统虽然奇妙,人与动物可能也共有。而人则独享其独特的心智与精神品质,本章将其视为上主赐予的特殊恩典。本章在论及人的人性之后,又提到人被造的完美以及其形体的匀称:"人啊!是什么诱使你背离你那慷慨的主?他创造了你,塑造了你,并赋予你端正的形体。"(第6-7节)

A lot may be said about every other system of the human body. But wonderful as these systems are, man may have them in common with animals. He, however, is privileged to possess his unique mental and spiritual qualities, regarded in this sūrah as a special favour from God. After the sūrah has dealt with man’s humanity, it mentions the perfection of his creation and the right proportioning of his mould: “O man, what has lured you away from your gracious Lord, who created and moulded you and gave you an upright form.” (Verses 6-7)

让我们来思考一下我们的理解能力，其本质对我们而言是未知的。心智是理解的媒介，但心智如何运作、如何发挥功能，对我们来说仍然是不可理解的。假设我们所领会的东西是通过神经传递到大脑的，那么大脑将信息储存在哪里、又是如何储存的呢？如果把大脑比作磁带，那么人在平均六十年的一生中，需要用许多亿米的磁带来记录数量如此庞大的图像、词语、意义、情感和反应，以便他能像实际所做的那样，在几十年后仍然记得这些内容。此外，人如何将各个词语、意义、事件和图像区分开来，并将它们组织成一种连贯的教育体系呢？人又如何将信息和经验转化为知识呢？

Let us reflect on our powers of comprehension, the nature of which is unknown to us. The mind is the medium of comprehension but the working of our minds and how they function remain to us incomprehensible. If we suppose that what we grasp is transmitted to the brain through the nerves, where and how does the brain store its information? If we compare the brain to a magnetic recording tape, every man needs in his average lifetime of sixty years 11 a great many billion metres on which to record such a huge multitude of pictures, words, meanings, feelings and responses so that he may, as he actually does, remember them several decades later. Furthermore, how does man sort out individual words, meanings, events and pictures to mould them together in a sort of coherent education? How does he transform information and experiences into knowledge?

然而，这还不是人最显著的独特品质。人身上有一道神妙的真主之灵的光芒，它在人与宇宙之美及其造物主之间建立起联系。当这种联系建立起来时，人在某些清明澄澈的时刻，能够体验到与无限、绝对者的交融之感，这使他为在真主的乐园中获得永恒的幸福生活做好了准备。然而，人没有能力理解自己灵魂的本质，而这灵魂正是真主赐予他的最大恩惠，也正是它使人成为人。因此，真主以这一品质来称呼他："人啊！"接着，祂直接地责问他："是什么诱使你背离你慈爱的主？"于是，人被提醒了真主最大的恩惠，但他却仍然放肆、疏忽自己的本分、毫无羞耻、忘恩负义。然而，人只需要认识到这责问的来源，以及他站在主面前时应持的态度，便会因羞愧而完全不知所措："人啊，是什么诱使你背离你慈爱的主？祂创造了你，塑造了你，使你形体端正。祂能按照祂所意欲的任何形态来造你。"（经文6-8节）

Yet this is by no means the most significant of man’s distinctive qualities. There is that wonderful ray of God’s spirit which provides a link between man and the beauty of the universe and its Creator. As this link is established, man can experience at clear, bright moments a sense of communion with the infinite, the absolute, which prepares him for a blissful eternal life in God’s paradise. Yet man has no power to comprehend the nature of his spirit, which is God’s greatest favour to him and which makes him a man. Hence God addresses him by this quality “O man!” He then remonstrates with him directly: “What has lured you away from your gracious Lord?” Thus man is reminded of God’s greatest favour, but he stands impudent, negligent of his duties, unashamed and ungrateful. But man does not need more than to realize the source of this remonstrance and what attitude he adopts when he stands before his Lord to be absolutely overwhelmed by shame: “O man, what has lured you away from your gracious Lord, who created and moulded you and gave you an upright form? He can give you whatever shape He wills. “(Verses 6-8)

接着告诉我们善人与恶人的归宿，这一归宿是依据高贵天使所作的记录进行清算而定的：“善人必定享受安乐，恶人必定身处烈火之中，他们将在审判日进入其中，永不离开。”（第13-16节） 结局是确定的。善人必将住在快乐的福地之中，恶人必将以火狱为归宿，这一点早已注定。所谓善人，是指始终行善、即行善功的人，直到行善成为他内在的品质。“善良”一词所蕴含的意义，与高尚和人性相当契合。

We are then told of the destinies of the righteous and the wicked, which are determined by the reckoning based on the recordings of the noble angels: “Surely the righteous shall be in bliss, while the wicked shall be in a blazing fire, which they shall enter on the Day of Judgement; nor shall they ever be absent from it.” (Verses 13-16) The end is certain. That the righteous shall dwell in blissful happiness and the wicked shall end in hell is already determined. A righteous person is the one who consistently does right actions, i.e. good deeds, until doing them becomes his intrinsic quality. The adjective ‘righteous’ has connotations which fit in well with nobility and humanity.

对比的品质“邪恶”（fujūr），蕴含着傲慢与放肆的意味，因为邪恶之人肆意犯下罪恶的行为。地狱正是对邪恶的应有报应。该章强调了这一惩罚的必然性：“他们将在审判日进入其中。”接着又再次强调：“他们永远不会离开它。”他们最初无法逃脱，之后也不会被允许离开，即便是片刻也不行。

The contrasting quality, ‘wickedness’, carries connotations of insolence and impudence as the wicked indulge in sinful actions. Hell is a proper recompense for wickedness. The sūrah emphasizes the certainty of this punishment: “which they shall enter on the Day of Judgement.” Then it re-emphasizes it: “nor shall they ever be absent from it.” They cannot escape it in the first place, nor will they be allowed to leave it, not even for a short while.

在讲述审判日的情形之后，这一章再次强调那日的必然性，因为有些人否认它。这里以修辞性的疑问句来加以强调，这样就增添了所问之事的神秘感。随后，本章说明所有人完全无能为力，绝无可能给予或得到任何帮助，并且在那可畏的日子里，真主是绝对的主宰："你怎知道审判日是什么？再者，你怎知道审判日是什么？那是一个任何灵魂都不能为任何灵魂效力的日子；那日的一切主权完全属于真主。"（第17-19节）

Having stated what happens on the Day of Judgement, the sūrah emphasizes again the certainty of that day, since it is denied by some. The emphasis provided here is in the form of a rhetorical question which enhances the mystery surrounding the object of the question. The sūrah then states the complete helplessness of everyone, the absolute impossibility of giving or receiving support and that God is the absolute sovereign on that awesome day: “Would that you knew what the Day of Judgement is! Oh, would that you knew what the Day of Judgement is! It is the day when no soul can be of any help to any other soul; for on that day all sovereignty is God’s alone.” (Verses 17-19)

“这种‘你怎知……’的句式是《古兰经》中常用的一种修辞性提问，表明所讨论的事情远远超出我们的想象与理解。下文在描述当日的种种情形之前，正是通过重复这一提问来加以强调：‘那是一个任何灵魂都无法为另一个灵魂提供任何帮助的日子。’（第19节）那是一种彻底无助的状态：人人孤身独立，各自忙于自己的难处，无暇顾及任何人，无论是亲属还是朋友。‘那日，一切主权都唯独属于真主。’（第19节）他在今世与后世都是至高无上的主宰。这一事实在那日会变得如此清晰，以至于没有人能够视而不见，而在今世，无知者和自负者却常常如此。”

The form “would that you knew...” is a form of rhetorical question often used in the Qur’ān. It suggests that the matter under discussion is far beyond our imagining and understanding. This is stressed here by repetition of the question before details about conditions on the day concerned are given: “It is the day when no soul can be of any help to any other soul.” (Verse 19) It is a state of total helplessness when everyone stands alone, busy with their own problems, unable to think of anyone else, relative or friend. “For on that day all sovereignty is God’s alone.” (Verse 19) He indeed reigns supreme in this life and the next. This fact, however, becomes so clear on that day that no one can overlook it, as the ignorant and the conceited do in this life.