在本卷的第一章(即《古兰经》第三十部分的首章)的引言中提到,其中的章节犹如“持续而有力地敲门,或如一连串响亮的呼喊,要唤醒那些沉睡之人,或那些醉酒失去知觉之人,或那些身处夜总会、完全沉浸于舞蹈与娱乐之中的人。这些敲门声与呼喊声接连不断:醒来吧!环顾你的周围!思考!反省!真主是存在的!有考验、有审判、有责任、有清算、有报酬、有严厉的惩罚,也有永恒的福乐。”本章正是这些特质的典型范例。它的语调尖锐。所描绘的场景、所选用的韵律、单个词语的音响及其含义,都共同造就了这种尖锐的语调。场景包括夜间的访客、刺破黑暗而闪耀的星辰、涌流的水、归来的雨水以及裂开的大地。含义则包括对灵魂的看护:“每个灵魂都有一位守护者在看守着它”;力量与援助的缺失:“在考验良心的那日,人将无能为力,没有任何助手”;以及彻底的严肃性:

It is stated in the introduction to the first sūrah in this volume, which forms the thirtieth part of the Qur’ān, that its sūrahs are “like a persistent and strong knocking on a door, or a series of loud shouts seeking to awaken those who are fast asleep, or those who are drunk and have lost consciousness, or are in a night club, completely absorbed in their dancing or entertainment. The knocks and the shouts come one after the other: Wake up! Look around you! Think! Reflect! There is a God! There is planning, trial, liability, reckoning, reward, severe punishment and lasting bliss.” The present sūrah is a typical example of these qualities. Its tone is sharp. The scenes portrayed, the rhythm chosen, the sounds of the individual words and their meanings — all contribute to this sharpness of tone. The scenes include the night visitor, the star piercing with brightness, the gushing water, the returning rain and the splitting earth. The meanings include watching over souls: “For every soul there is a guardian who watches over it”; the lack of strength and help: “On the day when consciences are tried, man shall be helpless, with no supporter”; the complete seriousness:

“这确实是一句决断之言，绝非戏言。”本章的警告也具有同样的特点：“他们在图谋诡计，我也在谋划。所以你且宽容不信道者，暂且放任他们吧。”本章所描绘的宇宙景象与其所陈述的事实之间，有着完美的和谐。细读本章，这种和谐便昭然若揭。

“This is surely a decisive word; it is no idle talk.” The same characteristics apply to the warnings given in this sūrah: “They devise many an artful scheme, but I too have My schemes. So give respite to the unbelievers; leave them alone for a while.” There is complete harmony between the scenes of the universe portrayed in the sūrah and the facts it states. This harmony becomes abundantly clear when the sūrah is carefully considered.

“以天发誓，以夜间来访者发誓。你怎知夜间来访者是什么呢？它是穿透黑暗的明星。每个灵魂之上都有守护者看护着它。”（第1至4节）这一誓词既描绘了宇宙的图景，也陈述了一项信仰的事实。开篇提到天与夜间来访者，随后是《古兰经》中常见的一种感叹句式：“你怎知夜间来访者是什么呢？”（第2节）

“By the heaven and by the night visitor. Would that you knew what the night visitor is! It is the star that pierces through darkness. For every soul there is a guardian who watches over it.” (Verses 1-4) This oath includes a scene of the universe and a fact of faith. It opens by mentioning heaven and the night visitor and follows with a form of exclamation made familiar in the Qur’ān; “Would that you knew what the night visitor is!’ (Verse 2)

这句感叹给人的印象是神秘的，超出了解释的范围。

This exclamation gives the impression that it is mysterious, beyond explanation.

《古兰经》接着陈述了它的本质与形态："它是穿透黑暗的星辰。"（第3节）它那强劲而穿透力极强的光芒，以极快的速度穿行于周围的黑暗之中。这一描述适用于所有星辰，无需将其限定于某一颗特定的星。在这类语境中，泛指更能体现其意义。因此，其含义可以理解为：以天及其穿透黑暗的星辰起誓，那星辰穿透笼罩万物的那层帷幕。由此，这一指称为本章所陈述的事实及其所描绘的景象，投下了它自身的光芒。

The Qur’ān then states its nature and form: “It is the star that pierces through darkness.” (Verse 3) Its powerful, penetrating rays travel at speed through the surrounding darkness. The description applies to all stars. There is no need to attach it to a particular one. Generality is more useful in this kind of context. Thus, the meaning sounds as follows: By heaven and its stars which pierce darkness and penetrate through that veil covering all things. Thus, this reference sheds its own light on the facts outlined in this sūrah and the scenes it portrays.

真主以天空及其中闪亮的星辰起誓,每个灵魂都有真主派定的监护者看守着它:"每个灵魂都有一位监护者看守着它。"(第4节)这明确表明,真主派有专门的使者看守每一个灵魂,记录它的行为与念头。之所以看守灵魂,是因为念头与隐秘之事都藏于灵魂之中,而它们正是行为与报应的根源。因此,人并非任由自己在大地上随意游荡。

God swears by heaven and its piercing stars that every soul has an observer appointed by Him to watch over it: “For every soul there is a guardian who watches over it.” (Verse 4) This implies a strong assertion that there is an agent appointed by God to watch over every soul and keep a record of its actions and thoughts. The watch is over the soul because it is there that thoughts and secrets which are responsible for action and reward lie. Thus, people are not left to roam about the earth as they wish.

相反,会有准确而即时的记录被保存下来,并据此进行清算。

On the contrary, an accurate and immediate record is kept, on the basis of which reckoning is made.

这一美妙的推断清晰地显现出来:灵魂感到,即便身处独处之中,它也从不孤单。总有一位监察者近在身旁,即便一个人躲避众人、对任何来访者或闯入者都无所畏惧,那位监察者依然存在。他能穿透一切遮蔽,洞察一切隐藏之事,正如闪亮的星辰穿透夜幕一般。因为真主创造人类灵魂与广阔天地的方式是相同的。

This awesome inference becomes clear as the soul feels that it is never alone even when without company. There is always the watcher who remains nearby even when one hides from all and is secure against any visitor or intruder. There is still the watcher who penetrates all covers and has access to all things concealed, in the same way as the piercing star tears through the night cover. For God’s method of creation is the same with regard to human souls and the wide horizons.

这种开篇的触动，将人的灵魂与宇宙联结在一起，其后又有另一段经文，强调有序创造与周密安排的真实性，真主以天空和夜间来临者起誓。人类受造的早期阶段即是这一事实的证明，并表明人并未被遗忘，不是微不足道的存在："人应当思考：他是从什么被造的？他是从涌出的水滴被造的，从脊椎与肋骨之间出来。"（第5-7节）

This opening touch, which unites the human soul with the universe, is followed by another which emphasizes the truth of organized creation and deliberate planning to which God has sworn by the heaven and the night visitor. The early stages of man’s creation constitute a proof of this fact and suggest that man is not forgotten as something insignificant: “Let man then reflect: of what he is created. He is created of gushing water; he issues from between the loins and the chest bones.” (Verses 5-7)

让人想一想他的起源，以及他如今的样子。从那涌出的水，到有理智、有理性的人，拥有高度精密的有机、神经、心智与心理系统，这之间的鸿沟极其巨大。经文提到那涌出的水要跨越这道巨大的鸿沟，才能成为一个能够交流的存在，这暗示着有一种超出人力范围的力量在推动着那无形、无力的液体，使它沿着非凡而令人惊叹的历程前行，直至被塑造成其宏伟的最终形态。这也意味着，真主指派了一位守护者，照看那滴湿润的种子，并引导它完成这段非凡的旅程。

Let man consider his origins and what has become of him. It is a very wide gulf which divides the origins from the final product, the gushing water from man the intelligent, rational being with his highly sophisticated organic, neurological, mental and psychological systems. The reference to this great gulf which the gushing water crosses in order to be made into a communicating being suggests that there is a power beyond the province of man which moves that shapeless and powerless fluid along its remarkable and impressive journey until it is shaped into its magnificent ultimate form. It implies that there is a guardian appointed by God to look after that moist germ, and to guide it through its remarkable journey.

这一个受精细胞，每一次射出的精液中都有数以百万计，但在显微镜下几乎看不见。它是一个没有依靠、没有理智、没有意志的生命体。然而，一旦它在子宫中安定下来，便开始寻找食物。上主的守护之手赋予它一种特性，使它能够将周围的子宫内膜转化为一池血液，从而为自己提供新鲜的养分。一旦它确定食物已经充足，便开始另一个持续分裂的过程，以产生新的细胞。这个没有形体、没有力量、没有理智和意志的生命体，却清楚地知道自己在做什么，想要什么。守护着它的那只手为它提供指引、知识、力量和意志，使它能够找到自己的道路。它承担着这样的任务：让每一群新生成的细胞专门负责建造人体这座宏伟结构的某一部分。一群细胞去产生骨骼；另一群形成肌肉；第三群形成神经系统；第四群形成淋巴系统。人体结构的每一个主要部分也都是如此。但事情并非如此简单：它涉及更高程度的专门化；因为每一块骨头、每一块肌肉、每一根神经都是独特的，彼此各不相同。这一结构经过精确的设计，具有广泛的功能。因此，每一群细胞在建造这一结构时，在完成其被指定的任务的同时，也学会分化为各种专门的亚群，每一个亚群在整体架构中都有其特定的功能。每一个小细胞都清楚自己的方向、目的地和功能。那些被托付形成眼睛的细胞，知道眼睛必须位于脸部，而不能位于腹部、脚或手臂上，尽管这些部位中的任何一处，都可以是形成眼睛的合适场所。 如果负责制造眼睛的第一个细胞偏离了方向，被安置在这些地方中的任何一处，它本可以完成使命，在那里形成一只眼睛。但它出发执行使命时，却径直抵达为眼睛指定的确切位置。那么，是谁告诉这个细胞，这个结构的眼睛必须位于那个特定的位置呢？是那位洞察一切的守护者真主在引导它、照看它，并为它指明道路。

This one fertilizing cell, of which there are millions in every gush, is hardly visible under the microscope. It is a creature without support, reason or will. But as soon as it settles in the womb it proceeds to search for food. The guarding hand of God equips it with a quality which enables it to convert the lining of the womb around it into a pool of blood, thus supplying it with fresh nourishment. Once it is sure of the availability of food it starts another process of continuous division to produce new cells. This shapeless and powerless creature which has no reason or will, knows exactly what it is doing and what it wants. The guarding hand watching over it provides it with guidance, knowledge, power and will to enable it to know its way. It is charged with the task of making every group of newly produced cells specialize in building a part of the magnificent structure of the human body. One group proceeds to produce the skeleton; another group forms the muscles; a third the nervous system; a fourth the lymphatic system. The same applies to every major part of the human structure. But the matter is not as simple as that: it involves a higher degree of specialization; for every bone, every muscle and every nerve is unique and dissimilar to every other. The structure is accurately planned, and has a wide range of functions. Hence, as every group of cells proceeds to fulfil its appointed task in building this structure, it learns to break up into specialized subdivisions, each having its particular function in the general set up. Every little cell proceeds knowing its way, destination and function. Those cells entrusted with the task of forming the eye know that the eye must be in the face, and that it cannot be situated in the abdomen or the foot or the arm, despite the fact that any of these localities is a suitable place for forming an eye. If the first cell charged with making the eye was taken off course and planted in any of these localities, it would have fulfilled its mission and made an eye there. But when it sets out on its mission it simply goes to the exact spot specified for the eye. Who then has told this cell that this structure needs its eye to be in that particular spot? It is God the watching Guardian who guides it, looks after it and shows it its way.

或许有人心中仍存疑虑，怀疑此事是否会发生。因此，本章以誓言来强调此事的严肃性。正如我们在本章开篇时所见，它将这一断言与广阔的宇宙联系起来："指天，它有归还的雨水；指地，它有裂开的植物。这确是一句决断之言，并非戏言。"（第11-14节）

There may be some lingering doubts within some people’s minds that this could happen. Therefore, the sūrah gives an oath to its seriousness. It adds a link between this assertion and the universe at large, as we saw at the opening of the sūrah: “By the heaven with its returning rain, by the earth ever splitting with verdure, this is surely a decisive word; it is no idle talk.” (Verses 11-14)

一次又一次从天空降下的雨水，以及破土而出、生长蔓延的植被，是生命诸多显现之一的两幅图景，描绘的是植物的生命及其起源。从天上倾泻而下的水，与从大地涌出的绿意，就如同婴儿从父系脊骨之间的精血中经历，从子宫的幽暗里降生到世间。这是同一种生命，同一幅景象，同一种运动。它是一个统一的体系，指向那位没有任何对手的创造者。

The rain which comes from the sky again and again and the vegetation which splits the earth and springs forth are two images describing one of the many manifestations of life, the life of plants and their origins. Water which pours down from heaven and verdure which springs out from the earth, are akin to the infant coming into the world, passing between the loins springing out from the darkness of the womb. It is the same life, the same scene, the same movement. It is one system pointing to the Maker who has no competitors.

雨水和植被的景象，与夜访者的意象并无二致：那颗刺破帷幕与帘幕的明星。它也与良知受到审查、一切隐秘被公开揭露的场景相似。这同样是一种指向造物主的结构。真主以这两样创造物及其两种景象起誓：归雨之天，以及裂土生植之地。所描绘的画面所产生的冲击力，与其韵律相结合，形成一种强有力的终局性与决断性的音调。这誓言所指的是：这句话，或者说总体而言的《古兰经》，即宣告人们将复活接受考验的那句话，是决断之言，不容戏谑。它终结一切争论、疑虑与不确定。它是真实而最终的话语，归雨之天与裂土生植之地都为之作证。 当这关于复活与考验的最终宣告作出之后，接着是对真主的使者的训谕。在启示降临之时，他在麦加只有少数信士支持他。他们正承受着多神教徒敌意的重压，以及他们针对伊斯兰讯息的阴谋。多神教徒不知疲倦地试图扼杀这一召唤。这番训谕是对先知的鼓励与安慰，同时贬低那些图谋者所策划的阴谋。经文表明，他们的策划只是暂时的；这场斗争掌握在真主手中，并听从他的命令。因此，愿先知坚持忍耐，愿他与信士们安心：“他们在策划诡计，我也在策划。所以你暂且宽容不信道者，姑且任由他们一段时间。”（第15至17节）

The image of rain and verdure is not dissimilar to that of the night visitor, the piercing star as it splits covers and curtains. It is also similar to the scene depicting consciences being searched and all that is concealed being thrown open. It is again the same sort of structure which tells of the Maker. God swears by these two creations and their two events, the heaven of returning rains and the earth splitting with verdure. The impact of the scene portrayed combines with the rhythm to strike a strong note of finality and decisiveness. The oath is that this word, or the Qur’ān generally, which states that people will return to life so as to face a trial, is the decisive word which admits of no frivolity. It puts an end to all argument, doubts and uncertainties. It is a true and final word, to which both the heaven of the returning rain and the earth splitting with verdure are witnesses When this final statement of return and trial is made, there follows an address to God’s Messenger. At the time of revelation he had only a few believers who supported him in Makkah. They were suffering the brunt of the idolaters’ hostility and their plots against the Islamic message. The idolaters were tirelessly trying to smother the call. The address is made to the Prophet so as to encourage and reassure him, and to disparage what the schemers devise. It states that their scheming is only temporary; the battle is in God’s hands and under His command. So, let the Prophet persevere and be patient, and let him and the believers be reassured: “They devise many an artful scheme, but I too have My schemes. So give respite to the unbelievers; leave them alone for a while.” (Verses 15-17)