Read the Quran Chapter 27 English

CHAPTER 27
The Ants (Al-Naml)

In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
  1. Ta Sin These are verses from the Quran, a book that makes things clear;
  2. it is guidance and good news for the believers
  3. who pray regularly and pay obligatory alms and have firm faith in the Hereafter.
  4. We have made those who do not believe in the Hereafter feel their actions appear good to them, so they wander blindly:
  5. they are the ones who will have the worst of punishment, and in the Hereafter they will be the greatest losers.
  6. You have received this Quran from One who is all-wise, all-knowing.
    7.  
  7. Tell of Moses who said to his family, ‘I have seen a fire. I will bring you news from there, or a burning brand for you to warm yourselves.’
  8. When he came up to it, a voice called out, ‘Blessed be whoever is near this fire, and whoever is around it! Glory be to God, Lord of the Universe!
    9.  
  9. O Moses, I am God, the Powerful, the Wise.
  10. Throw down your staff.’ But when he saw it moving like a snake, he turned and fled. ‘Moses, do not be afraid! The messengers need have no fear in My presence;
  11. as for those who do wrong and then do good after evil, I am most forgiving, most merciful.
  12. Now put your hand inside your cloak next to your bosom and it will come out [shining] white, without any blemish. This will be one of the nine signs for Pharaoh and his people: for truly they are a rebellious people.’
  13. But when Our signs came to them in all their clarity they said, ‘This is clearly sorcery!’
  14. And they persisted in rejecting them wrongfully and arrogantly, while in their hearts they were convinced of their truth. Observe, then, how evil was the fate of the evil-doers.
    15.  
  15. We bestowed knowledge on David and Solomon and they both said, ‘Praise be to God who has exalted us above many of His believing servants.’
  16. Solomon succeeded David. He said, ‘Know, my people, that we have been taught the speech of birds and endowed with all good things. Surely this is God’s manifest grace.’
    17.  
  17. Solomon’s hosts of jinn and men and birds, were all gathered together in his presence and were ranged in battle order,
  18. and when they came to the Valley of the Ants, one ant said, ‘Ants! Go into your dwellings, in case Solomon and his hosts inadvertently crush you.’
  19. Solomon smiled broadly at its words and said, ‘Lord, inspire me to be thankful for the blessings You have granted me and my parents, and to do good deeds that please You; and include me, by Your grace, among Your righteous servants!’
    20.  
  20. Then Solomon inspected the birds, and said, ‘How is it that I do not see the hoopoe? Is he absent then?
  21. I shall surely punish him severely or order him to be executed, unless he gives me a good reason for his absence.’
  22. But he was not long in coming, and said, ‘I have learnt something you did not know. I have come to you from Sheba with reliable news.
  23. I found a woman ruling over them, who has been given everything and she has a mighty throne.
  24. I found her and her people worshipping the sun, instead of God. Satan has made their conduct appear good to them, and has thus diverted them from the right path, so that they might not be guided.
  25. Should they not worship God who brings forth what is hidden in the heavens and earth and knows both what you conceal and what you make known?
  26. He is God: there is no deity but He, the Lord of the mighty throne.’
    27.  
  27. Solomon said, ‘We shall soon see whether you have spoken the truth, or whether you are a liar.
  28. Go with this letter of mine and lay it before them, then withdraw from them and see how they respond.’
  29. The Queen of Sheba said, ‘O Counsellors, an honourable letter has been delivered to me.
  30. It is from Solomon. It reads, “In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful,
  31. do not exalt yourselves above me, but come to me in all submission.”
  32. Now advise me in this, Counsellors. I never decide any affair till I have conferred with you.’
  33. They said, ‘We are strong and our prowess in battle is great, but the decision is in your hands, so consider what you will command.’
  34. She said, ‘Surely, when mighty kings invade a country, they despoil it and humiliate its noblest inhabitants—these men will do the same—
  35. but I shall send them a present and see with what reply my envoys will return.’
    36.  
  36. So when [the envoy] came to Solomon he said, ‘What! Are you offering me wealth? But that which God has given me is better than that which He has given you. Yet you rejoice in your gift.
  37. Go back to them: we shall most certainly come upon them with forces which they will never be able to withstand, and shall most certainly cause them to be driven from their lands, disgraced and humbled!’
    38.  
  38. Solomon then said, ‘O Counsellors, which of you can bring me her throne before they come to me in submission?
  39. A demon from among the jinn said, ‘I will bring it to you before you get up from your seat. I am strong and trustworthy enough to do it.’
  40. But one of them who had some knowledge of the Book said, ‘I will bring it to you in the twinkling of an eye.’ When Solomon saw it placed before him, he exclaimed, ‘This is by the grace of my Lord, to test whether I am grateful or ungrateful. Whosoever is grateful, it is for the good of his own self; and whosoever is ungrateful, then surely my Lord is self-sufficient and generous.’
    41.  
  41. He said, ‘Disguise her throne. We shall see whether or not she will recognize it.’
  42. When she came to Solomon, she was asked, ‘Is your throne like this?’ She replied, ‘It looks as though it were the same, and we had been given knowledge [of your power] before this, and we have already submitted.’
  43. And that which she used to worship beside God had stopped her [from believing]; for she came of a disbelieving people.
  44. Then she was bidden to enter the palace; but when she saw it, she thought it was a deep pool of water, and bared her legs. But Solomon explained, ‘It is just a palace paved with glass,’ and she said, ‘My Lord, I have wronged myself: now I submit myself along with Solomon, to God, the Lord of the Universe.’
    45.  
  45. To Thamud We sent their brother Salih. He said, ‘Serve none but God.’ But they divided themselves into two factions contending with one another.
  46. He urged them, ‘O my people, why do you wish to hasten on the evil rather than the good? Why do you not ask forgiveness of God, so that you may be shown mercy?’
  47. They said, ‘We see you and your followers as an evil omen.’ He replied, ‘No, your evil omen is with God; the truth is that you are a people being put to the test.’
    48.  
  48. There were in the city nine men who spread corruption in the land, and would not reform.
  49. They said, ‘Let us bind ourselves by an oath sworn in the name of God that we shall attack Salih and his family by night, and to his protector [who demands retribution], we shall say, ‘We were not present when they were slain. We are telling the truth.’
  50. Thus they devised a plan, and We also devised a plan, but they were not aware of it.
  51. See, then, what the consequences of their plan were. We destroyed them and their people utterly, all together.
  52. Because of their wrongdoing, their houses are in ruins—in that surely there is a sign for people who have knowledge—
  53. and We saved those who believed in and feared God.
    54.  
  54. And tell of Lot. He said to his people, ‘Will you commit evil knowingly?
  55. Must you go lustfully to men instead of women? Indeed, you are a people who are deeply ignorant.’
  56. The only answer of his people was, ‘Drive out Lot and his family from the city. They are a people who make themselves out to be pure.’
  57. So We delivered him and his family—except his wife: We ordained her to be one of those who stayed behind—
  58. and We pelted them with torrential rain. How dreadful that rain was for those who had been warned!
  59. Say, ‘All praise be to God, and peace be upon those servants of His whom He has chosen. Is God better, or what they associate with Him?
    60.  
  60. Who created the heavens and the earth and sends down water for you from the sky, by which We make luxuriant gardens grow—you could never make such trees grow in them—is it another deity besides God? No indeed, but they are a people who equate others with Him.
  61. Who is it that made the earth a stable place to live in? Who made rivers flow through it? Who set mountains upon it and placed a barrier between the two seas? Is there another deity besides God? Indeed, most of them have no knowledge.
    62.  
  62. Who responds to the oppressed when he calls out to Him, and relieves his suffering and who will make you inheritors of the earth? Then, is there a god besides God? How little you pay heed!
  63. Who guides you in the darkness of the land and sea? Who sends the breezes as heralds of His mercy? Then, is there a deity besides God? Exalted is God above what they associate with Him.
  64. Who originates creation, then regenerates it, and who gives you sustenance from heaven and earth? Then, is there a deity besides God?’ Say, ‘Bring forward your proofs, if you are telling the truth.’
    65.  
  65. Say, ‘No one in the heavens and the earth has knowledge of the unseen except God.’ They do not know when they will be raised up again.
  66. Indeed, their knowledge of the life to come stops short of the truth: they are [often] in doubt as to its reality: in fact, they are blind to it.
  67. Those who deny the truth say, ‘When we have turned to dust like our fathers, shall we be brought back to life again?
  68. We and our fathers were promised this before; these are but old stories.’
  69. Say, ‘Roam across the earth and observe what was the end of the sinful ones.’
    70.  
  70. Do not grieve over them, nor feel distressed at their schemes.
  71. They ask, ‘When will this promise be fulfilled, if what you say be true?’
  72. Say, ‘It may be that a part of what you would hasten on is close behind you.’
  73. Truly, your Lord is bountiful to mankind, but most of them are not grateful.
  74. The Lord knows full well what they conceal in their hearts and what they disclose:
  75. there is nothing hidden in heaven and on earth, but is recorded in a clear Book.
    76.  
  76. This Quran explains to the children of Israel much of what they differ over,
  77. certainly it is guidance and a blessing for the believers.
  78. Certainly your Lord will decide between them in His wisdom—He is the Almighty, the All Knowing—
  79. so put your trust in God. Surely you are on the path of manifest truth.
  80. You cannot make the dead hear, nor can you make the deaf hear your call, when they turn their backs on it,
  81. nor can you guide the blind out of their error. You can make only those hear you who believe in Our revelations and surrender themselves to Us.
    82.  
  82. When God’s word is justly carried out against them, We will produce a dabbah from the earth which will tell them that mankind had no real faith in Our signs.
  83. On that Day We shall assemble together a host from every community of those who cried lies to Our revelations and they will be grouped
  84. then, when they have arrived, He will say, ‘Did you deny My revelations, even though you did not have proper knowledge of them? Or what was it that you were doing?’
  85. The verdict will be given against them, because they did wrong, and they will be speechless.
  86. Do they not see that We have made the night for them to rest in and the day to give them light? There are certainly signs in that for people who believe.
    87.  
  87. On the Day when the trumpet is blown, whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on the earth will be struck with terror, except for those whom God wishes to spare. All shall come to Him in utter humility.
  88. You see the mountains and think them firmly fixed. But they shall pass away as the clouds pass away. Such is the work of God, who has ordered all things to perfection: He is fully aware of what you do.
  89. Whoever does a good deed, shall be rewarded with what is better, and will be secure from fear of that Day,
  90. and those who do evil will be flung down on their faces in the Fire. Are you not rewarded according to your deeds?
    91.  
  91. Say, ‘I am commanded to serve the Lord of this town, which He has made inviolable and to whom everything belongs; I am commanded to be one of those devoted to Him;
  92. to recite the Quran.’ Whoever follows its guidance, follows it only for the good of his own soul; and as for him who goes astray, just say, ‘I am only a warner.’
  93. Then say, ‘Praise be to God! He will show you His signs and you will recognize them. Your Lord is not unaware of what you do.’

27:1-6
When Truth appears before a man and he accepts it without any reservation, he immediately finds himself on the right path. His life becomes righteous in every respect. But, one who is not prepared to mould himself in accordance with the Truth, is forced to twist reality to suit himself. From this develops an attitude of perverseness which is expressed here as ‘their actions appear beautiful to them’ (zayyanna lahum a‘malahum). One with such an attitude seeks self-made arguments to justify his behaviour. These so-called arguments gradually take hold of his mind in such a way that he believes them to be perfectly correct. In the light of his false reasoning, his misdeeds appear virtuous to him. Those to whom God has made their misdeeds appear beautiful are those who are not serious about the call to accept the Truth. As a result of this thinking, they become completely unmindful of self-reformation. They have to pay a heavy price for this tendency of theirs to consider their wrong as right: the path they tread leads straight to hell.

27:7-8
Moses left Egypt and went to Midian (or Madyan), which was situated on the eastern coast of the Gulf of Aqaba. He spent eight years there. Then he left along with his wife for Egypt. During this journey, he reached the foot of a mountain which was situated on a peninsula projecting into the Red Sea. This mountain was called Tur in ancient days and is now known as Gebel Moses. It was probably a winter night. Moses saw something, which to him looked like a fire far away on the mountain side. He went towards it. But on drawing near, he found that it was God’s light and not a fire lit by human beings. There is an ancient tree at the place on the mountain where Moses saw the light. It is said that this is the very same tree from which God’s voice was heard by Moses. The Christians subsequently constructed a church and a monastery at this place which till today is a place of pilgrimage.

27:9-14
Moses had gone to the mountain to obtain a burning brand. But after reaching it, he came to know that he had been called there to have prophethood bestowed upon him. When Almighty God blesses any subject of His with a special gift, He gives it suddenly and unexpectedly, so that the recipient may attribute it directly to God and develop in himself the most profound feelings of gratitude towards Him. On the one hand, the community of Moses (the Children of Israel), though a believing community, had degenerated. On the other, Moses had to proclaim the message of God to a tyrant king like Pharaoh. Therefore, Almighty God blessed him with the miracle of the stick at the very beginning of his mission. This stick was an enduring divine power for Moses, by means of which nine miracles were performed to awe the Pharaoh, apart from the miracles which were meant for the Children of Israel. The miracles of Moses finally established his truthfulness. In spite of this, Pharaoh and his companions did not accept him. The reasons for this were their proneness to transgression, their false pride, and their unwillingness to curtail their freedom. Moreover, they knew that accepting Moses’s preaching would amount to negating their own greatness. And who accepts Truth at the expense of his own greatness?

27:15-16
David was the prophet and king of the Children of Israel. His son, Solomon, succeeded him as prophet and king. Solomon’s empire extended from Palestine to Transjordan. God had given him different kinds of useful knowledge. Also, he was blessed with many things by way of miracles, for example, his ability to understand the language of birds, train them and use them to transmit messages, etc. Solomon enjoyed extraordinary superiority over his contemporaries. But this superiority only created a feeling of humility in him. Whatever he had he considered a direct gift from God. The period of Solomon’s empire extended from 965 B.C. to 926 B.C.

27:17-19
In Solomon’s army there were not only human beings but also genies and birds. Once Solomon’s army passed through a valley where there was a large number of ants. On this occasion Solomon understood what the ants were saying to each other. Such an incident would be enough to give rise to conceit and pride in an ordinary man. But, Solomon became the embodiment of gratitude on this account. He fully attributed to God whatever appeared to be his—and this is the way of a pious and righteous man.

27:20-26
The Sabeans were a wealthy community of ancient times (1100 B.C. to 115B.C.). Their country was located in Ma‘arib (Yemen), where its grand ruins are still in existence. During Solomon’s period, this area was under the rule of a queen called Sheba (Bilqis). The people of this place used to worship the sun, Satan having taught them that the only thing worth worshipping was whatever was most prominent. As the sun was the most prominent of all visible things, only the sun, therefore, deserved to be considered a god and worshipped. Solomon received detailed information about the Sabeans through the hoopoe bird. This hoopoe perhaps belonged to Solomon’s army of birds and possibly received regular training.

27:27-35
The Queen of Sheba viewed the matter quite realistically. She realised that if she resisted the might of Solomon, there was a strong possibility of her being defeated and then her nation would be treated as every vanquished nation is treated by a victorious nation. On the contrary, she thought, she would be saved if she surrendered. However, the queen pursued the course of sending gifts to him by way of initial feelers, so that she might know whether Soloman desired wealth, or if not, whether he had any other demands based on some other principle.

27:36-37
In comparison with the invaluable wealth, which Solomon had received in the shape of prophethood and the realisation of God, every other kind of wealth was worthless in his eyes. So, when gifts of gold and silver were presented to him on behalf of the Queen of Sheba, he did not even look at them. In the way he conducted himself, Solomon gave the emissaries of the Queen of Sheba the impression that his real concern was that of principle and not of self-interest. The Quranic commentator Ibn Kathir, by way of explanation, paraphrases Solomon’s words, ‘Do you want to influence me with your wealth so that I should let you off along with your polytheism and allow you to keep your kingdom?’ The power and empire of Solomon were the gifts of God. Similarly, the manner in which he dealt with the kingdom of the Sabeans was also a godly matter. Shah Abdul Quadir (Dehlavi) writes in connection with verse 37, ‘No other prophet spoke like this. Soloman had the force of God Almighty’s empire behind him, so he spoke like this.’

27:38-40
Though Solomon was endowed with extraordinary power, he planned to subjugate the Sabean people by demonstrating his power rather than by using it. So, through a special agent of his, he arranged to have the Queen’s throne shifted from her palace in Ma‘arib to Jerusalem (Palestine). The idea of having the throne brought to him probably occurred to him when on the return of the presents, the Queen of Sheba started out from Yemen for Palestine, so that she could come to Solomon’s court and have direct talks with him. This journey of the Queen, undertaken with much pomp and ceremony, must have started after her diplomatic deputation had returned and narrated to her the wise words of Solomon, testified to the nobility of his character and described the magnificence of his court. The distance between Ma‘arib and Jerusalem is about fifteen hundred miles. This long distance was covered in such a way that no sooner had the words of command fallen from Solomon’s lips than the jewel-studded throne was there before him. In spite of this extraordinary power, feelings of pride did not arise in him. He remained the embodiment of modesty and kept bowing down before God.

27:41-44
The Queen of Sheba set forth from her country and reached Jerusalem. When she came to meet Solomon, the Queen, to her surprise, was asked whether her own throne resemebled the throne she saw at the palace. The Queen admitted that she was wonderstuck to see this throne which was exactly similar to her own. The throne which she had kept safe in her palace in Ma‘arib, had mysteriously traversed a distance of fifteen hundred miles and reached Jerusalem. After entering Solomon’s palace, the Queen of Sheba reached a room where the floor was made of thick, transparent slabs of glass with water flowing beneath them. Mistaking the floor for a pool of water, the Queen quickly pulled up her garment to prevent it from getting wet. Seeing this, Solomon explained to her that it was just the floor and not water. In this way, she was made to realise how outward appearances may deceive the understanding of men, the inner reality often being different from what meets the eye. Similarly, man starts worshipping the sun and moon because of their prominence, but the real God is beyond these visible phenomena. The Queen of Sheba had so far been worshipping the sun under the influence of the conventions of her nation. But, in the company of Solomon, whatever she heard and whatever she saw, completely banished from her mind all impressions of the majesty of anything other than God. Consequently, she renounced the religion of polytheism and whole-heartedly embraced the religion of monotheism.

27:45-47
When Salih started calling for belief in the pure unity of God, his community divided itself into two groups. The leaders of the community were too wrapped up in their own greatness to accept the pure and unadulterated religion preached by Salih. But, among the less important people, there were some who gave a positive response to his call. The two groups began having controversial discussions. The leading luminaries of the community stated quite bluntly that they did not believe in God and that He might bring upon them whatever retribution He wanted as a punishment for their denial. If they faced any hardship, they were wont to say that it was the ill-luck brought upon them by the inauspicious presence in their midst of Salih and his companions. All these things were said in order to humiliate Salih and belittle his call, and not as a result of any serious thought. Their circumstances, whether good or bad, had come to them from God. But they took advantage of good circumstances to feed their false pride and cited bad circumstances to make false complaints. The rising of a prophet from among them was in the nature of a trial devised for them by God. They were placed in this position in order to see whether they recognised the Truth and co-operated with it, or whether they remained blind and deaf towards it. They failed in this trial. They were so preoccupied with material things that they failed to comprehend the reality.

27:48-52
There were nine great chiefs in this community. In order to maintain their high position they made constant efforts to belittle the Truth, and efforts of this type undoubtedly constitute the greatest disturbance on God’s earth. Finally, these chiefs conspired to kill Salih. But, before they could take any steps against Salih according to their secret plan, God seized hold of them. In spite of all their might they were destroyed so utterly that, only dilapidated ruins of their ancient towns, still stand there as a memorial to them. A great lesson is hidden in such historical events. But, this lesson may be learnt only by one who is capable of connecting such events with the eternal laws of God. Conversely, those who attribute such events to physical causes cannot learn any lesson from them.

27:53-59
The community of Lot, in its excessive sexual indulgence, had stooped to homosexuality. Lot, trying to stir their conscience, said, ‘O, subjects of God! You have been given eyes to observe things and the moral sense to be able to differentiate between good and bad. Then, how can you indulge in conduct which amounts to open shamelessness?’ The community had no reply to this. They could not reject the prophet’s words on the basis of logical arguments. So, they resorted to violence against him. But, when this stage is reached, the time comes for God’s final decision to be made without further delay. So they were destroyed by a volcanic eruption. Lot’s wife was also not exempt from this fate either, as she was one of the unbelievers. God deals with individuals according to their personal conduct and not on the basis of their being someone’s relatives or on the basis of their worldly connections. One who gives serious consideration to the aforesaid events of history, will cry out with feeling, ‘I express my heartfelt gratitude to God, who has arranged for the guidance of humanity in every age!’ And then his heart will be filled with respect for those who dedicated their lives to God and completed the mission of providing God’s guidance to everyone.

27:60-61
Expressed as a chain of cause and effect, the theories propounded by atheists or agnostics, remain woefully inadequate to explain the creation of the unimaginably vast universe. Be it the creation of the innumerable heavenly bodies that float in boundless space, or the elaborate arrangements that make the earth habitable—all these and many other such phenomena are too great and too wonderful to have been wrought by any idol or occasioned by any blind physical law. The fact is that any explanation of the universe on bases other than God amounts to giving a false explanation of reality. This is merely a fabrication and not a genuine explanation.

27:62-64
The needs of man are fulfilled as a result of the perfect co-ordination between all the factors in the Universe. We must ask who, other than Almighty God, can assemble all the favourable factors on such a large scale? Similarly, the displacement of a nation or race and another nation taking its place, the sailing of a ship, and in the modern age the flying of an aeroplane in darkness as well as in daylight by taking advantage of technological advances, the rising of water vapour from the sea and its subsequent descent in the shape of rain. The creation of things out of nothing and their resurrection, the provision of all kinds for man on a large scale—all these result solely from the instrumentality of Almighty God. This is true of all of the world’s events. Here, to cause a single event to take place, it is necessary to activate innumerable factors, and this can be done only by that Being who has control of the whole universe. In this context, how foolish it is to make anybody other than God the centre of adoration and worship!

27:65-69
The addressees of the prophets were not absolute and total deniers of the life Hereafter, but they denied that particular concept of the Hereafter, which was presented by the prophets. People were under the impression that the issue of the Hereafter was meant not for them but for others to ponder over. The prophets told them that the Hereafter was as serious a problem for them as it was for others. Yet they clung to the belief that their attachment to some saints or holy persons would redeem them in the Hereafter. The prophets told them, however, that in the Hereafter only God’s grace and not attachment to any saint or holy person would be of any avail. That is why they were mentally confused about the Hereafter. Hot-headed individuals would, of course, articulate their denial of the Hereafter. However, the common people’s position was that they did not deny the Hereafter altogether. But, since acceptance of the concept of the Hereafter resulted in the curtailment of their various liberties, their selfish side was not prepared to accept it. So, in reply, they used to talk as if they doubted it. Due to this mentality, they never gave serious consideration to the arguments in favour of the Hereafter. They remained blind and deaf to them. The fact is that the powers required to decide the fate of nations or races are vested solely in the All-Knowing God. In the present world, He enforces His decisions partially, but in the Hereafter, He will enforce His decisions fully in respect of all nations.

27:70-75
The words ‘do not grieve’ are not meant to prevent the preacher from grieving. It is, in fact, meant to contradict the impression that Truth is helpless. It means that, in spite of unfavourable conditions, the Truth and supporters of the Truth will finally meet with success. When the adversaries of the preacher of Truth contradict him, they think that they are dealing with a human being. They do not understand that this is tantamount to setting themselves up against God Himself and not merely opposing an ordinary mortal. This state of affairs (i.e. the temporary success of the opponents) continues only till the expiry of the period of human trial. As soon this period is over, God will appear and all these opponents will vanish into thin air. There is no foolishness greater than mistaking the temporary respite during the trial period for unconditional and unlimited liberty to indulge in arrogance.

27:76-81
The human being is a creature who has been blessed with the ability to see, hear and think. If these capacities are utilised in an open-minded way, realities may be seen and recognised with the utmost clarity. But, if a man is wrongly conditioned, truth may come before him unveiled, but he will remain unaware of it, as if he were blind and deaf. The fact is that, in this world, one can be guided to the right path, only if one wants to be guided. For one who has no burning desire to find the right path, no guidance of any kind will be of any avail. In order to become a seeker of Truth, the qualities most needed in a man are those of acceptance. In this world, only that man receives guidance who possesses the quality of readily accepting that which is well established by arguments and following that whole heartedly. Those who do not answer God’s call have finally to bow down before God’s verdict, but bowing down when the time for testing is over will be of no avail to anybody.

27:82-86
At the time when Almighty God takes the decision that the present history of the earth should be brought to an end, some extraordinary signs will appear to usher in the last phase. Among these signs will be the appearance of a communicator (dabbah). This will be the bell announcing the end of the examination period and not its beginning. Mass communications, particuarly the internet and multimedia, are probably what is meant by dabbah here. When all the people gather on the Day of Judgement, they will be divided into groups. The believers will be ranged on one side and those who denied the truth on the other. Then those who denied the truth will be asked what academic or rational arguments made them deny the Truth. At that time their silence will prove their denial was based on stubbornness and bias, though they advanced false arguments to show that they were right. At that time, it will be clear to them that over and above the verbal message of the preacher , even the alternation of day and night was non-verbally and tacitly conveying to them the words of Truth. Sleep during the night stood for death and waking up in the morning stood for resurrection. In spite of these extraordinary arrangements for the proclamation of the Truth, they were unable to discover it.

27:87-90
In the present world, the real reason for denial of the Truth is the lack of fear of God. It is due to this mentality of fearlessness that man ignores the Truth, and setting himself up against it, indulges in arrogant behaviour. But, when the period of examination is over and, as a sign, the Judgement Day trumpet is blown, people will suddenly come to know that their fearlessness was simply based on ignorance. On that Day, all greatness will be washed away like a wall of sand. This will be such a terrible moment that not only human beings, but even the mountains will crumble. At that time, all humility will be on one side, while all the power will be on the other. At that time, all the things which were considered important in this world, will become unimportant. On that Day, only righteous deeds will carry weight. On that Day, the ‘losers’ will become the successful ones and the ‘successful ones’—in the world—will face deprivation forever.

27:91-92
The reference to ‘this town’ (Makkah) here is in relation to the first addressees of the Quran. However, indirectly, this verse reminds all mankind of the eternal reality that there is only one right way and that is to become worshippers of the one God. It is the duty of a preacher to address others, i.e. to give the call of Truth. In this call of the preacher, which has apparently no power behind it, the hearer has to see the might of God. Those who prove their ability to do this, will be of those who will be treated as deserving of the eternal blessing of God.
27:93
One aspect of this prediction relates to the first addressees of the Quran (the Quraysh of Makkah) who were shown God’s signs in the earlier period of Islam through events such as the conquest of Makkah. The other aspect concerns the issue of the eternal guidance offered by the Quran. Thus the scientific evidence appearing in the modern period are also included in the wider scope of this prediction.

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