Note 1
I.e., one after another: an allusion to the gradual, step-by-step revelation of the Qur'an. By contrast, the next clause (verse 2) obviously relates to the impact of the divine writ as a whole. For my rendering of the adjurative particle wa as "Consider", see surah 74, first half of note 23.

Note 2
Lit., "with [all] separation" (farqan). Cf. 8:29 and the corresponding note 29; also note 38 on 2:53.

Note 3
I.e., showing what leads to freedom from blame - in other words, the principles of right conduct - and what is ethically reprehensible and, therefore, to be avoided.

Note 4
Lit., "that which you are promised", i.e., resurrection.

Note 5
Sc., to bear witness for or against those to whom they conveyed God's message (cf. 4:41, 5:109, 7:6 or 39:69).

Note 6
This is chronologically the earliest occurrence of the expression yawm al-fasl, which invariably relates to the Day of Resurrection (cf. 37:21, 44:40, 78:17, as well as verse 38 of the present surah): an allusion to the oft-repeated Qur'anic statement that on resurrection man will gain a perfect, unfailing insight into himself and the innermost motivation of his past attitudes and doings (cf. 69:1 and the corresponding note 1).

Note 7
The use of the conjunction thumma - which in this case has been rendered as "And" - implies that suffering in the hereafter is bound to befall the sinners "of later times" (al-akhirun) even if God, in His unfathomable wisdom, wills to spare them in this world.

Note 8
The process of man's coming into being (illustrated, for instance, in 23:12) clearly point to God's creative activity and, hence, to His existence. Consequently, lack of gratitude on man's part amounts to what the Qur'an describes as "giving the lie to the truth".

Note 9
This refers not merely to the fact that the earth is an abode for living and dead human beings and animals, but is also an allusion to the God-willed, cyclic recurrence of birth, growth, decay and death in all organic creation - and thus an evidence of the existence of the Creator who "brings forth the living out of that which is dead, and brings forth the dead out of that which is alive (3:27, 6:95, 10:31 and 30:19).

Note 10
Parallel with the preceding, this verse refers to God's creation of inanimate matter, and thus rounds off the statement that He is the Maker of the universe in all its manifestations, both organic and inorganic.

Note 11
I.e., of death, resurrection and God's judgment, all three of which cast dark shadows, as it were, over the sinners' hearts.

Note 12
Lit., "like yellow twisted ropes", yellow being "the colour of fire" (Baghawi). The conventional rendering of jimalat (also spelt jimalat and jimalah) as "camels", adopted by many commentators and, until now, by all translators of the Qur'an, must be rejected as grossly anomalous; see in this connection note 32 on the second part of 7:40 - "they shall not enter paradise any more than a twisted rope can pass through a needle's eye". In the above verse, too, the plural noun jimalah (or jimalat) signifies "twisted ropes" or "giant ropes" - a connotation that has been forcefully stressed by Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Sa'id ibn Jubayr and others (cf. Tabari, Baghawi, Razi, Ibn Kathir; also Bukhari, Kitab at-Tafsir). Moreover, our observation of the trajectory of shooting stars fully justifies the rendering "giant fiery ropes", Similarly, my rendering of qasr, in this context, as "[burning] logs" - instead of the conventional (and utterly meaningless) "castles", "palaces", etc. - goes back to all of the above-mentioned authorities.

Note 13
For this symbolism of the joys of paradise, see Appendix I.

Note 14
Lit" "behold, you are lost in sin (mujrimun)".