اَللّٰهُ Allah الَّذِیْ (is) the One Who خَلَقَكُمْ created you مِّنْ from ضُؔعْفٍ weakness ثُمَّ then جَعَلَ made مِنْۢ after بَعْدِ after ضُؔعْفٍ weakness قُوَّةً strength ثُمَّ then جَعَلَ made مِنْۢ after بَعْدِ after قُوَّةٍ strength ضُؔعْفًا weakness وَّ شَیْبَةً ؕ and gray hair یَخْلُقُ He creates مَا what یَشَآءُ ۚ He wills وَ هُوَ and He الْعَلِیْمُ (is) the All-Knower الْقَدِیْرُ the All-Powerful وَ یَوْمَ And (the) Day تَقُوْمُ will (be) established السَّاعَةُ the Hour یُقْسِمُ will swear الْمُجْرِمُوْنَ ۙ۬ the criminals مَا not لَبِثُوْا they remained غَیْرَ but سَاعَةٍ ؕ an hour كَذٰلِكَ Thus كَانُوْا they were یُؤْفَكُوْنَ deluded وَ قَالَ But will say الَّذِیْنَ those who اُوْتُوا were given الْعِلْمَ the knowledge وَ الْاِیْمَانَ and the faith لَقَدْ Verily لَبِثْتُمْ you remained فِیْ by كِتٰبِ (the) Decree اللّٰهِ (of) Allah اِلٰى until یَوْمِ (the) Day الْبَعْثِ ؗ (of) Resurrection فَهٰذَا And this یَوْمُ (is the) Day الْبَعْثِ (of) the Resurrection وَ لٰكِنَّكُمْ but you كُنْتُمْ were لَا not تَعْلَمُوْنَ knowing فَیَوْمَىِٕذٍ So that Day لَّا not یَنْفَعُ will profit الَّذِیْنَ those who ظَلَمُوْا wronged مَعْذِرَتُهُمْ their excuses وَ لَا and not هُمْ they یُسْتَعْتَبُوْنَ will be allowed to make amends وَ لَقَدْ And verily ضَرَبْنَا We (have) set forth لِلنَّاسِ for mankind فِیْ in هٰذَا this الْقُرْاٰنِ [the] Quran مِنْ of كُلِّ every مَثَلٍ ؕ example وَ لَىِٕنْ But if جِئْتَهُمْ you bring them بِاٰیَةٍ a sign لَّیَقُوْلَنَّ surely will say الَّذِیْنَ those who كَفَرُوْۤا disbelieve اِنْ Not اَنْتُمْ you اِلَّا (are) except مُبْطِلُوْنَ falsifiers كَذٰلِكَ Thus یَطْبَعُ Allah seals اللّٰهُ Allah seals عَلٰى [on] قُلُوْبِ (the) hearts الَّذِیْنَ (of) those who لَا (do) not یَعْلَمُوْنَ know فَاصْبِرْ So be patient اِنَّ Indeed وَعْدَ (the) Promise اللّٰهِ (of) Allah حَقٌّ (is) true وَّ لَا And (let) not یَسْتَخِفَّنَّكَ take you in light estimation الَّذِیْنَ those who لَا (are) not یُوْقِنُوْنَ۠ certain in faith
(30:54) It is Allah Who created you in a state of weakness; then after weakness He gave you strength, then after strength He made you weak and old. He creates what He pleases.79 He is All-Knowing, All-Powerful.
(30:55) On that Day when the Hour will come to pass80 the wicked shall swear that they had stayed (in the world) no more than an hour.81 Thus they used to be deceived in the life of the world.82
(30:56) But those who had been endowed with knowledge and faith shall say: “According to Allah's Record you have stayed till the Day of Resurrection. Now, this is the Day of Resurrection. But you did not know.”
(30:57) So that will be the Day when the excuses of the wrong-doers will not avail them, nor will they be asked to make amends.83
(30:58) In the Qur'an We have explained things to people in myriad ways. But no matter what Sign you bring to them, those who are resolved upon denying the Truth will say: “You are given to falsehood.”
(30:59) Thus does Allah seal the hearts of those who have no knowledge.
(30:60) Therefore, (O Prophet), have patience. Surely Allah's promise is true.84 Let those who lack certainty not cause you to be unsteady.85
79. It is God Who has divided man’s life into the different stages of childhood, youth and old age. It depends entirely on His will to create some who are weak and others who are strong. It also depends entirely on His will to cause someone to die before he reaches his youth, or to die in his youth, or to grant someone a long life and still keep him healthy and strong. In like manner, God can grant someone a glorious youth and then cause him to suffer a miserable old age. Man can cherish any illusions about himself that-he wants to but the fact remains that he is entirely in God's control and is absolutely helpless to alter the state in which God decides to place him.
80. The “Hour” here refers to the Hour of Judgement.
81. That is, they had stayed no more than an hour from the time of their death until the Day of Resurrection. Even though thousands of years might have elapsed after their death they still feel as though they had been in a state of slumber for a very short while when they were suddenly woken by some accidental commotion.
82. In like manner, they used to miscalculate while they lived in the world. Not comprehending the reality, they believed that there would be no Day of Judgement, that there would be no life after death, and that they would never be called to account by God.
83. This could also be translated as follows:” ...nor will they be asked to please their Lord”, for by then they will have irretrievably lost all chance to turn to the True Faith and good deeds. The time prescribed for testing man will be over by then and he will be face to face with the Hour of Judgement.
84. This. alludes to God’s promise mentioned in an earlier verse of this surah: “We sent Messengers before you to their respective nations, and they brought Clear Signs to them. Then We took vengeance upon those who acted wickedly. It was incumbent on Us to come to the aid of the believers.” (See v. 47 above.)
85. The believers should be so firmly anchored in their conviction that there should be no reason whatsoever for enemies to consider them so feeble hearted that they can be overpowered by the latter’s hue and cry, cowed down by their campaigns of calumny and slander, demoralized by their taunts and ridicules, intimidated by their threats, overawed by their display of strength and by their persecution, or be tempted by their allurements. Nor should the believers feel persuaded to make any compromise with enemies under the spell of pleas in the name of national interest. On the contrary, such enemies should find the believers so vigilant as-regards their objectives, so mature and deeply entrenched in their beliefs, so determined in their resolve, and so firm in their character that no threat can frighten them, nor can any price howsoever high cajole them, nor can any danger, loss or suffering deflect them from their chosen path and nor can their religious faith ever be a matter of bargain and haggle. All these ideas are encompassed, thanks to the Qur’an’s consummate eloquence, in these few words: “Let those who lack certainty not cause you to be unsteady.” History bears out that the Prophet (peace be on him) proved himself to be as firm and solid as God had wanted His last Messenger to be. If anyone challenged him, regardless of the arena of the challenger, he was unfailingly brow-beaten by the Prophet (peace be on him). In the course of time, his powerful personality brought about a revolution that could not be thwarted by the combined forces of unbelief and polytheism across the Arabian Peninsula, and this despite the fact that his opponents spared - no weapons available to them.