50 Preface سَرابيلُهُم مِن قَطِرانٍ وَتَغشىٰ وُجوهَهُمُ النّارُYusuf AliTheir garments1 of liquid pitch,2 and their faces covered with Fire;Sirbal; plural, Sarabil: a garment or coat of mail, breast plate; something covering the most vital parts of the body; like the shirt or the Indian kurta.Qatiran'. black pitch, a resinous substance exuding from certain kinds of trees like the terebinth or the pines, or distilled from wood or coal. It catches fire readily. Issuing from the upper garments (Sarabil) the flames soon cover the face, the most expressive part of man’s essence or being. The metaphor of fetters (n 1926) is now changed to that of pitch, which darkens and sets on fire the soul of man.