Arberry 20-114

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...continued. Complete 114 chapters of the Holy Koran:


XX TA HA

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
20:1 Ta Ha
We have not sent down the Koran upon thee for thee to be unprosperous, but only as a reminder to him who fears, a revelation from Him who created the earth and the high heavens; the All-compassionate sat Himself upon the Throne; to Him belongs
20:5 all that is in the heavens and the earth and all that is between them, and all that is underneath the soil.
Be thou loud in thy speech, yet surely He knows the secret and that yet more hidden. God -- there is no god but He. To Him belong the Names Most Beautiful.
Hast thou received the story of Moses? When he saw a fire, and said to his family, 'Tarry you here; I observe a fire.
20:10 Perhaps I shall bring you a brand from it, or I shall find at the fire guidance.' When he came to it, a voice cried, 'Moses, I am thy Lord; put off thy shoes; thou art in the holy valley, Towa. I Myself have chosen thee; therefore give thou ear to this revelation.
Verily I am God; there is no god but I; therefore serve Me, and perform the prayer of My remembrance.
The Hour is coming; I would conceal it that every soul may be recompensed for its labours. Let none bar thee from it, that believes not in it but follows after his own caprice, or thou wilt perish. What is that, Moses, thou hast in thy right hand?' 'Why, it is my staff,' said Moses. 'I lean upon it, and with it I beat down leaves to feed my sheep; other uses also I find in it.
20:20 Said He, 'Cast it down, Moses!' and he cast it down, and behold it was a serpent sliding. Said He, 'Take it, and fear not; We will restore it to its first state. Now clasp thy hand to thy arm-pit; it shall come forth white, without evil. That is a second sign. So We would show thee some of Our greatest signs.
20:25 'Go to Pharaoh; he has waxed insolent.' 'Lord, open my breast,' said Moses, 'and do Thou ease for me my task. Unloose the knot upon my tongue, that they may understand my words.
20:30 'Appoint for me of my folk a familiar, Aaron, my brother; by him confirm my strength, and associate him with me in my task. So shall we glorify Thee, and remember Thee abundantly.
20:35 'Surely Thou seest into us.' Said He, 'Thou art granted, Moses, thy petition. Already another time We favoured thee, when We revealed what was revealed unto thy mother: "Cast him into the ark, and cast him into the river, and let the river throw him up on the shore. An enemy of Mine and his shall take him."
20:40 And I loaded on thee love from Me, and to be formed in My sight, when thy sister went out, saying, "Shall I point you to one to have charge of him?" So We returned thee to thy mother that she might rejoice, and not sorrow. Then thou slewest; a living soul, and We delivered thee out of grief, and We tried thee with many trials. Many years among the people of Midian thou didst sojourn, then camest hither, Moses, according to a decree.
I have chosen thee for My service; go therefore, thou and thy brother; with My signs, and neglect not
20:45 to remember Me. Go to Pharaoh, for he has waxed insolent; yet speak gently to him, that haply he may be mindful, or perchance fear.' 'O our Lord,' said Moses and Aaron, 'truly we fear he may exceed against us, or wax insolent.'
'Fear not,' said He. 'Surely I shall be with you, hearing and seeing. So go you both to Pharaoh, and say, "We are the Messengers of thy Lord, so send forth with us the Children of Israel and chastise them not; we have brought thee a sign from thy Lord; and peace be upon him who follows the guidance!
20:50 It has been revealed to us that chastisement shall light upon him who cries lies and turns his back."
Pharaoh said, 'Who is your Lord, Moses?' He said, 'Our Lord is He who gave everything its creation, then guided it.' Pharaoh said, 'And what of the former generations?' Said Moses, 'The knowledge of them is with my Lord, in a Book; my Lord goes not astray, nor forgets --
20:55 He who appointed the earth to be a cradle for you, and therein threaded roads for you, and sent down water out of heaven, and therewith We have brought forth divers kinds of plants. Do you eat, and pasture your cattle! Surely in that are signs for men possessing reason. Out of the earth We created you, and We shall restore you into it, and bring you forth from it a second time.' So We showed Pharaoh all Our signs, but he cried lies, and refused. 'Hast thou come, Moses,' he said, 'to expel us out of our land
20:60 'by thy sorcery? We shall assuredly bring thee sorcery the like of it; therefore appoint a tryst between us and thee, a place mutually agreeable, and we shall not fail it, neither thou.' 'Your tryst shall be upon the Feast Day.' said Moses. 'Let the people be mustered at the high noon. Pharaoh then withdrew, and gathered his guile. Thereafter he came again, and Moses said to them, 'O beware! Forge not a lie against God, lest He destroy you with a chastisement. Whoso forges has ever failed.'
20:65 And they disputed upon their plan between them, and communed secretly saying, 'These two men are sorcerers and their purpose is to expel you out of your land by their sorcery, and to extirpate your justest way. So gather your guile; then come in battle-line. Whoever today gains the upper hand shall surely prosper.
They said, 'Moses, either thou wilt cast, or we shall be the first to cast.' 'No,' said Moses. 'Do you cast!' And lo, it seemed to him, by their sorcery, their ropes and their staffs were sliding;
20:70 and Moses conceived a fear within him. We said unto him, 'Fear not; surely thou art the uppermost. Cast down what is in thy right hand, and it shall swallow what they have fashioned; for they have fashioned only the guile of a sorcerer, and the sorcerer prospers not; wherever he goes.' And the sorcerers cast themselves down prostrating. 'We believe,' they said, 'in the Lord of Aaron and Moses.' Pharaoh said, 'Have you believed him before I gave you leave? Why, he is the chief of you, the same that taught you sorcery; I shall assuredly cut off alternately your hands and feet, then I shall crucify you upon the trunks of palm-trees; you shall know of a certainty which of us is more terrible in chastisement, and more abiding.'
20:75 They said, 'We will not prefer thee over the clear signs that have come to us, nor over Him who originated us. Decide then what thou wilt decide; thou canst only decide touching this present life. We believe in our Lord, that He may pardon us our offences, and the sorcery thou hast constrained us to practise; God is better, and more abiding.'
Whosoever comes unto his Lord a sinner, for him awaits Gehenna wherein he shall neither die nor live. And whoso comes unto Him a believer having done deeds of righteousness, those -- for them await the most sublime degrees; Gardens of Eden, underneath which rivers flow, therein dwelling forever; that is the recompense of the self-purified.
Also We revealed unto Moses, 'Go with My servants by night; strike for them a dry path in the sea,
20:80 fearing not overtaking, neither afraid.' Pharaoh followed them with his hosts, but they were overwhelmed by the sea; so Pharaoh had led his people astray, and was no guide to them.
Children of Israel, We delivered you from your enemy; and We made covenant with you upon the right side of the Mount, and sent down on you manna and quails:
'Eat of the good things wherewith We have provided you; but exceed not therein, or My anger shall alight on you; and on whomsoever My anger alights, that man is hurled to ruin. Yet I am All-forgiving to him who repents and believes, and does righteousness, and at last is guided.'
20:85 'What has sped thee far from thy people, Moses?' 'They are upon my tracks,' Moses said. 'I have hastened, Lord, only that I may please Thee.'
Said He, 'We have tempted thy people since thou didst leave them. The Samaritan has misled them into error.' Then Moses returned very angry and sorrowful to his people, saying, 'My people, did your Lord not promise a fair promise to you? Did the time of the covenant seem so long to you, or did you desire that anger should alight on you from your Lord, so that you failed in your tryst with me?'
20:90 'We have not failed in our tryst with thee,' they said, 'of our volition; but we were loaded with fardels, even the ornaments of the people, and we cast them, as the Samaritan also threw them, into the fire.' (Then he brought out for them a Calf, a mere body that lowed; and they said, 'This is your god, and the god of Moses, whom he has forgotten.' What? Did they not see that thing returned no speech unto them, neither had any power to hurt or profit them? Yet Aaron had aforetime said to them, 'My people, you have been tempted by this thing, no more; surety your Lord is the All-merciful; therefore follow me, and obey my commandment!' 'We will not cease,' they said, 'to cleave to it, until Moses returns to us.')
Moses said, 'What prevented thee, Aaron, when thou sawest them in error, so that thou didst not follow after me? Didst thou then disobey my commandment?'
20:95 'Son of my mother,' Aaron said, 'take me not by the beard, or the head! I was fearful that thou wouldst say, "Thou hast divided the Children of Israel, and thou hast not observed my word." Moses said, 'And thou, Samaritan, what was thy business?' 'I beheld what they beheld not,' he said, 'and I seized a handful of dust from the messenger's track, and cast it into the thing. So my soul prompted me.' 'Depart!' said Moses. 'It shall be thine all this life to cry "Untouchable!" And thereafter a tryst awaits thee thou canst not fail to keep. Behold thy god, to whom all the day thou wast cleaving! We will surely burn it and scatter its ashes into the sea. Your God is only the One God; there is no god, but He alone who in His knowledge embraces everything.'
20:100 So We relate to thee stories of what has gone before, and We have given thee a remembrance from Us. Whosoever turns away from it, upon the Day of Resurrection He shall bear a fardel, therein abiding forever; how evil upon the Day of Resurrection that burden for them!
On the day the Trumpet is blown; and We shall muster the sinners upon that day with eyes staring, whispering one to another, 'You have tarried only ten nights.' We know very well what they will say, when the justest of them in the way will say, 'You have tarried only a day.'
20:105 They will question thee concerning the mountains. Say: 'My Lord will scatter them as ashes; then He will leave them a level hollow wherein thou wilt see no crookedness neither any curving.'
On that day they will follow the Summoner in whom is no crookedness; voices will be hushed to the All-merciful, so that thou hearest naught but a murmuring. Upon that day the intercession will not profit, save for him to whom the All-merciful gives leave, and whose speech He approves. He knows what is before them and behind them, and they comprehend Him not in knowledge.
20:110 And faces shall be humbled unto the Living, the Eternal. He will have failed whose burden is of evildoing; but whosoever does deeds of righteousness, being a believer, shall fear neither wrong nor injustice.
Even so We have sent it down as an Arabic Koran, and We have turned about in it something of threats, that haply they may be godfearing, or it may arouse in them remembrance.
So high exalted be God, the true King! And hasten not with the Koran ere its revelation is accomplished unto thee; and say, 'O my Lord, increase me in knowledge.'
20:115 And We made covenant with Adam before, but he forgot, and We found in him no constancy. And when We said to the angels, 'Bow yourselves to Adam'; so they bowed themselves, save Iblis; he refused. Then We said, 'Adam, surely this is an enemy to thee and thy wife. So let him not expel you both from the Garden, so that thou art unprosperous.
It is assuredly given to thee neither to hunger therein, nor to go naked, neither to thirst therein, nor to suffer the sun.'
Then Satan whispered to him saying, 'Adam, shall I point thee to the Tree of Eternity, and a Kingdom that decays not?'
So the two of them ate of it, and their shameful parts revealed to them, and they took to stitching upon themselves leaves of the Garden. And Adam disobeyed his Lord, and so he erred.
20:120 Thereafter his Lord chose him, and turned again unto him, and He guided him.
Said He, 'Get you down, both of you together, out of it, each of you an enemy to each; but if there comes to you from Me guidance, then whosoever follows My guidance shall not go astray, neither shall he be unprosperous; but whosoever turns away from My remembrance, his shall be a life of narrowness, and on the Resurrection Day We shall raise him blind.'
20:125 He shall say, 'O my Lord, why hast thou raised me blind, and I was wont to see?'
God shall say, 'Even so it is. Our signs came unto thee, and thou didst forget them; and so today thou art forgotten.' So We recompense him who is prodigal and believes not in the signs of his Lord; and the chastisement of the world to come is more terrible and more enduring.
Is it not a guidance to them, how many generations We destroyed before them in whose dwelling-places they walk? Surely in that are signs for men possessing reason. And but for a word that preceded from thy Lord, and a stated term, it had been fastened.
20:130 So be thou patient under what they say, and proclaim thy Lord's praise before the rising of the sun, and before its setting, and proclaim thy Lord's praise in the watches of the night, and at the ends of the day; haply thou wilt be well-pleasing. Stretch not thine eyes to that We have given pairs of them to enjoy -- the flower of the present life, that We may try them therein and thy Lord's provision is better, and more enduring. And bid thy family to pray, and be thou patient in it; We ask of thee no provision, but it is We who provide thee. And the issue ultimate is to godfearing.
They say, 'Why does he not bring us a sign from his Lord?' Has there not come to them the clear sign of what is in the former scrolls?
Had We destroyed them with a chastisement aforetime, they would have said, 'Our Lord, why didst Thou not send us a Messenger, so that we might have followed Thy signs before that we were humiliated and degraded?'
20:135 Say: 'Everyone is waiting; so wait, and assuredly you shall know who are the travellers on the even path, and who is guided.'

XXI THE PROPHETS

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
21:1 Nigh unto men has drawn their reckoning, while they in heedlessness are yet turning away; no Remembrance from their Lord comes to them lately renewed, but they listen to it yet playing, diverted their hearts. The evildoers whisper one to another, 'Is this aught but a mortal like to yourselves? What, will you take to sorcery with your eyes open?'
He says: 'My Lord knows what is said in the heavens and the earth, and He is the All-hearing, the All-knowing.'
21:5 Nay, but they say: 'A hotchpotch of nightmares! Nay, he has forged it; nay, he is a poet! Now therefore let him bring us a sign, even as the ancient ones were sent as Messengers.'
Not one city that We destroyed before them believed; what then, will they not believe? And We sent none before thee, but men to whom We made revelation -- question the People of the Remembrance, if you do not know -- nor did We fashion them as bodies that ate not food, neither were they immortal; then We made true the promise We gave them and We delivered them, and whomsoever We would; and We destroyed the prodigal.
21:10 Now We have sent down to you a Book wherein is your Remembrance; will you not understand? How many a city that was evildoing We have shattered, and set up after it another people! Then, when they perceived Our might, behold, they ran headlong out of it. 'Run not! Return you unto the luxury that you exulted in, and your dwelling-places; haply you shall be questioned.' They said, 'Alas for us! We have been evildoers.'
21:15 So they ceased not to cry, until We made them stubble, silent and still.
We created not the heaven and the earth, and whatsoever between them is, as playing; had We desired to take to Us a diversion We would have taken it to Us from Ourselves, had We done aught. Nay, but We hurl the truth against falsehood and it prevails over it, and behold, falsehood vanishes away. Then woe to you for that you describe!
To Him belongs whosoever is in the heavens and the earth; and those who are with Him wax not too proud to do Him service neither grow weary, glorifying Him by night and in the daytime and never failing. Or have they taken gods out of the earth who raise the dead?
Why, were there gods in earth and heaven other than God, they would surely go to ruin; so glory be to God, the Lord of the Throne, above that they describe!
He shall not be questioned as to what He does, but they shall be questioned. Or have they taken gods apart from Him? Say: 'Bring your proof! This is the Remembrance of him who is with me, and the Remembrance of those before me. Nay, but the most part of them know not the truth, so therefore they are turning away.
21:25 And We sent never a Messenger before thee except that We revealed to him, saying, 'There is no god but I; so serve Me.'
They say:' 'The All-merciful has taken to Him a son.' Glory be to Him! Nay, but they are honoured servants that outstrip Him not in speech, and perform as He commands. He knows what is before them and behind them, and they intercede not save for him with whom He is well-pleased, and they tremble in awe of Him.
21:30 If any of them says, 'I am a god apart from Him', such a one We recompense with Gehenna; even so We recompense the evildoers.
Have not the unbelievers then beheld that the heavens and the earth were a mass all sewn up, and then We unstitched them and of water fashioned every living thing? Will they not believe? And We set in the earth firm mountains lest it should shake with them, and We set in it ravines to serve as ways, that haply so they may be guided; and We set up the heaven as a roof well-protected; yet still from Our signs they are turning away.
It is He who created the night and the day, the sun and the moon, each swimming in a sky.
We have not assigned to any mortal before thee to live forever; therefore, if thou diest, will they live forever? Every soul shall taste of death; and We try you with evil and good for a testing, then unto Us you shall be returned.
When the unbelievers behold thee, they take thee only for mockery: 'Ha, is this the one who makes mention of your gods?' Yet they in the Remembrance of the All-merciful are unbelievers. Man was created of haste. Assuredly I shall show you My signs; so demand not that I make haste. They say, 'And when shall the promise come to pass, if you speak truly?'
21:40 If the unbelievers but knew when that they shall not ward off the Fire from their faces nor from their backs, neither shall they be helped! Nay, but it shall come upon them suddenly, dumbfounding them, and they shall not be able to repel it, nor shall they be respited.
Messengers indeed were mocked at before thee, but those that scoffed at them were encompassed by that they mocked at.
Say: 'Who shall guard you by night and in the daytime from the All-merciful?' Nay, but from the Remembrance of their Lord they are turning away.
Or have they gods that shall defend them apart from Us? Why, they are not able to help themselves, nor shall they be guarded in safety from Us.
21:45 Nay, but Ourselves gave these and their fathers enjoyment of days, until their life had lasted long while upon them. What, do they not see how We come to the land, diminishing it in its extremities? Or are they the victors? Say: 'I warn you only by the Revelation'; but they that are deaf do not hear the call when they are warned. If but a breath of thy Lord's chastisement touched them, they would surely say, 'Alas for us! We were evildoers.'
And We shall set up the just balances for the Resurrection Day, so that not one soul shall be wronged anything; even if it be the weight of one grain of mustard-seed. We shall produce it, and sufficient are We for reckoners.
We gave Moses and Aaron the Salvation and a Radiance, and a Remembrance for the godfearing
21:50 such as fear God in the Unseen, trembling because of the Hour.
And this is a blessed Remembrance that We have sent down; so are you now denying it?
We gave Abraham aforetime his rectitude -- for We knew him -- when he said to his father and his people, 'What are these statues unto which you are cleaving?' They said, 'We found our fathers serving them.'
21:55 He said, 'Then assuredly you and your fathers have been in manifest error.'
They said, 'What, hast thou come to us with the truth, or art thou one of those that play?' He said, 'Nay, but your Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth who originated them, and I am one of those that bear witness thereunto. And, by God, I shall assuredly outwit your idols, after you have gone away turning your backs.'
So he broke them into fragments, all but a great one they had, for haply they would return to it.
21:60 They said, 'Who has done this with our gods? Surely he is one of the evildoers.' They said, 'We heard a young man making mention of them, and he was called Abraham.'
They said, 'Bring him before the people's eyes; haply they shall bear witness.'
They said, 'So, art thou the man who did this unto our gods, Abraham?'
He said, 'No; it was this great one of them that did it. Question them; if they are able to speak!'
21:65 So they returned one to another, and they said, 'Surely it is you who are the evildoers.' Then they were utterly put to confusion saying, 'Very well indeed thou knowest these do not speak.' He said, 'What, and do you serve, apart from God, that which profits you nothing; neither hurts you? Fie upon you and that you serve apart from God!
Do you not understand?' They said, 'Burn him, and help your gods, if you would do aught.' We said, 'O fire, be coolness and safety for Abraham!'
21:70 They desired to outwit him; so We made them the worse losers, and We delivered him, and Lot, unto the land that We had blessed for all beings. And We gave him Isaac and Jacob in superfluity, and every one made We righteous and appointed them to be leaders guiding by Our command, and We revealed to them the doing of good deeds, and to perform the prayer, and to pay the alms, and Us they served.
And Lot -- to him We gave judgment and knowledge; and we delivered him from the city that had been doing deeds of corruption; they were an evil people, truly ungodly;
21:75 and We admitted him into Our mercy; he was of the righteous.
And Noah -- when he called before, and We answered him, and delivered him and his people from the great distress, and We helped him against the people who cried lies to Our signs; surely they were an evil people, so We drowned them all together.
And David and Solomon -- when they gave judgment concerning the tillage, when the sheep of the people strayed there, and We bore witness to their judgment; and We made Solomon to understand it, and unto each gave We judgment and knowledge. And with David We subjected the mountains to give glory, and the birds, and We were doers.
21:80 And We taught him the fashioning of garments for you, to fortify you against your violence; then are you thankful? And to Solomon the wind, strongly blowing, that ran at his command unto the land that We had blessed; and We had knowledge of everything; and of the Satans some dived for him and did other work besides; and We were watching over them.
And Job -- when he called unto his Lord, 'Behold, affliction has visited me, and Thou art the most merciful of the merciful.' So We answered him, and removed the affliction that was upon him, and We gave his people, and the like of them with them, mercy from Us, and a Reminder to those who serve.
21:85 And Ishmael, Idris, Dhul Kifl -- each was of the patient, and We admitted them into Our mercy; they were of the righteous.
And Dhul Nun -- when he went forth enraged and thought that We would have no power over him; then he called out in the darkness, 'There is no god but Thou. Glory be to Thee! I have done evil.'
So We answered him, and delivered him out of grief; even so do, We deliver the believers.
And Zachariah -- when he called unto his Lord, 'O my Lord, leave me not solitary; though Thou art the best of inheritors.'
So We answered him, and bestowed on him John, and We set his wife right for him; truly they vied with one another, hastening to good works, and called upon Us out of yearning and awe; and they were humble to Us.
And she who guarded her virginity, so We breathed into her of Our spirit and appointed her and her son to be a sign unto all beings. 'Surely this community of yours is one community, and I am your Lord; so serve Me.' But they split up their affair between them; all shall return to Us.
21:95 And whosoever does deeds of righteousness, being a believer, no unthankfulness shall befall his endeavour; We Ourselves write it down for him.
There is a ban upon any city that We have destroyed; they shall not return till, when Gog and Magog are unloosed, and they slide down out of every slope, and nigh has drawn the true promise, and behold, the eyes of the unbelievers staring: 'Alas for us! We were heedless of this; 'nay, we were evildoers.'
'Surely you, and that you were serving apart from God, are fuel for Gehenna; you shall go down to it.'
'If those had been gods, they would never have gone down to it; yet every one of them shall therein abide forever;'
21:100 there shall be sighing for them therein, and naught they shall hear.
But as for those unto whom already the reward most fair has gone forth from Us, they shall be, kept far from it neither shall they hear any whisper of it, and they shall dwell forever in that their souls desired; the greatest terror shall not grieve them, and the angels shall receive them: 'This is your day that you were promised.'
On the day when We shall roll up heaven as a scroll is rolled for the writings; as We originated the first creation, so We shall bring it back again -- a promise binding on Us; so We shall do.
21:105 For We have written in the Psalms, after the Remembrance, 'The earth shall be the inheritance of My righteous servants.' Surely in this is a Message delivered unto a people who serve.
We have not sent thee, save as a mercy unto all beings. Say: 'It is revealed unto me only that your God is One God; do you then surrender?' Then, if they should turn their backs, say: 'I have proclaimed to you all equally, even though I know not whether near or far is that you are promised.'
21:110 Surely He knows what is spoken aloud and He knows what you hide. I know not; haply it is a trial for you and an enjoyment for a time. He said: 'My Lord, judge Thou with truth! And our Lord is the All-merciful; His succour is ever to be sought against that you describe.'
XXII THE PILGRIMAGE

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
22:1 O men, fear your Lord! Surely the earthquake of the Hour is a mighty thing; on the day when you behold it, every suckling woman shall neglect the child she has suckled, and every pregnant woman shall deposit her burden, and thou shalt see mankind drunk, yet they are not drunk, but God's chastisement is terrible.
And among men there is such a one that disputes concerning God without knowledge and follows every rebel Satan, against whom it is written down that whosoever takes him for a friend, him he leads astray, and he guides him to the chastisement of the burning.
22:5 O men, if you are in doubt as to the Uprising, surely We created you of dust then of a sperm-drop, then of a blood clot, then of a lump of flesh, formed and unformed that We may make clear to you.
And We establish in the wombs what We will, till a stated term, then We deliver you as infants, then that you may come of age; and some of you die, and some of you are kept back unto the vilest state of life, that after knowing somewhat, they may know nothing. And thou beholdest the earth blackened, then, when We send down water upon it, it quivers, and swells, and puts forth herbs of every joyous kind.
That is because God -- He is the Truth, and brings the dead to life, and is powerful over everything, and because the Hour is coming, no doubt of it, and God shall raise up whosoever is within the tombs.
22:10 And among men there is such a one that disputes concerning God without knowledge or guidance, or an illuminating Book, turning his side to lead astray from God's way; for him is degradation in this world; and on the Resurrection Day. We shall let him taste the chastisement of the burning: 'That is for what thy hands have forwarded and for that God is never unjust unto His servants.'
And among men there is such a one as serves God upon the very edge -- if good befalls him he is at rest in it, but if a trial befalls him he turns completely over; he loses this world and the world to come; that is indeed the manifest loss.
He calls, apart from God, upon that which hurts him not, and which neither profits him anything; that is indeed the far error. He calls upon him who is likelier to hurt him, rather than to profit him -- an evil protector indeed, he, an evil friend!
God shall surely admit those who believe and do righteous deeds into gardens underneath which rivers flow; surely God does that He desires.
22:15 Whosoever thinks God will not help him in the present world and the world to come; let him stretch up a rope to heaven, then let him sever it, and behold whether his guile does away with what enrages him.
Even so We have sent it down as signs, clear signs, and for that God guides whom He desires. Surely they that believe, and those of Jewry, the Sabaeans, the Christians, the Magians and the idolaters -- God shall distinguish between them on the Day of Resurrection; assuredly God is witness over everything.
Hast thou not seen how to God bow all who are in the and all who are in the earth, heavens the sun and the moon, the stars and the mountains, the trees and the beasts, and many of mankind? And many merit the chastisement; and whom God abases, there is none to honour him. God does whatsoever He will.
22:20 These are two disputants who have disputed concerning their Lord. As for the unbelievers, for them garments of fire shall, be cut, and there shall be poured over their heads boiling water whereby whatsoever is in their bellies and their skins shall be melted; for them await hooked iron rods; as often as they desire in their anguish to come forth from it, they shall be restored into it, and: 'Taste the chastisement of the burning!'
God shall surely admit those who believe and do righteous deeds into gardens underneath which rivers flow; therein they shall be adorned with bracelets of gold and with pearls, and their apparel there shall be of silk; and they; shall be guided unto goodly speech, and they shall be guided unto the path of the All-laudable.
22:25 Those who disbelieve, and bar from God's way and the Holy Mosque that We have appointed equal unto men, alike him who cleaves to it and the tent-dweller, and whosoever purposes to violate it wrongly, We shall let him taste a painful chastisement.
And when We settled for Abraham the place of the House: 'Thou shall not associate with Me anything. And do thou purify My House for those that shall go about it and those that stand, for those that bow and prostrate themselves; and proclaim among men the Pilgrimage, and they shall come unto thee on foot and upon every lean beast, they shall come from every deep ravine that they may witness things profitable to them and mention God's Name on days well-known over such beasts of the flocks as He has provided them: "So eat thereof, and feed the wretched poor."
22:30 Let them then finish with their self-neglect and let them fulfil their vows, and go about the Ancient House.'
All that; and whosoever venerates the sacred things of God, it shall be better for him with his Lord. And permitted to you are the flocks, except that which is recited to you. And eschew the abomination of idols, and eschew the speaking of falsehood, being men pure of faith unto God, not associating with Him anything; for whosoever associates with God anything, it is as though he has fallen from heaven and the birds snatch him away, or the wind sweeps him headlong into a place far away.
All that; and whosoever venerates God's waymarks, that is of the godliness of the hearts. There are things therein profitable to you unto a stated term; thereafter their lawful place of sacrifice is by the Ancient House.
22:35 We have appointed for every nation a holy rite, that they may mention God's Name over such beasts of the flocks as He has provided them. Your God is One God, so to Him surrender. And give thou good tidings unto the humble who, when God is mentioned, their hearts quake, and such as endure patiently whatever visits them, and who perform the prayer, and expend of what We have provided them.
And the beasts of sacrifice -- We have appointed them for you as among God's waymarks; therein is good for you. So mention God's Name over them, standing in ranks then, when their flanks collapse, eat of them and feed the beggar and the suppliant. So We have subjected them to you; haply you will be thankful. The flesh of them shall not reach God, neither their blood, but godliness from you shall reach Him. So He has subjected them to you, that you may magnify God for that He has guided you. And give thou good tidings unto the good-doers.
Assuredly God will defend those who believe; surely God loves not any ungrateful traitor.
22:40 Leave is given to those who fight because they were wronged -- surely God is able to help them -- who were expelled from their habitations without right, except that they say 'Our Lord is God.' Had God not driven back the people, some by the means of others, there had been destroyed cloisters and churches, oratories and mosques, wherein God's Name is much mentioned. Assuredly God will help him who helps Him -- surely God is All-strong, All-mighty who, if We establish them in the land, perform the prayer, and pay the alms, and bid to honour, and forbid dishonour; and unto God belongs the issue of all affairs. If they cry lies to thee, so too before them the people of Noah cried lies, and Ad and Thamood, and the people of Abraham, the people of Lot, and the men of Midian; to Moses also they cried lies. And I respited the unbelievers, then I seized them; and how was My horror! How many a city We have destroyed in its evildoing, and now it is fallen down upon its turrets! How many a ruined well, a tall palace!
22:45 What, have they not journeyed in the land so that they have hearts to understand with or ears to hear with? It is not the eyes that are blind, but blind are the hearts within the breasts. And they demand of thee to hasten the chastisement! God will not fail His promise; and surely a day with thy Lord is as a thousand years of your counting. How many a city I have respited in its evildoing; then I seized it, and to Me was the homecoming. Say: 'O men, I am only for you a plain warner.' Those who believe, and do deeds of righteousness -- theirs shall be forgiveness and generous provision.
22:50 And those who strive against Our signs to void them -- they shall be the inhabitants of Hell.
We sent not ever any Messenger or Prophet before thee, but that Satan cast into his fancy, when he was fancying; but God annuls what Satan casts, then God confirms His signs -- surely God is All-knowing, All-wise -- that He may make what Satan casts a trial for those in whose hearts is sickness, and those whose hearts are hard; and surely the evildoers are in wide schism; and that they who have been given knowledge may know that it is the truth from thy Lord and believe in it, and so their hearts be humble unto Him; and assuredly God ever guides those who believe to a straight path.
And the unbelievers will not cease to be in doubt of it, until the Hour comes on them suddenly, or there shall come upon them the chastisement of a barren day.
22:55 The Kingdom upon that day shall belong to God, and He shall judge between them. As for those who believe, and do deeds of righteousness, they shall be in Gardens of Bliss. But as for the unbelievers, who cried lies to Our signs; for them awaits a humbling chastisement. And those who emigrated in God's way and were slain, or died, God shall provide them with a fair provision; and surely God is the best of providers.
He shall admit them by a gate that is well-pleasing to them; and surely God is All-knowing, All-clement.
All that; and whosoever chastises after the manner that he was chastised and then again is oppressed, assuredly God will help him; surely God is All-pardoning, All-forgiving.
22:60 That is because God makes the night to enter into the day and makes the day to enter into the night; and that God is All-hearing, All-seeing.
That is because God -- He is the Truth, and that they call upon apart from Him -- that is the false; and for that God is the All-high, the All-great.
Hast thou not seen how that God has sent down out of heaven water, and in the morning the earth becomes green? God is All-subtle, All-aware.
To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and in the earth; surely God -- He is the All-sufficient, the All-laudable. Hast thou not seen how that God has subjected to you all that is in the earth and the ships to run upon the sea at His commandment, and He holds back heaven lest it should fall upon the earth, save by His leave?
Surely God is All-gentle to men, All-compassionate.
22:65 It is He who gave you life, then He shall make you dead, then He shall give you life. Surely man is ungrateful.
We have appointed for every nation a holy rite that they shall perform. Let them not therefore wrangle with thee upon the matter, and do thou summon unto thy Lord; surely thou art upon a straight guidance. And if they should dispute with thee, do thou say, 'God knows very well what you are doing. God shall judge between you on the Day of Resurrection touching that whereon you were at variance.' Didst thou not know that God knows all that is in heaven and earth? Surely that is in a Book; surely that for God is an easy matter.
22:70 They serve, apart from God, that whereon He has sent down never authority and that whereof they have no knowledge; and for the evildoers there shall be no helper.
And when Our signs are recited to them, clear signs, thou recognisest in the faces of the unbelievers denial; wellnigh they rush upon those who recite to them Our signs. Say: 'Shall I tell you of something worse than that? The Fire -- God has promised it to the unbelievers -- an evil homecoming!'
O men, a similitude is struck; so give you ear to it. Surely those upon whom you call, apart from God, shall never create a fly, though they banded together to do it; and if a fly should rob them of aught, they would never rescue it from him. Feeble indeed alike are the seeker and the sought! They measure not God with His true measure; surely God is All-strong, All-mighty.
22:75 God chooses of the angels Messengers and of mankind; surely God is All-hearing, All-seeing. He knows whatsoever is before them and behind them, and unto God all matters are returned.'
O men, bow you down and prostrate yourselves, and serve your Lord, and do good; haply so you shall prosper; and struggle for God as is His due, for He has chosen you, and has laid on you no impediment in your religion, being the creed of your father Abraham; He named you Muslims aforetime and in this, that the Messenger might be a witness against you, and that you might be witnesses against mankind. So perform the prayer, and pay the alms, and hold you fast to God; He is your Protector -- an excellent Protector, an excellent Helper.
XXIII THE BELIEVERS

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
23:1 Prosperous are the believers who in their prayers are humble and from idle talk turn away and at almsgiving are active and guard their private parts
23:5 save from their wives and what their right hands own then being not blameworthy (but whosoever seeks after more than that, those are the transgressors) and who preserve their trusts and their covenant and who observe their prayers.
23:10 Those are the inheritors who shall inherit Paradise therein dwelling forever.
We created man of an extraction of clay, then We set him, a drop, in a receptacle secure, then We created of the drop a clot then We created of the clot a tissue then We created of the tissue bones then We garmented the bones in flesh; thereafter We produced him as another creature. So blessed be God, the fairest of creators!
23:15 Then after that you shall surely die, then on the Day of Resurrection you shall surely be raised up. And We created above you seven ways, and We were not heedless of creation.
And We sent down out of heaven water in measure and lodged it in the earth; and We are able to take it away. Then We produced for you therewith gardens of palms and vines wherein are many fruits for you, and of them you eat,
23:20 and a tree issuing from the Mount of Sinai that bears oil and seasoning for all to eat. And surely in the cattle there is a lesson for you; We give you to drink of what is in their bellies, and many uses there are in them for you, and of them you eat; and upon them, and on the ships, you are borne.
And We sent Noah to his people; and he, said, 'O my people, serve God! You have no god other than He. Will you not be godfearing?" Said the Council of the unbelievers of his people, 'This is naught but a mortal like yourselves, who desires to gain superiority over you. And if God willed, He would have sent down angels. We never heard of this among, our fathers, the ancients.
23:25 He is naught but a man bedevilled; so wait on him for a time. He said, 'O my Lord, help me, for that they cry me lies.' Then We said to him, 'Make thou the Ark under Our eyes and as We reveal, and then, when Our command comes and the Oven boils, insert in it two of every kind and thy, family -- except for him against whom the word already has been spoken; and address Me not concerning those who have done evil; they shall be drowned.
Then, when thou art seated in the Ark and those with thee, say, "Praise belongs to God, who has delivered us from the people of the evildoers."
23:30 And say, "'O my Lord, do Thou harbour me in a blessed harbour, for Thou art the best of harbourers." Surely in that are signs, and surely We put to the test.
Thereafter, after them, We produced another generation, and We sent amongst them a Messenger of themselves, saying, 'Serve God! You have no god other than He. Will you not be godfearing?'
Said the Council of the unbelievers of his people, who cried lies to the encounter of the world to come, and to whom We had given ease in the present life, 'This is naught but a mortal like yourselves, who eats of what you eat and drinks of what you drink.
23:35 If you obey a mortal like yourselves, then you will be losers. What, does he promise you that when you are dead, and become dust and bones, you shall be brought forth? Away, away with that you are promised! There is nothing but our present life; we die, and we live, and we shall not be raised up.
23:40 He is naught but a man who has forged against God a lie, and we will not believe him.' He said, 'O my Lord, help me, for that they cry me lies.' He said, 'In a little they will be remorseful.'
And the Cry seized them justly, and We made them as scum; so away with the people of the evildoers!
23:45 Thereafter, after them, We produced other generations; no nation outstrips its term, nor do they put it back.
Then sent We Our Messengers successively; whenever its Messenger came to a nation they cried him lies, so We caused some of them to follow others, and We made them as but tales; so away with a people who do not believe!
Then We sent Moses and his brother Aaron with Our signs and a manifest authority unto Pharaoh and his Council; but they waxed proud, and they were a lofty people, and they said, 'What, shall we believe two mortals like ourselves, whose people are our servants?'
23:50 So they cried them lies, and they were among the destroyed.
And We gave Moses the Book, that haply they would be guided; and We made Mary's son, and his mother, to be a sign, and gave them refuge upon a height, where was a hollow and a spring: 'O Messengers, eat of the good things and do righteousness; surely I know the things you do.
Surely this community of yours is one community, and I am your Lord; so fear Me.'
23:55 But they split in their affair between them into sects, each party rejoicing in what is with them. So leave thou them in their perplexity for a time. What, do they think that We succour them with of wealth and children, We vie in good works for them? Nay, but they are not aware.
23:60 Surely those who tremble in fear of their Lord and those who believe in the signs of their Lord and those who associate naught with their Lord and those who give what they give, their hearts quaking that they are returning to their Lord -- those vie in good works, outracing to them.
We charge not any soul save to its capacity, and with Us is a Book speaking truth, and they shall not be wronged.
23:65 Nay, but their hearts are in perplexity as to this, and they have deeds besides that that they are doing. Till, when We seize with the chastisement the ones of them that live at ease, behold, they groan. 'Groan not today; surely you shall not be helped from Us. My signs were recited to you, but upon your heels you withdrew, waxing proud against it, talking foolish talk by night.'
23:70 Have they not pondered the saying, or came there upon them that which came not upon their fathers, the ancients? Or did they not recognise their Messenger and so denied him? Or do they say, 'He is bedevilled'? Nay, he has brought them the truth, but most of them are averse from the truth.
Had the truth followed their caprices, the heavens and the earth and whosoever in them is had surely corrupted. Nay, We brought them their Remembrance, but from their Remembrance they turned. Or dost thou ask them for tribute? Yet the tribute of thy Lord is better, and He is the best of providers.
23:75 Assuredly thou art calling them to a straight path; and surely they that believe not in the world to come are deviating from the path. Did We have mercy on them, and remove the affliction that is upon them, they would persist in their insolence wandering blindly.
We already seized them with the chastisement, yet they abased not themselves to their Lord nor were they humble; until, when We open against them a door of terrible chastisement, lo, they are sore confounded at it.
23:80 It is He who produced for you hearing, and eyes, and hearts; little thanks you show. It is He who scattered you in the earth, and to Him you shall be mustered.
It is He who gives life, and makes to die, and to Him belongs the alternation of night and day; what, will you not understand?
Nay, but they said the like of what the ancients said. They said, 'What, when we are dead and become dust and bones, shall we be indeed raised up?
23:85 We and our fathers have been promised this before; this is naught but the fairy-tales of the ancients.'
Say: 'Whose is the earth, and whoso is in it, if you have knowledge?' They will say, God's.' Say: 'Will you not then remember?'
Say: 'Who is the Lord of the seven heavens and the Lord of the mighty Throne?'
They will say, 'God's.' Say: 'Will you not then be godfearing?'
23:90 Say: 'In whose hand is the dominion of everything, protecting and Himself unprotected, if you have knowledge?' They will say, 'God's.' Say: 'How then are you bewitched? Nay, but We brought them the truth and they are truly liars. God has not taken to Himself any son, nor is there any god with Him; for then each god would have taken off that he created and some of them would have risen up over others; glory to be God, beyond that they describe, who has knowledge of the Unseen and the Visible; high exalted be He, above that they associate!
23:95 Say: 'O my Lord, if Thou shouldst show me that they are promised, O my Lord, put me not among the people of the evildoers.'
Assuredly, We are able to show thee that We promise them. Repel thou the evil with that which is fairer. We Ourselves know very well that they describe. And say: 'O my Lord, I take refuge in Thee from the evil suggestions of the Satans,
23:100 and I take refuge in Thee, O my Lord, lest they attend me.'
Till, when death comes to one of them, he says, 'My Lord, return me; haply I shall do righteousness in that I forsook.' Nay, it is but a word he speaks; and there; behind them, is a barrier until the day that they shall be raised up.
For when the Trumpet is blown, that day there shall be no kinship any more between them, neither will they question one another.
23:105 Then he whose scales are heavy -- they are the prosperers, and he whose scales are light -- they have lost their souls in Gehenna dwelling forever, the Fire smiting their faces the while they glower there. 'What, were My signs not recited to you, and you cried them lies?'
They shall say, 'Our Lord, our adversity prevailed over us; we were an erring people. Our Lord, bring us forth out of it! Then, if we revert,
23:110 we shall be evildoers indeed.' 'Slink you into it,' He shall say, 'and do not speak to Me. There is a party of My servants who said, "Our Lord, we believe; therefore forgive us, and have mercy on us, for Thou art the best of the merciful." But you took them for a laughing-stock, till they made you forget My remembrance, mocking at them. Now today I have recompensed them for their patient endurance;
23:115 'they are the triumphant.' He shall say, 'How long have you tarried in the earth, by number of years?' They shall say, 'We have tarried a day, or part of a day; ask the numberers!'
He shall say, 'You have tarried but a little, did you know. What, did you think that We created you only for sport, and that you would not be returned to Us?'
Then high exalted be God, the King, the True! There is no god but He? the Lord of the noble Throne.
And whosoever calls upon another god with God, whereof he has no proof, his reckoning is with his Lord; surely the unbelievers shall not prosper.
And say: 'My Lord, forgive and have mercy, for Thou art the best of the merciful.'
XXIV LIGHT

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
24:1 A sura that We have sent down and appointed; and We have sent down in it signs, clear signs, that haply you will remember.
The fornicatress and the fornicator -- scourge each one of them a hundred stripes, and in the matter of God's religion let no tenderness for them seize you if you believe in God and the Last Day; and let a party of the believers witness their chastisement. The fornicator shall marry none but a fornicatress or an idolatress, and the fornicatress -- none shall marry her but a fornicator or an idolator; that is forbidden to the believers.
And those who cast it up on women in wedlock, and then bring not four witnesses, scourge them with eighty stripes, and do not accept any testimony of theirs ever;
24:5 those -- they are the ungodly, save such as repent thereafter and make amends; surely God is All-forgiving, All-compassionate. And those who cast it up on their wives having no witnesses except themselves, the testimony of one of them shall be to testify by God four times that he is of the truthful, and a fifth time, that the curse of God shall be upon him, if he should be of the liars.
It shall avert from her the chastisement if she testify by God four times that he is of the liars, and a fifth time, that the wrath of God shall be upon her, if he should be of the truthful.
24:10 But for God's bounty to you and His mercy and that God turns, and is All-wise --
Those who came with the slander are a band of you; do not reckon it evil for you; rather it is good for you. Every man of them shall have the sin that he has earned charged to him; and whosoever of them took upon himself the greater part of it, him there awaits a mighty chastisement.
Why, when you heard it, did the believing men and women not of their own account think good thoughts, and say, 'This is a manifest calumny'? Why did they not bring four witnesses against it? But since they did not bring the witnesses, in God's sight they are the liars. But for God's bounty to you and His mercy in the present world and the world to come there would have visited you for your mutterings a mighty chastisement. When you received it on your tongues, and were speaking with your mouths that whereof you had no knowledge, and reckoned it a light thing, and with God it was a mighty thing --
24:15 And why, when you heard it, did you not say, 'It is not for us to speak about this; glory be to Thee! This is a mighty calumny'?
God admonishes you, that you shall never repeat the like of it again; if you are believers. God makes clear to you the signs; and God is All-knowing, All-wise.
Those who love that indecency should be spread abroad concerning them that believe -- there awaits them a painful chastisement in the present world and the world to come; and God knows, and you know not.
24:20 But for God's bounty to you and His mercy and that God is All-gentle, All-compassionate --
O believers, follow not the steps of Satan; for whosoever follows the steps of Satan, assuredly he bids to indecency and dishonour. But for God's bounty to you and His mercy not one of you would have been pure ever; but God purifies whom He will; and God is All-hearing, All-knowing.
Let not those of you who possess bounty and plenty swear off giving kinsmen and the poor and those who emigrate in the way of God; but let them pardon and forgive. Do you not wish that God should forgive you? God is All-forgiving, All-compassionate.
Surely those who cast it up on women in wedlock that are heedless but believing shall be accursed in the present world and the world to come; and there awaits them a mighty chastisement on the day when their tongues, their hands and their feet shall testify against them touching that they were doing.
24:25 Upon that day God will pay them in full their just due, and they shall know that God is the manifest Truth.
Corrupt women for corrupt men, and corrupt men for corrupt women; good women for good men, and good men for good women -- these are declared quit of what they say; theirs shall be forgiveness and generous provision.
O believers, do not enter houses other than your houses until you first ask leave and, salute the people thereof; that is better for you; haply you will remember. And if you find not anyone therein, enter it not until leave is given to you. And if you are told, 'Return,' return; that is purer for you; and God knows the things you do.
There is no fault in you that you enter houses uninhabited wherein enjoyment is for you. God knows what you reveal and what you hide.
24:30 Say to the believers, that they cast down their eyes and guard their private parts; that is purer for them. God is aware of the things they work.
And say to the believing women, that they cast down their eyes and guard their private parts, and reveal not their adornment save such as is outward; and let them cast their veils over their bosoms, and not reveal their adornment save to their husbands, or their fathers, or their husbands' fathers, or their sons, or their husbands' sons, or their brothers, or their brothers' sons, or their sisters' sons, or their women, or what their right hands own, or such men as attend them, not having sexual desire, or children who have not yet attained knowledge of women's private parts; nor let them stamp their feet, so that their hidden ornament may be known. And turn all together to God, O you believers; haply so you will prosper.
Marry the spouseless among you, and your slaves and handmaidens that are righteous; if they are poor, God will enrich them of His bounty; God is All-embracing, All-knowing.
And let those who find not the means to marry be abstinent till God enriches them of His bounty. Those your right hands own who seek emancipation, contract with them accordingly, if you know some good in them; and give them of the wealth of God that He has given you. And constrain not your slave-girls to prostitution, if they desire to live in chastity, that you may seek the chance goods of the present life. Whosoever constrains them, surely God, after their being constrained, is All-forgiving, All-compassionate.
Now We have sent down to you signs making all clear, and an example of those who passed away before you, and an admonition for the godfearing.
24:35 God is the Light of the heavens and the earth; the likeness of His Light is as a niche wherein is a lamp (the lamp in a glass, the glass as it were a glittering star) kindled from a Blessed Tree, an olive that is neither of the East nor of the West whose oil wellnigh would shine, even if no fire touched it; Light upon Light; (God guides to His Light whom He will.)
(And God strikes similitudes for men, and God has knowledge of everything.) in temples God has allowed to be raised up, and His Name to be commemorated therein; therein glorifying Him, in the mornings and the evenings, are men whom neither commerce nor trafficking diverts from the remembrance of God and to perform the prayer, and to pay the alms, fearing a day when hearts and eyes shall be turned about, that God may recompense them for their fairest works and give them increase of His bounty; and God provides whomsoever He will, without reckoning.
And as for the unbelievers, their works are as a mirage in a spacious plain which the man athirst supposes to be water, till, when he comes to it, he finds it is nothing; there indeed he finds God, and He pays him his account in full; (and God is swift at the reckoning.)
24:40 or they are as shadows upon a sea obscure covered by a billow above which is a billow above which are clouds, shadows piled one upon another; when he puts forth his hand, wellnigh he cannot see it. And to whomsoever God assigns no light, no light has he.
Hast thou not seen how that whatsoever is in the heavens and in the earth extols God, and the birds spreading their wings?
Each -- He knows its prayer and its extolling; and God knows the things they do. To God belongs the Kingdom of the heavens and the earth, and to Him is the homecoming. Hast thou not seen how God drives the clouds, then composes them, then converts them into a mass, then thou seest the rain issuing out of the midst of them? And He sends down out of heaven mountains, wherein is hail, so that He smites whom He will with it, and turns it aside from whom He will; wellnigh the gleam of His lightning snatches away the sight. God turns about the day and the night; surely in that is a lesson for those who have eyes. God has created every beast of water, and some of them go upon their bellies, and some of them go upon two feet, and some of them go upon four; God creates whatever He will; God is powerful over everything.
24:45 Now We have sent down signs making all clear; God guides whomsoever He will to a straight path. They say, 'We believe in God and the Messenger, and we obey.' Then after that a party of them turn away; those -- they are not believers.
When they are called to God and His Messenger that he may judge between them, lo, a party of them are swerving aside; but if they are in the right, they will come to him submissively. What, is there sickness in their hearts, or are they in doubt, or do they fear that God may be unjust towards them and His Messenger? Nay, but those -- they are the evildoers.
24:50 All that the believers say, when they are called to God and His Messenger, that he may judge between them, is that they say, 'We hear, and we obey'; those -- they are the prosperers. Whoso obeys God and His Messenger, and fears God and has awe of Him, those -- they are the triumphant.
They have sworn by God the most earnest oaths, if thou commandest them they will go forth. Say: 'Do not swear; honourable obedience is sufficient. Surely God is aware of the things you do.' Say: 'Obey God, and obey the Messenger; then, if you turn away, only upon him rests what is laid on him, and upon you rests what is laid on you. If you obey him, you will be guided. It is only for the Messenger to deliver the manifest Message.'
God has promised those of you who believe and do righteous deeds that He will surely make you successors in the land, even as He made those who were before them successors, and that He will surely establish their religion for them that He has approved. for them, and will give them in exchange, after their fear, security: 'They shall serve Me, not associating with Me anything.' Whoso disbelieves after that, those -- they are the ungodly.
24:55 Perform the prayer, and pay the alms, and obey the Messenger -- haply so you will find mercy. Think not the unbelievers able to frustrate God in the earth; their refuge is the Fire -- an evil homecoming.
O believers, let those your right hands own and those of you who have not reached puberty ask leave of you three times -- before the prayer of dawn, and when you put off your garments at the noon, and after the evening prayer -- three times of nakedness for you. There is no fault in you or them, apart from these, that you go about one to the other. So God makes clear to you the signs; and God is All-knowing, All-wise.
When your children reach puberty, let them ask leave, as those before them asked leave. So God makes clear to you His signs; and God is All-knowing, All-wise. Such women as are past child- bearing and have no hope of marriage -- there is no fault in them that they put off their clothes, so be it that they flaunt no ornament; but to abstain is better for them; and God is All-hearing, All-knowing.
24:60 There is no fault in the blind, and there is no fault in the lame, and there is no fault in the sick, neither in yourselves, that you eat of your houses, or your fathers' houses, or your mothers' houses, or your brothers' houses, or your sisters' houses, or the houses of your uncles or your aunts paternal, or the houses of your uncles or your aunts maternal, or that whereof you own the keys, or of your friend; there is no fault in you that you eat all together, or in groups separately.
But when you enter houses, greet one another with a greeting from God, blessed and good. So God makes clear to you the signs; haply you will understand.
Those only are believers, who believe in God and His Messenger and who, when they are with him upon a common matter, go not away until they ask his leave. Surely those who ask thy leave --those are they that believe in God and His Messenger; so, when they ask thy leave for some affair of their own, give leave to whom thou wilt of them, and ask God's forgiveness for them; surely God is All-forgiving, All-compassionate.
Make not the calling of the Messenger among yourselves like your calling one of another. God knows those of you who slip away surreptitiously; so let those who go against His command beware, lest a trial befall them, or there befall them a painful chastisement.
Why, surely to God belongs whatsoever is in the heavens and the earth; He ever knows what state you are upon; and the day when they shall be returned to Him, then He will tell them of what they did; and God knows everything.
XXV SALVATION

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
25:1 Blessed be He who has sent down the Salvation upon His servant, that he may be a warner to all beings; to whom belongs the Kingdom of the heavens and the earth; and He has not taken to Him a son, and He has no associate in the Kingdom; and He created every thing, then He ordained it very exactly.
Yet they have taken to them gods, apart from Him, that create nothing and themselves are created, and have no power to hurt or profit themselves, no power of death or life or raising up.
25:5 The unbelievers say, 'This is naught but a calumny he has forged, and other folk have helped him to it.' So they have committed wrong and falsehood. They say, 'Fairy-tales of the ancients that he has had written down, so that they are recited to him at the dawn and in the evening.' Say: 'He sent it down, who knows the secret in the heavens and earth; He is All-forgiving, All-compassionate.'
They also say, 'What ails this Messenger that he eats food, and goes in the markets?
25:10 Why has an angel not been sent down to him, to be a warner with him? Or why is not a treasure thrown to him, or why has he not a Garden to eat of?' The evildoers say, 'You are only following a man bewitched!' Behold, how they strike similitudes for thee, and go astray, and are unable to find a way!
Blessed be He who, if He will, shall assign to them better than that -- gardens underneath which rivers flow, and he shall assign to thee palaces.
Nay, but they cry lies to the Hour; and We have prepared for him who cries lies to the Hour a Blaze. When it sees them from a far place, they shall hear its bubbling and sighing. And when they are cast, coupled in fetters, into a narrow place of that Fire, they will call out there for destruction.
25:15 'Call not out today for one destruction, but call for many!'
Say: 'Is that better, or the Garden of Eternity, that is promised to the godfearing, and is their recompense and homecoming?' Therein they shall have what they will dwelling forever; it is a promise binding upon thy Lord, and of Him to be required.
Upon the day when He shall muster them and that they serve, apart from God, and He shall say, 'Was it you that led these My servants astray, or did they themselves err from the way?' They shall 'Glory be to Thee! It did not behove us to take unto say, ourselves protectors apart from Thee; but Thou gavest them and their fathers enjoyment of days, until they forgot
25:20 the Remembrance, and were a people corrupt.' So they cried lies touching the things you say, and you can neither turn it aside, nor find any help. Whosoever of you does evil, We shall let him taste a great chastisement.
And We sent not before thee any Envoys, but that they ate food, and went in the markets; and We appointed some of you to be a trial for others: 'Will you endure?' Thy Lord is ever All-seeing. Say those who look not to encounter Us, 'Why have the angels not been sent down on us, or why see we not our Lord?' Waxed proud they have within them, and become greatly disdainful.
Upon the day that they see the angels, no good tidings that day for the sinners; they shall say, 'A ban forbidden!'
25:25 We shall advance upon what work they have done, and make it a scattered dust. The inhabitants of Paradise that day, better shall be their lodging, fairer their resting-place. Upon the day that heaven is split asunder with the clouds and the angels are sent down in majesty, the Kingdom that day, the true Kingdom, shall belong to the All-merciful and it shall be a day harsh for the unbelievers.
Upon the day the evildoer shall bite his hands, saying, 'Would that I had taken a way along with the Messenger!
25:30 Alas, would that I had not taken So-and-so for a friend! He indeed led me astray from the Remembrance, after it had come to me; Satan is ever a forsaker of men.'
The Messenger says, 'O my Lord, behold, my people have taken this Koran as a thing to be shunned.' Even so We have appointed to every Prophet an enemy among the sinners; but thy Lord suffices as a guide and as a helper.
The unbelievers say, 'Why has the Koran not been sent down upon him all at once?' Even so, that We may strengthen thy heart thereby, and We have chanted it very distinctly.
25:35 They bring not to thee any similitude but that We bring thee the truth, and better in exposition. Those who shall be mustered to Gehenna upon their faces -- they shall be worse in place, and gone further astray from the way.
We gave Moses the Book, and appointed with him his brother Aaron as minister and We said, 'Go to the people who have cried lies to Our signs'; then We destroyed them utterly. And the people of Noah, when they cried lies to the Messengers, We drowned them, and made them to be a sign to mankind; and We have prepared for the evildoers a painful chastisement.
23:40 And Ad, and Thamood, and the men of Er-Rass, and between that generations a many, for each We struck similitudes, and each We ruined utterly. Surely they have come by the city that was rained on by an evil rain; what, have they not seen it? Nay, but they look for no upraising. And when they see thee, they take thee in mockery only: 'What, is this he whom God sent forth as a Messenger? Wellnigh he had led us astray from our gods, but that we kept steadfast to them.' Assuredly they shall know, when they see the chastisement, who is further astray from the way.
25:45 Hast thou seen him who has taken his caprice to be his god? Wilt thou be a guardian over them? Or deemest thou that most of them hear or understand? They are but as the cattle; nay, they are further astray from the way.
Hast thou not regarded thy Lord, how He has stretched out the shadow? Had He willed, He would have made it still. Then We appointed the sun, to be a guide to it; thereafter We seize it to Ourselves, drawing it gently. It is He who appointed the night for you to be a garment and sleep for a rest, and day He appointed for a rising.
25:50 And it is He who has loosed the winds, bearing good tidings before His mercy; and We sent down from heaven pure water so that We might revive a dead land, and give to drink of it, of that We created, cattle and men a many.
We have indeed turned it about amongst them, so that they may remember; yet most men refuse all but unbelief.
If We had willed, We would have raised up in every city a warner. So obey not the unbelievers, but struggle with them thereby mightily.
25:55 And it is He who let forth the two seas, this one Sweet, grateful to taste, and this salt, bitter to the tongue, and He set between them a barrier, and a ban forbidden. And it is He who created of water a mortal, and made him kindred of blood and marriage; thy Lord is All-powerful.
And they serve, apart from God, what neither profits them nor hurts them; and the unbeliever is ever a partisan against his Lord. We have sent thee not, except good tidings to bear, and warning.
Say: 'I do not ask of you a wage for this, except for him who wishes to take to his Lord a way.'
25:60 Put thy trust in the Living God, the Undying, and proclaim His praise. Sufficiently is He aware of His servants sins who created the heavens and the earth, and what between them is, in six days, then sat Himself upon the Throne, the All-compassionate: ask any informed of Him!
But when they are told, 'Bow yourselves to the All-merciful,' they say, 'And what is the All-merciful? Shall we bow ourselves to what thou biddest us?' And it increases them in aversion.
Blessed be He who has set in heaven constellations, and has set among them a lamp, and an illuminating moon. And it is He who made the night and day a succession for whom He desires to remember or He desires to be thankful.
The servants of the All-merciful are those who walk in the earth modestly and who, when the ignorant address them, say, 'Peace';
25:65 who pass the night prostrate to their Lord and standing; who say, 'Our Lord, turn Thou from us the chastisement of Gehenna; surely its chastisement is torment most terrible; evil it is as a lodging-place and an abode'; who, when they expend, are neither prodigal nor parsimonious, but between that is a just stand; who call not upon another god with God, nor slay the soul God has forbidden except by right, neither fornicate, for whosoever does that shall meet the price of sin-doubled shall be the chastisement for him on the Resurrection Day, and he shall dwell therein humbled,
25:70 save him who repents, and believes, and does righteous work -- those, God will change their evil deeds into good deeds, for God is ever All-forgiving, All-compassionate; and whosoever repents, and does righteousness, he truly turns to God in repentance.
And those who bear not false witness and, when they pass by idle talk, pass by with dignity; who, when they are reminded of the signs of their Lord, fall not down thereat deaf and blind; who say, 'Our Lord, give us refreshment of our wives and seed, and make us a model to the godfearing.'
25:75 Those shall be recompensed with the highest heaven, for that they endured patiently, and they shall receive therein a greeting and --' Peace!'
Therein they shall dwell forever; fair it is as a lodging-place and an abode.
Say: 'My Lord esteems you not at all were it not for your prayer, for you have cried lies, and it shall surely be fastened.'
XXVI THE POETS

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
26:1 Ta Sin Mim
Those are the signs of the Manifest Book.
Perchance thou consumest thyself that they are not believers. If We will, We shall send down on them out of heaven a sign, so their necks will stay humbled to it. But never fresh remembrance comes to them from the All-merciful, except they turn away from it.
26:5 So they have cried lies; therefore assuredly tidings will come to them of that they mocked at.
What, have they not regarded the earth, how many therein We have caused to grow of every generous kind?
Surely in that is a sign,
yet most of them are not believers.
Surely thy Lord, He is
the All-mighty, the All-compassionate.
26:10 And when thy Lord called to Moses, 'Go to the people of the evildoers, the people of Pharaoh; will they not be godfearing?' He said, 'My Lord, I fear they will cry me lies, and my breast will be straitened, and my tongue will not be loosed; so send to Aaron. They also have a sin against me, and I fear they will slay me.' Said He, 'No indeed; but go, both of you, with Our signs, and We assuredly shall be with you, listening.
26:15 So go you to Pharaoh, and say, "Verily, I am the Messenger of the Lord of all Being; so send forth with us the Children of Israel." He said, 'Did we not raise thee amongst us as a child? Didst thou not tarry among us years of thy life? And thou didst the deed thou didst, being one of the ungrateful!' Said he, 'Indeed I did it then, being one of those that stray;
26:20 so I fled from you, fearing you. But my Lord gave me Judgment and made me one of the Envoys. That is a blessing thou reproachest me with, having enslaved the Children of Israel.' Pharaoh said, 'And what is the Lord of all Being?' He said, 'The Lord of the heavens and earth, and what between them is, if you have faith.' Said he to those about him,
26:25 'Do you not hear?' He said, 'Your Lord and the Lord of your fathers, the ancients.' Said he, 'Surely your Messenger who was sent to you is possessed!' He said, 'The Lord of the East and West, and what between them is, if you have understanding,' Said he, 'If thou takest a god other than me, I shall surely make thee one of the imprisoned.' He said, 'What, even though I brought thee something so manifest?'
26:30 Said he, 'Bring it then, if thou art of the truthful.' So he cast his staff, and behold, it was a serpent manifest. And he drew forth his hand, and lo, it was white to the beholders. Said he to the Council about him, 'Surely this man is a cunning sorcerer who desires to expel you from your land by his sorcery; what do you command?'
26:35 They said, 'Put him and his brother off a while, and send among the cities musterers, to bring thee every cunning sorcerer. So the sorcerers were assembled for the appointed time of a fixed day. The people were asked, 'Will you assemble? Haply we shall follow the sorcerers if it should be they are the victors.'
26:40 Then, when the sorcerers came, they said to Pharaoh, 'Shall we indeed have a wage, if we should be the victors?' He said, 'Yes indeed; and you shall then be among the near-stationed.' Moses said to them, 'Cast you down what you will cast.' So they cast their ropes and their staffs, and said, 'By the might of Pharaoh we shall be the victors.'
26:45 Then Moses cast his staff and lo, it forthwith swallowed up their lying invention; so the sorcerers were cast down, bowing themselves. They said, 'We believe in the Lord of all Being, the Lord of Moses and Aaron.' Said Pharaoh, 'You have believed him before I gave you leave. Why, he is the chief of you, the same that taught you sorcery; now you shall know! I shall assuredly cut off alternately your hands and feet, then I shall crucify you all together.'
26:50 They said, 'There is no harm; surely unto our Lord we are turning. We are eager that our Lord should forgive us our offences, for that we are the first of the believers.' Also We revealed unto Moses, 'Go with My servants by night; surely you will be followed.' Then Pharaoh sent among the cities musterers:
26:55 'Behold, these are a small troop, and indeed they are enraging us; and we are a host on our guard.' So We expelled them from gardens and fountains, and treasures and a noble station; even so, and We bequeathed them upon the Children of Israel.
26:60 Then they followed them at the sunrise; and, when the two hosts sighted each other, the companions of Moses said, 'We are overtaken!' Said he, 'No indeed; surely my Lord is with me; He will guide me.' Then We revealed to Moses, 'Strike with thy staff the sea'; and it clave, and each part was as a mighty mount.
26:65 And there We brought the others on, and We delivered Moses and those with him all together; then We drowned the others.
Surely in that is a sign, yet most of them are not believers. Surely thy Lord, He is the All-mighty, the All-compassionate.
26:70 And recite to them the tiding of Abraham when he said to his father and his people, 'What do you serve?' They said, 'We serve idols, and continue cleaving to them.
He said, 'Do they hear you when you call, or do they profit you, or harm?' They said, 'Nay, but we found our fathers so doing.'
26:75 He said, 'And have you considered what you have been serving, you and your fathers, the elders? They are an enemy to me, except the Lord of all Being who created me, and Himself guides me, and Himself gives me to eat and drink,
26:80 and, whenever I am sick, heals me, who makes me to die, then gives me life, and who I am eager shall forgive me my offence on the Day of Doom. My Lord, give me Judgment, and join me with the righteous, and appoint me a tongue of truthfulness among the others.
26:85 Make me one of the inheritors of the Garden of Bliss and forgive my father, for he is one of those astray. Degrade me not upon the day when they are raised up, the day when neither wealth nor sons shall profit except for him who comes to God with a pure heart.
26:90 And Paradise shall be brought forward for the godfearing, and Hell advanced for the perverse. It shall be said to them, 'Where is that you were serving apart from God? Do they help you or help themselves?' Then they shall be pitched into it, they and the perverse
26:95 and the hosts of Iblis, all together. They shall say, as they dispute there one with another, 'By God, we were certainly in manifest error when we made you equal with the Lord of all Being. It was naught but the sinners that led us astray;
26:100 so now we have no intercessors, no loyal friend. O that we might return again, and be among the believers!'
Surely in that is a sign, yet most of them are not believers. Surely thy Lord, He is the All-mighty, the All-compassionate.
26:105 The people of Noah cried lies to the Envoys when their brother Noah said to them, 'Will you not be godfearing? I am for you a faithful Messenger, so serve you God, and obey you me. I ask of you no wage for this; my wage falls only upon the Lord of all Being;
26:110 so fear you God, and obey you me.' They said, 'Shall we believe thee, whom the vilest follow?'
He said, 'What knowledge have I of that they have been doing? Their account falls only upon my Lord, were you but aware. I would not drive away the believers;
26:115 'I am naught but a plain warner.' They said, 'If thou givest not over, Noah, thou shalt assuredly be one of the stoned.' He said, 'My Lord, my people have cried me lies, so give true deliverance between me and them, and deliver me and the believers that are with me. So We delivered him, and those with him, in the laden ship,
26:120 then afterwards We drowned the rest.
Surely in that is a sign, yet most of them are not believers. Surely thy Lord, He is the All-mighty, the All-compassionate.
Ad cried lies to the Envoys when their brother Hood said to them, 'Will you not be godfearing?
26:125 I am for you a faithful Messenger, so fear you God, and obey you me.
I ask of you no wage for this; my wage falls only upon the Lord of all Being. What, do you build on every prominence a sign, sporting, and do you take to you castles, haply to dwell forever?
26:130 When you assault, you assault like tyrants! So fear you God, and obey you me; and fear Him who has succoured you with what you know, succoured you with flocks and sons, gardens and fountains.
26:135 'Indeed, I fear for you the chastisement of a dreadful day.'
They said, 'Alike it is to us, whether thou admonishest, or art not one of the admonishers; this is nothing but the habit of the ancients, and we shall not be chastised.'
So they cried him lies; then We destroyed them. Surely in that is a sign, yet most of them are not believers.
26:140 Surely thy Lord, He is the All-mighty, the All-compassionate.
Thamood cried lies to the Envoys when their brother Salih said to them, 'Will you not be godfearing? I am for you a faithful Messenger, so fear you God, and obey you me.'
26:145 'I ask of you no wage for this; my wage falls only upon the Lord of all Being. Will you be left secure in this here, among gardens and fountains, sown fields, and palms with slender spathes? Will you still skilfully hew houses out of the mountains?
26:150 So fear you God, and obey you me; and obey not the commandment of the prodigal who do corruption in the earth, and set not things aright.' They said, 'Thou art merely one of those that are bewitched; thou art naught but a mortal, like us; then produce a sign, if thou art one of the truthful.'
26:155 He said, 'This is a she-camel; to her a draught and to you a draught, on a day appointed, and do not touch her with malice so that there seize you the chastisement of a dreadful day.'
But they hamstrung her, and in the morning they were remorseful, and the chastisement seized them.
Surely in that is a sign, yet most of them are not believers. Surely thy Lord, He is the All-mighty, the All-compassionate.
26:160 The people of Lot cried lies to the Envoys when their brother Lot said to them, 'Will you not be godfearing? I am for you a faithful Messenger, so fear you God, and obey you me. I ask of you no wage for this; my wage falls only upon the Lord of all Being.
26:165 What, do you come to male beings, leaving your wives that your Lord created for you? Nay, but you are a people of transgressors. They said, 'If thou givest not over, Lot, thou shalt assuredly be one of the expelled.' He said, 'Truly I am a detester of what you do. My Lord, deliver me and my people from that they do.'
26:170 So We delivered him and his people all together, save an old woman among those that tarried; then We destroyed the others, and We rained on them a rain; and evil is the rain of them that are warned.
26:175 Surely in that is a sign,
yet most of them are not believers.
Surely thy Lord, He is
the All-mighty, the All-compassionate.
The men of the Thicket cried lies to the Envoys when Shuaib said to them, 'Will you not be godfearing? I am for you a faithful Messenger, so fear you God, and obey you me.
26:180 I ask of you no wage for this; my wage falls only upon the Lord of all Being. Fill up the measure, and be not cheaters, and weigh with the straight balance, and diminish not the goods of the people, and do not mischief in the earth, working corruption. Fear Him who created you, and the generations of the ancients.'
26:185 They said, 'Thou art merely one of those that are bewitched; thou art naught but a mortal, like us; indeed, we think that thou art one of the liars. Then drop down on us lumps from heaven, if thou art one of the truthful.'
He said, 'My Lord knows very well what you are doing.' But they cried him lies; then there seized them the chastisement of the Day of Shadow; assuredly it was the chastisement of a dreadful day.
26:190 Surely in that is a sign, yet most of them are not believers. Surely thy Lord, He is the All-mighty, the All-compassionate.
Truly it is the revelation of the Lord of all Being, brought down by the Faithful Spirit upon thy heart, that thou mayest be one of the warners,
26:195 in a clear, Arabic tongue. Truly it is in the Scriptures of the ancients.
Was it not a sign for them, that it is known to the learned of the Children of Israel? If We had sent it down on a barbarian and he had recited it to them, they would not have believed in it.
26:200 Even so We have caused it to enter into the hearts of the sinners, who will not believe in it, until they see the painful chastisement so that it will come upon them suddenly, while they are not aware, and they will say, 'Shall we be respited?' What, do they seek to hasten Our chastisement?
26:205 What thinkest thou? If We give them enjoyment of days for many years, then there comes on them that they were promised, what will it then avail them, the enjoyment of days they were given?
Never a city We destroyed, but it had warners for a reminder; and never did We wrong.
26:210 Not by the Satans has it been brought down; it behoves them not, neither are they able. Truly, they are expelled from hearing. So call thou not upon another god with God, lest thou shouldst be one of those that are chastised. And warn thy clan, thy nearest kin.
26:215 Lower thy wing to those who follow thee, being believers; then, if they disobey thee, say, 'I am quit of that you do.'
Put thy trust in the All-mighty, the All-compassionate who sees thee when thou standest and when thou turnest about among those who bow.
26:220 Surely He is the All-hearing, the All-knowing.
Shall I tell you on whom the Satans come down? They come down on every guilty impostor. They give ear, but most of them are liars. And the poets -- the perverse follow them;
26:225 hast thou not seen how they wander in every valley and how they say that which they do not?
Save those that believe, and do righteous deeds, and remember God oft, and help themselves after being wronged; and those who do wrong shall surely know by what overturning they will he overturned.
XXVII THE ANT

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
27:1 Ta Sin
Those are the signs of the Koran and a Manifest Book, a guidance, and good tidings unto the believers who perform the prayer, and pay the alms, and have sure faith in the Hereafter.
Those who believe not in the Hereafter, We have decked out fair for them their works, and they wander blindly;
27:5 those are they whom an evil chastisement awaits, and they will be the greatest losers in the Hereafter.
Thou receivest the Koran from One All-wise, All-knowing.
When Moses said to his people 'I observe a fire, and will bring you news of it, or I will bring you a flaming brand, that haply you shall warm yourselves.' So, when he came to it, he was called: 'Blessed is he who is in the fire, and he who is about it. Glory be to God, the Lord of all Being! Moses, behold, it is I, God, the All-mighty, the All-wise.
27:10 'Cast down thy staff.' And when he saw it quivering like a serpent he turned about, retreating, and turned not back. 'Moses, fear not; surely the Envoys do not fear in My presence, save him who has done evil, then; after evil, has changed into good; All-forgiving am I, All-compassionate. Thrust thy hand in thy bosom and it will come forth white without evil-among nine signs to Pharaoh and his people; they are an ungodly people.' But when Our signs came to them visibly, they said, 'This is a manifest sorcery'; and they denied them, though their souls acknowledged them, wrongfully and out of pride. Behold, how was the end of the workers of corruption!
27:15 And We gave David and Solomon knowledge and they said, 'Praise belongs to God who has preferred us over many of His believing servants.'
And Solomon was David's heir, and he said, 'Men, we have been taught the speech of the birds, and we have been given of everything; surely this is indeed the manifest bounty.' And his hosts were mustered to Solomon, jinn, men and birds, duly disposed; till, when they came on the Valley of Ants, an ant said, 'Ants, enter your dwelling-places, lest Solomon and his hosts crush you, being unaware!' But he smiled, laughing at its words, and he said, 'My Lord, dispose me that I may be thankful for Thy blessing wherewith Thou hast blessed me and my father and mother, and that I may do righteousness well-pleasing to Thee; and do Thou admit me, by Thy mercy, amongst Thy righteous servants.'
27:20 And he reviewed the birds; then he said, 'How is it with me, that I do not see the hoopoe? Or is he among the absent? Assuredly I will chastise him with a terrible chastisement, or I will slaughter him, or he bring me a clear authority.' But he tarried not long, and said, 'I have comprehended that which thou hast not comprehended, and I have come from Sheba to thee with a sure tiding. I found a woman ruling over them, and she has been given of everything, and she possesses a mighty throne. I found her and her people prostrating to the sun, apart from God; Satan has decked out fair their deeds to them and he has barred them from the way, and therefore they are not guided,
27:25 so that they prostrate not themselves to God, who brings forth what is hidden in the heavens and earth; and He knows what you conceal and what you publish. God: there is no god but He, the Lord of the Mighty Throne.' Said he, 'Now We will see whether thou hast spoken truly, or whether thou art amongst those that lie. Take this letter of mine, and cast it unto them, then turn back from them and see what they shall return ' She said, 'O Council, see, a letter honourable has been cast unto me.
27:30 It is from Solomon, and it is "In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. Rise not up against me, but come to me in surrender." ' She said, 'O Council, pronounce to me concerning my affair; I am not used to decide an affair until you bear me witness.' They said, 'We possess force and we possess great might. The affair rests with thee; so consider what thou wilt command.' She said, 'Kings, when they enter a city, disorder it and make the mighty ones of its inhabitants abased. Even so they too will do.
27:35 Now I will send them a present, and see what the envoys bring back.' But when he came to Solomon he said, 'What, would you succour me with wealth, and what God gave me is better than what He has given you? Nay, but instead you rejoice in your gift! Return thou to them; we shall assuredly come against them with hosts they have not power to resist, and we shall expel them from there, abased and utterly humbled.' He said, 'O Council, which one of you will bring me her throne, before they come to me in surrender?' An efreet of the jinns said, 'I will bring it to thee, before thou risest from thy place; I have strength for it
27:40 and I am trusty.' Said he who possessed knowledge of the Book, 'I will bring it to thee, before ever thy glance returns to thee.' Then, when he saw it settled before him, he said, 'This is of my Lord's bounty that He may try me, whether I am thankful or ungrateful. Whosoever gives thanks gives thanks only for his own soul's good, and whosoever is ungrateful -- my Lord is surely All-sufficient, All-generous.' He said, 'Disguise her throne for her, and we shall behold whether she is guided or if she is of those that are not guided.' So, when she came, it was said, 'Is thy throne like this?' She said, 'It seems the same.' 'And we were given the knowledge before her, and we were in surrender, but that she served, apart from God, barred her, for she was of a people of unbelievers.' It was said to her, 'Enter the pavilion.' But when she saw it, she supposed it was a spreading water, and she bared her legs. He said, 'It is a pavilion smoothed of
27:45 crystal. She said, 'My Lord, indeed I have wronged myself, and I surrender with Solomon to God, the Lord of all Being.'
And We sent to Thamood their brother Salih: 'Serve you God!' And behold, they were two parties, that were disputing one with another.
He said, 'O my people, why do you seek to hasten evil before good? Why do you not ask forgiveness of God? Haply so you will find mercy.'
They said, 'We augur ill of thee and of those that are with thee.' He said, 'Your augury is with God; nay, but you are a people being proved.'
Now in the city there were nine persons who did corruption in the land, and put not things right;
27:50 they said, 'Swear you, one to another, by God, "We will attack him and his family by night, then we will tell his protector, We were not witnesses of the destruction of his family; and assuredly we are truthful men."'
And they devised a device, and We likewise devised a device, while they were not aware; and behold, how was the end of their device! For We destroyed them and their people all together. Those are their houses, all fallen down because of the evil they committed; surely in that is a sign for a people who have knowledge. And We delivered those who believed and were godfearing.
27:55 And Lot, when he said to his people, 'What, do you commit indecency with your eyes open? What, do you approach men lustfully instead of women? No, you are a people that are ignorant.' And the only answer of his people was that they said, 'Expel the folk of Lot from your city; they are men that keep themselves clean!'
So We delivered him and his family, except his wife; We decreed she should be of those that tarried. And We rained on them a rain; and evil indeed is the rain of them that are warned.
27:60 Say: 'Praise belongs to God,
and peace be on His servants
whom He has chosen.'
What, is God better, or that
they associate?
He who created the heavens and earth, and sent down for you out of heaven water; and We caused to grow therewith gardens full of loveliness whose trees you could never grow. Is there a god with God? Nay, but they are a people who assign to Him equals!
He who made the earth a fixed place and set amidst it rivers and appointed for it firm mountains and placed a partition between the two seas. Is there a god with God? Nay, but the most of them have no knowledge.
He who answers the constrained, when he calls unto Him, and removes the evil and appoints you to be successors in the earth. Is there a god with God? Little indeed do you remember.
He who guides you in the shadows of the land and the sea and looses the winds, bearing good tidings before His mercy. Is there a god with God? High exalted be God, above that which they associate!
27:65 Who originates creation, then brings it back again, and provides you out of heaven and earth. Is there a god with God?
Say: 'Produce your proof, if you speak truly.'
Say: 'None knows the Unseen in the heavens and earth except God. And they are not aware when they shall be raised; nay, but their knowledge fails as to the Hereafter; nay, they are in doubt of it; nay, they are blind to it.
The unbelievers say, 'What, when we are dust, and our fathers, shall we indeed be brought forth?
27:70 We have been promised this, and our fathers before; this is naught but the fairy-tales of the ancients.'
Say: 'Journey in the land, then behold how was the end of the sinners.'
Do not sorrow for them, nor be thou straitened for what they devise.
They say, 'When shall this promise come to pass, if you speak the truth?' Say: 'It may be that riding behind you already is some part of that you seek to hasten on.
27:75 Surely thy Lord is bountiful to men; but most of them are not thankful. Surely thy Lord knows what their hearts conceal, and what they publish. And not a thing is there hidden in heaven and earth but it is in a Manifest Book.
Surely this Koran relates to the Children of Israel most of that concerning which they are at variance; it is a guidance, and a mercy unto the believers.
27:80 Surely thy Lord will decide between them by His Judgment; He is the All-mighty, the All-knowing. So put thy trust in God; thou art upon the manifest truth.
Thou shalt not make the dead to hear, neither shalt thou make the deaf to hear the call when they turn about, retreating. Thou shalt not guide the blind out of their error neither shalt thou make any to hear, save such as believe in Our signs, and so surrender.
When the Word falls on them, We shall bring forth for them out of the earth a beast that shall speak unto them: 'Mankind had no faith in Our signs.'
27:85 Upon the day when We shall muster out of every nation a troop of those that cried lies to Our signs, duly disposed, till, when they are come, He shall say, 'Did you cry lies to My signs, not comprehending them in knowledge, or what have you been doing?' And the Word shall fall upon them because of the evil they committed, while they speak naught.
Have they not seen how We made the night for them, to repose in it, and the day, to see? Surely in that is a sign for a people who are believers.
On the day the Trumpet is blown, and terrified is whosoever is in the heavens and earth, excepting whom God wills, and every one shall come to Him, all utterly abject;
27:90 and thou shalt see the mountains, that thou supposest fixed, passing by like clouds -- God's handiwork, who has created everything very well. He is aware of the things you do. Whosoever comes with a good deed, he shall have better than it; and they shall be secure from terror that day. And whosoever comes with an evil deed, their faces shall be thrust into the Fire: 'Are you recompensed but for what you did?'
I have only been commanded to serve the Lord of this territory which He has made sacred; to Him belongs everything. And I have been commanded to be of those that surrender, and to recite the Koran. So whosoever is guided, is only guided to his own gain; and whosoever goes astray, say: 'I am naught but a warner.
27:95 And say: 'Praise belongs to God. He shall show you His signs and you will recognise them. Thy Lord is not heedless of the things you do.'
XXVIII THE STORY

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
28:1 Ta Sin Mim
Those are the signs of the Manifest Book.
We will recite to thee something of the tiding of Moses and Pharaoh truthfully, for a people who believe.
Now Pharaoh had exalted himself in the land and had divided its inhabitants into sects, abasing one party of them, slaughtering their sons, and sparing their women; for he was of the workers of corruption.
Yet We desired to be gracious to those that were abased in the land, and to make them leaders, and to make them the inheritors,
28:5 and to establish them in the land, and to show Pharaoh and Haman, and their hosts, what they were dreading from them.
So We revealed to Moses' mother, 'Suckle him, then, when thou fearest for him, cast him into the sea, and do not fear, neither sorrow, for We shall return him to thee, and shall appoint him one of the Envoys.'
So then the folk of Pharaoh picked him out to be an enemy and a sorrow to them; certainly Pharaoh and Haman, and their hosts, were of the sinners.
Said Pharaoh's wife, 'He will be a comfort to me and thee. Slay him not; perchance he will profit us, or we will take him for a son.' And they were not aware.
On the morrow the heart of Moses' mother became empty, and she wellnigh disclosed him had We not strengthened her heart, that she might be among the believers;
28:10 and she said to his sister, 'Follow him,' and she perceived him from afar, even while they were not aware. Now We had forbidden to him aforetime to be suckled by any foster-mother; therefore she said, 'Shall I direct you to the people of a household who will take charge of him for you and look after him?'
So We returned him to his mother, that she might be comforted and not sorrow, and that she might know that the promise of God is true; but most of them do not know.
And when he was fully grown and in the perfection of his strength, We gave him judgment and knowledge; even so do We recompense the good-doers.
And he entered the city, at a time when its people were unheeding, and found there two men fighting; the one was of his own party, and the other was of his enemies. Then the one that was of his party cried to him to aid him against the other that was of his enemies; so Moses struck him, and despatched him, and said, 'This is of Satan's doing; he is surely an enemy misleading, manifest.'
28:15 He said, 'My Lord, I have wronged myself. Forgive me!' So God forgave him, for He is the All-forgiving, the All-compassionate.
He said, 'My Lord, forasmuch as Thou hast blessed me, I will never be a partisan of the sinners.'
Now in the morning he was in the city, fearful and vigilant; and behold, the man who had sought his, succour on the day before cried out to him again. Moses said to him, 'Clearly thou art, a quarreller.'
But when he would have assaulted the man who was an enemy to them both, the man said, 'Moses, dost thou desire to slay me, even as thou slewest a living soul yesterday? Thou only desirest to be a tyrant in the land; thou desirest not to be of them that put things right.'
Then came a man from the furthest part of the city, running; he said, 'Moses, the Council are conspiring to slay thee. Depart; I am one of thy sincere advisers.'
28:20 So he departed therefrom, fearful and vigilant; he said, 'My Lord, deliver me from the people of the evildoers.'
And when he turned his face towards Midian he said, 'It may be that my Lord will guide me on the right way. And when he came to the waters of Midian he found a company of the people there drawing water, and he found, apart from them, two women holding back their flocks. He said, 'What is your business?' They said, 'We may not draw water until the shepherds drive off; and our father is passing old.'
So he drew water for them; then he turned away to the shade, and he said, 'O my Lord, surely I have need of whatever good Thou shalt have sent down upon me.
28:25 Then came one of the two women to him, walking modestly, and said, 'My father invites thee, that he may recompense thee with the wage of thy drawing water for us.' So when he came to him and had related to him the story, he said, 'Be not afraid; thou hast escaped from the people of the evildoers.'
Said one of the two women, 'Father, hire him; surely the best man thou canst hire is the one strong and trusty.'
He said, 'I desire to marry thee to one of these my two daughters, on condition that thou hirest thyself to me for eight years. If thou completest ten, that shall be of thy own accord; I do not desire to press hard upon thee. Thou shalt assuredly find me, if God wills, one of the righteous.'
Said he, 'So let it be between me and thee. Whichever of the two terms I fulfil, it shall be no injustice to me; and God is guardian of what we say.
So when Moses had accomplished the term and departed with his household, he observed on the side of the Mount a fire. He said to his household, 'Tarry you here; I observe a fire. Perhaps I shall bring you news of it, or a faggot from the fire, that haply you shall warm yourselves.'
28:30 When he came to it, a voice cried from the right of the watercourse, in the sacred hollow, coming from the tree: 'Moses, I am God, the Lord of all Being.'
'Cast down thy staff.' And when he saw it quivering like a serpent, he turned about retreating, and turned not back. 'Moses, come forward, and fear not; for surely thou art in security.'
Insert thy hand into thy bosom, and it will come forth white without evil; and press to thee thy arm, that thou be not afraid. So these shall be two proofs from thy Lord to Pharaoh and his Council; for surely they are an ungodly people.'
Said he, 'My Lord, I have indeed slain a living soul among them, and I fear that they will slay me.
Moreover my brother Aaron is more eloquent than I. Send him with me as a helper and to confirm I speak truly, for I fear they will cry me lies.'
28:35 Said He, 'We will strengthen thy arm by means of thy brother, and We shall appoint to you an authority, so that they shall not reach you because of Our signs; you, and whoso follows you, shall be the victors.'
So when Moses came to them with Our signs, clear signs, they said, 'This is nothing but a forged sorcery. We never heard of this among our fathers, the ancients.'
But Moses said, 'My Lord knows very well who comes with the guidance from Him, and shall possess the Ultimate Abode; surely the evildoers will not prosper.'
And Pharaoh said, 'Council, I know not that you have any god but me. Kindle me, Haman, a fire upon the clay, and make me a tower, that I may mount up to Moses' god; for I think that he is one of the liars.'
And he waxed proud in the land, he and his hosts, wrongfully; and they thought they should not be returned to Us.
28:40 Therefore We seized him and his hosts, and cast their into the sea; so behold how was the end of the evildoers!
And We appointed them leaders, calling to the Fire; and on the Day of Resurrection they shall not be helped; and We pursued them in this world with a curse, and on the Day of Resurrection they shall be among the spurned.
And We gave Moses the Book, after that We had destroyed the former generations, to be examples and a guidance and a mercy, that haply so they might remember.
Thou wast not upon the western side when We decreed to Moses the commandment, nor wast thou of those witnessing;
28:45 but We raised up generations, and long their lives continued. Neither wast thou a dweller among the Midianites, reciting to them Our signs; but We were sending Messengers. Thou wast not upon the side of the Mount when We called; but for a mercy from thy Lord, that thou mayest warn a people to whom no warner came before thee, and that haply they may remember. Else, did an affliction visit them for that their own hands have forwarded then they might say, 'Our Lord, why didst Thou not send a Messenger to us that we might follow Thy signs and so be among the believers?'
Yet when the truth came to them from Ourselves, they said, 'Why has he not been given the like of that Moses was given?' But they, did they not disbelieve also in what Moses was given aforetime? They said, 'A pair of sorceries mutually supporting each other.' They said, 'We disbelieve both.'
28:50 Say: 'Bring a Book from God that gives better guidance than these, and follow it, if you speak truly.'
Then if they do not answer thee, know that they are only following their caprices; and who is further astray than he who follows his caprice without guidance from God? Surely God guides not the people of the evildoers.
Now We have brought them the Word; haply they may remember. Those to whom We gave the Book before this believe in it and, when it is recited to them, they say, 'We believe in it; surely it is the truth from our Lord. Indeed, even before it we had surrendered.'
These shall be given their wage twice over for that they patiently endured, and avert evil with good, and expend of that We have provided them.
28:55 When they hear idle talk, they turn away from it and say, 'We have our deeds, and you your deeds. Peace be upon you! We desire not the ignorant.' Thou guidest not whom thou likest, but God guides whom He wills, and knows very well those that are guided. They say, 'Should we follow the guidance with thee, we shall be snatched from our land.' Have We not established for them a sanctuary secure, to which are collected the fruits of everything, as a provision from Us? But most of them know not. How many a city We have destroyed that flourished in insolent ease!
Those are their dwelling-places, undwelt in after them, except a little; Ourselves are the inheritors. Yet thy Lord never destroyed the cities until He sent in their mother-city a Messenger, to recite Our signs unto them; and We never destroyed the cities, save that their inhabitants were evildoers.
28:60 Whatever thing you have been given is the enjoyment of the present life and its adornment; and what is with God is better and more enduring.
Will you not understand? What, is he to whom We have promised a fair promise, and he receives it, like him to whom We have given the enjoyment of the present life, then he on the Resurrection Day shall be of those that are arraigned?
Upon the day when He shall call to them, and He shall say, 'Where now are My associates whom you were asserting?' Those against whom the Word is realized they shall say, 'Our Lord, those whom we perverted, we perverted them even as we ourselves erred. We declare our innocence unto Thee; it was not us that they were serving.'
It shall be said, 'Call you now upon your associates!' And they will call upon them, but they shall not answer them, and they shall see the chastisement -- ah, if they had been guided!
28:65 Upon the day when He shall call to them, and He shall say, 'What answer gave you to the Envoys?' Upon that day the tidings will be darkened for them, nor will they ask each other.
But as for him who repents, and believes, and works righteousness, haply he shall be among the prosperers. Thy Lord creates whatsoever He will and He chooses; they have not the choice. Glory be to God! High be He exalted above that they associate!
And thy Lord knows what their breasts conceal and what they publish.
28:70 And He is God;
there is no god but He.
His is the praise
in the former as in the latter;
His too is the Judgment,
and unto Him you shall be returned.
Say: 'What think you? If God should make the night unceasing over you, until the Day of Resurrection, what god other than God shall bring you illumination? Will you not hear?'
Say: 'What think you? If God should make the day unceasing over you, until the Day of Resurrection, what god other than God shall bring you night to repose in? Will you not see?
Of His mercy He has appointed for you night and day, for you to repose in and seek after His bounty, that haply you will be thankful.'
Upon the day when He shall call to them, and He shall say, 'Where now are My associates whom you were asserting?' And We shall draw out from every nation a witness, and say,
28:75 'Produce your proof!' Then will they know that Truth is God's, and there shall go astray from them that they were forging.
Now Korah was of the people of Moses; he became insolent to them, for We had given him treasures such that the very keys of them were too heavy a burden for a company of men endowed with strength. When his people said to him, 'Do not exult; God loves not those that exult; but seek, amidst that which God has given thee, the Last Abode, and forget not thy portion of the present world; and do good, as God has been good to thee.' And seek not to work corruption in the earth; surely God loves not the workers of corruption.'
He said, 'What I have been given is only because of a knowledge that is in me.' What, did he not know that God had destroyed before him generations of men stronger than he ill might, and more numerous in multitude? And yet the sinners shall not be questioned concerning their sins.
So he went forth unto his people in his adornment. Those who desired the present life said, 'Would that we possessed the like of that Korah has been given! Surely he is a man of mighty fortune.
28:80 But those to whom knowledge had been given said, 'Woe upon you! The reward of God is better for him who believes, and works righteousness; and none shall receive it except the steadfast.'
So We made the earth to swallow him and his dwelling and there was no host to help him, apart from God, and he was helpless; and in the morning those who had longed to be in his place the day before were saying, 'Ah, God outspreads and straitens His provision to whomsoever He will of His servants. Had God not been gracious to us, He would have made us to be swallowed too. Ah, the unbelievers do not prosper,
That is the Last Abode; We appoint it for those who desire not exorbitance in the earth, nor corruption. The issue ultimate is to the godfearing. Whoso brings a good deed shall have better than it; and whoso brings an evil deed those who have done evil deeds shall only be recompensed for that they were doing.
28:85 He who imposed the Recitation upon thee shall surely restore thee to a place of homing. Say: 'My Lord' knows very well who comes with guidance, and who is in manifest error. Thou didst not hope that the Book should be cast unto thee, except it be as a mercy from thy Lord; so be thou not a partisan of the unbelievers. Let them not bar thee from the signs of God, after that they have been sent down to thee. And call upon thy Lord, and be thou not of the idolaters.
And call not upon another god with God; there is no god but He. All things perish, except His Face. His is the Judgment, and unto Him you shall be returned.
XXIX THE SPIDER

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
29:1 Alif Lam Mim
Do the people reckon that they will be left to say 'We believe,' and will not be tried? We certainly tried those that were before them, and assuredly God knows those who speak truly, and assuredly He knows the liars.
Or do they reckon, those who do evil deeds, that they will outstrip Us? Ill they judge! Whoso looks to encounter God, God's term is coming; He is the All-hearing, the All-knowing.
29:5 Whosoever struggles, struggles only to his own gain; surely God is All-sufficient nor needs any being. And those who believe, and do righteous deeds, We shall surely acquit them of their evil deeds, and shall recompense them the best of what they were doing.
We have charged man, that he be kind to his parents; but if they strive with thee to make thee associate with Me that whereof thou hast no knowledge, then do not obey them; unto Me you shall return, and I shall tell you what you were doing.
And those who believe, and do righteous deeds assuredly We shall admit them among the righteous.
Some men there are who say, 'We believe in God,' but when such a man is hurt in God's cause, he makes the persecution of men as it were God's chastisement; then if help comes from thy Lord, he will say 'We were with you.' What, does not God know very well what is in the breasts of all beings?
29:10 God surely knows the believers, and He knows the hypocrites.
The unbelievers say to the believers, 'Follow our path, and let us carry your offences'; yet they cannot carry anything, even of their own offences; they are truly liars.
They shall certainly carry their loads, and other loads along with their loads, and upon the Day of Resurrection they shall surely be questioned concerning that they were forging.
Indeed, We sent Noah to his people, and he tarried among them a thousand years, all but fifty; so the Flood seized them, while they were evildoers.
Yet We delivered him, and those who were in the ship, and appointed it for a sign unto all beings.
29:15 And Abraham, when he said to his people, 'Serve God, and fear Him; that is better for you, did you know. You only serve, apart from God, idols and you create a calumny; those you serve, apart from God, have no power to provide for you. So seek after your provision with God, and serve Him, and be thankful to Him; unto Him you shall be returned.
'But if you cry me lies, nations cried lies before you; and it is only for the Messenger to deliver the Manifest Message.'
(Have they not seen how God originates creation, then brings it back again? Surely that is an easy matter for God. Say: Journey in the land, then behold how He originated creation; then God causes the second growth to grow; God is powerful over everything,
29:20 chastising whom He will, and having mercy on whomsoever He will, and unto Him you shall be turned. You are not able to frustrate Him either in the earth or in heaven; and you have not, apart from God, either protector or helper.
And those who disbelieve in God's signs and the encounter with Him -- they despair of My mercy, and there awaits them a painful chastisement.)
But the only answer of his people was that they said, 'Slay him, or burn him!' Then God delivered him from the fire; surely in that are signs for a people who believe.
And he said, 'You have only taken to yourselves idols, apart from God, as a mark of mutual love between you in the present life; then upon the Day of Resurrection you will deny one another, and you will curse one another, and your refuge will be the Fire, and you will have no helpers.'
29:25 But Lot believed him; and he said, 'I will flee to my Lord; He is the All-mighty, the All-wise.'
And We gave him Isaac and Jacob, and We appointed the Prophecy and the Book to be among his seed; We gave him his wage in this world, and in the world to come he shall be among the righteous.
And Lot, when he said to his people 'Surely you commit such indecency as never any being in all the world committed before you. What, do you approach men, and cut the way, and commit in your assembly dishonour?' But the only answer of his people was that they said, 'Then bring us the chastisement of God, if thou speakest truly.'
He said, 'My Lord, help me against the people that work corruption.'
29:30 And when Our messengers came to Abraham with the good tidings, they said, 'We shall destroy the people of this city, for its people are evildoers.'
He said, 'Lot is in it.' They said, 'We know very well who is in it; assuredly We shall deliver him and his family, except his wife; she has become of those that tarry.'
When that Our messengers came to Lot he was troubled on their account and distressed for them; but they said, 'Fear not, neither sorrow, for surely we shall deliver thee and thy family, except thy wife; she has become of those that tarry. We shall send down upon the people of this city wrath out of heaven for their ungodliness.' And indeed, We have left thereof a sign, a clear sign? unto a people who understand.
29:35 And to Midian their brother Shuaib; he said, 'O my people, serve God, and look you for the Last Day; and do not mischief in the land, working corruption.' But they cried lies to him; so the earthquake seized them, and morning found them in their habitation fallen prostrate.
And Ad, and Thamood -- it has become clear to you from their dwelling-places; and Satan decked out fair to them their works, and barred them from the way, though they saw clearly.
And Korah, and Pharaoh, and Haman; Moses came to them with the clear signs, but they waxed proud in the earth, yet they outstripped Us not.
Each We seized for his sin; and of them against some We loosed a squall of pebbles and some were seized by the Cry, and some We made the earth to swallow, and some We drowned; God would never wrong them, but they wronged themselves.
29:40 The likeness of those who have taken to them protectors, apart from God, is as the likeness of the spider that takes to itself a house; and surely the frailest of houses is the house of the spider, did they but know.
God knows whatever thing they call upon apart from Him; He is the All-mighty, the All-wise. And those similitudes -- We strike them for the people, but none understands them save those who know.
God created the heavens and the earth with the truth; surely in that is a sign to the believers.
Recite what has been revealed to thee of the Book, and perform the prayer; prayer forbids indecency and dishonour. God's remembrance is greater; and God knows the things you work.
29:45 Dispute not with the People of the Book save in the fairer manner, except for those of them that do wrong; and say, 'We believe in what has been sent down to us, and what has been sent down to you; our God and your God is One, and to Him we have surrendered.'
Even so We have sent down to thee the Book. Those to whom We have given the Book believe in it; and some of these believe in it; and none denies Our signs but the unbelievers.
Not before this didst thou recite any Book, or inscribe it with thy right hand, for then those who follow falsehood would: have doubted. Nay; rather it is signs, clear signs in the breasts of those who have been given knowledge; and none denies Our signs but the evildoers.
They say, 'Why have signs not been sent down upon him from his Lord?' Say: 'The signs are only with God, and I am only a plain warner.
29:50 What, is it not sufficient for them that We have sent down upon thee the Book that is recited to them? Surely in that is a mercy, and a reminder to a people who believe.
Say: 'God suffices as a witness between me and you.' He knows whatsoever is in the heavens and earth. Those who believe in vanity and disbelieve in God -- those, they are the losers. And they demand of thee to hasten the chastisement! But for a stated term the chastisement would have come upon them; but it shall come upon them suddenly, when they are not aware. They demand of thee to hasten the chastisement! Lo, Gehenna encompasses the unbelievers.
29:55 Upon the day the chastisement shall overwhelm them from above them and from under their feet, and He shall say, 'Taste now what you were doing!'
O My servants who believe, surely My earth is wide; therefore Me do you serve! Every soul shall taste of death; then unto Us you shall be returned.
And those who believe, and do righteous deeds, We shall surely lodge them in lofty chambers of paradise, underneath which rivers flow, therein dwelling forever; and excellent is the wage of those who labour, such men as are patient, and put their trust in their Lord.
29:60 How many a beast that bears not its own provision, but God provides for it and you! He is the All-hearer, the All-knower.
If thou askest them, 'Who created the heavens and the earth and subjected the sun and the moon?' they will say, 'God.' How then are they perverted? God outspreads and straitens His provision to whomsoever He will of His servants; God has knowledge of everything.
If thou askest them, 'Who sends down out of heaven water, and therewith revives the earth after it is dead?' they will say, 'God.'
Say: 'Praise belongs to God.' Nay, but most of them have no understanding.
This present life is naught but a diversion and a sport; surely the Last Abode is Life, did they but know.
29:65 When they embark in the ships, they call on God, making their religion sincerely His; but when He has delivered them to the land, they associate others with Him, that they may be ungrateful for what We have given them, and take their enjoyment; they will soon know! Have they not seen that We have appointed a sanctuary secure, while all about them the people are snatched away? What, do they believe in vanity, and do they disbelieve in God's blessing?
And who does greater evil than he who forges against God a lie, or cries lies to the truth when it comes to him? What, is there not in Gehenna a lodging for the unbelievers?
But those who struggle in Our cause, surely We shall guide them in Our ways; and God is with the good-doers.
XXX THE GREEKS

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
30:1 Alif Lam Mim
The Greeks have been vanquished in the nearer part of the land; and, after their vanquishing, they shall be the victors in a few years. To God belongs the Command before and after, and on that day the believers shall rejoice in God's help; God helps whomsoever He will; and He is the All-mighty, the All-compassionate.
30:5 The promise of God! God fails not His promise, but most men do not know it. They know an outward part of the present life, but of the Hereafter they are heedless. What, have they not considered within themselves? God created not the heavens and the earth, and what between them is, save with the truth and a stated term; yet most men disbelieve in the encounter with their Lord.
What, have they not journeyed in the land and beheld how was the end of those before them? They were stronger than themselves in might, and they ploughed up the earth and cultivated it more than they themselves have cultivated it; and their Messengers came to them with the clear signs; and God would never wrong them, but themselves they wronged.
Then the end of those that did evil was evil, for that they cried lies to the signs of God and mocked at them.
30:10 God originates creation, then brings it back again, then unto Him you shall be returned.
Upon the day when the Hour is come, the sinners shall be confounded no intercessors shall they have amongst their associates, and they shall disbelieve in their associates. Upon the day when the Hour is come, that day they shall be divided; as for those who believed, and did deeds of righteousness, they shall walk with joy in a green meadow,
30:15 but as for those who disbelieved, and cried lies to Our signs and the encounter of the Hereafter, they shall be arraigned into the chastisement.
So glory be to God both in your evening hour and in your morning hour. His is the praise in the heavens and earth, alike at the setting sun and in your noontide hour. He brings forth the living from the dead, and brings forth the dead from the living, and He revives the earth after it is dead; even so you shall be brought forth.
30:20 And of His signs is that He created you of dust; then lo, you are mortals, all scattered abroad. And of His signs is that He created for you, of yourselves, spouses, that you might repose in them, and He has set between you love and mercy.
Surely in that are signs for a people who consider. And of His signs is the creation of the heavens and earth and the variety of your tongues and hues. Surely in that are signs for all living beings.
And of His signs is your slumbering by night and day, and your seeking after His bounty. Surely in that are signs for a people who hear. And of His signs He shows you lightning, for fear and hope, and that He sends down out of heaven water and He revives the earth after it is dead.
Surely in that are signs for a people who understand. And of His signs is that the heaven and earth stand firm by His command; then, when He calls you once and suddenly, out of the earth, lo you shall come forth.
30:25 To Him belongs whosoever is in the heavens and the earth; all obey His will. And it is He who originates creation, then brings it back again, and it is very easy for Him. His is the loftiest likeness in the heavens and the earth; He is the All-mighty, the All-wise.
He has struck for you a similitude from yourselves; do you have, among that your right hands own, associates in what We have provided for you so that you are equal in regard to it, you fearing them as you fear each other? So We distinguish the signs for a people who understand. Nay, but the evildoers follow their own caprices, without knowledge; so who shall guide those whom God has led astray?
They have no helpers.
So set thy face to the religion, a man of pure faith -- God's original upon which He originated mankind. There is no changing God's creation. That is the right religion; but most men know it not -- turning to Him. And fear you Him, and perform the prayer, and be not of the idolaters, even of those who have divided up their religion, and become sects, each several party rejoicing in what is theirs.
30:35 When some affliction visits mankind, they call unto their Lord, turning to Him; then, when He lets them taste mercy from Him, lo, a party of them assign associates to their Lord, that they may be ungrateful for what We have given them. 'Take your enjoyment; certainly you will soon know.'
Or have We sent down any authority upon them, such as speaks of that they associate with Him? And when We let men taste mercy, they rejoice in it; but if some evil befalls them for that their own hands have forwarded, behold, they despair. Have they not seen that God outspreads and straitens His provision to whom He will? Surely in that are signs for a people who believe.
And give the kinsman his right, and the needy, and the traveller; that is better for those who desire God's Face; those they are the prosperers. And what you give in usury, that it may increase upon the people's wealth, increases not with God; but what you give in alms, desiring God's Face, those -- they receive recompense manifold.
God is He that created you, then He provided for you, then He shall make you dead, then He shall give you life; is there any of your associates does aught of that? Glory be to Him! High be He exalted above that they associate!
30:40 Corruption has appeared in the land and sea, for that men's own hands have earned, that He may let them taste some part of that which they have done, that haply so they may return.
Say: 'Journey in the land, then behold how was the end of those that were before; most of them were idolaters.'
So set thy face to the true religion before there comes a day from God that cannot be turned back; on that day they shall be sundered apart. Whoso disbelieves, his unbelief shall be charged against him; and whosoever does righteousness for themselves they are making provision, that He may recompense those who believe and do righteous deeds of His bounty; He loves not the unbelievers.
30:45 And of His signs is that He looses the winds, bearing good tidings and that He may let you taste of His mercy, and that the ships may run at His commandment, and that you may seek His bounty; haply so you will be thankful.
Indeed, We sent before thee Messengers unto their people, and they brought them the clear signs; then We took vengeance upon those who sinned; and it was ever a duty incumbent upon Us, to help the believers.
God is He that looses the winds, that stir up clouds; and He spreads them in heaven how He will, and shatters them; then thou seest the rain issuing out of the midst of them, and when He smites with it whomsoever of His servants He will, lo, they rejoice, although before it was sent down on them before that they had been in despair.
So behold the marks of God's mercy, how He quickens the earth after it was dead; surely He is the quickener of the dead, and He is powerful over everything.
30:50 But if We loose a wind, and they see it growing yellow, they remain after that unbelievers.
Thou shalt not make the dead to hear, neither shalt thou make the deaf to hear the call when they turn about, retreating. Thou shalt not guide the blind out of their error neither shalt thou make any to hear except for such as believe in Our signs, and so surrender.
God is He that created you of weakness, then He appointed after weakness strength, then after strength He appointed weakness and grey hairs; He creates what He will, and He is the All-knowing, the All-powerful.
30:55 Upon the day when the Hour is come,
the sinners shall swear they have not tarried above an hour;
so they were perverted.
But those who have been given knowledge and faith shall say,
'You have tarried in God's Book
till the Day of the Upraising,
This is the Day of the Upraising,
but you did not know.'
So that day their excuses will not profit the evildoers,
nor will they be suffered to make amends.
Indeed, We have struck for the people in this Koran every manner of similitude; and if thou bringest them a sign, those who are unbelievers will certainly say, 'You do nothing but follow falsehood.'
Even so God seals the hearts of those that know not.
30:60 So be thou patient; surely God's promise is true; and let not those who have not sure faith make thee unsteady.
XXXI LOKMAN

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
31:1 Alif Lam Mim
Those are the signs of the Wise Book for a guidance and a mercy to the good-doers who perform the prayer, and pay the alms, and have sure faith in the Hereafter. Those are upon guidance from their Lord; those are the prosperers.
31:5 Some men there are who buy diverting talk to lead astray from the way of God without knowledge, and to take it in mockery; those -- there awaits them a humbling chastisement. And when Our signs are recited to such a man he turns away, waxing proud, as though he heard them not, and in his ears were heaviness; so give him good tidings of a painful chastisement. Surely those who believe, and do deeds of righteousness, there awaits them Gardens of Bliss therein to dwell forever -- God's promise in truth; and He is the All-mighty, the All-wise.
He created the heavens without pillars you can see, and He cast on the earth firm mountains, lest it shake with you, and He scattered abroad in it all manner of crawling thing. And We sent down out of heaven water, and caused to grow in it of every generous kind.
31:10 This is God's creation; now show me what those have created that are apart from Him! Nay, but the evildoers are in manifest error.
Indeed, We gave Lokman wisdom: 'Give thanks to God. Whosoever gives thanks gives thanks only for his own soul's good, and whosoever is ungrateful -- surely God is All-sufficient, All-laudable.'
And when Lokman said to his son, admonishing him, 'O my son, do not associate others with God; to associate others with God is a mighty wrong. (And We have charged man concerning his parents -- his mother bore him in weakness upon weakness, and his weaning was in two years -- 'Be thankful to Me, and to thy parents; to Me is the homecoming. But if they strive with thee to make thee associate with Me that whereof thou hast no knowledge, then do not obey them. Keep them company honourable in this world; but follow the way of him who turns to Me. Then unto Me you shall return, and I shall tell you what you were doing.')
31:15 'O my son, if it should be but the weight of one grain of mustard-seed, and though it be in a rock, or in the heavens, or in the earth, God shall bring it forth; surely God is All-subtle, All-aware. O my son, perform the prayer, and bid unto honour, and forbid dishonour. And bear patiently whatever may befall thee; surely that is true constancy. Turn not thy cheek away from men in scorn, and walk not in the earth exultantly; God loves not any man proud and boastful. Be modest in thy walk, and lower thy voice; the most hideous of voices is the ass's.'
Have you not seen how that God has subjected to you whatsoever is in the heavens and earth, and He has lavished on you His blessings, outward and inward?
And among men there is such a one that disputes concerning God without knowledge or guidance, or an illuminating Book;
31:20 and when it is said to them, 'Follow what God has sent down,' they say, 'No; but we will follow such things as we found our fathers doing.' What? Even though Satan were calling them to the chastisement of the burning?
And whosoever submits his will to God, being a good-doer, has laid hold of the most firm handle; and unto God is the issue of all affairs. And whoso disbelieves, let not his disbelief grieve thee; unto Us they shall return, and We shall tell them what they did. Surely God knows all the thoughts within the breasts.
To them We give enjoyment a little, then We compel them to a harsh chastisement.
If thou askest them, 'Who created the heavens and the earth?' they will say, 'God.' Say: 'Praise belongs to God.' Nay, but most of them have no knowledge.
31:25 To God belongs all that is in the heavens and the earth; surely God -- He is the All-sufficient, the All-laudable.
Though all the trees in the earth were pens, and the sea-seven seas after it to replenish it, yet would the Words of God not be spent. God is All-mighty, All-wise.
Your creation and your upraising are as but as a single soul. God is All-hearing, All-seeing.
Hast thou not seen how that God makes the night to enter into the day and makes the day to enter into the night. and He has subjected the sun and the moon, each of them running to a stated term, and that God is aware of what you do?
That is because God -- He is the Truth, and that they call upon apart from Him -- that is the false; and for that God is the All-high, the All-great.
31:30 Hast thou not seen how that the ships run upon the sea by the blessing of God, that He may show you some of His signs? Surely in that are signs for every man enduring, thankful.
And when the waves cover them like shadows they call upon God, making their religion sincerely His; but when He has delivered them to the land, some of them are lukewarm. And none denies Our signs, except every ungrateful traitor.
O men, fear your Lord, and dread a day when no father shall give satisfaction for his child, and no child shall give satisfaction for his father whatever. Surely God's promise is true; so let not the present life delude you, and let not the Deluder delude you concerning God.
Surely God -- He has knowledge of the Hour; He sends down the rain; He knows what is in the wombs. No soul knows what it shall earn tomorrow, and no soul knows in what land it shall die. Surely God is All-knowing, All-aware.
XXXII PROSTRATION

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
32:1 Alif Lam Mim
The sending down of the Book, wherein no doubt is, from the Lord of all Being.
Or do they say, 'He has forged it'? Say: 'Not so; it is the truth from thy Lord that thou mayest warn a people to whom no warner came before thee, that haply so they may be guided.
God is He that created the heavens and the earth, and what between them is, in six days, then seated Himself upon the Throne. Apart from Him, you have no protector neither mediator; will you not remember? He directs the affair from heaven to earth, then it goes up to Him in one day, whose measure is a thousand years of your counting.
32:5 He is the knower of the Unseen and the Visible, the All-mighty, the All-compassionate, who has created all things well. And He originated the creation of man out of clay, then He fashioned his progeny of an extraction of mean water, then He shaped him, and breathed His spirit in him. And He appointed for you hearing, and sight, and hearts; little thanks you show.
They say, 'What, when we have gone astray in the earth, shall we indeed be in a new creation?'
32:10 Nay, but they disbelieve in the encounter with their Lord. Say: 'Death's angel, who has been charged with you, shall gather you, then to your Lord you shall be returned.'
Ah, if thou couldst see the guilty hanging their heads before their Lord! 'Our Lord, we have seen and heard; now return us, that we may do righteousness, for we have sure faith.'
'If We had so willed, We could have given every soul its guidance; but now My Word is realized -- " Assuredly I shall fill Gehenna with jinn and men all together." So now taste, for that you forgot the encounter of this your day!
We indeed have forgotten you. Taste the chastisement of eternity for that you were doing!'
32:15 Only those believe in Our signs who, when they are reminded of them, fall down prostrate and proclaim the praise of their Lord, not waxing proud.
Their sides shun their couches as they call on their Lord in fear and hope; and they expend of that We have provided them. No soul knows what comfort is laid up for them secretly, as a recompense for that they were doing. What? Is he who has been a believer like unto him who has been ungodly?
They are not equal.
As for those who believe, and do deeds of righteousness, there await them the Gardens of the Refuge, in hospitality for that they were doing.
32:20 But as for the ungodly, their refuge shall be the Fire; as often as they desire to come forth from it, they shall be restored into it, and it shall be said to them, 'Taste the chastisement of the Fire, which you cried lies to.'
And We shall surely let them taste the nearer chastisement, before the greater; haply so they will return.
And who does greater evil than he who is reminded of the signs of his Lord, then turns away from them? We shall take vengeance upon the sinners.
Indeed, We gave Moses the Book; so he not in doubt concerning the encounter with him; and We appointed it for a guidance to the Children of Israel.
And We appointed from among them leaders guiding by Our command, when they endured patiently, and had sure faith in Our signs.
32:25 Surely thy Lord will distinguish between them on the Resurrection Day, touching that whereon they were at variance.
Is it not a guidance to them, how many generations We destroyed before them in whose dwelling-places they walk? Surely in that are signs; what, will they not hear?
Have they not seen how We drive the water to the dry land and bring forth crops therewith whereof their cattle and themselves eat? What, will they not see?
They also say, 'When shall be this Victory, if you speak truly?'
Say: 'On the Day of Victory their faith shall not profit the unbelievers, nor shall they be respited.'
So turn thou away from them, and wait; they too are waiting.
XXXIII THE CONFEDERATES

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
33:1 O Prophet, fear God, and obey not the unbelievers and the hypocrites. God is All-knowing, All-wise.
And follow what is revealed to thee from thy Lord; surely God is aware of the things you do. And put thy trust in God; God suffices as a guardian.
God has not assigned to any man two hearts within his breast; nor has He made your wives, when you divorce, saying, 'Be as my mother's back,' truly your mothers, neither has He made your adopted sons your sons in fact. That is your own saying, the words of your mouths; but God speaks the truth, and guides on the way.
33:5 Call them after their true fathers; that is more equitable in the sight of God. If you know not who their fathers were, then they are your brothers in religion, and your clients. There is no fault in you if you make mistakes, but only in what your hearts premeditate. God is All-forgiving, All-compassionate.
The Prophet is nearer to the believers than their selves; his wives are their mothers. Those who are bound by blood are nearer to one another in the Book of God than the believers and the emigrants; nevertheless you should act towards your friends honourably; that stands inscribed in the Book.
And when We took compact from the Prophets, and from thee, and from Noah, and Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, Mary's son; We took from them a solemn compact, that He might question the truthful concerning their truthfulness; and He has prepared for the unbelievers a painful chastisement.
O believers, remember God's blessing upon you when hosts came against you, and We loosed against them a wind, and hosts you saw not; and God sees the things you do.
33:10 When they came against you from above you and from below you, and when your eyes swerved and your hearts reached your throats, while you thought thoughts about God; there it was that the believers were tried, and shaken most mightily.
And when the hypocrites, and those in whose hearts is sickness, said, 'God and His Messenger promised us only delusion.'
And when a party of them said, 'O people of Yathrib, there is no abiding here for you, therefore return!' And a part of them were asking leave of the Prophet, saying, 'Our houses are exposed'; yet they were not exposed; they desired only to flee.
And if entrance had been forced against them from those quarters, and then they had been asked to apostatise, they would have done so, and but tarried about it briefly.
33:15 Yet they had made covenant with God before that, that they would not turn their backs; and covenants with God shall be questioned of. Say: 'Flight will not profit you, if you flee from death or slaying; you will be given enjoyment of days then but little.'
Say: 'Who is he that shall defend you from God, if He desires evil for you, or desires mercy for you?'
They shall find for themselves, apart from God, neither protector nor helper. God would surely know those of you who hinder, and those who say to their brothers, 'Come to us,' and come to battle but little, being niggardly towards you. When fear comes upon them, thou seest them looking at thee, their eyes rolling like one who swoons of death; but when the fear departs, they flay you with sharp tongues, being niggardly to possess the good things. Those have never believed; God has made their works to fail; and that is easy for God.
33:20 They think the Confederates have not departed; and if the Confederates come, they will wish that they were desert-dwellers among the Bedouins asking for news of you. If they were among you, they would fight but little.
You have had a good example in God's Messenger for whosoever hopes for God and the Last Day, and remembers God oft. When the believers saw the Confederates they said, 'This is what God and His Messenger promised us, and God and His Messenger have spoken truly.' And it only increased them in faith and surrender.
Among the believers are men who were true to their covenant with God; some of them have fulfilled their vow by death, and some are still awaiting, and they have not changed in the least; that God may recompense the truthful ones for their truthfulness, and chastise the hypocrites, if He will, or turn again unto them. Surely God is All-forgiving, All-compassionate.
33:25 And God sent back those that were unbelievers in their rage, and they attained no good; God spared the believers of fighting. Surely God is All-strong, All-mighty.
And He brought down those of the People of the Book who supported them from their fortresses and cast terror in their hearts; some you slew, some you made captive. And He bequeathed upon you their lands, their habitations, and their possessions, and a land you never trod. God is powerful over everything.
O Prophet, say to thy wives: 'If you desire the present life and its adornment, come now, I will make you provision, and set you free with kindliness.
But if you desire God and His Messenger and the Last Abode, surely God has prepared for those amongst you such as do good a mighty wage.
33:30 Wives of the Prophet, whosoever among you commits a flagrant indecency, for her the chastisement shall be doubled; that is easy for God.
But whosoever of you is obedient to God and His Messenger, and does righteousness, We shall pay her her wage twice over; We have prepared for her a generous provision. Wives of the Prophet, you are not as other women. If you are godfearing, be not abject in your speech, so that he in whose heart is sickness may be lustful; but speak honourable words. Remain in your houses; and display not your finery, as did the pagans of old. And perform the prayer, and pay the alms, and obey God and His Messenger. People of the House, God only desires to put away from you abomination and to cleanse you.
And remember that which is recited in your houses of the signs of God and the Wisdom; God is All-subtle, All-aware.
33:35 Men and women who have surrendered, believing men and believing women, obedient men and obedient women, truthful men and truthful women, enduring men and enduring women, humble men and humble women, men and women who give in charity, men who fast and women who fast, men and women who guard their private parts, men and women who remember God oft -- for them God has prepared forgiveness and a mighty wage.
It is not for any believer, man or woman, when God and His Messenger have decreed a matter, to have the choice in the affair. Whosoever disobeys God and His Messenger has gone astray into manifest error.
When thou saidst to him whom God had blessed and thou hadst favoured, 'Keep thy wife to thyself, and fear God,' and thou wast concealing within thyself what God should reveal, fearing other men; and God has better right for thee to fear Him. So when Zaid had accomplished what he would of her, then We gave her in marriage to thee, so that there should not be any fault in the believers, touching the wives of their adopted sons, when they have accomplished what they would of them; and God's commandment must be performed.
There is no fault in the Prophet, touching what God has ordained for him -- God's wont with those who passed away before; and God's commandment is doom decreed; who were delivering the Messages of God, and were fearing Him, and fearing not any one except Him; and God suffices as a reckoner.
33:40 Muhammad is not the father of any one of your men, but the Messenger of God, and the Seal of the Prophets; God has knowledge of everything.
O believers, remember God oft, and give Him glory at the dawn and in the evening. It is He who blesses you, and His angels, to bring you forth from the shadows into the light. He is All-compassionate to the believers. Their greeting, on the day when they shall meet Him, will be 'Peace!' And He has prepared for them a generous wage.
O Prophet, We have sent thee as a witness, and good tidings to bear and warning, calling unto God by His leave, and as a light-giving lamp.
33:45 Give good tidings to the believers that there awaits them with God great bounty. And obey not the unbelievers and the hypocrites; heed not their hurt, but put thy trust in God; God suffices as a guardian.
O believers, when you marry believing women and then divorce them before you touch them, you have no period to reckon against them; so make provision for them, and set them free with kindliness.
O Prophet, We have made lawful for thee thy wives whom thou hast given their wages and what thy right hand owns, spoils of war that God has given thee, and the daughters of thy uncles paternal and aunts paternal, thy uncles maternal and aunts maternal, who have emigrated with thee, and any woman believer, if she give herself to the Prophet and if the Prophet desire to take her in marriage, for thee exclusively, apart from the believers --
33:50 We know what We have imposed upon them touching their wives and what their right hands own -- that there may be no fault in thee; God is All-forgiving, All-compassionate. Thou mayest put off whom thou wilt of them, and whom thou wilt thou mayest take to thee; and if thou seekest any thou hast set aside there is no fault in thee. So it is likelier they will be comforted, and not sorrow, and every one of them will be well-pleased with what thou givest her. God knows what is in your hearts; God is All-knowing, All-clement.
Thereafter women are not lawful to thee, neither for thee to take other wives in exchange for them, though their beauty please thee, except what thy right hand owns; God is watchful over everything.
O believers, enter not the houses of the Prophet, except leave is given you for a meal, without watching for its hour. But when you are invited, then enter; and when you have had the meal, disperse, neither lingering for idle talk; that is hurtful to the Prophet, and he is ashamed before you; but God is not ashamed before the truth. And when you ask his wives for any object, ask them from behind a curtain; that is cleaner for your hearts and theirs. It is not for you to hurt God's Messenger, neither to marry his wives after him, ever; surely that would be, in God's sight, a monstrous thing. Whether you reveal anything, or whether you conceal it, surely God has knowledge of everything.
33:55 There is no fault in the Prophet's wives touching their fathers, their sons, their brothers, their brothers' sons, their sisters' sons, their women, and what their right hands own. And fear you God; surely God is witness of everything.
God and His angels bless the Prophet. O believers, do you also bless him, and pray him peace. Those who hurt God and His Messenger -- them God has cursed in the present world and the world to come, and has prepared for them a humbling chastisement. And those who hurt believing men and believing women, without that they have earned it, have laid upon themselves calumny and manifest sin.
O Prophet, say to thy wives and daughters and the believing women, that they draw their veils close to them; so it is likelier they will be known, and not hurt. God is All-forgiving, All-compassionate.
33:60 Now; if the hypocrites do not give over, and those in whose hearts there is sickness and they that make commotion in the city, We shall assuredly urge thee against them and then they will be thy neighbours there only a little; cursed they shalt be, and wheresoever they are come upon they shall be seized and slaughtered all -- God's wont with those who passed away before; and thou shall find no changing the wont of God.
The people will question thee concerning the Hour. Say: 'The knowledge of it is only with God; what shall make thee know? Haply the Hour is nigh.'
God has cursed the unbelievers, and prepared for them a Blaze,
33:65 therein to dwell for ever; they shall find neither protector nor helper.
Upon the day when their faces are turned about in the Fire they shall say, 'Ah, would we had obeyed God and the Messenger!
They shall say, 'Our Lord, we obeyed our chiefs and great ones, and they led us astray from the way. Our Lord, give them chastisement twofold, and curse them with a mighty curse!'
O believers, be not as those who hurt Moses, but God declared him quit of what they said, and he was high honoured with God.
33:70 O believers, fear God, and speak words hitting the mark, and He will set right your deeds for you and will forgive you your sins. Whosoever obeys God and His Messenger has won a mighty triumph.
We offered the trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, but they refused to carry it and were afraid of it; and man carried it. Surely he is sinful, very foolish.
That God may chastise the hypocrites, men and women alike, and the idolaters, men and women alike; and that God may turn again unto the believers, men and women alike. God is All-forgiving, All-compassionate.
XXXIV SHEBA

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
34:1 Praise belongs to God to whom belongs whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth. To Him belongs praise also in the Hereafter; He is the All-wise, the All-aware.
He knows what penetrates into the earth, and what comes forth from it, what comes down from heaven, and what goes up to it; He is the All-compassionate, the All-forgiving.
The unbelievers say, 'The Hour will never come to us.' Say: 'Yes indeed, by my Lord, it shall come to you, by Him who knows the Unseen; not so much as the weight of an ant in heaven and earth escapes from Him, neither is aught smaller than that, or greater, but it is in a Manifest Book; that He may recompense those who believe, and do righteous deeds; theirs shall be forgiveness and generous provision.
34:5 'And those who strive against Our signs to void them -- theirs shall be a chastisement of painful wrath.'
Those who have been given the knowledge see that what has been sent down to thee from thy Lord is the truth, and guides to the path of the All-mighty, the All-laudable.
The unbelievers say, 'Shall we point you to a man who will tell you, when you have been utterly torn to pieces, then you shall be in a new creation?'
What, has he forged against God a lie, or is he possessed? Not so; but those who believe not in the Hereafter are in chastisement and far error.
Have they not regarded what lies before them and what lies behind them of heaven and earth? Did We will, We would make the earth to swallow them, or We would drop down on them lumps from heaven. Surely in that is a sign to every penitent servant.
34:10 And We gave David bounty from Us: 'O you mountains, echo God's praises with him, and you birds!' And We softened for him iron: 'Fashion wide coats of mail, and measure well the links. ' -- And do ye righteousness, for surely I see the things you do.
And to Solomon the wind; its morning course was a month's journey, and its evening course was a month's journey. And We made the Fount of Molten Brass to flow for him. And of the jinn, some worked before him by the leave of his Lord; and such of them as swerved away from Our commandment, We would let them taste the chastisement of the Blaze; fashioning for him whatsoever he would -- places of worship, statues, porringers like water-troughs, and anchored cooking-pots. 'Labour, O House of David, in thankfulness; for few indeed are those that are thankful among My servants.'
And when We decreed that he should die, naught indicated to them that he was dead but the Beast of the Earth devouring his staff; and when he fell down, the jinn saw clearly that, had they only known the Unseen, they would not have continued in the humbling chastisement.
For Sheba also there was a sign in their dwelling-place -- two gardens, one on the right and one on the left: 'Eat of your Lord's provision, and give thanks to Him; a good land, and a Lord All-forgiving.'
34:15 But they turned away; so We loosed on them the Flood of Arim, and We gave them, in exchange for their two gardens, two gardens bearing bitter produce and tamarisk-bushes, and here and there a few lote-trees.
Thus We recompensed them for their unbelief; and do 'We ever recompense any but the unbeliever? And We set, between them and the cities that We have blessed, cities apparent and well We measured the journey between them: 'Journey among them by night and day in security!'
But they said, 'Our Lord, prolong the stages of our travel'; and they wronged themselves, so We made them as but tales, and We tore them utterly to pieces. Surely in that are signs for every man enduring, thankful.
Iblis proved true his opinion of them, and they followed him, except a party of the believers.
34:20 Yet he had no authority over them, but that We might know him who believed in the Hereafter from him who was in doubt thereof Thy Lord is Guardian over everything.
Say: 'Call on those you have asserted apart from God; they possess not so much as the weight of an ant in the heavens nor in the earth; they have no partnership in either of them, nor has He in them any supporter.' Intercession will not avail with Him save for him to whom He gives leave; till, when terror is lifted from their hearts, they will say, "What said your Lord?' They will say, 'The truth; and He is the All-high; the All-great.'
Say: 'Who provides for you out of the heavens and the earth?' Say: 'God.' Surely, either we or you are upon right guidance, or in manifest error.
Say: 'You will not be questioned concerning our sins, neither shall we be questioned as to what you do.'
34:25 Say: 'Our Lord will bring us together, then make deliverance between us by the truth. He is the Deliverer, the All-knowing.'
Say: 'Show me those you have joined to Him as associates. No indeed; rather He is God, the All-mighty, the All-wise.'
We have sent thee not, except to mankind entire, good tidings to bear, and warning; but most men do not know it. They say, 'When shall this promise come to pass, if you speak the truth?'
Say: 'You have the tryst of a day that you shall not put back by a single hour nor put it forward.'
34:30 The unbelievers say, 'We will not believe in this Koran, nor in that before it.'
Ah, if thou couldst see when the evildoers are stationed before their Lord, bandying argument the one against the other! Those that were abased will say to those that waxed proud, 'Had it not been for you, we would have been believers. Those that waxed proud will say to those that were abased, 'What, did we bar you from the guidance after it came to you? Nay, rather you were sinners.' And those that were abased will say to those that waxed proud,
'Nay, but devising night and day, when you were ordering us to disbelieve in God, and to set up compeers to Him.' They will be secretly remorseful when they see the chastisement and We put fetters on the necks of the unbelievers; shall they be recompensed except for what they were doing?
We sent no warner into any city except its men who lived at ease said, 'We disbelieve in the Message you have been sent with.' They also said, 'We are more abundant in wealth and children, and we shall not be chastised.'
34:35 Say: 'My Lord outspreads and straitens His provision to whomsoever He will, but most men do not know it.'
It is not your wealth nor your children that shall bring you nigh in nearness to Us, except for him who believes, and does righteousness; those -- there awaits them the double recompense for that they did, and they shall be in the lofty chambers in security.
And those who strive against Our signs to void them -- those shall be arraigned into the chastisement.
Say: 'My Lord outspreads and straitens His provision to whomsoever He will of His servants; and whatever thing you shall expend, He will replace it. He is the best of providers.'
Upon the day when He shall muster them all together, then He shall say to the angels, 'Was it you these were serving?'
34:40 They shall say, 'Glory be to Thee! Thou art our Protector, apart from them; nay rather, they were serving the jinn; most of them believed in them.' 'Therefore today none of you shall have power to profit or hurt another.' And We shall say to the evildoers, 'Taste the chastisement of the Fire, which you cried lies to!'
And when Our signs are recited to them, clear signs, they say, 'This is naught but a man who desires to bar you from that your fathers served'; and they say, 'This is nothing but a forged calumny.' And the unbelievers say to the truth, when it has come to them, 'This is nothing but manifest sorcery. We have not given them any Books to study, nor have We sent them before thee any warner. Those that were before them also cried lies, yet they reached not a tenth of what We gave them; they cried lies to My Messengers, and how was My horror!
34:45 Say: 'I give you but one admonition, that you stand unto God, two by two and one by one, and then reflect: no madness is in your comrade. He is naught but a warner unto you, before a terrible chastisement.' Say: 'I have asked no wage of you; that shall be yours. My wage falls only upon God; and He is witness over everything.'
Say: 'My Lord hurls the truth -- the Knower of the Unseen.'
Say. 'Truth has come; falsehood originates not, nor brings again.'
Say: 'If I go astray, I go astray only to my own loss; if I am guided, it is by what my Lord reveals to me. He is All-hearing, Ever-nigh.'
34:50 Ah, if thou couldst see when they are terrified, and there is no escape, and they are seized from a place near at hand, and they say, 'We believe in it'; but how can they reach from a place far away, seeing they disbelieved in it before, guessing at the Unseen from a place far away? And a barrier is set between them and that they desire, as was done with the likes of them aforetime; they were in doubt disquieting.
XXXV THE ANGELS

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
35:1 Praise belongs to God, Originator of the heavens and earth, who appointed the angels to be messengers having wings two, three and four, increasing creation as He wills. Surely God is powerful over everything. Whatsoever mercy God opens to men, none can withhold and whatsoever He withholds, none can loose after Him. He is the All-mighty, the All-wise.
O men, remember God's blessing upon you; is there any creator, apart from God, who provides for you out of heaven and earth? There is no god but He: how then are you perverted?
If they cry lies to thee, Messengers before thee were cried lies to; and unto God all matters are returned.
35:5 O men, God's promise is true; so let not the present life delude you, and let not the Deluder delude you concerning God. Surely Satan is an enemy to you; so take him for an enemy. He calls his party only that they may be among the inhabitants of the Blaze.
Those who disbelieve -- there awaits them a terrible chastisement; but those who believe, and do deeds of righteousness -- theirs shall be forgiveness and a great wage.
And what of him, the evil of whose deeds has been decked out fair to him, so that he thinks it is good? God leads astray whomsoever He will, and whomsoever He will He guides; so let not thy soul be wasted in regrets for them; God has knowledge of the things they work.
35:10 God is He that looses the winds, that stir up cloud, then We drive it to a dead land and therewith revive the earth, after it is dead. Even so is the Uprising.
Whosoever desires glory, the glory altogether belongs to God. To Him good words go up, and the righteous deed -- He uplifts it; but those who devise evil deeds -- theirs shall be a terrible chastisement, and their devising shall come to naught.
God created you of dust then of a sperm-drop, then He made you pairs. No female bears or brings forth, save with His knowledge; and none is given long life who is given long life neither is any diminished in his life, but it is in a Book. Surely that is easy for God.
Not equal are the two seas; this is sweet, grateful to taste, delicious to drink, and that is salt, bitter to the tongue. Yet of both you eat fresh flesh, and bring forth out of it ornaments for you to wear; and thou mayest see the ships cleaving through it, that you may seek of His bounty, and so haply you will be thankful. He makes the night to enter into the day and makes the day to enter into the night, and He has subjected the sun and the moon, each of them running to a stated term.
That is God, your Lord; to Him belongs the Kingdom; and those you call upon, apart from Him, possess not so much as the skin of a date-stone.
35:15 If you call upon them, they will not hear your prayer, and if they heard, they would not answer you; and on the Day of Resurrection they will disown your partnership. None can tell thee like One who is aware.
O men, you are the ones that have need of God; He is the All-sufficient, the All-laudable. If He will, He can put you away and bring a new creation; that is surely no great matter for God.
No soul laden bears the load of another; and if one heavy-burdened calls for its load to be carried, not a thing of it will be carried, though he be a near kinsman. Thou warnest only those who fear their Lord in the Unseen and perform the prayer; and whosoever purifies himself, purifies himself only for his own soul's good. To God is the homecoming.
35:20 Not equal are the blind and the seeing man, the shadows and the light, the shade and the torrid heat; not equal are the living and the dead. God makes to hear whomsoever He will; thou canst not make those in their tombs to hear -- thou art naught but a warner.
Surely We have sent thee with the truth good tidings to bear, and warning; not a nation there is, but there has passed away in it a warner. If they cry thee lies, those before them also cried lies; their Messengers came to them with the clear signs, the Psalms, the Illuminating Book; then I seized the unbelievers, and how was My horror!
35:25 Hast thou not seen how that God sends down out of heaven water, and therewith We bring forth fruits of diverse hues? And in the mountains are streaks white and red, of diverse hues, and pitchy black; men too, and beasts and cattle -- diverse are their hues. Even so only those of His servants fear God who have knowledge; surely God is All-mighty, All-forgiving.
Surely those who recite the Book of God and perform the prayer, and expend of that We have provided them, secretly and in public, look for a commerce that comes not to naught, that He may pay them in full their wages and enrich them of His bounty; surely He is All-forgiving, All-thankful.
And that We have revealed to thee of the Book is the truth, confirming what is before it; God is aware of and sees His servants.
Then We bequeathed the Book on those of Our servants We chose; but of them some wrong themselves, some of them are lukewarm, and some are outstrippers in good works by the leave of God; that is the great bounty.
35:30 Gardens of Eden they shall enter; therein they shall be adorned with bracelets of gold and with pearls, and their apparel there shall be of silk.
And they shall say, 'Praise belongs to God who has put away all sorrow from us. Surely our Lord is All-forgiving, All-thankful, who of His bounty has made us to dwell in the abode of everlasting life wherein no weariness assails us neither fatigue.'
As for the unbelievers, theirs shall be the fire of Gehenna; they shall neither be done with and die, nor shall its chastisement be lightened for them. Even so We recompense every ungrateful one.
Therein they shall shout, 'Our Lord, bring us forth, and we will do righteousness, other than what we have done.' 'What, did We not give you long life, enough to remember in for him who would remember? To you the warner came; so taste you now! The evildoers shall have no helper.'
35:35 God knows the Unseen in the heavens and the earth; He knows the thoughts within the breasts. It is He who appointed you viceroys in the earth. So whosoever disbelieves, his unbelief shall be charged against him; their unbelief increases the disbelievers only in hate in God's sight; their unbelief increases the disbelievers only in loss.
Say: 'Have you considered your associates on whom you call, apart from God? Show me what they have created in the earth; or have they a partnership in the heavens?' Or have We given them a Book, so that they are upon a clear sign from it? Nay, but the evildoers promise one another naught but delusion.
God holds the heavens and the earth, lest they remove; did they remove, none would hold them after Him. Surely He is All-clement, All-forgiving.
35:40 They have sworn by God the most earnest oaths that if a warner came to them, they would be more rightly guided than any one of the nations; but when a warner came to them, it increased them only in aversion, waxing proud in the land, and devising evil; but evil devising encompasses only those who do it; So do they expect anything but the wont of the ancients? And thou shalt never find any changing the Wont of God, and thou shalt never find any altering the wont of God.
What, have they not journeyed in the land and beheld how was the end of those before them? They were stronger than themselves in might; but God -- there is naught in the heavens or the earth that can frustrate Him. Surely He is All-knowing, All-powerful.
If God should take men to task for what they have earned He would not leave upon the face of the earth one creature that crawls; but He is deferring them to a stated term. But when their term is come -- surely God sees His servants.
XXXVI YA SIN

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
36:1 Ya Sin
By the Wise Koran, thou art truly among the Envoys on a straight path; the sending down of the All-mighty, the All-wise, that thou mayest warn a people whose fathers were never warned, so they are heedless. The Word has been realised against most of them, yet they do not believe.
Surely We have put on their necks fetters up to the chin, so their heads are raised; and We have put before them a barrier and behind them a barrier; and We have covered them, so they do not see.
Alike it is to them whether thou hast warned them or thou hast not warned them, they do not believe.
36:10 Thou only warnest him who follows the Remembrance and who fears the All-merciful in the Unseen; so give him the good tidings of forgiveness and a generous wage. Surely it is We who bring the dead to life and write down what they have forwarded and what they have left behind; everything We have numbered in a clear register.
Strike for them a similitude -- the inhabitants of the city, when the Envoys came to it; when We sent unto them two men, but they cried them lies, so We sent a third as reinforcement. They said, 'We are assuredly Envoys unto you. They said, 'You are naught but mortals like us; the All-merciful has not sent down anything. You are speaking only lies.'
36:15 They said, 'Our Lord knows we are Envoys unto you; and it is only for us to deliver the Manifest Message.'
They said, 'We augur ill of you. If you give not over, we will stone you and there shall visit you from us a painful chastisement.'
They said, 'Your augury is with you; if you are reminded? But you are a prodigal people.'
Then came a man from the furthest part of the city, running; he said, 'My people, follow the Envoys!
36:20 Follow such as ask no wage of you, that are right-guided. And why should I not serve Him who originated me, and unto whom you shall be returned?
What, shall I take, apart from Him, gods whose intercession, if the All-merciful desires affliction for me, shall not avail me anything, and who will never deliver me? Surely in that case I should be in manifest error. Behold, I believe in your Lord; therefore hear me!'
36:25 It was said, 'Enter Paradise!' He said, 'Ah, would that my people had knowledge that my Lord has forgiven me and that He has placed me among the honoured.'
And We sent not down upon his people, after him, any host out of heaven; neither would We send any down. It was only one Cry and lo, they were silent and still. Ah, woe for those servants! Never comes unto them a Messenger, but they mock at him.
36:30 What, have they not seen how many generations We have destroyed before them, and that it is not unto them that they return? They shall every one of them be arraigned before Us.
And a sign for them is the dead land, that We quickened and brought forth from it grain, whereof they eat; and We made therein gardens of palms and vines, and therein We caused fountains to gush forth, that they might eat of its fruits and their hands' labour.
36:35 What, will they not be thankful? Glory be to Him, who created all the pairs of what the earth produces, and of themselves, and of what they know not.
And a sign for them is the night; We strip it of the day and lo, they are in darkness. And the sun -- it runs to a fixed resting-place; that is the ordaining of the All-mighty, the All-knowing. And the moon -- We have determined it by stations, till it returns like an aged palm-bough.
36:40 It behoves not the sun to overtake the moon, neither does the night outstrip the day, each swimming in a sky. And a sign for them is that We carried their seed in the laden ship, and We have created for them the like of it whereon they ride; and if We will, We drown them, then none have they to cry to, neither are they delivered, save as a mercy from Us, and enjoyment for a while.
36:45 And when it is said to them, 'Fear what is before you and what is behind you; haply you will find mercy' -- yet never any sign of the signs of their Lord comes to them, but they are turning away from it. And when it is said to them, 'Expend of that God has provided you,' the unbelievers say to the believers, 'What, shall we feed such a one whom, if God willed, He would feed? You are only in manifest error!'
They also say, 'When shall this promise come to pass, if you speak truly?' They are awaiting only for one Cry to seize them while they are yet disputing,
36:50 then they will not be able to make any testament, nor will they return to their people. And the Trumpet shall be blown; then behold, they are sliding down from their tombs unto their Lord. They say, 'Alas for us! Who roused us out of our sleeping place? This is what the All-merciful promised, and the Envoys spoke truly.'
'It was only one Cry; then behold, they are all arraigned before Us. So today no soul shall be wronged anything, and you shall not be recompensed, except according to what you have been doing.
36:55 See, the inhabitants of Paradise today are busy in their rejoicing, they and -- their spouses, reclining upon couches in the shade; therein they have fruits, and they have all that they call for.
'Peace!' -- such is the greeting, from a Lord All-compassionate. 'Now keep yourselves apart, you sinners, upon this day!
36:60 Made I not covenant with you, Children of Adam, that you should not serve Satan -- surely he is a manifest foe to you -- and that you should serve Me? This is a straight path. He led astray many a throng of you; did you not understand? This is Gehenna, then, the same that you were promised; roast well in it today, for that you were unbelievers!'
36:65 Today We set a seal on their mouths, and their hands speak to Us, and their feet bear witness as to what they have been earning.
Did We will, We would have obliterated their eyes, then they would race to the path, but how would they see?
Did We will, We would have changed them where they were, then they could not go on, nor could they return.
And to whomsoever We give long life, We bend him over in His constitution; what, do they not understand?
We have not taught him poetry; it is not seemly for him. It is only a Remembrance and a Clear Koran, that he may warn whosoever is living, and that the Word may be realized against the unbelievers.
36:70 Have they not seen how that We have created for them of that Our hands wrought cattle that they own? We have subdued them to them, and some of them they ride, and some they eat; other uses also they have in them, and beverages.
What, will they not be thankful? Yet they have taken, apart from God, gods; haply they might be helped.
36:75 They cannot help them, though they be hosts made ready for them. So do not let their saying grieve thee; assuredly We know what they keep secret and what they publish.
Has not man regarded how that We created him of a sperm-drop? Then lo, he is a manifest adversary. And he has struck for Us a similitude and forgotten his creation; he says, 'Who shall quicken the bones when they are decayed?'
36:80 Say: 'He shall quicken them, who originated them the first time; He knows all creation, who has made for you out of the green tree fire and lo, from it you kindle.' Is not He, who created the heavens and earth, able to create the like of them? Yes indeed; He is the All-creator, the All-knowing.
His command, when He desires a thing, is to say to it 'Be,' and it is. So glory be to Him, in whose hand is the dominion of everything, and unto whom you shall be returned.
XXXVII THE RANGERS

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
37:1 By the rangers ranging and the scarers scaring and the reciters of a Remembrance, surely your God is One,
37:5 Lord of the heavens and the earth, and of what between them is Lord of the Easts.
We have adorned the lower heaven with the adornment of the stars and to preserve against every rebel Satan; they listen not to the High Council, for they are pelted from every side, rejected, and theirs is an everlasting chastisement,
37:10 except such as snatches a fragment, and he is pursued by a piercing flame.
So ask them for a pronouncement -- Are they stronger in constitution, or those We created? We created them of clinging clay. Nay, thou marvellest; and they scoff and, when reminded, do not remember and, when they see a sign, would scoff;
37:15 and they say, 'This is nothing but manifest sorcery. What, when we are dead and become dust and bones, shall we indeed be raised up? What, and our fathers, the ancients?' Say: 'Yes, and in all lowliness.'
For it is only a single scaring, then behold, they are watching
37:20 and they say, 'Woe, alas for us! This is the Day of Doom.' 'This is the Day of Decision, even that you cried lies to. Muster those who did evil, their wives, and that they were serving, apart from God, and guide them unto the path of Hell!
37:25 And halt them, to be questioned: "Why help you not one another?"
No indeed; but today they resign themselves in submission and advance one upon another, asking each other questions. These say, 'Why, you of old would come to us from the right hand.'
Those say, 'No; on the contrary, you were not believers; we had no authority over you; no, you were an insolent people.
37:30 So our Lord's Word is realised against us; we are tasting it. Therefore we perverted you, and we ourselves were perverts.'
So all of them on that day are sharers in the chastisement. Even so We do with the sinners; for when it was said to them, 'There is no god but God,' they were ever waxing proud,
37:35 saying, 'What, shall we forsake our gods for a poet possessed?'
'No indeed; but he brought the truth, and confirmed the Envoys. Now certainly you shall be tasting the painful chastisement, and not be recompensed, except according to what you were doing.' Except for God's sincere servants;
37:40 for them awaits a known provision, fruits -- and they high-honoured in the Gardens of Bliss upon couches, set face to face, a cup from a spring being passed round to them,
45 white, a delight to the drinkers, wherein no sickness is, neither intoxication; and with them wide-eyed maidens restraining their glances as if they were hidden pearls.
They advance one upon another, asking each other questions. One of them says, 'I had a comrade
37:50 who would say, "Are you a confirmer? What, when we are dead and become dust and bones, shall we indeed be requited?"
He says, 'Are you looking down?' Then he looks, and sees him in the midst of Hell. He says, 'By God, wellnigh thou didst destroy me;
37:55 But for my Lord's blessing, I were one of the arraigned. What, do we then not die except for our first death, and are we not chastised? This is indeed the mighty triumph, for the like of this let the workers work.'
37:60 Is that better as a hospitality, or the Tree of Ez-Zakkoum? We have appointed it as a trial for the evildoers. It is a tree that comes forth in the root of Hell; its spathes are as the heads of Satans, and they eat of it, and of it fill their bellies,
37:65 then on top of it they have a brew of boiling water, then their return is unto Hell. They found their fathers erring, and they run in their footsteps. Before them erred most of the ancients,
37:70 and We sent among them warners; and behold, how was the end of them that were warned, except for God's sincere servants.
Noah called to Us; and how excellent were the Answerers! And We delivered him and his people from the great distress,
37:75 and We made his seed the survivors,
and left for him among the later folk
'Peace be upon Noah among all beings!'
Even so We recompense the good-doers;
he was among Our believing servants.
37:80 Then afterwards We drowned the rest. Of his party was also Abraham; when he came unto his Lord with a pure heart, when he said to his father and his folk, 'What do you serve? Is it a calumny, gods apart from God, that you desire?
37:85 What think you then of the Lord of all Being?' And he cast a glance at the stars, and he said, 'Surely I am sick.' But they went away from him, turning their backs. Then he turned to their gods, and said, 'What do you eat?
37:90 'What ails you, that you speak not?' And he turned upon them smiting them with his right hand. Then came the others to him hastening. He said, 'Do you serve what you hew, and God created you and what you make?'
37:95 They said, 'Build him a building, and cast him into the furnace!' They desired to outwit him; so We made them the lower ones. He said, 'I am going to my Lord; He will guide me. My Lord, give me one of the righteous.' Then We gave him the good tidings of a prudent boy;
37:100 and when he had reached the age of running with him, he said, 'My son, I see in a dream that I shall sacrifice thee; consider, what thinkest thou?'
He said, 'My father, do as thou art bidden; thou shalt find me, God willing, one of the steadfast.' When they had surrendered, and he flung him upon his brow, We called unto him, 'Abraham,
37:105 thou hast confirmed the vision; even so We recompense the good-doers. This is indeed the manifest trial.' And We ransomed him with a mighty sacrifice, and left for him among the later folk 'Peace be upon Abraham!'
37:110 Even so We recompense the good-doers; he was among Our believing servants. Then We gave him the good tidings of Isaac, a Prophet, one of the righteous. And We blessed him, and Isaac; and of their seed some are good-doers, and some manifest self-wrongers.
37:115 We also favoured Moses and Aaron, and We delivered them and their people from the great distress. And We helped them, so that they were the victors; and We gave them the Manifesting Book, and guided them in the straight path, and left for them among the later folk
37:120 'Peace be upon Moses and, Aaron!' Even so We recompense the good-doers; they were among Our believing servants.
Elias too was one of the Envoys; when he said to his people, 'Will you not be godfearing?
37:125 'Do you call on Baal, and abandon the Best of creators? God, your Lord, and the Lord of your fathers, the ancients?' But they cried him lies; so they will be among the arraigned, except for God's sincere servants; and We left for him among the later folk
37:130 'Peace be upon Elias!' Even so We recompense the good-doers; he was among Our believing servants.
Lot too was one of the Envoys; when We delivered him and his people all together,
37:135 save an old woman among those that tarried; then We destroyed the others, and you pass by them in the morning and in the night; will you not understand?
37:140 Jonah too was one of the Envoys; when he ran away to the laden ship and cast lots, and was of the rebutted, then the whale swallowed him down, and he blameworthy. Now had he not been of those that glorify God, he would have tarried in its belly until the day they shall be raised;
37:145 but We cast him upon the wilderness, and he was sick, and We caused to grow over him a tree of gourds. Then We sent him unto a hundred thousand, or more, and they believed; so We gave them enjoyment for a while.
So ask them for a pronouncement --
Has thy Lord daughters, and they sons?
37:150 Or did We create the angels females, while they were witnesses? Is it not of their own calumny that they say, 'God has begotten?' They are truly liars. Has He chosen daughters above sons? What ails you then, how you judge?
37:155 What, and will you not remember? Or have you a clear authority? Bring your Book, if you speak truly!
They have set up a kinship between Him and the jinn; and the jinn know that they shall be arraigned. Glory be to God above that they describe,
37:160 except for God's sincere servants. But as for you, and that you serve, you shall not tempt any against Him except him who shall roast in Hell. None of us is there, but has a known station;
37:165 we are the rangers, we are they that give glory.
What though they would say, 'If only we had had a Reminder from the ancients, then were we God's sincere servants.'
37:170 But they disbelieved in it; soon they shall know! Already Our Word has preceded to Our servants, the Envoys; assuredly they shall be helped, and Our host -- they are the victors. So turn thou from them for a while,
37:175 and see them; soon they shall see! What, do they seek to hasten Our chastisement? When it lights in their courtyard, how evil will be the morning of them that are warned!
So turn thou from them for a while, and see; soon they shall see!
37:180 Glory be to thy Lord, the Lord of Glory, above that they describe! And peace be upon the Envoys; and praise belongs to God, the Lord of all Being.
XXXVIII SAD

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
38:1 Sad
By the Koran, containing the Remembrance -- nay, but the unbelievers glory in their schism. How many a generation We destroyed before them, and they called, but time was none to escape.
Now they marvel that a warner has come to them from among them; and the unbelievers say, 'This is a lying sorcerer. What, has he made the gods One God? This is indeed a marvellous thing.'
38:5 And the Council of them depart, saying 'Go! Be steadfast to your gods; this is a thing to be desired. We have not heard of this in the last religion; this is surely an invention. What, has the Remembrance been sent down on him out of us all?' Nay, but they are in doubt of My Remembrance; nay, they have not yet tasted My chastisement.
Or have they the treasuries of thy Lord's mercy, the All-mighty, the All-giving? Or is theirs the kingdom of the heavens and earth and of what between them is? Why, then let them ascend the cords!
38:10 A very host of parties is routed there!
Cried lies before them the people of Noah, and Ad, and Pharaoh, he of the tent-pegs, and Thamood, and the people of Lot, and the men of the Thicket -- those were the parties; not one, that cried not lies to the Messengers, so My retribution was just. These are only awaiting for a single Cry, to which there is no delay.
38:15 They say, 'Our Lord, hasten to us our share before the Day of Reckoning.' Bear patiently what they say, and remember Our servant David, the man of might; he was a penitent. With him We subjected the mountains to give glory at evening and sunrise, and the birds, duly mustered, every one to him reverting; We strengthened his kingdom, and gave him wisdom and speech decisive.
38:20 Has the tiding of the dispute come to thee? When they scaled the Sanctuary, when they entered upon David, and he took fright at them; and they said, 'Fear not; two disputants we are -- one of us has injured the other; so judge between us justly, and transgress not, and guide us to the right path.'
'Behold, this my brother has ninety-nine ewes, and I have one ewe. So he said, "Give her into my charge"; and he overcame me in the argument.'
Said he, 'Assuredly he has wronged thee in asking for thy ewe in addition to his sheep; and indeed many intermixers do injury one against the other, save those who believe, and do deeds of righteousness -- and how few they are!' And David thought that We had only tried him; therefore he sought forgiveness of his Lord, and he fell down, bowing, and he repented. Accordingly We forgave him that, and he has a near place in Our presence and a fair resort.
38:25 'David, behold, We have appointed thee a viceroy in the earth; therefore judge between men justly, and follow not caprice, lest it lead thee astray from the way of God. Surely those who go astray from the way of God -- there awaits them a terrible chastisement, for that they have forgotten the Day of Reckoning.'
We have not created the heavens and earth, and what between them is, for vanity; such is the thought of the unbelievers, wherefore woe unto the unbelievers because of the Fire!
Or shall We make those who believe and do righteous deeds as the workers of corruption in the earth, or shall We make the godfearing as the transgressors?
A Book We have sent down to thee, Blessed, that men possessed of minds may ponder its signs and so remember.
And We gave unto David Solomon; how excellent a servant he was! He was a penitent.
38:30 When in the evening were presented to him the standing steeds, he said, 'Lo, I have loved the love of good things better than the remembrance of my Lord, until the sun was hidden behind the veil. Return them to me!' And he began to stroke their shanks and necks. Certainly We tried Solomon, and We cast upon his throne a mere body; then he repented. He said, 'My Lord, forgive me, and give me a kingdom such as may not befall anyone after me; surely Thou art the All-giver.'
38:35 So We subjected to him the wind, that ran at his commandment, softly, wherever he might light on, and the Satans, every builder and diver and others also, coupled in fetters: 'This is Our gift; bestow or withhold without reckoning.' And he had a near place in Our presence and a fair resort.
38:40 Remember also Our servant Job; when he called to his Lord, 'Behold, Satan has visited me with weariness and chastisement.' 'Stamp thy foot! This is a laving-place cool, and a drink.' And We gave to him his family, and the like of them with them, as a mercy from us, and a reminder unto men possessed of minds; and, 'Take in thy hand a bundle of rushes, and strike therewith, and do not fail in thy oath.' Surely We found him a steadfast man. How excellent a servant he was! He was a penitent.
38:45 Remember also Our servants Abraham, Isaac and Jacob -- men of might they and of vision. Assuredly We purified them with a quality most pure, the remembrance of the Abode, and in Our sight they are of the chosen, the excellent. Remember also Our servants Ishmael, Elisha, and Dhul Kifl; each is among the excellent.
38:50 This is a Remembrance; and for the godfearing is a fair resort, Gardens of Eden, whereof the gates are open to them, wherein they recline, and wherein they call for fruits abundant, and sweet potions, and with them maidens restraining their glances of equal age.
'This is what you were promised for the Day of Reckoning; this is Our provision, unto which there is no end.'
38:55 All this; but for the insolent awaits an ill resort, Gehenna, wherein they are roasted -- an evil cradling! All this; so let them taste it -- boiling water and pus, and other torments of the like kind coupled together.
'This is a troop rushing in with you; there is no welcome for them; they shall roast in the Fire.'
38:60 They say, 'No, it is you have no Welcome; you forwarded it for us; how evil a stablishment!'
They say, 'Our Lord, whoso forwarded this for us, give him a double chastisement in the Fire!'
They say, 'How is it with us, that we do not see men here that we counted among the wicked?
What, did we take them for a laughing-stock? Or have our eyes swerved away from them?'
Surely that is true -- the disputing of the inhabitants of the Fire.
38:65 Say: 'I am only a warner. There is not any god but God, the One, the Omnipotent, Lord of the heavens and earth, and of what between them is, the All-mighty, the All-forgiving.'
Say: 'It is a mighty tiding from which you are turning away. I had no knowledge of the High Council when they disputed.
38:70 This alone is revealed to me, that I am only a clear warner.'
When thy Lord said to the angels, 'See, I am creating a mortal of a clay. When I have shaped him, and breathed My spirit in him, fall you down, bowing before him!' Then the angels bowed themselves all together, save Iblis; he waxed proud, and was one of the unbelievers.
38:75 Said He, 'Iblis, what prevented thee to bow thyself before that I created with My own hands? Hast thou waxed proud, or art thou of the lofty ones?' Said he, 'I am better than he; Thou createdst me of fire, and him Thou createdst of clay.'
Said He, 'Then go thou forth hence; thou art accursed. Upon thee shall rest My curse, till the Day of Doom.'
38:80 Said he, 'My Lord, respite me till the day they shall be raised.'
Said He, 'Thou art among the ones that are respited until the day of the known time.' Said he, 'Now, by Thy glory, I shall pervert them all together, excepting those Thy servants among them that are sincere.'
38:85 Said He, 'This is the truth, and the truth I say; I shall assuredly fill Gehenna with thee, and with whosoever of them follows thee, all together.'
Say: 'I ask of you no wage for it, neither am I of those who take things upon themselves. It is nothing but a reminder unto all beings, and you shall surely know its tiding after a while.'
XXXIX THE COMPANIES

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
39:1 The sending down of the Book is from God the All-mighty, the All-wise.
We have sent down to thee the Book with the truth; so worship God, making thy religion His sincerely. Belongs not sincere religion to God? And those who take protectors, apart from Him -- 'We only serve them that they may bring us nigh in nearness to God' -- surely God shall judge between them touching that whereon they are at variance.
39:5 Surely God guides not him who is a liar, unthankful. Had God desired to take to Him a son, He would have chosen whatever He willed of that He has created. Glory be to Him! He is God, the One, the Omnipotent.
He created the heavens and the earth in truth, wrapping night about the day, and wrapping the day about the night; and He has subjected the sun and the moon, each of them running to a stated term. Is not He the All-mighty, the All-forgiving? He created you of a single soul, then from it He appointed its mate; and He sent down to you of the cattle eight couples. He creates you in your mothers' wombs creation after creation in threefold shadows.
That then is God, your Lord; to Him belongs the Kingdom; there is no god but He; so how are you turned about?
If you are unthankful, God is independent of you, yet He approves not unthankfulness in His servants; but if you are thankful, He will approve it in you. And no soul laden bears the load of another. Then to your Lord shall you return, and He will tell you what you have been doing.
39:10 He knows the thoughts within the breasts.
When some affliction visits a man, he calls upon his Lord, turning to him; then when He confers on him a blessing from Him he forgets that he was calling to before and sets up compeers to God, to lead astray from His way. Say: 'Enjoy thy unbelief a little; thou shalt be among the inhabitants of the Fire.' Or is he who is obedient in the watches of the night, bowing himself and standing, he being afraid of the world to come and hoping for the mercy of his Lord . . ?
Say: 'Are they equal -- those who know and those who know not?' Only men possessed of minds remember.
Say: 'My servants who believe, fear your Lord. For those who do good in this world (recieve ed.) good, and God's earth is wide. Surely the patient will be paid their wages in full without reckoning.'
Say: 'I have been commanded to serve God making my religion His sincerely; and I have been commanded to be the first of those that surrender.'
39:15 Say: 'Truly I fear, if I should rebel against my Lord, the chastisement of a dreadful day.' Say: 'God I serve, making my religion His sincerely; so serve what you will apart from Him.' Say: 'Surely the losers are they who lose themselves and their families on the Day of Resurrection; is not that the manifest loss? Above them they shall have overshadowings of the Fire, and underneath them overshadowings; that it is wherewith God frightens His servants: "O My servants, so fear you Me!"'
Those who eschew the serving of idols and turn penitent to God, for them is good tidings! So give thou good tidings to My servants who give ear to the Word and follow the fairest of it. Those are they whom God has guided; those -- they are men possessed of minds.
39:20 He against whom the word of chastisement is realized -- shalt thou deliver him out of the Fire?
But those who fear their Lord -- for them await lofty chambers, above which are built lofty chambers, underneath which rivers flow -- God's promise; God fails not the tryst.
Hast thou not seen how that God has sent down out of heaven water and threaded it as springs in the earth, then He brings forth therewith crops of diverse hues, then they wither, and thou seest them turning yellow, then He makes them broken orts? Surely in that is a reminder for men possessed of minds.
Is he whose breast God has expanded unto Islam, so he walks in a light from his Lord . . .? But woe to those whose hearts are hardened against the remembrance of God! Those are in manifest error.
God has sent down the fairest discourse as a Book, consimilar in its oft-repeated, whereat shiver the skins of those who fear their Lord; then their skins and their hearts soften to the remembrance of God. That is God's guidance, whereby. He guides whomsoever He will; and whomsoever God leads astray, no guide has he.
39:25 Is he who guards himself with his face against the evil of the chastisement on the Day of Resurrection . . .? And it is said to the evildoers, 'Taste now that you were earning!'
Those that were before them cried lies, then the chastisement came upon them from whence they were not aware; so God let them taste degradation in this present life; and the chastisement of the world to come is assuredly greater, did they but know.
Indeed We have struck for the people in this Koran every manner of similitude; haply they will remember; an Arabic Koran, wherein there is no crookedness; haply they will be godfearing.
God has struck a similitude -- a man in whom partners disagreeing share, and a man the property of one man. Are the two equal in likeness? Praise belongs to God! Nay, but most of them do not know.
Thou art mortal, and they are mortal; then on the Day of Resurrection before your Lord you shall dispute.
39:35 But who does greater evil than he who lies against God and cries lies to the very truth, when it comes to him? Is there not in Gehenna a lodging for the unbelievers? And he who has come with the very truth and confirms it, those they are the godfearing. They shall have whatsoever they will with their Lord; that is the recompense of the good-doers, that God may acquit them of the worst of what they did, and recompense them with the wages of the fairest of what they were doing. Shall not God suffice His servant, though they frighten thee with those apart from Him? And whomsoever God leads astray, no guide has he. But whomso God guides, none shall lead him astray; is not God All-mighty, All-vengeful?
39:40 If thou askest them, 'Who created the heavens and the earth?' they will say, 'God.' Say: 'What think you? That you call upon apart from God -- if God desires affliction for me, shall they remove His affliction? Or if He desires mercy for me, shall they withhold His mercy?' Say: 'God is enough for me; in Him all those put their trust who put their trust.' Say: 'My people, act according to your station; I am acting; and soon you will know to whom will come a chastisement degrading him, and upon whom lights a lasting chastisement.'
Surely We have sent down upon thee the Book for mankind with the truth. Whosoever is guided, is only guided to his own gain, and whosoever goes astray, it is only to his own loss; thou art not a guardian over them.
God takes the souls at the time of their death, and that which has not died, in its sleep; He withholds that against which He has decreed death, but looses the other till a stated term. Surely in that are signs for a people who reflect. Or have they taken intercessors apart from God?
Say: 'What, even though they have no power whatever and no understanding?'
39:45 Say: 'To God belongs intercession altogether.
His is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth;
then unto Him you will be returned.'
When God is mentioned alone, then shudder the hearts of those who believe not in the Hereafter, but when those apart from Him are mentioned behold, they rejoice. Say: 'O God, Thou originator of the heavens and the earth who knowest the Unseen and the Visible, Thou shalt judge between Thy servants touching that whereon they are at variance.'
If the evildoers possessed all that is in the earth, and the like of it with it, they would offer it to ransom themselves from the evil of the chastisement on the Day of Resurrection; yet there would appear to them from God that they never reckoned with, and there would appear to them the evils of that they have earned, and they would be encompassed by that they mocked at.
39:50 When some affliction visits a man, he calls unto Us; then, when We confer on him a blessing from Us, he says, 'I was given it only because of a knowledge.' Nay, it is a trial, but most of them do not know it.
So said those that were before them; but that they earned did not avail them, in that the evils of that they earned smote them. The evildoers of these men, they too shall be smitten by the evils -- of that they earned; they will not be able to frustrate it.
Do they know that God outspreads and straitens His provision to whomsoever He will? Surely in that are signs for a people who believe.
Say: 'O my people who have been prodigal against yourselves, do not despair of God's mercy; surely God forgives sins altogether; surely He is the All-forgiving, the All-compassionate.
39:55 Turn unto your Lord and surrender to Him, ere the chastisement comes upon you, then you will not be helped. And follow the fairest of what has been sent down to you from your Lord, ere the chastisement comes upon you suddenly while you are unaware. Lest any soul should say, 'Alas for me, in that I neglected my duty to God, and was a scoffer,' or lest it should say, 'If only God had guided me, I should have been or lest among the godfearing,' it should say, when it sees the chastisement, 'O that I might return again, and be among the good-doers.'
39:60 'Yes indeed! My signs did come to thee, but thou hast cried them lies, and thou hast waxed proud, and become one of the unbelievers.'
And upon the Day of Resurrection thou shalt see those who lied against God, their faces blackened; is there not in Gehenna a lodging for those that are proud?
But God shall deliver those that were godfearing in their security; evil shall not visit them, neither shall they sorrow.
God is the Creator of every thing; He is Guardian over every thing; unto Him belong the keys of the heavens and the earth. And those who disbelieve in the signs of God, those they are the losers.
39:65 Say: 'Is it other than God you bid me serve, you ignorant ones?' It has been revealed to thee, and to those before thee, 'If thou associatest other gods with God, thy work shall surely fail and thou wilt be among the losers.'
Nay, but God do thou serve; and be thou among the thankful.
They measure not God with His true measure. The earth altogether shall be His handful on the Day of Resurrection, and the heavens shall be rolled up in His right hand. Glory be to Him! High be He exalted above that they associate!
For the Trumpet shall be blown, and whosoever is in the heavens and whosoever is in the earth shall swoon, save whom God wills. Then it shall be blown again, and lo, they shall stand, beholding.
And the earth shall shine with the light of its Lord, and the Book shall be set in place, and the Prophets and witnesses shall be brought, and justly the issue be decided between them, and they not wronged.
39:70 Every soul shall be paid in full for what it has wrought; and He knows very well what they do. Then the unbelievers shall be driven in companies into Gehenna till, when they have come thither, then its gates will be opened and its keepers will say to them, 'Did not Messengers come to you from among yourselves, reciting to you the signs of your Lord and warning you against the encounter of this your day?' They shall say, 'Yes indeed; but the word of the chastisement has been realized against the unbelievers.'
It shall be said, 'Enter the gates of Gehenna, to dwell therein forever.' How evil is the lodging of those that are proud! Then those that feared their Lord shall be driven in companies into Paradise, till, when they have come thither, and its gates are opened, and its keepers will say to them, 'Peace be upon you! Well you have fared; enter in, to dwell forever.' And they shall say, 'Praise belongs to God, who has been true in His promise to us, and has bequeathed upon us the earth, for us to make our dwelling wheresoever we will in Paradise.' How excellent is the wage of those that labour!
39:75 And thou shalt see the angels encircling about the Throne proclaiming the praise of their Lord; and justly the issue shall be decided between them; and it shall be said, 'Praise belongs to God, the Lord of all Being.'
XL THE BELIEVERS

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
40:1 Ha Mim
The sending down of the Book is from God the All-mighty, the All-knowing, Forgiver of sins, Accepter of penitence, Terrible in retribution, the Bountiful; there is no god but He, and unto Him is the homecoming.
None but the unbelievers dispute concerning the signs of God; so let not their going to and fro in the land delude thee. The people of Noah before them also cried lies, and the parties after them; every nation purposed against their Messenger to seize him, and disputed with falsehood that they might rebut thereby the truth.
Then I seized them; and how was My retribution! Even so the Word of thy Lord was realised against the unbelievers, that they are the inhabitants of the Fire.
Those who bear the Throne, and those round about it proclaim the praise of their Lord, and believe in Him, and they ask forgiveness for those who believe: 'Our Lord, Thou embracest every thing in mercy and knowledge; therefore forgive those who have repented, and follow Thy way, and guard them against the chastisement of Hell.
Our Lord, and admit them to the Gardens of Eden that Thou hast promised them and those who were righteous of their fathers, and their wives, and their seed; surely Thou art the All-mighty, the All-wise.
And guard them against evil deeds; whomsoever Thou guardest against evil deeds on that day, on him Thou hast had mercy; and that is indeed the mighty triumph.
40:10 It shall be proclaimed to the unbelievers, 'Surely God's hatred is greater than your hatred one of another, when you were called unto belief, and disbelieved.' They shall say, 'Our Lord, Thou hast caused us to die two deaths and Thou hast given us twice to live; now we confess our sins. Is there any way to go forth?'
That is because, when God was called to alone, you disbelieved; but if others are associated with Him, then you believe. Judgment belongs to God, the All-high, the All-great.
It is He who shows you His signs and sends down to you out of heaven provision; yet none remembers but he who repents. So call unto God, making your religion His sincerely, though the unbelievers be averse.
40:15 Exalter of ranks is He, Possessor of the Throne, casting the Spirit of His bidding upon whomever He will of His servants, that he may warn them of the Day of Encounter, the day they sally forth, and naught of theirs is hidden from God.
'Whose is' the Kingdom today?' 'God's, the One, the Omnipotent. Today each soul shall be recompensed for that it has earned; no wrong today.
Surely God is swift at the reckoning.'
And warn them against the Day of the Imminent when, choking with anguish, the hearts are in the throats and the evildoers have not one loyal friend, no intercessor to be heeded.
40:20 He knows the treachery of the eyes and what the breasts conceal.
God shall decide justly, and those they call on, apart from Him, shall not decide by any means. surely God is the All-hearing, the All-seeing.
What, have they not journeyed in the land and beheld how was the end of those before them? They were stronger than themselves in might and left firmer traces in the earth; yet God seized them in their sins, and they had none to defend them from God.
That was because their Messengers came to them with the clear signs; but they disbelieved, so God seized them. Surely He is All-strong, terrible in retribution.
40:25 We also sent Moses with Our signs and a clear authority, to Pharaoh, Haman and Korah; they said, 'A lying sorcerer!'
And when he brought them the truth from Us, they said, 'Slay the sons of those who believe with him, and spare their women.' But the guile of the unbelievers is ever in error.
And Pharaoh said, 'Let me slay Moses, and let him call to his Lord. I fear that he may change, your religion, or that he may cause corruption to appear in the land.'
And Moses said, 'I take refuge in my Lord and your Lord from every man who is proud, and believes not in the Day of Reckoning.' Then said a certain man, a believer 'of Pharaoh's folk that kept hidden his belief, 'What, will you slay a man because he says, "My Lord is God," yet he has brought you the clear signs from your Lord? If he is a liar, his lying is upon his own head; but if he is truthful, somewhat of that he promises you will smite you. Surely God guides not him who is prodigal and a liar.
40:30 O my people, today the kingdom is yours, who are masters in the land. But who will help us, against the might of God, if it comes upon us?'
Said Pharaoh, 'I only let you see what I see; I only guide you in the way of rectitude.' Then said he who believed, 'My people, truly I fear for you the like of the day of the parties, the like of the case of Noah's people, Ad, Thamood, and those after them; and God desires not wrong for His servants.' O my people, I fear for you the Day of Invocation, the day you turn about, retreating, having none to defend you from God; and whomsoever God leads astray, no guide has he.
Joseph brought you the clear signs before, yet you continued in doubt concerning that he brought you until, when he perished, you said, "God will never send forth a Messenger after him." Even, so God leads astray the prodigal and the doubter.'
(Those who dispute concerning the signs of God, without any authority come to them, very hateful is that in the sight of God and the believers; 'so God sets a seal on every heart proud', arrogant.)
Pharaoh said, 'Haman, build for me a tower, that haply so I may reach the cords, the cords of the heavens, and look upon Moses' God; for I think that he is a liar.'
40:40 So the evil of his deeds was decked out fair to Pharaoh, and he was barred from the way, and Pharaoh's guile came only to ruin.
Then said he who believed, 'My people, follow me, and I will guide you in the way of rectitude. O my people, surely this present life is but a passing enjoyment; surely the world to come is the abode of stability.
Whosoever does an evil deed shall be recompensed only with the like of it, but whosoever does a righteous deed, be it male or female, believing -- those shall enter Paradise, therein provided without reckoning.
O my people, how is it with me, that I call you to salvation, and you call me to the Fire?
40:45 You call me to disbelieve in God, and to associate with Him that whereof I have no knowledge, while I call you to the All-mighty, the All-forgiving.
No doubt that what you call me to has no call heard, in this world or in the world to come, that to God we return, and that the prodigal are the inhabitants of the Fire. You will remember what I say to you. I commit my affair to God; surely God sees His servants.'
So God guarded him against the evil things of their devising, and there encompassed the folk of Pharaoh the evil chastisement, the Fire, to which they shall be exposed morning and evening; and on the day when the Hour is come: 'Admit the folk of Pharaoh into the most terrible chastisement!'
40:50 And when they argue one with the other in the Fire, and the weak say unto those who waxed proud, 'Why, we were your followers; will you avail us now against any part of the Fire?' Then those who waxed proud shall say, 'Every one of us is in it; indeed, God already has passed judgment between His servants.'
And those who are in the Fire will say to the keepers of Gehenna, 'Call on your Lord, to lighten for us one day of the chastisement!'
They shall say, 'Did not your Messengers bring you the clear signs?'
They shall say, 'Yes indeed.' They shall say, 'Then do you call!' But the calling of the unbelievers is only in error.
40:55 Surely We shall help Our Messengers and those who have believed, in the present life, and upon the day when the witnesses arise, upon the day when their excuses shall not profit the evildoers, and theirs shall be the curse, and theirs the evil abode.
We also gave Moses the guidance, and We bequeathed upon the Children of Israel the Book for a guidance and for a reminder to men possessed of minds. So be thou patient; surely God's promise is true. And ask forgiveness for thy sin, and proclaim the praise of thy Lord at evening and dawn.
Those who dispute concerning the signs of God, without any authority come to them, in their breasts is only pride, that they shall never attain. So seek thou refuge in God; surely He is the All-hearing, the All-seeing.
Certainly the creation of the heavens and earth is greater than the creation of men; but most men know it not.
40:60 Not equal are the blind and the seeing man, those who believe and do deeds of righteousness, and the wrong-doer. Little do you reflect. The Hour is coming, no doubt of it, but most men do not believe.
Your Lord has said, 'Call upon Me and I will answer you. Surely those who wax too proud to do Me service shall enter Gehenna utterly abject.'
It is God who made for you the night, to repose in it, and the day, to see. Surely God is bountiful to men, but most men are not thankful. That then is God, your Lord, the Creator of everything; there is no god but He. How then are you perverted? Even so perverted are they who deny the signs of God.
40:65 It is God who made for you the earth a fixed place and heaven for an edifice; And He shaped you, and shaped you well, and provided you with the good things. That then is God, your Lord, so blessed be God, the Lord of all Being.
He is the Living One; there is no god but He. So call upon Him, making your religion His sincerely. Praise belongs to God, the Lord of all Being.
Say: 'I am forbidden to serve those you call on apart from God once the clear signs came to me from my Lord; and I am commanded to surrender to the Lord of All Being.'
It is He who created you of dust then of a sperm-drop, then of a blood-clot, then He delivers you as infants, then that you may come of age, then that you may be old men -- though some of you there are who die before it -- and that you may reach a stated term; haply you will understand.
40:70 It is He who gives life, and makes to die; and when He decrees a thing, He but says to it 'Be,' and it is.
Hast thou not regarded those who dispute concerning the signs of God, how they are turned about? Thost who cry lies to the Book and that wherewith We sent Our Messengers -- soon they will know!
When the fetters and chains are on their necks, and they are dragged into the boiling water, then into the Fire they are poured; then it is said to them, 'Where are those you associated, apart from God?' They shall say, 'They have gone astray from us; nay, but it was nothing at all that we called upon aforetime.'
Even so God leads astray the unbelievers.
40:75 'That is because you rejoiced in the earth without right, and were exultant. Enter the gates of Gehenna, to dwell therein forever.' How evil is the lodging of those that are proud!
So be thou patient; surely God's promise is true. Whether We show thee a part of that We promise them, or We call thee unto Us, to Us they shall be returned.
We sent Messengers before thee; of some We have related to thee, and some We have not related to thee. It was not for any Messenger to bring a sign, save by God's leave. When God's command comes, justly the issue shall be decided; then the vain-doers shall be lost.
40:80 It is God who appointed for you the cattle, some of them to ride and of some you eat; other uses also you have in them; and that on them you may attain a need in your breasts, and upon them and on the ships you are carried. And He shows you His signs; then which of God's signs do you reject?
What, have they not journeyed in the land and beheld how was the end of those before them? They were stronger than themselves in might and left firmer traces in the earth; yet that they earned did not avail them. So, when their Messengers brought them the clear signs, they rejoiced in what knowledge they had, and were encompassed by that they mocked at.
Then, when they saw Our might, they said, 'We believe in God alone, and we disbelieve in that we were associating with Him.'
40:85 But their belief when they saw Our might did not profit them -- the wont of God, as in the past, touching His servants; then the unbelievers shall be lost.
XLI DISTINGUISHED

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
41:1 Ha Mim
A sending down from the Merciful; the Compassionate. A Book whose signs have been distinguished as an Arabic Koran for a people having knowledge, good tidings to bear, and warning, but most of them have turned away, and do not give ear. They say, 'Our hearts are veiled from what thou callest us to, and in our ears is a heaviness, and between us and thee there is a veil; so act; we are acting!'
41:5 Say: 'I am only a mortal, like you are. To me it has been revealed that your God is One God; so go straight with Him, and ask for His forgiveness; and woe to the idolaters who pay not the alms, and disbelieve in the world to come. Surely those who believe, and do righteous deeds shall have a wage unfailing.'
Say: 'What, do you disbelieve in Him who created the earth in two days, and do you set up compeers to Him? That is the Lord of all Being.
'And He set therein firm mountains over it, and He blessed it, and He ordained therein its diverse sustenance in four days, equal to those who ask.'
41:10 Then He lifted Himself to heaven when it was smoke, and said to it and to the earth, "Come willingly, or unwillingly!" They said, "We come willingly." So He determined them as seven heavens in two days, and revealed its commandment in every heaven.'
And We adorned the lower heaven with lamps, and to reserve; that is the ordaining of the All-mighty, the All-knowing. But if they turn away, then say, 'I warn you of a thunderbolt like to the thunderbolt of Ad and Thamood.'
When the Messengers came unto them from before them and from behind them, saying, 'Serve none but God,' they said, 'Had our Lord willed, surely He would have sent down angels; so we disbelieve in the Message you were sent with.'
As for Ad, they waxed proud in the earth without right, and they said, 'Who is stronger than we in might?' What, did they not see that God, who created them, was stronger than they in might? And they denied Our signs.
41:15 Then We loosed against them a wind clamorous in days of ill fortune, that We might let them taste the chastisement of degradation in the present life; and the chastisement of the world to come is even more degrading, and they shall not be helped.
As for Thamood, We guided them, but they preferred blindness above guidance, so the thunderbolt of the chastisement of humiliation seized them for that they were earning. And We delivered those who believed and were godfearing.
Upon the day when God's enemies are mustered to the Fire, duly disposed, till when they are come to it, their hearing, their eyes and their skins bear witness against them concerning what they have been doing,
41:20 and they will say to their skins, 'Why bore you witness against us?' They shall say, 'God gave us speech, as He gave everything speech. He created you the first time, and unto Him you shall be returned. Not so did you cover yourselves, that your hearing, your eyes and your skins should not bear witness against you; but you thought that God would never know much of the things that you were working.
That then, the thought you thought about your Lord, has destroyed you, and therefore you find yourselves this morning among the losers.'
Then if they persist, the Fire shall be a lodging for them; and if they ask amends yet no amends shall be made to them. We have allotted them comrades, and they have decked out fair to them that which is before them and behind them. So against them has been realized the Word concerning nations that passed away before them, men and jinn alike; surely they were losers.
41:25 The unbelievers say, 'Do not give ear to this Koran, and talk idly about it; haply you will overcome. So We shall let the unbelievers taste a terrible chastisement, and shall recompense them with the worst of what they were working. That is the recompense of God's enemies -- the Fire, wherein they shall have the Abode of Eternity as a recompense, for that they denied Our signs.
And the unbelievers shall say, 'Our Lord, show us those that led us astray, both jinn and men, and we shall set them underneath our feet, that they may be among the lower ones.
41:30 Those who have said, 'Our Lord is God.' then have gone straight, upon them the angels descend, saying,
'Fear not, neither sorrow; rejoice in Paradise that you were promised. We are your friends in the present life and in the world to come; therein you shall have all that your souls desire, all that you call for, as hospitality from One All-forgiving, One All-compassionate.'
And who speaks fairer than he who calls unto God and does righteousness and says, 'Surely I am of them that surrender'?
Not equal are the good deed and the evil deed. Repel with that which is fairer and behold, he between whom and thee there is enmity shall be as if he were a loyal friend.
41:35 Yet none shall receive it, except the steadfast; none shall receive it, except a man of mighty fortune.
If a provocation from Satan should provoke thee, seek refuge in God; He is the All-hearing, the All-knowing.
And of His signs are the night and the day, the sun and the moon.
Bow not yourselves to the sun and moon, but bow yourselves to God who created them, if Him you serve. And if they wax proud, yet those who are with thy Lord do glorify Him by night and day, and grow not weary.
And of His signs is that thou seest the earth humble; then, when We send down water upon it, it quivers, and swells. Surely He who quickens it is He who quickens the dead; surely He is powerful over everything.
41:40 Those who blaspheme Our signs are not hidden from Us. What, is he who shall be cast into the Fire better, or he who comes on the Day of Resurrection in security? Do what you will; surely He sees the things you do.
Those who disbelieve in the Remembrance when it comes to them -- and surely it is a Book Sublime; falsehood comes not to it from before it nor from behind it; a sending down from One All-wise, All-laudable. Naught is said to thee but what already was said to the Messengers before thee. Surely thy Lord is a Lord of forgiveness and of painful retribution. If We had made it a barbarous Koran, they would have said, 'Why are its signs not distinguished? What, barbarous and Arabic?' Say: 'To the believers it is a guidance, and a healing; but those who believe not, in their ears is a heaviness, and to them it is a blindness; those -- they are called from a far place.'
41:45 And We gave Moses the Book; and there was difference concerning it, and but for a Word that preceded from thy Lord, it had been decided between them; and they are in doubt of it disquieting.
Whoso does righteousness, it is to his own gain, and whoso does evil, it is to his own loss. Thy Lord wrongs not His servants. To Him is referred the knowledge of the Hour. Not a fruit comes forth from its sheath, no female bears or brings forth, save with His knowledge.
Upon the day when He shall call to them, 'Where now are My associates?' they shall say, 'We proclaim to Thee, there is not a witness among us.
Then that they called upon before will go astray from them and they will think that they have no asylum.
Man wearies not of praying for good; but when evil visits him, then he is cast down and desperate.
41:50 And if We let him taste mercy from Us after hardship that has visited him, he surely says, 'This is mine; I think not the Hour is coming. If I am returned to my Lord, surely the reward most fair with Him will be mine.' Then We shall tell the unbelievers the things they have done, and assuredly We shall let them taste a harsh chastisement.
And when We bless man, he turns away and withdraws aside; but when evil visits him, he is full of endless prayers.
Say: 'What think you? If it is from God, then you disbelieve in it, who is further astray than he who is in wide schism?'
We shall show them Our signs in the horizons and in themselves, till it is clear to them that it is the truth. Suffices it not as to thy Lord, that He is witness over everything?
Are they not in doubt touching the encounter with their Lord? Does He not encompass everything?
XLII COUNSEL

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
42:1 Ha Mim
Ain Sin Qaf
So reveals to thee, and to those before thee, God, the All-mighty, the All-wise. To Him belongs whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth; and He is the All-high, the All-glorious.
The heavens wellnigh are rent above them, when the angels proclaim the praise of their Lord, and ask forgiveness for those on earth. Surely God -- He is the All-forgiving, the All-compassionate.
And those who have taken to them protectors apart from Him -- God is Warden over them; thou art not a guardian over them.
42:5 And so We have revealed to thee an Arabic Koran, that thou mayest warn the Mother of Cities and those who dwell about it, and that thou mayest warn of the Day of Gathering, wherein is no doubt -- a party in Paradise, and a party in the Blaze.
If God had willed, He would have made them one nation; but He admits whomsoever He will into His mercy, and the evildoers shall have neither protector nor helper.
Or have they taken to them protectors apart from Him? But God -- He is the Protector; He quickens the dead, and He is powerful over everything.
And whatever you are at variance on, the judgment thereof belongs to God. That then is God, my Lord; in Him I have put my trust, and to Him I turn, penitent.
The Originator of the heavens and the earth; He has appointed for you, of yourselves, pairs, and pairs also of the cattle, therein multiplying you. Like Him there is naught; He is the All-hearing, the All-seeing.
42:10 To Him belong the keys of the heavens and the earth. He outspreads and straitens His provision to whom He will; surely He has knowledge of everything.
He has laid down for you as religion that He charged Noah with, and that We have revealed to thee, and that We charged Abraham with, Moses and Jesus: 'Perform the religion, and scatter not regarding it. Very hateful is that for the idolaters, that thou callest them to. God chooses unto Himself whomsoever He will, and He guides to Himself whosoever turns, penitent.
They scattered not, save after knowledge had come to them, being insolent one to another; and but for a Word that preceded from thy Lord until a stated term, it had been decided between them. But those to whom the Book has been given as an inheritance after them, behold, they are in doubt of it disquieting.
Therefore call thou, and go straight as thou hast been commanded; do not follow their caprices. And say: 'I believe in whatever Book God has sent down; I have been commanded to be just between you. God is our Lord and your Lord. We have our deeds, and you have your deeds; there is no argument between us and you; God shall bring us together, and unto Him is the homecoming.'
42:15 And those who argue concerning God after that answer has been made to Him, their argument is null and void in the sight of their Lord; anger shall rest upon them, and there awaits them a terrible chastisement. God it is who has sent down the Book with the truth, and also the Balance. And what shall make thee know? Haply the Hour is nigh. Those that believe not therein seek to hasten it; but those who believe in it go in fear of it, knowing that it is the truth. Why, surely those who are in doubt concerning the Hour are indeed in far error.
God is All-gentle to His servants, providing for whomsoever He will. He is the All-strong, the All-mighty.
Whoso desires the tillage of the world to come, We shall give him increase in his tillage; and whoso desires the tillage of this world, We shall give him of it, but in the world to come he will have no share.
42:20 Or have they associates who have laid down for them as religion that for which God gave not leave? But for the Word of Decision, it had been decided between them. For the evildoers there awaits a painful chastisement.
Thou seest the evildoers going in fear of that they have earned, that is about to fall on them; but those who believe and do righteous deeds are in Meadows of the Gardens; whatsoever they will they shall have with their Lord; that is the great bounty.
That is the good tidings God gives to His servants who believe and do righteous deeds. Say: 'I do not ask of you a wage for this, except love for the kinsfolk; and whosoever gains a good deed, We shall give him increase of good in respect of it. Surely God is All-forgiving, All-thankful.
Or do they say, 'He has forged against God a lie?' But if God wills, He will set a seal on thy heart; and God blots out falsehood and verifies the truth by His words; He knows the thoughts within the breasts. It is He who accepts repentance from His servants, and pardons evil deeds; He knows the things you do.
42:25 And He answers those who believe and do righteous deeds, and He gives them increase of His bounty. And the unbelievers -- for them awaits a terrible chastisement. Had God expanded His provision to His servants, they would have been insolent in the earth; but He sends down in measure whatsoever He will; surely He is aware of and sees His servants.
And it is He who sends down the rain after they have despaired, and He unfolds His mercy; He is the Protector, the All-laudable.
And of His signs is the creation of the heavens and earth and the crawling things He has scattered abroad in them; and He is able to gather them whenever He will.
Whatever affliction may visit you is for what your own hands have earned; and He pardons much.
42:30 You are not able to frustrate Him in the earth; and, apart from God, you have neither protector nor helper.
And of His signs are the ships that run on the sea like landmarks; and if He wills, He stills the wind, and they remain motionless on its back. Surely in that are signs for every man enduring, thankful. Or He wrecks them for what they have earned; and He pardons much; and that those who dispute concerning Our signs may know they have no asylum.
Whatever thing you have been given is the enjoyment of the present life; but what is with God is better and more enduring for those who believe and put their trust in their Lord.
42:35 And those who avoid the heinous sins and indecencies and when they are angry forgive, and those who answer their Lord, and perform the prayer, their affair being counsel between them, and they expend of that We have provided them, and who, when insolence visits them, do help themselves -- and the recompense of evil is evil the like of it; but whoso pardons and puts things right, his wage falls upon God; surely He loves not the evildoers. And whosoever helps himself after he has been wronged -- against them there is no way.
42:40 The way is only open against those who do wrong to the people, and are insolent in the earth wrongfully; there awaits them a painful chastisement. But surely he who bears patiently and is forgiving -- surely that is true constancy.
Whomsoever God leads astray, he has no protector after him; and thou shalt see the evildoers, when they see the chastisement, saying, 'Is there any way to be sent back?'
And thou shalt see them, as they are exposed to it, abject in humbleness, looking with furtive glance; and the believers shall say, 'Surely the losers are they who lose themselves and their families on the Day of Resurrection; surely the evildoers are in lasting chastisement.
42:45 They have no protectors to help them, apart from God, and whomsoever God leads astray, no way has he.'
Answer your Lord, before there comes a day from God that cannot be turned back; upon that day you shall have no shelter, no denial. But if they turn away, We sent thee not to be a guardian over them. It is for thee only to deliver the Message.
And when We let man taste mercy from Us, he rejoices in it; but if some evil befalls him for that his own hands have forwarded, then surely man is unthankful.
To God belongs the Kingdom of the heavens and the earth; He creates what He will; He gives to whom He will females, and He gives to whom He will males or He couples them, both males and females; and He makes whom He will barren. Surely He is All-knowing, All-powerful.
42:50 It belongs not to any mortal that God should speak to him, except by revelation, or from behind a veil, or that He should send a messenger and he reveal whatsoever He will, by His leave; surely He is All-high, All-wise.
Even so We have revealed to thee a Spirit of Our bidding. Thou knewest not what the Book was, nor belief; but We made it a light, whereby We guide whom We will of Our servants. And thou, surely thou shalt guide unto a straight path -- the path of God, to whom belongs whatsoever is in the heavens, and whatsoever is in the earth. Surely unto God all things come home.
XLIII ORNAMENTS

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
43:1 Ha Mim
By the Clear Book, behold, We have made it an Arabic Koran; haply you will understand; and behold, it is in the Essence of the Book, with Us; sublime indeed, wise. Shall We turn away the Remembrance from you, for that you are a prodigal people?
43:5 How many a Prophet We sent among the ancients, but not a Prophet came to them, without they mocked at him; so We destroyed men stronger in valour than they, and the example of the ancients passed away.
If thou askest them, 'Who created the heavens and earth?' they will say, 'The All-mighty, the All-knowing created them.' He who appointed the earth to be a cradle for you, and appointed ways for you therein, that haply you may be guided;
43:10 and who sent down out of heaven water in measure; and We revived thereby a land that was dead; even so you shall be brought forth; and who created the pairs, all of them, and appointed for you ships and cattle such as you ride, that you may be seated on their backs and then remember your Lord's blessing when you are seated on them, and say, 'Glory be to Him, who has subjected this to us, and we ourselves were not equal to it; surely unto our Lord we are turning.'
Yet they have assigned to Him a part of His own servants! Man is dearly unthankful.
43:15 Or has He taken to Himself, from that He creates, daughters, and favoured you with sons? And when any of them is given the good tidings of that he has likened to the All-merciful, his face is darkened, and he chokes inwardly. What, one who is reared amid ornaments and, when the time of altercation comes, is not to be seen? And they have made the angels, who are themselves servants of the All-merciful, females. What, did they witness their creation? Their witness shall be written down, and they shall be questioned.
They say, 'Had the All-merciful so willed, we would not have served them.' They have no knowledge of that; they are only conjecturing.
43:20 Or did We bring them a Book aforetime to which they hold? Nay, but they say, 'We found our fathers upon a community, and we are guided upon their traces.' Even so We sent never before thee any warner into any city, except that its men who lived at ease said, 'We indeed found our fathers upon a community, and we are following upon their traces.'
Say: 'What, though I should bring you a better guidance than you found your fathers upon?' They say, 'We disbelieve in that you were sent with.' So We took vengeance upon them; and behold how was the end of them that cried lies.
43:25 And when Abraham said to his father and his people, 'Surely I am quit of that you serve, except Him who originated me; and He will guide me. And he made it a word enduring among his posterity; haply so they would return.
Nay, but I gave these and their fathers enjoyment of days, until the truth came unto them, and a manifest Messenger. And when the truth came to them, they said, 'This is a sorcery, and in it we are unbelievers.'
43:30 They say, 'Why was this Koran not sent down upon some man of moment in the two cities?' What, is it they who divide the mercy of the Lord? We have divided between them their livelihood in the present life, and raised some of them above others in rank, that some of them may take others in servitude; and the mercy of thy Lord is better than that they amass.
And were it not that mankind would be one nation, We would have appointed for those who disbelieve in the All-merciful roofs of silver to their houses, and stairs whereon to mount, and doors to their houses, and couches whereon to recline, and ornaments; surely all this is but the enjoyment of the present life, and the world to come with thy Lord is for the godfearing.
43:35 Whoso blinds himself to the Remembrance of the All-merciful, to him We assign a Satan for comrade; and they bar them from the way, and they think they are guided, till, when he comes to Us, he says, 'Would there had been between me and thee the distance of the two Easts!'
An evil comrade! It shall not profit you today, since you did evil, that you are partners in the chastisement.
43:40 What, shalt thou make the deaf to hear, or shalt thou guide the blind and him who is in manifest error? Whether We take thee away, We shall take vengeance upon them, or We show thee a part of that We promised them, surely We have power over them. So hold thou fast unto that which has been revealed unto thee; surely thou art upon a straight path. Surely it is a Reminder to thee and to thy people; and assuredly you will be questioned. Ask those of Our Messengers We sent before thee: Have We appointed, apart from the All-merciful, gods to be served?
43:45 We also sent Moses with Our signs to Pharaoh and his Council, and he said, 'Surely, I am the Messenger of the Lord of all Being.'
But when he brought them Our signs, lo, they laughed at them. And not a sign We showed them, but it was greater than its sister sign; and We seized them with chastisement, that haply they should return. And they said, 'Sorcerer, pray to thy Lord for us by the covenant He has made with thee, and surely we shall be right-guided.'
But when We removed from them the chastisement, behold, they broke their troth.
43:50 And Pharaoh proclaimed among his people: 'O my people, do I not possess the kingdom of Egypt, and these rivers flowing beneath me? What, do you not see?
Or am I better than this man, who is contemptible and scarcely makes things clear? Why then have bracelets of gold not been cast on him, or angels not come with him conjoined?'
So he made his people unsteady, and they obeyed him; surely they were an ungodly people.
43:55 So, when they had angered Us, We took vengeance on them, and We drowned them all together; and We made them a thing past, and We appointed them for an example to later folk.
And when the son of Mary is cited as an example, behold, thy people turn away from it and say, 'What, are our gods better, or he?' They cite not him to thee, save to dispute; nay, but they are a people contentious. He is only a servant We blessed, and We made him to be an example to the Children of Israel.
43:60 Had We willed, We would have appointed angels among you to be successors in the earth. It is knowledge of the Hour; doubt not concerning it, and follow me. This is a straight path. Let not Satan bar you; he is for you a manifest foe.
And when Jesus came with the clear signs he said, 'I have come to you with wisdom, and that I may make clear to you some of that whereon you are at variance; so fear you God and obey you me. Assuredly God is my Lord and your Lord; therefore serve Him; this is a straight path.'
43:65 But the parties among them fell into variance; so woe unto those who did evil, because of the chastisement of a painful day. Are they looking for aught but the Hour, that it shall come upon them suddenly, when they are not aware?
Friends on that day shall be foes to one another, but the god-fearing. 'O My servants, today no fear is on you, neither do you sorrow' -- even those who believed in Our signs, and had surrendered themselves
43:70 'Enter Paradise, you and your wives, walking with joy!'
There shall be passed around them platters of gold, and cups,
therein being whatever the souls desire, and the eyes delight in.
'And therein, you shall dwell forever.
This is the Paradise that you have been given for an inheritance
for the things that you were doing.
Therein you have abundant fruits, whereof you may eat.'
But the evildoers dwell forever in the chastisement of Gehenna
43:75 that is not abated for them and therein they are sore confounded.
We never wronged them, but they themselves did the wrong.
And they shall call, 'O Malik, let thy Lord have done with us!'
He will say, 'You will surely tarry.'
'We brought you the truth, but most of you were averse to the truth.'
43:80 Or have they contrived some matter? We too are contriving. Or do they think We hear not their secret and what they conspire together? Yes indeed, and Our messengers are present with them writing it down.
Say: 'If the All-merciful has a son, then I am the first to serve him. Glory be to the Lord of the heavens and the earth, the Lord of the Throne, above that they describe.' Then leave them alone to plunge and play, until they encounter that day of theirs which they are promised.
And it is He who in heaven is God and in earth is God; He is the All-wise, the All-knowing.
43:85 Glory be to Him, to whom belongs the Kingdom of the heavens and the earth and all that between them is; with Him is the knowledge of the Hour, and to Him you shall be returned. Those they call upon, apart from Him, have no power of intercession, save such as have testified to the truth, and that knowingly.
If thou askest them, 'Who created you?' they will say, 'God.' How then are they perverted?
And for his saying, 'My Lord, surely these are a people who believe not' -- yet pardon them, and say, 'Peace!' Soon they will know.
XLIV SMOKE

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
44:1 Ha Mim
By the Clear Book.
We have sent it down in a blessed night (We are ever warning) therein every wise bidding determined as a bidding from Us, (We are ever sending)
44:5 as a mercy from thy Lord (surely He is the All-hearing, the All-knowing) Lord of the heavens and earth, and all that between them is if you have faith. There is no god but He; He gives life and makes to die; your Lord and the Lord of your fathers, the ancients.
Nay, but they are in doubt, playing. So be on the watch for a day when heaven shall bring a manifest smoke
44:10 covering the people; this is a painful chastisement. 'O our Lord, remove Thou from us the chastisement; we are believers.'
How should they have the Reminder, seeing a clear Messenger already came to them, then they turned away from him and said, 'A man tutored, possessed!'
'Behold, We are removing the chastisement a little; behold, you revert!'
44:15 Upon the day when We shall assault most mightily, then We shall take Our vengeance. Already before them We tried the people of Pharaoh, and a noble Messenger came unto them, saying, 'Deliver to me God's servants; I am for you a faithful Messenger, and, 'Rise not up against God; behold, I come to you with a clear authority, and I take refuge in my Lord and your Lord, lest you should stone me.
44:20 'But if so be that you believe me not, go you apart from me!' And he called to his Lord, saying, 'These are a sinful people.'
'Then set thou forth with My servants in a watch of the night; surely you will be followed. And leave the sea becalmed; they are a drowned host.'
44:25 They left how many gardens and fountains, sown fields, and how noble a station, and what prosperity they had rejoiced in! Even so; and We bequeathed them upon another people.
Neither heaven nor earth wept for them, nor were they respited; and We delivered the Children of Israel from the humbling chastisement, from Pharaoh; surely he was a high One, of the prodigals; and We chose them, out of a knowledge, above all beings, and gave them signs wherein there was a manifest trial.
These men do say, 'There is nothing but our first death; we shall not be revived.
44:35 Bring us our fathers, if you speak truly!' Are they better, or the people of Tubba' and those before them whom We destroyed? They were surely sinners.
We created not the heavens and earth, and all that is between them, in play; We created them not save in truth; but most of them know it not.
44:40 Surely the Day of Decision shall be their appointed time, all together, the day a master shall avail nothing a client, and they shall not be helped, save him upon whom God has mercy; He is the All-mighty, the All-compassionate.
Lo, the Tree of Ez-Zakkoum is the food of the guilty,
44:45 like molten copper, bubbling in the belly as boiling water bubbles. 'Take him, and thrust him into the midst of Hell, then pour over his head the chastisement of boiling water!'
'Taste! Surely thou art the mighty, the noble.
44:50 This is that concerning which you were doubting.'
Surely the godfearing shall be in a station secure among gardens and fountains, robed in silk and brocade, set face to face. Even so; and We shall espouse them to wide-eyed houris,
44:55 therein calling for every fruit, secure. They shall not taste therein of death, save the first death, And He shall guard them against the chastisement of Hell -- a bounty from thy Lord; that is the mighty triumph.
Now We have made it easy by thy tongue, that haply they may remember. So be on the watch; they too are on the watch.
XLV HOBBLING

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
45:1 Ha Mim
The sending down of the Book is from God, the All-mighty, the All-wise.
Surely in the heavens and earth there are signs for the believers; and in your creation, and the crawling things He scatters abroad, there are signs for a people having sure faith, and in the alternation of night and day, and the provision God sends down from heaven, and therewith revives the earth after it is dead, and the turning about of the winds, there are signs for a people who understand.
Those are the signs of God that We recite to thee in truth; in what manner of discourse then, after God and His signs, will they believe?
Woe to every guilty impostor who hears the signs of God being recited to him, then perseveres in waxing proud, as if he has not heard them; so give him the good tidings of a painful chastisement.
And when he knows anything of Our signs, he takes them in mockery; those for them awaits a humbling chastisement. Behind them Gehenna; and that they have earned shall not avail them aught, nor those they took as protectors, apart from God; for them awaits a mighty chastisement.
45:10 This is guidance; and those who disbelieve in the signs of their Lord, there awaits them a painful chastisement of wrath.
God is He who has subjected to you the sea, that the ships may run on it at His commandment, and that you may seek His bounty; haply so you will be thankful. And He has subjected to you what is in the heavens and what is in the earth, all together, from Him. Surely in that are signs for a people who reflect.
Say unto those who believe, that they forgive those who do not look for the days of God, that He may recompense a people for that they have been earning.
Whoso does righteousness, it is to his own gain, and whoso does evil, it is to his own loss; then to your Lord you shall be returned.
Indeed, We gave the Children of Israel the Book, the Judgment, and the Prophethood, and We provided them with good things, and We preferred them above all beings. We gave them clear signs of the Command; so they differed not, except after the knowledge had come to them, being insolent one to another. Surely thy Lord will decide between them on the Day of Resurrection touching their differences.
Then We set thee upon an open way of the Command; therefore follow it, and follow not the caprices of those who do not know. Surely they will not avail thee aught against God. Surely the evildoers are friends one of the other; God is the friend of the godfearing.
This is clear proofs for men, and a guidance, and a mercy to a people having sure faith.
45:20 Or do those who commit evil deeds think that We shall make them as those who believe and do righteous deeds, equal their living and their dying? How ill they judge! God created the heavens and the earth in truth, and that every soul may be recompensed for what it has earned; they shall not be wronged.
Hast thou seen him who has taken his caprice to be his god, and God has led him astray out of a knowledge, and set a seal upon his hearing and his heart, and laid a covering on his eyes? Who shall guide him after God? What, will you not remember?
45:25 They say, 'There is nothing but our present life; we die, and we live, and nothing but Time destroys us.' Of that they have no knowledge; they merely conjecture. And when Our signs are recited to them, clear signs, their only argument is that they say, 'Bring us our fathers, if you speak truly.'
Say: 'God gives you life, then makes you die, then He shall gather you to the Day of Resurrection, wherein is no doubt, but most men do not know.'
To God belongs the Kingdom of the heavens and the earth.
And on the day when the Hour is come, upon that day the vain-doers shall lose. And thou shalt see every nation hobbling on their knees, every nation being summoned unto its Book: 'Today you shall be recompensed for that you were doing. This is Our Book, that speaks against you the truth; We have been registering all that you were doing.'
45:30 And as for those who have believed and done deeds of righteousness, their Lord shall admit them into His mercy; that is the manifest triumph. But as for those who have disbelieved: 'Were not My signs recited to you, and you waxed proud, and were a sinful people?
And when it was said, "God's promise is true, and the Hour, there is no doubt of it," you said; "We know not what the Hour may be; we have only a surmise, and are by no means certain."
And the evil deeds that they have done shall appear to them, and they shall be encompassed by that they mocked at. And it shall be said, 'Today We do forget you, even as you forgot the encounter of this your day; and your refuge is the Fire, and you shall have no helpers. That is for that you took God's signs in mockery, and the present life deluded you.'
So today they shall not be brought forth from it, nor will they be suffered to make amends.
45:35 So to God belongs praise, the Lord of the heavens and the Lord of the earth, Lord of all Being. His is the Domination an the heavens and the earth; He is the All-mighty, the All-wise.
XLVI THE SAND-DUNES

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
46:1 Ha Mim
The sending down of the Book is from God, the All-mighty, the All-wise.
We have not created the heavens and the earth, and what between them is, save with the truth and a stated term; but the unbelievers are turning away from that they were warned of. Say: 'Have you considered that you call upon apart from God? Show me what they have created of the earth; or have they a partnership in the heavens? Bring me a Book before this, or some remnant of a knowledge, if you speak truly.'
And who is further astray than he who calls, apart from God, upon such a one as shall not answer him till the Day of Resurrection?
46:5 Such as are heedless of their calling, and when mankind are mustered, shall be enemies to them, and shall deny their service.
And when Our signs are recited to them, clear signs, the unbelievers say to the truth when it has come to them, 'This is manifest sorcery.'
Or do they say, 'He has forged it'? Say: 'If I have forged it, you have no power to help me against God. He knows very well what you are pressing upon; He suffices as a witness between me and you; He is the All-forgiving, the All-compassionate.'
Say: 'I am not an innovation among the Messengers, and I know not what shall be done with me or with you. I only follow what is revealed to me; I am only a clear warner.'
Say: 'Have you considered? If it be from God, and you disbelieve in it, and a witness from among the Children of Israel hears witness to its like, and believes, and you wax proud, God guides not the people of the evildoers.
46:10 The unbelievers say, as regards the believers, 'If it had been aught good, they had not outstripped us to it.' And since they are not guided by it, certainly they will say, 'This is an old calumny!'
Yet before it was the Book of Moses for a model and a mercy; and this is a Book confirming, in Arabic tongue, to warn the evildoers, and good tidings to the good-doers.
Surely those who say, 'Our Lord is God' and then go straight, no fear shall be on them, neither shall they sorrow. Those are the inhabitants of Paradise, therein dwelling forever, as a recompense for that they have been doing.
We have charged man, that he be kind to his parents; his mother bore him painfully, and painfully she gave birth to him; his bearing and his weaning are thirty months. Until, when he is fully grown, and reaches forty years, he says, 'O my Lord, dispose me that I may be thankful for Thy blessing wherewith Thou hast blessed me and my father and mother, and that I may do righteousness well-pleasing to Thee; and make me righteous also in my seed. Behold, I repent to Thee, and am among those that surrender.'
46:15 Those are they from whom We shall accept the best of what they have done, and We shall pass over their evil deeds. They are among the inhabitants of Paradise -- the promise of the very truth, which they were promised.
But he who says to his father and his mother, 'Fie upon you! Do you promise me that I shall be brought forth, when already generations have passed away before me?' while they call upon God for succour -- 'Woe upon thee! Believe; surely God's promise is true'; then he says, 'This is naught but the fairy-tales of the ancients' -- such men are they against whom has been realized the Word concerning nations that passed away before them, men and jinn alike; they were losers. All shall have their degrees, according to what they have wrought, and that He may pay them in full for their works, and they not being wronged.
Upon the day when the unbelievers are exposed to the Fire: 'You dissipated your good things in your present life, and you took your enjoyment in them; therefore today you shall be recompensed with the chastisement of humiliation for that you waxed proud in the earth without right, and for your ungodliness.
46:20 And remember the brother of Ad, when he warned his people beside the sand-dunes -- and already warners had passed away alike before him and behind him -- saying, 'Serve none but God! Truly I fear for you the chastisement of a dreadful day. They said, 'What, hast thou come to pervert us from our gods? Then bring us that thou promisest us, if indeed thou speakest truly.'
He said, 'Knowledge is only with God, and I deliver to you the Message with which I was sent; but I see you are an ignorant people.' Then, when they saw it as a sudden cloud coming towards their valleys, they said, 'This is a cloud, that shall give us rain!'
'Not so; rather it is that you sought to hasten -- a wind, wherein is a painful chastisement, destroying everything by the commandment of its Lord.' So in the morning there was naught to be seen but their dwelling-places. Even so do We recompense the people of the sinners.
46:25 And We had established them in that wherein We have not established you, and We appointed for them hearing, and sight, and hearts; and yet their hearing, their sight and their hearts availed them nothing, since they denied the signs of God, and they were encompassed by that they mocked at.
And We destroyed the cities about you, and We turned about the signs, that haply they would return. Then why did those not help them that they had taken to themselves as mediators, gods apart from God? Not so; but they went astray from them, and that was their calumny, and what they had been forging.
And when We turned to thee a company of jinn giving ear to the Koran; and when they were in its presence they said, 'Be silent!' Then, when it was finished, they turned back to their people, warning.
They said, 'Our people, we have heard a Book that was sent down after Moses, confirming what was before it, guiding to the truth and to a straight path.
46:30 O our people, answer God's summoner, and believe in Him, and He will forgive you some of your sins, and protect you from a painful chastisement. Whosoever answers not God's summoner cannot frustrate God in the earth, and he has no protectors apart from Him; those are in manifest error.
What, have they not seen that God who created the heavens and earth, not being wearied by creating them, is able to give life to the dead? Yes indeed; He is powerful over everything.
Upon the day when the unbelievers are exposed to the Fire: 'Is not this the truth?' They shall say, 'Yes, by our Lord!' He shall say, 'Then taste the chastisement of your unbelief!'
So be thou patient, as the Messengers possessed of constancy were also patient. Seek not to hasten it for them -- it shall be as if on the day they see that they are promised,
46:35 they had not tarried but for an hour of a single day. A Message to be delivered! And shall any be destroyed but the people of the ungodly?
XLVII MUHAMMAD

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
47:1 Those who disbelieve and bar from God's way, God will send their works astray. But those who believe and do righteous deeds and believe in what is sent down to Muhammad -- and it is the truth from their Lord -- He will acquit them of their evil deeds, and dispose their minds aright. That is because those who disbelieve follow falsehood, and those who believe follow the truth from their Lord. Even so God strikes their similitudes for men.
When you meet the unbelievers, smite their necks, then, when you have made wide slaughter among them, tie fast the bonds;
47:5 then set them free, either by grace or ransom,
till the war lays down its loads.
So it shall be; and if God had willed,
He would have avenged Himself upon them;
but that He may try some of you by means of others.
And those who are slain in the way of God,
He will not send their works astray.
He will guide them, and dispose their minds aright,
and He will admit them to Paradise,
that He has made known to them.

O believers, if you help God,
He will help you,
and confirm your feet.
But as for the unbelievers, ill chance shall befall them!
He will send their works astray.
47:10 That is because they have been averse to what God has sent down, so He has made their works to fail.
What, have they not journeyed in the land and beheld how was the end of those before them? God destroyed them; the unbelievers shall have the likes thereof. That is because God is the Protector of the believers, and that the unbelievers have no protector. God shall surely admit those who believe and do righteous deeds into gardens underneath which rivers flow. As for the unbelievers, they take their enjoyment and eat as cattle eat; and the Fire shall be their lodging.
How many a city that was stronger in might than thy city which has expelled thee have We destroyed! And there was no helper for them.
47:15 What, is he who is upon a clear sign from his Lord like unto such a one unto whom his evil deeds have been decked out fair, and they have followed their caprices?
This is the similitude of Paradise which the godfearing have been promised: therein are rivers of water unstaling, rivers of milk unchanging in flavour, and rivers of wine -- a delight to the drinkers, rivers, too, of honey purified; and therein for them is every fruit, and forgiveness from their Lord -- Are they as he who dwells forever in the Fire, such as are given to drink boiling water, that tears their bowels asunder?
And some of them there are give ear to thee, till, when they go forth from thee, they say to those who have been given knowledge, 'What said he just now?' Those are they upon whose hearts God has set a seal, and they have followed their caprices.
But those who are guided aright, them He increases in guidance, and gives them their godfearing
47:20 Are they looking for aught but the Hour, that it shall come upon them suddenly? Already its tokens have come; so, when it has come to them, how shall they have their Reminder?
Know thou therefore that
there is no god but God,
and ask forgiveness for thy sin,
and for the believers, men and women.
God knows your going to and fro, and your lodging.
Those who believe say, 'Why has a sura not been sent down?' Then, when a clear sura is sent down, and therein fighting is mentioned, thou seest those in whose hearts is sickness looking at thee as one who swoons of death; but better for them would be obedience, and words honourable.
Then, when the matter is resolved, if they were true to God, it would be better for them. If you turned away, would you then haply work corruption in the land, and break your bonds of kin?
47:25 Those are they whom God has cursed, and so made them deaf, and blinded their eyes. What, do they not ponder the Koran? Or is it that there are locks upon their hearts?
Those who have turned back in their traces after the guidance has become clear to them, Satan it was that tempted them, and God respited them.
That is because they said to those who were averse to what God sent down, 'We will obey you in some of the affair'; and God knows their secrets. How shall it be, when the angels take them, beating their faces and their backs?
47:30 That is because they have followed what angers God, and have been averse to His good pleasure, so He has made their works to fail. Or did those in whose hearts is sickness think that God would not bring to light their rancour?
Did We will, We would show them to thee, then thou wouldst know them by their mark; and thou shalt certainly know them in the twisting of their speech; and God knows your deeds. And We shall assuredly try you until We know those of you who struggle and are steadfast, and try your tidings.
Those who disbelieve and bar from God's way and make a breach with the Messenger after the guidance has become clear to them, they will nothing hurt God, and He will make their works to fail.
47:35 O believers, obey God, and obey the Messenger, and do not make your own works vain. Those who disbelieve and bar from God's way and then die disbelieving, them God will not forgive. So do not faint and call for peace; you shall be the upper ones, and God is with you, and will not deprive you of your works.
The present life is naught but a sport and a diversion; and if you believe and are godfearing, He will give you your wages, and will not ask of you your goods. If He asks you for them, and presses you, you are niggardly, and He brings to light your rancour.
47:40 Ha, there you are; you are called upon to expend in God's way, and some of you are niggardly. Whoso is niggardly is niggardly only to his own soul. God is the All-sufficient; you are the needy ones. If you turn away, He will substitute another people instead of you, then they will not be your likes.
XLVIII VICTORY

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
48:1 Surely We have given thee a manifest victory, that God may forgive thee thy former and thy latter sins, and complete His blessing upon thee, and guide thee on a straight path, and that God may help thee with mighty help.
It is He who sent down the Shechina (tranquillity) into the hearts of the believers, that they might add faith to their faith -- to God belong the hosts of the heavens and the earth; God is All-knowing, All-wise --
48:5 and that He may admit the believers, men and women alike, into gardens underneath which rivers flow, therein to dwell forever, and acquit them of their evil deeds; that is in God's sight a mighty triumph; and that He may chastise the hypocrites, men and women alike, and the idolaters men and women alike, and those who think evil thoughts of God; against them shall be the evil turn of fortune. God is wroth with them, and has cursed them, and has prepared for them Gehenna -- an evil homecoming!
To God belong the hosts of the heavens and the earth; God is All-mighty, All-wise.
Surely We have sent thee as a witness, good tidings to bear, and warning, that you may believe in God and His Messenger and succour Him, and reverence Him, and that you may give Him glory at the dawn and in the evening.
48:10 Those who swear fealty to thee swear fealty in truth to God; God's hand is over their hands. Then whosoever breaks his oath breaks it but to his own hurt; and whoso fulfils his covenant made with God, God will give him a mighty wage.
The Bedouins who were left behind will say to thee, 'We were occupied by our possessions and our families; so ask forgiveness for us!' They say with their tongues what is not in their hearts. Say: 'Who can avail you aught against God, if He desires hurt for you, or desires profit for you? Nay, but God is ever aware of the things you do.
'Nay, but you thought that the Messenger and the believers would never return to their families, and that was decked out fair in your hearts, and you thought evil thoughts, and you were a people corrupt.'
Whoso believes not in God and His Messenger, We have prepared for the unbelievers a Blaze. To God belongs the kingdom of the heavens and of the earth; whomsoever He will He forgives, and whomsoever He will He chastises; God is All-forgiving, All-compassionate.
48:15 The Bedouins who were left behind will say, when you set forth after spoils, to take them, 'Let us follow you,' desiring to change God's words. Say: 'You shall not follow us; so God said before.' Then they will say, 'Nay, but you are jealous of us.' Nay, but they have not understood except a little.
Say to the Bedouins who were left behind: 'You shall be called against a people possessed of great might' to fight them, dr they surrender. If you obey, God will give you a goodly wage; but if you turn your backs, as you turned your backs before, He will chastise you with a painful chastisement.'
There is no fault in the blind, and there is no fault in the lame, and there is no fault in the sick. And whosoever obeys God and His Messenger, He will admit him into gardens underneath which rivers flow; but whosoever turns his back, him He will chastise with a painful chastisement.
God was well pleased with the believers when they were swearing fealty to thee under the tree, and He knew what was in their hearts, so He sent down the Shechina upon them, and rewarded them with a nigh victory and many spoils to take; and God is ever All-mighty, All-wise.
48:20 God has promised you many spoils to take; these He has hastened to you, and has restrained the hands of men from you, and that it may be a sign to the believers, and to guide you on a straight path, and other spoils you were not able to take; God had encompassed them already. God is powerful over everything.
If the unbelievers had fought you, they would have turned their backs, and then found neither protector nor helper; the wont of God, as in the past before, and thou shalt never find any changing the wont of God.
It is He who restrained their hands from you, and your hands from them, in the hollow of Mecca, after that He made you victors over them. God sees the things you do.
48:25 They are the ones who disbelieved, and barred you from the Holy Mosque and the offering, detained so as not to reach its place of sacrifice. If it had not been for certain men believers and certain women believers whom you knew not, lest you should trample them, and there befall you guilt unwittingly on their account (that God may admit into His mercy whom He will), had they been separated clearly, then We would have chastised the unbelievers among them with a painful chastisement.
When the unbelievers set in their hearts fierceness, the fierceness of pagandom, then God sent down His Shechina upon His Messenger and the believers, and fastened to them the word of godfearing to which they have better right and are worthy of; and God has knowledge of everything.
God has indeed fulfilled the vision He vouchsafed to His Messenger truly: 'You shall enter the Holy Mosque, if God wills, in security, your heads shaved, your hair cut short, not fearing.' He knew what you knew not, and appointed ere that a nigh victory.
It is He who has sent His Messenger with the guidance and the religion of truth, that He may uplift it above every religion.
God suffices as a witness.
Muhammad is the Messenger of God, and those who are with him are hard against the unbelievers, merciful one to another.
48:30 Thou seest them bowing, prostrating, seeking bounty from God and good pleasure. Their mark is on their faces, the trace of prostration. That is their likeness in the Torah, and their likeness in the Gospel: as a seed that puts forth its shoot, and strengthens it, and it grows stout and rises straight upon its stalk, pleasing the sowers, that through them He may enrage the unbelievers. God has promised those of them who believe and do deeds of righteousness forgiveness and a mighty wage.
XLIX APARTMENTS

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
49:1 O believers, advance not before God and His Messenger; and fear God. God is All-hearing, All-knowing.
O believers, raise not your voices above the Prophet's voice, and be not loud in your speech to him, as you are loud one to another, lest your works fail while you are not aware. Surely those who lower their voices in the presence of God's Messenger, those are they whose hearts God has tested for godfearing; they shall have forgiveness and a mighty wage. Surely those who call unto thee from behind the apartments, the most of them do not understand.
49:5 And if they had patience, until thou comest out to them, that would be better for them; and God is All-forgiving, All-compassionate.
O believers, if an ungodly man comes to you with a tiding, make clear, lest you afflict a people unwittingly, and then repent of what you have done.
And know that the Messenger of God is among you. If he obeyed you in much of the affair, you would suffer; but God has endeared to you belief, decking it fair in your hearts, and He has made detestable to you unbelief and ungodliness and disobedience. Those -- they are the right-minded, by God's favour and blessing; God is All-knowing, All-wise.
If two parties of the believers fight, put things right between them; then, if one of them is insolent against the other, fight the insolent one till it reverts to God's commandment. If it reverts, set things right between them equitably, and be just. Surely God loves the just.
49:10 The believers indeed are brothers; so set things right between your two brothers, and fear God; haply so you will find mercy.
O believers, let not any people scoff at another people who may be better than they; neither let women scoff at women who may be better than themselves. And find not fault with one another, neither revile one another by nicknames. An evil name is ungodliness after belief. And whoso repents not, those -- they are the evildoers.
O believers, eschew much suspicion; some suspicion is a sin. And do not spy, neither backbite one another; would any of you like to eat the flesh of his brother dead? You would abominate it. And fear you God; assuredly God turns, and He is All-compassionate.
O mankind, We have created you male and female, and appointed you races and tribes, that you may know one another. Surely the noblest among you in the sight of God is the most godfearing of you. God is All-knowing, All-aware.
The Bedouins say, 'We believe.' Say: 'You do not believe; rather say, "We surrender"; for belief has not yet entered your hearts. If you obey God and His Messenger, He will not diminish you anything of your works. God is All-forgiving, All-compassionate.'
49:15 The believers are those who believe in God and His Messenger, then have not doubted, and have struggled with their possessions and their selves in the way of God; those -- they are the truthful ones. Say: 'What, would you teach God what your religion is, and God knows what is in the heavens and what is in the earth? And God has knowledge of everything.'
They count it as a favour to thee that they have surrendered! Say: 'Do not count your surrendering as a favour to me; nay, but rather God confers a favour upon you, in that He has guided you to belief, if it be that you are truthful. God knows the Unseen of the heavens and of the earth; and God sees the things you do.'
L QAF

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
50:1 Qaf. By the glorious Koran!
Nay, but they marvel that a warner has come to them from among them; and the unbelievers say, 'This is a marvellous thing! What, when we are dead and become dust? That is a far returning!' We know what the earth diminishes of them; with Us is a book recording.
50:5 Nay, but they cried lies to the truth when it came to them, and so they are in a case confused. What, have they not beheld heaven above them, how We have built it, and decked it out fair, and it has no cracks?
And the earth -- We stretched it forth, and cast on it firm mountains, and We caused to grow therein of every joyous kind for an insight and a reminder to every penitent servant. And We sent down out of heaven water blessed, and caused to grow thereby gardens and grain of harvest
50:10 and tall palm-trees with spathes compact, a provision for the servants, and thereby We revived a land that was dead. Even so is the coming forth.
Cried lies before them the people of Noah and the men of Er-Rass, and Thamood, and Ad and Pharaoh, the brothers of Lot, the men of the Thicket, the people of Tubba'. Every one cried lies to the Messengers, and My threat came true.
What, were We wearied by the first creation? No indeed; but they are in uncertainty as to the new creation.
50:15 We indeed created man; and We know what his soul whispers within him, and We are nearer to him than the jugular vein.
When the two angels meet together, sitting one on the right, and one on the left, not a word he utters, but by him is an observer ready. And death's agony comes in truth; that is what thou wast shunning!
And the Trumpet shall be blown; that is the Day of the Threat.
50:20 And every soul shall come, and with it a driver and a witness.
'Thou wast heedless of this; therefore We have now removed
from thee thy covering, and so thy sight today is piercing.'
And his comrade shall say, 'This is what I have, made ready.'
'Cast, you twain, into Gehenna every froward unbeliever,
every hinderer of the good, transgressor, disquieter,
50:25 who set up with God another god; therefore, you twain, cast him
into the terrible chastisement.' And his comrade shall say,
'Our Lord, I made him not insolent, but he was in far error.'
He shall say, 'Dispute not before Me! For I sent you beforehand --
the threat. The Word is not changed with Me; I wrong not My servants.'
Upon the day We shall say unto Gehenna, 'Art thou filled?'
50:30 And it shall say, 'Are there any more to come?' And Paradise shall be brought forward to the godfearing, not afar: 'This is that you were promised; it is for every mindful penitent.'
Whosoever fears the All-merciful in the Unseen, and comes with a penitent heart: 'Enter it in peace! This is the Day of Eternity.' Therein they shall have whatever they will; and with Us there is yet more.
50:35 How many a generation We destroyed before them that was stronger in valour than they, then they searched about in the land; was there any asylum? Surely in that there is a reminder to him who has a heart, or will give ear with a present mind.
We created the heavens and the earth, and what between them is, in six days, and no weariness touched Us. So be thou patient under what they say, and proclaim thy Lord's praise before the rising of the sun, and before its setting, and proclaim thy Lord's praise in the night, and at the ends of the prostrations.
50:40 And listen thou for the day when the caller shall call from a near place. On the day they hear the Cry in truth, that is the day of coming forth. It is We who give life, and make to die, and to Us is the homecoming.
Upon the day when the earth is split asunder from about them as they hasten forth; that is a mustering easy for Us. We know very well what they say; thou art not a tyrant over them.
50:45 Therefore remind by the Koran him who fears My threat.
LI THE SCATTERERS

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
51:1 By the swift scatterers and the burden-bearers and the smooth runners and the partitioners,
51:5 surely that you are promised is true, and surely the Doom is about to fall!
By heaven with all its tracks surely you speak at variance, and perverted therefrom are some.
51:10 Perish the conjecturers who are dazed in perplexity asking, 'When shall be the Day of Doom?' Upon the day when they shall be tried at the Fire: 'Taste your trial! This is that you were seeking to hasten.'
51:15 Surely the godfearing shall be among gardens and fountains taking whatsoever their Lord has given them; they were good-doers before that. Little of the night would they slumber, and in the mornings they would ask for forgiveness; and the beggar and the outcast had a share in their wealth.
51:20 In the earth are signs for those having sure faith; and in your selves; what, do you not see? And in heaven is your provision, and that you are promised. So by the Lord of heaven and earth, it is as surely true as that you have speech.
Hast thou received the story of the honoured guests of Abraham?
51:25 When they entered unto him, saying 'Peace!' he said 'Peace! You are a people unknown to me.' Then he turned to his household and brought a fattened calf, and he laid it before them saying, 'Will you not eat?' Then he conceived a fear of them. They said, 'Be not afraid!' And they gave him good tidings of a cunning boy. Then came forward his wife, clamouring, and she smote her face, and said, 'An old woman, barren!'
51:30 They said, 'So says thy Lord; He is the All-wise, the All-knowing.' Said he, 'And what is your business, envoys?' They said, 'We have been sent to a people of sinners, to loose upon them stones of clay marked with thy Lord for the prodigal.
51:35 So We brought forth such believers as were in it, but We found not therein except one house of those that have surrendered themselves. And therein We left a sign to those who fear the painful chastisement.
And also in Moses, when We sent him unto Pharaoh, with a clear authority, but he turned his back, with his court, saying, 'A sorcerer, or a man possessed!'
51:40 So We seized him and his hosts, and We cast them into the sea, and he blameworthy.
And also in Ad, when We loosed against them the withering wind that left nothing it came upon, but made it as stuff decayed. And also in Thamood, when it was said to them, 'Take your enjoyment for a while!'
Then they turned in disdain from the commandment of their Lord, and the thunderbolt took them and they themselves beholding
51:45 and they were not able to stand upright, and were not helped. And the people of Noah before; surely they were an ungodly people. And heaven -- We built it with might, and We extend it wide. And the earth -- We spread it forth; O excellent Smoothers! And of everything created We two kinds; haply you will remember.
51:50 Therefore flee unto God!
I am a clear warner from Him to you.
And set not up with God another god;
I am a clear warner from Him to you.
Even so not a Messenger came to those before them but they said, 'A sorcerer, or a man possessed!' What, have they bequeathed it one to another? Nay, but they are an insolent people. So turn thou from them; thou wilt not be reproached.
51:55 And remind; the Reminder profits the believers.
I have not created jinn and mankind except to serve Me. I desire of them no provision, neither do I desire that they should feed Me. Surely God is the All-provider, the Possessor of Strength, the Ever-Sure.
The evildoers shall have their portion, like the portion of their fellows; so let them not hasten Me!
51:60 So woe to the unbelievers, for that day of theirs that they are promised.
LII THE MOUNT

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
52:1 By the Mount and a Book inscribed in a parchment unrolled, by the House inhabited and the roof uplifted and the sea swarming, surely thy Lord's chastisement is about to fall; there is none to avert it.
Upon the day when heaven spins dizzily

52:10 and the mountains are in motion,
woe that day unto those that cry lies,
such as play at plunging,
the day when they shall be pitched into the fire of Gehenna:
'This is the fire that you cried lies to!

52:15 What, is this magic, or is it you that do not see?
Roast in it! And bear you patiently, or bear not patiently,
equal it is to you; you are only being recompensed for
that you were working.'

Surely the godfearing shall be in gardens and bliss,
rejoicing in that their Lord has given them;
and their Lord shall guard them against the chastisement of Hell.
'Eat and drink, with wholesome appetite, for
that you were working.

52:20 Reclining upon couches ranged in rows;
and We shall espouse them to wide-eyed houris.
And those who believed, and their seed followed them in belief,
We shall join their seed with them, and We
shall not defraud them of aught of their work;
every man shall be pledged for what he earned.
And We shall succour them with fruits and flesh such as they desire while they pass therein a cup one to another wherein is no idle talk, no cause of sin, and there go round them youths, their own, as if they were hidden pearls.
52:25 They advance one upon another, asking each other questions. They say, 'We were before among our people, ever going in fear, and God was gracious to us, and guarded us against the chastisement of the burning wind; we were before ever calling upon Him; surely He is the All-benign, the All-compassionate.'
Therefore remind! by thy Lord's blessing thou art not a soothsayer neither possessed.
52:30 Or do they say, 'He is a poet for whom we await Fate's uncertainty'? Say: 'Await! I shall be awaiting with you.'
Or do their intellects bid them do this? Or are they an insolent people? Or do they say, 'He has invented it?' Nay, but they do not believe. Then let them bring a discourse like it, if they speak truly.
52:35 Or were they created out of nothing? Or are they the creators? Or did they create the heavens and earth? Nay, but they have not sure faith. Or are thy Lord's treasuries in their keeping? Or are they the registrars? Or have they a ladder whereon they listen? Then let any of them that has listened bring a clear authority. Or has He daughters, and they sons?
52:40 Or askest thou them for a wage, and so they are weighed down with debt? Or is the Unseen in their keeping, and so they are writing it down? Or desire they to outwit? The unbelievers, they are the outwitted. Or have they a god, other than God? Glory be to God, above that which they associate!
Even if they saw lumps falling from heaven, they would say, 'A massed cloud!'
52:45 Then leave them, till they encounter their day wherein they shall be thunderstruck, the day when their guile shall avail them naught, and they shall not be helped. And there surely awaits the evildoers a chastisement beyond even that, but most of them know it not.
And be thou patient under the judgment of thy Lord; surely thou art before Our eyes. And proclaim the praise of thy Lord when thou arisest, and proclaim the praise of thy Lord in the night, and at the declining of the stars.
LIII THE STAR

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
53:1 By the Star when it plunges, your comrade is not astray, neither errs, nor speaks he out of caprice. This is naught but a revelation revealed,
53:5 taught him by one terrible in power,
very strong; he stood poised,
being on the higher horizon,
then drew near and suspended hung,
two bows'-length away, or nearer,

53:10 then revealed to his servant that he revealed.
His heart lies not of what he saw;
what, will you dispute with him what he sees?
Indeed, he saw him another time by the Lote-Tree of the Boundary
53:15 nigh which is the Garden of the Refuge, when there covered the Lote-Tree that which covered; his eye swerved not; nor swept astray. Indeed, he saw one of the greatest signs of his Lord.
Have you considered El-Lat and El-'Uzza
53:20 and Manat the third, the other? What, have you males, and He females? That were indeed an unjust division. They are naught but names yourselves have named, and your fathers; God has sent down no authority touching them. They follow only surmise, and what the souls desire; and yet guidance has come to them from their Lord. Or shall man have whatever he fancies?
53:25 And to God belongs the First and the Last. How many an angel there is in the heavens whose intercession avails not anything, save after that God gives leave to whomsoever He wills and is well-pleased.
Those who do not believe in the world to come name the angels with the names of females. They have not any knowledge thereof; they follow only surmise, and surmise avails naught against truth.
53:30 So turn thou from him who turns away from Our Remembrance, and desires only the present life. That is their attainment of knowledge.
Surely thy Lord knows very well those who have gone astray from His way, and He knows very well those who are guided.
To God belongs whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth, that He may recompense those who do evil for what they have done, and recompense those who have done good with the reward most fair.
Those who avoid the heinous sins and indecencies, save lesser offences surely thy Lord is wide in His forgiveness.
Very well He knows you, when He produced you from the earth, and when you were yet unborn in your mothers' wombs; therefore hold not yourselves purified; God knows very well him who is godfearing.
Hast thou considered him who turns his back
53:35 and gives a little, and then grudgingly? Does he possess the knowledge of the Unseen, and therefore he sees? Or has he not been told of what is in the scrolls of Moses, and Abraham, he who paid his debt in full? That no soul laden bears the load of another,
53:40 and that a man shall have to his account only as he has laboured, and that his labouring shall surely be seen, then he shall be recompensed for it with the fullest recompense, and that the final end is unto thy Lord, and that it is He who makes to laugh, and that makes to weep,
53:45 and that it is He who makes to die, and that makes to live, and that He Himself created the two kinds, male and female, of a sperm-drop, when it was cast forth, and that upon Him rests the second growth, and that it is He who gives wealth and riches,
53:50 and that it is He who is the Lord of Sirius, and that He destroyed Ad, the ancient, and Thamood, and He did not spare them, and the people of Noah before -- certainly they did exceeding evil, and were insolent
53:55 and the Subverted City He also overthrew, so that there covered it that which covered. Then which of thy Lord's bounties disputest thou?
This is a warner, of the warners of old. The Imminent is imminent; apart from God none can disclose it. Do you then marvel at this discourse,
53:60 and do you laugh, and do you not weep, while you make merry?
So bow yourselves before God, and serve Him!
LIV THE MOON

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
54:1 The Hour has drawn nigh: the moon is split.
Yet if they see a sign they turn away, and they say 'A continuous sorcery!' They have cried lies, and followed their caprices; but every matter is settled. And there have come to them such tidings as contain a deterrent -- a Wisdom far-reaching; yet warnings do not avail.
54:5 So turn thou away from them.
Upon the day when the Caller shall call unto a horrible thing, abasing their eyes, they shall come forth from the tombs as if they were scattered grasshoppers, running with outstretched necks to the Caller. The unbelievers shall say, 'This is a hard day!'
The people of Noah cried lies before them; they cried lies to Our servant, and said, 'A man possessed!' And he was rejected.
54:10 And so he called unto his Lord, saying, 'I am vanquished; do Thou succour me!' Then We opened the gates of heaven unto water torrential, and made the earth to gush with fountains, and the waters met for a matter decreed. And We bore him upon a well-planked vessel well-caulked running before Our eyes -- a recompense for him denied.
54:15 And We left it for a sign.
Is there any that will remember? How then were My chastisement and My warnings? Now We have made the Koran easy for Remembrance. Is there any that will remember?
Ad cried lies. How then were My chastisement and My warnings? We loosed against them a wind clamorous in a day of ill fortune continuous,
54:20 plucking up men as if they were stumps of uprooted palm-trees. How then were My chastisement and My warnings? Now We have made the Koran easy for Remembrance. Is there any that will remember?
Thamood cried lies to the warnings and said, 'What, shall we follow a mortal, one out of ourselves? Then indeed we should be in error and insanity!
54:25 Has the Reminder been cast upon him alone among us? Nay, rather he is an impudent liar.' 'They shall surely know tomorrow who is the impudent liar. They shall send the She-camel as a trial for them; so watch thou them and keep patience. And tell them that the water is to be divided between them, each drink for each in turn.
Then they called their comrade, and he took in hand, and hamstrung her.
54:30 How then were My chastisement and My warnings? We loosed against them one Cry, and they were as the wattles of a pen-builder. Now We have made the Koran easy for Remembrance. Is there any that will remember?
The people of Lot cried lies to the warnings. We loosed against them a squall of pebbles except the folk of Lot; We delivered them at the dawn --
54:35 a blessing from Us; even so We recompense him who is thankful. He had warned them of Our assault, but they disputed the warnings. Even his guests they had solicited of him; so We obliterated their eyes, saying, 'Taste now My chastisement and My warnings!' In the morning early there came upon them a settled chastisement: 'Taste now My chastisement and My warnings!'
54:40 Now We have made the Koran easy for Remembrance. Is there any that will remember?
The warnings came also to Pharaoh's folk. They cried lies to Our signs, all of them, so We seized them with the seizing of One mighty, omnipotent.
What, are your unbelievers better than those? Or have you an immunity in the Scrolls? Or do they say, 'We are a congregation that shall be succoured?'
54:45 Certainly the host shall be routed, and turn their backs.
Nay, but the Hour is their tryst, and the Hour is very calamitous and bitter. Surely the sinners are in error and insanity!
The day when they are dragged on their faces into the Fire: 'Taste now the touch of Sakar!' Surely We have created everything in measure.
54:50 Our commandment is but one word, as the twinkling of an eye.
We have destroyed the likes of you; is there any that will remember? Every thing that they have done is in the Scrolls, and everything, great and small, is inscribed.
Surely the godfearing shall dwell amid gardens and a river
54:55 in a sure abode, in the presence of a King Omnipotent.
LV THE ALL-MERCIFUL

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
55:1 The All-merciful has taught the Koran. He created man and He has taught him the Explanation.
The sun and the moon to a reckoning,
55:5 and the stars and the trees bow themselves; and heaven -- He raised it up, and set the Balance. (Transgress not in the Balance, and weigh with justice, and skimp not in the Balance.) And earth -- He set it down for all beings,
55:10 therein fruits, and palm-trees with sheaths, and grain in the blade, and fragrant herbs. O which of your Lord's bounties will you and you deny?
He created man of a clay like the potter's, and He created the jinn of a smokeless fire.
55:15 O which of your Lord's bounties will you and you deny?
Lord of the Two Easts, Lord of the Two Wests, O which of your Lord's bounties will you and you deny?
55:20 He let forth the two seas that meet together, between them a barrier they do not overpass. O which of your Lord's bounties will you and you deny? From them come forth the pearl and the coral. O which of your Lord's bounties will you and you deny? His too are the ships that run, raised up in the sea like land-marks.
55:25 O which of your Lord's bounties will you and you deny? All that dwells upon the earth is perishing, yet still abides the Face of thy Lord, majestic, splendid.
O which of your Lord's bounties will you and you deny? Whatsoever is in the heavens and the earth implore Him; every day He is upon some labour.
55:30 O which of your Lord's bounties will you and you deny?
We shall surely attend to you at leisure, you weight and you weight! O which of your Lord's bounties will you and you deny? O tribe of jinn and of men, if you are able to pass through the confines of heaven and earth, pass through them! You shall not pass through except with an authority.
O which of your Lord's bounties will you and you deny?
55:35 Against you shall be loosed a flame of fire, and molten brass; and you shall not be helped.
O which of your Lord's bounties will you and you deny? And when heaven is split asunder, and turns crimson like red leather -- O which of our Lord's bounties will you and you deny? on that day none shall be questioned about his sin, neither man nor jinn.
55:40 O which of your Lord's bounties will you and you deny? The sinners shall be known by their mark, and they shall be seized by their forelocks and their feet.
O which of your Lord's bounties will you and you deny? This is Gehenna, that sinners cried lies to; they shall go round between it and between hot, boiling water.
55:45 O which of your Lord's bounties will you and you deny?
But such as fears the Station of his Lord, for them shall be two gardens --
O which of your Lord's bounties will you and you deny? abounding in branches --
O which of your Lord's bounties will you and you deny?
55:50 therein two fountains of running water -- O which of your Lord's bounties will you and you deny? therein of every fruit two kinds -- O which of your Lord's bounties will you and you deny? reclining upon couches lined with brocade, the fruits of the gardens nigh to gather --
55:55 O which of your Lord's bounties will you and you deny?
therein maidens restraining their glances,
untouched before them by any man or jinn --
O which of your Lord's bounties will you and you deny?
lovely as rubies, beautiful as coral --
O which of your Lord's bounties will you and you deny?
55:60 Shall the recompense of goodness be other than goodness?
O which of your Lord's bounties will you and you deny?
And besides these shall be two gardens --
O which of your Lord's bounties will you and you deny? green, green pastures --
55:65 O which of your Lord's bounties will you and you deny? therein two fountains of gushing water -- O which of your Lord's bounties will you and you deny? therein fruits, and palm-trees, and pomegranates -- O which of your Lord's bounties will you and you deny?
55:70 therein maidens good and comely -- O which of your Lord's bounties will you and you deny? houris, cloistered in cool pavilions -- O which of your Lord's bounties will you and you deny? untouched before them by any man or jinn --
55:75 O which of your Lord's bounties will you and you deny? reclining upon green cushions and lovely druggets --
O which of your Lord's bounties will you and you deny?
Blessed be the Name of thy Lord, majestic, splendid.
LVI THE TERROR

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.
56:1 When the Terror descends (and none denies its descending) abasing, exalting, when the earth shall be rocked and the mountains crumbled and become a dust scattered, and you shall be three bands --
Companions of the Right (O Companions of the Right!)
Companions of the Left (O Companions of the Left!)

56:10 and the Outstrippers: the Outstrippers
those are they brought nigh the Throne,
in the Gardens of Delight
(a throng of the ancients
and how few of the later folk)

56:15 upon close-wrought couches
reclining upon them, set face to face,
immortal youths going round about them
with goblets, and ewers, and a cup from a spring
(no brows throbbing, no intoxication)

56:20 and such fruits as they shall choose,
and such flesh of fowl as they desire,
and wide-eyed houris
as the likeness of hidden pearls,
a recompense for that they laboured.
Therein they shall hear no idle talk, no cause of sin,

56:25 only the saying 'Peace, Peace!'
The Companions of the Right (O Companions of the Right!) mid thornless lote-trees and serried acacias, and spreading shade and outpoured waters, and fruits abounding unfailing, unforbidden, and upraised couches.
56:35 Perfectly We formed them, perfect, and We made them spotless virgins, chastely amorous, like of age for the Companions of the Right. A throng of the ancients and a throng of the later folk.
56:40 The Companions of the Left (O Companions of the Left!) mid burning winds and boiling waters and the shadow of a smoking blaze neither cool, neither goodly; and before that they lived at ease,
56:45 and persisted in the Great Sin, ever saying, 'What, when we are dead and become dust and bones, shall we indeed be raised up? What, and our fathers, the ancients?'
Say: 'The ancients, and the later folk shall be gathered to the appointed time of a known day.
56:50 Then you erring ones, you that cried lies, you shall eat of a tree called Zakkoum, and you shall fill therewith your bellies and drink on top of that boiling water
56:55 lapping it down like thirsty camels.' This shall be their hospitality on the Day of Doom. We created you; therefore why will you not believe?
Have you considered the seed you spill? Do you yourselves create it, or are We the Creators?
56:60 We have decreed among you Death; We shall not be outstripped; that We may exchange the likes of you, and make you to grow again in a fashion you know not. You have known the first growth; so why will you not remember?
56:65 Have you considered the soil you till? Do you yourselves sow it, or are We the Sowers? Did We will, We would make it broken orts, and you would remain bitterly jesting -- 'We are debt-loaded; nay, we have been robbed!'
Have you considered the water you drink? Did you send it down from the clouds, or did We send it? Did We will, We would make it bitter; so why are you not thankful?
56:70 Have you considered the fire you kindle? Did you make its timber to grow, or did We make it? We Ourselves made it for a reminder, and a boon to the desert-dwellers.
Then magnify the Name of thy Lord, the All-mighty.
No! I swear by the fallings of the stars
56:75 (and that is indeed a mighty oath, did you but know it) it is surely a noble Koran in a hidden Book none but the purified shall touch, a sending down from the Lord of all Being.
56:80 What, do you hold this discourse in disdain,
and do you make it your living to cry lies?
Why, but when the soul leaps to the throat of the dying
and that hour you are watching
(And We are nigher him than you, but you do not see Us)
56:85 why, if you are not at Our disposal,
do you not bring back his soul, if you speak truly?
Then, if he be of those brought nigh the Throne,
there shall be repose and ease, and a Garden of Delight;
90 and if he be a Companion of the Right:
'Peace be upon thee, Companion of the Right!'
But if he be of them that cried lies, and went astray,
there shall be a hospitality of boiling water
and the roasting in Hell.
95 Surely this is the truth of certainty.
Then magnify the Name of thy Lord, the All-mighty.
LVII IRON

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
57:1 All that is in the heavens and the earth magnifies God; He is the All-mighty, the All-wise. To Him belongs the Kingdom of the heavens and the earth; He gives life, and He makes to die, and He is powerful over everything.
He is the First and the Last, the Outward and the Inward; He has knowledge of everything. It is He that created the heavens and the earth in six days then seated Himself upon the Throne.
He knows what penetrates into the earth, and what comes forth from it, -- what comes down from heaven, and what goes up unto it. He is with you wherever you are; and God sees the things you do.
57:5 To Him belongs the Kingdom of the heavens and the earth; and unto Him all matters are returned. He makes the night to enter into the day and makes the day to enter into the night. He knows the thoughts within the breasts.
Believe in God and His Messenger, and expend of that unto which He has made you successors. And those of you who believe and expend shall have a mighty wage.
How is it with you, that you believe not in God seeing that the Messenger is calling you to believe in your Lord, and He has taken compact with you, if you are believers?
It is He who sends down upon His servant signs, clear signs, that He may bring you forth from the shadows into the light. Surely God is to you All-gentle, All-compassionate.
57:10 How is it with you, that you expend not in the way of God, and to God belongs the inheritance of the heavens and the earth? Not equal is he among you who spent, and who fought before the victory; those are mightier in rank than they who spent and fought afterwards; and unto each God has promised the reward most fair; and God is aware of the things you do. Who is he that will lend to God a good loan, and He will multiply it for him, and his shall be a generous wage?
Upon the day when thou seest the believers, men and women, their light running before them, and on their right hands. 'Good tidings for you today! Gardens underneath which rivers flow, therein to dwell for ever; that is indeed the mighty triumph.'
Upon the day when the hypocrites, men and women, shall say to those who have believed, 'Wait for us, so that we may borrow your light!' It shall be said, 'Return you back behind, and seek for a light!' And a wall shall be set up between them, having a door in the inward whereof is mercy, and against the outward thereof is chastisement. They shall be calling unto them, 'Were we not with you?' They shall say, 'Yes indeed; but you tempted yourselves, and you awaited, and you were in doubt, and fancies deluded you, until God's commandment came, and the Deluder deluded you concerning God. Therefore today no ransom shall be taken from you, neither from those who disbelieved. Your refuge is the Fire, that is your master -- an evil homecoming!'
57:15 Is it not time that the hearts of those who believe should be humbled to the Remembrance of God and the Truth which He has sent down, and that they should not be as those to whom the Book was given aforetime, and the term seemed over long to them, so that their hearts have become hard, and many of them are ungodly?
Know that God revives the earth after it was dead. We have indeed made clear for you the signs, that haply you will understand.
Surely those, the men and the women, who make freewill offerings and have lent to God a good loan, it shall be multiplied for them, and theirs shall be a generous wage.
And those who believe in God and His Messengers -- they are the just men and the martyrs in their Lord's sight; they have their wage, and their light. But the unbelievers, who have cried lies to Our signs, they are the inhabitants of Hell.
Know that the present life is but a sport and a diversion, an adornment and a cause for boasting among you, and a rivalry in wealth and children. It is as a rain whose vegetation pleases the unbelievers; then it withers, and thou seest it turning yellow, then it becomes broken orts. And in the world to come there is a terrible chastisement,
57:20 and forgiveness from God and good pleasure; and the present life is but the joy of delusion. Race to forgiveness from your Lord, and a Garden the breadth whereof is as the breadth of heaven and earth, made ready for those who believe in God and His Messengers. That is the bounty of God; He gives it unto whomsoever He will; and God is of bounty abounding.
No affliction befalls in the earth or in yourselves, but it is in a Book, before We create it; that is easy for God; that you may not grieve for what escapes you, nor rejoice in what has come to you; God loves not any man proud and boastful, such as are niggardly, and bid men to be niggardly. And whosoever turns away, God is the All-sufficient, the All-laudable.
57:25 Indeed, We sent Our Messengers with the clear signs, and We sent down with them the Book and the Balance so that men might uphold justice. And We sent down iron, wherein is great might, and many uses for men, and so that God might know who helps Him, and His Messengers, in the Unseen. Surely God is All-strong, All-mighty.
And We sent Noah, and Abraham, and We appointed the Prophecy and the Book to be among their seed; and some of them are guided, and many of them are ungodly.
Then We sent, following in their footsteps, Our Messengers; and We sent, following, Jesus son of Mary, and gave unto him the Gospel.
And We set in the hearts of those who followed him tenderness and mercy.
And monasticism they invented -- We did not prescribe it for them -- only seeking the good pleasure of God; but they observed it not as it should be observed. So We gave those of them who believed their wage; and many of them are ungodly.
O believers, fear God, and believe
in His Messenger, and He will give you
a twofold portion of His mercy; and
He will appoint for you a light whereby
you shall walk, and forgive you; God is
All-forgiving, All-compassionate;
that the People of the Book may know that they have no power over anything of God's bounty, and that bounty is in the hand of God; He gives it unto whomsoever He will; and God is of bounty abounding.
LVIII THE DISPUTER

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
58:1 God has heard the words of her that disputes with thee concerning her husband, and makes complaint unto God. God hears the two of you conversing together; surely God is All-hearing, All-seeing.
Those of you who say, regarding their wives, 'Be as my mother's back,' they are not truly their mothers; their mothers are only those who gave them birth, and they are surely saying a dishonourable saying, and a falsehood.
Yet surely God is All-pardoning, All-forgiving. And those who say, regarding their wives, 'Be as my mother's back,' and then retract what they have said, they shall set free a slave, before the two of them touch one another. By that you are admonished; and God is aware of the things you do.
58:5 But whosoever finds not the means, then let him fast two successive months, before the two of them touch one another. And if any man is not able to, then let him feed sixty poor persons -- that, that you may believe in God and His Messenger. Those are God's bounds; and for the unbelievers there awaits yet a painful chastisement.
Surely those who oppose God and His Messenger shall be frustrated as those before them were frustrated. Now We have sent down signs, clear signs; and for the unbelievers awaits a humbling chastisement, upon the day when God shall raise them up all together, then He shall tell them what they did.
God has numbered it, and they have forgotten it. God is witness over everything.
Hast thou not seen that God knows whatsoever is in the heavens, and whatsoever is in the earth? Three men conspire not secretly together, but He is the fourth of them, neither five men, but He is the sixth of them, neither fewer than that, neither more, but He is with them, wherever they may be; then He shall tell them what they have done, on the Day of Resurrection. Surely God has knowledge of everything.
Hast thou not regarded those who were forbidden to converse secretly together, then they return to that they were forbidden, and they converse secretly together in sin and enmity, and in disobedience to the Messenger? Then, when they come to thee, they greet thee with a greeting God never greeted thee withal; and they say within themselves, 'Why does God not chastise us for what we say?' Sufficient for them shall be Gehenna, at which they, shall be roasted -- an evil homecoming!
58:10 O believers, when you conspire secretly, then conspire not together in sin and enmity and disobedience to the Messenger, but conspire in piety and godfearing. Fear God, unto whom you shall be mustered. Conspiring secretly together is of Satan, that the believers may sorrow; but he will not hurt them anything, except by the leave of God. And in God let the believers put all their trust.
O believers, when it is said to you 'Make room in the assemblies', then make room, and God will make room for you; and when it is said, 'Move up', move up, and God will raise up in rank those of you who believe and have been given knowledge. And God is aware of the things you do.
O believers, when you conspire with the Messenger, before your conspiring advance a freewill offering; that is better for you and purer. Yet if you find not means, God is All-forgiving, All-compassionate.
Are you afraid, before your conspiring, to advance freewill offerings? If you do not so, and God turns again unto you, then perform the prayer, and pay the alms, and obey God and His Messenger. God is aware of the things you do.
58:15 Hast thou not regarded those who have taken for friends a people against whom God is wrathful? They belong neither to you nor to them; and they swear upon falsehood, and that wittingly. God has made ready for them a chastisement terrible; surely they -- evil are the things they have been doing. They have taken their oaths as a covering, and barred from God's way; so there awaits them a humbling chastisement.
Neither their riches nor their children shall avail them anything against God; those -- they are the inhabitants of the Fire, therein dwelling forever.
Upon the day when God shall raise them up all together, and they will swear to Him, as they swear to you, and think they are on something. Surely, they are the liars!
58:20 Satan has gained the mastery over them, and caused them to forget God's Remembrance. Those are Satan's party; why, Satan's party, surely, they are the losers!
Surely those who oppose God and His Messenger, those are among the most abject. God has written, 'I shall assuredly be the victor, I and My Messengers.' Surely God is All-strong, All-mighty.
Thou shalt not find any people who believe in God and the Last Day who are loving to anyone who opposes. God and His Messenger, not though they were their fathers, or their sons, or their brothers, or their clan. Those -- He has written faith upon their hearts, and He has confirmed them with a Spirit from Himself; and He shall admit them into gardens underneath which rivers flow, therein to dwell forever, God being well-pleased with them, and they well-pleased with Him. Those are God's party; why, surely God's party -- they are the prosperers.
LIX THE MUSTERING

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
59:1 All that is in the heavens and the earth magnifies God; He is the All-mighty, the All-wise.
It is He who expelled from their habitations the unbelievers among the People of the Book at the first mustering. You did not think that they would go forth, and they thought that their fortresses would defend them against God; then God came upon them from whence they had not reckoned, and He cast terror into their hearts as they destroyed their houses with their own hands, and the hands of the believers; therefore take heed, you who have eyes!
Had God not prescribed dispersal for them, He would have chastised them in this world; and there awaits them in the world to come the chastisement of the Fire. That is because they made a breach with God and His Messenger; and whosoever makes a breach with God, God is terrible in retribution.
59:5 Whatever palm-trees you cut down, or left standing upon their roots, that was by God's leave, and that He might degrade the ungodly.
And whatever spoils of war God has given unto His Messenger from them, against that you pricked neither horse nor camel; but God gives authority to His Messengers over whomsoever He will. God is powerful over everything.
Whatsoever spoils of war God has given to His Messenger from the people of the cities belongs to God, and His Messenger, and the near kinsman, orphans, the needy and the traveller, so that it be not a thing taken in turns among the rich of you. Whatever the Messenger gives you, take; whatever he forbids you, give over. And fear God; surely God is terrible in retribution.
It is for the poor emigrants, who were expelled from their habitations and their possessions, seeking bounty from God and good pleasure, and helping God and His Messenger; those -- they are the truthful ones.
And those who made their dwelling in the abode, and in belief, before them; love whosoever has emigrated to them, not finding in their breasts any need for what they have been given, and preferring others above themselves, even though poverty be their portion. And whoso is guarded against the avarice of his own soul, those -- they are the prosperers.
59:10 And as for those who came after them, they say, 'Our Lord, forgive us and our brothers, who preceded us in belief, and put Thou not into our hearts any rancour towards those who believe. Our Lord, surely Thou art the All-gentle, the All-compassionate.'
Hast thou not regarded the hypocrites, saying to their brothers of the People of the Book who disbelieve, 'If you are expelled, we will go forth with you, and we will never obey anyone in regard to you. If you are fought against, we will help you.' And God bears witness that they are truly liars.
If those are expelled, they will not go forth with them, and if they are fought against, they will not help them. Even if they helped them, they would surely turn their backs, then they would not be helped.
Why, you arouse greater fear in their hearts than God; that is because they are a people who understand not. They will not fight against you all together except in fortified cities, or from behind walls. Their valour is great, among themselves; you think of them as a host; but their hearts are scattered; that is because they are a people who have no sense.
59:15 Like those who a short time before them tasted the mischief of their action; there awaits them a painful chastisement. Like Satan, when he said to man, 'Disbelieve'; then, when he disbelieved, he said, 'Surely I am quit of you. Surely I fear God, the Lord of all Being.'
Their end is, both are in the Fire, there dwelling forever; that is the recompense of the evildoers.
O believers, fear God. Let every soul consider what it has forwarded for the morrow. And fear God; God is aware of the things you do.
Be not as those who forgot God, and so He caused them to forget their souls; those -- they are the ungodly.
59:20 Not equal are the inhabitants of the Fire and the inhabitants of Paradise. The inhabitants of Paradise -- they are the triumphant.
If We had sent down this Koran upon a mountain, thou wouldst have seen it humbled, split asunder out of the fear of God.
And those similitudes -- We strike them for men; haply they will reflect.
He is God;
there is no god but He.
He is the knower of the Unseen and the Visible;
He is the All-merciful, the All-compassionate.

He is God;
there is no god but He.
He is the King, the All-holy, the All-peaceable,
the All-faithful, the All-preserver,
the All-mighty, the All-compeller, the All-sublime.
Glory be to God, above that they associate!

He is God,
the Creator, the Maker, the Shaper.
To Him belong the Names Most Beautiful.
All that is in the heavens and the earth magnifies Him;
He is the All-mighty, the All-wise.
LX THE WOMAN TESTED

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
60:1 O believers, take not My enemy and your enemy for friends, offering them love, though they have disbelieved in the truth that has come to you, expelling the Messenger and you because you believe in God your Lord. If you go forth to struggle in My way and seek My good pleasure, secretly loving them, yet I know very well what you conceal and what you publish; and whosoever of you does that, has gone astray from the right way.
If they come on you, they will be enemies to you, and stretch against you their hands and their tongues, to do you evil, and they wish that you may disbelieve.
Neither your blood-kindred nor your children shall profit you upon the Day of Resurrection; He shall distinguish between you. And God sees the things you do.
You have had a good example in Abraham, and those with him, when they said to their people, 'We are quit of you and that you serve, apart from God. We disbelieve in you, and between us and you enmity has shown itself, and hatred for ever, until you believe in God alone. (Except that Abraham said unto his father, 'Certainly I shall ask pardon for thee; but I have no power to do aught for thee against God.') 'Our Lord, in Thee we trust; to Thee we turn; to Thee is the homecoming.
60:5 Our Lord, make us not a temptation to those who disbelieve; and forgive us. Our Lord, Thou art the All-mighty, the All-wise.'
You have had a good example in them for whoever hopes for God and the Last Day. And whosoever turns away, surely God is the All-sufficient, the All-laudable.
It may be God will yet establish between you and those of them with whom you are at enmity love. God is All-powerful; God is All-forgiving, All-compassionate.
God forbids you not, as regards those who have not fought you in religion's cause, nor expelled you from your habitations, that you should be kindly to them, and act justly towards them; surely God loves the just.
God only forbids you as to those who have fought you in religion's cause, and expelled you from your habitations, and have supported in your expulsion, that you should take them for friends. And whosoever takes them for friends, those -- they are the evildoers.
60:10 O believers, when believing women come to you as emigrants, test them. God knows very well their belief. Then, if you know them to be believers, return them not to the unbelievers. They are not permitted to the unbelievers, nor are the unbelievers permitted to them. Give the unbelievers what they have expended; and there is no fault in you to marry them when you have given them their wages. Do not hold fast to the ties of unbelieving women, and ask what you have expended, and let them ask what they have expended. That is God's judgment; He judges between you; and God is All-knowing, All-wise.
And if any of your wives slips away from you to the unbelievers, and then you retaliate, give those whose wives have gone away the like of what they have expended. And fear God, in whom you believe.
O Prophet, when believing women come to thee, swearing fealty to thee upon the terms that they will not associate with God anything, and will not steal, neither commit adultery, nor slay their children, nor bring a calumny they forge between their hands and their feet, nor disobey thee in aught honourable, ask God's forgiveness for them; God is All-forgiving, All-compassionate.
O believers, take not for friends a people against whom God is wrathful, and who have despaired of the world to come, even as the unbelievers have despaired of the inhabitants of the tombs.
LXI THE RANKS

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
61:1 All that is in the heavens and the earth magnifies God; He is the All-mighty; the All-wise.
O you who believe, wherefore do you say what you do not? Very hateful is it to God, that you say what you do not. God loves those who fight in His way in ranks, as though they were a building well-compacted.
61:5 And when Moses said to his people, 'O my people, why do you hurt me, though you know I am the Messenger of God to you?' When they swerved, God caused their hearts to swerve; and God guides never the people of the ungodly.
And when Jesus son of Mary said, 'Children of Israel, I am indeed the Messenger of God to you, confirming the Torah that is before me, and giving good tidings of a Messenger who shall come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad.'
Then, when he brought them the clear signs, they said, 'This is a manifest sorcery.'
And who does greater evil than he who forges against God falsehood, when he is being called unto surrender? And God guides never the people of the evildoers.
They desire to extinguish with their mouths, the light of God; but God will perfect His light, though the unbelievers be averse. It is He who has sent His Messenger with the guidance and the religion of truth, that he may uplift it above every religion, though the unbelievers be averse.
61:10 O believers, shall I direct you to a commerce that shall deliver you from a painful chastisement? You shall believe in God and His Messenger, and struggle in the way of God with your possessions and your selves. That is better for you, did you but know.
He will forgive you your sins and admit you into gardens underneath which rivers flow, and to dwelling-places goodly in Gardens of Eden; that is the mighty triumph; and other things you love, help from God and a nigh victory. Give thou good tidings to the believers!
O believers, be you God's helpers, as Jesus, Mary's son, said to the Apostles. 'Who will be my helpers unto God?' The Apostles said, 'We will be helpers of God.'
And a party of the Children of Israel believed, and a party disbelieved. So We confirmed those who believed against their enemy, and they became masters.
LXII CONGREGATION

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
62:1 All that is in the heavens and the earth magnifies God, the King, the All-holy, the All-mighty, the All-wise.
It is He who has raised up from among the common people a Messenger from among them, to recite His signs to them and to purify them, and to teach them the Book and the Wisdom, though before that they were in manifest error, and others of them who have not yet joined them. And He is the All-mighty, the All-wise.
That is the bounty of God;
He gives it to whom He will,
and God is of bounty
abounding.
62:5 The likeness of those who have been loaded with the Torah then they have not carried it, is as the likeness of an ass carrying books. Evil is the likeness of the people who have cried lies to God's signs. God guides never the people of the evildoers.
Say: 'You of Jewry, if you assert that you are the friends of God, apart from other men, then do you long for death, if you speak truly.'
But they will never long for it, because of that their hands have forwarded; God knows the evildoers. Say: 'Surely death, from which you flee, shall encounter you; then you shall be returned to the Knower of the Unseen and the Visible, and He will tell you that you have been doing.'
O believers, when proclamation is made for prayer on the Day of Congregation, hasten to God's remembrance and leave trafficking aside; that is better for you, did you but know.
62:10 Then, when the prayer is finished, scatter in the land and seek God's bounty, and remember God frequently; haply you will prosper.
But when they see merchandise or diversion they scatter off to it, and they leave thee standing. Say: 'What is with God is better than diversion and merchandise. God is the best of providers.'
LXIII THE HYPOCRITES

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
63:1 When the hypocrites come to thee they say, 'We bear witness that thou art indeed the Messenger of God.' And God knows that thou art indeed His Messenger, and God bears witness that the hypocrites are truly liars.
They have taken their oaths as a covering, then they have barred from the way of God. Surely they -- evil are the things they have been doing. That is because they have believed, then they have disbelieved; therefore a seal has been set on their hearts, and they do not understand. When thou seest them, their bodies please thee; but when they speak, thou listenest to their speech, and it is as they were propped-up timbers. They think every cry is against them. They are the enemy; so beware of them. God assail them! How they are perverted!
63:5 And when it is said to them, 'Come now, and God's Messenger will ask forgiveness for you,' they twist their heads, and thou seest them turning their faces away, waxing proud.
Equal it is for them, whether thou askest forgiveness for them or thou askest not forgiveness for them; God will never forgive them. God guides not the people of the ungodly.
Those are they that say, 'Do not expend on them that are with God's Messenger until they scatter off'; yet unto God belong the treasuries of the heavens and of the earth, but the hypocrites do not understand. They say, 'If we return to the City, the mightier ones of it will expel the more abased'; yet glory belongs unto God, and unto His Messenger and the believers, but the hypocrites do not know it.
O believers, let not your possessions neither your children divert you from God's remembrance; whoso does that, they are the losers.
63:10 Expend of what We have provided you before that death comes upon one of you and he says, 'O my Lord, if only Thou wouldst defer me unto a near term, so that I may make freewill offering, and so I may become one of the righteous.' But God will never defer any soul when its term comes. And God is aware of the things you do.
LXIV MUTUAL FRAUD

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
64:1 All that is in the heavens and the earth magnifies God. His is the Kingdom, and His is the praise, and He is powerful over everything.
It is He who created you. One of you is an unbeliever, and one of you a believer; and God sees the things you do. He created the heavens and the earth with the truth, and He shaped you, and shaped you well; and unto Him is the homecoming.
He knows whatever is in the heavens and the earth, and He knows what you conceal and what you publish. God knows the thoughts within the breasts.
64:5 Has there not come to you the tidings of those that disbelieved before, then tasted the mischief of their action, and there yet awaits them a painful chastisement?
That is because their Messengers came to them with the clear signs, and then they said, 'What, shall mortals be our guides?' Therefore they disbelieved, and turned away; and God was in no need of them. And God is All-sufficient, All-laudable.
The unbelievers assert that they will never be raised up. Say: 'Yes indeed, by my Lord! You shall be raised up, then you shall be told the things you did. That is easy for God.'
Therefore believe in God and
His Messenger, and in the
Light which We have sent down.
And God is aware of the things you do.
Upon the day when He shall gather you for the Day of Gathering; that shall be the Day of Mutual Fraud. And whosoever believes in God, and does righteousness, God will acquit him of his evil deeds, and admit him into gardens underneath which rivers flow, therein to dwell for ever and ever; that is the mighty triumph.
64:10 And those who disbelieved and cried lies to Our signs, those shall be the inhabitants of the Fire. therein to dwell forever -- an evil homecoming!
No affliction befalls, except it be by the leave of God. Whosoever believes in God, He will guide his heart. And God has knowledge of everything.
And obey God, and obey the Messenger; but if you turn your backs, it is only for the Messenger to deliver the Manifest Message.
God -- there is no god but He. And in God let the believers put their trust.
O believers, among your wives and children there is an enemy to you; so beware of them. But if you pardon, and overlook, and if you forgive, surely God is All-forgiving, All-compassionate.
64:15 Your wealth and your children are only a trial; and with God is a mighty wage. So fear God as far as you are able, and give ear, and obey, and expend well for yourselves. And whosoever is guarded against the avarice of his own soul, those -- they are the prosperers. If you lend to God a good loan, He will multiply it for you, and will forgive you. God is All-thankful, All-clement, Knower He of the Unseen and the Visible, the All-mighty, the All-wise.
LXV DIVORCE

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
65:1 O Prophet, when you divorce women, divorce them when they have reached their period. Count the period, and fear God your Lord. Do not expel them from their houses, nor let them go forth, except when they commit a flagrant indecency. Those are God's bounds; whosoever trespasses the bounds of God has done wrong to himself. Thou knowest not, perchance after that God will bring something new to pass.
Then, when they have reached their term, retain them honourably, or part from them honourably. And call in to witness two men of equity from among yourselves; and perform the witnessing to God Himself. By this then is admonished whosoever believes in God and the Last Day. And whosoever fears God, He will appoint for him a way out, and He will provide for him from whence he never reckoned.
And whosoever puts his trust in God, He shall suffice him. God attains his purpose. God has appointed a measure for everything.
As for your women who have despaired of further menstruating, if you are in doubt, their period shall be three months; and those who have not menstruated as yet. And those who are with child, their term is when they bring forth their burden. Whoso fears God, God will appoint for him, of His command, easiness.
65:5 That is God's command, that He has sent down unto you. And whosoever fears God, He will acquit him of his evil deeds, and He will give him a mighty wage.
Lodge them where you are lodging, according to your means, and do not press them, so as to straiten their circumstances. If they are with child, expend upon them until they bring forth their burden. If they suckle for you, give them their wages, and consult together honourably. If you both make difficulties, another woman shall suckle for him.
Let the man of plenty expend out of his plenty. As for him whose provision is stinted to him, let him expend of what God has given him. God charges no soul save with what He has given him. God will assuredly appoint, after difficulty, easiness.
65:10 How many a city turned in disdain from the commandment of its Lord and His Messengers; and then We made with it a terrible reckoning and chastised it with a horrible chastisement. So it tasted the mischief of its action, and the end of its affair was loss. God prepared for them a terrible chastisement. So fear God, O men possessed of minds!
Believers, God has sent down to you, for a remembrance, a Messenger reciting to you the signs of God, clear signs, that He may bring forth those who believe and do righteous deeds from the shadows into the light. Whosoever believes in God, and does righteousness, He will admit him to gardens underneath which rivers flow; therein they shall dwell for ever and ever. God has made for him a goodly provision.
It is God who created seven heavens, and of earth their like, between them the Command descending, that you may know that God is powerful over everything and that God encompasses everything in knowledge.
LXVI THE FORBIDDING

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
66:1 O Prophet, why forbiddest thou what God has made lawful to thee, seeking the good pleasure of thy wives? And God is All-forgiving, All-compassionate.
God has ordained for you the absolution of your oaths. God is your Protector, and He is the All-knowing, the All-wise.
And when the Prophet confided to one of his wives a certain matter; and then, when she told of it, and God disclosed that to him, he made known part of it, and turned aside from part; then, when he told her of it, she said, 'Who told thee this?' He said, 'I was told of it by the All-knowing, the All-aware.'
If you two repent to God, yet your hearts certainly inclined; but if you support one another against him, God is his Protector, and Gabriel, and the righteous among the believers; and, after that, the angels are his supporters.
66:5 It is possible that, if he divorces you, his Lord will give him in exchange wives better than you, women who have surrendered, believing, obedient, penitent, devout, given to fasting, who have been married and virgins too.
Believers, guard yourselves and your families against a Fire whose fuel is men and stones, and over which are harsh, terrible angels who disobey not God in what He commands them and do what they are commanded. 'O you unbelievers, do not excuse yourselves today; you are only being recompensed for what you were doing.'
Believers, turn to God in sincere repentance; it may be that your Lord will acquit you of your evil deeds, and will admit you into gardens underneath which rivers flow.
Upon the day when God will not degrade the Prophet and those who believe with him, their light running before them, and on their right hands; and they say, 'Our Lord, perfect for us our light, and forgive us; surely Thou art powerful over everything.'
O Prophet, struggle with the unbelievers and the hypocrites, and be thou harsh with them; their refuge shall be Gehenna -- an evil homecoming!
66:10 God has struck a similitude for the unbelievers -- the wife of Noah, and the wife of Lot; for they were under two of Our righteous servants, but they betrayed them, so they availed them nothing whatsoever against God; so it was said, 'Enter, you two, the Fire with those who enter.' God has struck a similitude for the believers -- the wife of Pharaoh, when she said,
'My Lord, build for me a house in Paradise, in Thy presence, and deliver me from Pharaoh and his work, and do Thou deliver me from the people of the evildoers.' And Mary, Imran's daughter, who guarded her virginity, so We breathed into her of Our Spirit, and she confirmed the Words of her Lord and His Books, and became one of the obedient.
LXVII THE KINGDOM

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
67:1 Blessed be He in whose hand is the Kingdom -- He is powerful over everything -- who created death and life, that He might try you which of you is fairest in works; and He is the All-mighty, the All-forgiving -- who created seven heavens one upon another.
Thou seest not in the creation of the All-merciful any imperfection. Return thy gaze; seest thou any fissure? Then return thy gaze again, and again, and thy gaze comes back to thee dazzled, aweary.
67:5 And We adorned the lower heaven with lamps, and made them things to stone Satans; and We have prepared for them the chastisement of the Blaze.
And for those who disbelieve in their Lord there awaits the chastisement of Gehenna -- an evil homecoming!
When they are cast into it they will hear it sighing, the while it boils and wellnigh bursts asunder with rage. As often as a troop is cast into it, its keepers ask them, 'Came there no warner to you?'; They say, 'Yes indeed, a warner came to us; but we cried lies, saying, "God has not sent down anything; you are only in great error.
67:10 They also say, 'If we had only heard, or had understood, we would not have been of the inhabitants of the Blaze.' So they confess their sins. Curse the inhabitants of the Blaze!
Surely those who fear their Lord in the Unseen -- there awaits them forgiveness and a great wage.
Be secret in your speech, or proclaim it, He knows the thoughts within the breasts. Shall He not know, who created? And He is the All-subtle, the All-aware.
67:15 It is He who made the earth submissive to you; therefore walk in its tracts, and eat of His provision; to Him is the Uprising.
Do you feel secure that He who is in heaven will not cause the earth to swallow you, the while it rocks? Do you feel secure that He who is in heaven will not loose against you a squall of pebbles, then you shall know how My warning is? Those that were before them also cried lies; then how was My horror!
Have they not regarded the birds above them spreading their wings, and closing them? Naught holds them but the All-merciful. Surely He sees everything.
67:20 Or who is this that shall be a host for you to help you, apart from the All-merciful? The unbelievers are only in delusion. Or who is this that shall provide for you if He withholds His provision? No, but they persist in disdain and aversion.
What, is he who walks prone upon his face better guided than he who walks upright on a straight path?
Say: 'It is He who produced you, and appointed for you hearing and sight and hearts; little thanks you show!' Say: 'It is He who scattered you in the earth, and unto Him you shall be mustered.'
67:25 They say, 'When shall this promise come to pass, if you speak truly?' Say: 'The knowledge is with God; I am only a clear warner.'
Then, when they see it nigh at hand, the faces of the unbelievers will be vexed, and it will be said, 'This is what you were promised.'
Say: 'What think you? If God destroys me and those with me, or has mercy on us, then who will protect the unbelievers from a painful chastisement?'
Say: 'He is the All-merciful. We believe in Him, and in Him we put all our trust. Assuredly, you will soon, know who is in manifest error.
67:30 Say: 'What think you? If in the morning your water should have vanished into the earth, then who would bring you running water?'
LXVIII THE PEN

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
68:1 Nun
By the Pen, and what they inscribe, thou art not, by the blessing of thy Lord, a man possessed. Surely thou shalt have a wage unfailing; surely thou art upon a mighty morality. So thou shalt see, and they will see, which of you is the demented.
Surely thy Lord knows very well those who have gone astray from His way, and He knows very well those who are guided.
So obey thou not those who cry lies. They wish that thou shouldst compromise,
68:10 then they would compromise. And obey thou not every mean swearer, backbiter, going about with slander, hinderer of good, guilty aggressor, coarse-grained, moreover ignoble, because he has wealth and sons.
68:15 When Our signs are recited to him, he says, 'Fairy-tales of the ancients!' We shall brand him upon the muzzle!
Now We have tried them, even as We tried the owners of the garden when they swore they would pluck in the morning and they added not the saving words.
Then a visitation from thy Lord visited it, while they were sleeping,
68:20 and in the morning it was as if it were a garden plucked. In the morning they called to one another, 'Come forth betimes upon your tillage, if you would pluck!' So they departed, whispering together, 'No needy man shall enter it today against your will.'
68:25 And they went forth early, determined upon their purpose. But when they saw it, they said, 'Surely we are gone astray; nay, rather we have been robbed!'
Said the most moderate of them, 'Did I not say to you, "Why do you not give glory?"' They said, 'Glory be to God, our Lord; truly, we were evildoers.'
68:30 And they advanced one upon another, blaming each other. They said, 'Woe, alas for us! Truly, we were insolent. It may be that our Lord will give us in exchange a better than it; to our Lord we humbly turn.'
Such is the chastisement; and the chastisement of the world to come, is assuredly greater, did they but know. Surely for the godfearing shall be Gardens of Bliss with their Lord.
68:35 What, shall we make those who have surrendered like to the sinners? What ails you then, how you judge? Or have you a Book wherein you study? Surely therein you shall have whatever you choose!
Or have you oaths from Us, reaching to the Day of Resurrection? Surely you shall have whatever you judge!
68:40 Ask them, which of them will guarantee that! Or do they have associates? Then let them bring their associates, if they speak truly.
Upon the day when the leg shall be bared, and they shall be summoned to bow themselves, but they cannot; humbled shall be their eyes, and abasement shall overspread them, for they had been summoned to bow themselves while they were whole.
So leave Me with him who cries lies to this discourse! We will draw them on little by little whence they know not; and I shall respite them -- assuredly My guile is sure.
68:45 Or askest thou them for a wage, and so they are weighed down with debt? Or is the Unseen in their keeping, and so they are writing it down?
So be thou patient under the judgment of thy Lord, and be not as the Man of the Fish, when he called, choking inwardly. Had there not overtaken him a blessing from his Lord he would have been cast upon the wilderness, being condemned.
68:50 But his Lord had chosen him, and He placed him among the righteous.
The unbelievers wellnigh strike thee down with their glances, when they hear the Reminder, and they say, 'Surely he is a man possessed!' And it is nothing but a Reminder unto all beings.
LXIX THE INDUBITABLE

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
69:1 The Indubitable!
What is the Indubitable?
And what will teach thee what is the Indubitable?
Thamood and Ad cried lies to the Clatterer.
69:5 As for Thamood, they were destroyed by the Screamer; and as for Ad, they were destroyed by a wind clamorous, violent that He compelled against them seven nights and eight days, uninterruptedly, and thou mightest see the people laid prostrate in it as if they were the stumps of fallen down palm-trees. Now dost thou see any remnant of them?
Pharaoh likewise, and those before him, and the Subverted Cities -- they committed error,
69:10 and they rebelled against the Messenger of their Lord, and He seized them with a surpassing grip.
Lo, when the waters rose, We bore you in the running ship that We might make it a reminder for you and for heeding ears to hold.
So, when the Trumpet is blown with a single blast and the earth and the mountains are lifted up and crushed with a single blow,
69:15 then, on that day, the Terror shall come to pass, and heaven shall be split, for upon that day it shall be very frail, and the, angels shall stand upon its borders, and upon that day eight shall carry above them the Throne of thy Lord.
On that day you shall be exposed, not one secret of yours concealed. Then as for him who is given his book in his right hand,
69:20 he shall say, 'Here, take and read my book! Certainly I thought that I should encounter my reckoning.' So he shall be in a pleasing life in a lofty Garden, its clusters nigh to gather. 'Eat and drink with wholesome appetite for that you did long ago, in the days gone by.'
69:25 But as for him who is given his book in his left hand, he shall say, 'Would that I had not been given my book and not known my reckoning! Would it had been the end! My wealth has not availed me, my authority is gone from me.'
69:30 'Take him, and fetter him, and then roast him in Hell, then in a chain of seventy cubits' length insert him! Behold, he never believed in God the All-mighty, and he never urged the feeding of the needy; therefore he today has not here one loyal friend, neither any food saving foul pus, that none excepting the sinners eat.'
No! I swear by that you see and by that you do not see,
69:40 it is the speech of a noble Messenger. It is not the speech of a poet (little do you believe) nor the speech of a soothsayer (little do you remember). A sending down from the Lord of all Being.
Had he invented against Us any sayings,
69:45 We would have seized him by the right hand, then We would surely have cut his life-vein and not one of you could have defended him.
Surely it is a Reminder to the godfearing; but We know that some of you will cry lies.
69:50 Surely it is a sorrow to the unbelievers; yet indeed it is the truth of certainty.
Then magnify the Name of thy Lord, the All-mighty.
LXX THE STAIRWAYS

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
70:1 A questioner asked of a chastisement about to fall for the unbelievers, which none may avert, from God, the Lord of the Stairways. To Him the angels and the Spirit mount up in a day whereof the measure is fifty thousand years.
70:5 So be thou patient with a sweet patience; behold, they see it as if far off; but We see it is nigh.
Upon the day when heaven shall be as molten copper and the mountains shall be as plucked wool-tufts,
70:10 no loyal friend shall question loyal friend, as they are given sight of them. The sinner will wish that he might ransom himself from the chastisement of that day even by his sons, his companion wife, his brother, his kin who sheltered him, and whosoever is in the earth, all together, so that then it might deliver him.
70:15 Nay, verily it is a furnace snatching away the scalp, calling him who drew back and turned away, who amassed and hoarded. Surely man was created fretful,
70:20 when evil visits him, impatient, when good visits him, grudging, save those that pray and continue at their prayers, those in whose wealth is a right known
70:25 for the beggar and the outcast, who confirm the Day of Doom and go in fear of the chastisement of their Lord (from their Lord's chastisement none feels secure) and guard their private parts
70:30 save from their wives and what their right hands own, then not being blameworthy (but whoso seeks after more than that, they are the transgressors), and who preserve their trusts and their covenant, and perform their witnessings, and who observe their prayers.
70:35 Those shall be in Gardens, high-honoured.
What ails the unbelievers, running with outstretched necks towards thee on the right hand and on the left hand in knots? What, is every man of them eager to be admitted to a Garden of Bliss? Not so; for We have created them of what they know.
70:40 No! I swear by the Lord of the Easts and Wests, surely We are able to substitute a better than they; We shall not be outstripped.
Then leave them alone to plunge and play until they encounter that day of theirs which they are promised, the day they shall come forth from the tombs hastily, as if they were hurrying unto a waymark, humbled their eyes, overspreading them abasement. That is the day which they were promised.
LXXI NOAH

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
71:1 We sent Noah to his people, saying, 'Warn thy people, ere there come on them a painful chastisement.' He said, 'O my people, I am unto you a clear warner, saying, "Serve God, and fear Him, and obey you me, and He will forgive you your sins, and defer you to a stated term; God's term, when it comes, cannot be deferred, did you but know."'
71:5 He said; 'My Lord, I have called my people by night and by day, but my calling has only increased them in flight. And whenever I called them, that Thou mightest forgive them, they put their fingers in their ears, and wrapped them in their garments, and persisted, and waxed very proud. Then indeed I called them openly; then indeed I spoke publicly unto them, and I spoke unto them secretly, and I said, "Ask you forgiveness of your Lord; surely He is ever All-forgiving,
71:10 and He will loose heaven upon you in torrents and will succour you with wealth and sons, and will appoint for you gardens, and will appoint for you rivers. What ails you, that you look not for majesty in God, seeing He created you by stages? Have you not regarded how God created seven heavens one upon another, and set the moon therein for a light and the sun for a lamp?
71:15 And God caused you to grow out of the earth, then He shall return you into it, and bring you forth. And God has laid the earth for you as a carpet, that thereof you may thread ways, ravines."
71:20 Noah said, 'My Lord, they have rebelled against me, and followed him whose wealth and children increase him only in loss, and have devised a mighty device and have said, "Do not leave your gods, and do not leave Wadd, nor Suwa', Yaghuth, Ya'uq, neither Nasr."
And they have led many astray. Increase Thou not the evildoers save in error!'
71:25 And because of their transgressions they were drowned, and admitted into a Fire, for they found not, apart from God, any to help them. And Noah said, 'My Lord, leave not upon the earth of the unbelievers even one.
Surely, if Thou leavest them, they will lead Thy servants astray, and will beget none but unbelieving libertines.
My Lord, forgive me and my parents and whosoever enters my house as a believer, and the believers, men and women alike; and do Thou not increase the evildoers save in ruin!'
LXXII THE JINN

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
72:1 Say: 'It has been revealed to me that a company of the jinn gave ear, then they said, "We have indeed heard a Koran wonderful, guiding to rectitude. We believe in it, and we will not associate with our Lord anyone.
He -- exalted be our Lord's majesty! has not taken to Himself either consort or a son. The fool among us spoke against God outrage,
72:5 and we had thought that men and jinn would never speak against God a lie. But there were certain men of mankind who would take refuge with certain men of the jinn, and they increased them in vileness, and they thought, even as you also thought, that God would never raise up anyone.
And we stretched towards heaven, but we found it filled with terrible guards and meteors. We would sit there on seats to hear; but any listening now finds a meteor in wait for him.
72:10 And so we know not whether evil is intended for those in the earth, or whether their Lord intends for them rectitude.
And some of us are the righteous, and some of us are otherwise; we are sects differing. Indeed, we thought that we should never be able to frustrate God in the earth, neither be able to frustrate Him by flight.
When we heard the guidance, we believed in it; and whosoever believes in his Lord, he shall fear neither paltriness nor vileness.
And some of us have surrendered, and some of us have deviated. Those who have surrendered sought rectitude;
72:15 but as for those who have deviated, they have become firewood for Gehenna!"'
Would they but go straight on the way, We would give them to drink of water copious, that We might try them therein. And whosoever turns away from the Remembrance of his Lord, He will thrust him into chastisement rigorous.
The places of worship belong to God; so call not, along with God, upon anyone. When the servant of God stood calling on Him, they were wellnigh upon him in swarms.
72:20 Say: 'I call only upon my Lord,
and I do not associate with Him anyone.
Say: 'Surely I possess no power
over you, either for hurt or for
rectitude.'
Say: 'From God shall protect me not
anyone,
and I shall find, apart from Him, no
refuge,
excepting a Deliverance from God and His Messages. And whoso rebels against God and His messenger, for him there awaits the Fire of Gehenna; therein they shall dwell forever.' Until, when they see that which they are promised, then they will know who is weaker in helpers and fewer in numbers.
Say: 'I do not know whether that which you are promised is nigh, or whether my Lord will appoint for it a space; Knower He of the Unseen, and He discloses not His Unseen to anyone, save only to such a Messenger as He is well-pleased with; then He despatches before him and behind him watchers, that He may know they have delivered the Messages of their Lord; and He encompasses all that is with them, and He has numbered everything in numbers.'
LXXIII ENWRAPPED

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
73:1 O thou enwrapped in thy robes, keep vigil the night, except a little (a half of it, or diminish a little, or add a little), and chant the Koran very distinctly;
73:5 Behold, We shall cast upon thee a weighty word; surely the first part of the night is heavier in tread, more upright in speech, surely in the day thou hast long business. And remember the Name of thy Lord, and devote thyself unto Him very devoutly. Lord of the East and the West; there is no god but He; so take Him for a Guardian.
And bear thou patiently what they say, and forsake them graciously. Leave Me to those who cry lies, those prosperous ones, and respite them a little, for with Us there are fetters, and a furnace, and food that chokes, and a painful chastisement, upon the day when the earth and the mountains shall quake and the mountains become a slipping heap of sand.
73:15 Surely We have sent unto you a Messenger as a witness over you, even as We sent to Pharaoh a Messenger, but Pharaoh rebelled against the Messenger, so We seized him remorselessly. If therefore you disbelieve, how will you guard yourselves against a day that shall make the children grey-headed?
Whereby heaven shall be split, and its promise shall be performed. Surely this is a Reminder; so let him who will take unto his Lord a way.
Thy Lord knows that thou keepest vigil nearly two-thirds of the night, or a half of it, or a third of it, and a party of those with thee; and God determines the night and the day. He knows that you will not number it, and He has turned towards you. Therefore recite of the Koran so much as is feasible. He knows that some of you are sick, and others journeying in the land, seeking the bounty of God, and others fighting in the way of God. So recite of it so much as is feasible. And perform the prayer, and pay the alms, and lend to God a good loan. Whatever good you shall forward to your souls' account, you shall find it with God as better, and mightier a wage. And ask God's forgiveness; God is All-forgiving, All-compassionate.
LXXIV SHROUDED

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
74:1 O thou shrouded in thy mantle, arise, and warn! Thy Lord magnify thy robes purify and defilement flee! Give not, thinking to gain greater and be patient unto thy Lord.
For when the Trump is sounded that day will be a harsh day,
74:10 for the unbelievers not easy. Leave Me with him whom I created alone, and appointed for him ample wealth and sons standing before him, and made all things smooth for him;
74:15 then he is eager that I should do more. Nay! He is forward unto Our signs; and I shall constrain him to a hard ascent. Lo! He reflected, and determined -- death seize him, how he determined!
74:20 Again, death seize him, how he determined! Then he beheld, then he frowned, and scowled, then he retreated, and waxed proud. He said, 'This is naught but a trumped-up sorcery;
74:25 'this is nothing but mortal speech.' I shall surely roast him in Sakar; and what will teach thee what is Sakar? It spares not, neither leaves alone scorching the flesh;
74:30 over it are nineteen.
We have appointed only angels to be masters of the Fire, and their number We have appointed only as a trial for the unbelievers, that those who were given the Book may have certainty, and that those who believe may increase in belief, and that those who were given the Book and those who believe may not be in-doubt, and that those in whose hearts there is sickness, and the unbelievers, may say, 'What did God intend by this as a similitude?'
So God leads astray whomsoever He will, and He guides whomsoever He will; and none knows the hosts of thy Lord but He. And it is naught but a Reminder to mortals.
74:35 Nay! By the moon and the night when it retreats and the dawn when it is white, surely it is one of the greatest things as a warner to mortals.
74:40 to whoever of you desires to go forward or lag behind. Every soul shall be pledged for what it has earned, save the Companions of the Right; in Gardens they will question concerning the sinners, 'What thrusted you into Sakar?'
They shall say, 'We were not of those who prayed, and
74:45 we fed not the needy, and we plunged along with the plungers, and we cried lies to the Day of Doom, till the Certain came to us.' -- Then the intercession of the intercessors shall not profit them.
74:50 What ails them, that they turn away from the Reminder, as if they were startled asses fleeing -- before a lion? Nay, every man of them desires to be -- given -- scrolls unrolled. No indeed; but they do not fear the Hereafter.
No indeed; surely it is a Reminder; so whoever wills shall remember it.
74:55 And they will not remember, except that God wills; He is worthy to be feared, -- worthy to forgive.
LXXV THE RESURRECTION

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
75:1 No! I swear by the Day of Resurrection.
No! I swear by the reproachful soul. What, does man reckon We shall not gather his bones? Yes indeed; We are able to shape again his fingers.
75:5 Nay, but man desires to continue on as a libertine, asking, 'When shall be the Day of Resurrection?'
But when the sight is dazed and the moon is eclipsed, and the sun and moon are brought together,
75:10 upon that day man shall say, 'Whither to flee?' No indeed; not a refuge! Upon that day the recourse shall be to thy Lord. Upon that day man shall be told his former deeds and his latter; nay, man shall be a clear proof against himself,
75:15 even though he offer his excuses.
Move not thy tongue with it to hasten it; Ours it is to gather it, and to recite it. So, when We recite it, follow thou its recitation. Then Ours it is to explain it.
75:20 No indeed; but you love the hasty world, and leave be the Hereafter. Upon that day faces shall be radiant, gazing upon their Lord; and upon that day faces shall be scowling,
75:25 thou mightest think the Calamity has been wreaked on them. No indeed; when it reaches the clavicles and it is said, 'Who is an enchanter?' and he thinks that it is the parting and leg is intertwined with leg, upon that day unto thy Lord shall be the driving.
75:30 For he confirmed it not, and did not pray, but he cried it lies, and he turned away, then he went to his household arrogantly. Nearer to thee and nearer
75:35 then nearer to thee and nearer! What, does man reckon he shall be left to roam at will? Was he not a sperm-drop spilled? Then he was a blood-clot, and He created and formed, and He made of him two kinds, male and female.
75:40 What, is He not able to quicken the dead?
LXXVI MAN

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
76:1 Has there come on man a while of time when he was a thing unremembered?
We created man of a sperm-drop, a mingling, and We made him hearing, seeing. Surely We guided him upon the way whether he be thankful or unthankful. Surely We have prepared for the unbelievers chains, fetters, and a Blaze.
76:5 Surely the pious shall drink of a cup whose mixture is camphor, a fountain whereat drink the servants of God, making it to gush forth plenteously. They fulfil their vows, and fear a day whose evil is upon the wing; they give food, for the love of Him, to the needy, the orphan, the captive: 'We feed you only for the Face of God; we desire no recompense from you, no thankfulness;
76:10 for we fear from our Lord a frowning day, inauspicious. So God has guarded them from the evil of that day, and has procured them radiancy and gladness, and recompensed them for their patience with a Garden, and silk; therein they shall recline upon couches, therein they shall see neither sun nor bitter cold; near them shall be its shades, and its clusters hung meekly down,
76:15 and there shall be passed around them vessels of silver, and goblets of crystal, crystal of silver that they have measured -- very exactly. And therein they shall be given to drink a cup whose mixture is ginger, therein a fountain whose name is called Salsabil. Immortal youths shall go about them; when thou seest them, thou supposest them scattered pearls,
76:20 when thou seest them then thou seest bliss and a great kingdom. Upon them shall be green garments of silk and brocade; they are adorned with bracelets of silver, and their Lord shall give them to drink a pure draught. Behold, this is a recompense for you, and your striving is thanked.'
Surely We have sent down the Koran on thee, a sending down; so be thou patient under the judgment of thy Lord, and obey not one of them, sinner or unbeliever.
76:25 And remember the Name of thy Lord at dawn and in the evening and part of the night; bow down before Him and magnify Him through the long night.
Surely these men love the hasty world, and leave be behind them a heavy day. We created them, and We strengthened their joints; and, when We will, We shall exchange their likes.
76:30 Surely this is a Reminder; so he who will, takes unto his Lord a way. But you will not unless God wills; surely God is ever All-knowing, All-wise. For He admits into His mercy whomsoever He will; as for the evildoers, He has prepared for them a painful chastisement.
LXXVII THE LOOSED ONES

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
77:1 By the loosed ones successively storming tempestuously by the scatterers scattering and the severally severing and those hurling a reminder
77:5 excusing or warning, surely that which you are promised is about to fall!
When the stars shall be extinguished, when heaven shall be split
77:10 when the mountains shall be scattered and when the Messengers' time is set, to what day shall they be delayed? To the Day of Decision. And what shall teach thee what is the Day of Decision?
77:15 Woe that day unto those who cry it lies! Did We not destroy the ancients, and then follow them with the later folk? So We serve the sinners. Woe that day unto those who cry it lies!
77:20 Did We not create you of a mean water, that We laid within a sure lodging till a known term decreed? We determined; excellent determiners are We. Woe that day unto those who cry it lies!
77:25 Made We not the earth to be a housing for the living and for the dead? Set We not therein soaring mountains? Sated you with sweetest water? Woe that day unto those who cry it lies!
77:30 Depart to that you cried was lies! Depart to a triple-massing shadow unshading against the blazing flame that shoots sparks like dry faggots, sparks like to golden herds. Woe that day unto those who cry it lies!
77:35 This is the day they shall not speak neither be given leave, and excuse themselves. Woe that day unto those who cry it lies!
'This is the Day of Decision; We have joined you with the ancients; if you have a trick, try you now to trick Me!'
77:40 Woe that day unto those who cry it lies!
Truly the godfearing shall dwell amid shades and fountains, and such fruits as their hearts desire: 'Eat and drink, with wholesome appetite, for that you were working.' Even so do We recompense the good-doers.
77:45 Woe that day unto those who cry it lies!
'Eat and take your joy a little; you are sinners!' Woe that day unto those who cry it lies! When it is said to them, 'Prostrate yourselves!' they prostrate not. Woe that day unto those who cry it lies!
77:50 In what discourse after this will they believe?
LXXVIII THE TIDING

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
78:1 Of what do they question one another? Of the mighty tiding whereon they are at variance. No indeed; they shall soon know! Again, no indeed; they shall soon know!
Have We not made the earth as a cradle and the mountains as pegs? And We created you in pairs, and We appointed your sleep for a rest;
78:10 and We appointed night for a garment, and We appointed day for a livelihood. And We have built above you seven strong ones, and We appointed a blazing lamp and have sent down out of the rainclouds water cascading
78:15 that We may bring forth thereby grain and plants, and gardens luxuriant.
Surely the Day of Decision is an appointed time, the day the Trumpet is blown, and you shall come in troops, and heaven is opened, and become gates,
78:20 and the mountains are set in motion, and become a vapour. Behold, Gehenna has become an ambush, for the insolent a resort, therein to tarry for ages, tasting therein neither coolness nor any drink
78:25 save boiling water and pus for a suitable recompense. They indeed hoped not for a reckoning, and they cried loud lies to Our signs; and everything We have numbered in a Book.
78:30 'Taste! We shall increase you not save in chastisement.'
Surely for the godfearing awaits a place of security, gardens and vineyards and maidens with swelling breasts, like of age, and a cup overflowing.
78:35 Therein they shall hear no idle talk, no cry of lies, for a recompense from thy Lord, a gift, a reckoning, Lord of the heavens and earth, and all that between them is, the All-merciful of whom they have no power to speak.
Upon the day when the Spirit and the angels stand in ranks they shall speak not, save him to whom the All-merciful has given leave, and who speaks aright.
That is the true day; so whosoever wills takes unto his Lord a resort.
78:40 Lo, We have warned you of a nigh chastisement, upon the day when a man shall behold what his hands have forwarded, and the unbeliever shall say, 'O would that I were dust!'
LXXIX THE PLUCKERS

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
79:1 By those that pluck out vehemently and those that draw out violently, by those that swim serenely and those that outstrip suddenly by those that direct an affair!
79:5 Upon the day when the first blast shivers and the second blast follows it, hearts upon that day shall be athrob and their eyes shall be humbled.
79:10 They shall say, 'What, are we being restored
as we were before?
What, when we are bones old and wasted?'
They shall say, 'That then were a losing return!'
But it shall be only a single scare,
and behold, they are awakened.
79:15 Hast thou received the story of Moses? When his Lord called to him in the holy valley, Towa: 'Go to Pharaoh; he has waxed insolent. And say, "Hast thou the will to purify thyself; and that I should guide thee to thy Lord, then thou shalt fear?"'
79:20 So he showed him the great sign, but he cried lies, and rebelled, then he turned away hastily, then he mustered and proclaimed, and he said, 'I am your Lord, the Most High!'
79:25 So God seized him with the chastisement of the Last World and the First. Surely in that is a lesson for him who fears!
What, are you stronger in constitution
or the heaven He built?
He lifted up its vault, and levelled it,
and darkened its night, and brought forth its forenoon;

79:30 and the earth -- after that He spread it out,
therefrom brought forth its waters and its pastures,
and the mountains He set firm,
an enjoyment for you and your flocks.
Then, when the Great Catastrophe comes

79:35 upon the day when man shall remember what he has striven,
and Hell is advanced for whoever sees,
then as for him who was insolent
and preferred the present life,
surely Hell shall be the refuge.

79:40 But as for him who feared the station of his Lord
and forbade the soul its caprice,
surely Paradise shall be the refuge.
79:45 They will question thee concerning the Hour, when it shall berth. What art thou about, to mention it? Unto thy Lord is the final end of it. Thou art only the warner of him who fears it. It shall be as if; on the day they see it, they have but tarried for an evening, or its forenoon.

LXXX HE FROWNED

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
80:1 He frowned and turned away that the blind man came to him. And what should teach thee? Perchance he would cleanse him, or yet remember, and the Reminder profit him.
80:5 But the self-sufficient, to him thou attendest though it is not thy concern, if he does not cleanse himself. And he who comes to thee eagerly and fearfully, to him thou payest no heed.
80:10 No indeed; it is a Reminder
(and whoso wills, shall remember it)
upon pages high-honoured,
uplifted, purified,

80:15 by the hands of scribes noble, pious.

Perish Man! How unthankful he is!
Of what did He create him?
Of a sperm-drop
80:20 He created him, and determined him,
then the way eased for him,
then makes him to die, and buries him,
then, when He wills, He raises him.
No indeed! Man has not accomplished His bidding.

Let Man consider his nourishment.

80:25 We poured out the rains abundantly,
then We split the earth in fissures
and therein made the grains to grow
and vines, and reeds,
and olives, and palms,

80:30 and dense-tree'd gardens,
and fruits, and pastures,
an enjoyment for you and your flocks.
And when the Blast shall sound,
upon the day when a man shall flee from his brother,

80:35 his mother, his father,
his consort, his sons,
every man that day shall have business to suffice him.
Some faces on that day shall shine
laughing, joyous;

80:40 some faces on that day shall be dusty
o'erspread with darkness --
those -- they are the unbelievers, the libertines.

LXXXI THE DARKENING

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
81:1 When the sun shall be darkened,
when the stars shall be thrown down,
when the mountains shall be set moving,
when the pregnant camels shall be neglected,

81:5 when the savage beasts shall be mustered,
when the seas shall be set boiling,
when the souls shall be coupled,
when the buried infant shall be asked for what sin she was slain,

81:10 when the scrolls shall be unrolled,
when heaven shall be stripped off;
when Hell shall be set blazing,
when Paradise shall be brought nigh,
then shall a soul know what it has produced.

81:15 No! I swear by the slinkers,
the runners, the sinkers,
by the night swarming,
by the dawn sighing,
truly this is the word of a noble Messenger

81:20 having power, with the Lord of the Throne secure,
obeyed, moreover trusty.

Your companion is not possessed;
he truly saw him on the clear horizon;
he is not niggardly of the Unseen.

81:25 And it is not the word of an accursed Satan;
where then are you going?

It is naught but a Reminder
unto all beings,
for whosoever of you who would go straight;
but will you shall not, unless God wills,
the Lord of all Being.

LXXXII THE SPLITTING

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
82:1 When heaven is split open, when the stars are scattered, when the seas swarm over, when the tombs are overthrown,
82:5 then a soul shall know its works, the former and the latter.
O Man! What deceived thee as to thy generous Lord who created thee and shaped thee and wrought thee in symmetry and composed thee after what form He would?
82:10 No indeed; but you cry lies to the Doom; yet there are over you watchers noble, writers who know whatever you do.
82:15 Surely the pious shall be in bliss, and the libertines shall be in a fiery furnace roasting therein on the Day of Doom, nor shall they ever be absent from it.
And what shall teach thee what is the Day of Doom? Again, what shall teach thee what is the Day of Doom? A day when no soul shall possess aught to succour another soul; that day the Command shall belong unto God.

LXXXIII THE STINTERS

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
83:1 Woe to the stinters who, when they measure against the people, take full measure but, when they measure for them or weigh for them, do skimp.
Do those not think that they shall be raised up
83:5 unto a mighty day a day when mankind shall stand before the Lord of all Being?
No indeed; the Book of the libertines is in Sijjin; and what shall teach thee what is Sijjin? A book inscribed. Woe that day unto those who cry it lies,
83:10 who cry lies to the Day of Doom; and none cries lies to it but every guilty aggressor. When our signs are recited to him, he says, 'Fairy-tales of the ancients!'
No indeed; but that they were earning has rusted upon their hearts.
83:15 No indeed; but upon that day they shall be veiled from their Lord, then they shall roast in Hell. Then it shall be said to them, 'This is that you cried lies to.'
No indeed; the book of the pious is in Illiyun; and what shall teach thee what is Illiyun?
83:20 A book inscribed, witnessed by those brought nigh. Surely the pious shall be in bliss, upon couches gazing; thou knowest in their faces the radiancy of bliss
83:25 as they are given to drink of a wine sealed whose seal is musk -- so after that let the strivers strive -- and whose mixture is Tasnim, a fountain at which do drink those brought nigh.
Behold, the sinners were laughing at the believers,
83:30 when them passed them by winking at one another, and when they returned to their people they returned blithely, and when they saw them they said, 'Lo, these men are astray!'
Yet they were not sent as watchers over them. So today the believers are laughing at the unbelievers,
83:35 upon couches gazing. Have the unbelievers been rewarded what they were doing?

LXXXIV THE RENDING

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
84:1 When heaven is rent asunder and gives ear to its Lord, and is fitly disposed; when earth is stretched out and casts forth what is in it, and voids itself,
84:5 and gives ear to its Lord, and is fitly disposed!
O Man! Thou art labouring unto thy Lord laboriously, and thou shalt encounter Him. Then as for him who is given his book in his right hand, he shall surely receive an easy reckoning and he will return to his family joyfully.
84:10 But as for him who is given his book behind his back, he shall call for destruction and he shall roast at a Blaze. He once lived among his family joyfully; he surely thought he would never revert.
84:15 Yes indeed; his Lord had sight of him. No! I swear by the twilight and the night and what it envelops and the moon when it is at the full, you shall surely ride stage after stage.
84:20 Then what ails them, that they believe not, and when the Koran is recited to them they do not bow? Nay, but the unbelievers are crying lies, and God knows very well what they are secreting.
So give them good tidings of a painful chastisement,
84:25 except those that believe, and do righteous deeds -- theirs shall be a wage unfailing.

LXXXV THE CONSTELLATIONS

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
85:1 By heaven of the constellations, by the promised day, by the witness and the witnessed, slain were the Men of the Pit,
85:5 the fire abounding in fuel, when they were seated over it and were themselves witnesses of what they did with the believers.
They took revenge on them only because they believed in the All-mighty, the All-laudable, God to whom belongs the Kingdom of the heavens and the earth, and God is Witness over everything.
85:10 Those who persecute the believers, men and women,
and then have not repented, there awaits them the
chastisement of Gehenna, and there awaits them
the chastisement of the burning.
Those who believe, and do righteous deeds, for them
await gardens underneath which rivers flow; that is
the great triumph.
Surely thy Lord's assault is terrible. Surely it is He who originates, and brings again, and He is the All-forgiving, the All-loving,
85:15 Lord of the Throne, the All-glorious, Performer of what He desires.
Hast thou received the story of the hosts, Pharaoh and Thamood? Nay, but the unbelievers still cry lies,
85:20 and God is behind them, encompassing. Nay, but it is a glorious Koran, in a guarded tablet.

LXXXVI THE NIGHT-STAR

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
86:1 By heaven and the night-star!
And what shall teach thee what is the night-star?
The piercing star!
Over every soul there is a watcher.

86:5 So let man consider of what he was created;
he was created of gushing water
issuing between the loins and the breast-bones.
Surely He is able to bring him back
upon the day when the secrets are tried,

86:10 and he shall have no strength, no helper.

By heaven of the returning rain,
by earth splitting with verdure,
surely it is a decisive word;
it is no merriment.

86:15 They are devising guile,
and I am devising guile.
So respite the unbelievers;
delay with them awhile.

LXXXVII THE MOST HIGH

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
87:1 Magnify the Name of thy Lord the Most High who created and shaped, who determined and guided, who brought forth the pasturage then made it a blackening wrack.
87:5 We shall make thee recite, to forget not save what God wills; surely He knows what is spoken aloud and what is hidden. We shall ease thee unto the Easing. Therefore remind, if the Reminder profits,
87:10 and he who fears shall remember,
but the most wretched shall flout it,
even he who shall roast in the Great Fire,
then he shall neither die therein, nor live.
Prosperous is he who has cleansed himself,
87:15 and mentions the Name of his Lord, and prays.
Nay, but you prefer the present life; and the world to come is better, and more enduring.
Surely this is in the ancient scrolls, the scrolls of Abraham and Moses.

LXXXVIII THE ENVELOPER

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
88:1 Hast thou received the story of the Enveloper?
Faces on that day humbled, labouring, toilworn,
roasting at a scorching fire,

88:5 watered at a boiling fountain,
no food for them but cactus thorn
unfattening, unappeasing hunger.

Faces on that day jocund,
with their striving well-pleased,
in a sublime Garden, hearing there no babble;
therein a running fountain,
therein uplifted couches
and goblets set forth

88:15 and cushions arrayed
and carpets outspread.

What, do they not consider how the camel was created,
how heaven was lifted up,
how the mountains were hoisted,

88:20 how the earth was outstretched?
Then remind them! Thou art only a reminder;
thou art not charged to oversee them.

But he who turns his back, and disbelieves,
God shall chastise him with the greatest chastisement.

88:25 Truly, to Us is their return;
then upon Us shall rest their reckoning.

LXXXIX THE DAWN

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
89:1 By the dawn and ten nights, by the even and the odd, by the night when it journeys on! Is there in that an oath for a mindful man?
89:5 Hast thou not seen how thy Lord did with Ad,
Iram of the pillars,
the like of which was never created in the land,
and Thamood, who hollowed the rocks in the valley,
and Pharaoh, he of the tent-pegs,

89:10 who all were insolent in the land
and worked much corruption therein?
Thy Lord unloosed on them a scourge of chastisement;
surely thy Lord is ever on the watch.
As for man, whenever his Lord tries him, and honours him,
89:15 and blesses him, then he says, 'My Lord has honoured me.' But when he tries him and stints for him his provision, then he says, 'My Lord has despised me.'
No indeed; but you honour not the orphan, and you urge not the feeding of the needy,
89:20 and you devour the inheritance greedily, and you love wealth with an ardent love.
No indeed! When the earth is ground to powder, and thy Lord comes, and the angels rank on rank, and Gehenna is brought out, upon that day man will remember; and how shall the Reminder be for him?
89:25 He shall say, 'O would that I had forwarded for
my life!' Upon that day none shall chastise as
He chastises,
none shall bind as He binds.

89:30 'O soul at peace, return unto thy Lord,
well-pleased, well-pleasing!
Enter thou among My servants!
Enter thou My Paradise!'

XC THE LAND

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
90:1 No! I swear by this land,
and thou art a lodger in this land;
by the begetter, and that he begot,
indeed, We created man in trouble.

90:5 What, does he think none has power over him,
saying, 'I have consumed wealth abundant'?
What, does he think none has seen him?

Have We not appointed to him two eyes,
and a tongue, and two lips,
and guided him on the two highways?
90:10 Yet he has not assaulted the steep; and what shall teach thee what is the steep? The freeing of a slave, or giving food upon a day of hunger
90:15 to an orphan near of kin or a needy man in misery; then that he become of those who believe and counsel each other to be steadfast, and counsel each other to be merciful.
Those are the Companions of the Right Hand. And those who disbelieve in Our signs, they are the Companions of the Left Hand;
90:20 over them is a Fire covered down.

XCI THE SUN

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
91:1 By the sun and his morning brightness and by the moon when she follows him, and by the day when it displays him and by the night when it enshrouds him!
91:5 By the heaven and That which built it and by the earth and That which extended it! By the soul, and That which shaped it and inspired it to lewdness and godfearing! Prosperous is he who purifies it,
91:10 and failed has he who seduces it.
Thamood cried lies in their insolence when the most wretched of them uprose, then the Messenger of God said to them, 'The She-camel of God; let her drink!' But they cried him lies, and hamstrung her,
91:15 so their Lord crushed them for their sin, and leveled them: and He fears not the issue thereof.

XCII THE NIGHT

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
92:1 By the night enshrouding and the day in splendour
and That which created the male and the female,
surely your striving is to diverse ends.
92:5 As for him who gives and is godfearing
and confirms the reward most fair,
We shall surely ease him to the Easing.
But as for him who is a miser, and self-sufficient,
and cries lies to the reward most fair,
92:10 We shall surely ease him to the Hardship;
his wealth shall not avail him when he perishes.
Surely upon Us rests the guidance,
and to Us belong the Last and the First.
Now I have warned you of a Fire that flames,
92:15 whereat none but the most wretched shall be roasted,
even he who cried lies, and turned away;
and from which the most godfearing shall be removed,
even he who gives his wealth to purify himself
and confers no favour on any man for recompense,
92:20 only seeking the Face of his Lord the Most High;
and he shall surely be satisfied.

XCIII THE FORENOON

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
93:1 By the white forenoon
and the brooding night!
Thy Lord has neither forsaken thee nor hates thee
and the Last shall be better for thee than the First.
93:5 Thy Lord shall give thee, and thou shalt be satisfied.
Did He not find thee an orphan, and shelter thee?
Did He not find thee erring, and guide thee?
Did He not find thee needy, and suffice thee?
93:10 As for the orphan, do not oppress him,
and as for the beggar, scold him not;
and as for thy Lord's blessing, declare it.

XCIV THE EXPANDING

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
94:1 Did We not expand thy breast for thee
and lift from thee thy burden,
the burden that weighed down thy back?
Did We not exalt thy fame?

94:5 So truly with hardship comes ease,
truly with hardship comes ease.'
So when thou art empty, labour,
and let thy Lord be thy Quest.

XCV THE FIG

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
95:1 By the fig and the olive and the Mount Sinai
and this land secure!
We indeed created Man in the fairest stature

95:5 then We restored him the lowest of the low --
save those who believe, and do righteous deeds;
they shall have a wage unfailing.

What then shall cry thee lies as to the Doom?
Is not God the justest of judges?

XCVI THE BLOOD-CLOT

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
96:1 Recite: In the Name of thy Lord who created, created Man of a blood-clot. Recite: And thy Lord is the Most Generous, who taught by the Pen, taught Man that he knew not.
96:5 No indeed; surely Man waxes insolent, for he thinks himself self-sufficient. Surely unto thy Lord is the Returning. What thinkest thou? He who forbids
96:10 a servant when he prays --
What thinkest thou? If he were upon guidance
or bade to godfearing --
What thinkest thou? If he cries lies, and turns away --
Did he not know that God sees?

96:15 No indeed; surely, if he gives not over,
We shall seize him by the forelock,
a lying, sinful forelock.
So let him call on his concourse!
We shall call on the guards of Hell.
No indeed; do thou not obey him, and bow thyself, and draw nigh.

XCVII POWER

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
97:1 Behold, We sent it down on the Night of Power;
And what shall teach thee what is the Night of Power?
The Night of Power is better than a thousand months;
in it the angels and the Spirit descend,
by the leave of their Lord, upon every command.

97:5 Peace it is, till the rising of dawn.

XCVIII THE CLEAR SIGN

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
98:1 The unbelievers of the People of the Book and the idolaters would never leave off; till the Clear Sign came to them, a Messenger from God, reciting pages purified, therein true Books. And they scattered not, those that were given the Book, excepting after the Clear Sign came to them.
They were commanded only to serve God, making the religion His sincerely, men of pure faith, and to perform the prayer, and pay the alms -- that is the religion of the True.
98:5 The unbelievers of the People of the Book and the idolaters shall be in the Fire of Gehenna, therein dwelling forever; those are the worst of creatures.
But those who believe, and do righteous deeds, those are the best of creatures; their recompense is with their Lord -- Gardens of Eden, underneath which rivers flow, therein dwelling for ever and ever.
God is well-pleased with them, and they are well-pleased with Him; that is for him who fears his Lord.

XCIX THE EARTHQUAKE

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
99:1 When earth is shaken with a mighty shaking
and earth brings forth her burdens,
and Man says, 'What ails her?'
upon that day she shall tell her tidings
for that her Lord has inspired her.

99:5 Upon that day men shall issue in scatterings to see their works,
and whoso has done an atom's weight of good shall see it,
and whoso has done an atom's weight of evil shall see it.

C THE CHARGERS

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
100:1 By the snorting chargers,
by the strikers of fire,
by the dawn-raiders blazing a trail of dust,

100:5 cleaving there with a host!
Surely Man is ungrateful to his Lord,
and surely he is a witness against that!
Surely he is passionate in his love for good things.
Knows he not that when that which is in the tombs is over-thrown,

100:10 and that which is in the breasts is brought out --
surely on that day their Lord shall be aware of them!

CI THE CLATTERER

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
101:1 The Clatterer! What is the Clatterer? And what shall teach thee what is the Clatterer? The day that men shall be like scattered moths, and the mountains shall be like plucked wool-tufts.
101:5 Then he whose deeds weigh heavy in the Balance
shall inherit a pleasing life,
but he whose deeds weigh light in the Balance
shall plunge in the womb of the Pit.
And what shall teach thee what is the Pit?
A blazing Fire!

CII RIVALRY

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
102:1 Gross rivalry diverts you, even till you visit the tombs.
No indeed; but soon you shall know. Again, no indeed; but soon you shall know.
102:5 No indeed; did you know with the knowledge of certainty, you shall surely see Hell;
Again, you shall surely see it with the eye of certainty then you shall be questioned that day concerning true bliss.

CIII AFTERNOON

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
103:1 By the afternoon!
Surely Man is in the way of loss,
save those who believe, and do righteous deeds,
and counsel each other unto the truth,
and counsel each other to be steadfast.

CIV THE BACKBITER

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
104:1 Woe unto every backbiter, slanderer, who has gathered riches and counted them over thinking his riches have made him immortal!
No indeed; he shall be thrust into the Crusher; and what shall teach thee what is the Crusher; The Fire of God kindled roaring over the hearts covered down upon them, in columns outstretched.

CV THE ELEPHANT

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
105:1 Hast thou not seen how thy Lord did with the Men of the Elephant?
Did He not make their guile to go astray?
And He loosed upon them birds in flights,
hurling against them stones of baked clay
and He made them like green blades devoured.

CVI KORAISH

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
106:1 For the composing of Koraish,
their composing for the winter and summer caravan!

So let them serve the Lord of this House
who has fed them against hunger.
and secured them from fear.

CVII CHARITY

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
107:1 Hast thou seen him who cries lies to the Doom?
That is he who repulses the orphan
and urges not the feeding of the needy.

So woe to those that pray
and are heedless of their prayers,
to those who make display
and refuse charity.

CVIII ABUNDANCE

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
108:1 Surely We have given thee abundance;
so pray unto thy Lord and sacrifice.
Surely he that hates thee, he is the one cut off.

CIX THE UNBELIEVERS

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
109:1 Say: 'O unbelievers, I serve not what you serve
and you are not serving what I serve,
nor am I serving what you have served,
neither are you serving what I serve

109:5 To you your religion, and to me my religion!'

CX HELP

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
110:1 When comes the help of God, and victory,
and thou seest men entering God's religion in throngs,
then proclaim the praise of thy Lord,
and seek His forgiveness;
for He turns again unto men.

CXI PERISH

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
111:1 Perish the hands of Abu Lahab, and perish he!
His wealth avails him not, neither what he has earned;
he shall roast at a flaming fire
and his wife, the carrier of the firewood,
upon her neck a rope of palm-fibre.

CXII SINCERE RELIGION

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
112:1 Say: 'He is God, One,
God, the Everlasting Refuge,
who has not begotten, and has not been begotten,
and equal to Him is not any one.'

CXIII DAYBREAK

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
113:1 Say: 'I take refuge with the Lord of the Daybreak
from the evil of what He has created,
from the evil of darkness when it gathers,
from the evil of the women who blow on knots,
113:5 from the evil of an envier when he envies.'

CXIV MEN

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
114:1 Say: 'I take refuge with the Lord of men,
the King of men,
the God of men,
from the evil of the slinking whisperer
who whispers in the breasts of men
of jinn and men.'

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- The End -

"The Koran Interpreted" - Translated by A. J. Arberry.

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