Sura 23 The Believers (Al-Mu'minun)
In the name of God, the Almighty, the Merciful.
[23:1] Successful indeed are the believers;
[23:2] those who are humble in their Salat,
[23:3] and those who turn away from idle talk,
[23:4] and those who give the Zakat,
[23:5] and those who guard their private parts
[23:6] except from their spouses, or what their right hands possess, with whom they are free from blame.
[23:7] Then whoever seeks beyond that, then they are the transgressors.
[23:8] Also, those who honour what they have been entrusted with and their oaths.
[23:9] And those who maintain their Salat.
[23:10] Those are the inheritors
[23:11] who will inherit Paradise. Therein, they shall permanently remain.
[23:12] We created the human being from an extract of clay.
[23:13] Then We made him a tiny drop in a secure resting place.
[23:14] Then We created from the tiny drop an aalaqah. Then We created from the aalaqah a mudghah. Then We created from the mudghah bones. Then We covered the bones with flesh. Then We produced him as another creation. So blessed be God, the best of creators.
---------------------------------------------------
Footnote 23:14 – For the words 'aalaqah' and 'mudghah' see footnote 22:5.
---------------------------------------------------
[23:15] Then, after that, you will surely die.
[23:16] Then, on the Day of Resurrection, you will surely be resurrected.
[23:17] We created above you seven pathways, and We are not unaware of the creation.
[23:18] We brought water down from the sky in a measured amount and lodged it in the earth, and certainly, We are Capable of taking it away.
[23:19] With it, We produced for you gardens of palm trees and grapevines, in which there are plenty of fruits for you, and from which you eat.
[23:20] And a tree emerging from Mount Sinai producing oil and seasoning for the eaters.
[23:21] And indeed, there is a lesson for you in the livestock: We provide you with a drink from what is in their bellies, and there are many benefits for you in them, and from them, you eat.
[23:22] And on them, and on the ships, you are carried.
[23:23] We sent Noah to his people. He said, "O my people, worship God; you have no god other than Him, so will you not be reverent?"
[23:24] So the leaders who disbelieved among his people said, "This is nothing other than a human being like you who wants to appear that he has done you a favour. Had God willed, He would have sent down angels. We have not heard anything like this from our forefathers.
[23:25] He is nothing but a man with madness in him, so just wait concerning him until a certain time."
[23:26] He said, "My Lord, support me, for they have denied me."
[23:27] And so We inspired him: "Build the ship under Our watchful eyes and by Our inspiration, then when Our command is issued, and the fountain has overflowed, place therein a pair of every kind as well as your family, except those of them upon whom the Word has already been issued. And do not speak to Me concerning those who transgressed; they will be drowned.
[23:28] Then when you are settled on the ship, you and those with you, say, 'Praise be to God who saved us from the transgressing people.'
[23:29] And say, 'My Lord, grant me a blessed disembarkation, for You are the best of those who provide disembarkation.' "
[23:30] Indeed, in that are signs. Indeed, We will always be testing.
[23:31] We brought about another generation after them.
[23:32] And We sent them a messenger from amongst them: "Worship God; you have no god other than Him, so will you not be reverent?"
[23:33] The leaders among his people who disbelieved and denied the meeting of the Hereafter and whom We lavished with luxuries in the worldly life said, "This is nothing but a human being like you. He eats from what you eat and drinks from what you drink.
[23:34] And if you obey a human being like you, then you will indeed be losers.
[23:35] Does he promise you that when you die and become dust and bones you will be brought out again?
[23:36] Impossible! Impossible indeed is what you are promised.
[23:37] There is nothing other than our worldly life. Whether we die or we live, we will not be resurrected.
[23:38] He is just a man who fabricated lies about God, and we do not believe him."
[23:39] He said, "My Lord, support me, for they have denied me."
[23:40] He said, "Soon they will surely become regretful."
[23:41] And so the blast rightly struck them, and We reduced them to waste. So away with the transgressing people.
[23:42] We brought about other generations after them.
[23:43] No nation will overtake its appointed time, nor will it delay it.
[23:44] Then We sent Our messengers in succession. Every time there came to a nation their messenger, they denied him. We sent them, one after the other, and made them tales of the past. So away with a people who do not believe.
[23:45] Then We sent Moses and his brother Aaron with Our signs and clear authority
[23:46] to Pharaoh and his leaders, but they acted arrogantly and were a haughty people.
[23:47] They said, "Should we believe two humans like us when their people are our slaves?"
[23:48] So they denied them, and thus they were among those annihilated.
[23:49] And We gave Moses the Scripture so that they may be guided.
[23:50] And We set up the son of Mary and his mother as a sign, and We gave them refuge on a hilltop; a resting place with a flowing spring.
[23:51] "O you messengers, eat of the good things and do good deeds. I am Knowledgeable of what you do.
[23:52] This is your nation, one nation, and I am your Lord, so reverence Me."
[23:53] But they divided their affair among themselves into sects; each party happy with what they have.
[23:54] So leave them in their confusion until a certain time.
[23:55] Do they think that when We provide them with wealth and children
[23:56] that We are hastening to grant them blessings? Not so, but they are unaware.
[23:57] Those who are in awe for fear of their Lord,
[23:58] and those who believe in the revelations of their Lord,
[23:59] and those who do not associate any partners with their Lord,
[23:60] and those who give what they have given, with their hearts fearful, knowing that to their Lord they will return;
[23:61] it is those who hasten to do good deeds, and they are the first to it.
[23:62] We do not assign to any self except what is within its capacity, and We have a Book that speaks the truth, and they will not be wronged.
[23:63] Rather, their hearts are confused over this, and they have other work besides this that they are doing.
[23:64] Then, when We seize those living in luxury among them with the punishment, at once they start crying for help.
[23:65] Do not cry for help today; you will not be getting any help from Us.
[23:66] My revelations used to be recited to you, but you used to turn back on your heels,
[23:67] acting arrogantly towards it. You conversed by night, speaking evil.
[23:68] Have they not reflected upon the Word? Or has there come to them what did not come to their forefathers?
[23:69] Or have they failed to recognise their messenger and so they denied him?
[23:70] Or do they say, "In him is madness"? Rather, he brought them the truth, but most of them hate the truth.
[23:71] If the truth were to comply with their personal desires, the heavens and the earth and all who are in them would have been corrupted. Rather, We brought them their Reminder, but from their Reminder, they are turning away.
[23:72] Or, are you asking them for a payment? Your Lord's payment is better; He is the best of providers.
[23:73] And indeed, you are inviting them to a straight path.
[23:74] Those who do not believe in the Hereafter are deviating from the path.
[23:75] If We were to grant them mercy and remove what harm there is with them, they would persist in blundering blindly in their transgression.
[23:76] And We have already seized them with the punishment, yet they still did not surrender to their Lord nor did they humble themselves.
[23:77] It was not until We opened for them a door to severe punishment that they became in total despair.
[23:78] He is the One who devised for you the hearing, the sight and the hearts; little do you give thanks!
[23:79] And He is the One who multiplied you in the earth, and unto Him, you shall be gathered.
[23:80] And He is the One who brings to life and puts to death, and due to Him is the alternation of the night and day, so will you not reason?
[23:81] However, they said what the earlier people said.
[23:82] They said, "When we have died and become dust and bones, do we get resurrected?
[23:83] We have been promised this before, us and our fathers. This is nothing but the tales of the previous ones."
[23:84] Say, "To whom belongs the earth and all who are in it, if you know?"
[23:85] They will say, "To God." Say, "Then will you not take heed?"
[23:86] Say, "Who is the Lord of the seven universes, and the Lord of the Great Throne?"
[23:87] They will say, "To God." Say, "Then will you not be reverent?"
[23:88] Say, "In whose hand is the realm of all things, and He protects while none can protect against Him if you know?"
[23:89] They will say, "To God." Say, "How then are you bewitched?"
[23:90] Rather, We have provided them with the truth, and they are liars.
[23:91] God has not taken a son, nor has there been any other god besides Him. Otherwise, each god would have gone off with what he created, and some would have gained supremacy over others. Glory to God, far above what they portray.
[23:92] The Knower of the unseen and the seen. Exalted is He, far above what they associate with Him.
[23:93] Say, "My Lord, if You should show me what they have been promised,
[23:94] my Lord, then do not let me be among the transgressing people."
[23:95] Indeed, We are Capable of showing you what We promise them.
[23:96] Ward off the bad by that which is better. We know best what they portray.
[23:97] And say, "My Lord, I seek refuge in You from the incitements of the devils,
[23:98] and I seek refuge in You my Lord, lest they should approach me."
[23:99] When death comes to one of them, he says, "My Lord, send me back
[23:100] so that I may do good deeds regarding what I have neglected." But no! This is just a word he utters. A barrier lies behind them until the Day they are resurrected.
[23:101] Then when the horn is blown, no kinship will exist between them on that Day, nor will they ask about one another.
[23:102] Those whose weights are heavy, they are the successful ones.
[23:103] And those whose weights are light, they are the ones who have lost themselves. In Hell, they shall permanently remain.
[23:104] The Fire will scorch their faces, and in it, they will grimace.
[23:105] Were My revelations not recited to you, and you used to deny them?
[23:106] They said, "Our Lord, our misery got the better of us, and we were a misguided people.
[23:107] Our Lord, get us out of it, then if we should revert, we would indeed be transgressors."
[23:108] He said, "Remain despised therein and do not speak to Me.
[23:109] A group of My servants used to say, 'Our Lord, we have believed, so forgive us and have mercy upon us. You are the best of the merciful.'
[23:110] But you made a mockery of them to the extent that they made you forget My remembrance, and you used to laugh at them.
[23:111] I have rewarded them today for their patience. They are indeed the triumphant."
[23:112] He said, "How many years have you remained in the earth?"
[23:113] They said, "We remained a day or part of a day, so ask those who keep count."
[23:114] He said, "In fact, you only remained a short while if you only knew.
---------------------------------------------------
Footnote 23:112-114 - On the Day of Judgment, it will appear to the human being that he remained on earth a mere hour of a day. For the 'Illusion of Time', see footnotes 6:128 and 17:52.
Footnote 23:112-114 - On the Day of Judgment, it will appear to the human being that he remained on earth a mere hour of a day. For the 'Illusion of Time', see footnotes 6:128 and 17:52.
---------------------------------------------------
[23:115] Did you think that We created you futilely and that you would not be returned to Us?"
[23:116] Exalted is God, the King, the Truth. There is no other god except Him, the Lord of the Noble Throne.
[23:117] Whoever calls upon another god besides God, for whom he has no proof, his reckoning rests with his Lord. The disbelievers will not succeed.
[23:118] Say, "My Lord, forgive and have mercy. You are the best of the merciful."
Sura 24 The Light (Al-Noor)
In the name of God, the Almighty, the Merciful.
[24:1] A Sura that We brought down and imposed. We have brought down clear revelations in it, may you take heed.
[24:2] The adulteress and the adulterer: lash each of them a hundred lashes. Do not let compassion for them overcome you with regards to applying God's religion if you believe in God and the Last Day, and let a group of believers witness their punishment.
[24:3] The adulterer is not to marry except an adulteress or a mushrikah. And the adulteress, none marries her except an adulterer or a mushrik. That has been prohibited for the believers.
[24:4] And those who accuse married women then do not produce four witnesses, lash them eighty lashes, and after that, never accept any testimony from them. Those are the wicked ones,
[24:5] except for those who repent after that and reform, then indeed, God is Forgiver, Merciful.
[24:6] Those who accuse their wives but have no witnesses other than themselves, then the testimony of any of them counts as four testimonies if he swears by God that he is of the truthful.
[24:7] And the fifth shall be God's curse upon him if he should be among the liars.
[24:8] The punishment shall be averted from her if she testifies four testimonies, swearing by God, that he is indeed of the liars.
[24:9] And the fifth will be God's wrath upon her if he was of the truthful.
[24:10] This would not have been possible but for God's favour and mercy upon you, and because God is Redeemer, Wise.
---------------------------------------------------
Footnote 24:10 - A false accusation of adultery against an innocent wife could indeed ruin her whole life. To prevent such injustice, God made sure that any wife has the final say against an accusing husband who produces no witnesses if she swears four times that he is a liar. This ruling for the protection of innocent wives is granted by God's favour and mercy.
---------------------------------------------------
[24:11] Those who came up with the falsehood are a group among you. Do not think it is bad for you, for it is good for you. For every person among them is what he has incurred of the sin. As for the one among them who had the greatest share of it, for him is a great punishment.
[24:12] If only when you heard it, the believing men and the believing women would have thought well of one another and said, "This is a clear falsehood"!
[24:13] If only they would have come up with four witnesses for it, then if they fail to produce the witnesses, it is they in the sight of God who are the liars.
[24:14] If it were not for God's favour and mercy upon you, in this world and in the Hereafter, you would have suffered a great punishment for what you indulged in.
[24:15] When you declared it with your own tongues, and you said with your mouths what you had no knowledge of, you considered it to be a trivial matter when, in the sight of God, it is indeed great.
[24:16] If only when you heard it, you would have said, "It is not for us to speak of this. Glory to You, this is a great slander"?
[24:17] God advises you not to revert to the like of this ever again if you are believers.
[24:18] God clarifies the revelations for you. God is Knowledgeable, Wise.
[24:19] Those who would love to see immorality spread among those who believe will have a painful punishment in this world and in the Hereafter. God knows while you do not know.
[24:20]This would not have been possible but for God's favour and mercy upon you, and because God is Compassionate, Merciful.
[24:21] O you who believe, do not follow in the footsteps of the devil. Whoever follows in the footsteps of the devil, then indeed, he advocates immorality and evil. Were it not for God's favour upon you and His mercy, not one of you would have ever been purified, but God purifies whom He wills. God is Hearer, Knowledgeable.
[24:22] Those among you who possess wealth and resources should not swear not to give to their relatives and the needy and the immigrants in the sake of God. They shall pardon and overlook. Would you not like God to forgive you? Indeed God is Forgiver, Merciful.
[24:23] Those who accuse chaste, unsuspecting, believing women are cursed in the world and in the Hereafter, and they shall have a great punishment
[24:24] on the Day when their tongues, hands, and feet will bear witness against them regarding what they used to do.
[24:25] On that Day, God will pay them their rightful due in full, and they will know that God is the Clear Truth.
[24:26] Bad women are for bad men, bad men are for bad women, good women are for good men, and good men are for good women. Those are exonerated from what they say. They shall have forgiveness and a generous provision.
---------------------------------------------------
Footnote 24:26 - The words 'exonerated from what they say' assert that the chaste believers are exonerated by God from the false accusations thrown at them by the wicked slanderers (see 24:23).
---------------------------------------------------
[24:27] O you who believe, do not enter homes other than your homes until you have been made welcome, and until you greet their people. This is better for you, may you then take heed.
[24:28] If you find no one in them, still do not enter them until you are given permission. If you are told, "Go back," then go back. This is purer for you. God is Knowledgeable of what you do.
[24:29] There is no blame upon you for entering uninhabited homes wherein there are some of your belongings. God knows what you reveal and what you conceal.
[24:30] Say to the believing men to lower their gaze and to guard their private parts. This is purer for them. Indeed, God is All-Aware of what they do.
[24:31] And say to the believing women to lower their gaze and to guard their private parts, and not to show their zinat except that of it which is normally shown. They shall also cover their cleavage with their khimars. They shall not show their zinat except in the presence of their husbands, their fathers, the fathers of their husbands, their sons, the sons of their husbands, their brothers, the sons of their brothers, the sons of their sisters, other women, what their right hands possess, the male attendants who have no sexual desire and the children who are yet to attain awareness of women's nakedness. They shall not strike their feet so as to reveal details of their hidden zinat. Repent to God all of you, O believers, so that you may succeed.
---------------------------------------------------
Footnote 24:31 – The Arabic word 'khimar' used in this verse means 'cover'. Any cover is a 'khimar'. The word 'khamr', which is a derivative of this word, is used in the Quran to mean intoxicants because they cover the mind. For the word'zinat', please see the glossary.
---------------------------------------------------
[24:32] Marry those among you who are unmarried and the righteous male and female slaves. If they are poor, God will enrich them from His favour. God is Immense, Knowledgeable.
[24:33] Those who cannot find the means to get married shall maintain morality until God enriches them from His favour. Should any of those whom your right hand possesses seek a contract, write one for them if you know of some good in them, and give them from God's money that He has bestowed upon you. Do not force your girls into prostitution, seeking the material gain of the worldly life, if they wish to remain chaste. If anyone should force them, then God, due to them being forced, is Forgiver, Merciful.
---------------------------------------------------
Footnote 24:33 - The contract mentioned in this verse is one granting a slave their freedom (emancipation). If, for example, a slave (male or female) seeks to be freed for the purpose of getting married, their owner is obliged, according to the law of God, to draw a contract for them granting them their freedom. He is also to give them some money as a head start in their new free married life.
---------------------------------------------------
[24:34] We have brought down to you clarifying revelations and a precedent from those who passed away before you, as well as advice for the reverent.
[24:35] God is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The allegory of His Light is that of a niche in which is a lamp. The lamp is inside a glass. The glass is like a brilliant planet that is lit from a blessed olive tree that is neither eastern nor western. Its oil almost lights up even though no fire has touched it. Light upon Light. God guides to His Light whom He wills. God cites the examples for the people, and God is Knowledgeable of all things.
[24:36] In such houses that God has permitted to be erected and in which His name is mentioned, He is glorified mornings and evenings
[24:37] by men who are not distracted by trade nor selling from the remembrance of God and from observing the Salat and giving the Zakat. They fear a Day when the hearts and sights will be overturned.
[24:38] God will certainly reward them for the best of what they did and will increase for them His favour. God provides whom He wills without count.
[24:39] As for those who disbelieve, their work is like a mirage in the desert. A thirsty person thinks it is water until, when he reaches it, he finds it is nothing but finds God there to pay him his account in full. God is swift in reckoning.
[24:40] Or like darkness in the midst of a deep sea covered by waves, upon which are waves, and above which are clouds; darkness, one above another. If he holds his hand out, he can barely see it. Those to whom God gives no light can never have any light.
[24:41] Have you not seen that everything in the heavens and the earth glorifies God, even the birds in their flight formation? Each has known its prayer and its glorification. God is Knowledgeable of what they do.
[24:42] To God belongs the sovereignty of the heavens and the earth, and to God is the ultimate destination.
[24:43] Have you not seen that God drives the clouds, then gathers them together, then piles them on top of one another, and then you see the rain emerging from within it? He brings down from the sky mountainous amounts in which there is hail. He strikes with it whom He wills and averts it from whom He wills. The brightness of its lightning almost snatches away the sight.
[24:44] God alternates the night and the day. Indeed, in that is a lesson for those who possess vision.
[24:45] God created every creature from water. Some of them move on their bellies, some of them walk on two legs, and some of them walk on four. God creates whatever He wills. Indeed, God is Capable of all things.
[24:46] We have brought down clarifying revelations, and God guides whom He wills to a straight path.
[24:47] They say, "We believe in God and in the messenger, and we obey," but then afterwards, a group of them turns away. Those are not believers.
[24:48] And if they are called to God and His messenger to judge between them, a group of them turns away.
[24:49] However, if the right is on their side, they come to him submissively!
[24:50] Is there sickness in their hearts? Or have they doubted? Or do they fear that God and His messenger may treat them unjustly? Rather, those are the transgressors.
[24:51] The utterance of the believers, whenever called to God and His messenger to judge between them, is only to say, "We hear and we obey." Those are the successful ones.
[24:52] Those who obey God and His messenger, and fear God and reverence Him, they are the triumphant.
[24:53] They swear solemnly by God that if you should command them, they would go out. Say, "You do not have to swear. Your obedience is already known. Indeed, God is All-Aware of what you do."
[24:54] Say, "Obey God and obey the messenger." If they turn away, then he is responsible for his obligations, and you are responsible for your obligations. If you obey him, you will be guided. The sole duty of the messenger is the clear delivery.
[24:55] God promises those of you who believe and do good deeds that He will make them successors in the land just as He made those before them successors. He will establish for them their religion that He has approved for them. He will replace for them the fear, which they previously had, with security. They should worship Me and never associate anything with Me. And whoever disbelieves after that, they are indeed the wicked.
[24:56] Observe the Salat and give the Zakat, and obey the messenger so that you may attain mercy.
[24:57] Do not think that those who disbelieve are able to thwart anything in the land. Their refuge is the Fire; what a miserable destination!
[24:58] O you who believe, those whom your right hand possess, as well as those who have not yet attained puberty, should seek your permission at three times: before the Fajr Salat, when you remove your clothes at noon and after the Isha Salat. These are three private times during which you are likely to be exposed. Beyond those times, there is no blame upon you or upon them to move freely among one another. God thus clarifies the revelations for you. God is Knowledgeable, Wise.
[24:59] Once the children among you reach puberty, they must ask permission first, just like those who preceded them asked permission. God thus clarifies His revelations for you. God is Knowledgeable, Wise.
[24:60] Regarding the elderly post-menstrual women who no longer seek marriage, there is no blame upon them for relaxing their clothes, provided they do not flaunt their zinat. Indeed, maintaining morality is better for them. God is Hearer, Knowledgeable.
[24:61] There is no blame upon the blind, nor is there blame upon the cripple, nor is there blame upon the sick, nor upon yourselves for eating at your homes, or the homes of your fathers, or the homes of your mothers, or the homes of your brothers, or the homes of your sisters, or the homes of your paternal uncles, or the homes of your paternal aunts, or the homes of your maternal uncles, or the homes of your maternal aunts, or those whose keys are in your possession, or your friend. There is no blame upon you whether you eat together or separately. When you enter any home, greet yourselves with a greeting from God, blessed and good. God thus clarifies the revelations for you so that you may understand.
[24:62] The true believers are but those who believe in God and His messenger, and when they are with him in a communal matter, they do not leave until they have asked his permission. The ones who ask your permission are indeed the ones who believe in God and His messenger. If they ask your permission in order to tend to some of their affairs, you may grant permission to whomever you wish and ask forgiveness for them from God. Indeed, God is Forgiver, Merciful.
[24:63] Do not treat the calling of the messenger among you as you treat your calling to one another. God knows those of you who sneak away unnoticed. Those who oppose his orders should beware lest some test befalls them or that they are stricken by a painful punishment.
[24:64] Absolutely, to God belongs what is in the heavens and the earth. He knows what you are up to. On the Day they are returned to Him, He will inform them of what they had done. God is Knowledgeable of all things.
Sura 25 The Criterion (Al-Furqan)
In the name of God, the Almighty, the Merciful.
[25:1] Blessed is the One who brought down the Criterion upon His servant so that it would be a warner to all the people.
[25:2] He is the One to whom belongs the sovereignty of the heavens and the earth. He has not taken a son, and He does not have a partner in the sovereignty. He created everything and proportioned it with utmost precision.
[25:3] They have taken up gods besides Him who do not create anything but are themselves created. They do not possess the power to harm or benefit themselves, nor do they possess the power over death, life, or resurrection.
[25:4] Those who disbelieved said, "This is a falsehood which he fabricated, and some other people helped him with it." They have come up with injustice and lies.
[25:5] And they said, "Tales of the previous ones which he wrote down, for they are being dictated to him morning and evening."
[25:6] Say, "It was brought down by the One who knows the secrets in the heavens and the earth. Indeed, He is Forgiver, Merciful."
[25:7] And they said, "How come this messenger eats food and walks in the markets? If only an angel was brought down to him so as to be a warner alongside him?
[25:8] Or for a treasure to be dropped down to him, or that he would have a garden from which he eats!" The transgressors said, "You are following none other than a bewitched man."
[25:9] Look what descriptions they ascribe to you! They were led astray and so they cannot find the way.
[25:10] Blessed is the One who, if He wills, can grant you better than that: Gardens beneath which rivers flow, and He can grant you palaces.
[25:11] In fact, they have denied the Hour, and We have prepared for those who deny the Hour a Blaze.
[25:12] When it sees them from a distant place, they will hear it raging and fuming.
[25:13] And when they are thrown into a narrow place therein, all shackled, they will plead there for destruction.
[25:14] Do not plead today for one destruction. Plead for many destructions.
[25:15] Say, "Is that better, or the eternal Paradise that was promised to the reverent?" It is, for them, a reward and destination.
[25:16] Therein, they shall have what they wish for, eternally. It is a promise that is binding upon your Lord.
[25:17] On the Day He gathers them, together with what they worshipped besides God, He will say, "Have you misled these, My servants, or was it they who strayed off the path?"
[25:18] They said, "Glory to You, it was not for us to take any allies besides You, but You lavished enjoyments on them and their fathers until they forgot the Reminder and became a wasted people."
[25:19] They have denied you in what you say, and so you can neither avert nor help. For the one who transgresses among you, We will let him taste a great punishment.
[25:20] We have not sent any messengers before you who did not eat food and walk in the markets. We have made some of you a means for testing others. Will you be steadfast? Your Lord is Seer.
[25:21] Those who do not seek the meeting with Us said, "If only the angels were brought down upon us, or we could see our Lord!" They have turned arrogant in themselves and defied, a great defiance indeed.
[25:22] The Day they see the angels, there will be no good news for the criminals that Day. They will say, "This is an inviolable confinement."
[25:23] We turned to the work they have done and reduced it to scattered dust.
[25:24] The companions of Paradise on that Day are in a better place of settlement and better haven.
[25:25] And on the Day the sky will split open with clouds, and the angels are sent down in succession.
[25:26] True sovereignty on that Day belongs to the Almighty, and it will be a difficult Day for the disbelievers.
[25:27] The Day when the transgressor will bite his hands, he will say, "I wish I had followed the path with the messenger.
[25:28] Woe unto me, I wish I had not taken so-and-so for a friend.
[25:29] He has made me stray from the Reminder after it had come to me. The devil was always a betrayer of the human being."
[25:30] And the messenger said, "My Lord, my people have deserted this Quran."
[25:31] We have thus assigned for every prophet an enemy from among the criminals. Your Lord suffices as a Guide and a Supporter.
[25:32] Those who disbelieved said, "If only the Quran was brought down upon him in one go!" It was as such so that We would make firm your heart with it, and We recited it at a measured pace.
[25:33] Never will they come to you with an argument without Us providing you with the truth and a better explanation.
[25:34] Those who are gathered on their faces to Hell, they are in the worst place and are the most strayed from the path.
[25:35] And We gave Moses the Book and appointed his brother Aaron alongside him as an assistant.
[25:36] Then We said, "Go, the two of you, to the people who denied Our signs." Then We completely destroyed them.
[25:37] And the people of Noah, when they denied the messengers, We drowned them, and We set them as an example for the people. And We have prepared for the transgressors a painful punishment.
[25:38] Also Aad, Thamoud, the Companions of Al-Russ, and many generations in between;
[25:39] to each We cited the examples, and each We completely annihilated.
[25:40] They have certainly come across the village that was showered with the harmful shower; did they not then see it? Rather, they were not expecting a resurrection.
[25:41] And when they see you, they only make a mockery of you: "Is this the one whom God sent as a messenger?
[25:42] He almost diverted us from our gods had we not persevered with them." They will certainly know when they see the punishment who is farthest astray from the path.
[25:43] Have you seen the one who has taken his personal desire as his god? Would you be his trustee?
[25:44] Or do you think that most of them can hear or reason? They are just like cattle! In fact, they are further astray.
[25:45] Have you not seen how your Lord extends the shadow? Had He willed, He could have made it still. Then We made the sun its guide.
[25:46] Then We retract it gently back towards Us.
[25:47] He is the One who rendered the night a covering for you, and sleep for rest, and He rendered the day a time for rising.
[25:48] He is the One who sent the winds bearing good news ahead of His mercy. And We brought down pure water from the sky
[25:49] so that We would bring to life a dead land with it and provide drink for multitudes of livestock and humans We created.
[25:50] We have distributed it among them so that they may take heed, but most people refuse all but disbelief!
[25:51] Had We willed, We could have sent a warner to every village.
[25:52] So do not obey the disbelievers and strive with it against them a mighty striving.
[25:53] He is the One who merged the two seas: this one is sweet and fresh, and that one is salty and bitter. He placed a barrier between them and an inviolable confinement.
[25:54] He is the One who created from water a human being, then made him acquire blood relations and in-laws. Your Lord is indeed Capable.
[25:55] They worship besides God what does not benefit them nor harm them. The disbeliever is a partisan against his Lord.
[25:56] We have not sent you except as a bearer of good news and a warner.
[25:57] Say, "I do not ask you for a reward for it, only that whoever wills may pursue a path to his Lord."
[25:58] Put your trust in the Living One who does not die, and glorify Him with praise. He suffices as the All-Aware of the sins of His servants.
[25:59] He is the One who created the heavens and the earth and what is between them in six days, then He settled on the Throne; the Almighty. So ask about Him anyone who is well-informed.
[25:60] And when they are told, "Prostrate to the Almighty," they say, "What is the Almighty? Are we to prostrate to whatever you command us?" It only increased their aversion.
[25:61] Blessed is the One who placed constellations in the sky and placed in it a lamp and an illuminating moon.
[25:62] He is the One who rendered the night and the day in succession for those who wish to take heed or wish to give thanks.
[25:63]The servants of the Almighty are those who walk on the earth humbly, and when the ignorant speak to them, they say, "Peace."
[25:64] And those who prostrate and stand before their Lord during the night.
[25:65] And those who say, "Our Lord, avert from us the punishment of Hell. Indeed, its punishment is unrelenting.
[25:66] It is the worst place of settlement and position."
[25:67] And those who, when giving, are neither excessive nor stingy but adopt a stand in between.
[25:68] And those who do not call upon another god besides God, and they do not kill any person, something which is prohibited by God except in the course of justice, and they do not commit adultery. He who does that will meet a penalty.
[25:69] The punishment is doubled for him on the Day of Resurrection, and he shall remain permanently therein, humiliated,
[25:70] except for those who repent and believe and do good work. For those, God replaces their bad deeds with good deeds. Indeed, God is Forgiver, Merciful.
---------------------------------------------------
Footnote 25:70 – The magnitude of God's mercy is indeed beyond human understanding. In 6:54, we read that God decreed mercy upon Himself, which in itself is a profound statement. In this verse, we read that on the Day of Resurrection, God will replace the bad deeds of those who believe, repent and lead a righteous life with good deeds to their credit.
---------------------------------------------------
[25:71] And he who repents and does good deeds, he turns to God in sincere repentance indeed.
[25:72] And those who do not bear false witness, and if they encounter idle talk, they pass by dignified.
[25:72] And those who do not bear false witness, and if they encounter idle talk, they pass by dignified.
[25:73] And those who, when reminded of their Lord's revelations, they do not fall upon them deaf and blind.
[25:74] And those who say, "Our Lord, grant us in our spouses and offspring a source of joy, and make us a leading example for the reverent."
[25:75] Those will be rewarded with the mansions in return for their patience, and therein, they will be received with greetings and with peace.
[25:76] Therein, they shall permanently remain. It is indeed a splendid place of settlement and position.
[25:77] Say, "What for would My Lord care for you, if not your supplication? But you have denied, and so the consequence is inevitable."
Sura 26 The Poets (Al-Shu'ara)
In the name of God, the Almighty, the Merciful.
[26:1] T. S. M.
[26:2] These are the signs of the clear Book.
[26:3] Perhaps you are tormenting yourself with grief because they will not become believers.
[26:4] If We wished, We could bring down upon them a sign from the sky to which their necks would remain bowed in subjection.
[26:5] Never does a new Reminder come to them from the Almighty without them turning away from it.
[26:6] They have denied, and so the news of that which they used to ridicule will certainly come to them.
[26:7] Have they not looked at the earth, how many noble pairs We have grown in it?
[26:8] Indeed, in that is a sign, but most of them are not believers.
[26:9] And indeed, your Lord is the Dignified, the Merciful.
[26:10] When your Lord called out to Moses: "Go to the transgressing people,
[26:11] Pharaoh's people; will they not be reverent?"
[26:12] He said, "My Lord, I fear they will deny me.
[26:13] My chest may become constricted, and my tongue would not be fluent, so send for Aaron.
[26:14] They also hold a charge against me, so I fear they will kill me."
[26:15] He said, "Not so! Go, the two of you, with Our signs. We are with you, listening.
[26:16] Go to Pharaoh and say, 'We are the messengers of the Lord of the Worlds,
[26:17] so send with us the Children of Israel.' "
[26:18] He said, "Did we not raise you among us from when you were a newborn, and you remained among us several years of your life?
[26:19] Then you went and did that deed of yours that you did! You were indeed of the ungrateful."
[26:20] He said, "I did it then when I was one of the misguided.
[26:21] So I fled from you when I feared you. Then my Lord granted me sound judgment and made me one of the messengers.
[26:22] This favour which you boast of having granted me, was it that you have enslaved the Children of Israel?"
[26:23] Pharaoh said, "And what is the Lord of the Worlds?"
[26:24] He said, "The Lord of the heavens and the earth and what is between them, if only you had certainty."
[26:25] He said to those around him, "Are you not listening?"
[26:26] He said, "Your Lord, and the Lord of your forefathers."
[26:27] He said, "Your messenger who has been sent to you is indeed mad."
[26:28] He said, "The Lord of the east and the west and what is between them if you can reason."
[26:29] He said, "If you take a god other than me, I will make you one of the imprisoned."
[26:30] He said, "Even if I were to bring you something that is quite clear?"
[26:31] He said, "Bring it then if you are one of the truthful."
[26:32] So he cast his staff, whereupon it became a clear snake.
[26:33] And he drew out his hand, whereupon it was white for the beholders.
[26:34] He said to the leaders around him, "This is a knowledgeable magician.
[26:35] He wishes to drive you out of your land by his magic, so what do you command?"
[26:36] They said, "Let him and his brother wait, and send gatherers to the cities.
[26:37] They will bring you every knowledgeable magician."
[26:38] So the magicians were gathered for the appointment of a specified day.
[26:39] And it was said to the people: "Will you gather around
[26:40] so that we may follow the magicians if they are the victors?"
[26:41] When the magicians came, they said to Pharaoh, "Is there a reward for us if we are the victors?"
[26:42] He said, "Yes indeed, and you will then be among those who are close to me."
[26:43] Moses said to them, "Cast down whatever it is you are going to cast."
[26:44] So they cast down their ropes and sticks and said, "By Pharaoh's majesty, we will be the victors."
[26:45] Then Moses threw his staff, whereupon it started swallowing up what they were deluding.
[26:46] The magicians fell prostrate.
[26:47] They said, "We have believed in the Lord of the Worlds.
[26:48] The Lord of Moses and Aaron."
[26:49] He said, "Have you believed him before I permit you to? He must be your chief who taught you magic, but you are going to know. I will cut your hands and feet on opposite sides, and I will crucify you all."
[26:50] They said, "No harm, for to our Lord we will return.
[26:51] We hope that our Lord will forgive us our sins because we were the first of the believers."
[26:52] And We inspired Moses: "Travel with My servants by night. Indeed, you will be pursued."
[26:53] So Pharaoh sent gatherers to the towns.
[26:54] "These are a small group,
[26:55] and they are enraging us,
[26:56] but we are a vigilant multitude."
[26:57] So We expelled them from gardens and springs,
[26:58] and treasures, and a noble position.
[26:59] So it was, and We bequeathed it to the Children of Israel.
[26:60] So they pursued them at sunrise.
[26:61] Then, when the two groups caught sight of one another, the companions of Moses said, "We will surely be caught."
[26:62] He said, "No, my Lord is indeed with me; He will guide me."
[26:63] So We inspired Moses: "Strike the sea with your staff." So it parted. Each part was like a huge mountain.
[26:64] And We brought the others near.
[26:65] We saved Moses and all those who were with him.
[26:66] Then We drowned the others.
[26:67] Indeed, in that is a sign, but most of them are not believers.
[26:68] And indeed, your Lord is the Dignified, the Merciful.
[26:69] Recite to them the news of Abraham
[26:70] when he said to his father and his people, "What are you worshipping?"
[26:71] They said, "We worship stone idols, and we remain devoted to them."
[26:72] He said, "Do they hear you when you call?
[26:73] Or do they benefit you or harm you?"
[26:74] They said, "No, but we found our fathers thus doing."
[26:75] He said, "Have you seen what you have been worshipping,
[26:76] you and your fathers of old?
[26:77] They are my enemies, but not so the Lord of the Worlds.
[26:78] He is the One who created me, and so it is He who guides me.
[26:79] And He is the One who feeds me and gives me drink.
[26:80] And if I fall ill, it is He who heals me.
[26:81] And the One who puts me to death, then brings me back to life.
[26:82] And the One whom I hope will forgive my sins on the Day of the Religion."
[26:83] "My Lord, grant me sound judgment and include me with the righteous.
[26:84] And grant me an honourable mention among those who are to follow.
[26:85] And make me among the inheritors of the Garden of Bliss.
[26:86] And forgive my father. Indeed, he has been of the misguided.
[26:87] And do not disgrace me on the Day they are resurrected;
[26:88] the Day when neither wealth nor children can be of any benefit,
[26:89] but the only benefit will be for those who come to God with a sound heart."
[26:90] Paradise was brought near for the reverent,
[26:91] and Hellfire was brought forward for the strayers,
[26:92] and they were told, "Where are those whom you used to worship
[26:93] besides God? Can they support you or support themselves?"
[26:94] They were thrown into it headfirst, they and the strayers,
[26:95] and all of Satan's soldiers.
[26:96] They said, while they argued therein,
[26:97] "By God, we have been in clear misguidance
[26:98] when we equated you with the Lord of the Worlds!
[26:99] None misled us other than the criminals,
[26:100] and now we have no intercessors,
[26:101] nor a close friend.
[26:102] If only we were allowed to return, we would be among the believers."
---------------------------------------------------
Footnote 26:90-102 - Although these verses speak of future events in the Hereafter, they are worded in the past tense. See footnote 6:128.
---------------------------------------------------
[26:103] Indeed, in that is a sign, but most of them are not believers.
[26:104] And indeed, your Lord is the Dignified, the Merciful.
[26:105] The people of Noah denied the messengers
[26:106] when their brother Noah said to them, "Will you not be reverent?
[26:107] I am a trustworthy messenger to you,
[26:108] so reverence God, and obey me.
[26:109] I do not ask you for a reward for it. My reward comes only from the Lord of the Worlds.
[26:110] So reverence God, and obey me."
[26:111] They said, "Are we to believe you when it was the lowest ones who followed you?"
[26:112] He said, "What knowledge do I have of what they used to do?
[26:113] Their reckoning rests only with my Lord, were you but aware.
[26:114] I will not drive away the believers.
[26:115] I am only a clear warner."
[26:116] They said, "If you do not refrain, O Noah, you will surely be among those stoned."
[26:117] He said, "My Lord, my people have denied me.
[26:118] So make a decisive separation between me and them, and save me and those with me of the believers."
[26:119] So We saved him and those who were with him on the laden ship.
[26:120] Then afterwards, We drowned the rest.
[26:121] Indeed, in that is a sign, but most of them are not believers.
[26:122] And indeed, your Lord is the Dignified, the Merciful.
[26:123] Aad denied the messengers
[26:124] when their brother Hud said to them, "Will you not be reverent?
[26:125] I am a trustworthy messenger to you,
[26:126] so reverence God, and obey me.
[26:127] I do not ask you for a reward for it. My reward comes only from the Lord of the Worlds.
[26:128] Do you build on every hill a sign just to amuse yourselves?
---------------------------------------------------
Footnote 26:128 – The word 'sign' here refers to the tall buildings the people of Aad used to build, each of which was a sign of great stature and power. See 89:6-8.
---------------------------------------------------
[26:129] And you set up great fortresses so that you may become immortal?
[26:130] And when you strike, you strike like tyrants?
[26:131] So reverence God, and obey me.
[26:132] Reverence the One who provided you with what you know.
[26:133] He provided you with livestock and children,
[26:134] and gardens and springs.
[26:135] I fear for you the punishment of a great Day."
[26:136] They said, "It is all the same for us whether you advise or you are not one of the advisers.
[26:137] This is nothing but the manners of the previous ones,
[26:138] and we will not be punished."
[26:139] So they denied him, and thus We annihilated them. Indeed, in that is a sign, but most of them are not believers.
[26:140] And indeed, your Lord is the Dignified, the Merciful.
[26:141] Thamoud denied the messengers
[26:142] when their brother Saleh said to them, "Will you not be reverent?
[26:143] I am a trustworthy messenger to you,
[26:144] so reverence God, and obey me.
[26:145] I do not ask you for a reward for it. My reward comes only from the Lord of the Worlds.
[26:146] Do you think you will always be left secure in what is here:
[26:147] gardens, springs,
[26:148] crops, palm trees with succulent fruits,
[26:149] and to carve out homes into the mountains with great skill?
[26:150] So reverence God, and obey me.
[26:151] And do not obey the commands of the excessive ones
[26:152] who corrupt in the land and do not reform."
[26:153] They said, "You are but one of the bewitched.
[26:154] You are nothing other than a human being like us, so produce a miracle if you are of the truthful."
[26:155] He said, "This is a she-camel. She has her drink, and you have your drink, each on a specified day.
[26:156] Do not touch her with any harm or else you will be seized by the punishment of a great day."
[26:157] But they hamstrung her and then became regretful.
[26:158] So the punishment seized them. Indeed, in that is a sign, but most of them are not believers.
[26:159] And indeed, your Lord is the Dignified, the Merciful.
[26:160] The people of Lot denied the messengers
[26:161] when their brother Lot said to them, "Will you not be reverent?
[26:162] I am a trustworthy messenger to you,
[26:163] so reverence God, and obey me.
[26:164] I do not ask you for a reward for it. My reward comes only from the Lord of the Worlds.
[26:165] Do you approach the males out of all the people
[26:165] Do you approach the males out of all the people
[26:166] and leave the wives that your Lord has created for you? Indeed, you are a transgressing people."
[26:167] They said, "If you do not refrain, O Lot, you will surely be among those banished."
[26:168] He said, "I am of those who detest what you do.
[26:169] My Lord, save me and my family from what they are doing."
[26:170] So We saved him and all his family,
[26:171] except for an old woman who was one of those who stayed behind.
[26:172] Then We destroyed the others.
[26:173] We showered a rain upon them. Miserable was the rain of those who had been warned.
[26:174] Indeed, in that is a sign, but most of them are not believers.
[26:175] And indeed, your Lord is the Dignified, the Merciful.
[26:176] The Companions of the Woods denied the messengers
[26:177] when Shu'aib said to them, "Will you not be reverent?
[26:178] I am a trustworthy messenger to you,
[26:179] so reverence God, and obey me.
[26:180] I do not ask you for a reward for it. My reward comes only from the Lord of the Worlds.
[26:181] Give the full measure and do not be of those who skimp.
[26:182] And weigh with an equitable scale.
[26:183] And do not deprive the people of what is due to them, and do not act wickedly in the earth spreading corruption.
[26:184] And reverence the One who created you and the previous generations."
[26:185] They said, "You are but one of the bewitched.
[26:186] You are nothing other than a human being like us, and we think you are among the liars.
[26:187] So make lumps of the sky fall upon us if you are one of the truthful."
[26:188] He said, "My Lord knows best what you are doing."
[26:189] They denied him, and thus the punishment of the Day of the Shadow seized them. It was the punishment of a great Day.
[26:190] Indeed, in that is a sign, but most of them are not believers.
[26:191] And indeed, your Lord is the Dignified, the Merciful.
[26:192] And indeed, it is a revelation from the Lord of the Worlds.
[26:193] The Trustworthy Ruh brought it down
[26:194] unto your heart so that you would be one of the warners,
[26:195] in a clear Arabic tongue.
[26:196] And it is indeed in the Scriptures of the previous ones.
[26:197] Was it not a sign for them that the knowledgeable among the Children of Israel recognise it?
[26:198] Had We brought it down to some non-Arabs,
[26:199] and he had then read it to them, they would not have believed in it.
[26:200] In the same way, We have inserted it into the hearts of the criminals.
[26:201] They will not believe in it until they see the painful punishment.
[26:202] It will come to them suddenly while they are unaware.
[26:203] They will then say, "Can we be given respite?"
[26:204] Or is it Our punishment that they wish to hasten?
[26:205] Do you see: if We were to grant them enjoyment for years,
[26:206] then there came to them what they had been promised,
[26:207] of what avail would the enjoyment they were given be to them?
[26:207] of what avail would the enjoyment they were given be to them?
[26:208] We have not annihilated any village without it having had warners
[26:209] and the reminder. We are never unjust.
[26:210] It was not the devils who brought it down.
[26:211] It is not for them to do so, nor are they able to.
[26:212] They are barred from hearing.
[26:213] So do not call upon another god besides God, or else you will be one of those punished.
[26:214] And warn your close relatives.
[26:215] And lower your wing to those who follow you of the believers.
[26:216] If they disobey you, then say, "I am innocent of what you do."
[26:217] And put your trust in the Dignified, the Merciful.
[26:218] The One who sees you as you rise,
[26:219] and in your movements among those who prostrate.
[26:220] Indeed, He is the Hearer, the Knowledgeable.
[26:221] Shall I inform you upon whom the devils descend?
[26:222] They descend upon every sinful falsifier.
[26:223] They listen eagerly, but most of them are liars.
[26:224] As for the poets, it is the strayers who follow them.
[26:225] Do you not see that they roam in every valley
[26:226] and that they say what they do not do?
---------------------------------------------------
Footnote 26:224-226 – These three verses speak of a specific brand of poets prevalent in Arabia at the time of the Quranic revelation (7th century A.D.). Such poets would hang around in market areas and other public places where they would recite tailor-made complementary poetic lines to the well-off Meccan leaders who happen to be passing by. By doing so, they would receive lavish tips for their poetry.
Due to their mercenary nature, it follows that only misguided people would have the time for such cheap and disingenuous type of poetry.
The figure of speech 'roam in every valley' describe how such poets would be more than willing to shift allegiance between different camps when the need dictates, and wherever the greatest rewards may be secured.
---------------------------------------------------
[26:227] Not so those who believe, do good deeds, remember God frequently, and who defend themselves after they were wronged. As for those who transgressed, they will know what homecoming they will be returned to.
[26:227] Not so those who believe, do good deeds, remember God frequently, and who defend themselves after they were wronged. As for those who transgressed, they will know what homecoming they will be returned to.
Sura 27 The Ants (Al-Naml)
In the name of God, the Almighty, the Merciful.
[27:1] T. S. These are the signs of the Quran and a clear Book.
[27:2] It is a guidance and good news for the believers
[27:3] who observe the Salat and give the Zakat, and of the Hereafter, they are certain.
[27:4] For those who do not believe in the Hereafter, We have adorned their work for them, and thus they wander blindly.
[27:5] Those are the ones who will have the worst punishment, and in the Hereafter, they will be the greatest losers.
[27:6] You are receiving the Quran from One who is Wise, Knowledgeable.
[27:7] Moses said to his family, "I have glimpsed a fire. I will bring you some news from it or bring you a burning ember so that you may warm yourself."
[27:8] Then, when he came to it, he was called: "Those who are in the fire and those around it have been blessed. Glory to God, Lord of the Worlds.
[27:9] O Moses, it is I, God, the Dignified, the Wise.
[27:10] Throw down your staff." When he saw it moving as if it were a jinn, he turned and fled and did not turn back. "O Moses, do not fear. Messengers are not to be afraid in My presence,
[27:11] except one who has transgressed, then replaced good in place of bad, then indeed, I am Forgiver, Merciful.
[27:12] Put your hand in your pocket; it will emerge white without blemish; one of nine signs to Pharaoh and his people. They are a wicked people indeed."
[27:13] Then, when Our clearly visible signs came to them, they said, "This is clear magic."
[27:14] They rejected them due to their transgression and arrogance, even though in themselves they were certain about them. So look what the outcome of the corruptors was.
[27:15] We granted David and Solomon knowledge, and they said, "Praise be to God who preferred us over many of His believing servants."
[27:16] Solomon was David's heir. He said, "O people, we have been taught the language of the birds, and we have been given all kinds of things. This is indeed a clear favour."
[27:17] And gathered for Solomon were his soldiers of the jinn, humans, and birds, paraded in ranks.
[27:18] When they came upon the valley of the ants, one ant said, "O you ants, enter your homes so that Solomon and his soldiers do not crush you without realising it."
[27:19] So he smiled, laughing at what she said, and said, "My Lord, enable me to give thanks for Your blessings which You have bestowed upon me and my parents, and to do good deeds that You approve of, and admit me by Your mercy among Your righteous servants."
[27:20] He inspected the birds and said, "Why do I not see the hoopoe? Or is he among the absentees?
[27:21] I will punish him with a severe punishment or slaughter him unless he comes to me with clear justification."
[27:22] He did not stay away long. He then said, "I have encompassed that which you have not encompassed, and I have come to you from Sheba with assured news.
[27:23] I found a woman ruling over them, and she has been given of all things, and she possesses a great throne.
[27:24] I found her and her people prostrating to the sun instead of God. The devil adorned their work for them and repelled them from the path so that they would not be guided,
[27:25] and so that they do not prostrate to God who brings out what is hidden in the heavens and the earth, and who knows what you conceal and what you declare.
[27:26] God, there is no god except Him, the Lord of the Great Throne."
[27:27] He said, "We will see if you have been truthful or you were of the liars.
[27:28] Go with this Book of mine and deliver it to them, then turn away from them and see how they will respond."
[27:29] She said, "O commanders, a Noble Book has been delivered to me.
[27:30] It is from Solomon, and it is in the name of God, the Almighty, the Merciful.
[27:31] 'Do not exalt yourself above Me, and come to Me as submitters.' "
---------------------------------------------------
Footnote 27:28-31 - These four verses speak about the 'kitab' sent by Solomon to the Queen of Sheba. The traditional interpretation of these verses says that what Solomon sent to the Queen of Sheba was his personal letter. However, we have within the four verses a number of indications that point to the fact that what Solomon sent was in fact the Book, or part of the Book, that he received from God. Every prophet receives a Scripture from God (2:213, 3:81), and Solomon was a prophet who received a Book from God (6:84 and 6:89).
1- The word used in 27:28 and 27:29 is 'kitab'. This word is consistently used in the Quran to mean a book and not a letter. The Arabic word for 'letter' is 'khitab'.
2- Upon receipt, the Queen of Sheba told her leaders that she received a 'Noble Book'. The word 'Noble' is more aptly a description of a divine Book rather than a personal letter. In 56:77, for example, we read the words ' a Noble Quran.'
3- The Book sent to the Queen of Sheba was 'In the name of God, the Almighty, the Merciful'. These are the words of the 'basmalah', which constitutes the opening words of the Book of God.
4- The words 'It is from Solomon and it is in the name of God, the Almighty, the Merciful' also contain an important clue. We note that the speaker (Queen of Sheba) mentioned these as two separate phrases. This deliberate separation adds further confirmation that the sender of the Book (Solomon) is different from the author of the Book (God).
5- The words: 'Do not exalt yourself above Me, and come to Me as submitters' come immediately after the words 'in the name of God, the Almighty, the Merciful', which points to those words being the words of God in the Book.
6- Besides their positional significance, the words: 'Do not exalt yourself above Me, and come to Me as submitters.' are more fitting to be the words of God (contained in the Book) rather than the words of Solomon. Solomon, being a prophet of God, would not seek exaltation above the people. Further confirmation that the words 'Do not exalt yourself above me' would not be spoken by any servant of God, but are words that can only be spoken by God, or about God, is found in 44:19. In this glorious verse, Moses spoke to the people of Pharaoh. He did not say 'Do not exalt yourself above me' but he said: 'Do not exalt yourselves above God.'
7- In 27:36, Solomon compares the gift sent to him by the Queen of Sheba with the gift he had sent to her and her people. When Solomon said to the envoy from Sheba, 'It is you who should delight in your gift', he meant that the Book of God that he had gifted them with was far more precious than the monetary gift they had sent him. This great disparity in the value of the two gifts would disappear if what Solomon had sent to them was merely a personal letter.
8- Later on in the narration, the Queen of Sheba submits (27:44). The words she said when she submitted are very significant. She said: I have submitted with Solomon to God, the Lord of the Worlds.' These words provide further evidence that the words 'come to Me as submitters' in 27:31 were God's words and not the words of Solomon. Had they been the words of Solomon, the Queen of Sheba would have said, "I submit to Solomon" and not 'I have submitted with Solomon to God'.
---------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------
[27:32] She said, "O commanders, advise me in this matter of mine, for I will not decide on any matter unless you are witness to it."
[27:33] They said, "We possess strength, and we possess great might. The decision is yours, so see what you will command."
[27:34] She said, "When kings enter a village, they corrupt it and cause the dignified among its people to become humiliated. That is what they do.
[27:35] I will send them a gift, then I will see what the envoys return with."
[27:36] When he reached Solomon, he said, "Are you providing me with wealth? What God has given me is better than what He has given you. Rather, it is you who should delight in your gift.
[27:37] Return to them. We will come down upon them with soldiers the like of which they have not encountered before. We will expel them from it humiliated, and they will be belittled."
[27:38] He said, "O commanders, which of you can bring me her throne before they come to me as submitters?"
[27:39] A crafty one among the jinn said, "I can bring it to you before you rise from your place. I am strong and trustworthy enough for it."
[27:40] The one who possessed knowledge from the Book said, "I can bring it to you before you blink." So when he saw it settled before him, he said, "This is a favour from my Lord to test me as to whether I will be appreciative or unappreciative. Whoever is appreciative is appreciative for his own good. As for the one who is unappreciative; indeed, my Lord is Rich, Generous."
[27:41] He said, "Disguise her throne for her, and let us see if she will be guided or will be one of those who will not be guided."
[27:42] When she arrived, it was said, "Is your throne like this?" She said, "It looks as though this is it." "We were given the knowledge before her and were already Submitters.
[27:43] What she worshipped besides God impeded her. She was from a disbelieving people."
[27:44] She was told, "Enter the palace." So when she saw it, she thought there was a pool of water, and she uncovered her legs. He said, "It is a palace paved with crystal." She said, "My Lord, I have wronged myself. I have submitted with Solomon to God, the Lord of the Worlds."
[27:45] And We sent to Thamoud their brother Saleh: "Worship God," but they turned into two feuding factions.
[27:46] He said, "My people, why do you hasten towards the bad before the good? If only you would ask God for forgiveness so that you may be granted mercy!"
[27:47] They said, "We consider you a bad omen, along with those with you." He said, "Your omen is with God. Rather, you are a people being tested."
[27:48] There was in the city a clan of nine who were corrupting in the land and who were not reforming.
[27:49] They said, "Let us swear by God that we will come down on him and his family by night, then tell his allies, 'We did not witness the annihilation of his family, and indeed, we are truthful.' "
[27:50] They schemed a scheme, and We schemed a scheme while they were unaware.
[27:51] So look what the outcome of their scheming was; We destroyed them and all their people.
[27:52] So those are their homes, ruined due to their transgression. Indeed, in that is a sign for people who know.
[27:53] And We saved those who believed and were reverent.
[27:54] And Lot, when he said to his people, "Are you committing immorality openly and in full view?
[27:55] Indeed, you approach men lustfully instead of women! Rather, you are a people acting ignorantly."
[27:56] The reply of his people was none other than to say, "Expel Lot's family from your village. Indeed, they are a people who keep themselves pure."
[27:57] So We saved him and his family, except for his wife; We decreed her to be one of those who stayed behind.
[27:58] And We showered a rain upon them. Miserable was the rain of those who had been warned.
[27:59] Say, "Praise be to God and peace be upon His servants whom He has chosen." Is God better, or what they associate with Him?
[27:60] Who is the One who created the heavens and the earth and brought water down for you from the sky with which We grew joyful gardens? It is not possible for you to make its trees grow. Is there a god with God? Rather, they are a people who ascribe equals.
[27:61] Who is the One who rendered the earth a resting place, and made rivers run through it, and made for it stabilisers, and placed a barrier between the two seas? Is there a god with God? Rather, most of them do not know.
[27:62] Who is the One who responds to the distressed when he calls upon Him, removes the adversity, and makes you successors on earth? Is there a god with God? Little do they take heed!
[27:63] Who is the One who guides you in the darkness of the land and the sea and who sends the winds bearing good news ahead of His mercy? Is there a god with God? Exalted is God, far above what they associate with Him.
[27:64] Who is the One who initiates the creation, then repeats it, and who provides for you from the heaven and the earth? Is there a god with God? Say, "Produce your proof if you are truthful."
[27:65] Say, "No one in the heavens and the earth knows the unseen except God, and they are unaware as to when will they be resurrected."
[27:66] No, their knowledge does not grasp the Hereafter. In fact, they harbour doubts about it. In fact, they are blind to it.
[27:67] Those who disbelieved said, "When we and our fathers become dust, will we still be brought out?
[27:68] We and our fathers have been promised this before. This is nothing but the tales of the previous ones."
[27:69] Say, "Travel in the land and look what the outcome of the criminals was."
[27:70] Do not grieve over them and do not be distressed by what they scheme.
[27:71] And they say, "When will this promise come true if you are truthful?"
[27:72] Say, "Perhaps some of what you wish to hasten is in fact quite close behind you."
[27:73] Indeed, your Lord is Possessor of Favour for the people, but most of them do not give thanks.
[27:74] And indeed, your Lord knows what their chests conceal and what they declare.
[27:75] There is no hidden thing in the heaven and the earth that is not in a clear Book.
[27:76] This Quran narrates to the Children of Israel most of that over which they differ.
[27:77] And indeed, it is guidance and mercy for the believers.
[27:78] Indeed, your Lord will judge between them in accordance with His Law. He is the Dignified, the Knowledgeable.
[27:79] So put your trust in God. You are upon the clear truth.
[27:80] You cannot make the dead hear, nor can you make the deaf hear the call if they turn their backs.
[27:81] And you cannot guide the blind away from their misguidance. You will not make anyone hear other than those who believe in Our revelations, for they are Submitters.
[27:82] When the Word is carried out upon them, We will bring out for them a creature from the earth that will speak to them; for the people have not been certain of Our signs.
[27:83] On the Day We gather from every nation a group of those who denied Our signs, they will be paraded in ranks.
[27:84] Until, when they have arrived, He will say, "Have you denied My revelations though you did not have proper knowledge thereof? Or what exactly were you doing?"
[27:85] The Word has been carried out upon them for the transgression they had committed, and they will not speak.
[27:86] Do they not see that We rendered the night for them to rest in and the day for seeing? Indeed, in that are signs for people who believe.
[27:87] On the Day the horn is blown, all who are in the heavens and the earth will be horrified except those whom God wills. All will come to Him humbled.
[27:88] And you see the mountains, thinking they are standing still, when in fact they are moving just like the movement of the clouds. Such is the making of God, who perfected everything. He is All-Aware of what you do.
[27:89] Those who came with a good deed, they receive better than it and they are secure from the horrors of that Day.
[27:90] And those who came with a bad deed, their faces were slumped over in the Fire. Are you being repaid except for what you used to do?
[27:91] I have been commanded but to worship the Lord of this town that He has made haram, and to whom belongs all things. And I have been commanded to be one of the Submitters,
---------------------------------------------------
Footnote 27:91 – For the word 'haram', see the glossary of un-translated words.
---------------------------------------------------
[27:92] and to recite the Quran. Whoever is guided is guided for his own good, and to the one who goes astray, say, "I am only one of the warners."
[27:93] And say, "Praise be to God. He will show you His signs so that you would know them." Your Lord is not unaware of what you do.
Sura 28 The Narrations (Al-Qasas)
In the name of God, the Almighty, the Merciful.
[28:1] T. S. M.
[28:2] These are the signs of the clear Book.
[28:3] We recite to you from the news of Moses and Pharaoh truthfully for a people who believe.
[28:4] Pharaoh acted haughtily in the land, turning its people into sects and oppressing a group of them, slaughtering their children and shaming their women. He was one of the corruptors.
[28:5] We willed to show kindness to those who were oppressed in the land, and to make them leaders, and to make them the inheritors,
[28:6] and to grant them authority in the land, and to show Pharaoh, Haman and their soldiers, through them, that which they had feared.
[28:7] And We inspired Moses' mother: "Suckle him, then if you fear for him, throw him into the river and do not fear nor grieve. We will return him to you, and We will make him one of the messengers."
[28:8] Then, the family of Pharaoh picked him up, only to become an enemy and a source of grief for them. Indeed, Pharaoh, Haman and their soldiers were wrong-doers.
[28:9] Pharaoh's wife said, "A source of joy for me and you! Do not kill him; perhaps he will be of benefit for us, or we could take him for a son." They were unaware!
[28:10] Moses' mother felt a great emptiness in her heart that she almost revealed the matter, had it not been that We strengthened her heart so that she would be among the believers.
[28:11] She said to his sister, "Follow him." So she kept an eye on him from a distance while they were unaware.
[28:12] We forbade him from accepting all the nursing mothers beforehand, so she said, "Shall I lead you to a household who would feed him for you and who would take good care of him?"
[28:13] And so We returned him to his mother so that she would be happy and not grieve, and that she would know that God's promise is truthful. However, most of them do not know.
[28:14] When he reached his full strength and was mature, We granted him sound judgment and knowledge. We thus reward the good-doers.
[28:15] He entered the town, unnoticed by its people, to find two men fighting: one was from his sect and the other from his enemy. The one from his sect called for his help against the one from his enemy. So Moses struck him and killed him. He said, "This is from the work of the devil; he is a clear misleading enemy."
[28:16] He said, "My Lord, I have wronged myself, so forgive me," so He forgave him. He is the Forgiver, the Merciful.
[28:17] He said, "My Lord, because of Your blessings upon me, I will never be a supporter of the criminals."
[28:18] The next morning found him in the city, afraid and watchful, when suddenly the one who sought his help yesterday cried out for his help. Moses said to him, "You are clearly a trouble-maker."
[28:19] Then, when he was about to strike their common enemy, he said, "O Moses, do you want to kill me as you killed a person yesterday? You want nothing other than to be a tyrant in the land, and you do not want to be among the reformers."
[28:20] A man came running from the furthest part of the city, saying, "O Moses, the leaders are plotting against you in order to kill you, so get out. I am an adviser to you."
[28:21] So he got out of it, afraid and watchful. He said, "My Lord, save me from the transgressing people."
[28:22] And when he set out in the direction of Madyan, he said, "May my Lord guide me to the right way."
[28:23] When he came to the water of Madyan, he found there a crowd of people watering. And he found two women standing apart from them and holding back. He said, "What is the matter with you?" They said, "We are not able to water until the shepherds have gone, and our father is an old man."
[28:24] So he drew water for them, then turned away to the shade and said, "My Lord, I am in dire need of whatever good things You may bring down to me."
[28:25] So one of the two women approached him, walking shyly. She said, "My father invites you in order to reward you for watering for us." So when he came to him and narrated to him the stories, he said, "Do not fear; you have been saved from the transgressing people."
[28:26] One of the two women said, "O my father, hire him. The best you can hire is one who is strong and trustworthy."
[28:27] He said, "I wish to marry you to one of these two daughters of mine, provided you work for me for eight pilgrimages. If you complete ten, then that would be extra from you. I do not wish to cause you hardship. You will find me, God willing, one of the righteous."
[28:28] He said, "That is agreed between me and you. Whichever of the two periods I fulfil, there should be no reprisal against me. God is Trustee over what we say."
[28:29] When Moses fulfilled the term and travelled with his family, he glimpsed a fire at the side of the mount. He said to his family, "Stay here. I have glimpsed a fire. Perhaps I could bring you some news from it or an ember from the fire so that you may warm yourselves."
[28:30] Then, when he came to it, he was called from the right side of the valley, at the blessed spot, from the tree: "O Moses, indeed I am God, Lord of the Worlds.
[28:31] Throw down your staff." When he saw it moving as if it were a jinn, he turned and fled and did not turn back. "O Moses, come forward and do not fear. You are among the safe ones.
[28:32] Insert your hand into your pocket; it will come out white without blemish, and draw your wing towards you to ward off fear. These are two proofs from your Lord to Pharaoh and his leaders. They have been a wicked people."
---------------------------------------------------
Footnote 28:32 – The word 'wing' in 28:32, as well as in 20:22, is used allegorically for 'arm'.
---------------------------------------------------
[28:33] He said, "My Lord, I killed a person from amongst them, so I fear they may kill me.
[28:34] My brother Aaron is more eloquent than me, so send him with me for support and to back me up. I fear that they will deny me."
[28:35] He said, "We will strengthen your arm with your brother, and We will grant the two of you authority, and so they will not be able to get to you. By virtue of Our signs, the two of you and those who followed you will be the victors."
[28:36] So when Moses came to them with Our clear signs, they said, "This is nothing but fabricated magic, and we have not heard of this from our forefathers."
[28:37] Moses said, "My Lord knows best who came with the guidance from Him, and for whom shall be the Abode for a homecoming. The transgressors will certainly not succeed."
[28:38] Pharaoh said, "O leaders, I have not known you to have a god other than me. So ignite for me, O Haman, a fire over the clay, and build me a lofty tower so that I may look at the god of Moses, for indeed, I think he is of the liars."
[28:39] He and his soldiers acted arrogantly in the land unjustly and thought that they would not be returned to Us.
[28:40] So We seized him and his soldiers and cast them into the sea. So look what the outcome of the transgressors was.
[28:41] We made them leaders who invite to the Fire, and on the Day of Resurrection, they will not be supported.
[28:42] We made a curse pursue them in this world, and on the Day of Resurrection, they will be among the despised.
[28:43] And We gave Moses the Book after annihilating the former generations, providing insights for the people, as well as guidance and mercy so that they may be reminded.
[28:44] You were not on the western side when We issued the command to Moses, nor were you one of the witnesses.
[28:45] Nevertheless, it was We who produced other generations, and their duration was prolonged. You did not reside among the people of Madyan, reciting to them Our revelations, but We were the Senders.
[28:46] And you were not on the side of the mount when We called, but it is mercy from your Lord so that you would warn a people to whom no warner had come before you so that they may be reminded.
[28:47] And if a disaster should strike them as a result of what their hands have put forth, they would say, "Our Lord, if only You had sent us a messenger so that we could have followed Your revelations and would have been among the believers!"
[28:48] Then, when the truth came to them from Us, they said, "If only he was given the like of what was given to Moses!" Yet, did they not previously disbelieve in what was given to Moses? They said, "Two magicians who are backing each other up." And they said, "We reject both of them."
[28:49] Say, "Then produce a Book from God with better guidance than both if you are truthful, and I will follow it."
[28:50] If they do not respond to you, then know that they only follow their personal desires. And who is more misguided than one who follows his personal desire without guidance from God? Indeed, God does not guide the transgressing people.
[28:51] We have conveyed the Word to them so that they may be reminded.
[28:52] Those to whom We gave the Scripture before it, they believe in it.
[28:53] And when it is recited to them, they say, "We believe in it. It is the truth from our Lord. We have been Submitters from before it."
[28:54] They will be given their reward twice over in return for being patient. They avert a bad deed with a good deed, and from what We have provided them, they give.
[28:55] And if they hear idle talk, they disregard it and say, "For us are our deeds, and for you are your deeds. Peace be upon you. We do not wish to be with the ignorant ones."
[28:56] You cannot guide the ones you love, but it is God who guides whom He wills. God knows best who are the guided ones.
[28:57] They said, "If we follow the guidance with you, we would be snatched away from our land." Did We not establish for them a safe haven to which all kinds of fruits are brought as provision from Us? However, most of them do not know.
[28:58] And how many a village We have annihilated whose lives turned insolent and unappreciative! Those are their dwelling places that have not been inhabited after them except rarely. Indeed, We are the Inheritors.
[28:59] God was never to annihilate the villages until He sends a messenger to their mother village reciting to them Our revelations. And We were not to annihilate the villages except when its people are transgressors.
[28:60] Whatever you are given is for the enjoyment of the worldly life and its zinat, while what is with God is better and longer lasting, so will you not reason?
[28:61] Is one whom We promised a good promise, which he will surely obtain, the same as one whom We allowed to take pleasure in the enjoyments of the worldly life, then on the Day of Resurrection be among those arraigned?
[28:62] And on the Day He calls them, He will say, "Where are My partners, those whom you used to claim?"
[28:63] Those upon whom the Word was rightly deserved said, "Our Lord, these are the ones we have misled. We misled them just as we ourselves were misled. We declare our innocence before You. It was not us that they used to worship."
[28:64] It was said, "Call upon your partners." So they called upon them, but they did not respond to them, and they saw the punishment. If only they had been guided!
[28:65] And on the Day, He will call them and say, "How did you respond to the messengers?"
[28:66] They will be blind to the news on that Day, and they will not ask one another.
[28:67] As for the one who repents, believes and does good deeds, he does so in the hope of being among the successful.
[28:68] Your Lord creates and chooses whatever He wills. The choice was not theirs. Glory to God, and exalted is He, far above what they associate with Him.
[28:69] Your Lord knows what their chests conceal and what they declare.
[28:70] And He is God; there is no god except Him. To Him belongs the praise in the First and in the Hereafter, and judgment belongs to Him, and to Him you shall be returned.
[28:71] Say, "Have you considered: If God was to make the night perpetual over you until the Day of Resurrection, which god other than God can bring you the light? Do you not then hear?"
[28:72] Say, "Have you considered: If God was to make the day perpetual over you until the Day of Resurrection, which god other than God can bring you a night in which you can rest? Do you not then see?"
[28:73] It is out of His mercy that He devised for you the night and the day, allowing you to rest and seek from His bounty during them, so hopefully, you may give thanks.
[28:74] And on the Day He calls them, He will say, "Where are My partners, those whom you used to claim?"
[28:75] We pulled out a witness from every nation, and We said, "Produce your proof." They then realised that the truth belongs with God, and that which they used to fabricate has deserted them.
[28:76] Qaroon was one of Moses' people, but he transgressed against them. We gave him such treasures that their keys alone would overburden a group of strong men. His people said to him, "Do not be boastful. Indeed, God does not like those who are boastful.
[28:77] And seek, through what God has given you, the Abode of the Hereafter, and do not forget your share of this world. And do good as God has been good to you. And do not seek corruption in the land. Indeed, God does not like the corruptors."
[28:78] He said, "I have only been given this because of knowledge I possess." Did he not know that God had annihilated from the generations before him those who were greater than him in strength and greater in accumulated riches? The criminals will not be questioned about their sins.
[28:79] He came out to his people draped in his zinat. Those who sought the worldly life said, " If only we had the same as what Qaroon was given! Indeed, he is one of great fortune."
[28:80] And those who were given the knowledge said, "Woe to you, God's reward is better for those who believe and do good deeds. And none attains it except the patient ones."
[28:81] So We caused the earth to swallow him and his home. He had no group to support him besides God, and he was not among the victorious.
[28:82] Those who longed to be in his place the day before started saying, "Ah! Indeed, God extends the provision for whom He wills of His servants and restricts it. Had God not bestowed favour upon us, He would have caused us to be swallowed up. Ah! Indeed, the disbelievers never succeed."
[28:83] Such is the Abode of the Hereafter; We grant it to those who do not seek supremacy in the earth nor corruption. The outcome belongs to the reverent.
[28:84] The one who comes with a good deed shall receive better than it. As for the one who comes with a bad deed; the ones who commit bad deeds will not be repaid except for what they used to do.
[28:85] The One who ordained the Quran upon you will surely take you back to a place of return. Say, "My Lord knows best who comes with the guidance and who is in clear misguidance."
[28:86] You were not hoping that a Book would be delivered to you. Rather, it was but mercy from your Lord. So do not be a supporter of the disbelievers.
[28:87] And do not let them repel you from God's revelations after they were brought down to you. And invite to your Lord and do not be one of the mushrikeen.
[28:88] And do not call upon another god besides God. There is no god except Him. Everything perishes except His Face. To Him belongs the judgment, and to Him, you shall be returned.
Sura 29 The Spider (Al-Ankaboot)
In the name of God, the Almighty, the Merciful.
[29:1] A. L. M.
[29:2] Did the people think that they would be left to say, "We believe," without them being tested?
[29:3] We have tested those before them, and indeed, God knows the truthful ones, and He knows the liars.
[29:4] Or do those who commit bad deeds think that they can get ahead of Us? Terrible indeed is their judgment!
[29:5] For those who seek the meeting with God, God's appointed time is surely coming. He is the Hearer, the Knowledgeable.
[29:6] He who strives, strives but for himself. Indeed, God is beyond need of all the worlds.
[29:7] For those who believe and do good deeds, We will wipe out their bad deeds, and We will reward them for the best of what they used to do.
[29:8] And We instructed the human being to show kindness to his parents, but if they strive to make you associate with Me that which you have no knowledge of, do not obey them. To Me is your return, then I will inform you of what you used to do.
[29:9] As for those who believe and do good deeds, We will admit them among the righteous.
[29:10] Among the people are those who say, "We believe in God," but if one of them is harmed in the cause of God, he regards the oppression of the people to be the same as God's punishment. However, if a victory comes from your Lord, they would say, "Indeed, we were with you." Does God not know best what lies inside the chests of all people?
[29:11] And indeed, God knows those who believe, and He knows the hypocrites.
[29:12] And those who disbelieve say to those who believe, "Follow our way and we will carry your sins." They will carry none of their sins. They are liars.
[29:13] They will carry their burdens as well as other burdens on top of their own, and they will be questioned on the Day of Resurrection regarding what they used to fabricate.
[29:14] We sent Noah to his people, and he remained among them one thousand years less fifty years, then the flood overtook them while they were transgressors.
[29:15] We then saved him and the companions of the ship, and We rendered it a sign for all people.
[29:16] And Abraham, when he said to his people, "Worship God and reverence Him. That is better for you if you only knew.
[29:17] But instead of God, you worship idols, and you create falsehood. Those that you worship instead of God do not possess any provisions for you. So seek provisions from God, worship Him and give thanks to Him. To Him, you shall be returned."
[29:18] If you deny, so have nations denied before you. The sole duty of the messenger is the clear delivery.
[29:19] Have they not seen how God initiates the creation, and then repeats it? Indeed, that is easy for God.
[29:20] Say, "Travel in the earth and look how He began the creation. Then God will initiate the creation of the Hereafter. Indeed, God is Capable of all things."
[29:21] He punishes whom He wills and grants mercy to whom He wills. To Him, you shall be returned.
[29:22] You are powerless to thwart anything in the earth or in heaven, and you have none besides God as an ally or supporter.
[29:23] Those who disbelieved in God's revelations and in His meeting, such ones have despaired of My mercy, and such ones shall have a painful punishment.
[29:24] The response of his people was but to say, "Kill him, or burn him." And so God saved him from the fire. Indeed, in that are signs for people who believe.
[29:25] He said, "You have taken up idols instead of God only to preserve amicable relations among yourselves in the worldly life, but on the Day of Resurrection, you will renounce one another and curse one another. Your refuge will be the Fire and you have no supporters."
[29:26] Lot believed him. And he said, "I am emigrating to my Lord. He is the Dignified, the Wise."
[29:27] We granted him Isaac and Jacob, and We placed among his descendants the prophethood and the Scripture. And We granted him his reward in this world, and in the Hereafter, he will certainly be among the righteous.
[29:28] And Lot, when he said to his people, "You commit an immorality not perpetrated before you by anyone in all the worlds.
[29:29] Indeed, you approach men, you criminally intercept the roads, and you commit depravities during your gatherings." The reply of his people was none other than to say, "Bring us God's punishment if you are of the truthful."
[29:30] He said, "My Lord, support me against the corrupting people."
[29:31] When Our messengers came to Abraham with the good news, they said, "We shall annihilate the people of this village; its people have been transgressors."
[29:32] He said, "Lot is in it!" They said, "We are more knowledgeable of who is in it. We will save him and his family, except for his wife; she is to be one of those who stay behind."
[29:33] When Our messengers came to Lot, they were mistreated, and he was distressed concerning them. They said, "Do not fear and do not grieve. We will save you and your family except for your wife; she is to be one of those who stay behind.
[29:34] We will bring down an affliction from the sky upon the people of this village for how wickedly they used to behave."
[29:35] We have left a clear proof of it for people who reason.
[29:36] And to Madyan was their brother Shu'aib. He said, "O my people, worship God and seek the Last Day, and do not act wickedly in the earth spreading corruption."
[29:37] They denied him, so the earthquake seized them, leaving them motionless in their homes.
[29:38] Also Aad and Thamoud, where the same has been made clear to you from their dwelling places. The devil adorned their work for them, and so he repelled them from the path, even though they possessed insight.
[29:39] Also, Qaroon, Pharaoh and Haman; Moses went to them with clear proofs, yet they acted arrogantly in the land. But they will not outstrip Us,
[29:40] for We seized each one for his sin. Among them were those upon whom We sent a shower of stones, and among them were those who were overcome by the blast, and among them were those whom We caused the earth to swallow, and among them were those whom We drowned. God was not to wrong them, but it was they who wronged themselves.
[29:41] The likeness of those who take allies other than God is the like of the spider as she takes a home; the frailest of all homes is the home of the spider if they only knew.
[29:42] God knows about whatever they call upon besides Him. He is the Dignified, the Wise.
[29:43] We cite these examples for the people, but none understand them except the knowledgeable.
[29:44] God created the heavens and the earth with truth. Indeed, in that is a sign for the believers.
[29:45] Recite what is revealed to you of the Book and observe the Salat, for the Salat forbids immorality and evil, and the commemoration of God is of greater importance. Indeed, God knows what you do.
[29:46] Do not argue with the People of the Book except in the best possible manner, except for those who transgressed among them, and say, "We believe in what was brought down to us and what was brought down to you. Our God and your God is One, and to Him we are Submitters."
[29:47] Thus, We have brought down to you the Book. Those to whom We have given the Scripture, they believe in it. And among these people are some who believe in it. None rejects Our revelations except the disbelievers.
[29:48] You have not been reciting any Book before it, nor writing it with your right hand. Otherwise, the falsifiers would have doubted.
[29:49] Rather, it is clear revelations in the chests of those who have been given the knowledge. None rejects Our revelations except the transgressors.
[29:50] And they said, "If only miracles were brought down upon him from his Lord!" Say, "The miracles are only with God, and I am only a clear warner."
[29:51] Does it not suffice them that We brought the Book down upon you, and it is being recited to them? In that is a mercy and a reminder for people who believe.
[29:52] Say, "God suffices as a Witness between me and you. He knows what is in the heavens and the earth. Those who believed in falsehood and disbelieved in God, it is they who are the losers."
[29:53] They ask you to hasten the punishment! If it were not for an already specified term, the punishment would have already come to them. It will certainly come to them suddenly while they are unaware.
[29:54] They ask you to hasten the punishment! Hell will indeed encompass the disbelievers
[29:55] on the Day when the punishment will envelop them from above them and from beneath their feet, and He will say, "Taste the consequences of what you used to do."
[29:56] O My servants who believe, My earth is spacious, so worship only Me.
[29:57] Every self tastes death, then to Us, you will be returned.
[29:58] Those who believe and do good deeds, We will settle them in mansions in Paradise beneath which rivers flow. Therein, they shall permanently remain. Excellent is the reward of the workers
[29:59] who are patient and in their Lord they trust.
[29:60] Many a creature that does not carry its own provision, God provides for it as well as for you. He is the Hearer, the Knowledgeable.
[29:61] If you were to ask them, "Who created the heavens and the earth and subjected the sun and the moon?" They would say, "God." How then are they deluded?
[29:62] God extends the provision for whom He wills of His servants and restricts it. Indeed, God is Knowledgeable of all things.
[29:63] If you were to ask them, "Who brought water down from the sky, with which He brought the land to life after it had died?" They would say, "God." Say, "Praise be to God." Still, most of them do not reason.
[29:64] This worldly life is no more than amusement and play, while the Abode of the Hereafter is the real life if they only knew.
[29:65] When they board a ship, they implore God, devoting the religion purely to Him. Yet when He delivers them safely to the shore, they revert to associating partners with Him.
[29:66] Let them disbelieve in what We have given them, and let them enjoy themselves. They will certainly come to know.
[29:67] Have they not seen that We made a safe haven while people are being snatched away from all around them? Do they believe in falsehood and reject God's blessings?
[29:68] Who is more transgressing than one who fabricates lies about God or denies the truth when it comes to him? Is there not a home in Hell for the disbelievers?
[29:69] As for those who strive in Our cause, We will guide them to Our paths, and indeed, God is with the good-doers.
Sura 30 The Romans (Al-Room)
In the name of God, the Almighty, the Merciful.
[30:1] A. L. M.
[30:2] The Romans have been defeated
[30:3] in the lowest of the lands. After their defeat, they will gain victory
---------------------------------------------------
Footnote 30:3 - The Byzantines (Eastern Roman Empire) and the Persians went to war in the years 613 - 614 C.E, with the Byzantines suffering a severe defeat at the hands of the Persians. The battle scene was the area around the Dead Sea.
A few years after the defeat of the Romans, a decisive battle took place in 627 C.E. between the two Empires, and this time, the Romans inflicted defeat on the Persians.
It is now known, with the aid of satellite images, that the area around the Dead Sea (located in the Great Rift Valley) has the lowest sea level altitude on earth. In fact, the lowest point on earth is the shoreline of the Dead Sea, with an altitude of around 400 meters below sea level. The words 'lowest of the lands' in 30:3 reveal an accurate scientific fact many centuries before its discovery.
---------------------------------------------------
[30:4] in a few years. The matter is up to God, both before and after. On that day, the believers shall rejoice
[30:5] in God's victory. He grants victory to whom He wills. He is the Dignified, the Merciful.
[30:6] Such is God's promise. God never breaks His promise, but most people do not know.
[30:7] They are quite familiar with the superficial aspects of the worldly life, and of the Hereafter, they are oblivious.
[30:8] Have they not reflected within themselves? God did not create the heavens and the earth and what is between them except with truth and for a specified term. Yet many people disbelieve in the meeting with their Lord.
[30:9] Have they not travelled in the land and seen what the outcome of those before them was? They were more powerful than them, and they cultivated the land and inhabited it far more than they did inhabit it. And their messengers came to them with the clear proofs. God was not to wrong them, but it was they who wronged themselves.
[30:10] Consequently, the outcome of those who have committed evil will also be evil, for they denied God's revelations, and they used to mock them.
[30:11] God initiates the creation, and then He repeats it. Then to Him, you shall be returned.
[30:12] And on the Day the Hour comes to pass, the criminals will be in total despair.
[30:13] They had no intercessors from among their partners, and so, they renounced their partners.
[30:14] The Day the Hour comes to pass will be the Day they separate.
[30:15] As for those who believed and did good deeds, they will be rejoicing in a lush meadow.
[30:16] As for those who disbelieved and denied Our revelations and the meeting of the Hereafter, they will be arraigned unto the punishment.
[30:17] So glory to God when you retire at night and when you rise in the morning.
[30:18] And praise is due to Him in the heavens and the earth, in the evening and when you are at midday.
[30:19] He extracts the living out of the dead and extracts the dead out of the living. He brings the land to life after its death. Likewise, you will be brought out.
[30:20] From among His signs is that He created you from dust, then behold, you are human beings spreading out.
[30:21] And from among His signs is that He created for you spouses from yourselves that you may find tranquillity in them. And He placed love and mercy between you. Indeed, in that are signs for people who reflect.
[30:22] And from among His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the diversity of your languages and your colours. Indeed, in that are signs for the knowledgeable.
[30:23] And from among His signs is your sleep by night and by day and your seeking of His bounty. Indeed, in that are signs for people who listen.
[30:24] And from among His signs is that He shows you the lightning, striking fear as well as inspiring hope, and He brings water down from the sky with which He brings to life the land after it had died. Indeed, in that are signs for people who reason.
[30:25] And from among His signs is that the heaven and the earth stand by His command. Then when He calls you out of the earth, with one call, you will at once emerge.
[30:26] To Him belongs all who are in the heavens and the earth; all are obedient to Him.
[30:27] He is the One who initiates the creation, and then repeats it, which is even easier for Him. He sets the highest example in the heavens and the earth. He is the Dignified, the Wise.
[30:28] He cites for you an example from among yourselves: Do you have from those whom your right hand possesses partners in what We have provided you with, such that you are equal therein? Do you fear them as you fear one another? We thus detail the revelations for people who reason.
[30:29] Rather, the transgressors have followed their personal desires without knowledge. Who then can guide those whom God has misguided and who have no supporters?
[30:30] So direct your face towards the religion as a monotheist. Such is the natural instinct that God instilled in the people. There is no changing the creation of God. Such is the correct religion, but most people do not know.
[30:31] Turn to Him, reverence Him, observe the Salat, and do not be of the mushrikeen
[30:32] among those who divided their religion and became sects, each party rejoicing in what they have.
[30:33] If harm touches the people, they implore their Lord, turning to Him. Then if He grants them a taste of mercy from Him, some of them revert to associating partners with their Lord,
[30:34] thereby disbelieving in what We have given them. So enjoy yourselves, for you will surely come to know.
[30:35] Or have We brought down upon them authorisation which speaks to them about the partners whom they used to associate with Him?
[30:36] If We grant the people a taste of mercy, they rejoice therein, and if something bad befalls them, as a result of what their hands have put forth, they immediately despair.
[30:37] Or have they not seen that God extends the provision for whom He wills and restricts it? Indeed, in that are signs for people who believe.
[30:38] So give the relative his decreed right, as well as the needy and the homeless. This is better for those who seek the Face of God, and those are the successful ones.
[30:39] That which you give out with the intention of usury, aiming to gain increases out of people's money, does not gain anything with God, while as what you give as Zakat, seeking the Face of God, it is those for whom is given a manifold increase.
[30:40] God is the One who created you, then provided for you, then He puts you to death, then He brings you to life. Does any of your partners do any of these things? Glory to Him and exalted is He, far above what they associate with Him.
[30:41] Corruption has appeared in the land and the sea as a result of what people's hands have earned. He will let them taste the consequences of some of what they had done so that they may revert.
[30:42] Say, "Travel in the land and look what the outcome of those who came before was." Most of them were mushrikeen.
[30:43] So direct your face towards the correct religion before a Day comes from God that cannot be turned back. On that Day, they will be separated.
[30:44] Whoever disbelieves bears the consequence of his disbelief, while those who do good deeds, they are preparing for themselves
[30:45] so that He may reward those who believed and did good deeds from His favour. Indeed, He does not like the disbelievers.
[30:46] And from among His signs is that He sends the winds bearing good news and lets you taste of His mercy, and for the ships to sail by His command, and for you to seek of His bounty so hopefully you may give thanks.
[30:47]We have sent messengers before you to their people, and they came to them with the clear proofs. Then We inflicted retribution upon those who committed crimes, and it is binding on Us to support the believers.
[30:48] God is the One who sends the winds, which then stir up clouds that He spreads in the sky as He wills. He then piles it up, and so you see the rain coming out from within it. Then when He makes it fall down on whom He wills of His servants, they rejoice,
[30:49] though previously, before it was brought down upon them, they were in total despair!
[30:50] So look at the effects of God's mercy, how He brings the land to life after it had died. Such is the One who will resurrect the dead. He is Capable of all things.
[30:51] And if We were to send a wind, and they saw it turning yellow, they would continue thereafter to disbelieve.
[30:52] You cannot make the dead hear, nor can you make the deaf hear the call if they turn their backs.
[30:53] Nor can you guide the blind out of their misguidance. You can only be heard by those who believe in Our revelations, for they are Submitters.
[30:54] God is the One who created you from weakness, then decreed strength after the weakness, then decreed weakness and grey hair after the strength. He creates what He wills. He is the Knowledgeable, the Capable.
[30:55] On the Day the Hour comes to pass, the criminals will swear that they remained only for one hour! That is how they were deluded.
[30:56] Those who were given the knowledge and the faith said, "You have remained according to God's decree until the Day of Resurrection, and this is the Day of Resurrection, but you knew not."
[30:57] On that Day, the transgressors will not benefit from their excuses, nor will their repentance be accepted.
[30:58] We have cited for the people in this Quran all kinds of examples. And if you were to bring them a sign, those who disbelieved would say, "You are nothing but falsifiers."
[30:59] Thus does God seal the hearts of those who do not know.
[30:60] So be patient. Indeed, God's promise is truthful, and do not let those who lack certainty belittle you.
Sura 31 Luqman (Luqman)
In the name of God, the Almighty, the Merciful.
[31:1] A. L. M.
[31:2] These are the signs of the Wise Book.
[31:3] A guide and a mercy for the good-doers
[31:4] who observe the Salat, give the Zakat, and of the Hereafter, they are certain.
[31:5] Those are upon guidance from their Lord, and it is they who are the successful ones.
[31:6] And among the people is he who trades in frivolous hadith and thus leads others away from the path of God without knowledge, and he makes a mockery of it. Those will have a humiliating punishment.
[31:7] And when Our revelations are recited to him, he turns away in arrogance as if he never heard them, as if there is deafness in his ears. So give him news of a painful punishment.
[31:8] Those who believe and do good deeds shall have the Gardens of Bliss.
[31:9] Therein, they shall permanently remain. God's promise is truthful. He is the Dignified, the Wise.
[31:10] He created the heavens without pillars that you can see, and He placed in the earth stabilisers so that it does not drift along with you. He also spread in it all kinds of creatures. We brought water down from the sky with which We grew in it of every noble pair.
[31:11] Such is God's creation, so show me what those besides Him have created! Rather, the transgressors are in clear misguidance.
[31:12] We gave Luqman the wisdom: "Give thanks to God. The one who gives thanks gives thanks but for his own good. As for the one who is ungrateful, then indeed, God is Rich, Praiseworthy."
[31:13] And so Luqman said to his son, as he advised him, "O my son, do not associate anything with God, for the association of anything with God is a gross transgression indeed."
[31:14] We instructed the human being concerning his parents: his mother bore him enduring hardship upon hardship, with his weaning in two years. Give thanks to Me and to your parents. To Me is the ultimate destination.
[31:15] If they strive to make you associate with Me that which you have no knowledge of, do not obey them. Maintain good company with them in this world, and follow the path of those who turn to Me. To Me is the return of all of you, then I will inform you all of what you used to do.
[31:16] "O my son, if something weighs as little as a mustard seed, be it inside a rock, or in the heavens, or in the earth, God will bring it forth. Indeed, God is Gentle, All-Aware.
[31:17] O my son, observe the Salat, advocate righteousness, forbid evil, and exercise patience in the face of what has befallen you. This would be the most resolute behaviour.
[31:18] Do not turn your cheek away from the people in arrogance, nor walk haughtily in the land. Indeed, God does not like the arrogant, boastful.
[31:19] Walk with purpose in your step, and lower your voice. Indeed, the most repulsive sound is the sound of donkeys."
---------------------------------------------------
Footnote 31:19 – The Arabic word 'aqsid' used in this verse is a verb in the command form. The noun 'qasd' means purpose. When a person walks to get to some place, he is advised to walk with that purpose on his mind rather than linger about staring at everyone along the way. This advice is in harmony with the advice to lower one's gaze (24:30).
---------------------------------------------------
[31:20] Have you not seen that God has subjected for you what is in the heavens and what is in the earth and has showered His blessings upon you, both obvious and hidden? Yet, among the people is he who argues about God without knowledge, guidance, or an enlightening Book.
[31:21] And if they are told, "Follow what God has brought down," they say, "Rather, we follow what we found our fathers upon." What! Even if the devil is inviting them to the punishment of the Blaze?
[31:22] The one who submits his face to God, and is a good-doer, has grasped the most secure handhold, and to God belongs the outcome of all matters.
[31:23] As for the one who disbelieves, do not let his disbelief grieve you. To Us is their return, then We will inform them of what they had done. Indeed, God is Knowledgeable of what the chests hold.
[31:24] We grant them enjoyment briefly, then We compel them to a harsh punishment.
[31:25] If you were to ask them, "Who created the heavens and the earth?" They would say, "God." Say, "Praise be to God." However, most of them do not know.
[31:26] To God belongs what is in the heavens and the earth. Indeed, God is the Rich One, the Praiseworthy.
[31:27] If all the trees in the earth were made into pens that were supplied by the sea, replenished by seven more seas, the Words of God would not run out. Indeed, God is Dignified, Wise.
---------------------------------------------------
Footnote 31:27 – The relevance of the words 'pens that were supplied by the sea' is better understood in conjunction with the words 'If the sea were ink for the Words of my Lord' in 18:109, which propose the hypothetical case of the sea being the supply of ink used by the pens.
---------------------------------------------------
[31:28] Your creation and your resurrection are only as a single self. Indeed, God is Hearer, Seer.
[31:29] Have you not seen that God merges the night into the day and merges the day into the night, and that He subjected the sun and the moon, each running for a specified term, and that God is All-Aware of what you do?
[31:30] That is because God is the Truth, and what they call upon besides Him is falsehood, and that God is the Most High, the Great.
[31:31] Have you not seen that the ships sail the sea by the grace of God that He may show you some of His signs? Indeed, in that are signs for all who are patient, thankful.
[31:32] And when waves cover them like canopies, they implore God, devoting the religion purely to Him. Then when He delivers them to the shore, some of them become 'muqtasid'. None rejects Our signs except every ungrateful betrayer.
---------------------------------------------------
Footnote 31:32 - The Arabic word 'muqtasid' is left un-translated for lack of an accurate English equivalent. The Arabic word 'yaqtasid' (verb) means to act economically, spending only the minimum requirement. When we import this behaviour to 31:32 and consider the religious application of this word, we learn about a category of people who, when faced with grave life-threatening dangers, they implore God profusely and call on Him alone. However, when God saves them, and the danger subsides, they return to giving no more than the bare minimum of their time and effort for the remembrance and commemoration of God.
Footnote 31:32 - The Arabic word 'muqtasid' is left un-translated for lack of an accurate English equivalent. The Arabic word 'yaqtasid' (verb) means to act economically, spending only the minimum requirement. When we import this behaviour to 31:32 and consider the religious application of this word, we learn about a category of people who, when faced with grave life-threatening dangers, they implore God profusely and call on Him alone. However, when God saves them, and the danger subsides, they return to giving no more than the bare minimum of their time and effort for the remembrance and commemoration of God.
---------------------------------------------------
[31:33] O people, reverence your Lord and fear a Day when no father can avail his child, nor can a child avail his father in any way. Indeed, God's promise is truthful, so do not let the worldly life delude you, and do not let the Deceiver delude you about God.
[31:34] Indeed, with God is the knowledge of the Hour. He brings down the rain, and He knows what is in the wombs. No self knows what it will earn tomorrow, and no self knows in which land it will die. Indeed, God is Knowledgeable, All-Aware.
Sura 32 The Prostration (Al-Sajdah)
In the name of God, the Almighty, the Merciful.
[32:1] A. L. M.
[32:2] The revelation of the Book, in which there is no doubt, is from the Lord of the Worlds.
[32:3] Or do they say, "He fabricated it"? Rather, it is the truth from your Lord so that you would warn a people to whom no warner has come before you, so that they may be guided.
[32:4] God is the One who created the heavens and the earth and what is between them in six days, then He settled on the Throne. You have none besides Him as an ally or an intercessor. Will you not be reminded?
[32:5] He handles the affair from heaven to earth, then it ascends to Him in a day the measure of which is one thousand years of your count.
[32:6] Such is the Knower of the unseen and the seen, the Dignified, the Merciful.
[32:7] The One who perfected everything He created, and He initiated the creation of the human being from clay.
[32:8] Then He produced his seed from an extract of a despised fluid.
---------------------------------------------------
Footnote 32:8 – The ejected semen of a healthy adult male contains an average of 300 million sperm. The Quran confirms that only one of these millions is 'extracted' from the semen to fertilise the female ovum. This information was discovered many centuries after the revelation of the Quran. Human sperm was not discovered until 1677, by Antione Philips van Leeuwenhoek. As for the discovery that only one sperm fertilizes the ovum, it was discovered by Wilhelm August Oscar Hertwig who was born in 1849.
---------------------------------------------------
[32:9] Then He fashioned him and blew into him from His Ruh. And He devised for you the hearing, the sight and the hearts; little do you give thanks!
[32:10] They said, "When we have disappeared into the earth, will we then be subject to a new creation?" In fact, they disbelieve in the meeting with their Lord.
[32:11] Say, "The angel of death put in charge of you will take you back, then to your Lord you shall be returned."
[32:12] If only you could see the criminals when they hang down their heads before their Lord: "Our Lord, we have seen, and we have heard, so send us back and we will do good deeds. We have now attained certainty."
[32:13] Had We willed, We could have granted every self its guidance, but the Word has been rightly issued by Me that I will fill Hell with jinn and humans, all together.
---------------------------------------------------
Footnote 32:13 – If it were up to God's wish, He would have wanted everyone to be a guided believer. However, since God decreed that there shall be 'no compulsion in religion' (2:256), it follows that for belief in God to merit a reward, it must be the personal choice of the human being and not something imposed on him. Sadly, the largest majority of people will replace the guidance sent by God with misguidance (6:116), disbelief (12:103) and shirk (12:106). As a result, they end up in Hell. The words that follow in verse 14 confirm that admittance to Hell is the consequence of what people used to do, rather than it being an unfair sentence from God.
---------------------------------------------------
[32:14] So taste the consequences of forgetting the meeting of this Day of yours. Indeed, We have forgotten you, so taste the punishment eternally for what you used to do.
[32:15] The ones who truly believe in Our revelations are those who fall prostrate when they are reminded of them, and they glorify their Lord with praise, and they do not act arrogantly.
[32:16] Their sides forsake their beds in order to call upon their Lord in fear and in hope, and from what We provided for them, they give.
[32:17] No self knows what hidden delights await them as rewards for what they used to do.
[32:18] Is one who is a believer the same as one who is wicked? They are not equal.
[32:19] As for those who believe and do good deeds, they shall have the Gardens of Refuge as hospitality for what they used to do.
[32:20] As for those who behaved wickedly, their refuge is the Fire. Every time they try to get out of it, they will be returned to it and told, "Taste the punishment of the Fire which you used to deny."
[32:21] We shall let them taste the lesser punishment before the greater punishment, so that hopefully they will revert.
[32:22] Who is more transgressing than one who was reminded of his Lord's revelations, then he turned away from them? We will surely inflict retribution upon the criminals.
[32:23] We gave Moses the Book, so be in no doubt about his meeting. And We made it a guide for the Children of Israel.
[32:24] We appointed leaders from among them, guiding by Our command when they were patient and were certain of Our revelations.
[32:25] Indeed, your Lord will distinguish between them on the Day of Resurrection regarding that over which they used to differ.
[32:26] Was it of no guidance to them how many generations We have annihilated before them in whose dwelling places they now walk? Indeed, in that are signs, so do they not listen?
[32:27] Or have they not seen that We drive the water to barren lands and then produce with it crops to feed their livestock, as well as themselves? So do they not see?
[32:28] They say, "When will that conquest be if you are truthful?"
[32:29] Say, "A faith acquired on the Day of Conquest will not benefit the disbelievers, nor will they be granted respite."
[32:30] So turn away from them and wait. They too are waiting.
Sura 33 The Parties (Al-Ahzaab)
In the name of God, the Almighty, the Merciful.
[33:1] O you prophet, reverence God, and do not obey the disbelievers and the hypocrites. Indeed, God is Knowledgeable, Wise.
[33:2] And follow what is being revealed to you from your Lord. Indeed, God is All-Aware of what you all do.
[33:3] And put your trust in God. God suffices as a Trustee.
[33:4] God did not place two hearts in any man's interior, nor did He make your wives, whom you estrange by equating them with your mothers, your actual mothers, nor did He make your adopted sons your real sons. These are but the utterances of your mouths, but God speaks the truth, and He guides to the path.
[33:5] Name them after their fathers. This is more equitable in the sight of God. If you do not know who their fathers are, then call them after your brethren in religion and those close to you. There is no blame on you for what you do by mistake, but only for what your hearts deliberately intend. God is Forgiver, Merciful.
[33:6] The prophet is to be given priority by the believers over themselves, and his wives are in the position of their mothers. The blood-relatives are to be given priority among themselves in God's Book over the other believers and the immigrants. All the same, you should do good to your close associates. This has been inscribed in the Book.
[33:7] When We took from the prophets their covenant, and from you, and from Noah, and Abraham, and Moses, and Jesus the son of Mary; We took from them a solemn covenant
[33:8] so that He may question the truthful about their truthfulness. He has prepared for the disbelievers a painful punishment.
[33:9] O you who believe, remember God's blessing upon you when soldiers came towards you, and so We sent upon them a wind and soldiers whom you did not see. God is Seer of what you do.
[33:10] When they came towards you, from above you and from below you, and when the sights deviated and the hearts reached the throats, and you harboured doubts about God;
[33:11] that was when the believers were tested and were shaken a mighty shaking.
[33:12] And when the hypocrites and those with sickness in their hearts said, "God and His messenger have promised us nothing but delusion."
[33:13] And when a group of them said, "O people of Yathrib, you cannot make a stand, so go back," a group among them asked the prophet to excuse them, saying: "Our homes are exposed," when they were not exposed. They just wanted to flee.
[33:14] Had they been invaded from all quarters, then some testing demands were asked of them, they would have done so and would not have hesitated except briefly.
[33:15] Yet, they had pledged an oath to God previously that they would not turn their backs. An oath to God will certainly be called to account.
[33:16] Say, "Fleeing will never benefit you. If you think that you ran away from death or killing, in fact, it was but already decreed that you would have enjoyment for a little longer."
---------------------------------------------------
Footnote 33:16 – When the time of any person comes, he cannot delay death nor bring it forward (16:61). When a person emerges safely from a tragic accident (e.g. car accident), he may think that his life was extended when in fact, all it meant was that he was never destined to die in such an accident; his time had not come yet. It follows that words such as "I escaped death" and "I was given a new lease of life" are utterly meaningless.
---------------------------------------------------
[33:17] Say, "Who is the one who can shield you from God if He willed any harm for you, or if He willed any mercy for you?" They will not find, besides God, any ally or supporter.
[33:18] God knows the obstructers among you and those who say to their brothers, "Come and join us," and who themselves do not go to the battle except rarely.
[33:19] They are stingy towards you. Then if fear comes, you see them looking at you with their eyes rolling like someone who is overcome by death. Then once the fear subsides, they lash out at you with sharp tongues. They are stingy when it comes to doing good. Those have not believed, and so God has nullified their work. And that is easy for God.
[33:20] They thought that the parties had not withdrawn. If the parties were to come, they would wish that they were among the Arabs of the desert, enquiring about your news. And were they among you, they would not have taken part in the fighting except rarely.
[33:21] You have in the messenger of God a fine example for whoever seeks God and the Last Day, and who remembers God frequently.
[33:22] When the believers saw the parties, they said, "This is what God and His messenger promised us. God and His messenger have indeed been truthful." This only increased their faith and their acceptance.
[33:23] Among the believers are men who have been true to the oath they pledged to God. Some of them have met their death, while others are still waiting. They have not changed in any way.
[33:24] God will then reward the truthful for their truthfulness and punish the hypocrites if He so wills or redeem them. Indeed, God is Forgiver, Merciful.
[33:25] To their rage, the disbelievers were driven back by God without making any gains, and thus God spared the believers the fighting. God is Powerful, Dignified.
[33:26] He brought down those who supported them from among the People of the Book from their fortresses and cast terror into their hearts, whereby you killed some of them, and some you took captive.
[33:27] He made you inherit their land, their homes, their wealth, and a land you had never stepped on. God is Capable of all things.
[33:28] O you prophet, say to your wives, "If you seek the worldly life and its zinat, then come and I will make a provision for you and release you gracefully.
[33:29] But if you seek God and His messenger and the Abode of the Hereafter, then God has prepared for the good-doers among you a great reward."
[33:30] O wives of the prophet, if any of you commits a clear immorality, the punishment will be doubled for her twice over. And that is easy for God.
[33:31] And for whoever of you who obeys God and His messenger, and does good deeds, We will reward her twice over, and We have prepared for her a generous provision.
[33:32] O wives of the prophet, you are not like any other women, provided you are reverent. So do not be too accommodating when you speak, lest someone with sickness in his heart becomes desirous, but speak righteous words.
[33:33] Keep yourselves to your homes and do not display yourselves as the displays of the old days of ignorance. Observe the Salat and give the Zakat, and obey God and His messenger. God wishes but to remove from you the un-cleanliness, O people of the house, and to purify you thoroughly.
[33:34] And remember what is recited in your homes of God's revelations and the wisdom. Indeed, God is Gentle, All-Aware.
[33:35] The submitting men and the submitting women, the believing men and the believing women, the obedient men and the obedient women, the truthful men and the truthful women, the patient men and the patient women, the humble men and the humble women, the charitable men and the charitable women, the fasting men and the fasting women, the men who guard their private parts and the guarding women, the men who remember God frequently and the women who also remember; God has prepared for them forgiveness and a great reward.
[33:36] It is not for a believing man or a believing woman to have a choice in their affair when God and His messenger have decreed a matter. Anyone who disobeys God and His messenger has strayed a clear straying indeed.
[33:37] When you said to the one upon whom God had bestowed favour, and you bestowed favour, "Hold on to your wife, and reverence God," and you hid inside yourself that which God decreed to be known; you feared the people when it was God who is more worthy for you to fear. Then when Zeid dissolved his union with her, We had you marry her to confirm that no blame falls on the believers for marrying the wives of their adopted sons if the latter have dissolved their union with them. God's command is to be carried out.
[33:38] No blame falls upon the prophet concerning what God has decreed for him; the Sunna of God, as was decreed for those who passed away before. God's command is a pre-ordained decree.
[33:39] Those who deliver God's messages and fear Him, they fear none but God. God suffices as a Reckoner.
[33:40] Muhammad was not the father of any of your men, but he was the messenger of God and the seal of the prophets. And God is Knowledgeable of all things.
[33:41] O you who believe, remember God frequently,
[33:42] and glorify Him morning and evening.
[33:43] He is the One who supports you, as well as His angels, to bring you out of the darkness and into the light. He is Merciful towards the believers.
[33:44] Their greeting on the Day they meet Him will be "Peace," and He has prepared for them a generous reward.
[33:45] O you prophet, We have sent you as a witness, a bearer of good news, a warner,
[33:46] and a caller inviting to God with His permission, and an illuminating lamp.
[33:47] Give good news to the believers that they shall have great favour from God.
[33:48] Do not obey the disbelievers and the hypocrites. Disregard their abuse and put your trust in God. God suffices as a Trustee.
[33:49] O you who believe, if you marry believing women and you happen to divorce them before you have touched them, then you are not entitled to impose an interim upon them. So compensate them and release them gracefully.
[33:50] O you prophet, We have made lawful for you your wives to whom you have paid their dowries and what your right hand possesses of what God has granted you. Also lawful for you are the daughters of your paternal uncles, the daughters of your paternal aunts, the daughters of your maternal uncles, and the daughters of your maternal aunts who have emigrated with you. Also, a believing woman if she donates herself to the prophet and if the prophet wishes to marry her. She becomes lawful to you to the exclusion of all other believers. We know what We have decreed for them regarding their spouses and what their right hand possesses so that no blame falls on you. God is Forgiver, Merciful.
[33:51] You may defer whom you wish of them, and you may take unto yourself whom you wish. There is no blame on you if you should desire any of them whom you had previously set aside. This makes it more likely that they will be happy, to have no grief, and for all of them to be accepting of what you have given them. God knows what is in your hearts. God is Knowledgeable, Forbearing.
[33:52] No women are lawful for you beyond that, nor for you to replace them with other wives even if you are attracted by their beauty, with the exception of what your right hand possesses. God is Watchful over all things.
[33:53] O you who believe, do not enter the prophet's homes unless you are invited for a meal, and do not come and wait while it is being prepared. Rather, when you are invited, you may then enter, and when you have eaten, disperse without lingering around seeking to engage in conversation. This used to hurt the prophet, and he was too shy to tell you, but God does not shy away from the truth. If you ask his wives for something, ask them from behind a barrier. This is purer for your hearts and their hearts. It is not for you to hurt the messenger of God nor to marry his wives after him. Indeed, that is a grievous matter in the sight of God.
[33:54] Whether you disclose something or hide it, indeed, God is Knowledgeable of all things.
[33:55] There is no blame upon them concerning their fathers, their sons, their brothers, the sons of their brothers, the sons of their sisters, their women, nor what their right hands possess. Reverence God. Indeed, God is Witness over all things.
---------------------------------------------------
Footnote 33:55 – The word 'them', used in this verse in the feminine gender, speaks of the wives of the prophet, and the words of this verse are a continuation of 33:53, in which specific rules were set for the wives of the prophet when they converse with strangers. The words in 33:55 allow the wives of the prophet to converse freely with the categories of people mentioned.
---------------------------------------------------
[33:56] God and His angels support the prophet. O you who believe, support him and accept him wholeheartedly.
[33:57] As for those who throw abuse at God and His messenger, God has cursed them in this life and in the Hereafter and has prepared for them a humiliating punishment.
[33:58] And those who abuse the believing men and the believing women for something they have not committed, they bear the burden of slander and a clear sin.
[33:59] O you prophet, say to your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to lower their garments. This is better so that they will be recognised and not harmed. God is Forgiver, Merciful.
[33:60] If the hypocrites and those with sickness in their hearts and those who spread rumours in the city do not refrain, We will rouse you against them, then they will not be your neighbours therein for much longer.
[33:61] They are cursed wherever they are encountered. They should be seized and killed most assuredly.
[33:62] Such was the Sunna of God for those who passed away before. You will find that there is no substitute for the Sunna of God.
[33:63] The people ask you about the Hour, say, "The knowledge thereof is only with God. For all you know, the Hour may be imminent."
[33:64] God has cursed the disbelievers and has prepared for them a Blaze.
[33:65] Remaining therein forever, they will find no ally or supporter.
[33:66] On the Day their faces will be rolled over in the Fire, they will say, "How we wish we had obeyed God and obeyed the messenger."
[33:67] And they will say, "Our Lord, we have obeyed our masters and our superiors, and they misled us from the path.
[33:68] Our Lord, give them double the punishment and curse them a great curse."
[33:69] O you who believe, do not be like those who abused Moses, then God cleared him of what they said. He was honourable in the sight of God.
[33:70] O you who believe, reverence God, and speak in a correct and straightforward manner.
[33:71] He will then rectify your work for you and forgive you your sins. Whoever obeys God and His messenger has indeed triumphed a great triumph.
[33:72] We have offered the Trust to the heavens, the earth and the mountains, but they refused to carry it and were afraid of it, while the human being accepted it. Indeed, he was transgressing, ignorant.
[33:73] This is in order for God to punish the hypocrite men and the hypocrite women, as well as the men who commit shirk and the women who commit shirk, and so that God would redeem the believing men and the believing women. God is Forgiver, Merciful.
Sura 34 Sheba (Saba)
In the name of God, the Almighty, the Merciful.
[34:1] Praise be to God, to whom belongs what is in the heavens and what is in the earth, and praise be to Him in the Hereafter. He is the Wise, the All-Aware.
[34:2] He knows what goes into the earth and what comes out of it, and what descends from the sky and what ascends in it. He is the Merciful, the Forgiver.
[34:3] Those who disbelieved said, "The Hour will not come upon us." Say, "Yes indeed! By my Lord, it will come upon you." He is the Knower of the unseen. Not an atom's weight escapes Him, be it in the heavens or the earth, nor what is smaller than that or larger. All are but in a clear Record,
[34:4] so that He may reward those who believed and did good deeds. They shall have forgiveness and a generous reward.
[34:5] And those who strove to thwart Our revelations, they shall have the punishment of a painful affliction.
[34:6] Those who have been given the knowledge can see that what has been brought down to you from your Lord is the truth and that it guides to the path of the Dignified, the Praiseworthy.
[34:7] Those who disbelieved said, "Shall we direct you to a man who will inform you that when you have been totally torn to pieces, you will be created anew?
[34:8] Has he fabricated lies about God, or is there madness in him?" Not so! Those who do not believe in the Hereafter have incurred the punishment and are in extreme misguidance.
[34:9] Have they not seen that which lies before them and behind them of the heaven and the earth? If We will, We can make the earth swallow them up or make lumps from the sky fall down upon them. Indeed, in that is a sign for every servant who turns to God.
[34:10] We bestowed upon David favour from Us: "O mountains and birds, echo with him." We rendered iron malleable for him:
---------------------------------------------------
Footnote 34:10 - The words 'echo with him' are given clarification in 38:18 in which we read that the mountains were ordained to glorify God along with David. Recent scientific experiments have indicated that everything around us has awareness, even objects we normally consider to be dead matter. In one such experiment, it was demonstrated that water has memory and awareness and that it communicates with other bodies of water. Such discoveries indicate that the words in 34:10 are not allegorical as previously thought.
---------------------------------------------------
[34:11] "Make suits of armour and measure the links precisely, and do good deeds. I am Seer of what you do."
[34:11] "Make suits of armour and measure the links precisely, and do good deeds. I am Seer of what you do."
[34:12] And for Solomon, We subjected the wind. Its outward journey was one month, and its return journey was one month, and We caused a spring of molten copper to flow for him. And of the jinn, some worked for him by his Lord's permission. If any of them was to deviate from Our commands, We would let him taste the punishment of the Blaze.
[34:13] They made for him whatever he wanted: sanctuaries, statues, bowls like pools, and cauldrons fixed to the ground. "O family of David, work and give thanks." Only a few of My servants are thankful.
[34:14] Then, when We decreed death for him, nothing informed them of his death other than the earthly creature that started eating his staff. Then when he fell down, the jinn realised that had they known the unseen, they would not have remained in the humiliating punishment.
[34:15] There was a sign for Sheba in their homeland: two gardens, on the right and on the left, "Eat from your Lord's provisions, and thank Him for a good land and a forgiving Lord."
[34:16] Yet they turned away, and so We unleashed upon them the overwhelming torrent, and We replaced their two gardens with two gardens containing bitter tasting food, tamarisk and some sparse lote-trees.
[34:17] That is how We repaid them for having disbelieved. And do We repay except the ungrateful one?
[34:18] We placed between them and the villages that We blessed other villages that were within sight, and We proportioned the travelling distance between them: "Travel between them by night and day, in safety."
[34:19] But they said: "Our Lord, lengthen the distance between our travel destinations." They wronged themselves, so We made them history and dispersed them into scattered fragments. Indeed, in that are signs for every patient and thankful person.
[34:20] Satan has indeed confirmed his thoughts about them to be true, for they followed him except for a group of believers.
[34:21] He had no authority over them for any purpose other than for Us to distinguish those who believe in the Hereafter from those who are in doubt about it. Your Lord is Guardian over all things.
[34:22] Say, "Call upon those whom you have made claims for besides God, they do not possess a single atom's weight in the heavens nor the earth, nor do they have any share in them, nor does He have an assistant from among them."
[34:23] Intercession with Him does not benefit except the one to whom He has granted permission. Then when terror has subsided from their hearts, they will say, "What did your Lord say?" They will say, "The truth, and He is the Most High, the Great."
[34:24] Say, "Who provides for you from the heavens and the earth?" Say, "God. And indeed, we and you are either upon guidance or are in clear misguidance."
[34:25] Say, "You will not be questioned about crimes that we have committed, nor will we be questioned about what you do."
[34:26] Say, "Our Lord will gather us together, then He will decide between us with the truth. He is the Deliverer, the Knowledgeable."
[34:27] Say, "Show me those whom you have attached to Him as partners. No! Rather, He is God, the Dignified, the Wise."
[34:28] We have not sent you except as a bearer of good news and a warner to all the people, but most people do not know.
[34:29] And they say, "When will this promise come true if you are truthful?"
[34:30] Say, "You have an appointed Day from which you cannot be delayed by one hour nor advanced."
[34:31] Those who disbelieved said, "We will not believe in this Quran or in what came before it." If you could see the transgressors when they are made to stand before their Lord, throwing accusations at one another, those who were oppressed will say to those who were arrogant, "Were it not for you, we would have been believers."
[34:32] Those who were arrogant will say to those who were oppressed, "Was it us who repelled you from the guidance when it came to you? No! You yourselves were criminals."
[34:33] And those who were oppressed will say to those who were arrogant, "Rather, it was the scheming by night and day, when you commanded us to disbelieve in God and to set up equals to Him." They hid their remorse when they saw the punishment, and We placed the shackles around the necks of those who disbelieved. Are they being repaid except for what they used to do?
[34:34] We have not sent a warner to any village without its folk who live in luxury saying, "We disbelieve in what you have been sent with."
[34:35] And they said, "We have more wealth and children, and we are not to be punished."
[34:36] Say, "Indeed, my Lord extends the provision to whom He wills and restricts it, but most people do not know."
[34:37] It is not your wealth nor your children that will draw you close to Us; that is granted only to those who believe and do good deeds. They will receive double the reward for what they did, and they will reside securely in mansions.
[34:38] And those who strive to thwart Our revelations, they will be arraigned unto the punishment.
[34:39] Say, "My Lord extends the provision to whom He wills from among His servants and also restricts it for him. And whatever you have spent, He will replace it. He is the best of providers."
[34:40] On the Day He gathers them all, He will say to the angels, "Was it you that these used to worship?"
[34:41] They will say, "Glory to You, You are our Ally, not them. Rather, they used to worship the jinn; most of them had faith in them."
[34:42] And so, "Today you possess no power to benefit or harm one another!" And We will say to the transgressors, "Taste the punishment of the Fire which you used to deny."
[34:43] And when Our clear revelations are recited to them, they say, "This is nothing but a man who wants to repel you from what your fathers used to worship." And they say, "This is nothing but a fabricated lie." And those who disbelieve say of the truth when it comes to them, "This is nothing but clear magic."
[34:44] We had not given them any Books to study, nor had We sent them any warner before you.
[34:45] Those before them also denied, and they had not attained a tenth of what We gave these. They denied My messengers, so how great was My disapproval!
[34:46] Say, "I only advise you with one thing: to stand for God, in pairs or individually, then reflect." There is no madness about your friend! He is only a warner who has come to you ahead of a severe punishment.
[34:47] Say, "I have not asked you for any reward, for the reward is yours. My reward comes only from God, and He is Witness over all things."
[34:48] Say, "My Lord casts the truth. He is the Knower of all the unseen."
[34:49] Say, "The truth has come. Falsehood can neither initiate nor repeat."
[34:50] Say, "If I stray, I stray to my own loss, and if I am guided, it is by what my Lord inspires to me. He is Hearer, Near."
[34:51] If you could see them when they are terrified and with no escape, and they are seized from a nearby place,
[34:52] they will say, "We believe in it," but how can they attain it from a faraway place
[34:53] when they had rejected it in the past and were having a stab at the unseen from a faraway place?
[34:54] They will be separated from what they desired, just as was done with their kind before. They were in grave doubt.
Sura 35 Initiator (Fatir)
In the name of God, the Almighty, the Merciful.
[35:1] Praise be to God, the Initiator of the heavens and the earth. He made the angels messengers with wings, two, three and four. He adds to the creation what He wills. Indeed, God is Capable of all things.
[35:2] Whatever mercy God unleashes to the people cannot be withheld by anyone, and whatever He withholds cannot be dispatched thereafter. He is the Dignified, the Wise.
[35:3] O people, remember God's blessings upon you. Is there a creator other than God who provides for you from the heaven and the earth? There is no god except Him. How then are you deluded?
[35:4] If they deny you, messengers before you have also been denied, and to God are all matters returned.
[35:5] O people, indeed, God's promise is truthful, so do not let the worldly life delude you, and do not let the Deceiver delude you about God.
[35:6] The devil is an enemy to you, so take him as an enemy. He only invites his party so they would be among the companions of the Blaze.
[35:7] Those who disbelieve shall have a severe punishment, and those who believe and do good deeds shall have forgiveness and a great reward.
[35:8] What about the one whose evil work was adorned for him, and so he saw it as being good? Indeed, God misguides whom He wills, and He guides whom He wills. So do not expend yourself in regret over them. Indeed, God is Knowledgeable of what they do.
---------------------------------------------------
Footnote 35:8 – When God guides some people and misguides others, it is not a random process. See footnotes 32:13 and 45:23.
---------------------------------------------------
[35:9] God is the One who sends the winds that stir up the clouds. Then We drive it towards dead land, and We bring to life therewith the land after it had died. Likewise is the resurrection.
[35:10] Those who seek dignity should know that to God belongs all dignity. To Him ascends the good words, and He raises the good work. As for those who scheme bad work, they shall have a severe punishment. The scheming of those always goes to waste.
[35:11] God created you from dust, then from a tiny drop, then He made you pair up with one another. No female conceives nor gives birth except with His knowledge. No ageing person is made to live longer, nor is his life shortened without it being in a Record. Indeed, that is easy for God.
[35:12] The two seas are not the same: this one is sweet, fresh and pleasant to drink, while that one is salty and bitter. From both, you eat tender meat and extract jewellery to wear. And you see the ships sailing through them, that you may seek of His bounty, and hopefully you may give thanks.
[35:13] He merges the night into the day and merges the day into the night, and He subjected the sun and the moon, each running for a specified term. Such is God your Lord. To Him belongs the sovereignty. Those whom you call upon besides Him do not possess as much as a seed's shell.
[35:14] If you call upon them, they cannot hear your calls. But even if they were to hear, they would not respond to you, and on the Day of Resurrection, they will disown your shirk. None can inform you like One who is All-Aware.
[35:15] O people, you are the ones who are in dire need of God, whereas God is the Rich One, the Praiseworthy.
[35:16] If He wills, He can remove you and bring forth a new creation.
[35:17] That is not difficult for God.
[35:18] No burden-bearer bears the burden of another. If one who is weighed down implores another to carry his burden, none of it can be carried by others, even if they were relatives. You can only warn those who fear their Lord though unseen, and they observe the Salat. Whoever purifies himself does so for his own good, then to God is the ultimate destination.
[35:19] The blind and the seer are not the same.
[35:20] Nor are the darkness and the light.
[35:21] Nor is the shade and the heat.
[35:22] Nor are the living and the dead the same. God makes whom He wills hear, but you cannot make those in the graves hear.
[35:23] You are but a warner.
[35:24] We have sent you with the truth, a bearer of good news and a warner. There is not a nation for which a warner has not come.
[35:25] If they deny you, those before them have also denied. Their messengers came to them with the clear proofs, the Scriptures, and the enlightening Book.
[35:26] Then I seized those who disbelieved; how then was My disapproval!
[35:27] Have you not seen that God brought water down from the sky, and We produced therewith fruits of diverse colours? And the mountains have streaks, white and red of varying shades and raven-black.
[35:28] And likewise, there are among the people, the creatures and the livestock, those of varying colours. Only the knowledgeable among God's servants fear Him. Indeed, God is Dignified, Forgiver.
[35:29] Indeed, those who recite God's Book, observe the Salat, and give from what We have provided for them, secretly and publicly, are seeking a trade that can never go to waste:
[35:30] that He may pay them their reward in full and increase for them His favour. Indeed, He is Forgiver, Appreciative.
[35:31] What We revealed to you of the Book is the truth, confirming what came before it. Indeed, God is All-Aware and Seer of His servants.
[35:32] Then We made the ones We chose from among Our servants inherit the Scripture. Among them is he who wrongs himself, and among them is he who is 'muqtasid', and among them is he who is foremost in doing good deeds by God's permission; that is the great favour.
---------------------------------------------------
Footnote 35:32 - For the word 'muqtasid', see footnote 31:32.
---------------------------------------------------
[35:33] The Gardens of Eden, they will surely enter it. They will be adorned therein with bracelets of gold and pearls, and their clothing therein will be of silk.
[35:34] And they will say, "Praise be to God who has removed from us the sorrow. Indeed, our Lord is Forgiver, Appreciative.
[35:35] He is the One who has settled us in the Abode of Permanence out of His favour. Neither fatigue nor weariness will touch us therein."
[35:36] As for those who disbelieved, they shall have the fire of Hell where they will not be finished off so that they die, nor will its punishment be lightened for them. We thus repay every ungrateful one.
[35:37] And they will scream therein, "Our Lord, let us out! We will do good deeds that will be different from what we used to do." Did We not give you a long life that is sufficient for anyone who cares to be reminded to take heed, and the warner had come to you? So have a taste! The transgressors will have no supporter.
[35:38] Indeed, God is the Knower of the unseen of the heavens and the earth. Indeed, God is Knowledgeable of what the chests hold.
[35:39] He is the One who made you successors in the earth. So whoever disbelieves, his disbelief is to his own detriment. The disbelief of the disbelievers increases for them nothing at their Lord except abhorrence, and the disbelief of the disbelievers increases for them nothing other than loss.
[35:40] Say, "Have you ever seen your partners whom you call upon besides God? Show me what they have created from the earth, or do they have a partnership in the heavens?" Or have We given them a Book from which they have a clear proof? Rather, the transgressors promise one another nothing but delusion.
[35:41] Indeed, God holds together the heavens and the earth, lest they cease to exist. They would have surely ceased to exist if it were other than Him who held them together. He is Forbearing, Forgiver.
[35:42] They swore solemnly by God that if a warner came to them, they would be better guided than any single nation! However, when a warner did come to them, it did not increase them except in aversion,
[35:43] arrogance in the earth, and evil scheming. The evil scheming engulfs none but its perpetrators. Are they awaiting a sunna other than that of the previous ones? You will find that there is no substitute for the Sunna of God, and you will find that there is no diversion from the Sunna of God.
[35:44] Have they not travelled in the land and seen what the outcome of those before them was? They were more powerful than them, but nothing can thwart God in the heavens nor in the earth. He is Knowledgeable, Capable.
[35:45] If God were to hold people accountable for what they have earned, He would not have left a single creature on its back, but He grants them respite for a specified term. When their time comes, then indeed, God is Seer of His servants.
Sura 36 Y.S. (Yaa Seen)
In the name of God, the Almighty, the Merciful.
[36:1] Y. S.
[36:2] and the Wise Quran,
[36:3] you are indeed one of the messengers
[36:4] on a straight path.
[36:5] A revelation of the Dignified, the Merciful,
[36:6] so that you may warn a people whose fathers were not warned, and thus they are oblivious.
[36:7] The Word has been rightly deserved upon the majority of them, for they do not believe.
[36:8] We have placed shackles around their necks up to their chins, and so their heads are forced back.
[36:9] And We placed a barrier before them and a barrier behind them. We thus veiled them so they cannot see.
[36:10] Whether you warn them or you do not warn them, they will not believe.
[36:11] You can only warn the one who follows the Reminder and who fears the Almighty though unseen. So give him good news of forgiveness and a generous reward.
[36:12] It is We who bring the dead back to life, and We record what they have put forth and what they have left behind. We have kept count of all things in a clear Record.
[36:13] Cite for them an example: the people of the village when the messengers came to it.
[36:14] When We sent two to them, they denied them, so We reinforced with a third. They said, "We are messengers sent to you."
[36:15] They said, "You are nothing other than human beings like us, and the Almighty has not brought down anything. You are only lying."
[36:16] They said, "Our Lord knows that we are messengers sent to you,
[36:17] and our only duty is the clear delivery."
[36:18] They said, "We see you as a bad omen. Unless you refrain, we will stone you, and a painful punishment will surely befall you from us."
[36:19] They said, "Your omen accompanies you. Would you not be reminded? Rather, you are an excessive people."
[36:20] A man came running from the far side of the city and said, "O my people, follow the messengers.
[36:21] Follow those who do not ask you for any reward and who are guided.
[36:22] Why should I not worship the One who initiated me, and to Him you shall be returned?
[36:23] Shall I take up gods besides Him? If the Almighty willed any harm upon me, their intercession cannot avail me in any way, nor can they rescue me.
[36:24] In that case, I would be in clear misguidance.
[36:25] I have believed in your Lord, so listen to me."
[36:26] It was said, "Enter Paradise." He said, "I wish my people would know
[36:27] about what my Lord has forgiven for me, and that He made me among the honoured."
[36:28] We did not send down upon his people soldiers from the sky after him, nor would We send down any.
[36:29] It was but one blast, whereupon they became motionless.
[36:30] How regrettable it is for the servants! Never does a messenger come to them without them ridiculing him.
[36:31] Did they not see how many generations We annihilated before them who never return to them?
[36:32] And indeed, each and every one of them will be arraigned before Us.
[36:33] And a sign for them is the dead land: We brought it to life and produced from it grains from which they eat.
[36:34] And We placed therein gardens of palm trees and grapevines, and We caused springs to gush out in it
[36:35] so that they would eat from its fruits. It was not their hands that made it, so would they not give thanks?
[36:36] Glory to the One who created all the pairs: from what the earth produces, and from themselves, and from what they know not.
[36:37] And a sign for them is the night: We peel the day away from it, whereupon they are in darkness.
[36:38] And the sun runs along to its place of settlement. Such is the determination of the Dignified, the Knowledgeable.
[36:39] And the moon, We determined phases for it until it returns looking like an old palm spathe.
[36:40] Neither is the sun to catch up with the moon nor does the night overtake the day. Each one is swimming in an orbit.
[36:41] And a sign for them is that We carried their offspring on the laden ship.
[36:42] Then We created for them of its like that which they ride.
[36:43] And if We will, We can drown them, then no one will respond to their screams, nor will they be rescued,
[36:44] except by an act of mercy from Us, and some enjoyment for a while.
[36:45] Even though it is said to them, "Beware of what is before you and what is behind you so that you may attain mercy,"
[36:46] yet there does not come to them a sign from the signs of their Lord without them turning away from it.
[36:47] And when it is said to them, "Give from what God has provided for you," those who disbelieve say to those who believe, "Should we feed one whom, if God had willed, He would have fed? You are in nothing other than clear misguidance."
[36:48] And they say, "When will this promise come true if you are truthful?"
[36:49] What they await is, in fact, nothing but one blast that will seize them while they quarrel among themselves.
[36:50] They will not be able to leave a will nor return to their families.
[36:51] The horn was blown, whereupon they rushed out of the graves towards their Lord.
[36:52] They said, "Woe to us! Who resurrected us from our resting place? This is what the Almighty had promised. The messengers were indeed truthful."
[36:53] It was only one blast whereupon they were all arraigned before Us.
---------------------------------------------------
Footnote 36:51-53 – These verses speak of the Day of Judgment, which for us is a future event, yet they are worded in the past tense. For the analysis, see footnotes 6:128 and 17:52.
---------------------------------------------------
[36:54] So today, no self will be wronged in any way, and you will not be repaid except for what you used to do.
[36:55] The companions of Paradise are joyfully occupied today.
[36:56] They and their partners are in the shade reclining on couches.
[36:57] For them are fruits therein, and for them is whatever they ask for.
[36:58] "Peace," is the word from a Merciful Lord.
[36:59] "Stand apart today, you criminals!
[36:60] Did I not take an oath from you, O Children of Adam, that you shall not worship the devil, for he is a clear enemy to you,
[36:61] and that you shall worship Me, for that is a straight path?
[36:62] He has misguided great multitudes of you, so were you not able to reason?
[36:63] This is the Hell that you were promised.
[36:64] Roast in it today for what you used to deny."
[36:65] Today, We will seal their mouths, and their hands will speak to Us, and their feet will testify to what they used to earn.
[36:66] If We willed, We could have obliterated their eyes. Then they would have raced to the path, but how then would they have been able to see?
[36:67] And if We willed, We could have transfixed them to their spots. Then they would not have been able to move forward, nor would they have been able to go back.
[36:68] Whomever We grant a long life, We decline him in stature, so will they not reason?
[36:69] We did not teach him poetry, nor was it required of him; it is but a Reminder and a clear Quran
[36:70] in order to warn those who are alive, and so that the Word is rightly deserved upon the disbelievers.
[36:71] Have they not seen that, out of what Our hands have made, We created for them livestock which they then become their owners?
[36:72] And We made them subservient to them; some of them they ride and some from which they eat.
[36:73] And they obtain from them benefits and drinks, so will they not be thankful?
[36:74] Yet they have taken up other gods besides God so that they may be supported.
[36:75] They cannot support them. Rather, they themselves become soldiers in attendance for them.
---------------------------------------------------
Footnote 36:75 – By taking up false gods, those who do so become nothing other than soldiers in attendance for their false gods. Ultimately, they become pawns serving the devil (58:19), for it is the devil who promotes all false gods.
---------------------------------------------------
[36:76] So do not let what they say grieve you. Indeed, We know what they conceal and what they declare.
[36:77] Has the human being not seen that We created him from a tiny drop, but then he becomes a clear adversary?
[36:78] He presents for Us an argument yet he forgets his own creation! He says, "Who can bring the bones back to life after they have decayed?"
[36:79] Say, "The One who initiated them in the first place will bring them back to life. He is Knowledgeable of every created thing."
[36:80] It is He who provided for you fire out of green trees, and so from it, you ignite.
[36:81] Is the One who created the heavens and the earth not Capable of creating their like? Yes, indeed, He is the Knowledgeable Creator.
[36:82] His command, when He desires anything, is merely to say to it, "Be," and it is.
[36:83] Therefore, glory to the One in whose hand is the realm of all things and to whom you shall be returned.
Sura 37 The Arrangers (Al-Saaffaat)
In the name of God, the Almighty, the Merciful.
[37:1] By those lined up in rows,
[37:2] and by those who drive forcibly,
[37:3] and by the reciters of the Reminders:
[37:4] Indeed, your God is indeed One.
[37:5] The Lord of the heavens and the earth and what lies between them, and Lord of the easts.
[37:6] We have adorned the lowest heaven with the zinat of the planets,
[37:7] and granted it protection against every rebellious devil.
[37:8] They are not to eavesdrop on the Highest Assembly and are bombarded from every side.
[37:9] Repelled they are, and they shall have an eternal punishment.
[37:10] If any of them snatches a snippet, he is pursued by a piercing meteor.
[37:11] Ask them, "Are they a stronger creation, or others whom We have created?" Indeed, We created them from sticky clay.
[37:12] Yet, while you marvelled, they mock!
[37:13] And when they are reminded, they do not pay heed.
[37:14] And when they see a sign, they ridicule.
[37:15] And they said, "This is nothing but clear magic!
[37:16] When we die and become dust and bones, are we to be resurrected
[37:17] as well as our forefathers?"
[37:18] Say, "Yes indeed, and you will be in a despicable state."
[37:19] It will be a single nudge, whereupon they will be looking.
[37:20] They said, "Woe to us; this is the Day of the Religion."
[37:21] This is the Day of Decision that you used to deny.
[37:22] Gather those who transgressed and their spouses and what they used to worship
[37:23] besides God, then guide them to the path to Hellfire.
[37:24] And stop them, for indeed, they are to be called to account:
[37:25] "What is the matter with you that you do not support one another?"
[37:26] However, today, they are in total surrender.
[37:27] Some of them approached one another, blaming each other.
[37:28] They said, "You used to come to us from the right."
---------------------------------------------------
Footnote 37:28 - The words 'the right' are often used in the Quran to denote a position of power. Similar examples can be seen in 37:93 and 69:45. In the context of 37:28, those who were misled will accuse their leaders and superiors that they misled them due to their position of authority and power.
---------------------------------------------------
[37:29] They replied, "Rather, you yourselves were not believers.
[37:30] We had no authority over you. Rather, you were a transgressing people.
[37:31] And thus, we have justly deserved our Lord's Word. Indeed we will taste it.
[37:32] We led you astray, for indeed, we ourselves were led astray."
[37:33] And so, on that Day, they will share in the punishment.
[37:34] Indeed, that is what We do with the criminals.
[37:35] When they were told, "There is no god except God," they acted arrogantly.
[37:36] And they used to say, "Are we to abandon our gods for a crazy poet?"
[37:37] Rather, he has come with the truth and confirmed the messengers.
[37:38] You will surely taste the painful punishment,
[37:39] and you will not be repaid except for what you used to do.
[37:40] Not so for God's pure servants;
[37:41] they shall have a known provision.
[37:42] They shall have fruits, and they will be honoured
[37:43] in the Gardens of Bliss.
[37:44] Lying on couches, facing one another,
[37:45] a cup from a flowing spring will be passed among them
[37:46] that is white and a pleasure for the drinkers.
[37:47] No adverse effect lies in it, nor do they become intoxicated from it.
[37:48] And for them shall be maidens with beautiful eyes and subdued glances,
[37:49] as if they were well-protected eggs.
[37:50] Some of them approached one another, inquiring.
[37:51] A speaker among them said, "I used to have a companion
[37:52] who used to say, 'Are you of those who believe
[37:53] that when we die and become dust and bones, we will be called to account?' "
[37:54] He said, "Will you take a look?"
[37:55] So he did look and saw him in the midst of Hellfire.
[37:56] He said, "By God, you almost ruined me!
[37:57] And had it not been for my Lord's blessing, I would have been among those arraigned.
[37:58] Was it not that we would not die
[37:59] except for our first death, and that we would not be punished?"
[37:60] Indeed, this is the great triumph.
[37:61] And it is the like of this that every worker should strive for.
[37:62] Is this a better hospitality or the tree of Zaqqum?
---------------------------------------------------
Footnote 37:62 - The 'tree of Zaqqum' is a tree that grows in Hell, and its fruit, like boiling liquid, is the food of the sinners. See 44:43-46.
---------------------------------------------------
[37:63] We have made it an ordeal for the transgressors.
[37:64] It is a tree that emerges from the depths of Hellfire.
[37:65] Its emerging fruit looks as if it were the heads of devils.
[37:66] And indeed, they will eat from it and fill their bellies therefrom.
[37:67] Then on top of it, they will have a mixture of a boiling drink
[37:68] after which their return will be to the Hellfire.
[37:69] They found their fathers astray,
[37:70] and so they are hastening to follow in their footsteps!
[37:71] Most of the previous ones have strayed before them,
[37:72] even though We did send warners in their midst.
[37:73] So look what the outcome of those who have been warned was,
[37:74] except for God's pure servants.
[37:75] Noah called upon Us, and how excellent We are in responding!
[37:76] We saved him and his family from the great affliction,
[37:77] and We decreed for his offspring to be the survivors.
[37:78] And We preserved his history for those who followed.
[37:79] Peace be upon Noah throughout the worlds.
[37:80] Indeed, We thus reward the good-doers.
[37:81] Indeed, he was one of Our believing servants.
[37:82] Thereafter, We drowned the others.
[37:83] From his sect came Abraham.
[37:84] He came to his Lord with a sound heart.
[37:85] He said to his father and his people, "What are you worshipping?
[37:86] Is it the falsehood of gods besides God that you desire?
[37:87] What then are your thoughts about the Lord of the Worlds?"
[37:88] He took a look at the stars,
[37:89] then he said, "I am sick."
[37:90] So they turned away from him and left.
[37:91] He then slipped quietly to their gods and said, "Do you not eat?
[37:92] What is the matter with you that you do not speak?"
[37:93] Then he turned on them, striking them with the right.
---------------------------------------------------
Footnote 37:93 - For the words 'the right', see 37:28.
---------------------------------------------------
[37:94] Then they came rushing back to him.
[37:95] He said, "Do you worship that which you carve,
[37:96] when God created you and what you make?"
[37:97] They said, "Build for him a furnace, then throw him into the blazing fire."
[37:98] They intended to scheme against him, but We made them the lowest.
[37:99] He said, "I am going to my Lord; He will guide me.
[37:100] My Lord, grant me of the righteous ones."
[37:101] So We gave him the good news of a forbearing boy.
[37:102] Then, when he was old enough to accompany him, he said, "My son, I see in my sleep that I am slaughtering you, so see what you think." He said, "O my father, do as you are commanded to do. You will find me, God willing, of the patient ones."
[37:103] Then, when they had both submitted and he placed his forehead on the ground,
[37:104] and We called him, "O Abraham,
[37:105] you have believed the vision!" Indeed, We thus reward the good-doers.
[37:106] This was a clear test indeed.
[37:107] We made a concession for him in place of a grave slaughter.
[37:108] And We preserved his history for those who followed.
[37:109] Peace be upon Abraham.
[37:110] We thus reward the good-doers.
[37:111] He was one of Our believing servants.
[37:112] And We gave him the good news of Isaac, a prophet from among the righteous.
[37:113] We blessed him and Isaac. From among their descendants was the good-doer and also the one who clearly wronged himself.
[37:114] And indeed, We bestowed favour upon Moses and Aaron.
[37:115] And We saved the two of them and their people from the great affliction.
[37:116] And We supported them, and so it was they who were the victors.
[37:117] And We gave the two of them the clarifying Book.
[37:118] And We guided them to the straight path.
[37:119] And We preserved their history for those who followed.
[37:120] Peace be upon Moses and Aaron.
[37:121] Indeed, We thus reward the good-doers.
[37:122] They were among Our believing servants.
[37:123] And indeed, Elijah was one of the messengers.
[37:124] He said to his people, "Would you not be reverent?
[37:125] Do you call upon Baal, and leave the best of creators?
---------------------------------------------------
Footnote 37:125 - 'Baal' was an ancient Canaanite and Mesopotamian deity associated with agriculture and fertility. He was believed to be the 'giver of life' and that mankind was dependent upon him for providing what was necessary to sustain life.
---------------------------------------------------
[37:126] God is your Lord and the Lord of your forefathers."
[37:127] They denied him, and so they will surely be arraigned,
[37:128] except for God's pure servants.
[37:129] And We preserved his history for those who followed.
[37:130] Peace be upon Elijah.
[37:131] Indeed, We thus reward the good-doers.
[37:132] He was one of Our believing servants.
[37:133] And indeed, Lot was one of the messengers.
[37:134] We saved him and all his family,
[37:135] except an old woman who was one of those who stayed behind.
[37:136] Then We destroyed the others.
[37:137] And indeed, you pass by them in the morning
[37:138] and at night, so will you not reason?
[37:139] And indeed, Jonah was one of the messengers.
[37:140] When he ran off to the laden ship,
[37:141] he took part in drawing lots and was among the losers.
[37:142] Then the fish swallowed him, and he was blameworthy.
[37:143] Had he not been among those who glorify,
[37:144] he would have remained in its belly until the Day they are resurrected.
[37:145] And so We cast him onto the barren shore in a state of sickness,
[37:146] and We grew a gourd tree over him.
[37:147] We sent him to a hundred thousand or more,
[37:148] and they believed, so We granted them enjoyment for a certain time.
[37:149] So ask them, "Are the daughters for your Lord, and for them are the sons?"
[37:150] Or did We create the angels as females while they were witnesses?
[37:151] No indeed! It is due to their falsehood that they say,
[37:152] "God has begotten," and they are liars.
[37:153] Has He chosen daughters over sons?
[37:154] What is the matter with you? How do you judge?
[37:155] Will you not take heed?
[37:156] Or do you have some clear authority?
[37:157] Produce your book then if you are truthful.
[37:158] And they claimed a kinship between Him and the jinn, but the jinn already know that they will be arraigned.
[37:159] Glory to God. He is far above what they portray.
[37:160] Not so for God's pure servants.
[37:161] For indeed, you and what you worship
[37:162] cannot tempt away from Him
[37:163] other than he who is to roast in Hellfire.
[37:164] "There is none of us who does not have a known position.
[37:165] We are the ones drawn up in rows,
[37:166] and we are the ones who glorify."
[37:167] And indeed, they used to say,
[37:168] "Had we received a Reminder from the previous ones,
[37:169] we would have been God's pure servants."
[37:170] But they disbelieved in it, so they will surely know.
[37:171] Our Word had already been given to Our servants, the messengers.
[37:172] They will surely be the supported ones.
[37:173] And it is Our soldiers who will surely be the victors.
[37:174] So turn away from them until a certain time,
[37:175] and watch them, for they will surely see.
[37:176] Do they wish to hasten Our punishment?
[37:177] When it comes down onto their courtyard, miserable indeed will be the morning of the ones who have been warned.
[37:178] So turn away from them until a certain time,
[37:179] and watch them, for they will surely see.
[37:180] Glory to your Lord, the Lord of dignity. He is far above what they portray.
[37:181] And peace be upon the messengers.
[37:182] And praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds.
Sura 38 Ss. (Saad)
In the name of God, the Almighty, the Merciful.
[38:1] Ss, and the Quran containing the Reminder;
[38:2] yet those who disbelieved are immersed in vainglory and opposition.
[38:3] How many a generation We have annihilated before them! They called out when it was too late to escape.
[38:4] And they were astonished that a warner had come to them from among themselves. The disbelievers said, "This is a lying magician.
[38:5] Has he turned all the gods into One God? This is indeed a strange thing!"
[38:6] The leaders among them went off, saying, "Go and persevere with your gods. This is what is desired.
[38:7] We have not heard of this in the previous creed. This is merely a fabrication.
[38:8] Has the Reminder been sent down upon him in exclusion of all of us?" In fact, they are in doubt about My Reminder. In fact, they are yet to taste My punishment.
[38:9] Or do they possess the treasuries of your Lord's mercy, the Dignified, the Grantor?
[38:10] Or do they possess the sovereignty of the heavens and the earth, and what is between them? Let them then ascend through the pathways!
[38:11] Whatever confederates of soldiers are there will be defeated.
[38:12] The people of Noah denied before them, so did Aad, and Pharaoh of the stakes,
[38:13] and Thamoud, and the people of Lot, and the Companions of the Woods. Those were the confederates.
[38:14] Each of them denied the messengers, and so My punishment was justly deserved.
[38:15] These await nothing other than a single blast, from which none can recover.
[38:16] They said, "Our Lord, hasten for us our share before the Day of Reckoning."
[38:17] Be patient in the face of what they say, and mention Our servant David, the possessor of strength, he was always turning to his Lord.
[38:18] We subjected the mountains to glorify with him in the evening and at sunrise.
[38:19] And the birds gathered, all turning to him.
[38:20] We strengthened his sovereignty and endowed him with wisdom and decisive speech.
[38:21] Have you received news of the disputants when they climbed over the wall into the sanctuary?
[38:22] When they entered upon David, he was alarmed by them. They said, "Do not fear. We are two disputants; one of us has wronged the other, so judge between us with truth and do not be unjust, and guide us to the right path.
[38:23] This is my brother, he has ninety-nine ewes, and I have one ewe. He said, 'Entrust her to me,' and he pressured me with his request."
[38:24] He said, "He has wronged you by asking to add your ewe to his, and indeed, many associates end up wronging one another, except for those who believe and do good deeds, but these are only a few." David realised that We had tested him, so he asked his Lord for forgiveness and bowed down and turned to Him.
[38:25] So We forgave him that, and indeed, for him is nearness to Us and a wonderful homecoming.
[38:26] "O David, We have made you a supreme ruler in the earth, so judge between people with truth. And do not follow personal desire lest it diverts you from the path of God. Those who stray off the path of God shall have a severe punishment for forgetting the Day of Reckoning."
[38:27] We did not create the heaven and the earth and what is between them in vain. Such is the thinking of those who disbelieve. So woe to those who disbelieve from the Fire.
[38:28] Should We deem those who believe and do good deeds to be like the corruptors in the land? Or should We deem the reverent to be like the depraved?
[38:29] It is a blessed Book that We brought down to you so that they would reflect on its verses, and so that those who possess intelligence would be reminded.
[38:30] To David We granted Solomon, an excellent servant indeed who always turned to his Lord.
[38:31]When the thoroughbred horses were displayed before him in the evening,
[38:32] he said, "I loved the material things over the remembrance of my Lord until it disappeared behind the veil.
---------------------------------------------------
Footnote 38:32 - Solomon was referring to the setting of the sun when he said 'until it disappeared behind the veil'. The fact that Solomon linked the remembrance of God to a specific time, and said that the time had passed, indicates that Solomon forgot to observe the Salat (which expired at sunset) and was not talking about the remembrance of God in general. The remembrance of God is not fixed to specific times, whereas the Salat is decreed for specific times of the day (4:103).
---------------------------------------------------
[38:33] Bring them back to me." He then started stroking their legs and necks.
[38:34] We have tested Solomon, and We placed a corpse on his throne whereby he turned to Us in repentance.
[38:35] He said, "My Lord, forgive me, and grant me a sovereignty never to be attained by anyone after me. Indeed, You are the Grantor."
[38:36] So, We subjected the wind to blow gently at his command, wherever he directed it.
[38:37] And of the devils, every builder and diver,
[38:38] and others bound together in chains.
[38:39] "This is Our donation, so you may grant favour or withhold without accountability."
[38:40] And indeed, for him is nearness to Us and a wonderful homecoming.
[38:41] And mention Our servant Job, when he called out to his Lord, "The devil has afflicted me with hardship and suffering."
[38:42] "Stomp with your foot: here is a cool wash and a drink."
[38:43] We restored his family unto him and added their like with them as an act of mercy from Us and a reminder for those who possess intelligence.
[38:44] "Take in your hand a bundle of twigs and strike with it, and do not break your oath." We found him to be patient and an excellent servant indeed. He was always turning to his Lord.
[38:45] And mention Our servants Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who were possessors of strength and vision.
[38:46] We distinguished them with a pure quality: the remembrance of the Abode.
[38:47] To Us, they were among the best of the chosen ones.
[38:48] And mention Ishmael, Elisha, and Ezekiel; all of whom were among the best.
[38:49] This is a Reminder, and indeed, the reverent shall have a wonderful homecoming:
[38:50] the Gardens of Eden, with its gates opened for them.
[38:51] Reclining therein, they call for plenty of fruits and drinks therein.
[38:52] There with them shall be maidens of same-age and with subdued glances.
[38:53] That is what you are promised for the Day of Reckoning.
[38:54] Such is Our provision which will never run out.
[38:55] That and the transgressors shall have the worst homecoming.
[38:56] Hell is where they will roast. What a miserable resting place!
[38:57] Such is that; so let them taste it: a boiling drink and filthy pus,
[38:58] and other types of the same kind.
[38:59] "This is a group hurtling in with you." There is no welcome for them. They will roast in the Fire.
[38:60] They said, "Rather, it is you who have no welcome. It was you who brought it upon us! What a miserable resting place!"
[38:61] They said, "Our Lord, for those who brought this upon us, increase their punishment twice over in the Fire."
[38:62] And they said, "How come we do not see some men whom we considered to be among the wicked?
[38:63] Have we ridiculed them unnecessarily, or has our sight merely failed to spot them here?"
[38:64] This is certainly true; the feuding of the companions of the Fire.
[38:65] Say, "I am but a warner, and there is no god except God, the One, the All-Conquering.
[38:66] The Lord of the heavens and the earth and what is between them, the Dignified, the Forgiving."
[38:67] Say, "It is awesome news
[38:68] from which you turn away.
[38:69] I had no knowledge of the Highest Assembly when they quarrelled.
[38:70] It is only inspired to me that I am a clear warner."
[38:71] When your Lord said to the angels, "I will create a human being from clay,
[38:72] then once I have fashioned him and blown into him from My Ruh, you shall fall prostrate to him,"
[38:73] the angels fell prostrate, all of them entirely,
[38:74] except for Satan. He acted arrogantly and was one of the disbelievers.
[38:75] He said, "O Satan, what prevented you from prostrating to what I created with My hands? Have you acted arrogantly, or are you one of the exalted?"
[38:76] He said, "I am better than him; You created me from fire and created him from clay."
[38:77] He said, "Then get out of it, for you are an outcast.
[38:78] And indeed, My curse is upon you until the Day of the Religion."
[38:79] He said, "My Lord, then grant me respite until the Day they are resurrected."
[38:80] He said, "You are among those granted respite
[38:81] until the Day whose time is known."
[38:82] He said, "By Your majesty, I will lead them all astray,
[38:83] except for Your pure servants among them."
[38:84] He said, "By the truth, and the truth is what I speak,
[38:85] I will fill Hell with you and every one of them who follows you."
[38:86] Say, "I do not ask you for a reward for it, nor am I one of the pretenders.
[38:87] It is but a Reminder for all the people,
[38:88] and you will certainly understand its significance after a while."
Sura 39 The Throngs (Al-Zumur)
In the name of God, the Almighty, the Merciful.
[39:1] The revelation of the Book is from God, the Dignified, the Wise.
[39:2] We brought down to you the Book with truth, so worship God, devoting the religion purely to Him.
[39:3] Unquestionably, it is to God that the pure religion is due. Those who set up allies besides Him: "We only worship them so that they may bring us closer to God in proximity." God will judge between them regarding that over which they differ. God does not guide one who is a lying disbeliever.
[39:4] Had God willed to have a son, He would have hand-picked from what He creates what He willed. Glory to Him! He is God, the One, the All-Conquering.
[39:5] He created the heavens and the earth with truth. He rolls the night over the day and rolls the day over the night, and He subjected the sun and the moon, each running for a specified term. Unquestionably, He is the Dignified, the Forgiving.
[39:6] He created you from a single self, then from it, He made its mate, and He brought down to you eight pairs of livestock. He creates you in your mothers's wombs, creation after creation, in three realms of darkness. Such is God, your Lord. To Him belongs the sovereignty. There is no other god except Him. How then are you averted?
---------------------------------------------------
Footnote 39:6 – The significance of the phrase 'three realms of darkness' was not fully understood in the past. Advances in the science of embryology confirmed that this phrase contains accurate scientific information. The three separate realms of darkness that enclose the foetus are: (l) The anterior abdominal wall, (2) The uterine wall,(3) The amniochorionic membrane.
Footnote 39:6 – The significance of the phrase 'three realms of darkness' was not fully understood in the past. Advances in the science of embryology confirmed that this phrase contains accurate scientific information. The three separate realms of darkness that enclose the foetus are: (l) The anterior abdominal wall, (2) The uterine wall,(3) The amniochorionic membrane.
---------------------------------------------------
[39:7] If you disbelieve, God is not in any need of you. He does not accept disbelief from His servants. And if you give thanks, He accepts it from you. No burden-bearer bears the burden of another, then to your Lord is your return, and He will inform you of what you used to do. Indeed, He is Knowledgeable of what the chests hold.
[39:8] When any harm touches the human being, he implores his Lord, turning to Him. Then if He grants him a blessing from Him, he forgets what he was calling for before and sets up equals to God to misguide others from His path. Say, "Enjoy your disbelief briefly; you are indeed among the companions of the Fire."
[39:9] Is it not better to be one who is devoutly obedient, prostrating and standing during the night, fearful of the Hereafter and seeking his Lord's mercy? Say, "Are those who know and those who do not know the same?" Only those who possess intelligence will remember.
[39:10] Tell them, "O My servants who believe, reverence your Lord. For those who do good deeds in this world is a good reward, and God's earth is spacious. Those who are patient will receive their reward without count."
[39:11] Say, "I have been commanded to worship God, devoting the religion purely to Him.
[39:12] And I was commanded to be the first of the Submitters."
[39:13] Say, "I fear, should I disobey my Lord, the punishment of a great Day."
[39:14] Say, "God is the One I worship, devoting my religion purely to Him,
[39:15] so go on worshipping what you please besides Him." Say, "The losers are those who lose themselves and their families on the Day of Resurrection." Unquestionably, that is the clear loss.
[39:16] They will have covers of fire above them and covers below them. With that, God frightens His servants: "O My servants, you shall, therefore, reverence Me."
[39:17] As for those who stay away from false gods, so as to guard against worshipping them, and they turn to God, they shall have good news. So give good news to My servants
[39:18] who listen to what is being said, then follow the best of it. Those are the ones whom God has guided, and those are the ones who possess intelligence.
[39:19] As for one who has deserved the Word of punishment, are you to rescue the one who is in the Fire?
[39:20] However, those who reverenced their Lord shall have mansions, above which other mansions are built and beneath which rivers flow. Such is God's promise. God never breaks a promise.
[39:21] Have you not seen that God brought water down from the sky and threads it through the earth to emerge as springs with which He produces plants of diverse colours, then it withers, and you see it turning yellow, then He turns it into debris? In this is a reminder for those who possess intelligence.
[39:22] As for the one whom God rendered his chest receptive to Submission, he is following a light from his Lord. So woe to those whose hearts are hardened against the remembrance of God. Those are in clear misguidance.
[39:23] God has brought down the Best Hadith: a Book containing similarities and pairs. The skins of those who fear their Lord shiver therefrom, then their skins and their hearts soften up with the remembrance of God. Such is God's guidance by which He guides whom He wills. And whoever God misguides, he will have no guide.
[39:24] Who will it be who will save his face from the terrible punishment on the Day of Resurrection? The transgressors will be told, "Taste what you used to earn."
[39:25] Those before them denied, so the punishment befell them from where they did not expect.
[39:26] God thus made them taste disgrace in the worldly life, and the punishment of the Hereafter is greater if they only knew.
[39:27] We have cited for the people in this Quran every kind of example so that they may be reminded.
[39:28] An Arabic Quran without any crookedness so that hopefully they may be reverent.
[39:29] God cites an example: a man who deals with disputing partners in contrast to a man who deals peacefully with only one man; are they the same in comparison? Praise be to God! However, most of them do not know.
[39:30] You will die, and they will die,
[39:31] then, on the Day of Resurrection, you will quarrel with one another before your Lord.
[39:32] Who is more transgressing than one who lies about God and denies the truth when it comes to him? Is there not in Hell a home for the disbelievers?
[39:33] And the one who comes with the truth, then confirms it, it is they who are the reverent.
[39:34] They shall have what they wish for at their Lord. Such is the reward of the good-doers.
[39:35] God will wipe out the worst that they did and will grant them their reward, to be equated to the best of what they used to do.
[39:36] Is God not sufficient for His servant? They frighten you with those other than Him. And whoever God misguides, he will have no guide.
[39:37] And whomever God guides, none can misguide him. Is God not Dignified, Possessor of retribution?
[39:38] If you were to ask them, "Who created the heavens and the earth?" they would say, "God." Say, "So have you ever seen what you call upon besides God? If God willed any harm for me, can they remove His harm? Or if He desired mercy for me, can they withhold His mercy?" Say, "God is sufficient for me. Those who do trust, they put their trust in Him."
[39:39] Say, "O my people, act according to your position, and so will I. Then you will surely know
[39:40] to whom will come a punishment that will disgrace him, and upon whom will descend an eternal punishment."
[39:41] We brought down upon you the Book for the people with truth. Then whoever is guided is guided for himself, and whoever goes astray does so to his own detriment. You are not a trustee over them.
[39:42] God takes back the selves at the time of their death and also of those who have not died during their sleep. Then He retains those for whom He has decreed death and sends the others back for a specified term. Indeed, in that are signs for people who reflect.
[39:43] Or have they taken intercessors besides God? Say, "Even though they do not possess anything nor do they reason?"
[39:44] Say, "All intercession belongs to God." To Him belongs the sovereignty of the heavens and the earth, then to Him, you will be returned.
[39:45] When God alone is mentioned, the hearts of those who do not believe in the Hereafter are filled with aversion, but when others are mentioned besides Him, they rejoice.
[39:46] Say, "O God, Initiator of the heavens and the earth, Knower of the unseen and the seen, You will surely judge between Your servants regarding that over which they used to differ."
[39:47] If those who transgressed owned everything on earth, and the like of it with it, they would offer it as ransom to avoid the terrible punishment on the Day of Resurrection. They will be shown by God what they never expected,
[39:48] and the ill effects of what they had earned became apparent to them, and the very things they used to mock will engulf them.
[39:49] If the human being is touched by any harm, he implores Us, then if We bestow a blessing from Us upon him, he says, "I was only given this because of my knowledge." Rather, it is a test, but most of them do not know.
[39:50] Those before them had already said it, yet what they used to earn did not avail them.
[39:51] So they were struck by the ill effects of what they had earned. And the ones who transgressed among those will be struck by the ill effects of what they had earned, and they cannot thwart it.
[39:52] Do they not know that God extends the provision for whom He wills and restricts it? Indeed, in that are signs for people who believe.
[39:53] Say, "O My servants who transgressed exceedingly against themselves, do not despair of God's mercy, for God forgives all sins. He is the Forgiver, the Merciful."
[39:54] Turn to your Lord, and submit to Him before the punishment comes upon you; then you will not be helped.
[39:55] And follow the best that has been brought down to you from your Lord before the punishment comes upon you suddenly while you are unaware,
[39:56] and lest a self should say, " Oh, how remorseful I am for having neglected my duty towards God and for being one of the mockers."
[39:57] Or it says, "Had God guided me, I would have been one of the reverent."
[39:58] Or it says upon seeing the punishment, "If only I were allowed to return, I would be one of the good-doers."
[39:59] Yes indeed! My signs came to you, but you denied them, acted arrogantly, and were among the disbelievers.
[39:60] On the Day of Resurrection, you will see the faces of those who lied about God darkened. Is there not in Hell a home for the arrogant ones?
[39:61] God will save those who were reverent by virtue of their triumph. No harm will touch them, nor will they grieve.
[39:62] God is the Creator of all things, and He is Trustee over all things.
[39:63] To Him belong the keys of the heavens and the earth. As for those who disbelieved in God's revelations, those are the losers.
[39:64] Say, "Is it other than God that you are commanding me to worship, O ignorant ones?"
[39:65] It has been inspired to you and to those before you that if you ever commit shirk, your work will be nullified, and you will be among the losers.
[39:66] Rather, worship God and be among those who give thanks.
[39:67] They did not value God according to His true worth. The whole earth is within His grip on the Day of Resurrection, and the universes are folded up in His right hand. Glory to Him and exalted is He, far above what they associate with Him.
[39:68] The horn was blown whereupon all who are in the heavens and the earth were struck unconscious, except those whom God willed. Then it was blown another time whereupon they all arose, looking on.
[39:69] And the earth shone with the Light of its Lord, and the record was laid down, and the prophets and the witnesses were brought forth. Judgment was passed among them with the truth, and they were not wronged.
[39:70] Every self was paid in full for what it had done. He knows best what they do.
[39:71] Those who disbelieved were driven to Hell in throngs. When they got to it, its gates were opened, and its custodians said to them, "Did messengers from among you not come to you reciting the revelations of your Lord to you and warning you about the meeting of this Day of yours?" They said, "Yes." But the decree of punishment was justified upon the disbelievers.
[39:72] It was said, "Enter the gates of Hell wherein you shall permanently remain." What a miserable home for the arrogant!
[39:73] Those who revered their Lord were ushered to Paradise in throngs. When they got to it and its gates were opened, its custodians said to them, "Peace be upon you. You have been good. Therefore, enter it where you shall permanently remain."
[39:74] They said, "Praise be to God who fulfilled His promise to us and made us inherit the earth, allowing us to settle in Paradise wherever we may please." So excellent is the reward of the workers.
[39:75] And you see the angels surrounding the Throne, glorifying their Lord with praise. Judgment was passed among them equitably, and it was said, "Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds."
---------------------------------------------------
Footnote 39:68-75 – These verses speak of the Day of Judgment, which for us is a future event, yet they are worded in the past tense. For the analysis, see footnotes 6:128 and 17:52.
---------------------------------------------------
Sura 40 Forgiver (Ghaafer)
In the name of God, the Almighty, the Merciful.
[40:1] Hha. M.
[40:2] The revelation of the Book is from God, the Dignified, the Knowledgeable.
[40:3] The Forgiver of sins, Acceptor of repentance, Severe in punishment and Possessor of Abundance. There is no god except Him. To Him is the ultimate destination.
[40:4] None argues against God's revelations except those who disbelieve. Do not be deluded by their free movement in the land.
[40:5] The people of Noah denied before them, as well as the factions that came after them. Every nation plotted against their messenger to seize him. And they argued with falsehood to refute the truth with it, so I seized them. How then was My punishment!
[40:6] And thus was your Lord's Word rightly deserved upon those who disbelieved, that they are indeed to be the companions of the Fire.
[40:7] Those who carry the Throne and those around it glorify their Lord with praise, and they believe in Him, and they askforgiveness for those who believe: "Our Lord, You have encompassed all things in mercy and knowledge, so forgive those who have repented and followed Your path, and spare them the punishment of Hellfire.
[40:8] Our Lord, and admit them into the Gardens of Eden that You promised them, as well as the righteous among their parents, their spouses and their offspring. Indeed, You are the Dignified, the Wise.
[40:9] And safeguard them from the consequences of sin. On that Day, those whom You have safeguarded from the consequences of sin are indeed those whom You have granted mercy. That is the great triumph."
[40:10] It will be proclaimed to those who disbelieved, "God's abhorrence towards you is greater than your abhorrence towards yourselves, for when you were invited to the faith, you chose to disbelieve."
[40:11] They said, "Our Lord, You have put us to death twice, and You have brought us to life twice. Now we have confessed our sins, is there any way out?"
[40:12] That is because, when God alone was called upon, you disbelieved, and when others were associated with Him, you believed. Judgment belongs to God, the Most High, the Great.
[40:13] He is the One who shows you His signs, and He brings down to you provisions from the sky, but none will remember except those who turn to Him.
[40:14] So call upon God, devoting the religion purely to Him, however much the disbelievers hate it.
[40:15] He is the Possessor of the Highest Ranks and Possessor of the Throne. He casts the Ruh by His command upon whom He wills of His servants so that he would warn about the Day of Meeting;
[40:16] the Day when they will be brought forward, and nothing about them will be hidden from God. To whom belongs the sovereignty today? To God, the One, the All-Conquering.
[40:17] Today, every self will be repaid for what it had earned. There will be no injustice today. Indeed, God is swift in reckoning.
[40:18] Warn them about the Day of Imminence, when the hearts are at the throats, choking them. The transgressors will have no friend nor intercessor to be obeyed.
[40:19] He knows that which betrays the eyes and what the chests conceal.
[40:20] God judges with the truth, while those whom they call upon besides Him do not judge with anything. Indeed, it is God who is the Hearer, the Seer.
[40:21] Have they not travelled in the land and seen what the outcome of those who were before them was? They were more powerful than them and more influential in the land, but God seized them for their sins, and they had no protector against God.
[40:22] That was because their messengers used to come to them with the clear proofs, but they disbelieved, so God seized them. He is Powerful, severe in punishment.
[40:23] We sent Moses with Our signs and clear authority
[40:24] to Pharaoh, Haman and Qaroon, but they said, "A lying magician!"
[40:25] Then when he brought them the truth from Us, they said, "Kill the children of those who believed with him, and shame their women." However, the scheming of the disbelievers only goes astray.
[40:26] Pharaoh said, "Let me kill Moses, and let him then call upon his Lord. I fear that he may replace your religion or that he may cause corruption to appear in the land."
[40:27] Moses said, "I have sought refuge in my Lord and your Lord from every arrogant one who does not believe in the Day of Reckoning."
[40:28] A believing man among Pharaoh's people who was concealing his belief said, "Are you going to kill a man for saying, 'My Lord is God,' when he has brought you the clear proofs from your Lord? If he is a liar, his lies are to his own detriment, but if he is truthful, you will be stricken by some of what he is promising you. God does not guide the one who is excessive and a liar.
[40:29] O my people, today you have sovereignty and the upper hand in the land, but who can support us against the might of God if it comes upon us?" Pharaoh said, "I do not show you other than what I see, and I do not direct you to other than the path of correctness."
[40:30] The one who believed said, "O my people, I fear for you the like of the day of the factions,
[40:31] and similar to the fate of the people of Noah, Aad, Thamoud and those after them. God does not wish any injustice for the people.
[40:32] O my people, I fear for you the Day of Calling Out;
[40:33] the Day when you will turn around and flee, having none to protect you against God. And whoever God misguides, he will have no guide."
[40:34] Joseph came to you previously with the clear proofs, but you continued to doubt what he came to you with. Then when he died, you said, "God will not send another messenger after him." Thus does God misguide the one who is excessive and a sceptic.
[40:35] Those who argue against God's revelations without any authority having come to them, they do something that is of great abhorrence in the sight of God and in the sight of those who believe. Thus does God seal the heart of every arrogant tyrant.
[40:36] Pharaoh said, "O Haman, build for me a tower so that I may reach the pathways;
[40:37] the pathways to the heavens, so that I may look at the god of Moses, for indeed, I think he is a liar." Thus, the evil work of Pharaoh was adorned in his eyes, and he was blocked from the path. Pharaoh's scheming led to nothing but ruin.
[40:38] The one who believed said, "O my people, follow me and I will direct you to the path of correctness.
[40:39] O my people, this worldly life is but a brief enjoyment, while the Hereafter is the Abode of Permanence."
[40:40] Whoever commits a bad deed will only be repaid with its equivalent, and whoever does a good deed, male or female, and is a believer, those will enter Paradise wherein they will be provided for without count.
[40:41] "O my people, how is it that I invite you to salvation while you invite me to the Fire?
[40:42] You invite me to disbelieve in God and to associate with Him what I have no knowledge of, while I invite you to the Dignified, the Forgiving.
[40:43] Without a doubt, what you invite me to does not merit supplication in this world or in the Hereafter. Our return is to God, and the excessive ones are the companions of the Fire.
[40:44] You will surely come to remember what I am telling you. I entrust my affair to God. Indeed, God is Seer of the servants."
[40:45] God thus protected him from the evil of what they had schemed, and a terrible punishment engulfed Pharaoh's people.
[40:46] The Fire: they are displayed before it morning and evening, and on the Day the Hour comes to pass: "Admit Pharaoh's people into the most severe punishment."
---------------------------------------------------
Footnote 40:46 - The words in this glorious verse depict the disbelievers being displayed before the Fire, rather than the Fire being displayed before them. This very interesting phrasing portrays the Fire as an entity with awareness. This is in line with the words in 50:30 where the Fire is spoken to and replies, and in 67:8, the fire 'almost bursts with rage.'
---------------------------------------------------
[40:47] When they argue in the Fire, the weak ones will say to those who were arrogant, "We used to be your followers, so will you relieve us of a portion of the Fire?"
[40:48] The ones who were arrogant said, "We are all in it. God has judged between the servants."
[40:49] Those in the Fire will say to the custodians of Hell, "Call upon your Lord to reduce the punishment for us for just one day."
[40:50] They said, "Did your messengers not used to come to you with the clear proofs?" They said, "Yes." They said, "Then implore." However, the imploring of the disbelievers only goes astray.
[40:51] Most certainly, We will support Our messengers and those who believe in the worldly life and on the Day the witnesses rise.
[40:52] That will be the Day when the excuses of the transgressors will not benefit them. The curse will be upon them, and they will have the worst abode.
[40:53] We gave Moses the guidance and made the Children of Israel inherit the Book;
[40:54] a guidance and a reminder for those who possess intelligence.
[40:55] So be patient. Indeed, God's promise is truthful. And ask forgiveness for your sin, and glorify your Lord with praise in the evenings and mornings.
[40:56] Certainly, those who argue against God's revelations, without any authority having come to them, harbour nothing in their chests other than an air of greatness, something they will never attain. So seek refuge in God. He is the Hearer, the Seer.
[40:57] The creation of the heavens and the earth is far greater than the creation of mankind, but most people do not know.
[40:58] The blind and the seer are not the same, nor are those who believe and do good deeds the same as the evildoer. Rarely do you remember!
[40:59] The Hour is surely coming, there is no doubt about it, but most people do not believe.
[40:60] Your Lord said, "Implore Me, and I will respond to you. Surely, those who are too arrogant to worship Me will enter Hell humiliated."
[40:61] God is the One who rendered the night for you to rest therein and the day for seeing. Indeed, God is Possessor of Favour for the people, but most people do not give thanks.
[40:62] Such is God your Lord, the Creator of all things. There is no god except Him. How then are you deluded?
[40:63] That is how those who rejected God's revelations were deluded.
[40:64] God is the One who rendered the earth a resting place for you and the sky a structure. He designed you and designed you well, and He provided you with good things. Such is God your Lord; so blessed be God, the Lord of the Worlds.
[40:65] He is the Living: there is no god except Him. So call upon Him, devoting the religion purely to Him. Praise be to God, the Lord of the Worlds.
[40:66] Say, "I have been commanded to desist from worshipping the ones you call upon besides God when the clear proofs came to me from my Lord, and I was commanded to submit to the Lord of the Worlds."
[40:67] He is the One who created you from dust, then from a tiny drop, then from an aalaqah, then He brings you out as a child, then to reach your maturity, then you become old, while some of you are taken before that. You shall indeed fulfil a specified term. Hopefully, you may use reason.
---------------------------------------------------
Footnote 40:67 - For the word 'aalaqah', see footnote 22:5.
---------------------------------------------------
[40:68] He is the One who brings to life and puts to death. If He decrees a matter, He merely says to it, "Be," and it is.
[40:69] Have you not seen those who argue against God's revelations and how they are averted?
[40:70] Those who deny the Book and what We sent Our messengers with will certainly come to know
[40:71] when the shackles will be around their necks, and in chains, they will be dragged
[40:72] into the boiling water, then in the Fire, they will burn.
[40:73] Then it will be said to them, "Where is that which you used to associate
[40:74] with God?" They will say, "They have abandoned us. Rather, we never really called upon anything before." Thus does God misguide the disbelievers.
[40:75] That is because you used to gloat in the land without right and for what you treated as a plaything.
[40:76] Enter the gates of Hell wherein you shall permanently remain. What a miserable home for the arrogant!
[40:77] So be patient. Indeed, God's promise is truthful. Whether We show you some of what We have promised them, or We take you back, to Us they will be returned.
[40:78] We have sent messengers before you, some of whom We have narrated to you and some We have not narrated to you. It is not for any messenger to produce a miracle except with God's permission. Then when God's command is issued, the matter is settled equitably, and it is then that the falsifiers will lose out.
[40:79] It is God who has rendered for you the livestock so you may ride some of them, and some from which you eat.
[40:80] And you obtain benefits from them, and to satisfy a need that is in your chests. And on them, as well as on the ships, you are carried.
[40:81] He shows you His signs, so which of God's signs do you deny?
[40:82] Have they not travelled in the land and seen what the outcome of those before them was? They were more numerous than them, more powerful and more influential in the land, yet none of what they used to earn availed them.
[40:83] Then, when their messengers came to them with the clear proofs, they remained content with the knowledge they already had, and they were engulfed with the very things that they mocked.
[40:84] Then, when they saw Our might, they said, "We believe in God alone, and we reject what we associated with Him."
[40:85] But their faith was not to benefit them once they saw Our might. Such is the same Sunna of God that has passed before among His servants, and it is then that the disbelievers will lose out.
Sura 41 Detailed (Fussilat)
In the name of God, the Almighty, the Merciful.
[41:1] Hha. M.
[41:2] A revelation from the Almighty, the Merciful.
[41:3] A Book whose verses have been detailed; an Arabic Quran for people who know,
[41:4] a bearer of good news and a warner. Yet most of them turn away, for they do not hear.
[41:5] They said, "Our hearts are sealed from what you invite us to, and there is deafness in our ears, and a barrier stands between us and you. So do what you must do, and so will we."
[41:6] Say, "I am only a human being like you. It is inspired to me that your god is but One God, so get yourselves straight before Him and ask Him for forgiveness." Woe to the mushrikeen
[41:7] who do not give the Zakat, and they disbelieve in the Hereafter.
[41:8] Those who believe and do good deeds shall have an uninterrupted reward.
[41:9] Say, "Do you disbelieve in the One who created the earth in two days, and you set up equals with Him? That is the Lord of the Worlds."
[41:10] And He placed stabilisers therein that rise above it. He blessed it and determined therein its provision, available equally for all who seek it, in four days.
[41:11] Then He took hold of the heaven while it was smoke and said to it and to the earth, "Come willingly or unwillingly." They said, "We come willingly."
---------------------------------------------------
Footnote 41:11 – The deliberate use of the word 'smoke' in 41:11 provides an accurate piece of scientific knowledge. Current theories of cosmology state that approximately 300,000 years after the Big Bang, the universe was like a smoke-filled chamber consisting of hydrogen. Vast volumes of gas clouds then started to condense under the pull of gravity which generated higher and higher levels of heat and pressure. Gravity kept the pressure on, sucking in more gas and dust particles. When the temperature reached around 15 million degrees Celsius, nuclear fusion began, and that was when stars were born. Vast numbers of newly formed stars started to rotate around their centre of gravity, and that was when galaxies were born. The word 'earth' in 41:11 and various other Quranic verses, such as 21:30, speaks of matter and not planet earth.
---------------------------------------------------
[41:12] So He ordained them seven universes in two days and inspired in every universe its commands. We adorned the lowest universe with lamps and guarded it. Such is the determination of the Dignified, the Knowledgeable.
[41:13] If they turn away, then say, "I have warned you of a thunderbolt like the thunderbolt of Aad and Thamoud."
[41:14] When messengers came to them, before them and after them, saying, "Worship none but God." They said, "Had our Lord willed, He would have brought down angels, and so, we are disbelievers in what you have been sent with."
[41:15] As for Aad, they acted arrogantly in the land without any right and said, "Who is more powerful than us?" Did they not see that God who created them is far more powerful than them? They used to reject Our revelations,
[41:16] so We sent upon them a howling wind during days of great misfortune to make them taste the punishment of disgrace in the worldly life, yet the punishment of the Hereafter is more disgracing, and they will not be helped.
[41:17] As for Thamoud, We guided them, but they preferred blindness over guidance. So the thunderbolt of the punishment of humiliation seized them because of what they used to earn,
[41:18] and We saved those who believed and used to be reverent.
[41:19] On the Day the enemies of God are gathered unto the Fire, they will be driven in ranks.
[41:20] Once they reach it, their hearing, their sight and their skins will bear witness against them concerning what they used to do.
[41:21] They will say to their skins, "Why did you bear witness against us?" They will say, "God made us speak; the One who made everything speak. He has created you the first time, and to Him, you are returned."
[41:22] It was not possible for you to cover yourselves, lest your hearing, your sight or your skins would testify against you! Rather, you thought that God does not know much of what you do.
[41:23] That thought of yours about your Lord has brought you to ruin, and so you have become among the losers.
[41:24] If they happen to endure patiently, the Fire will still be a home for them. And if they repent, their repentance will not be accepted.
[41:25]We assigned to them companions who adorned for them what is before them and behind them. They rightly deserved the Word, just like nations of jinn and humans which have passed away before them. Indeed, they were losers.
[41:26] Those who disbelieved said, "Do not listen to this Quran, and talk noisily over it so that you may prevail."
[41:27] We will certainly let those who disbelieved taste a severe punishment, and We will repay them for the worst of what they used to do.
[41:28] Such is the penalty of God's enemies. In the Fire shall be their Eternal Abode as a penalty for how they used to reject Our revelations.
[41:29] And those who disbelieved said, "Our Lord, show us those among the jinn and the humans who misguided us, and we will trample them under our feet so they would be among the lowest."
[41:30] Those who said, "Our Lord is God," then went straight, the angels descend upon them: "Do not fear nor grieve, but rejoice in the good news of Paradise which you were promised.
[41:31] We are your allies in the worldly life and in the Hereafter. You shall have therein whatever your selves desire, and you shall have therein whatever you ask for;
[41:32] a hospitality from a Forgiver, Merciful One."
[41:33] Who is better spoken than one who invites to God, does good deeds, and says, "I am one of the Submitters"?
[41:34] A good deed and a bad deed are not the same. Repel with the good deed, and as a result, the one with whom you had animosity would become as though he was an intimate friend.
[41:35] None attains it except those who have been patient, and none attains it except those with extremely good fortune.
[41:36] If an evil suggestion is incited to you from the devil, seek refuge in God. He is the Hearer, the Knowledgeable.
[41:37] And among His signs are the night and the day, and the sun and the moon. Do not prostrate to the sun or to the moon. Prostrate to God who created them if it is Him whom you worship.
[41:38] If they act arrogantly, those who are at your Lord glorify Him night and day, and they never grow tired.
[41:39] And among His signs is that you see the land still, then if We send down upon it water, it quivers and grows. The One who brought it to life will surely bring the dead back to life. He is Capable of all things.
[41:40] Indeed, those who distort Our revelations are not hidden from Us. Is the one to be thrown in the Fire better, or the one who arrives securely on the Day of Resurrection? Do whatever you wish. He is Seer of what you do.
[41:41] Indeed, they are the ones who rejected the Reminder when it came to them, and indeed, it is an Honourable Book.
[41:42] Falsehood does not touch it in the present or the future. It is a revelation from One who is Wise and Praiseworthy.
[41:43] What is being said to you is nothing other than what has been said to the messengers before you. Indeed, your Lord is Possessor of forgiveness and Possessor of painful punishment.
[41:44]If We had made it a Quran in a foreign language, they would have said, "If only its verses were detailed!" Non-Arabic and Arabic, say, "For those who believe, it is guidance and healing, and for those who disbelieve, there is deafness in their ears, and it brings blindness upon them; those are being called from a faraway place."
[41:45] And We gave Moses the Book, but differences arose therein. Had it not been for a previous Word from your Lord, judgment would have already been passed over them. Indeed, they are in grave doubt about it.
[41:46] Whoever does a good deed, it is for his own good, and whoever commits a sin, it is to his own detriment. Your Lord is not unjust towards the servants.
[41:47] The knowledge of the Hour is referred to Him. No fruits emerge from their sheaths, nor does a female conceive or give birth without His knowledge. On the Day He calls out to them, "Where are My partners?" They will say, "We proclaim to You that none of us bears witness."
[41:48] And those whom they used to call upon before deserted them, and they realised that for them, there is no escape.
[41:49] The human being never tires of imploring for good things, but when adversity touches him, he turns despondent, despairing.
[41:50] If We were to let him taste mercy from Us after a hardship that had touched him, he would say, "This is my due, and I do not think that the Hour will come to pass. If I am to be returned to my Lord, there will be good things for me at Him." We will certainly inform those who disbelieved of what they have done, and We will let them taste some of the harsh punishment.
[41:51] If We grant the human being a blessing, he turns away and distances himself, yet when adversity touches him, he implores profusely.
[41:52] Say, "Have you considered: If it is from God yet you disbelieved in it, who would then be further astray than one who is in vast opposition?"
[41:53] We will show them Our signs in the horizons and within themselves until it becomes clear to them that it is the truth. Is it not sufficient concerning your Lord that He is Witness over all things?
[41:54] Indeed, they are in doubt about the meeting with their Lord. Indeed, He is Encompassing of all things.
Sura 42 The Consultation (Al-Shoorah)
In the name of God, the Almighty, the Merciful.
[42:1] Hha. M.
[42:2] Aa. S. Q.
[42:3] Thus does God, the Dignified, the Wise, inspire you as He inspired those before you.
[42:4] To Him belongs what is in the heavens and what is in the earth. He is the Most High, the Great.
[42:5] The heavens almost shatter from above them, and the angels glorify their Lord with praise and ask forgiveness for those in the earth. Indeed, God is the Forgiver, the Merciful.
[42:6] As for those who have taken up allies besides Him, God is Guardian over them; you are not a trustee over them.
[42:7] Thus, We revealed to you an Arabic Quran so that you may warn the Mother of Villages and those around it, and to warn of the Day of Gathering about which there is no doubt. A group will be in Paradise and a group in the Blaze.
[42:8] Had God willed, He could have made them one nation, but He admits whom He wills into His mercy. As for the transgressors, they will have no ally or supporter.
[42:9] Or have they taken up allies besides Him? Verily, God is the Ally, and He brings the dead to life, and He is Capable of all things.
[42:10] Whatever matter you differ about, its judgment rests with God. Such is God my Lord. In Him I put my trust, and to Him I turn.
[42:11] He is the Initiator of the heavens and the earth. He has made for you spouses from among yourselves, as well as pairs of the livestock. In that way, He multiplies you. There is nothing that is akin to Him. He is the Hearer, the Seer.
[42:12] To Him belong the keys of the heavens and the earth. He extends the provision for whom He wills and restricts it. He is Knowledgeable of all things.
[42:13] He has legislated for you of the religion that which He instructed for Noah, and that which We inspired to you, and that which We instructed for Abraham, Moses and Jesus: that you shall uphold the religion and do not be divided therein. What you invite the mushrikeen to is intolerable to them. God chooses for Himself whom He wills, and He guides towards Himself those who turn to Him.
[42:14] They did not divide except after the knowledge had come to them due to animosity among themselves. Had it not been for a previous Word from your Lord that was assigned a specified term, judgment would have already been passed over them. Those after them who were made to inherit the Scripture are indeed in grave doubt about it.
[42:15] So to that you shall invite, and go straight as you have been commanded. Do not follow their personal desires and say, "I believe in what God has brought down of the Scriptures, and I was commanded to maintain justice among you. God is our Lord and your Lord. For us are our deeds, and for you are your deeds. There are no claims between us and you. God will gather us together, and to Him is the ultimate destination."
[42:16] Those who argue about God, after He has been responded to,their argument is invalid with their Lord. There is wrath upon them, and they shall have a severe punishment.
[42:17] It is God who has brought down the Book with the truth and the balance. For all that you know, the Hour may be imminent.
[42:18] Those who do not believe in it wish to hasten it, while those who believe in it are apprehensive about it, and they know it is the truth. Those who dispute the Hour are in extreme misguidance indeed.
[42:19] God is Gentle with His servants. He provides for whom He wills. He is the Powerful, the Dignified.
[42:20] Whoever seeks the harvest of the Hereafter, We increase for him his harvest, and whoever seeks the harvest of this world, We will give him thereof, and he will have no share in the Hereafter.
[42:21] Or do they have partners who legislate for them of the religion what God did not authorise? Had it not been for a decisive Word, they would have already been judged. Indeed, the transgressors shall have a painful punishment.
---------------------------------------------------
Footnote 42:21 - The Arabic word 'shurakaa'(partners) used in this verse should not be overlooked. God could have said: 'do they have others who legislate for them', but God deliberately chose the word'partners'. The Arabic word 'shurakaa' is an adjective from the noun 'shirk' (setting up partners with God). The words in this verse warn those who follow religious laws not authorised by God that they are committing an act of shirk, and that they 'shall have a painful punishment'.
---------------------------------------------------
[42:22] You will see the transgressors apprehensive about what they have earned as its consequence befalls them, whereas those who believe and do good deeds will be in the lush meadows of the Gardens. They shall have all that they desire at their Lord. That is the great favour.
[42:23] This is the good news that God gives to His servants who believe and do good deeds. Say, "I do not ask you for a reward for it, except that you show love to the relatives." Whoever acquires a good deed, We will increase its worth of goodness for him. Indeed, God is Forgiver, Appreciative.
[42:24] Or do they say, "He fabricated lies about God"? If God willed, He could have sealed your heart. God blots out the falsehood and validates the truth with His Words. He is Knowledgeable of what the chests hold.
[42:25] And it is He who accepts the repentance from His servants, pardons the bad deeds, and knows what you do.
[42:26] Those who believe and do good deeds respond, and He increases for them His favour. As for the disbelievers, they shall have a severe punishment.
[42:27] If God were to expand the provision for His servants, they would transgress in the land. Rather, He brings down what He wills in a measured amount. He is All-Aware and Seer of His servants.
[42:28] And it is He who brings down the rain after they had despaired, and He spreads His mercy. He is the Ally, the Praiseworthy.
[42:29] Among His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth and the creatures that He has spread in them. He is Capable of gathering them if He wills.
[42:30] Whatever disaster strikes you is but a consequence of what your own hands have earned, but He pardons much.
[42:31] You are powerless to thwart anything in the land, and you have none besides God as an ally or a supporter.
[42:32] And from among His signs are the ships sailing in the sea like flags.
[42:33] If He wills, He can make the wind become still, leaving them motionless on its surface. Indeed, in that are signs for everyone who is patient and thankful.
[42:34] Or He could destroy them for what they have earned, but He pardons much.
[42:35] Those who argue against Our signs should know that they have no escape.
[42:36] Whatever you have been given is but the enjoyment of the worldly life, while what is with God is better and longer lasting for those who believe, and in their Lord they trust,
[42:37] and who stay away from gross sins and immoralities, and when they get angry, they forgive,
[42:38] and who have responded to their Lord and observed the Salat, and their affairs are decided through consultation among themselves, and who give from what We have provided them with,
[42:39] and who defend themselves when injustice befalls them.
[42:40] The penalty for a bad deed is its equivalent, then for the one who pardons and reforms, his reward lies with God. Indeed, He does not like the transgressors.
[42:41] And for those who have defended themselves after having been wronged, they shall have no claim directed against them.
[42:42] Rather, the claim is against those who wrong the people and aggress in the land without any right to do so. Those shall have a painful punishment.
[42:43] And whoever is patient and forgives; that is indeed the most resolute behaviour.
[42:44] And the one whom God misguides, he will have no ally after Him. You will see the transgressors, upon seeing the punishment, saying, "Is there a way of turning back?"
[42:45] You will see them displayed before it, humbled due to the humiliation, and looking with secretive glances. Those who believe will say, "The losers are those who lost themselves and their families on the Day of Resurrection." Indeed, the transgressors are in an everlasting punishment.
[42:46] They did not have any allies to support them besides God. And whoever God misguides, for him, there can never be a way.
[42:47] Respond to your Lord before a Day comes from which there will be no turning back from God. You will have no refuge on that Day, nor will you have a means of denial.
[42:48] But if they turn away, We did not send you as a guardian over them. Your sole duty is the delivery. When We grant the human being a taste of mercy from Us, he is happy with it, but if adversity strikes them as a result of what their hands have put forth, then indeed, the human being is ungrateful.
[42:49] To God belongs the sovereignty of the heavens and the earth. He creates whatever He wills. He grants females to whom He wills, and He grants the males to whom He wills.
[42:50] Or He grants them twins, males and females, and He makes whom He wills barren. He is Knowledgeable, Capable.
[42:51] It is not for any human being that God should speak to him, except through inspiration, or from behind a barrier, or that He sends a messenger to inspire by His permission what He wills. He is Most High, Wise.
[42:52] And thus We inspired to you a Ruh by Our command. You did not know about the Scripture, or what faith is, but We rendered it a Light with which We guide whom We will of Our servants, and you are to guide to a straight path;
[42:53] the path of God, to whom belongs what is in the heavens and what is in the earth. Absolutely, all matters are returned to God.
Sura 43 The Ornaments (Al-Zukhruf)
In the name of God, the Almighty, the Merciful.
[43:1] Hha. M.
[43:2] and the clear Book.
[43:3] We have rendered it an Arabic Quran so that you may understand.
[43:4] And indeed, it is with Us in the Mother Book, exalted and wise.
[43:5] Should We withhold the Reminder from you, disregarding you because you were an excessive people?
[43:6] How many a prophet We have sent to the previous ones,
[43:7] yet no prophet would come to them without them ridiculing him!
[43:8] So We annihilated ones who were of greater strike power than they, and the precedent of the previous ones came to pass.
[43:9] If you were to ask them, "Who created the heavens and the earth?" They would say, "The Dignified, the Knowledgeable created them."
[43:10] He is the One who rendered the earth a cradle for you and made for you pathways therein so that you may be guided.
[43:11] And the One who brought down water from the sky in a measured amount, then We resurrected a dead land therewith. Likewise, you will be brought out.
[43:12] And the One who created all the pairs, and He rendered the ships and livestock for you to ride
[43:13] so that you may settle on their backs, and so that you may remember your Lord's blessings when you have settled upon them, and say, "Glory to the One who subjected this for us. We could not have done this by ourselves.
[43:14] Indeed, to our Lord we shall return."
[43:15] And they assigned to Him a share of His own servants! The human being is clearly ungrateful.
[43:16] Or has He taken daughters from that which He creates, and selected for you the sons?
[43:17] When one of them is given news of the like of what he attributes to the Almighty, his face darkens as he suppresses his grief.
[43:18] What good is one who is raised in luxury yet lacks clarity in a dispute?
[43:19] They claimed that the angels, who are servants of the Almighty, are females! Have they witnessed their creation? Their testimony will be recorded, and they will be called to account.
[43:20] They said, "If the Almighty willed, we would not have worshipped them." They have no knowledge of this; they are only guessing.
[43:21] Or have We given them a Book before it, and so they are holding fast to it?
[43:22] Rather, they said, "We found our fathers following a community, and we are guided in their footsteps."
[43:23] Similarly, We have not sent a warner before you to any village without its folk who live in luxury saying, "We found our fathers following a community, and we are following in their footsteps."
[43:24] He said, "What if I brought you better guidance than what you found your fathers upon?" They said, "We are disbelievers in what you have been sent with."
[43:25] And so We inflicted retribution upon them, so look what the outcome of the deniers was.
[43:26] Abraham said to his father and his people, "I am innocent of what you worship.
[43:27] Only the One who initiated me shall guide me."
[43:28] He made it an enduring word among his descendants so that they may revert.
[43:29] Indeed, I have given these and their fathers some enjoyment until the truth came to them and a clarifying messenger.
[43:30] When the truth came to them, they said, "This is magic, and we are disbelievers therein."
[43:31] And they said, "If only this Quran was brought down upon a great man of the two villages!"
[43:32] Is it they who apportion your Lord's mercy? It is We who have apportioned their livelihood in the worldly life, and We raised some of them above others in rank so that some of them would employ others in service. The mercy of your Lord is better than whatever they can amass.
[43:33] If it were not that the people would become one nation, We would have granted those who disbelieve in the Almighty silver roofs for their homes, and stairways upon which they ascend,
[43:34] and doors for their homes, and couches on which they recline,
[43:35] and ornaments. All these are but the enjoyment of the worldly life, while the Hereafter, at your Lord, is for the reverent.
[43:36] Whoever shuns the remembrance of the Almighty, We appoint for him a devil to be his companion.
[43:37] They repel them from the path, yet they think they are guided!
[43:38] Then, when he comes to Us, he will say, "How I wish the distance of the two easts was between me and you; what a miserable companion!"
[43:39] It will not benefit you today when you have transgressed that you are sharing in the punishment.
[43:40] Can you make the deaf hear or guide the blind and those who are in clear misguidance?
[43:41] Indeed, We will inflict retribution upon them. Whether We take you away,
[43:42] or We show you that which We have promised them; We are in full control over them.
[43:43] So hold fast to what has been revealed to you. Indeed, you are on a straight path.
[43:44] It is a Reminder for you and your people, and you will all be called to account.
[43:45] Ask those We sent before you of Our messengers, "Have We appointed besides the Almighty other gods to be worshipped?"
[43:46] We sent Moses with Our signs to Pharaoh and his leaders, saying, "I am the messenger of the Lord of the Worlds."
[43:47] But when he brought them Our signs, they laughed at them!
[43:48] There was not a sign that We showed them without it being greater than its sister, and We seized them with punishment so that they may revert.
[43:49] They said, "O you magician, implore your Lord by the oath He has made with you; we would then be guided."
[43:50] But when We removed the punishment from them, they broke their word.
[43:51] Pharaoh called to his people, saying, "O my people, does the sovereignty of Egypt not belong to me and so do these rivers flowing beneath me? Do you not then see?
[43:52] Am I not better than this one who is despicable and who is barely comprehensible?
[43:53] If only golden bracelets had been placed on him, or had the angels come along in his company!"
[43:54] And so he fooled his people, and they obeyed him; they were a wicked people.
[43:55] When they incurred Our anger, We inflicted retribution upon them and drowned them all.
[43:56] We made them a thing of the past and an example for the later ones.
[43:57] When the son of Mary was cited as an example, your people laughed out loud.
[43:58] They said, "Are our gods better, or is he?" They did not make this comparison to you except for mere argument. Indeed, they are an argumentative people.
[43:59] He was but a servant whom We blessed and whom We made an example for the Children of Israel.
[43:60] If We willed, We could have made of you angels, succeeding one another in the earth.
[43:61] And indeed, he serves as knowledge for the Hour, so have no doubt about it, and follow Me; this is a straight path.
[43:62] Let not the devil repel you. Indeed, he is your clear enemy.
[43:63] When Jesus came with the clear proofs, he said, "I have come to you with the wisdom and to clarify to you some of that over which you differ. So reverence God and obey me.
[43:64] Indeed, God is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. This is a straight path."
[43:65] The parties differed among themselves, so woe to those who transgressed from the punishment of a painful Day.
[43:66] Are they waiting but for the Hour to come to them suddenly while they are unaware?
[43:67] Friends on that Day will become enemies of one another, except for the reverent.
[43:68] O My servants, no fear is there concerning you today, nor will you grieve.
[43:69] They are the ones who believed in Our revelations and were Submitters.
[43:70] Enter Paradise, you and your spouses, joyfully.
[43:71] Golden trays and cups will be passed among them. Therein is what the self desires and what the eyes delight in. And therein, you shall permanently remain.
[43:72] Such is the Paradise that you are made to inherit for what you used to do.
[43:73] For you therein are plenty of fruits from which you will eat.
[43:74] The criminals shall permanently remain in Hell's punishment.
[43:75] It will not be eased for them, and therein, they will be in total despair.
[43:76] We did not wrong them, but it was they who were the wrong-doers.
[43:77] They will call, "O Maalik, let your Lord finish us off." He will say, "You are to remain as you are."
---------------------------------------------------
Footnote 43:77 - 'Maalik' is the chief of the angels guarding Hell. In 74:30-31, their number is given as 19. The angels guarding Hell are also called Zabanniyah (96:18).
---------------------------------------------------
[43:78] We have indeed brought you the truth, but most of you hate the truth.
[43:79] Have they devised some matter? We too are devising.
[43:80] Or do they think that We do not hear their secrets and their private conferring? Yes indeed, and Our messengers are among them, recording.
[43:81] Say, "If the Almighty had a son, I would be the first of the worshippers."
[43:82] Glory to the Lord of the heavens and the earth, the Lord of the Throne, far above what they portray.
[43:83] So leave them to engage in vain discourse and play until they meet their Day that they are promised.
[43:84] It is He who is God in the heaven and God in the earth. He is the Wise, the Knowledgeable.
[43:85] Blessed is the One to whom belongs the sovereignty of the heavens and the earth and what is between them, and with whom lies the knowledge of the Hour, and to whom you will be returned.
[43:86] Those whom they call on besides Him possess no power of intercession except those who testify to the truth, and they know.
[43:87] If you were to ask them who created them, they would say, "God." How then are they deluded?
[43:88] As for his saying, "O my Lord, these are a people who do not believe,"
[43:89] turn away from them and say, "Peace," for they will come to know.
Sura 44 The Smoke (Al-Dukhaan)
In the name of God, the Almighty, the Merciful.
[44:1] Hha. M.
[44:2] and the clear Book.
[44:3] We brought it down in a blessed night. We have indeed warned.
[44:4] In it, every wise command is made distinct.
[44:5] A command from Us that We are sending out;
[44:6] a mercy from your Lord. He is the Hearer, the Knowledgeable.
[44:7] He is the Lord of the heavens and the earth and what is between them, if only you had certainty.
[44:8] There is no other god except Him. He brings to life and puts to death; your Lord and the Lord of your forefathers.
[44:9] Yet they play around in doubt.
[44:10] So watch out for a day when the sky brings forth a distinctive smoke
[44:11] that covers the people; this is a painful punishment.
[44:12] "Our Lord, remove the punishment from us; we are believers."
[44:13] How can there be a reminder for them when a clear messenger had already come to them,
[44:14] then they turned away from him and said, "An educated madman"?
[44:15] Indeed, We will lift the punishment a little. Indeed, you will revert.
[44:16] The Day We strike the great strike; We will surely inflict retribution.
[44:17] We have tested before them the people of Pharaoh, and a noble messenger came to them:
[44:18] "Deliver to me the servants of God. I am a trustworthy messenger to you.
[44:19] And do not exalt yourselves above God. I come to you with clear authority.
[44:20] I have sought refuge in my Lord and your Lord lest you stone me.
[44:21] If you do not believe in me, then leave me alone."
[44:22] So he called out to his Lord, "These are a criminal people."
[44:23] "Travel with My servants during the night. Indeed, you will be pursued.
[44:24] And leave the sea parted as it is. Indeed, they are an army to be drowned."
[44:25] How many gardens and springs did they leave behind,
[44:26] and crops, and a noble position,
[44:27] and a luxury in which they had been joyful!
[44:28] So it was, and We made other people inherit it.
[44:29] Neither the heaven nor the earth wept over them, and they were not granted respite.
[44:30] We saved the Children of Israel from the humiliating punishment
[44:31] of Pharaoh. He was haughty and among the excessive ones.
[44:32] We have chosen them knowingly over all people,
[44:33] and We gave them signs containing a clear test.
[44:34] Indeed, these will say,
[44:35] "It is nothing but our first death, and we will not be resurrected.
[44:36] Bring our fathers back then if you are truthful."
[44:37] Are they better or the People of Tubbaa and those before them whom We annihilated? Indeed, they were criminals.
[44:38] We did not create the heavens and the earth and what is between them for mere play.
[44:39] We did not create them except with the truth, but most of them do not know.
[44:40] The Day of Decision is the appointed time for them all.
[44:41] The Day when no friend can avail a friend in any way nor will they be helped,
[44:42] except for those who are shown mercy by God. Indeed, He is the Dignified, the Merciful.
[44:43] The tree of Zaqqum
[44:44] is the food of the sinful.
[44:45] Like molten brass, it boils in the bellies
[44:46] like the boiling of scalding liquid.
[44:47] Take him and drag him into the midst of Hellfire.
[44:48] Then pour over his head some of the torment of the scalding liquid.
[44:49] "Taste! Indeed, you are the dignified, the noble!"
[44:50] This is what you used to doubt.
[44:51] Indeed, the reverent will be in a secure place,
[44:52] in gardens and springs,
[44:53] wearing silk and brocade, facing one another.
[44:54] So shall it be. And We will pair them with companions with beautiful eyes.
[44:55] They will call there for every kind of fruit while perfectly secure.
[44:56] They do not taste death therein beyond the first death, and He has shielded them from the punishment of Hellfire;
[44:57] a favour from your Lord. Such is the great triumph.
[44:58] We have made it easy and in your tongue so that they may be reminded.
[44:59] So keep on the watch; they too are keeping watch.
Sura 45 The Kneeling (Al-Jaatheyah)
In the name of God, the Almighty, the Merciful.
[45:1] Hha. M.
[45:2] The revelation of the Book is from God, the Dignified, the Wise.
[45:3] Indeed, in the heavens and the earth are signs for the believers.
[45:4] And in your creation and the creatures that He spread are signs for people who are certain.
[45:5] And the alternation of the night and the day, and what God brings down from the sky of provision whereby He brings to life the land after it has died, and the diversifying of the winds, there are signs for people who reason.
[45:6] These are God's revelations that We recite to you with truth, so in which hadith other than God and His revelations do they believe?
[45:7] Woe to every sinful falsifier
[45:8] who hears God's revelations recited to him, then persists arrogantly as if he never heard them. So give him news of a painful punishment.
[45:9] And if he happens to know any of Our revelations, he makes a mockery of them. Those shall have a humiliating punishment.
[45:10] Hell is in their pursuit. What they earned will not avail them in any way, nor will the allies they took besides God. They shall have a great punishment.
[45:11] This is guidance, and those who disbelieved in the revelations of their Lord shall have the punishment of a painful affliction.
[45:12] God is the One who subjected the sea for you so that the ships would sail in it by His command, and that you may seek of His bounty, and so that hopefully you may give thanks.
[45:13] And He subjected for you what is in the heavens and what is in the earth, all from Him. Indeed, in that are signs for people who reflect.
[45:14] Tell those who believe to forgive those who do not seek the days of God. He will repay people for what they used to earn.
[45:15] Whoever does a good deed, it is for his own good, and whoever commits a sin, it is to his own detriment. Then to your Lord, you will be returned.
[45:16] We gave the Children of Israel the Scripture, the law, and the prophethood. And We provided them with good provisions and favoured them over all people.
[45:17] And We gave them clear commandments. They did not differ except after the knowledge had come to them due to animosity between them. Indeed, your Lord will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection regarding that over which they used to differ.
[45:18] Then, We set you on a given body of law. So follow it, and do not follow the personal desires of those who do not know.
[45:19] They will not avail you in any way against God. The transgressors are allies of one another, while God is the Ally of the reverent.
[45:20] These are insights for the people as well as guidance and mercy for people who are certain.
[45:21] Or do those who commit bad deeds think that We will treat them as those who believe and do good deeds, whether in their life or in their death? Miserable indeed is their judgment.
[45:22] And God created the heavens and the earth with truth so that every self would be repaid for what it earned, and they will not be wronged.
[45:23] Have you seen the one who made his personal desire his god and whom God misguided knowingly, sealed his hearing and his heart, and placed a veil over his sight? Who then can guide him after God? Will you not take heed?
---------------------------------------------------
Footnote 45:23 - The words in this verse about God misguiding some people knowingly are better understood when read in conjunction with other related verses. In 2:10, we read that some people have an incurable sickness in their hearts that prevents them from submitting to God, while in 8:23, we read that when God places veils over some people's hearts and ears, it is not an act of injustice, but it is because: 'Had God known of any good in them, He would have made them hear. But even if He had made them hear, they would still turn away in aversion.'
---------------------------------------------------
[45:24] They said, "There is nothing but our worldly life. We die, and we live, and nothing destroys us but time." They have no knowledge of that; they are only guessing.
[45:25] When Our clear revelations are recited to them, their only argument is to say, "Bring back our fathers if you are truthful."
[45:26] Say, "God brings you to life, then He puts you to death, then He gathers you together for the Day of Resurrection, about which there is no doubt, but most people do not know."
[45:27] To God belongs the sovereignty of the heavens and the earth, and on the Day the Hour comes to pass, on that Day, the falsifiers will lose.
[45:28] And you will see every nation kneeling. Every nation will be called to its Book. "Today, you are repaid for what you used to do.
[45:29] This is Our Book uttering the truth about you. We have been recording what you used to do."
[45:30] As for those who believe and do good deeds, their Lord will admit them into His mercy. That is the clear triumph.
[45:31] And for those who disbelieved: "Were not My revelations recited to you, yet you turned arrogant and were a criminal people?"
[45:32] And when it was said, "Indeed, God's promise is truthful, and there is no doubt about the Hour," you said, "We do not know what the Hour is! We think it is nothing but conjecture. We are not certain."
[45:33] And the ill effects of what they had done became apparent to them, and the very things they mocked have engulfed them.
[45:34] And it was said: "Today We forget you, just as you forgot the meeting of this Day of yours. Your refuge is the Fire and you have no supporters.
[45:35] This is because you made a mockery of God's revelations and were deluded by the worldly life." So today, they will not be taken out of it, nor will their repentance be accepted.
[45:36] So praise be to God, the Lord of the heavens and Lord of the earth; Lord of the Worlds.
[45:37] All greatness belongs to Him in the heavens and the earth. He is the Dignified, the Wise.
Sura 46 The Dunes (Al-Ahqaaf)
In the name of God, the Almighty, the Merciful.
[46:1] Hha. M.
[46:2] The revelation of the Book is from God, the Dignified, the Wise.
[46:3] We did not create the heavens and the earth and what is between them except with truth and for a specified term. Those who disbelieve turn away from what they have been warned about.
[46:4] Say, "Have you ever seen what you call upon besides God? Show me what they have created from the earth, or do they have a partnership in the heavens? Bring me a book before this or a trace of knowledge if you are truthful."
[46:5] Who could be further astray than one who calls upon those besides God who will not respond to him until the Day of Resurrection and who are oblivious of their calls?
[46:6] And when the people are gathered, they will be their enemies and will totally reject their worship.
[46:7] When Our clear revelations are recited to them, those who disbelieved said of the truth that came to them, "This is clear magic."
[46:8] Or do they say, "He fabricated it"? Say, "If I have fabricated it, you do not possess any power to protect me from God. He knows best what you indulge in. He suffices as a Witness between me and you. He is the Forgiver, the Merciful."
[46:9] Say, "I am not a novelty among the messengers, nor do I know what will happen to me or to you. I follow nothing other than what is revealed to me. I am no more than a clear warner."
[46:10] Say, "Have you considered: What if it is from God and you disbelieved in it? A witness from the Children of Israel has borne witness to its like, and so he believed, while you were arrogant! Surely, God does not guide the transgressing people."
[46:11] Those who disbelieved said about those who believed, "If it were any good, they would not have beaten us to it." And since they are not guided by it, they will say, "This is an old falsehood."
[46:12] And before it was the Book of Moses, a guide and a mercy. And this is a confirming Book in an Arabic tongue to warn those who have transgressed and to give good news to the good-doers.
[46:13] Those who said, "Our Lord is God," and then went straight: no fear will there be concerning them nor will they grieve.
[46:14] Those are the companions of Paradise. Therein, they shall permanently remain as a reward for what they used to do.
[46:15] We instructed the human being to treat his parents kindly. His mother bore him laboriously and gave birth to him laboriously. Carrying him and weaning him takes thirty months. Then when he reaches maturity and reaches the age of forty, he says, "My Lord, enable me to give thanks for Your blessings which You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents, and to do good deeds that You approve of, and make my offspring righteous for me. I have repented to you, and I am one of the Submitters."
[46:16] Those are the ones from whom We accept the best of what they did and overlook their bad deeds. They shall be among the companions of Paradise. This is the truthful promise that they had been promised.
[46:17] Then there is the one who says to his parents, "Uff to you! Are you promising me that I will be brought out when generations have already passed away before me?" Meanwhile, they implore God for help: "Woe to you! Have faith! Indeed, God's promise is truthful." So he says, "This is nothing but the tales of the previous ones."
---------------------------------------------------
Footnote 46:17 – For the word 'uff', see footnote 17:23.
---------------------------------------------------
[46:18] Those are the ones who rightly deserved the Word among nations of jinn and humans that have passed away before them. Indeed, they were losers.
[46:19] And all shall be assigned ranks in accordance to what they have done. He will pay them in full for their work, and they will not be wronged.
[46:20] On the Day those who disbelieved are displayed before the Fire: "You have wasted the good things you had in your worldly life, choosing instead to over-indulge in them. So today, you are repaid with the punishment of humiliation in return for how arrogantly you acted in the land without any right, and for how wickedly you used to behave."
[46:20] On the Day those who disbelieved are displayed before the Fire: "You have wasted the good things you had in your worldly life, choosing instead to over-indulge in them. So today, you are repaid with the punishment of humiliation in return for how arrogantly you acted in the land without any right, and for how wickedly you used to behave."
[46:21] Mention the brother of Aad, when he warned his people at the dunes, and indeed warnings had already passed away before him and after him: "Do not worship except God. I fear for you the punishment of a great Day."
[46:22] They said, "Have you come to delude us away from our gods? Then bring us what you are promising us if you are of the truthful."
[46:23] He said, "The knowledge rests only with God, and I merely deliver to you what I was sent with. However, I see that you are an ignorant people."
[46:24] When they saw it as a cloud approaching their valleys, they said, "This is a cloud bringing us rain." Not so! It is what you wished to hasten: a wind containing a painful punishment
[46:25] destroying everything by its Lord's command. When the morning came upon them, there was nothing to be seen except their dwelling places. We thus repay the criminal people.
[46:26] We established them in what We have not established you. And We devised for them the hearing, the sight, and the hearts. However, their hearing, sight and hearts did not avail them in any way when they used to reject God's revelations. They were engulfed by what they used to mock.
[46:27] We annihilated the villages around you, and We diversified the signs so that they may revert.
[46:28] Why have those whom they took as gods besides God, to bring them close to Him, not supported them? Rather, they abandoned them! Such was their falsehood and what they used to fabricate.
[46:29] When We directed towards you a group of jinn to listen to the Quran, then when they were in its presence, they said, "Pay attention." Then when it was concluded, they turned back to their people, warning.
[46:30] They said, "O our people, we have heard a Book that was brought down after Moses confirming what came before it. It guides to the truth and to a straight path.
[46:31] O our people, respond to God's caller and believe in him. He will then forgive you of your sins and save you from a painful punishment."
[46:32] The one who does not respond to God's caller thwarts nothing in the earth and will have no allies besides Him. Those are in clear misguidance.
[46:33] Have they not seen that God, who created the heavens and the earth and did not tire by their creation, is Capable of bringing the dead to life? Yes, indeed; He is Capable of all things.
[46:34] On the Day those who disbelieved are displayed before the Fire: "Is this not the truth?" They said, "Yes, by our Lord." He said, "Then taste the punishment for what you used to deny."
[46:35] So be patient, just like the messengers who had resolve were patient, and do not seek to hasten what becomes of them. On the Day they see what they are promised, it will be as if they remained a mere hour of a day. A proclamation: Are any annihilated but the wicked people?
Sura 47 Muhammad (Muhammad)
In the name of God, the Almighty, the Merciful.
[47:1] Those who disbelieved and repelled from the path of God, He has let their work go astray.
[47:2] As for those who believed, did good deeds, and believed in what was brought down upon Muhammad, which is the truth from their Lord, He has wiped out their bad deeds and granted them peace of mind.
[47:3] That is because those who disbelieved followed the falsehood, while those who believed followed the truth from their Lord. Thus does God cite for the people their examples.
[47:4] If you encounter those who disbelieved, strike the necks, then once you have subdued them, tie them up securely. You may free them later as an act of grace or ransom them until the war ends. Had God willed, He could have enforced victory upon them, but He thus tests you against one another. As for those who are killed in the cause of God, He will not let their work go astray.
[47:5] He will guide them and grant them peace of mind,
[47:6] and He will admit them into Paradise, which He has made known to them.
[47:7] O you who believe, if you support God, He will support you and secure your foothold.
[47:8] As for those who disbelieved, for them is misery, and He will let their work go astray.
[47:9] That is because they hated what God brought down, and so He nullified their work.
[47:10] Have they not travelled in the land and seen what the outcome of those before them was? God brought destruction upon them, and the disbelievers shall have its like.
[47:11] That is because God is the Master of those who believe, while the disbelievers have no master.
[47:12] God will admit those who believe and do good deeds into Gardens beneath which rivers flow. As for those who disbelieve, they enjoy themselves and eat just as the cattle eat, and the Fire will be their home.
[47:13] How many a village that was more powerful than the village that evicted you have We annihilated, and they had no supporter?
[47:14] Is the one who is on a clear proof from his Lord the same as the one whose evil work has been adorned for him, or as those who follow their personal desires?
[47:15] The allegory of Paradise that is promised to the reverent is that of rivers of unpolluted water, and rivers of milk whose taste does not change, and rivers of wine that is a pleasure for the drinkers, and rivers of strained honey. They have all kinds of fruits therein and forgiveness from their Lord. Is that like those who abide forever in the Fire, where they are given boiling water to drink which cuts up their intestines?
[47:16] Among them are those who listen to you, then when they leave your place, they say to those who are given knowledge, "What did he just say?" Those are the ones whom God has sealed their hearts and who followed their personal desires.
[47:17] And for those who are guided, He increases their guidance and grants them their reverence.
[47:18] Are they waiting but for the Hour to come to them suddenly? Its conditions have already come. So when it comes upon them, what good then will their reminder be to them?
[47:19] So know that there is no god except God, and ask forgiveness for your sin, and for the believing men and believing women. God knows your movements and your resting place.
[47:20] Those who believe say, "If only a Sura would be brought down!" Yet when a decisive Sura is brought down, and fighting is mentioned in it, you see those with sickness in their hearts looking at you with the look of someone about to faint from fear of death. More fitting for them
[47:21] would have been obedience and an utterance of righteousness. When the matter is settled, it would have been better for them if they had been true to God.
[47:22] Is it not likely that if you did turn away, you would corrupt in the land and sever the ties with your blood-relatives?
[47:23] Those are the ones whom God has cursed, so He made them deaf and blinded their sight.
[47:24] Do they not reflect on the Quran? Or do the hearts have their locks on them?
[47:25] Those who turned back in their tracks after the guidance became clear to them; it was the devil who enticed them and led them on.
[47:26] That is because they said to those who hated what God brought down, "We will obey you in certain matters." Indeed, God knows their secrets.
[47:27] How will it be when the angels take them back, beating their faces and their hinds?
[47:28] That is because they followed what angers God and hated what earns His consent. Thus He nullified their work.
[47:29] Or did those with sickness in their hearts think that God would not expose their malice?
[47:30] If We wished, We would have shown them to you, and you would have recognised them by their features. You will, however, know them by the tone of their speech. And God knows what you do.
[47:31] We will surely put you to the test until We know the ones who strive among you, and the patient ones, and We will test your affairs.
[47:32] Those who disbelieved, repelled from the path of God and opposed the messenger, after the guidance has become clear to them, will not harm God in any way, and He will nullify their work.
[47:33] O you who believe, obey God and obey the messenger, and do not nullify your work.
[47:34] Those who disbelieved and repelled from the path of God, then died as disbelievers, God will not forgive them.
[47:35] So do not waver and call for peace when you hold the upper hand. God is with you, and He will not waste your work.
[47:36] The worldly life is but play and amusement. If you believe and be reverent, He will grant you your rewards and not ask you for your money.
[47:37] If He should ask you for it, thereby putting you under pressure, you would become stingy, and He would expose your malice.
[47:38] Here you are, the ones being invited to spend in the cause of God, but some of you turn stingy. The one who is stingy is only stingy to himself. God is the Rich One, while you are the poor ones. If you turn away, He will replace other people in your place, and they will not be like you.
No comments:
Post a Comment