Alif Lam Ra. A Book whose verses are set clear, and then distinguished, from One All-wise, All-aware:
'Serve you none but God' (I am to you a warner from Him and a bearer of good tidings)
and: 'Ask forgiveness of your Lord, then repent to Him, and He will give you fair enjoyment unto a term stated, and He will give of His bounty to every man of grace. But if you should turn your backs I fear for you the chastisement of a mighty day;
to God shall you return; He is powerful over everything.'
Behold, they fold their breasts, to hide them from Him; behold, when they wrap themselves in their garments He knows what they secrete and what they publish; surely He knows all the thoughts within the breasts.
No creature is there crawling on the earth, but its provision rests on God; He knows its lodging-place and its repository. All is in a Manifest Book.
And it is He who created the heavens and the earth in six days, and His Throne was upon the waters -- that He might try you, which one of you is fairer in works. And if thou sayest, 'you shall surely be raised up after death,' the unbelievers will say, 'This is naught but a manifest sorcery.'
And if We postpone the chastisement from them till a reckoned moment they will say 'What is detaining it?' Surely, the day it shall come to them, it shall not be turned aside from them, and they shall be encompassed by that they mocked at.
And if We let a man taste mercy from Us, and then We wrest it from him, he is desperate, ungrateful.
But if We let him taste prosperity after hardship that has visited him, he will say, 'The evils have gone from me'; behold, he is joyous, boastful --
save such as are patient, and do deeds of righteousness; for them awaits forgiveness and a mighty wage.
Perchance thou art leaving part of what is revealed to thee, and thy breast is straitened by it, because they say, 'Why has a treasure not been sent down upon him, or an angel not come with him?' Thou art only a warner; and God is a Guardian over everything.
Or do they say, 'He has forged it'? Say: 'Then bring you ten suras the like of it, forged; and call upon whom you are able, apart from God, if you speak truly.'
Then, if they do not answer you, know that it has been sent down with God's knowledge, and that there is no god but He. So have you surrendered?
Whoso desires the present life and its adornment, We will pay them in full for their works therein, and they shall not be defrauded there;
those are they for whom in the world to come there is only the Fire; their deeds there will have failed, and void will be their works.
And what of him who stands upon a clear sign from his Lord, and a witness from Him recites it, and before him is the Book of Moses for an ensample and a mercy? Those believe in it; but whosoever disbelieves in it, being one of the partisans, his promised land is the Fire. So be thou not in doubt of it; it is the truth from thy Lord, but most men do not believe.
And who does greater evil than he who forges against God a lie? Those shall be presented before their Lord, and the witnesses will say, 'Those are they who lied against their Lord.' Surely the curse of God shall rest upon the evildoers
who bar from God's way, desiring to make it crooked; they disbelieve in the world to come;
they are unable to frustrate Him on earth and they have no protectors, apart from God. For them the chastisement shall be doubled; they could not hear, neither did they see.
Those are they that have lost their souls, and that they forged has gone astray from them;
they without doubt will be the greatest losers in the world to come.
But those who believe, and do righteous deeds, and have humbled themselves unto their Lord -- they shall be the inhabitants of Paradise, therein dwelling forever.
The likeness of the two parties is as the man blind and deaf, and the man who sees and hears; are they equal in likeness? Will you not remember?
And We sent Noah to his people: 'I am for you a warner, and a bearer of good tidings:
Serve you none but God. I fear for you the chastisement of a painful day.'
Said the Council of the unbelievers of his people, 'We see thee not other than a mortal like ourselves, and we see no? any following thee but the vilest of us, inconsiderately. We do not see you have over us any superiority; no, rather we think you are liars.'
He said, 'O my people, what think you? If I stand upon a clear sign from my Lord, and He has given me mercy from Him, and it has been obscured for you, shall we compel you to it while you are averse to it?
O my people, I do not ask of you wealth for this; my wage falls only upon God. I will not drive away those who believe; they shall surely meet their Lord. But I see you are an ignorant people.
O my people, who would help me against God, if I drive you away?
Will you not remember? I do not say to you, \"I possess the treasuries of God\"; I know not the Unseen; and I do not say, \"I am an angel.\" Nor do I say to those your eyes despise, \"God will not give them any good\"; God knows best what is in their hearts. 'Surely in that case I should be among the evildoers.'
They said, 'Noah, thou hast disputed with us and make much disputation with us. Then bring us that thou promisest us, if thou speakest truly.'
He said, 'God will bring you it if He will; you cannot frustrate Him.
And my sincere counsel will not profit you, if I desire to counsel you sincerely, if God desires to pervert you; He is your Lord, and unto Him you shall be returned.'
(Or do they say, 'He has forged it'? Say: 'If I have forged it, upon me falls my sin; and I am quit of the sins you do.')
And it was revealed to Noah, saying, 'None of thy people shall believe but he who has already believed; so be thou not distressed by that they may be doing.
Make thou the Ark under Our eyes, and as We reveal; and address Me not concerning those who have done evil; they shall be drowned.'
So he was making the Ark; and whenever a council of his people passed by him they scoffed at him, He said, 'If you scoff at us, we shall surely scoff at you, as you scoff
and you shall know to whom will come a chastisement degrading him, and upon whom there shall alight a lasting chastisement.'
Until, when Our command came, and the Oven boiled, We said, 'Embark in it two of every kind, and thy family -- except for him against whom the word has already been spoken and whosoever believes.' And there believed not with him except a few.
He said, 'Embark in it! In God's Name shall be its course and its berthing. Surely my Lord is All-forgiving, All-compassionate.'
So it ran with them amid waves like mountains; and Noah called to his son, who was standing apart, 'Embark with us, my son, and be thou not with the unbelievers!'
He said, 'I will take refuge in a mountain, that shall defend me from the water.' Said he, 'Today there is no defender from God's command but for him on whom He has mercy.' And the waves came between them, and he was among the drowned.
And it was said, 'Earth, swallow thy waters; and, heaven, abate!' And the waters subsided, the affair was accomplished, and the Ark settled on El-Judi, and it was said: 'Away with the people of the evildoers!'
And Noah called unto his Lord, and said, 'O my Lord, my son is of my family, and Thy promise is surely the truth. Thou art the justest of those that judge.'
Said He, 'Noah, he is not of thy family; it is a deed not righteous. Do not ask of Me that whereof thou hast no knowledge. I admonish thee, lest thou shouldst be among the ignorant.'
He said, 'My Lord, I take refuge with Thee, lest I should ask of Thee that whereof I have no knowledge; for if Thou forgivest me not, and hast not mercy on me, I shall be among the losers.'
It was said, 'Noah, get thee down in peace from Us, and blessings upon thee and on the nations of those with thee; and nations -- We shall give them enjoyment, then there shall visit them from Us a painful chastisement.'
(That is of the tiding's of the Unseen, that We reveal to thee; thou didst not know it, neither thy people, before this. So be patient; the issue ultimate is to the godfearing.)
And to Ad their brother Hood; he said, 'O my people, serve God! You have no god other than He; you are but forgers.
O my people, I do not ask of you a wage for this; my wage falls only upon Him who did originate me; will you not understand?
And, O my people, ask forgiveness of your Lord, then repent to Him, and He will loose heaven in torrents upon you, and He will increase you in strength unto your strength; and turn not your backs as sinners.'
They said, 'Hood, thou hast not brought us a clear sign, and we will not leave our gods for what thou sayest; we do not believe thee.
We say nothing, but that one of our gods has smitten thee with some evil.' He said, 'I call God to witness; and witness you, that I am quit of that you associate
apart from Him; so try your guile on me, all together, then you shall give me no respite.
Truly, I have put my trust in God, my Lord and your Lord; there is no creature that crawls, but He takes it by the forelock. Surely my Lord is on a straight path.
But if you turn your backs, I have delivered to you that I was sent with unto you, and my Lord will make a people other than you successors; you will not hurt Him anything. My Lord is Guardian over everything.'
And when Our command came, We delivered Hood and those who believed with him by a mercy from Us, and delivered them from a harsh chastisement.
That was Ad; they denied the signs of their Lord, and rebelled against His Messengers, and followed the command of every froward tyrant.
And there was sent following after them in this world a curse, and upon the Day of Resurrection: 'Surely Ad disbelieved in their Lord: so away with Ad, the people of Hood!'
And to Thamood their brother Salih; he said, 'O my people, serve God! You have no god other than He. It is He who produced you from the earth and has given you to live therein; so ask forgiveness of Him, then repent to Him; surely my Lord is nigh, and answers prayer.
They said, 'Salih, thou hast hitherto been a source of hope among us. What, dost thou forbid us to serve that our fathers served? Truly we are in doubt, concerning what thou callest us to, disquieting.'
He said, 'O my people, what think you? If I stand upon a clear sign from my Lord, and He has given me mercy from Him, who shall help me against God if I rebel against Him? You would do nothing for me, except increase my loss.
O my people, this is the She-camel of God, to be a sign for you. Leave her that she may eat in God's earth, and touch her not with evil, lest you' be seized by a nigh chastisement.'
But they hamstrung her; and he said, 'Take your joy in your habitation three days -- that is a promise not to be belied.'
And when Our command came, We delivered Salih and those who believed with him by a mercy from Us, and from the degradation of that day; thy Lord is the All-strong, the All-mighty.
And the evildoers were seized by the Cry, and morning found them in their habitations fallen prostrate
as if they never dwelt there: 'Surely Thamood disbelieved in their Lord, so away with Thamood!'
Our messengers came to Abraham with the good tidings; they said, 'Peace!' 'Peace,' he said; and presently he brought a roasted calf.
And when he saw their hands not reaching towards it, he was suspicious of them and conceived a fear of them. They said, 'Fear not; we have been sent to the people of Lot.'
And his wife was standing by; she laughed, therefore We gave her the glad tidings of Isaac, and, after Isaac, of Jacob.
She said, 'Woe is me! Shall I bear, being an old woman, and this my husband is an old man? This assuredly is a strange thing.'
They said, 'What, dost thou marvel at God's command? The mercy of God and His blessings be upon you, O people of the House! Surely He is All-laudable, All-glorious.'
So, when the awe departed from Abraham and the good tidings came to him, he was disputing with Us concerning the people of Lot;
Abraham was clement, compassionate, penitent.
'O Abraham, turn away from this; thy Lord's command has surely come, and there is coming upon them a chastisement not to be turned back.'
And when Our messengers came to Lot, he was troubled on their account and distressed for them, and he said, 'This is a fierce day.'
And his people came to him, running towards him; and erstwhile they had been doing evil deeds. He said, 'O my people, these are my daughters; they are cleaner for you. So fear God, and do not degrade me in my guests. What, is there not one man among you of a right mind?'
They said, 'Thou knowest we have no right to thy daughters, and thou well knowest what we desire.'
He said, 'O would that I had power against you, or might take refuge in a strong pillar!'
They said, 'Lot, we are messengers of thy Lord. They shall not reach thee; so set forth, thou with thy family, in a watch of the night, and let not any one of you turn round, excepting thy wife; surely she shall be smitten by that which smites them. Their promised time is the morning; is the morning not nigh?'
So when Our command came, We turned it uppermost nethermost, and rained on it stones of baked clay, one on another,
marked with thy Lord, and never far from the evildoers.
And to Midian their brother Shuaib; he said, 'O my people, serve God! You have no god other than He. And diminish not the measure and the balance. I see you are prospering; and I fear for you the chastisement of an encompassing day.
O my people, fill up the measure and the balance justly, and do not diminish the goods of the people, and do not mischief in the land, working corruption.
God's remainder is better for you, if you are believers. And I am not a guardian over you.
They said, 'Shuaib, does thy prayer command thee that we should leave that our fathers served, or to do as we will with our goods? Thou art the clement one, the right-minded.'
He said, 'O my people, what think you? If I stand upon a clear sign from my Lord, and He has provided me with fair provision from Him -- and I desire not to come behind you, betaking me to that I forbid you; I desire only to set things right, so far as I am able. My succour is only with God; in Him I have put my trust, and to Him I turn, penitent.
O my people, let not the breach with me move you, so that there smite you the like of what smote the people of Noah, or the people of Hood, or the people of Salih; and the people of Lot are not far away from you.
And ask forgiveness of your Lord, then repent to Him; surely my Lord is All-compassionate, All-loving.'
They said, 'Shuaib, we do not understand much of what thou sayest. Truly we see thee weak among us; but for thy tribe we would have stoned thee; for thou art not strong against us.
He said, 'O my people, is my tribe stronger against you than God? And Him -- have you taken Him as something to be thrust behind you? My Lord encompasses the things you do.
O my people, act according to your station; I am acting; and certainly you will know to whom will come the chastisement degrading him, and who is a liar. And be upon the watch; I shall be with you, watching.'
And when Our command came, We delivered Shuaib and those who believed with him by a mercy from Us, and the evildoers were seized by the Cry, and morning found them in their habitations fallen prostrate
as if they had never dwelt there: 'So away with Midian, even as Thamood was done away!'
And We sent Moses with Our signs, and a manifest authority,
to Pharaoh and his Council; but they followed Pharaoh's command, and Pharaoh's command was not right-minded.
He shall go before his people on the Day of Resurrection, and will have led them down to the Fire-evil the watering-place to be led down to!
And there was sent following after them in this world a curse, and upon the Day of Resurrection -- evil the offering to be offered!
That is of the tidings of the cities We relate to thee; some of them are standing and some stubble.
And We wronged them not, but they wronged themselves; their gods availed them not that they called upon, apart from God, anything, when the command of thy Lord came; and they increased them not, save in destruction.
Such is the seizing of thy Lord, when He seizes the cities that are evildoing; surely His seizing is painful, terrible.
Surely in that is a sign for him who fears the chastisement in the world to come; that is a day mankind are to be gathered to, a day to witness,
and We shall not postpone it, save to a term reckoned;
the day it comes, no soul shall speak save by His leave; some of them shall be wretched and some happy.
As for the wretched, they shall be in the Fire, wherein there shall be for them moaning and sighing, therein dwelling forever,
so long as the heavens and earth abide, save as thy Lord will; surely thy Lord accomplishes what He desires.
And as for the happy, they shall be in Paradise, therein dwelling forever, so long as the heavens and earth abide, save as thy Lord will -- for a gift unbroken.
So be thou not in doubt concerning what these men serve; they serve only as their fathers served before; and We shall surely pay them in full their portion undiminished.
And We gave Moses the Book; and there was difference regarding it, and but for a word that preceded from thy Lord, it had been decided between them; and they are in doubt of it disquieting.
Surely each one of them -- thy Lord will pay them in full for their works; He is aware of the things they do.
So go thou straight, as thou hast been commanded, and whoso repents with thee; and be you not insolent; surely He sees the things you do.
And lean not on the evildoers, so that the Fire touches you -- you have no protectors apart from God -- and then you will not be helped.
And perform the prayer at the two ends of the day and nigh of the night; surely the good deeds will drive away the evil deeds. That is a remembrance unto the mindful.
And be thou patient; God will not leave to waste the wage of the good-doers.
Or if there had been, of the generations before you, men of a remainder forbidding corruption in the earth -- except a few of those whom We delivered of them; but the evildoers followed the ease they were given to exult in and became sinners.
Yet thy Lord would never destroy the cities unjustly, while as yet their people were putting things right.
Had thy Lord willed, He would have made mankind one nation; but they continue in their differences
excepting those on whom thy Lord has mercy. To that end He created them, and perfectly is fulfilled the word of thy Lord: 'I shall assuredly fill Gehenna with jinn and men all together.'
And all that We relate to thee of the tidings of the Messengers is that whereby We strengthen thy heart; in these there has come to thee the truth and an admonition, and a reminder to the believers.
And say to the unbelievers: 'Act you according to your station; we are acting.
And watch and wait; we are also watching and waiting.'
To God belongs the Unseen in the heavens and the earth. To Him the whole matter shall be returned; so serve Him, and put thy trust in Him. Thy Lord is not heedless of the things you do.
