سورة Maryam ( Mary )

Kaf Ha Ya 'Ayn Sad.

This is an account of your Lord's mercy bestowed upon His servant Zachariah,

when he called upon his Lord in low tones, saying,

\"Lord, my bones have weakened and my head has turned hoary with age, but never, Lord, have I been disappointed in my prayer to you:

now I fear my kinsmen when I am gone. [I have no hope of their continuing my mission] for my wife is barren, so grant me a successor from Yourself,

to be my heir and to be the heir [of the blessings] of the House of Jacob; and make him, O my Lord, acceptable to you.\"

\"Zachariah, We bring you good news of a son whose name shall be John. We have not given such a name to anyone before.\"

\"My Lord!\" [said Zachariah], \"How shall I have a son when my wife is barren and I have reached such extreme old age?\"

He said, \"It will be so! Your Lord says, 'It is easy for Me for I created you when you were nothing before.'\"

He said, \"My Lord, grant me a sign!\" He said, \"Your sign will be that you will not speak to anyone for three successive days and nights, although sound in body.\"

Then Zachariah came forth from the shrine to his people and told them by signs to glorify the Lord morning and evening.

To John We said, \"Hold fast the Book,\" and while he was still a child, We bestowed upon him wisdom,

and tenderness [of heart] and purity. He was pious,

and dutiful towards his parents and was not haughty or disobedient.

Peace be on him on the day of his birth, and on the day of his death, and peace will be on him on the day he is raised up to life again.

Recount in the Book how Mary withdrew from her people to an eastern place

and kept herself in seclusion from them. We sent her Our angel, who presented himself to her as a full-grown human being.

When she saw him, she said, \"I seek refuge in the compassionate God from you; [do not come near] if you fear the Lord.\"

\"I am only the messenger of your Lord,\" he replied. \"I shall bestow upon you the gift of a son endowed with purity.\"

She said, \"How can I have a son when no man has touched me; and neither have I been unchaste?\"

[The angel] replied, \"So shall it be; your Lord says, 'This is easy for Me; and We shall make him a sign to people and a blessing, from Us. This has been decreed.'\"

So she conceived him and withdrew with him to a distant place.

The pains of labour drove her to the trunk of a date-palm. She said, \"Oh, if only I had died before this and passed into oblivion!\"

But a voice called out to her from below, \"Do not despair. Your Lord has provided a brook that runs at your feet,

and if you shake the trunk of this palm-tree, it will drop fresh ripe dates on you.

Eat and drink and rejoice. And if you see any human being say, 'I have vowed a fast [of silence] to the Gracious God, and will not speak with any human being today.'\"

Carrying her child, she brought him to her people. They said, \"O Mary, you have indeed done something terrible!

Sister of Aaron, your father was not an evil man, nor was your mother an unchaste woman!\"

She pointed to the child. They said, \"How shall we talk to someone who is a child in the cradle?\"

[But] he said, \"I am God's servant. He has given me the Book and made me a prophet;

He has made me blessed wherever I may be, and has enjoined upon me prayer and almsgiving throughout my life.

He has made me dutiful toward my mother, and He has not made me arrogant or wicked.

Blessed was I on the day I was born, and blessed I shall be on the day I die and on the day I am raised to life again.\"

Such was Jesus, the son of Mary. That is the whole truth, about which they still dispute:

it does not befit the majesty of God that He should beget a son. Glory be to Him! He is far above that: when He decrees something, He says only, \"Be!\" and it is.

God is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him alone. That is the right path.

Yet different groups differed among themselves. How awful it will be for those who have rejected the truth when a dreadful Day arrives!

How sharp of hearing, how sharp of sight they will be when they come to Us. But today, these evil-doers are obviously lost in error.

Warn them of [the coming of] the Day of Remorse, when everything will have been decided, while they are heedless and do not believe.

It is We who will inherit the earth and all who dwell upon it: they shall all return to Us.

Also recount the story of Abraham in the Book. He was a man of truth, and a prophet.

He said to his father, \"Why do you worship something that can neither hear nor see nor benefit you in any way?

Father, I have been given some knowledge which has not come to you, so follow me: I shall guide you along a straight path.

Father! Do not worship Satan -- for, truly, Satan is a rebel against the Most Gracious One!

Father, indeed I fear lest a punishment from the Gracious One afflict you, and you become a friend of Satan.\"

[His father] said, \"Do you reject my deities, Abraham? If you do not desist, I shall surely stone you to death. Keep out of my way!\"

Abraham replied, \"Peace be on you: I will pray to my Lord for your forgiveness, He has indeed been gracious to me,

I will separate myself from you and from whatever you call upon besides God, and I will pray only to my Lord. It may well be that, in calling on my Lord, I will not be disappointed.\"

So when he had separated himself from them and from what they worshipped besides God, We bestowed on him Isaac and Jacob, and We made each of them a prophet.

We granted them Our mercy and bestowed on them true and high renown.

Tell also of Moses in the Book. He was indeed a chosen one, and was a messenger and a prophet.

We called out to him from the right side of the mount and made him draw near to be in close communion with Us;

and We gave him as his helper, out of Our mercy, his brother Aaron, having made him a prophet.

Tell also of Ishmael in the Book. He was true to his promise and was a messenger and a prophet.

He exhorted his people to prayer and almsgiving, and his Lord was pleased with him.

Tell also of Idris in the Book. He was a man of truth and a prophet.

We raised him to a high position.

These are the ones whom God has favoured: the prophets from among the descendants of Adam and of those whom We carried in the Ark with Noah; the descendants of Abraham, of Israel, and of those whom We have guided and chosen. For when the revelations of the Merciful were recited to them, they fell down, prostrating themselves and weeping.

But then they were succeeded by generations who neglected their prayers and were driven by their own desires. They will assuredly meet with destruction,

except for those who repent and believe and do good deeds. These will enter Heaven, and they will not be wronged in the least.

Theirs shall be the Gardens of Eden, which the All Merciful has promised to His servants without their having seen them, and most surely His promise shall be fulfilled.

They will not hear therein anything vain, only greetings of peace. They will receive their provision there morning and evening.

That is the Garden which We will grant to those of Our servants who have been God-fearing.

We never descend except at your Lord's command. What is before us and behind us and all that lies between belong to Him. Your Lord is not forgetful.

He is the Lord of the heavens and of the earth and of all that is between the two. So worship Him alone and be steadfast in His worship. Do you know of anyone equal to Him in His attributes?

Man asks, \"When I am once dead, shall I be raised to life?\"

But does man not remember that We created him when he was nothing before?

By your Lord, We shall most surely gather them and the devils too; and bring them close to hell on their knees.

Then We shall carry off from every group those who were most stubborn in their opposition to the Gracious One,

We surely know best those most deserving of the fires of hell,

and there is not one of you but shall pass through it: a decree from your Lord which must be fulfilled.

Then We shall save those who feared God, but the wrongdoers shall be left there on their knees.

When Our clear revelations are recited to them, those who deny the truth say to the faithful, \"Which of the two sides is better in respect of position and makes a more impressive assembly?\"

We have destroyed so many generations before them, who surpassed them in material power and splendour.

Say, \"The Gracious One grants respite for a time to those who are in error until, when they are confronted with what they are promised, either in punishment [in the world] or in [the approach of] the Hour, they will realize who is worse in respect of position and who is weaker in resources.\"

God increases His guidance to those who follow guidance; and lasting good works are better in the sight of your Lord and are most rewarding.

Have you seen him who denies the truth in Our revelations and says, \"I shall certainly be given wealth and children.\"

Has he looked to the unseen, or has he made a pledge to the Merciful One?

Indeed not. We shall record what he says and shall prolong the punishment for him.

We shall inherit all that he boasts of, and he will come to Us all alone.

They have taken other deities besides God, so that they may be a source of strength for them.

But they shall reject their worship and turn against them.

Do you not see that We have appointed devils to incite those who deny the truth to disobedience?

So take no hasty action against them; their days are numbered.

The Day will surely come when We shall gather the God-fearing like [honoured] guests before the Compassionate God

and We shall drive the sinful like a thirsty herd into Hell.

No one will have power to intercede, except for those who have permission from the Lord of Mercy.

They say, \"The Gracious One has begotten a son.\"

Assuredly, you have uttered a monstrous falsehood:

the heavens might well-nigh burst thereat, and the earth break asunder, and the mountains fall down in pieces,

because they ascribe a son to the Gracious One.

It does not become the majesty of the Compassionate God to take to Himself a son:

there is none in the heavens or on the earth but shall return to the Merciful in utter submission,

He has counted them and numbered them precisely,

each one of them shall come to Him one by one on the Day of Judgement.

The Lord of Mercy will bestow affection upon those who believe and perform righteous deeds.

We have made it [the Quran] easy, in your own language [Prophet], so that you may convey glad news to the righteous and give warning to a stubborn people.

How many generations We have destroyed before them! Can you find a single one of them alive now, or hear so much as a whisper from them?