THE BELIEVERS, CHAPTER NO. 023
023.001 The believers must (eventually) win through,-
023.002 Those who humble themselves in their prayers;
023.003 Who avoid vain talk;
023.004 Who are active in deeds of charity;
023.005 Who abstain from sex,
023.006 Except with those joined to them in the marriage bond, or (the captives)
whom their right hands possess,- for (in their case) they are free from blame,
023.007 But those whose desires exceed those limits are transgressors;-
023.008 Those who faithfully observe their trusts and their covenants;
023.009 And who (strictly) guard their prayers;-
023.010 These will be the heirs,
023.011 Who will inherit Paradise: they will dwell therein (for ever).
023.012 Man We did create from a quintessence (of clay);
023.013 Then We placed him as (a drop of) sperm in a place of rest, firmly fixed;
023.014 Then We made the sperm into a clot of congealed blood; then of that clot
We made a (foetus) lump; then we made out of that lump bones and clothed the bones
with flesh; then we developed out of it another creature. So blessed be God, the best
to create!
023.015 After that, at length ye will die
023.016 Again, on the Day of Judgment, will ye be raised up.
023.017 And We have made, above you, seven tracts; and We are never unmindful of
(our) Creation.
023.018 And We send down water from the sky according to (due) measure, and We
cause it to soak in the soil; and We certainly are able to drain it off (with ease).
023.019 With it We grow for you gardens of date-palms and vines: in them have ye
abundant fruits: and of them ye eat (and have enjoyment),-
023.020 Also a tree springing out of Mount Sinai, which produces oil, and relish for
those who use it for food.
023.021 And in cattle (too) ye have an instructive example: from within their bodies
We produce (milk) for you to drink; there are, in them, (besides), numerous (other)
benefits for you; and of their (meat) ye eat;
023.022 An on them, as well as in slips, ye side.
023.023 (Further, We sent a long line of prophets for your instruction). We sent
Noah to his people: He said, "O my people! worship God! Ye have no other god but
Him. Will ye not fear (Him)?"
023.024 The chiefs of the Unbelievers among his people said: "He is no more than a
man like yourselves: his wish is to assert his superiority over you: if God had wished
(to send messengers), He could have sent down angels; never did we hear such a
thing (as he says), among our ancestors of old."
023.025 (And some said): "He is only a man possessed: wait (and have patience)
with him for a time."
023.026 (Noah) said: "O my Lord! help me: for that they accuse me of falsehood!"
023.027 So We inspired him (with this message): "Construct the Ark within Our
sight and under Our guidance: then when comes Our Command, and the fountains of
the earth gush forth, take thou on board pairs of every species, male and female, and
thy family- except those of them against whom the Word has already gone forth: And
address Me not in favour of the wrong-doers; for they shall be drowned (in the
Flood).
023.028 And when thou hast embarked on the Ark - thou and those with thee,- say:
"Praise be to God, Who has saved us from the people who do wrong."
023.029 And say: "O my Lord! enable me to disembark with thy blessing: for Thou
art the Best to enable (us) to disembark."
023.030 Verily in this there are Signs (for men to understand); (thus) do We try
(men).
023.031 Then We raised after them another generation.
023.032 And We sent to them an apostle from among themselves, (saying), "Worship
God! ye have no other god but Him. Will ye not fear (Him)?"
023.033 And the chiefs of his people, who disbelieved and denied the Meeting in the
Hereafter, and on whom We had bestowed the good things of this life, said: "He is no
more than a man like yourselves: he eats of that of which ye eat, and drinks of what
ye drink.
023.034 "If ye obey a man like yourselves, behold, it is certain ye will be lost.
023.035 "Does he promise that when ye die and become dust and bones, ye shall be
brought forth (again)?
023.036 "Far, very far is that which ye are promised!
023.037 "There is nothing but our life in this world! We shall die and we live! But
we shall never be raised up again!
023.038 "He is only a man who invents a lie against God, but we are not the ones to
believe in him!"
023.039 (The prophet) said: "O my Lord! help me: for that they accuse me of
falsehood."
023.040 (God) said: "In but a little while, they are sure to be sorry!"
023.041 Then the Blast overtook them with justice, and We made them as rubbish of
dead leaves (floating on the stream of Time)! So away with the people who do wrong!
023.042 Then We raised after them other generations.
023.043 No people can hasten their term, nor can they delay (it).
023.044 Then sent We our apostles in succession: every time there came to a people
their apostle, they accused him of falsehood: so We made them follow each other (in
punishment): We made them as a tale (that is told): So away with a people that will
not believe!
023.045 Then We sent Moses and his brother Aaron, with Our Signs and authority
manifest,
023.046 To Pharaoh and his Chiefs: But these behaved insolently: they were an
arrogant people.
023.047 They said: "Shall we believe in two men like ourselves? And their people
are subject to us!"
023.048 So they accused them of falsehood, and they became of those who were
destroyed.
023.049 And We gave Moses the Book, in order that they might receive guidance.
023.050 And We made the son of Mary and his mother as a Sign: We gave them
both shelter on high ground, affording rest and security and furnished with springs.
023.051 O ye apostles! enjoy (all) things good and pure, and work righteousness: for
I am well-acquainted with (all) that ye do.
023.052 And verily this Brotherhood of yours is a single Brotherhood, and I am your
Lord and Cherisher: therefore fear Me (and no other).
023.053 But people have cut off their affair (of unity), between them, into sects: each
party rejoices in that which is with itself.
023.054 But leave them in their confused ignorance for a time.
023.055 Do they think that because We have granted them abundance of wealth and
sons,
023.056 We would hasten them on in every good? Nay, they do not understand.
023.057 Verily those who live in awe for fear of their Lord;
023.058 Those who believe in the Signs of their Lord;
023.059 Those who join not (in worship) partners with their Lord;
023.060 And those who dispense their charity with their hearts full of fear, because
they will return to their Lord;-
023.061 It is these who hasten in every good work, and these who are foremost in
them.
023.062 On no soul do We place a burden greater than it can bear: before Us is a
record which clearly shows the truth: they will never be wronged.
023.063 But their hearts are in confused ignorance of this; and there are, besides that,
deeds of theirs, which they will (continue) to do,-
023.064 Until, when We seize in Punishment those of them who received the good
things of this world, behold, they will groan in supplication!
023.065 (It will be said): "Groan not in supplication this day: for ye shall certainly
not be helped by Us.
023.066 "My Signs used to be rehearsed to you, but ye used to turn back on your
heels-
023.067 "In arrogance: talking nonsense about the (Qur'an), like one telling fables by
night."
023.068 Do they not ponder over the Word (of God), or has anything (new) come to
them that did not come to their fathers of old?
023.069 Or do they not recognise their Apostle, that they deny him?
023.070 Or do they say, "He is possessed"? Nay, he has brought them the Truth, but
most of them hate the Truth.
023.071 If the Truth had been in accord with their desires, truly the heavens and the
earth, and all beings therein would have been in confusion and corruption! Nay, We
have sent them their admonition, but they turn away from their admonition.
023.072 Or is it that thou askest them for some recompense? But the recompense of
thy Lord is best: He is the Best of those who give sustenance.
023.073 But verily thou callest them to the Straight Way;
023.074 And verily those who believe not in the Hereafter are deviating from that
Way.
023.075 If We had mercy on them and removed the distress which is on them, they
would obstinately persist in their transgression, wandering in distraction to and fro.
023.076 We inflicted Punishment on them, but they humbled not themselves to their
Lord, nor do they submissively entreat (Him)!-
023.077 Until We open on them a gate leading to a severe Punishment: then Lo! they
will be plunged in despair therein!
023.078 It is He Who has created for you (the faculties of) hearing, sight, feeling and
understanding: little thanks it is ye give!
023.079 And He has multiplied you through the earth, and to Him shall ye be
gathered back.
023.080 It is He Who gives life and death, and to Him (is due) the alternation of
Night and Day: will ye not then understand?
023.081 On the contrary they say things similar to what the ancients said.
023.082 They say: "What! when we die and become dust and bones, could we really
be raised up again?
023.083 "Such things have been promised to us and to our fathers before! they are
nothing but tales of the ancients!"
023.084 Say: "To whom belong the earth and all beings therein? (say) if ye know!"
023.085 They will say, "To God!" say: "Yet will ye not receive admonition?"
023.086 Say: "Who is the Lord of the seven heavens, and the Lord of the Throne (of
Glory) Supreme?"
023.087 They will say, "(They belong) to God." Say: "Will ye not then be filled with
awe?"
023.088 Say: "Who is it in whose hands is the governance of all things,- who protects
(all), but is not protected (of any)? (say) if ye know."
023.089 They will say, "(It belongs) to God." Say: "Then how are ye deluded?"
023.090 We have sent them the Truth: but they indeed practise falsehood!
023.091 No son did God beget, nor is there any god along with Him: (if there were
many gods), behold, each god would have taken away what he had created, and some
would have lorded it over others! Glory to God! (He is free) from the (sort of) things
they attribute to Him!
023.092 He knows what is hidden and what is open: too high is He for the partners
they attribute to Him!
023.093 Say: "O my Lord! if Thou wilt show me (in my lifetime) that which they are
warned against,-
023.094 "Then, O my Lord! put me not amongst the people who do wrong!"
023.095 And We are certainly able to show thee (in fulfilment) that against which
they are warned.
023.096 Repel evil with that which is best: We are well acquainted with the things
they say.
023.097 And say "O my Lord! I seek refuge with Thee from the suggestions of the
Evil Ones.
023.098 "And I seek refuge with Thee O my Lord! lest they should come near me."
023.099 (In Falsehood will they be) Until, when death comes to one of them, he says:
"O my Lord! send me back (to life),-
023.100 "In order that I may work righteousness in the things I neglected." - "By no
means! It is but a word he says."- Before them is a Partition till the Day they are
raised up.
023.101 Then when the Trumpet is blown, there will be no more relationships
between them that Day, nor will one ask after another!
023.102 Then those whose balance (of good deeds) is heavy,- they will attain
salvation:
023.103 But those whose balance is light, will be those who have lost their souls, in
Hell will they abide.
023.104 The Fire will burn their faces, and they will therein grin, with their lips
displaced.
023.105 "Were not My Signs rehearsed to you, and ye did but treat them as
falsehood?"
023.106 They will say: "our Lord! Our misfortune overwhelmed us, and we became
a people astray!
023.107 "Our Lord! bring us out of this: if ever we return (to Evil), then shall we be
wrong-doers indeed!"
023.108 He will say: "Be ye driven into it (with ignominy)! And speak ye not to Me!
023.109 "A part of My servants there was, who used to pray 'our Lord! we believe;
then do Thou forgive us, and have mercy upon us: For Thou art the Best of those who
show mercy!"
023.110 "But ye treated them with ridicule, so much so that (ridicule of) them made
you forget My Message while ye were laughing at them!
023.111 "I have rewarded them this Day for their patience and constancy: they are
indeed the ones that have achieved Bliss..."
023.112 He will say: "What number of years did ye stay on earth?"
023.113 They will say: "We stayed a day or part of a day: but ask those who keep
account."
023.114 He will say: "Ye stayed not but a little,- if ye had only known!
023.115 "Did ye then think that We had created you in jest, and that ye would not be
brought back to Us (for account)?"
023.116 Therefore exalted be God, the King, the Reality: there is no god but He, the
Lord of the Throne of Honour!
023.117 If anyone invokes, besides God, Any other god, he has no authority therefor;
and his reckoning will be only with his Lord! and verily the Unbelievers will fail to
win through!
023.118 So say: "O my Lord! grant Thou forgiveness and mercy for Thou art the
Best of those who show mercy!"
LIGHT, CHAPTER NO. 024
024.001 A sura which We have sent down and which We have ordained in it have
We sent down Clear Signs, in order that ye may receive admonition.
024.002 The woman and the man guilty of adultery or fornication,- flog each of them
with a hundred stripes: Let not compassion move you in their case, in a matter
prescribed by God, if ye believe in God and the Last Day: and let a party of the
Believers witness their punishment.
024.003 Let no man guilty of adultery or fornication marry and but a woman
similarly guilty, or an Unbeliever: nor let any but such a man or an Unbeliever marry
such a woman: to the Believers such a thing is forbidden.
024.004 And those who launch a charge against chaste women, and produce not four
witnesses (to support their allegations),- flog them with eighty stripes; and reject their
evidence ever after: for such men are wicked transgressors;-
024.005 Unless they repent thereafter and mend (their conduct); for God is Oft-
Forgiving, Most Merciful.
024.006 And for those who launch a charge against their spouses, and have (in
support) no evidence but their own,- their solitary evidence (can be received) if they
bear witness four times (with an oath) by God that they are solemnly telling the truth;
024.007 And the fifth (oath) (should be) that they solemnly invoke the curse of God
on themselves if they tell a lie.
024.008 But it would avert the punishment from the wife, if she bears witness four
times (with an oath) By God, that (her husband) is telling a lie;
024.009 And the fifth (oath) should be that she solemnly invokes the wrath of God
on herself if (her accuser) is telling the truth.
024.010 If it were not for God's grace and mercy on you, and that God is Oft-
Returning, full of Wisdom,- (Ye would be ruined indeed).
024.011 Those who brought forward the lie are a body among yourselves: think it not
to be an evil to you; On the contrary it is good for you: to every man among them
(will come the punishment) of the sin that he earned, and to him who took on himself
the lead among them, will be a penalty grievous.
024.012 Why did not the believers - men and women - when ye heard of the affair,-
put the best construction on it in their own minds and say, "This (charge) is an
obvious lie" ?
024.013 Why did they not bring four witnesses to prove it? When they have not
brought the witnesses, such men, in the sight of God, (stand forth) themselves as liars!
024.014 Were it not for the grace and mercy of God on you, in this world and the
Hereafter, a grievous penalty would have seized you in that ye rushed glibly into this
affair.
024.015 Behold, ye received it on your tongues, and said out of your mouths things
of which ye had no knowledge; and ye thought it to be a light matter, while it was
most serious in the sight of God.
024.016 And why did ye not, when ye heard it, say? - "It is not right of us to speak of
this: Glory to God! this is a most serious slander!"
024.017 God doth admonish you, that ye may never repeat such (conduct), if ye are
(true) Believers.
024.018 And God makes the Signs plain to you: for God is full of knowledge and
wisdom.
024.019 Those who love (to see) scandal published broadcast among the Believers,
will have a grievous Penalty in this life and in the Hereafter: God knows, and ye
know not.
024.020 Were it not for the grace and mercy of God on you, and that God is full of
kindness and mercy, (ye would be ruined indeed).
024.021 O ye who believe! follow not Satan's footsteps: if any will follow the
footsteps of Satan, he will (but) command what is shameful and wrong: and were it
not for the grace and mercy of God on you, not one of you would ever have been
pure: but God doth purify whom He pleases: and God is One Who hears and knows
(all things).
024.022 Let not those among you who are endued with grace and amplitude of
means resolve by oath against helping their kinsmen, those in want, and those who
have left their homes in God's cause: let them forgive and overlook, do you not wish
that God should forgive you? For God is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
024.023 Those who slander chaste women, indiscreet but believing, are cursed in this
life and in the Hereafter: for them is a grievous Penalty,-
024.024 On the Day when their tongues, their hands, and their feet will bear witness
against them as to their actions.
024.025 On that Day God will pay them back (all) their just dues, and they will
realise that God is the (very) Truth, that makes all things manifest.
024.026 Women impure are for men impure, and men impure for women impure and
women of purity are for men of purity, and men of purity are for women of purity:
these are not affected by what people say: for them there is forgiveness, and a
provision honourable.
024.027 O ye who believe! enter not houses other than your own, until ye have asked
permission and saluted those in them: that is best for you, in order that ye may heed
(what is seemly).
024.028 If ye find no one in the house, enter not until permission is given to you: if
ye are asked to go back, go back: that makes for greater purity for yourselves: and
God knows well all that ye do.
024.029 It is no fault on your part to enter houses not used for living in, which serve
some (other) use for you: And God has knowledge of what ye reveal and what ye
conceal.
024.030 Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their
modesty: that will make for greater purity for them: And God is well acquainted with
all that they do.
024.031 And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard
their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what
(must ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms
and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husband's
fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers or their brothers' sons, or their
sisters' sons, or their women, or the slaves whom their right hands possess, or male
servants free of physical needs, or small children who have no sense of the shame of
sex; and that they should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden
ornaments. And O ye Believers! turn ye all together towards God, that ye may attain
Bliss.
024.032 Marry those among you who are single, or the virtuous ones among
yourselves, male or female: if they are in poverty, God will give them means out of
His grace: for God encompasseth all, and he knoweth all things.
024.033 Let those who find not the wherewithal for marriage keep themselves chaste,
until God gives them means out of His grace. And if any of your slaves ask for a deed
in writing (to enable them to earn their freedom for a certain sum), give them such a
deed if ye know any good in them: yea, give them something yourselves out of the
means which God has given to you. But force not your maids to prostitution when
they desire chastity, in order that ye may make a gain in the goods of this life. But if
anyone compels them, yet, after such compulsion, is God, Oft-Forgiving, Most
Merciful (to them),
024.034 We have already sent down to you verses making things clear, an illustration
from (the story of) people who passed away before you, and an admonition for those
who fear (God).
024.035 God is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The Parable of His Light is as
if there were a Niche and within it a Lamp: the Lamp enclosed in Glass: the glass as it
were a brilliant star: Lit from a blessed Tree, an Olive, neither of the east nor of the
west, whose oil is well-nigh luminous, though fire scarce touched it: Light upon
Light! God doth guide whom He will to His Light: God doth set forth Parables for
men: and God doth know all things.
024.036 (Lit is such a Light) in houses, which God hath permitted to be raised to
honour; for the celebration, in them, of His name: In them is He glorified in the
mornings and in the evenings, (again and again),-
024.037 By men whom neither traffic nor merchandise can divert from the
Remembrance of God, nor from regular Prayer, nor from the practice of regular
Charity: Their (only) fear is for the Day when hearts and eyes will be transformed (in
a world wholly new),-
024.038 That God may reward them according to the best of their deeds, and add
even more for them out of His Grace: for God doth provide for those whom He will,
without measure.
024.039 But the Unbelievers,- their deeds are like a mirage in sandy deserts, which
the man parched with thirst mistakes for water; until when he comes up to it, he finds
it to be nothing: But he finds God (ever) with him, and God will pay him his account:
and God is swift in taking account.
024.040 Or (the Unbelievers' state) is like the depths of darkness in a vast deep
ocean, overwhelmed with billow topped by billow, topped by (dark) clouds: depths of
darkness, one above another: if a man stretches out his hands, he can hardly see it! for
any to whom God giveth not light, there is no light!
024.041 Seest thou not that it is God Whose praises all beings in the heavens and on
earth do celebrate, and the birds (of the air) with wings outspread? Each one knows its
own (mode of) prayer and praise. And God knows well all that they do.
024.042 Yea, to God belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth; and to God
is the final goal (of all).
024.043 Seest thou not that God makes the clouds move gently, then joins them
together, then makes them into a heap? - then wilt thou see rain issue forth from their
midst. And He sends down from the sky mountain masses (of clouds) wherein is hail:
He strikes therewith whom He pleases and He turns it away from whom He pleases,
the vivid flash of His lightning well-nigh blinds the sight.
024.044 It is God Who alternates the Night and the Day: verily in these things is an
instructive example for those who have vision!
024.045 And God has created every animal from water: of them there are some that
creep on their bellies; some that walk on two legs; and some that walk on four. God
creates what He wills for verily God has power over all things.
024.046 We have indeed sent down signs that make things manifest: and God guides
whom He wills to a way that is straight.
024.047 They say, "We believe in God and in the apostle, and we obey": but even
after that, some of them turn away: they are not (really) Believers.
024.048 When they are summoned to God and His apostle, in order that He may
judge between them, behold some of them decline (to come).
024.049 But if the right is on their side, they come to him with all submission.
024.050 Is it that there is a disease in their hearts? or do they doubt, or are they in
fear, that God and His Apostle will deal unjustly with them? Nay, it is they
themselves who do wrong.
024.051 The answer of the Believers, when summoned to God and His Apostle, in
order that He may judge between them, is no other than this: they say, "We hear and
we obey": it is such as these that will attain felicity.
024.052 It is such as obey God and His Apostle, and fear God and do right, that will
win (in the end),
024.053 They swear their strongest oaths by God that, if only thou wouldst command
them, they would leave (their homes). Say: "Swear ye not; Obedience is (more)
reasonable; verily, God is well acquainted with all that ye do."
024.054 Say: "Obey God, and obey the Apostle: but if ye turn away, he is only
responsible for the duty placed on him and ye for that placed on you. If ye obey him,
ye shall be on right guidance. The Apostle's duty is only to preach the clear
(Message).
024.055 God has promised, to those among you who believe and work righteous
deeds, that He will, of a surety, grant them in the land, inheritance (of power), as He
granted it to those before them; that He will establish in authority their religion - the
one which He has chosen for them; and that He will change (their state), after the fear
in which they (lived), to one of security and peace: 'They will worship Me (alone) and
not associate aught with Me. 'If any do reject Faith after this, they are rebellious and
wicked.
024.056 So establish regular Prayer and give regular Charity; and obey the Apostle;
that ye may receive mercy.
024.057 Never think thou that the Unbelievers are going to frustrate (God's Plan) on
earth: their abode is the Fire,- and it is indeed an evil refuge!
024.058 O ye who believe! let those whom your right hands possess, and the
(children) among you who have not come of age ask your permission (before they
come to your presence), on three occasions: before morning prayer; the while ye doff
your clothes for the noonday heat; and after the late-night prayer: these are your three
times of undress: outside those times it is not wrong for you or for them to move
about attending to each other: Thus does God make clear the Signs to you: for God is
full of knowledge and wisdom.
024.059 But when the children among you come of age, let them (also) ask for
permission, as do those senior to them (in age): Thus does God make clear His Signs
to you: for God is full of knowledge and wisdom.
024.060 Such elderly women as are past the prospect of marriage,- there is no blame
on them if they lay aside their (outer) garments, provided they make not a wanton
display of their beauty: but it is best for them to be modest: and God is One Who sees
and knows all things.
024.061 It is no fault in the blind nor in one born lame, nor in one afflicted with
illness, nor in yourselves, that ye should eat in your own houses, or those of your
fathers, or your mothers, or your brothers, or your sisters, or your father's brothers or
your father's sisters, or your mohter's brothers, or your mother's sisters, or in houses
of which the keys are in your possession, or in the house of a sincere friend of yours:
there is no blame on you, whether ye eat in company or separately. But if ye enter
houses, salute each other - a greeting of blessing and purity as from God. Thus does
God make clear the signs to you: that ye may understand.
024.062 Only those are believers, who believe in God and His Apostle: when they
are with him on a matter requiring collective action, they do not depart until they have
asked for his leave; those who ask for thy leave are those who believe in God and His
Apostle; so when they ask for thy leave, for some business of theirs, give leave to
those of them whom thou wilt, and ask God for their forgiveness: for God is Oft-
Forgiving, Most Merciful.
024.063 Deem not the summons of the Apostle among yourselves like the summons
of one of you to another: God doth know those of you who slip away under shelter of
some excuse: then let those beware who withstand the Apostle's order, lest some trial
befall them, or a grievous penalty be inflicted on them.
024.064 Be quite sure that to God doth belong whatever is in the heavens and on
earth. Well doth He know what ye are intent upon: and one day they will be brought
back to Him, and He will tell them the truth of what they did: for God doth know all
things.
THE CRITERION, THE STANDARD, CHAPTER NO. 025
025.001 Blessed is He who sent down the criterion to His servant, that it may be an
admonition to all creatures;-
025.002 He to whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth: no son has
He begotten, nor has He a partner in His dominion: it is He who created all things,
and ordered them in due proportions.
025.003 Yet have they taken, besides him, gods that can create nothing but are
themselves created; that have no control of hurt or good to themselves; nor can they
control death nor life nor resurrection.
025.004 But the misbelievers say: "Naught is this but a lie which he has forged, and
others have helped him at it." In truth it is they who have put forward an iniquity and
a falsehood.
025.005 And they say: "Tales of the ancients, which he has caused to be written: and
they are dictated before him morning and evening."
025.006 Say: "The (Qur'an) was sent down by Him who knows the mystery (that is)
in the heavens and the earth: verily He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."
025.007 And they say: "What sort of an apostle is this, who eats food, and walks
through the streets? Why has not an angel been sent down to him to give admonition
with him?
025.008 "Or (Why) has not a treasure been bestowed on him, or why has he (not) a
garden for enjoyment?" The wicked say: "Ye follow none other than a man
bewitched."
025.009 See what kinds of comparisons they make for thee! But they have gone
astray, and never a way will they be able to find!
025.010 Blessed is He who, if that were His will, could give thee better (things) than
those,- Gardens beneath which rivers flow; and He could give thee palaces (secure to
dwell in).
025.011 Nay they deny the hour (of the judgment to come): but We have prepared a
blazing fire for such as deny the hour:
025.012 When it sees them from a place fAr off, they will hear its fury and its
ranging sigh.
025.013 And when they are cast, bound together into a constricted place therein, they
will pLead for destruction there and then!
025.014 "This day plead not for a single destruction: plead for destruction oft-
repeated!"
025.015 Say: "Is that best, or the eternal garden, promised to the righteous? for them,
that is a reward as well as a goal (of attainment).
025.016 "For them there will be therein all that they wish for: they will dwell (there)
for aye: A promise to be prayed for from thy Lord."
025.017 The day He will gather them together as well as those whom they worship
besides God, He will ask: "Was it ye who let these My servants astray, or did they
stray from the Path themselves?"
025.018 They will say: "Glory to Thee! not meet was it for us that we should take for
protectors others besides Thee: But Thou didst bestow, on them and their fathers,
good things (in life), until they forgot the Message: for they were a people (worthless
and) lost."
025.019 (God will say): "Now have they proved you liars in what ye say: so ye
cannot avert (your penalty) nor (get) help." And whoever among you does wrong, him
shall We cause to taste of a grievous Penalty.
025.020 And the apostles whom We sent before thee were all (men) who ate food
and walked through the streets: We have made some of you as a trial for others: will
ye have patience? for God is One Who sees (all things).
025.021 Such as fear not the meeting with Us (for Judgment) say: "Why are not the
angels sent down to us, or (why) do we not see our Lord?" Indeed they have an
arrogant conceit of themselves, and mighty is the insolence of their impiety!
025.022 The Day they see the angels,- no joy will there be to the sinners that Day:
The (angels) will say: "There is a barrier forbidden (to you) altogether!"
025.023 And We shall turn to whatever deeds they did (in this life), and We shall
make such deeds as floating dust scattered about.
025.024 The Companions of the Garden will be well, that Day, in their abode, and
have the fairest of places for repose.
025.025 The Day the heaven shall be rent asunder with clouds, and angels shall be
sent down, descending (in ranks),-
025.026 That Day, the dominion as of right and truth, shall be (wholly) for (God)
Most Merciful: it will be a Day of dire difficulty for the Misbelievers.
025.027 The Day that the wrong-doer will bite at his hands, he will say, "Oh! would
that I had taken a (straight) path with the Apostle!
025.028 "Ah! woe is me! Would that I had never taken such a one for a friend!
025.029 "He did lead me astray from the Message (of God) after it had come to me!
Ah! the Evil One is but a traitor to man!" Then the Apostle will say:
025.030 "O my Lord! Truly my people took this Qur'an for just foolish nonsense."
025.031 Thus have We made for every prophet an enemy among the sinners: but
enough is thy Lord to guide and to help.
025.032 Those who reject Faith say: "Why is not the Qur'an revealed to him all at
once? Thus (is it revealed), that We may strengthen thy heart thereby, and We have
rehearsed it to thee in slow, well-arranged stages, gradually.
025.033 And no question do they bring to thee but We reveal to thee the truth and the
best explanation (thereof).
025.034 Those who will be gathered to Hell (prone) on their faces,- they will be in an
evil plight, and, as to Path, most astray.
025.035 (Before this,) We sent Moses The Book, and appointed his brother Aaron
with him as minister;
025.036 And We command: "Go ye both, to the people who have rejected our
Signs:" And those (people) We destroyed with utter destruction.
025.037 And the people of Noah,- when they rejected the apostles, We drowned
them, and We made them as a Sign for mankind; and We have prepared for (all)
wrong-doers a grievous Penalty;-
025.038 As also 'Ad and Thamud, and the Companions of the Rass, and many a
generation between them.
025.039 To each one We set forth Parables and examples; and each one We broke to
utter annihilation (for their sins).
025.040 And the (Unbelievers) must indeed have passed by the town on which was
rained a shower of evil: did they not then see it (with their own eyes)? But they fear
not the Resurrection.
025.041 When they see thee, they treat thee no otherwise than in mockery: "Is this
the one whom God has sent as an apostle?"
025.042 "He indeed would well-nigh have misled us from our gods, had it not been
that we were constant to them!" - Soon will they know, when they see the Penalty,
who it is that is most misled in Path!
025.043 Seest thou such a one as taketh for his god his own passion (or impulse)?
Couldst thou be a disposer of affairs for him?
025.044 Or thinkest thou that most of them listen or understand? They are only like
cattle;- nay, they are worse astray in Path.
025.045 Hast thou not turned thy vision to thy Lord?- How He doth prolong the
shadow! If He willed, He could make it stationary! then do We make the sun its
guide;
025.046 Then We draw it in towards Ourselves,- a contraction by easy stages.
025.047 And He it is Who makes the Night as a Robe for you, and Sleep as Repose,
and makes the Day (as it were) a Resurrection.
025.048 And He it is Who sends the winds as heralds of glad tidings, going before
His mercy, and We send down pure water from the sky,-
025.049 That with it We may give life to a dead land, and slake the thirst of things
We have created,- cattle and men in great numbers.
025.050 And We have distributed the (water) amongst them, in order that they may
celebrate (our) praises, but most men are averse (to aught) but (rank) ingratitude.
025.051 Had it been Our Will, We could have sent a warner to every centre of
population.
025.052 Therefore listen not to the Unbelievers, but strive against them with the
utmost strenuousness, with the (Qur'an).
025.053 It is He Who has let free the two bodies of flowing water: One palatable and
sweet, and the other salt and bitter; yet has He made a barrier between them, a
partition that is forbidden to be passed.
025.054 It is He Who has created man from water: then has He established
relationships of lineage and marriage: for thy Lord has power (over all things).
025.055 Yet do they worship, besides God, things that can neither profit them nor
harm them: and the Misbeliever is a helper (of Evil), against his own Lord!
025.056 But thee We only sent to give glad tidings and admonition.
025.057 Say: "No reward do I ask of you for it but this: that each one who will may
take a (straight) Path to his Lord."
025.058 And put thy trust in Him Who lives and dies not; and celebrate his praise;
and enough is He to be acquainted with the faults of His servants;-
025.059 He Who created the heavens and the earth and all that is between, in six
days, and is firmly established on the Throne (of Authority): God Most Gracious: ask
thou, then, about Him of any acquainted (with such things).
025.060 When it is said to them, "Adore ye (God) Most Gracious!", they say, "And
what is (God) Most Gracious? Shall we adore that which thou commandest us?" And
it increases their flight (from the Truth).
025.061 Blessed is He Who made constellations in the skies, and placed therein a
Lamp and a Moon giving light;
025.062 And it is He Who made the Night and the Day to follow each other: for such
as have the will to celebrate His praises or to show their gratitude.
025.063 And the servants of (God) Most Gracious are those who walk on the earth in
humility, and when the ignorant address them, they say, "Peace!";
025.064 Those who spend the night in adoration of their Lord prostrate and standing;
025.065 Those who say, "Our Lord! avert from us the Wrath of Hell, for its Wrath is
indeed an affliction grievous,-
025.066 "Evil indeed is it as an abode, and as a place to rest in";
025.067 Those who, when they spend, are not extravagant and not niggardly, but
hold a just (balance) between those (extremes);
025.068 Those who invoke not, with God, any other god, nor slay such life as God
has made sacred except for just cause, nor commit fornication; - and any that does this
(not only) meets punishment.
025.069 (But) the Penalty on the Day of Judgment will be doubled to him, and he
will dwell therein in ignominy,-
025.070 Unless he repents, believes, and works righteous deeds, for God will change
the evil of such persons into good, and God is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful,
025.071 And whoever repents and does good has truly turned to God with an
(acceptable) conversion;-
025.072 Those who witness no falsehood, and, if they pass by futility, they pass by it
with honourable (avoidance);
025.073 Those who, when they are admonished with the Signs of their Lord, droop
not down at them as if they were deaf or blind;
025.074 And those who pray, "Our Lord! Grant unto us wives and offspring who will
be the comfort of our eyes, and give us (the grace) to lead the righteous."
025.075 Those are the ones who will be rewarded with the highest place in heaven,
because of their patient constancy: therein shall they be met with salutations and
peace,
025.076 Dwelling therein;- how beautiful an abode and place of rest!
025.077 Say (to the Rejecters): "My Lord is not uneasy because of you if ye call not
on Him: But ye have indeed rejected (Him), and soon will come the inevitable
(punishment)!"
THE POETS, CHAPTER NO. 026
026.001 Ta. Sin. Mim.
026.002 These are verses of the Book that makes (things) clear.
026.003 It may be thou frettest thy soul with grief, that they do not become
Believers.
026.004 If (such) were Our Will, We could send down to them from the sky a Sign,
to which they would bend their necks in humility.
026.005 But there comes not to them a newly-revealed Message from (God) Most
Gracious, but they turn away therefrom.
026.006 They have indeed rejected (the Message): so they will know soon (enough)
the truth of what they mocked at!
026.007 Do they not look at the earth,- how many noble things of all kinds We have
produced therein?
026.008 Verily, in this is a Sign: but most of them do not believe.
026.009 And verily, thy Lord is He, the Exalted in Might, Most Merciful.
026.010 Behold, thy Lord called Moses: "Go to the people of iniquity,-
026.011 "The people of the Pharaoh: will they not fear God?"
026.012 He said: "O my Lord! I do fear that they will charge me with falsehood:
026.013 "My breast will be straitened. And my speech may not go (smoothly): so
send unto Aaron.
026.014 "And (further), they have a charge of crime against me; and I fear they may
slay me."
026.015 God said: "By no means! proceed then, both of you, with Our Signs; We are
with you, and will listen (to your call).
026.016 "So go forth, both of you, to Pharaoh, and say: 'We have been sent by the
Lord and Cherisher of the worlds;
026.017 "'Send thou with us the Children of Israel.'"
026.018 (Pharaoh) said: "Did we not cherish thee as a child among us, and didst thou
not stay in our midst many years of thy life?
026.019 "And thou didst a deed of thine which (thou knowest) thou didst, and thou
art an ungrateful (wretch)!"
026.020 Moses said: "I did it then, when I was in error.
026.021 "So I fled from you (all) when I feared you; but my Lord has (since)
invested me with judgment (and wisdom) and appointed me as one of the apostles.
026.022 "And this is the favour with which thou dost reproach me,- that thou hast
enslaved the Children of Israel!"
026.023 Pharaoh said: "And what is the 'Lord and Cherisher of the worlds'?"
026.024 (Moses) said: "The Lord and Cherisher of the heavens and the earth, and all
between,- if ye want to be quite sure."
026.025 (Pharaoh) said to those around: "Did ye not listen (to what he says)?"
026.026 (Moses) said: "Your Lord and the Lord of your fathers from the beginning!"
026.027 (Pharaoh) said: "Truly your apostle who has been sent to you is a veritable
madman!"
026.028 (Moses) said: "Lord of the East and the West, and all between! if ye only
had sense!"
026.029 (Pharaoh) said: "If thou dost put forward any god other than me, I will
certainly put thee in prison!"
026.030 (Moses) said: "Even if I showed you something clear (and) convincing?"
026.031 (Pharaoh) said: "Show it then, if thou tellest the truth!"
026.032 So (Moses) threw his rod, and behold, it was a serpent, plain (for all to see)!
026.033 And he drew out his hand, and behold, it was white to all beholders!
026.034 (Pharaoh) said to the Chiefs around him: "This is indeed a sorcerer well-
versed:
026.035 "His plan is to get you out of your land by his sorcery; then what is it ye
counsel?"
026.036 They said: "Keep him and his brother in suspense (for a while), and dispatch
to the Cities heralds to collect-
026.037 "And bring up to thee all (our) sorcerers well-versed."
026.038 So the sorcerers were got together for the appointment of a day well-known,
026.039 And the people were told: "Are ye (now) assembled?-
026.040 "That we may follow the sorcerers (in religion) if they win?"
026.041 So when the sorcerers arrived, they said to Pharaoh: "Of course - shall we
have a (suitable) reward if we win?
026.042 He said: "Yea, (and more),- for ye shall in that case be (raised to posts)
nearest (to my person)."
026.043 Moses said to them: "Throw ye - that which ye are about to throw!"
026.044 So they threw their ropes and their rods, and said: "By the might of Pharaoh,
it is we who will certainly win!"
026.045 Then Moses threw his rod, when, behold, it straightway swallows up all the
falsehoods which they fake!
026.046 Then did the sorcerers fall down, prostrate in adoration,
026.047 Saying: "We believe in the Lord of the Worlds,
026.048 "The Lord of Moses and Aaron."
026.049 Said (Pharaoh): "Believe ye in Him before I give you permission? surely he
is your leader, who has taught you sorcery! but soon shall ye know!
026.050 "Be sure I will cut off your hands and your feet on opposite sides, and I will
cause you all to die on the cross!"
026.051 They said: "No matter! for us, we shall but return to our Lord!
026.052 "Only, our desire is that our Lord will forgive us our faults, that we may
become foremost among the believers!"
026.053 By inspiration we told Moses: "Travel by night with my servants; for surely
ye shall be pursued."
026.054 Then Pharaoh sent heralds to (all) the Cities,
026.055 (Saying): "These (Israelites) are but a small band,
026.056 "And they are raging furiously against us;
026.057 "But we are a multitude amply fore-warned."
026.058 So We expelled them from gardens, springs,
026.059 Treasures, and every kind of honourable position;
026.060 Thus it was, but We made the Children of Israel inheritors of such things.
026.061 So they pursued them at sunrise.
026.062 And when the two bodies saw each other, the people of Moses said: "We are
sure to be overtaken."
026.063 (Moses) said: "By no means! my Lord is with me! Soon will He guide me!"
026.064 Then We told Moses by inspiration: "Strike the sea with thy rod." So it
divided, and each separate part became like the huge, firm mass of a mountain.
026.065 And We made the other party approach thither.
026.066 We delivered Moses and all who were with him;
026.067 But We drowned the others.
026.068 Verily in this is a Sign: but most of them do not believe.
026.069 And verily thy Lord is He, the Exalted in Might, Most Merciful.
026.070 And rehearse to them (something of) Abraham's story.
026.071 Behold, he said to his father and his people: "What worship ye?"
026.072 They said: "We worship idols, and we remain constantly in attendance on
them."
026.073 He said: "Do they listen to you when ye call (on them), or do you good or
harm?"
026.074 They said: "Nay, but we found our fathers doing thus (what we do)."
026.075 He said: "Do ye then see whom ye have been worshipping,-
026.076 "Ye and your fathers before you?-
026.077 "For they are enemies to me; not so the Lord and Cherisher of the Worlds;
026.078 "Who created me, and it is He Who guides me;
026.079 "Who gives me food and drink,
026.080 "And when I am ill, it is He Who cures me;
026.081 "Who will cause me to die, and then to life (again);
026.082 "And who, I hope, will forgive me my faults on the day of Judgment.
026.083 "O my Lord! bestow wisdom on me, and join me with the righteous;
026.084 "Grant me honourable mention on the tongue of truth among the latest
(generations);
026.085 "Make me one of the inheritors of the Garden of Bliss;
026.086 "Forgive my father, for that he is among those astray;
026.087 "And let me not be in disgrace on the Day when (men) will be raised up;-
026.088 "The Day whereon neither wealth nor sons will avail,
026.089 "But only he (will prosper) that brings to God a sound heart;
026.090 "To the righteous, the Garden will be brought near,
026.091 "And to those straying in Evil, the Fire will be placed in full view;
026.092 "And it shall be said to them: 'Where are the (gods) ye worshipped-
026.093 "'Besides God? Can they help you or help themselves?'
026.094 "Then they will be thrown headlong into the (Fire),- they and those straying
in Evil,
026.095 "And the whole hosts of Iblis together.
026.096 "They will say there in their mutual bickerings:
026.097 "'By God, we were truly in an error manifest,
026.098 "'When we held you as equals with the Lord of the Worlds;
026.099 "'And our seducers were only those who were steeped in guilt.
026.100 "'Now, then, we have none to intercede (for us),
026.101 "'Nor a single friend to feel (for us).
026.102 "'Now if we only had a chance of return we shall truly be of those who
believe!'"
026.103 Verily in this is a Sign but most of them do not believe.
026.104 And verily thy Lord is He, the Exalted in Might, Most Merciful.
026.105 The people of Noah rejected the apostles.
026.106 Behold, their brother Noah said to them: "Will ye not fear (God)?
026.107 "I am to you an apostle worthy of all trust:
026.108 "So fear God, and obey me.
026.109 "No reward do I ask of you for it: my reward is only from the Lord of the
Worlds:
026.110 "So fear God, and obey me."
026.111 They said: "Shall we believe in thee when it is the meanest that follow
thee?"
026.112 He said: "And what do I know as to what they do?
026.113 "Their account is only with my Lord, if ye could (but) understand.
026.114 "I am not one to drive away those who believe.
026.115 "I am sent only to warn plainly in public."
026.116 They said: "If thou desist not, O Noah! thou shalt be stoned (to death)."
026.117 He said: "O my Lord! truly my people have rejected me.
026.118 "Judge Thou, then, between me and them openly, and deliver me and those
of the Believers who are with me."
026.119 So We delivered him and those with him, in the Ark filled (with all
creatures).
026.120 Thereafter We drowned those who remained behind.
026.121 Verily in this is a Sign: but most of them do not believe.
026.122 And verily thy Lord is He, the Exalted in Might, Most Merciful.
026.123 The 'Ad (people) rejected the apostles.
026.124 Behold, their brother Hud said to them: "Will ye not fear (God)?
026.125 "I am to you an apostle worthy of all trust:
026.126 "So fear God and obey me.
026.127 "No reward do I ask of you for it: my reward is only from the Lord of the
Worlds.
026.128 "Do ye build a landmark on every high place to amuse yourselves?
026.129 "And do ye get for yourselves fine buildings in the hope of living therein
(for ever)?
026.130 "And when ye exert your strong hand, do ye do it like men of absolute
power?
026.131 "Now fear God, and obey me.
026.132 "Yea, fear Him Who has bestowed on you freely all that ye know.
026.133 "Freely has He bestowed on you cattle and sons,-
026.134 "And Gardens and Springs.
026.135 "Truly I fear for you the Penalty of a Great Day."
026.136 They said: "It is the same to us whether thou admonish us or be not among
(our) admonishers!
026.137 "This is no other than a customary device of the ancients,
026.138 "And we are not the ones to receive Pains and Penalties!"
026.139 So they rejected him, and We destroyed them. Verily in this is a Sign: but
most of them do not believe.
026.140 And verily thy Lord is He, the Exalted in Might, Most Merciful.
026.141 The Thamud (people) rejected the apostles.
026.142 Behold, their brother Salih said to them: "Will you not fear (God)?
026.143 "I am to you an apostle worthy of all trust.
026.144 "So fear God, and obey me.
026.145 "No reward do I ask of you for it: my reward is only from the Lord of the
Worlds.
026.146 "Will ye be left secure, in (the enjoyment of) all that ye have here?-
026.147 "Gardens and Springs,
026.148 "And corn-fields and date-palms with spathes near breaking (with the weight
of fruit)?
026.149 "And ye carve houses out of (rocky) mountains with great skill.
026.150 "But fear God and obey me;
026.151 "And follow not the bidding of those who are extravagant,-
026.152 "Who make mischief in the land, and mend not (their ways)."
026.153 They said: "Thou art only one of those bewitched!
026.154 "Thou art no more than a mortal like us: then bring us a Sign, if thou tellest
the truth!"
026.155 He said: "Here is a she-camel: she has a right of watering, and ye have a
right of watering, (severally) on a day appointed.
026.156 "Touch her not with harm, lest the Penalty of a Great Day seize you."
026.157 But they ham-strung her: then did they become full of regrets.
026.158 But the Penalty seized them. Verily in this is a Sign: but most of them do not
believe.
026.159 And verily thy Lord is He, the Exalted in Might, Most Merciful.
026.160 The people of Lut rejected the apostles.
026.161 Behold, their brother Lut said to them: "Will ye not fear (God)?
026.162 "I am to you an apostle worthy of all trust.
026.163 "So fear God and obey me.
026.164 "No reward do I ask of you for it: my reward is only from the lord of the
Worlds.
026.165 "Of all the creatures in the world, will ye approach males,
026.166 "And leave those whom God has created for you to be your mates? Nay, ye
are a people transgressing (all limits)!"
026.167 They said: "If thou desist not, O Lut! thou wilt assuredly be cast out!"
026.168 He said: "I do detest your doings."
026.169 "O my Lord! deliver me and my family from such things as they do!"
026.170 So We delivered him and his family,- all
026.171 Except an old woman who lingered behind.
026.172 But the rest We destroyed utterly.
026.173 We rained down on them a shower (of brimstone): and evil was the shower
on those who were admonished (but heeded not)!
026.174 Verily in this is a Sign: but most of them do not believe.
026.175 And verily thy Lord is He, the Exalted in Might Most Merciful.
026.176 The Companions of the Wood rejected the apostles.
026.177 Behold, Shu'aib said to them: "Will ye not fear (God)?
026.178 "I am to you an apostle worthy of all trust.
026.179 "So fear God and obey me.
026.180 "No reward do I ask of you for it: my reward is only from the Lord of the
Worlds.
026.181 "Give just measure, and cause no loss (to others by fraud).
026.182 "And weigh with scales true and upright.
026.183 "And withhold not things justly due to men, nor do evil in the land, working
mischief.
026.184 "And fear Him Who created you and (who created) the generations before
(you)"
026.185 They said: "Thou art only one of those bewitched!
026.186 "Thou art no more than a mortal like us, and indeed we think thou art a liar!
026.187 "Now cause a piece of the sky to fall on us, if thou art truthful!"
026.188 He said: "My Lord knows best what ye do."
026.189 But they rejected him. Then the punishment of a day of overshadowing
gloom seized them, and that was the Penalty of a Great Day.
026.190 Verily in that is a Sign: but most of them do not believe.
026.191 And verily thy Lord is He, the Exalted in Might, Most Merciful.
026.192 Verily this is a Revelation from the Lord of the Worlds:
026.193 With it came down the spirit of Faith and Truth-
026.194 To thy heart and mind, that thou mayest admonish.
026.195 In the perspicuous Arabic tongue.
026.196 Without doubt it is (announced) in the mystic Books of former peoples.
026.197 Is it not a Sign to them that the Learned of the Children of Israel knew it (as
true)?
026.198 Had We revealed it to any of the non-Arabs,
026.199 And had he recited it to them, they would not have believed in it.
026.200 Thus have We caused it to enter the hearts of the sinners.
026.201 They will not believe in it until they see the grievous Penalty;
026.202 But the (Penalty) will come to them of a sudden, while they perceive it not;
026.203 Then they will say: "Shall we be respited?"
026.204 Do they then ask for Our Penalty to be hastened on?
026.205 Seest thou? If We do let them enjoy (this life) for a few years,
026.206 Yet there comes to them at length the (Punishment) which they were
promised!
026.207 It will profit them not that they enjoyed (this life)!
026.208 Never did We destroy a population, but had its warners -
026.209 By way of reminder; and We never are unjust.
026.210 No evil ones have brought down this (Revelation):
026.211 It would neither suit them nor would they be able (to produce it).
026.212 Indeed they have been removed far from even (a chance of) hearing it.
026.213 So call not on any other god with God, or thou wilt be among those under
the Penalty.
026.214 And admonish thy nearest kinsmen,
026.215 And lower thy wing to the Believers who follow thee.
026.216 Then if they disobey thee, say: "I am free (of responsibility) for what ye do!"
026.217 And put thy trust on the Exalted in Might, the Merciful,-
026.218 Who seeth thee standing forth (in prayer),
026.219 And thy movements among those who prostrate themselves,
026.220 For it is He Who heareth and knoweth all things.
026.221 Shall I inform you, (O people!), on whom it is that the evil ones descend?
026.222 They descend on every lying, wicked person,
026.223 (Into whose ears) they pour hearsay vanities, and most of them are liars.
026.224 And the Poets,- It is those straying in Evil, who follow them:
026.225 Seest thou not that they wander distracted in every valley?-
026.226 And that they say what they practise not?-
026.227 Except those who believe, work righteousness, engage much in the
remembrance of God, and defend themselves only after they are unjustly attacked.
And soon will the unjust assailants know what vicissitudes their affairs will take!