Juz 23

And after that, no host out of heaven did We send down against his people, nor did We need to send down any:

nothing was [needed] but one single blast [of Our punishment] - and lo! they became as still and silent as ashes.

OH, THE REGRETS that [most] human beings will have to bear! Never has an apostle come to them without their deriding him!

Are they not aware of how many a generation We have destroyed before their time, [and] that those [that have perished] will never return to them,

and [that] all of them, all together, will [in the end] before Us be arraigned?

And [yet,] they have a sign [of Our power to create and to resurrect] in the lifeless earth which We make alive, and out of which We bring forth grain, whereof they may eat;

and [how] We make gardens of date-palms and vines [grow] thereon, and cause springs to gush [forth] within it,

so that they may eat of the fruit thereof, though it was not their hands that made it. Will they not, then, be grateful?

Limitless in His glory is He who has created opposites in whatever the earth produces, and in men’s own selves, and in that of which [as yet] they have no knowledge.

And [of Our sway over all that exists] they have a sign in the night: We withdraw from it the [light of] day - and lo! they are in darkness.

And [they have a sign in] the sun: it runs in an orbit of its own [and] that is laid down by the will of the Almighty, the All-Knowing;

and [in] the moon, for which We have determined phases [which it must traverse] till it becomes like an old date-stalk, dried-up and curved:

[and] neither may the sun overtake the moon, nor can the night usurp the time of day, since all of them float through space [in accordance with Our laws].

And [it ought to be] a sign for them that We bear their offspring [over the seas] in laden ships,

and [that] We create for them things of a similar kind, on which they may embark [in their travels];

and [that,] if such be Our will, We may cause them to drown, with none to respond to their cry for help: and [then] they cannot be saved,

unless it be by an act of mercy from Us and a grant of life for a [further span of] time.

And [yet,] when they are told, “Beware of [God’s insight into] all that lies open before you and all that is hidden from you, so that you might be graced with His mercy,” [most men choose to remain deaf;]

and no message of their Sustainer s messages ever reaches them without their turning away from it.

Thus, when they are told, “Spend on others out of what God has provided for you as sus­tenance,” those who are bent on denying the truth say unto those who believe, “Shall we feed anyone whom, if [your] God had so willed, He could have fed [Himself]? Clearly, you are but lost in error!”

And they add, “When is this promise [of resurrection] to be fulfilled? [Answer this] if you are men of truth!”

[And they are unaware that] nothing awaits them beyond a single blast [of God’s punishment], which will overtake them while they are still arguing - [against resurrection]:

and so [sudden will be their end that] no testament will they be able to make, - nor to their own people will they return!

And [then] the trumpet [of resurrection] will be blown - and lo! out of their graves towards their Sustainer will they all rush forth!

They will say: “Oh, woe unto us! Who has roused us from our sleep [of death]?” [Whereupon they will be told:] “This is what the Most Gracious has promised! And His message-bearers spoke the truth!”

Nothing will there have been but one single blast - and lo! before Us will all of them be arraigned [and be told]:

“Today, then, no human being shall be wronged in the least, nor shalt you be requited for aught but what you were doing [on earth].

“Behold, those who are destined for paradise shall today have joy in whatever they do:

in happiness will they and their spouses on couches recline;

[only] delight will there be for them, and theirs shall be all that they could ask for:

peace and fulfillment through the word of a Sustainer who dispenses all grace.

“But stand aside today, O you who were lost in sin!

Did I not enjoin on you, O you children of Adam, that you should not worship Satan – since, verily, he is your open foe

and that you should worship Me [alone]? This would have been a straight way!

And [as for Satan -] he had already led astray a great many of you: could you not, then, use your reason?

“This, then, is the hell of which you were warned again and again:

endure it today as an outcome of your persistent denial of the truth!”

On that Day We shall set a seal on their mouths but their hands will speak unto Us, and their feet will bear witness to whatever they have earned [in life].

NOW HAD IT BEEN Our will [that men should not be able to discern between right and wrong], We could surely have deprived them of their sight, so that they would stray forever from the [right] way: for how could they have had insight [into what is true]?

And had it been Our will [that they should not be free to choose between right and wrong], We could surely have given them a different nature [and created them as beings rooted] in their places, so that they would not be able to move forward, and could not turn back.]

But [let them always remember that] if We lengthen a human being’s days, We also cause him to decline in his powers [when he grows old]: will they not, then, use their reason?

AND [thus it is:] We have not imparted to this [Prophet the gift of] poetry, nor would [poetry] have suited this [message]: it is but a reminder and a [divine] discourse, clear in itself and clearly showing the truth,

to the end that it may warn everyone who is alive [of heart], and that the word [of God] may bear witness against all who deny the truth.

Are they, then, not aware that it is for them that We have created, among all the things which Our hands have wrought, the domestic animals of which they are [now] masters? –

and that We have subjected them to men’s will, so that some of them they may use for riding and of some they may eat,

and may have [yet other] benefits from them, and [milk] to drink? Will they not, then, be grateful? (

But [nay,] they take to worshipping deities other than God, [hoping] to be succoured [by them, and not knowing that]

they are unable to succour their devotees, even though to them they may [appear to] be hosts drawn up [for succour].

However, be not grieved by the sayings of those [who deny the truth]: verily, We know all that they keep secret as well as all that they bring into the open.

IS MAN, then, not aware that it is We who create him out of a [mere] drop of sperm - whereupon, lo! he shows himself endowed with the power to think and to argue?

And [now] he [argues about Us, and] thinks of Us in terms of comparison, and is oblivious of how he himself was created! [And so] he says, “Who could give life to bones that have crumbled to dust?”

Say: “He who brought them into being in the first instance will give them life [once again], seeing that He has full knowledge of every act of creation:

He who produces for you fire out of the green tree, so that, lo! you kindle [your fires] therewith.”

Is, then, He who has created the heavens and the earth not able to create [anew] the like of those [who have died]? Yea, indeed - for He alone is the all-knowing Crea­tor:

His Being alone is such that when He wills a thing to be, He but says unto it, “Be” — and it is.

Limitless, then, in His glory is He in whose hand rests the mighty dominion over all things; and unto Him you all will be brought back!

CONSIDER these [messages] ranged in serried ranks,

and restraining [from evil] by a call to restraint,

and conveying [to all the world] a reminder:

Verily, most surely, your God is One –

the Sustainer of the heavens and the earth and of all that is between them, and the Sustainer of all the points of sunrise!

Behold, We have adorned the skies nearest to the earth with the beauty of stars,

and have made them secure against every rebellious, satanic force,

[so that] they [who seek to learn the unknowable] should not be able to overhear the host on high, but shall be repelled from all sides,

cast out [from all grace], with lasting suffering in store for them [in the life to come];

but if anyone does succeed in snatching a glimpse [of such knowledge], he is [henceforth] pursued by a piercing flame.

AND NOW ask those [who deny the truth] to enlight­en thee: Were they more difficult to create than all those [untold marvels] that We have created? - for, behold, them have We created out of [mere] clay commingled with water!

Nay, but whereas thou dost marvel, they [only] scoff;

and when they are reminded [of the truth], they refuse to take it to heart;

and when they become aware of a [divine] message, they turn it to ridicule

and say: “This is clearly nothing but [a mortal’s] spellbinding eloquence!

Why - after we have died and become mere dust and bones, shall we, forsooth, be raised from the dead? –

and perhaps also our forebears of old?”

Say: “Yea, indeed - and most abject will you then be!” –

for that [resurrection which they deride] will be [upon them of a sudden, as if it were] but a single accusing cry - and then, lo! they will begin to see [the truth]

and will say: “Oh, woe unto us! This is the Day of Judgment!”

[And they will be told:] “This is the Day of Distinction [between the true and the false - the Day] which you were wont to call a lie!”

[And God will thus command:] “Assemble all those who were bent on evildoing, together with others of their ilk and [with] all that they were wont to worship

instead of God, and lead them all onto the way to the blazing fire,

and halt them [there]!” [And then,] behold, they shall be asked,

“How is it that [now] you cannot succour one another?”

Nay, but on that Day they would willingly surrender [to God];

but [since it will be too late,] they will turn upon one another, demanding of each other [to relieve them of the burden of their past sins].

Some [of them] will say: “Behold, you were wont to approach us [deceptively] from the right!”

[To which] the others will reply: “Nay, you yourselves were bereft of all faith!

Moreover, we had no power at all over you: nay, you were people filled with overweening arrogance!

But now our Sustainer’s word has come true against us [as well]: verily, we are bound to taste [the fruit of our sins].

So then, [if it be true that] we have caused you to err grievously - behold, we ourselves had been lost in grievous error!”

And, verily, on that Day they all will share in their common suffering.

Verily, thus shall We deal with all who were lost in sin:

for, behold, whenever they were told, “There is no deity save God,” they would glory in their arrogance

and would say, “Shall we, then, give up our deities at the bidding of a mad poet?”

Nay, but he [whom you call a mad poet] has brought the truth; and he confirms the truth of [what the earlier of God’s] message-bearers [have taught].

Behold, you will indeed taste grievous suffering [in the life to come],

although you shall not be requited for aught but what you were wont to do.

Not so, however, God’s true servants:

[in the hereafter,] theirs shall be a sustenance which they will recognize

as the fruits [of their life on earth]; and honoured shall they be

in gardens of bliss,

facing one another [in love] upon thrones of happiness.

A cup will be passed round among them [with a drink] from unsullied springs,

clear, delightful to those who drink it:

no headiness will be in it, and they will not get drunk thereon.

And with them will be mates of modest gaze, most beautiful of eye,

[as free of faults] as if they were hidden [ostrich] eggs.

And they will all turn to one another, asking each other [about their past lives].

One of them speaks thus: “Behold, I had [on earth] a close companion

who was wont to ask [me], ‘Why - art thou really one of those who believe it to be true

[that] after we have died and become mere dust and bones we shall, forsooth, be brought to judgment?”’

[And] he adds: “Would you like to look [and see him]?” –

and then he looks and sees that [companion of his] in the midst of the blazing fire,

and says: “By God! Verily, thou hast almost destroyed me [too, O my erstwhile companion]

for had it not been for my Sustainer’s favour, I would surely be [now] among those who are given over [to suffering]!

But then, [O my friends in paradise,] is it [really] so that we are not to die

[again,] beyond our previous death, and that we shall never [again] be made to suffer?

Verily, this - this indeed - is the triumph supreme!”

For the like of this, then, let them labour, those who labour [in God’s way]!

Is such [a paradise] the better welcome - or the [hellish] tree of deadly fruit?

Verily, We have caused it to be a trial for evildoers:

for, behold, it is a tree that grows in the very heart of the blazing fire [of hell],

its fruit [as repulsive] as satans’ heads;

and they [who are lost in evil] are indeed bound to eat thereof, and to fill their bellies therewith.

And, behold, above all this they will be confounded with burning des­pair!

And once again: Verily, the blazing fire is their ultimate goal –

for, behold, they found their forebears on a wrong way,

and [now] they make haste to follow in their footsteps!

Thus, indeed, most of the people of old went astray before them,

although, verily, We had sent warners unto them:

and behold what happened in the end to those that had been warned [to no avail]!

EXCEPT for God’s true servants, [most people are apt to go astray.]

And, indeed, [it was for this reason that] Noah cried unto Us - and how excellent was Our response:

for We saved him and his household from that awesome calamity,

and caused his offspring to endure [on earth];

and We left him thus to be remembered among later generations:

“Peace be upon Noah throughout all the worlds!”

Verily, thus do We reward the doers of good –

for he was truly one of our believing servants:

[and so We saved him and those who followed him] and then We caused the others to drown.

AND, BEHOLD, of his persuasion was Abraham, too,

when he turned to his Sustainer with a heart free of evil,

and [thus] spoke to his father and his people: “What is it that you worship?

Do you want [to bow down before] a lie - [before] deities other than God?

What, then, do you think of the Sustainer of all the worlds?”

Then he cast a glance at the stars,

and said, “Verily, I am sick [at heart]!”

and at that they turned their backs on him and went away.

Thereupon he approached their gods stealthily and said, “What! You do not eat [of the offerings placed before you]?

What is amiss with you that you do not speak?”

And then he fell upon them, smiting them with his right hand.

[But] then the others came towards him hur­riedly [and accused him of his deed].

He answered: “Do you worship something that you [yourselves] have carved,

the while it is God who has created you and all your handiwork?”

They exclaimed: “Build a pyre for him, and cast him into the blazing fire!”

But whereas they sought to do evil unto him, We [frustrated their designs, and thus] brought them low?

And [Abraham] said: “Verily, I shall [leave this land and] go wherever my Sustainer will guide me!”

[And he prayed:] “O my Sustainer! Bestow upon me the gift of [a son who shall be] one of the righteous!” –

whereupon We gave him the glad tiding of a boy-child gentle [like himself]?

And [one day,] when [the child] had become old enough to share in his [father’s] endeavours, the latter said: “O my dear son! I have seen in a dream that I should sacrifice thee: consider, then, what would be thy view!” [Ishmael] answered: “O my father! Do as thou art bidden: thou wilt find me, if God so wills, among those who are patient in adversity!”

But as soon as the two had surrendered themselves to [what they thought to be] the will of God, and [Abraham] had laid him down on his face,

We called out to him: “O Abraham,

thou hast already fulfilled [the purpose of] that dream- vision!” Thus, verily, do We reward the doers of good:

for, behold, all this was indeed a trial, clear in itself.

And We ransomed him with a tremendous sacrifice,

and left him thus to be remembered among later generations:

“Peace be upon Abraham!”

Thus do We reward the doers of good –

for he was truly one of our believing servants.

And [in time] We gave him the glad tiding of Isaac, [who, too, would be] a prophet, one of the righteous;

and We blessed him and Isaac: but among the offspring of these two there were [des­tined] to be both doers of good and such as would glaringly sin against themselves.

THUS, INDEED, did We bestow Our favour upon Moses and Aaron;

and We saved them and their people from the awesome calamity [of bondage],

and succoured them, so that [in the end] it was they who achieved victory.

And We gave them the divine writ that made [right and wrong] distinct,

and guided them the straight way,

and left them thus to be remem­bered among later generations:

“Peace be upon Moses and Aaron!”

Thus do We reward the doers of good –

for those two were truly among Our believing ser­vants.

AND, BEHOLD, Elijah [too] was indeed one of Our message-bearers

when he spoke [thus] to his people: “Will you not remain conscious of God?

Will you invoke Baal and forsake [God,] the best of artisans -

God, your Sustainer and the Sustainer of your forebears of old?”

But they gave him the lie: and therefore they will most surely be arraigned [on Judgment Day],

excepting only [those who were] God’s true servants;

and him We left thus to be remem­bered among later generations:

“Peace be upon Elijah and his followers!”

Verily, thus do We reward the doers of good –

for he was truly one of Our believing servants!

AND, BEHOLD, Lot was indeed one of Our mes­sage-bearers;

[and so,] when [We decreed the doom of his sinful town,] We saved him and his household,

except an old woman who was among those that stayed behind;

and then We utterly destroyed the others:

and, verily, [to this day] you pass by the remnants of their dwellings at morning-time

and by night. Will you not, then, use your reason?

AND, BEHOLD, Jonah was indeed one of Our mes­sage-bearers

when he fled like a runaway slave onto a laden ship.

And then they cast lots, and he was the one who lost;

[and they cast him into the sea,] whereupon the great fish swallowed him, for he had been blameworthy.

And had he not been of those who [even in the deep darkness of their distress are able to] extol God’s limitless glory,

he would indeed have remained in its belly till the Day when all shall be raised from the dead:

but We caused him to be cast forth on a desert shore, sick [at heart] as he was,

and caused a creeping plant to grow over him [out of the barren soil].

And [then] We sent him [once again] to [his people,] a hundred thousand [souls] or more:

and [this time] they believed [in him] and so We allowed them to enjoy their life during the time allotted to them?

AND NOW ask them to enlighten thee: Has thy Sustainer daughters, whereas they would have [only] sons?

- or is it that We have created the angels female, and they [who believe them to be divine] have witnessed [that act of creation]?

Oh, verily, it is out of their own [inclination to] falsehood that some people assert,

“God has begotten [a son]”; and, verily, they are lying [too, when they say],

“He has chosen daughters in preference to sons”!

What is amiss with you and your judgment?

Will you not, then, bethink yourselves?

Or have you, perchance, a clear evidence [for your assertions]?

Produce, then, that divine writ of yours, if you are speaking the truth!

And some people have invented a kinship between Him and all manner of invisible forces although [even] these invisible forces know well that, verily, they [who thus blaspheme against God] shall indeed be arraigned [before Him on Judgment Day: for]

limitless is God in His glory, above anything that men may devise by way of definition!

Not thus, however, [behave] God’s true ser­vants:

for, verily, neither you [blasphemers] nor the objects of your worship

can cause anyone to fall prey to your temptation

unless it be such as rushes towards the blazing fire [of his own accord]!

[All forces of nature praise God and say:] “Among us, too, there is none but has a place assigned to it [by Him];

and, verily, we too are ranged [before Him in worship];

and, verily, we too extol His limitless glory!”

AND, INDEED, they [who deny the truth] have always been wont to say,

“If only we had a tradition [to this effect] from our forebears,

we would certainly be true servants of God.”

And yet, [now that this divine writ has been placed before them,] they refuse to acknowledge it as true! In time, however, they will come to know [what it was that they had rejected]:

for, long ago has Our word gone forth unto Our servants, the message- bearers,

that, verily, they - they indeed - would be succoured,

and that, verily, Our hosts - they indeed - would [in the end] be victorious!

Hence, turn thou aside for a while from those [who deny the truth],

and see them [for what they are]; and in time they [too] will come to see [what they do not see now].

Do they, then, [really] wish that Our chas­tisement be hastened on?

But then, once it alights upon them, hapless will be the awakening of those who were warned [to no avail]!

Hence, turn thou aside for a while from them,

and see [them for what they are]; and n time they [too] will come to see [what they do not see now].

LIMITLESS in His glory is thy Sustainer, the Lord of almightiness, [exalted] above anything that men may devise by way of definition!

And peace be upon all His message-bearers!

And all praise is due to God alone, the Sus­tainer of all the worlds!

Sad. CONSIDER this Qur’an, endowed with all that one ought to remember!

But nay - they who are bent on denying the truth are lost in [false] pride, and [hence] deeply in the wrong.

How many a generation have We destroyed before their time [for this very sin]! And [how] they called [unto Us] when it was too late to escape!

Now these [people] deem it strange that a warner should have come unto them from their own midst - and [so] the deniers of the truth are saying: “A [mere] spellbinder is he, a liar!

Does he claim that all the deities are [but] one God? Verily, a most strange thing is this!”

And their leaders launch forth [thus]: “Go ahead, and hold steadfastly onto your deities: this, behold, is the only thing to do!

Never did we hear of [a claim like] this in any faith of latter days! It is nothing but [a mortal man’s] invention!

What! Upon him alone from among all of us should a [divine] reminder have been bestowed from on high?” Nay, but it is My Own reminder that they distrust! Nay, they have not yet tasted the suffering which I do impose!

Or do they [think that they] own the treasures of thy Sustainer’s grace - [the grace] of the Almighty, the Giver of Gifts?

Or [that] the dominion over the heavens and the earth and all that is between them is theirs? Why, then, let them try to ascend [to God-like power] by all [conceivable] means!

[But] there it is: any and all human beings, however [strongly] leagued together, are bound to suffer defeat [whenever they refuse to accept the truth].

To the truth gave the lie aforetime Noah’s people, and [the tribe of] Ad, and Pharaoh of the [many] tent-poles,

and [the tribe of] Thamud, and the people of Lot, and the dwellers of the wooded dales [of Madyan]: they all were leagued together, [as it were, in their unbelief:]

not one [was there] but gave the lie to the apostles - and thereupon My retribution fell due.

And they [who now deny the truth - they, too,] have but to wait for one single blast [of punishment to overtake them]: it shall not be delayed a whit.

As it is, they say [mockingly]: “O our Sus­tainer! Hasten on to us our share [of punishment even] before the Day of Reckoning!”

[But] bear thou with patience whatever they may say, and remember Our servant David, him who was endowed with [so much] inner strength! He, verily, would always turn unto Us:

[and for this,] behold, We caused the mountains to join him in extolling Our limitless glory at eventide and at sun­rise,

and [likewise] the birds in their assemblies: [together] they all Would turn again and again unto Him [who had created them].

And We streng­thened his dominion, and bestowed upon him wisdom and sagacity in judgment.

AND YET, has the story of the litigants come within thy ken - [the story of the two] who surmounted the walls of the sanctuary [in which David prayed]?

As they came upon David, and he shrank back in fear from them, they said: “Fear not! [We are but] two litigants. One of us has wronged the other: so judge thou between us with justice, and deviate not from what is right, and show [both of] us the way to rectitude.

“Behold, this is my brother: he has ninety-nine ewes, whereas I have [only] one ewe - and yet he said, ‘Make her over to me,’ and forcibly prevailed against me in this [our] dispute.”

Said [David]: “He has certainly wronged thee by demanding that thy ewe be added to his ewes! Thus, behold, do many kinsmen wrong one another [all] save those who believe [in God] and do righteous deeds: but how few are they!” And [suddenly] David understood that We had tried him: and so he asked his Sustainer to forgive him his sin, and fell down in prostration, and turned unto Him in repentance.

And thereupon We forgave him that [sin]: and, verily, nearness to Us awaits him [in the life to come], and the most beauteous of all goals!

[And We said:] “O David! Behold, We have made thee a [prophet and, thus, Our] vicegerent on earth: judge, then, between men with justice, and do not follow vain desire, lest it lead thee astray from the path of God: verily, for those who go astray from the path of God there is suffering severe in store for having forgotten the Day of Reckoning!”

AND [thus it is:] We have not created heaven and earth and all that is between them without meaning and purpose, as is the surmise of those who are bent on denying the truth: but then, woe from the fire [of hell] unto all who are bent on denying the truth!

[For,] would We treat those who have attained to faith and do righteous deeds in the same manner as [We shall treat] those who spread corruption on earth? Would We treat the God-conscious in the same manner as the wicked?

[All this have We expounded in this] blessed divine writ which We have revealed unto thee, [O Muhammad,] so that men may ponder over its mes­sages, and that those who are endowed with insight may take them to heart.

AND UNTO DAVID We granted Solomon [as a son - and] how excellent a servant [of Ours he grew up to be]! Behold, he would always turn unto Us -

[and even] when, towards the close of day, nobly-bred, swift-footed steeds were brought before him,

he would say, “Verily, I have come to love the love of all that is good because I bear my Sustainer in mind!” [repeating these words as the steeds raced away,] until they were hidden by the veil [of distance - whereupon he would command],

“Bring them back unto me!”- and would [lovingly] stroke their legs and their necks.

But [ere this], indeed, We had tried Solomon by placing upon his throne a [lifeless] body; and thereupon he turned [towards Us; and]

he prayed: “O my Sustainer! Forgive me my sins, and bestow upon me the gift of a kingdom which may not suit anyone after me: verily, Thou alone art a giver of gifts!”

And so We made subservient to him the wind, so that it gently sped at his behest whithersoever he willed,

as well as all the rebellious forces [that We made to work for him] - every kind of builder and diver -

and others linked together in fetters.

[And We told him:] “This is Our gift, for thee to bestow freely on others, or to withhold, without [having to render] account!”

And, verily, nearness to Us awaits him [in the life to come], and the most beauteous of all goals!

AND CALL to mind Our servant Job, [how it was] when he cried out to his Sustainer, “Behold, Satan has afflicted me with [utter] weariness and suffering!”

[and thereupon was told:] “Strike [the ground] with thy foot: here is cool water to wash with and to drink!”

And We bestowed upon him new offspring, doubling their number as an act of grace from Us, and as a reminder unto all who are endowed with insight.

[And finally We told him:] “Now take in thy hand a small bunch of grass, and strike therewith, and thou wilt not break thine oath!” for, verily, We found him full of patience in adversity: how excellent a servant [of Ours], who, behold, would always turn unto Us!

AND CALL to mind Our servants Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, [all of them] endowed with inner strength and vision:

for, verily, We purified them by means of a thought most pure: the remembrance of the life to come.

And, behold, in Our sight they were indeed among the elect, the truly good!

And call to mind Ishmael and Elisha, and every one who [like them] has pledged himself [unto Us]: for, each of them was of the truly good!

LET [all] this be a reminder [to those who believe in God] - for, verily, the most beauteous of all goals awaits the God-conscious:

gardens of perpetual bliss, with gates wide-open to them,

wherein they will recline, [and] wherein they may [freely] call for many a fruit and drink,

having beside them well-matched mates of modest gaze.”

This is what you are promised for the Day of Reckoning:

this, verily, shall be Our provision [for you], with no end to it!

All this [for the righteous]: but, verily, the most evil of all goals awaits those who are wont to transgress the bounds of what is right:

hell will they have to endure - and how vile a resting-place!

This, [then, for them -] so let them taste it: burning despair and ice-cold darkness

and, coupled with it, further [suffering] of a similar nature.

[And they will say to one another: “Do you see] this crowd of people who rushed headlong [into sin] with you? No welcome to them! Verily, they [too] shall have to endure the fire!”

[And] they [who had been seduced] will exclaim: “Nay, but it is you! No welcome to you! It is you who have prepared this for us: and how vile a state to abide in!”

[And] they will pray: “O our Sustainer! Who­ever has prepared this for us, double Thou his suffering in the fire!”

And they will add: “How is it that we do not see [here any of the] men whom we were wont to count among the wicked,

[and] whom we made the target of our derision? Or is it that [they are here, and] our eyes have missed them?”

Such, behold, will in truth be the [confusion and] mutual wrangling of the people of the fire!

SAY [O Muhammad]: “I am only a warner; and there is no deity whatever save God, the One, who holds absolute sway over all that exists,

the Sustainer of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them, the Almighty, the All-Forgiving!”

Say: “This is a message tremendous:

[how can] you turn away from it?”

[Say, O Muhammad:] “No knowledge would I have had of [what passed among] the host on high when they argued [against the creation of man],

had it not been revealed unto me [by God] - to no other end than that I might convey [unto you] a plain warning.

[For,] lo, thy Sustainer said unto the angels: “Behold, I am about to create a human being out of clay;

and when I have formed him fully and breathed into him of My spirit, fall you down before him in prostration!”

Thereupon the angels prostrated themselves, all of them together,

save Iblis: he gloried in his arrogance, and [thus] became one of those who deny the truth.

Said He: “O Iblis! What has kept thee from prostrating thyself before that [being] which I have created with My hands? Art thou too proud [to bow down before another created being], or art thou of those who think [only] of themselves as high?”

Answered [Iblis]: “I am better than he: Thou hast created me out of fire, whereas him Thou hast created out of clay.”

Said He: “Go forth, then, from this [angelic state] - for, behold, thou art henceforth accursed,

and My rejection shall be thy due until the Day of Judgment!”

Said [Iblis]: “Then, O my Sustainer, grant me a respite till the Day when all shall be raised from the dead!”

Answered He: “Verily, so [be it:] thou shalt be among those who are granted respite

till the Day the time whereof is known [only to Me].”

[Whereupon Iblis] said: “Then [I swear] by Thy very might: I shall most certainly beguile them all into grievous error –

[all] save such of them as are truly Thy servants!”

[And God] said: “This, then, is the truth! And this truth do I state:

Most certainly will I fill hell with thee and such of them as shall follow thee, all together!”

SAY [O Prophet]: “No reward whatever do I ask of you for this [message]; and I am not one of those who claim to be what they are not.

This [divine writ], behold, is no less than a reminder to all the worlds —

and you will most certainly grasp its purport after a lapse of time!”

THE BESTOWAL from on high of this divine writ issues from God, the Almighty, the Wise:

for, behold, it is We who have bestowed this revela­tion upon thee from on high, setting forth the truth: so worship Him, sincere in thy faith in Him alone!

Is it not to God alone that all sincere faith is due? And yet, they who take for their protectors aught beside Him [are wont to say], “We worship them for no other reason than that they bring us nearer to God.” Behold, God will judge between them [on Resur­rection Day] with regard to all wherein they differ [from the truth]: for, verily, God does not grace with His guidance anyone who is bent on lying [to himself and is] stubbornly ingrate!

Had God willed to take Unto Himself a son, He could have chosen anyone that He wanted out of whatever He has created - [but] limitless is He in His glory! He is the One God, the One who holds absolute sway over all that exists!

He it is who has created the heavens and the earth in accordance with [an inner] truth. He causes the night to flow into the day, and causes the day to flow into the night; and He has made the sun and the moon subservient [to His laws], each running its course for a term set [by Him]. Is not He the Almighty, the All-Forgiving?

He has created you [all] out of one living entity, and out of it fashioned its mate; and he has be­stowed upon you four kinds of cattle of either sex; [and] He creates you in your mothers’ wombs, one act of creation after another, in threefold depths of darkness. Thus is God, your Sustainer: unto Him belongs all dominion: there is no deity save Him: how, then, can you lose sight of the truth?

If you are ingrate behold, God has no need of you; none the less, He does not approve of in­gratitude in His servants: whereas, if you show grati­tude, He approves it in you. And no bearer of burdens shall be made to bear another’s burden. In time, unto your Sustainer you all must return, and then He will make you [truly] understand all that you were doing [in life]: for, verily, He has full knowledge of what is in the hearts [of men].