Juz 24

And who could be more wicked than he who invents lies about God? and gives the lie to the truth as soon as it has been placed before him? Is not hell the [proper] abode for all who deny the truth?

But he who brings the truth, and he who wholeheartedly accepts it as true - it is they, they, who are [truly] conscious of Him!

All that they have ever yearned for awaits them with their Sustainer: such will be the reward of the doers of good.

And to this end, God will efface from their record the worst that they ever did, and give them their reward in accordance with the best that they were doing [in life].

IS NOT God enough for His servant? And yet, they would frighten thee with those [imaginary divine powers which they worship] beside Him! But he whom God lets go astray can never find any guide,

whereas he whom God guides aright can never be led astray. Is not God almighty, an avenger of evil?

And thus it is [with most people]: if thou ask them, “Who is it that has created the heavens and the earth?” - they will surely answer, “God.” Say: “Have you, then, ever considered what it is that you invoke instead of God? If God wills that harm should befall me, could those [imaginary powers] remove the harm inflicted by Him? Or, if He wills that grace should alight on me, could they withhold His grace [from me]?” Say: “God is enough for me! In Him [alone] place their trust all who have trust [in His existence].”

Say: “O my [truth-denying] people! Do yet all that may be within your power, [whereas] I, behold, shall labour [in God’s way]: in time you will come to know

who it is that shall be visited [in this world] by suffering which will cover him with ignominy, and upon whom long-lasting suffering shall alight [in the life to come]!”

BEHOLD, from on high have We bestowed upon thee this divine writ, setting forth the truth for [the benefit of all] mankind. And whoever chooses to be guided [thereby], does so for his own good, and whoever chooses to go astray, goes but astray to his own hurt; and thou hast not the power to determine their fate.

It is God [alone that has this power - He] who causes all human beings to die at the time of their [bodily] death, and [causes to be as dead], during their sleep, those that have not yet died: thus, He withholds [from life] those upon whom He has decreed death, and lets the others go free for a term set [by Him]. In [all] this, behold, there are messages indeed for people who think!

And yet, they choose [to worship], side by side with God, [imaginary] intercessors!” Say: “Why - even though they have no power over anything, and no understanding?”

Say: “God’s alone is [the power to bestow the right of] intercession: His [alone] is the dominion over the heavens and the earth; and, in the end, Unto Him you will all be brought back.”

And yet, whenever God alone is mentioned, the hearts of those who will not believe in the life to come contract with bitter aversion - whereas, when those [imaginary powers] are mentioned side by side with Him, lo, they rejoice!

Say: “O God! Originator of the heavens and the earth! Knower of all that is beyond the reach of a created being’s perception, as well as of all that can be witnessed by a creature’s senses or mind! It is Thou who wilt judge between Thy servants [on Resurrection Day] with regard to all on which they were wont to differ!”

But if those who are bent on evildoing posses­sed all that is on earth, and twice as much, they would surely offer it as ransom from the awful suffering [that will befall them] on the Day of Resur­rection: for, something with which they had not reckoned before will [by then] have been made obvious to them by God;

and obvious to them will have become the evil that they had wrought [in life]: and thus shall they be overwhelmed by the very truth which they were wont to deride.

NOW [thus it is:] when affliction befalls man, he cries out unto Us for help; but when We bestow upon him a boon by Our grace, he says [to himself], “I have been given [all] this by virtue of [my own] wisdom!” Nay, this [bestowal of grace] is a trial: but most of them understand it not!

The same did say [to themselves many of] those who lived before their time; but of no avail to them was all that they had ever achieved:

for all the evil deeds that they had wrought fell [back] upon them. And [the same will happen to] people of the present time who are bent on wrongdoing: all the evil deeds that they have ever wrought will fall [back] upon them, and never will they be able to elude [God]!

Are they, then, not aware that it is God who grants abundant sustenance, or gives it in scant measure, unto whomever He wills? In this, behold, there are messages indeed for peo­ple who will believe!

SAY: “[Thus speaks God:] ‘O you servants of Mine who have transgressed against your own selves! Despair not of God’s mercy: behold, God forgives all sins - for, verily, He alone is much-forgiving, a dis­penser of grace!’”

Hence, turn towards your Sustainer [alone] and surrender yourselves unto Him ere the suffering [of death and resurrection] comes upon you, for then you will not be succoured.

And ere that suffering comes upon you of a sudden, without your being aware [of its approach], follow the most goodly [teaching] that has been revealed unto you by your Sustainer,

lest any human being should say [on Judgment Day], “Alas for me for having been remiss in what is due to God, and for having been indeed one of those who scoffed [at the truth]!”

or lest he should say, “If God had but guided me, I would surely have been among those who are conscious of Him!”-

or lest he should say, when he becomes aware of the suffering [that awaits him], “Would that I had a second chance [in life], so that I could be among the doers of good!”

[But God will reply:] “Yea, indeed! My mes­sages did come unto thee; but thou gavest them the lie, and wert filled with false pride, and wert among those who deny the truth!”

And [so,] on the Day of Resurrection thou wilt see all who invented lies about God [with] their faces darkened [by grief and ignominy]. Is not hell the [proper] abode for all who are given to false pride?

But God will safeguard all who were conscious of Him, [and will grant them happiness] by virtue of their [inner] triumphs; no evil shall ever touch them, and neither shall they grieve.

GOD is the Creator of all things, and He alone has the power to determine the fate of all things.

His are the keys [to the mysteries] of the heavens and the earth: and they who are bent on denying the truth of God’s messages - it is they, they, who are the losers!

Say: “Is it, then, something other than God that you bid me to worship, O you who are unaware [of right and wrong]?”

And yet, it has already been revealed to thee [O man,] as well as to those who lived before thee, that if thou ever ascribe divine powers to aught but God, all thy works shall most certainly have been in vain: for [in the life to come] thou shalt most certainly be among the lost.

Nay, but thou shalt worship God [alone], and be among those who are grateful [to Him]!

And no true understanding of God have they [who worship aught beside Him], inasmuch as the whole of the earth will be as a [mere] handful to Him on Resurrection Day, and the heavens will be rolled up in His right hand: limitless is He in His glory, and sublimely exalted above anything to which they may ascribe a share in His divinity!

And [on that Day,] the trumpet [of judgment] will be sounded, and all [creatures] that are in the heavens and all that are on earth will fall down senseless, unless they be such as God wills [to exempt]. And then it will sound again - and lo! standing [before the Seat of Judgment], they will begin to see [the truth]!

And the earth will shine bright with her Sus­tainer’s light. And the record [of everyone’s deeds] will be laid bare, and all the prophets will be brought forward, and all [other] witnesses; and judgment will be passed on them all in justice. And they will not be wronged,

for every human being will be repaid in full for whatever [good or evil] he has done: and He is fully aware of all that they do.

And those who were bent on denying the truth will be urged on in throngs towards hell till, when they reach it, its gates will be opened, and its keepers will ask them, “Have there not come to you apostles from among yourselves, who conveyed to you your Sustainer’s messages and warned you of the coming of this your Day [of Judgment]?” They will answer: “Yea, indeed!” But the sentence of suffering will [already] have fallen due upon the deniers of the truth;

[and] they will be told, “Enter the gates of hell, therein to abide!” And how vile an abode for those who were given to false pride!

But those who were conscious of their Sus­tainer will be urged on in throngs towards paradise till, when they reach it, they shall find its gates wide- open; and its keepers will say unto them, “Peace be upon you! Well have you done: enter, then, this [paradise], herein to abide!”

And they will exclaim: “All praise is due to God, who has made His promise to us come true, and has bestowed upon us this expanse [of bliss] as our portion, so that we may dwell in paradise as we please!” And how excellent a reward will it be for those who laboured [in God’s way]!

And thou wilt see the angels surrounding the throne of [God’s] almightiness, extolling their Sus­tainer’s glory and praise. And judgment will have been passed in justice on all [who had lived and died], and the word will be spoken: “All praise is due to God, the Sustainer of all the worlds!”

Ha. Mim.

THE BESTOWAL from on high of this divine writ issues from God, the Almighty, the All-Know­ing,

forgiving sins and accepting repentance, severe in retribution, limitless in His bounty. There is no deity save Him: with Him is all jour­neys’ end.

NONE BUT THOSE who are bent on denying the truth would call God’s messages in question. But let it not deceive thee that they seem to be able to do as they please on earth:

to the truth gave the lie, before their time, the people of Noah and, after them, all those [others] who were leagued together [against God’s message-bearers]; and each of those com­munities schemed against the apostle sent unto them, aiming to lay hands on him; and they contended [against his message] with fallacious arguments, so as to render void the truth thereby: but then I took them to task - and how awesome was My retribution!

And thus shall thy Sustainer’s word come true against all who are bent on denying the truth: they shall find themselves in the fire [of hell].

THEY WHO BEAR [within themselves the knowl­edge of] the throne of [God’s] almightiness, as well as all who are near it, extol their Sustainer’s limitless glory and praise, and have faith in Him, and ask forgiveness for all [others] who have attained to faith: “O our Sustainer! Thou embracest all things within [Thy] grace and knowledge: forgive, then, their sins unto those who repent and follow Thy path, and preserve them from suffering through the blazing fire!

“And, O our Sustainer, bring them into the gardens of perpetual bliss which Thou hast promised them, together with the righteous from among their forebears, and their spouses, and their offspring - for, verily, Thou alone art almighty, truly wise –

and preserve them from [doing] evil deeds: for anyone whom on that Day [of Judgment] Thou wilt have preserved from [the taint of] evil deeds, him wilt Thou have graced with Thy mercy: and that, that will be the triumph supreme!”

[But,] behold, as for those who are bent on denying the truth - [on that same Day] a voice will call out unto them: “Indeed, greater than your [present] loathing of yourselves was God’s loathing of you [at the time] when you were called unto faith but went on denying the truth!”

[Whereupon] they will exclaim: “O our Sus­tainer! Twice hast Thou caused us to die, just as twice Thou hast brought us to life!

[And they will be told:] “This [has befallen you] because, whenever the One God was invoked, you denied this truth; whereas, when divinity was ascribed to aught beside Him, you believed [in it]! But all judgment rests with God, the Exalted, the Great!”

HE IT IS who shows you His wonders [in all nature], and sends down sustenance for you from the sky: but none bethinks himself [thereof] save those who are wont to turn to God.

Invoke, then, God, sincere in your faith in Him alone, however hateful this may be to those who deny the truth!

High above all orders [of being] is He, in almightiness enthroned. By His Own will does He bestow inspiration upon whomever He wills of His servants, so as to warn [all human beings of the coming] of the Day when they shall meet Him

the Day when they shall come forth [from death], with nothing of themselves hidden from God. With whom will sovereignty rest on that Day? With God, the One who holds absolute sway over all that exists!

On that Day will every human being be requited for what he has earned: no wrong [will be done] on that Day: verily, swift in reckoning is God!

Hence, warn them of that Day which draws ever nearer, when the hearts will chokingly come up to the throats: no loving friend will the evildoers have, nor any intercessor who would be heeded:

[for] He is aware of the [most] stealthy glance, and of all that the hearts would conceal.

And God will judge in accordance with truth and justice, whereas those [beings] whom they invoke beside Him cannot judge at all: for, verily, God alone is all-hearing, all-seeing.

Have they, then, never journeyed about the earth and beheld what happened in the end to those [deniers of the truth] who lived before their time? Greater were they in power than they are, and in the impact which they left on earth: but God took them to task for their sins, and they had none to defend them against God:

this, because their apostles had come to them with all evidence of the truth, and yet they rejected it: and so God took them to task - for, verily, He is powerful, severe in retribution!

THUS, INDEED, did We send Moses with Our mes­sages and a manifest authority [from Us]

unto Pharaoh, and Haman, and Qarun; but they [only] said, “A spellbinder is he, a liar!”

Now [as for Pharaoh and his followers,] when he came to them, setting forth the truth from Us, they said, “Slay the sons of those who share his beliefs, and spare [only] their women!” - but the guile of those deniers of the truth could not lead to aught but failure.

And Pharaoh said: “Leave it to me to slay Moses - and let him invoke his [alleged] sustainer! Behold, I fear lest he cause you to change your religion, or lest he cause corruption to prevail in the land!”

But Moses said: “With [Him who is] my Sus­tainer as well as your Sustainer have I indeed found refuge from everyone who, immersed in false pride, will not believe in [the coming of] the Day of Reckon­ing!”

At that, a believing man of Pharaoh’s family, who [until then] had concealed his faith, exclaimed: “Would you slay a man because he says, ‘God is my Sustainer’ - seeing, withal, that he has brought you all evidence of this truth from your Sustainer? Now if he be a liar, his lie will fall back on him; but if he is a man of truth, something [of the punishment] whereof he warns you is bound to befall you: for, verily, God would not grace with His guidance one who has wasted his own self by lying [about Him].

“O my people! Yours is the dominion today, [and] most eminent are you on earth: but who will rescue us from God’s punishment, once it befalls us?” Said Pharaoh: “I but want to make you see what I see myself; and I would never make you follow any path but that of rectitude!”

Thereupon exclaimed he who had attained to faith: “O my people! Verily, I fear for you the like of what one day befell those others who were leagued together [against God’s truth] –

the like of what happened to Noah’s people, and to [the tribes of] Ad and Thamud and those who came after them! And, withal, God does not will any wrong for His crea­tures.

“And, O my people, I fear for you [the coming of] that Day of [Judgment - the Day when you will be] calling unto one another [in distress] –

the Day when you will [wish to] turn your backs and flee, having none to defend you against God: for he whom God lets go astray can never find any guide.

“And [remember:] it was to you that Joseph came aforetime with all evidence of the truth; but you never ceased to throw doubt on all [the messages] that he brought you - so much so that when he died, you said, ‘Never will God send any apostle [even] after him!’ “In this way God lets go astray such as waste their own selves by throwing suspicion [on His revela­tions] –

such as would call God’s messages in question without having any evidence therefor: [a sin] exceedingly loathsome in the sight of God and of those who have attained to faith. It is in this way that God sets a seal on every arrogant, self-exalting heart.”

But Pharaoh said: “O Haman! Build me a lofty tower, that haply I may attain to the [right] means

the means of approach to the heavens - and that [thus] I may have a look at the god of Moses: for, behold, I am indeed certain that he is a liar!” And thus, goodly seemed unto Pharaoh the evil of his own doings, and so he was barred from the path [of truth]: and Pharaoh’s guile did not lead to aught but ruin.

Still, the man who had attained to faith went on: “O my people! Follow me: I shall guide you onto the path of rectitude!

“O my people! This worldly life is but a brief enjoyment, whereas, behold, the life to come is the home abiding.

[There,] anyone who has done a bad deed will be requited with no more than the like thereof, whereas anyone, be it man or woman, who has done righteous deeds and is a believer withal - all such will enter paradise, wherein they shall be blest with good beyond all reckoning!

“And, O my people, how is it that I summon you to salvation, the while you summon me to the fire?

- [for] you call upon me to deny [the one­ness of] God and to ascribe a share in His divinity to aught of which I cannot [possibly] have any knowl­edge the while I summon you to [a cognition of] the Almighty, the All-Forgiving!

“There is no doubt that what you summon me to is something that has no claim to being invoked either in this world or in the life to come - as [there is no doubt] that unto God is our return, and that they who have wasted their own selves shall find them­selves in the fire:

and at that time you will [have cause to] remember what I am telling you [now]. “But [as for me,] I commit myself unto God: for, verily, God sees all that is in [the hearts of] His servants.”

And God preserved him from the evil of their scheming, whereas suffering vile was to encompass Pharaoh’s folk:

the fire [of the hereafter - that fire] which they had been made to contemplate [in vain], morning and evening: for on the Day when the Last Hour dawns [God will say], “Make Phar­aoh’s folk enter upon suffering most severe!”

AND LO! They [who in life were wont to deny the truth] will contend with one another in the fire [of the hereafter]; and then the weak will say unto those who had gloried in their arrogance, “Behold, we were but your followers: can you, then, relieve us of some [of our] share of this fire?”

[to which] they who had [once] been arrogant will reply, “Behold, we are all in it [together]! Verily, God has judged between His creatures!”

And they who are in the fire will say to the keepers of hell, “Pray unto your Sustainer that He lighten, [though it be] for one day [only], this suffering of ours!”

[But the keepers of hell] will ask, “Is it not [true] that your apostles came unto you with all evidence of the truth?” Those [in the fire] will reply, “Yea, indeed.” [And the keepers of hell] will say, “Pray, then!” - for the prayer of those who deny the truth cannot lead to aught but delusion.

BEHOLD, We shall indeed succour Our apostles and those who have attained to faith, [both] in this world’s life and on the Day when all the witnesses shall stand up

the Day when their excuses will be of no avail to the evildoers, seeing that their lot will be rejection from all that is good, and a woeful hereafter.

And, indeed, We bestowed aforetime [Our] guidance on Moses, and [thus] made the children of Israel heirs to the divine writ [revealed to him]

as a [means of] guidance and a reminder for those who were endowed with insight:

hence, remain thou patient in adversity - for, verily, God’s promise always comes true - and ask forgiveness for thy sins, and extol thy Sustainer’s glory and praise by night and by day.

Behold, as for those who call God’s messages in question without having any evidence therefore in their hearts is nothing but overweening self-con­ceit, which they will never be able to satisfy: seek thou, then, refuge with God - for, verily, He alone is all-hearing, all-seeing!

Greater indeed than the creation of man is the creation of the heavens and the earth: yet most men do not understand [what this implies].

But [then,] the blind and the seeing are not equal; and neither [can] they who have attained to faith and do good works and the doers of evil [be deemed equal]. How seldom do you keep this in mind!

Verily, the Last Hour is sure to come: of this there is no doubt; yet most men will not believe it.

But your Sustainer says: “Call unto Me, [and] I shall respond to you! Verily, they who are too proud to worship Me will enter hell, abased!”

IT IS GOD who has made the night for you, so that you might rest therein, and the day, to make [you] see. Behold, God is indeed limitless in His bounty unto man - but most men are ungrateful.

Such is God, your Sustainer, the Creator of all that exists: there is no deity save Him. How perverted, then, are your minds!

[For] thus it is: perverted are the minds of those who knowingly reject God’s messages.

It is God who has made the earth a resting- place for you and the sky a canopy, and has formed you - and formed you so well and provided for you sustenance out of the good things of life. Such is God, your Sustainer: hallowed, then, is God, the Sustainer of all the worlds!

He is the Ever-Living; there is no deity save Him: call, then, unto Him [alone], sincere in your faith in Him. All praise is due to God, the Sustainer of all the worlds!

Say: “Since all evidence of the truth has come to me from my Sustainer, I am forbidden to worship [any of] those beings whom you invoke instead of God; and I am bidden to surrender myself to the Sustainer of all the worlds.”

It is He who creates you out of dust, and then out of a drop of sperm, and then out of a germ-cell; and then He brings you forth as children; and then [He ordains] that you reach maturity, and then, that you grow old - though some of you [He causes to] die earlier -: and [all this He ordains] so that you might reach a term set [by Him], and that you might [learn to] use your reason.

It is He who grants life and deals death; and when He wills a thing to be, He but says unto it, “Be” - and it is.

ART THOU NOT aware of how far they who call God’s messages in question have lost sight of the truth?

they who give the lie to this divine writ and [thus] to all [the messages] with which We sent forth Our apostles [of old]? But in time they will come to know [how blind they have been: they will know it on Judgment Day],

when they shall have to carry the shackles and chains [of their own making] around their necks,

and are dragged into burning despair, and in the end become fuel for the fire [of hell].

And then they will be asked: “Where now are those [powers] to which you were wont to ascribe divinity

side by side with God?” They will answer: “They have forsaken us - or, rather, what we were wont to invoke aforetime did not exist at all!” And they will be told:] “It is thus that God lets the deniers of the truth go astray:

this is an out­come of your having arrogantly exulted on earth without any [concern for what is] right, and of your having been so full of self-conceit!

Enter [now] the gates of hell, therein to abide: and how vile an abode for all who are given to false pride!”

HENCE, remain thou patient in adversity - for, verily, God’s promise always comes true. And whether We show thee [in this world] something of what We hold in store for those [deniers of the truth], or whether We cause thee to die [ere that retribution takes place - know that, in the end], it is unto Us that they will be brought back.

And, indeed, [O Muhammad,] We sent forth apostles before thy time; some of them We have mentioned to thee, and some of them We have not mentioned to thee. And it was not given to any apostle to bring forth a miracle other than by God’s leave. Yet when God’s will becomes manifest, judgment will [already] have been passed in all justice, and lost will be, then and there, all who tried to reduce to nothing [whatever they could not understand].

It is God who [at all times works wonders for you: thus, He] provides for you [all manner of] livestock, so that on some of them you may ride, and from some derive your food,

and find [yet other] benefits in them; and that through them you may attain to the fulfillment of [many] a heartfelt need: for on them, as on ships, you are borne [through life].

And [thus] He displays His wonders before you: which, then, of God’s wonders can you still deny?

HAVE THEY, then, never journeyed about the earth and beheld what happened in the end to those [deniers of the truth] who lived before their time? More numerous were they, and greater in power than they are, and in the impact which they left on earth: but all that they ever achieved was of no avail to them –

for when their apostles came to them with all evidence of the truth, they arrogantly exulted in whatever knowledge they [already] possessed: and [so, in the end,] they were overwhelmed by the very thing which they were wont to deride.

And then, when they [clearly] beheld Our punishment, they said: “We have come to believe in the One God, and we have renounced all belief in that to which we were wont to ascribe a share in His divinity!”

But their attaining to faith after they had beheld Our punishment could not possibly benefit them such being the way of God that has always obtained for His creatures -: and so, then and there, lost were they who had denied the truth.

Ha. Mim.

THE BESTOWAL from on high [of this revelation] issues from the Most Gracious, the Dis­penser of Grace:

a divine writ, the messages whereof have been clearly spelled out as a discourse in the Arabic tongue for people of [innate] knowl­edge,

to be a herald of glad tidings as well as a warning. And yet, [whenever this divine writ is offered to men,] most of them turn away, so that they cannot hear [its message];

and so they say, [as it were:] “Our hearts are veiled from whatever thou callest us to, [O Muhammad,] and in our ears is deafness, and between us and thee is a barrier. Do, then, [whatever thou wilt, whereas,] behold, we shall do [as we have always done]!”

Say thou, [O Prophet:] “I am but a mortal like you. It has been revealed to me that your God is the One God: go, then, straight towards Him and seek His forgiveness!” And woe unto those who ascribe divinity to aught beside Him,

[and] those who do not spend in charity: for it is they, they who [thus] deny the truth of the life to come!

[But,] verily, they who have attained to faith and do good works shall have a reward unending!

SAY: “Would you indeed deny Him who has created the earth in two aeons? And do you claim that there is any power that could rival Him, the Sustainer of all the worlds?”

For He [it is who, after creating the earth,] placed firm mountains on it, [towering] above its surface, and bestowed [so many] blessings on it, and equitably apportioned its means of subsistence to all who would seek it: [and all this He created] in four aeons.

And He [it is who] applied His design to the skies, which were [yet but] smoke; and He [it is who] said to them and to the earth, “Come [into being], both of you, willingly or unwillingly!” - to which both responded, “We do come in obedience.”

And He [it is who] decreed that they become seven heavens in two aeons, and imparted unto each heaven its function. And We adorned the skies nearest to the earth with lights, and made them secure: such is the ordaining of the Almighty, the All-Knowing.

BUT IF they turn away, say: “I warn you of [the coming of] a thunderbolt of punishment like the thunderbolt [that fell upon the tribes] of Ad and Thamud!”

Lo! There came unto them [God’s] apostles, speaking of what lay open before them and what was [still] beyond their ken, [and calling unto them,] “Worship none but God!” They answered: “If our Sustainer had willed [us to believe in what you say], He would have sent down angels [as His message-bearers]. As it is, behold, we deny that there is any truth in what you [claim to] have been sent with!”

Now as for [the tribe of] Ad, they walked arrogantly on earth, [offending] against all right, and saying, “Who could have a power greater than ours?” Why - were they, then, not aware that God, who created them, had a power greater than theirs? But they went on rejecting Our messages;

and thereupon We let loose upon them a storm wind raging through days of misfortune, so as to give them, in the life of this world, a foretaste of suffering through humiliation: but [their] suffering in the life to come will be far more humiliating, and they will have none to succour them.

And as for [the tribe of] Thamud, We offered them guidance, but they chose blindness in pre­ference to guidance: and so the thunderbolt of shame­ful suffering fell upon them as an outcome of all [the evil] that they had wrought;

and We saved [only] those who had attained to faith and were conscious of Us.

Hence, [warn all men of] the Day when the enemies of God shall be gathered together before the fire, and then shall be driven onward,

till, when they come close to it, their hearing and their sight and their [very] skins will bear witness against them, speaking of what they were doing [on earth].

And they will ask their skins, “Why did you bear witness against us?” - [and] these will reply: “God, who gives speech to all things, has given speech to us [as well]: for He [it is who] has created you in the first instance - and unto Him you are [now] brought back.

And you did not try to hide [your sins] lest your hearing or your sight or your skins bear witness against you: nay, but you thought that God did not know much of what you were doing –

and that very thought which you thought about your Sustainer has brought you to perdition, and so now you find yourselves among the lost!”

And then, [even] if they endure [their lot] in patience, the fire will still be their abode; and if they pray to be allowed to make amends, they will not be allowed to do so:

for [when they became obli­vious of Us,] We assigned to them [their own evil impulses as their] other selves, and these made appear goodly to them whatever lay open before them and whatever was beyond their ken. And so, the sentence [of doom] will have fallen due upon them together with the [other sinful] com­munities of invisible beings and humans that passed away before their time: verily, they [all] will indeed be lost!

NOW THOSE who are bent on denying the truth say [unto one another]: “Do not listen to this Qur’an, but rather talk frivolously about it, so that you might gain the upper hand!”

But We shall most certainly give those who are [thus] bent on denying the truth a taste of suffering severe, and We shall most certainly requite them according to the worst of their deeds!

That requital of God’s enemies will be the fire [of the hereafter]: in it will they have an abode of immeasurable duration as an outcome of their having knowingly rejected Our messages.

And they who [in their life on earth] were bent on denying the truth will [thereupon] exclaim: “O our Sustainer! Show us those of the invisible beings and humans that have led us astray: we shall trample them underfoot, so that they shall be the lowest of all!”

[But,] behold, as for those who say, “Our Sustainer is God,” and then steadfastly pursue the right way - upon them do angels often descend, [say­ing:] “Fear not and grieve not, but receive the glad tiding of that paradise which has been promised to you!

We are close unto you in the life of this world and [will be so] in the life to come; and in that [life to come] you shall have all that your souls may desire, and in it you shall have all that you ever prayed for,

as a ready welcome from Him who is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace!”

And who could be better of speech than he who calls [his fellow-men] unto God, and does what is just and right, and says, “Verily, I am of those who have surrendered themselves to God”?

But [since] good and evil cannot be equal, repel thou [evil] with something that is better and lo! he between whom and thyself was enmity [may then become] as though he had [always] been close [unto thee], a true friend!

Yet [to achieve] this is not given to any but those who are wont to be patient in adversity: it is not given to any but those endowed with the greatest good fortune!

Hence, if it should happen that a prompting from Satan stirs thee up [to blind anger], seek refuge with God: behold, He alone is all-hearing, all-knowing!

Now among His signs are the night and the day, as well as the sun and the moon: [hence,] adore not the sun or the moon, but prostrate yourselves in adoration before God, who has created them - if it is Him whom you [really] worship.

And though some be too proud [to listen to this call], they who [in their hearts] are with thy Sustainer extol His limitless glory by night and by day, and never grow weary [thereof].

For among His signs is this: thou seest the earth lying desolate - and lo! when We send down water upon it, it stirs and swells [with life]! Verily, He who brings it to life can surely give life to the dead [of heart as well]: for, behold, He has the power to will anything.

VERILY, they who distort the meaning of Our mes­sages are not hidden from Us: hence, which [of the two] will be in a better state - he that is [destined to be] cast into the fire, or he that shall come secure [before Us] on Resurrection Day? Do what you will: verily, He sees all that you do.

Verily, they who are bent on denying the truth of this reminder as soon as it comes to them - [they are the losers]: for, behold, it is a sublime divine writ:

no falsehood can ever attain to it openly, and neither in a stealthy manner, [since it is] bestowed from on high by One who is truly wise, ever to be praised.

[And as for thee, O Prophet,] nothing is being said to thee but what was said to all [of God’s] apostles before thy time. Behold, thy Sustainer is indeed full of forgiveness - but He has also the power to requite most grie­vously!

Now if We had willed this [divine writ] to be a discourse in a non-Arabic tongue, they [who now reject it] would surely have said, “Why is it that its messages have not been spelled out clearly? Why - [a message in] a non-Arabic tongue, and [its bearer] an Arab?” Say: “Unto all who have attained to faith, this [divine writ] is a guidance and a source of health; but as for those who will not believe - in their ears is deafness, and so it remains obscure to them: they are [like people who are] being called from too far away.

Thus, too, have We vouchsafed revelation unto Moses aforetime, and thereupon disputes arose about it. And [then, as now,] had it not been for a decree that had already gone forth from thy Sustainer, all would indeed have been decided between them [from the outset]. As it is, behold, they [who will not believe in this divine writ] are in grave doubt, amounting to suspicion, about what it portends.

WHOEVER does what is just and right, does so for his own good; and whoever does evil, does so to his own hurt: and never does God do the least wrong to His creatures.