Surah “The Rock, Stoneland, Rock City”

as rendered by Mohammad Shafi — 99 verses

Alif Lam Ra. These are Verses of the Book and it is a clear Qur'aan (Reader)
Those who suppress the Truth shall frequently wish that they had been Muslims (submitters to divine Will)
Leave them free to eat and enjoy, and let desire distract them. They will soon know
And never did We destroy any population, but only when it had reached its known destiny
No people can prepone their end nor can they postpone it
And they say, "O you to whom the Reminder (Qur'aan) has been revealed! You are indeed mad."
"Why do you not bring to us the angels if what you claim is true?"
We do not send the angels but only when necessary (to destroy wicked persons, for instance), and then they would not be given any respite
Indeed, We have sent down the Reminder (Qur'aan) and indeed We are most certainly guardians to it
And We did certainly send Messengers, before you, among the earlier generations
And never did a Messenger come to them but they mocked him
Thus do We make it (making a mockery of a Messenger) enter the hearts of the sinners
They believe not in it (the divine Message brought by the Messenger), just as the earlier peoples, that passed away, did not believe (in the divine Messages brought to them by Messengers sent to them)
And they won't believe, even if We open to them a gateway into the sky above, and they keep on ascending thereinto
They would still only say, "Our sights.are dazed. Nay, we are a people bewitched!"
And certainly We have made constellations in the skies above and We have made it look beautiful for the beholders
And We have guarded it against every accursed Satan
Except that a visible flame follows the one that manages to steal a celestial secret.
And We have spread out the earth and cast mountains into it. And We have caused every appropriate thing to grow in it
And We have created in it means of subsistence for you, and for him whom you do not provide for
And there is nothing of which We do not have treasures with us. And We do not send it down but in a measured quantity
And We send the winds that facilitate pollination, and then send down water from the sky for you to drink. And it is not in your power to store it up
And indeed it is We Who give life and cause death. And We are the heirs.
And We do certainly know those of you who have preceded and We do certainly know those who would follow
And your Lord will indeed gather them together. He is indeed Wise, Knowledgeable
And certainly We created man of clay, of moulded mud
And the jinn We created before, of radiating fire
And your Lord said to the angels, "I am going to create a man of clay, of moulded mud."
"So when I give him a proper form and breathe into him of My Rooh, get down to your knees prostrating."
So the angels prostrated — all of them together
Except Iblees — he refused to be with those who prostrated
Allah asked, "O Iblees! What excuses have you that you are not with those who prostrated?"
Iblees said, "I am not the one to prostrate to a man whom You have created of clay, of moulded mud."
Allah said, "Then get out of here! You are indeed damned."
"And indeed the curse is on you till the Judgment Day."
He said, "My Lord! Then give me respite till the time when they are raised."
Allah said, "You are granted the respite"
"For the appointed period."
He said, "My Lord! As You have made me deviate from the right way, I will certainly keep them enthralled in the earth, and I will certainly cause them all to deviate"
"Except for those among them who worship you devotedly and exclusively."
Allah said, "This is the Path that leads straight to Me."
"Indeed, you shall have no power over My subjects, except those who follow you in deviating from the right way."
And indeed Hell is the place promised to them all
It has seven gates assigned separately to separate sections of them
And those who fear Allah shall indeed be in gardens and fountains
They shall enter there in peace and security
And We will clean their hearts of any rancour. They shall be on couches face to face as brethren
They shall not have to suffer any fatigue therein, nor shall they be ever ejected from it
Inform my subjects that I am the Forgiver, the Merciful
And that My punishment is the painful one
And tell them about Abraham's guests
When they came to him and greeted, "Peace!" He said, "We are indeed apprehensive of you."
They said, "Be not afraid! We do indeed give you the good news of a learned son."
He said, "Do you give me the good news when old age has come upon me? What kind of good news is this that you give me?"
They said, "There is truth in the good news We give you! So be not of those who despair
He said, "And who would despair of the Mercy of his Lord but the wicked ones?"
He said, "What is your mission then, O Messengers?"
They said, "We have indeed been sent towards a sinning people."
"Excepting Lot's family, all of whom We certainly will save."
"But not his wife. We ordained that she shall indeed be of those who remain behind."
So when the Messengers came to Lot's family
He said, "You indeed are strangers."
They said, "But we have come to you with that about which they had doubts."
"And we have come to you with the authority, and what we say is most certainly the truth."
"So leave this place with members of your family in a part of the night and you yourself follow their rear. And let not any one of you turn around, and proceed whither you are commanded."
And We declared to him this decree, that the roots of these (people left behind) shall be cut off by the morning
And the people of the town came to him rejoicing
He said, "These are my guests! Disgrace me not."
"And fear Allah and do not put me to shame."
They said, "Have we not prohibited you from meddling with other people's matters?
He said, "Here are my daughters, if you have to do it. "
By your life! They were wandering blindly in their intoxication
Then, at sunrise, the terribly rumbling sound struck them
We turned the place upside down, and rained stones of baked clay upon the people
In this indeed are signs for those with insight
And indeed it is located on an established road
Indeed there is a sign in this for the believers
And the dwellers of the wood too were most wicked
So We avenged them, and they are both, indeed, on an open road
And the dwellers of the Rock did certainly reject the Messengers
And We gave them Our Verses/signs, but they turned away from them
And they were wont to hew houses in the mountains for security
So the terribly rumbling sound seized them in the morning
And what they earned availed them not
And We did not create the heavens and the earth and what is between them, but by due authority. And the Hour is most surely going to come. So fogive things — those that are forgivable.
Your Lord is indeed the Knowledgeable Creator of all things
And certainly We have given you seven of the repeated Verses and the Glorious Qur'aan
Pine not for that which We have given some of them to enjoy, nor grieve for them. And be kind to the believers
And say, "I am indeed the plain warner."
It is as though what We have sent down is on those who make divisions therein
Those that tear the Quran into shreds
And, by your Lord, We shall certainly question them al
As to what they did
Declare then openly what you are commanded with, and turn away from the polytheists
We shall certainly provide you sufficient protection against those who scoff
Those who worship others besides Allah. They shall soon know their folly
And We do know that your (Prophet's) heart is distressed at what they say
Hymn then the praise of your Lord, and be of those who prostrate to Him
And worship your Lord until there comes to you that certain composure