Kaf. Ha. Ya. ?Ayn. ?ad
A reminder of the Mercy of thy Lord unto His servant, Zachariah
when he cried out to his Lord with a secret cry
He said, “My Lord! Verily my bones have grown feeble, and my head glistens with white hair. And in calling upon Thee, my Lord, I have never been wretched
Truly I fear my relatives after me, and my wife is barren. So grant me from Thy Presence an hei
who will inherit from me and inherit from the House of Jacob. And make him, my Lord, well-pleasing.
“O Zachariah! Truly We bring thee glad tidings of a boy whose name is John; We have not given this as a name to any before him.
He said, “My Lord! How shall I have a boy, when my wife is barren, and I have grown decrepit with old age?
He said, “Thus shall it be. Thy Lord says, ‘It is easy for Me! I had created thee before, when thou wast nothing!’
He said, “My Lord! Appoint for me a sign.” He said, “Thy sign shall be that thou shalt not speak with men for three nights, [while thou art] sound.
So he came forth from the sanctuary unto his people, and signaled to them that they should glorify morning and evening
“O John! Take the Book with strength!” And We gave him judgment as a child
and a tenderness from Our Presence, and purity; and he was reverent
and dutiful toward his parents. He was not domineering, rebellious
Peace be upon him the day he was born, and the day he dies, and the day he is raised alive
And remember Mary in the Book, when she withdrew from her family to an eastern place
And she veiled herself from them. Then We sent unto her Our Spirit, and it assumed for her the likeness of a perfect man
She said, “I seek refuge from thee in the Compassionate, if you are reverent!
He said, “I am but a messenger of thy Lord, to bestow upon thee a pure boy.
She said, “How shall I have a boy when no man has touched me, nor have I been unchaste?
He said, “Thus shall it be. Thy Lord says, ‘It is easy for Me.’” And [it is thus] that We might make him a sign unto mankind, and a mercy from Us. And it is a matter decreed
So she conceived him and withdrew with him to a place far off
And the pangs of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a date palm. She said, “Would that I had died before this and was a thing forgotten, utterly forgotten!
So he called out to her from below her, “Grieve not! Thy Lord has placed a rivulet beneath thee
And shake toward thyself the trunk of the date palm; fresh, ripe dates shall fall upon thee
So eat and drink and cool thine eye. And if thou seest any human being, say, ‘Verily I have vowed a fast unto the Compassionate, so I shall not speak this day to any man.’
Then she came with him unto her people, carrying him. They said, “O Mary! Thou hast brought an amazing thing
O sister of Aaron! Thy father was not an evil man, nor was thy mother unchaste.
Then she pointed to him. They said, “How shall we speak to one who is yet a child in the cradle?
He said, “Truly I am a servant of God. He has given me the Book and made me a prophet
He has made me blessed wheresoever I may be, and has enjoined upon me prayer and almsgiving so long as I live
and [has made me] dutiful toward my mother. And He has not made me domineering, wretched
Peace be upon me the day I was born, the day I die, and the day I am raised alive!
That is Jesus son of Mary—a statement of the truth, which they doubt
It is not for God to take a child. Glory be to Him! When He decrees a thing, He only says to it, “Be!” and it is
“Truly God is my Lord and your Lord; so worship Him. This is a straight path.
Yet the parties differed among themselves, and woe unto those who disbelieve for the witnessing of a tremendous day
How well they will hear and how well they will see on the Day they come unto Us. But the wrongdoers, today, are in manifest error
And warn them of the Day of Regret, when the matter will have been decreed, while they are in a state of heedlessness and believe not
Surely We shall inherit the earth and whatsoever is upon it, and unto Us shall they be returned
And remember Abraham in the Book—verily he was truthful, a prophet
when he said unto his father, “O my father! Why do you worship that which neither hears nor sees, nor can avail you in any way
O my father! Verily knowledge has come unto me that has not come unto you. So follow me, and I shall guide you upon a sound path
O my father! Worship not Satan; surely Satan is disobedient toward the Compassionate
O my father! Truly I fear that a punishment from the Compassionate will befall you, such that you will become a friend of Satan.
He said, “Do you reject my gods, O Abraham? If you cease not, I shall surely stone you. Take leave of me for a long while!
He said, “Peace be upon you! I shall seek forgiveness for you from my Lord. Verily He has been gracious unto me
And I withdraw myself from you and that which you call upon apart from God. And I call upon my Lord; it may be that in calling upon my Lord, I will not be wretched.
So when he had withdrawn from them and that which they called upon apart from God, We bestowed upon him Isaac and Jacob, and each We made a prophet
And We bestowed upon them something of Our Mercy, and ordained for them a sublime, faithful renown
And remember Moses in the Book. Verily he was devoted, and he was a messenger, a prophet
We called out to him from the right side of the Mount, and drew him nigh in intimate discourse
And We bestowed upon him, from Our Mercy, his brother, Aaron, a prophet
And remember Ishmael in the Book. Verily he was true to the promise, and he was a messenger, a prophet
He used to bid his people to prayer and almsgiving, and he was pleasing unto his Lord
And remember Idris in the Book. Verily he was truthful, a prophet
And We raised him to a sublime station
They are those whom God has blessed among the prophets of the progeny of Adam, and of those whom We carried with Noah, and of the progeny of Abraham and Israel, and of those whom We guided and chose. When the signs of the Compassionate were recited unto them, they would fall down, prostrate and weeping
Then they were succeeded by a generation who neglected prayer and followed base desires. So they shall meet [the reward of] error
save for those who repent and believe and work righteousness. It is they who shall enter the Garden, and they shall not be wronged in the least
Gardens of Eden, those which the Compassionate promised His servants in the Unseen. Verily His Promise shall come to pass
They shall hear no idle talk therein, but only “Peace!” And therein they shall have their provision, morning and evening
This is the Garden We shall bequeath unto those among Our servants who were reverent
“We descend not, save by the Command of thy Lord. Unto Him belongs that which is before us and that which is behind us, and whatsoever lies between that, and thy Lord is not forgetful
the Lord of the heavens and the earth and whatsoever is between them. So worship Him and be steadfast in His worship. Dost thou know any who can be named alongside Him?
Man says, “When I am dead, shall I be brought forth alive?
Does man not remember that We created him before, when he was naught
And by thy Lord, We shall surely gather them and the satans, and We shall surely bring them around Hell on their knees
Then indeed We shall pluck out from every group whosoever among them was most insolent toward the Compassionate
Then We shall surely know those who most deserve to burn therein
And there is not one of you, but that he will approach it. It is, with thy Lord, a decree determined
Then We shall save those who are reverent and leave the wrongdoers therein, on their knees
And when Our signs are recited unto them as clear proofs, those who disbelieve say unto those who believe, “Which of the two groups is better in station or fairer in company?
How many a generation We destroyed before them who were fairer in [their] furnishings and in outward appearance
Say, “Whosoever is in error, the Compassionate will extend his term till, when they see that which they have been promised, be it the punishment or the Hour, they will know whose position is worse, and whose host is weaker.
God increases in guidance those who are rightly guided. And that which endures—righteous deeds—are better in reward with thy Lord, and better in return
Hast thou not considered the one who disbelieves in Our signs, and says, “I shall be given wealth and children.
Has he penetrated the Unseen, or made a pact with the Compassionate
Nay, but We shall record that which he says, and We shall prolong for him the punishment
And We shall inherit from him that which he claims, and he will come unto Us alone
And they have taken gods apart from God, that they might be a strength for them
Nay, but they will disavow their worship, and they will become an opponent unto them
Hast thou not considered how We unleash the satans on the disbelievers, to incite them cunningly
So hasten not against them; verily We are counting for them a number
On the Day We shall gather the reverent to the Compassionate as an honored delegation
and We shall drive the guilty into Hell as a thirsty herd
They have no power of intercession, save the one who has made a pact with the Compassionate
And they say, “The Compassionate has taken a child.
You have indeed asserted a terrible thing
The heavens are well-nigh rent thereby, and the earth split asunder, and the mountains made to fall down in ruins
that they should claim for the Compassionate a child
It is not fitting for the Compassionate to take a child
There is none in the heavens and on the earth, but that it comes unto the Compassionate as a servant
He has taken account of them, and numbered them exactly
And each of them shall come unto Him on the Day of Resurrection, alone
Surely those who believe and perform righteous deeds, for them shall the Compassionate ordain love
We have only made this easy upon thy tongue that thou mayest give glad tidings unto the reverent thereby, and that thereby thou mayest warn a contentious people
How many a generation before them have We destroyed? Dost thou perceive even one of them, or hear from them a murmur