Surah “The Criterion, The Standard”

as rendered by The Study Quran — 77 verses

Blessed is He Who sent down the Criterion upon His servant that he may be a warner unto the worlds
He unto Whom belongs sovereignty over the heavens and the earth, and Who took not a child, and Who has no partner in sovereignty, and Who created everything, then measured it out with due measure
But they have taken gods apart from Him, who create naught and are themselves created, and who have no power over what harm or benefit may come to themselves, and who have no power over death, or life, or resurrection
And the disbelievers say, “This is naught but a lie that he has fabricated, and another people have helped him in it.” They have indeed produced a wrongdoing and a calumny
And they say, “They are fables of those of old which he has had written down, and they are recited to him morning and evening.
Say, “He has sent it down Who knows what is secret in the heavens and on the earth. Truly He is Forgiving, Merciful.
And they say, “What ails this Messenger, who eats food and walks in the markets? Why is there not an angel sent down unto him to be a warner with him
or no treasure cast unto him, or no garden for him from which to eat?” And the wrongdoers say, “You follow naught but a man bewitched.
Look how they set forth descriptions of thee, and then go astray and cannot find a way
Blessed is He Who, if He will, shall appoint for thee what is better than that—Gardens with rivers running below, and He will appoint for thee palaces
Nay, but they deny the Hour, and We have prepared a Blaze for those who deny the Hour
When it sees them from a place far off, they will hear its raging and roaring
And when they are cast bound together into a narrow place thereof, they will, there and then, call to be destroyed
“Call not this Day for one destruction, but call for many destructions!
Say, “Is that better, or the Garden of everlastingness which is promised to the reverent?” It is for them a reward and a journey’s end
Therein they shall have whatsoever they will, abiding. It is a binding promise upon your Lord
And on the Day He gathers them and that which they worship apart from God, He will say, “Was it you who caused these servants of Mine to go astray, or did they [themselves] go astray from the way?
They will say, “Glory be to Thee! It does not befit us to take protectors apart from Thee! But Thou didst grant them and their fathers enjoyment until they forgot the Reminder. And they were a people ruined
They have denied you in what you say; so you cannot avert [it] or [find] help.” And whosoever among you does wrong, We shall make him taste a great punishment
And We sent not any messengers before thee but that they ate food and walked in the markets. And We made some of you a trial for others; will you be patient? And thy Lord is Seeing
And those who hope not to meet Us say, “Why have not the angels been sent down unto us, or why have we not seen our Lord?” Indeed, they have waxed arrogant in their souls and were greatly insolent
On the Day they see the angels, there shall be no glad tidings for the guilty that Day. And they will say, “A barrier, forbidden!
And We shall turn to whatever work they have done, and make it scattered dust
That Day the inhabitants of the Garden shall have the best dwelling place and the most beautiful rest
And the Day when the heavens are split open with clouds and the angels are sent down in a descent
that Day the true sovereignty will belong to the Compassionate, and that will be a difficult Day for the disbelievers
And that Day the wrongdoer will bite his hands, saying, “Would that I had taken a way with the Messenger
Oh, woe unto me! Would that I had not taken so-and-so for a friend
He did indeed cause me to go astray from the Reminder after its having come to me, and Satan is a forsaker of man.
And the Messenger will say, “O my Lord! Truly my people have taken this Quran for foolishness.
Thus did We make for every prophet an enemy from among the guilty, and thy Lord suffices as a Guide and a Helper
And the disbelievers say, “Why was the Quran not sent down upon him as a single whole?” It is so, that We may make firm thine heart thereby. And We have recited it unto thee in a measured pace
And they come not to thee with any parable, but that We bring to thee the truth and a better explanation
[As for] those who are gathered upon their faces to Hell, their place is worse and they are further astray from the way
And indeed We gave unto Moses the Book and placed with him his brother as a helper
Then We said, “Go to the people who have denied Our signs.” Then We destroyed them completely
And Noah’s people: when they denied the messengers, We drowned them and made of them a sign for mankind. And We have prepared for the wrongdoers a painful punishment
And ?Ad and Thamud and the inhabitants of al-Rass, and many generations between them
for each We set forth parables, and each We ruined utterly
And indeed they passed by the town upon which fell the evil rain. Have they not seen it? Nay, but they hope not for a resurrection
And when they see thee they do naught but take thee in mockery: “Is this the one whom God sent as a messenger
He would indeed have nearly led us astray from our gods, had we not been steadfast to them.” They will know, when they see the punishment, who is further astray from the way
Hast thou considered the one who takes his caprice as his god? Wouldst thou be a guardian over him
Or do you suppose that most of them hear or understand? Truly they are but as cattle. Nay, they are further astray from the way
Hast thou not considered thy Lord, how He spreads out the shade—and had He willed, He could have made it still—and then We make the sun an indicator of it
then We withdraw it unto Ourselves, a gentle withdrawal
And He it is Who made the night a garment for you, and made sleep repose, and made day a resurrection
And He it is Who sends the winds as glad tidings ahead of His Mercy. And We send down from Heaven pure water
that We may revive a dead land thereby and give drink to many cattle and men We created
And indeed We have distributed it among them, that they may reflect. But most of mankind refuse to be aught but ungrateful
And had We willed, We would have sent a warner to every town
So obey not the disbelievers, but strive against them by means of it with a great striving
And He it is Who mixed the two seas, one sweet, satisfying, the other salty, bitter, and set between them a divide and a barrier, forbidden
And He it is Who created a human being from water, and made of him lineages and [kinships through] marriages. And thy Lord is Powerful
And they worship apart from God that which neither benefits them nor harms them. And the disbeliever is a partisan against his Lord
And We sent thee not, save as a bearer of glad tidings and as a warner
Say, “I ask not of you any reward for it, save that whosoever will may take a way unto his Lord.
And trust in the Living, Who dies not, and hymn His praise. And God suffices as One Aware of the sins of His servants
He Who created the heavens and the earth and whatsoever is between them in six days, then mounted the Throne, the Compassionate [is He]. So ask, regarding Him, One Who is aware
And when it is said unto them, “Prostrate before the Compassionate,” they say, “And what is the Compassionate? Shall we prostrate before that [to] which you command us?” And it increases them in aversion
Blessed is He Who placed constellations in the sky and placed therein a lamp and a shining moon
And He it is Who made the night and the day successive, for whosoever desires to reflect or desires to be thankful
The servants of the Compassionate are those who walk humbly upon the earth, and when the ignorant address them, say, “Peace,
and who pass the night before their Lord, prostrating and standing [in prayer]
and who say, “Our Lord! Avert the punishment of Hell from us! Truly its punishment is inescapable
What an evil dwelling place and station!
and who, when they spend, are neither prodigal nor miserly—and between them is a just mean
and who call not upon another god along with God, and slay not the soul that God has made inviolable, save by right, and who fornicate not—for whosoever does that shall meet requital
and the punishment shall be multiplied for him on the Day of Resurrection. He shall abide therein, humiliated
save for those who repent and believe and perform righteous deeds. For them, God will replace their evil deeds with good deeds, and God is Forgiving, Merciful
And whosoever has repented and works righteousness does indeed repent to God with true repentance
As for those who do not bear false witness, and who, when they pass by some idle talk, pass by with dignity
and who, when they are reminded of the signs of their Lord, fall not deaf and blind against them
and who say, “Our Lord! Grant us comfort in our spouses and our progeny, and make us imams for the reverent,
it is they who shall be rewarded with the lofty abode for having been patient, and they will be met therein with salutations and [greetings of] peace
abiding therein. What a beautiful dwelling place and station
Say, “What weight would my Lord give you, were it not for your supplication? But you have denied, and it will be inevitable.