O man
By the Qur’an, full of wisdom
Surely thou art one of the messengers
On a right way
A revelation of the Mighty
That thou mayest warn a people whose fathers were not warned, so they are heedless
The word has indeed proved true of most of them, so they believe not
Surely We have placed on their necks chains reaching up to the chins, so they have their heads raised aloft
And We have set a barrier before them and a barrier behind them, thus We have covered them, so that they see not
And it is alike to them whether thou warn them or warn them not -- they believe not
Thou canst warn him only who follows the Reminder and fears the Beneficent in secret; so give him good news of forgiveness and a generous reward
Surely We give life to the dead, and We write down that which they send before and their footprints, and We record everything in a clear writing
And set out to them a parable of the people of the town, when apostles came to it
When We sent to them two, they rejected them both; then We strengthened (them) with a third, so they said: Surely we are sent to you
They said: You are only mortals like ourselves, nor has the Beneficent revealed anything -- you only lie
They said: Our Lord knows that we are surely sent to you
And our duty is only a clear deliverance (of the message)
They said: Surely we augur evil from you. If you desist not, we will surely stone you, and a painful chastisement from us will certainly afflict you
They said: Your evil fortune is with you. What! If you are reminded! Nay, you are an extravagant people
And from the remote part of the city there came a man running. He said: O my people, follow the apostles
Follow him who asks of you no reward, and they are on the right course
And what reason have I that I should not serve Him Who created me and to Whom you will be brought back
Shall I take besides Him gods whose intercession, if the Beneficent should desire to afflict me with harm, will avail me naught, nor can they deliver me
Then I shall surely be in clear error
Surely I believe in your Lord, so hear me
It was said: Enter the Garden. He said: Would that my people knew
How my Lord has forgiven me and made me of the honoured ones
And We sent not down upon his people after him any host from heaven, nor do We ever send
It was naught but a single cry, and lo! they were still
Alas for the servants! Never does a messenger come to them but they mock him
See they not how many generations We destroyed before them, that they return not to them
And all -- surely all -- will be brought before Us
And a sign to them is the dead earth: We give life to it and bring forth from it grain so they eat of it
And We make therein gardens of date-palms and grapes and We make springs to flow forth therein
That they may eat of the fruit thereof, and their hands made it not. Will they not then give thanks
Glory be to Him Who created pairs of all things, of what the earth grows, and of their kind and of what they know not
And a sign to them is the night: We draw forth from it the day, then lo! they are in darkness
And the sun moves on to its destination. That is the ordinance of the Mighty, the Knower
And the moon, We have ordained for it stages till it becomes again as an old dry palm-branch
Neither is it for the sun to overtake the moon, nor can the night outstrip the day. And all float on in an orbit
And a sign to them is that We bear their offspring in the laden ship
And We have created for them the like thereof, whereon they ride
And if We please, We may drown them, then there is no succour for them, nor can they be rescued -
But by mercy from Us and for enjoyment till a time
And when it is said to them: Guard against that which is before you and that which is behind you, that mercy may be shown to you
And there comes to them no message of the messages of their Lord but they turn away from it
And when it is said to them: Spend out of that which Allah has given you, those who disbelieve say to those who believe: Shall we feed him whom, if Allah please, He could feed? You are in naught but clear error
And they say: When will this promise come to pass, if you are truthful
They await but a single cry, which will overtake them while they contend
So they will not be able to make a bequest, nor will they return to their families
And the trumpet is blown, when lo! from their graves they will hasten on to their Lord
They will say: O woe to us! Who has raised us up from our sleeping-place? This is what the Beneficent promised and the messengers told the truth
It is but a single cry, when lo! they are all brought before Us
So this day no soul is wronged in aught; and you are not rewarded aught but for what you did
Surely the owners of the Garden are on that day in a happy occupation
They and their wives are in shades, reclining on raised couches
They have fruits therein, and they have whatever they desire
Peace! A word from a Merciful Lord
And withdraw to-day, O guilty ones
Did I not charge you, O children of Adam, that you serve not the devil? Surely he is your open enemy
And that you serve Me. This is the right way
And certainly he led astray numerous people from among you. Could you not then understand
This is the hell which you were promised
Enter it this day because you disbelieved
That day We shall seal their mouths, and their hands will speak to Us, and their feet will bear witness as to what they earned
And if We pleased, We would put out their eyes, then they would strive to get first to the way, but how should they see
And if We pleased, We would transform them in their place, then they would not be able to go on, or turn back
And whomsoever We cause to live long, We reduce to an object state in creation. Do they not understand
And We have not taught him poetry, nor is it meet for him. This is naught but a Reminder and a plain Qur’an
To warn him who would have life, and (that) the word may prove true against the disbelievers
See they not that We have created cattle for them, out of what Our hands have wrought, so they are their masters
And We have subjected them to them, so some of them they ride, and some they eat
And therein they have advantages and drinks. Will they not then give thanks
And they take gods besides Allah and they may be helped
They are not able to help them, and they are a host brought up before them
So let not their speech grieve thee. Surely We know what they do in secret and what they do openly
Does not man see that We have created him from the small life-germ? Then lo! he is an open disputant
And he strikes out a likeness for Us and forgets his own creation. Says he: Who will give life to bones, when they are rotten
Say: He will give life to them, Who brought them into existence at first, and He is Knower of all creation
Who produced fire for you out of the green tree, so that with it you kindle
Is not He Who created the heavens and the earth able to create the like of them? Yea! And He is the Creator (of all), the Knower
His command, when He intends anything, is only to say to it, Be, and it is
So glory be to Him in Whose hand is the kingdom of all things! and to Him you will be returned