ῌā‘ mīm
Sent down from the Merciful, the Compassionate
a Book of revelations well expounded, an Arabic Koran for those endowed with knowledge
It proclaims joyful tidings and a warning: yet most of them turn their backs and hear not
They say: ‘Our hearts are proof against that to which you call us. Our ears are stopped, and a veil stands between ourselves and you. Do as you will, and so will we.‘
Say: ‘I am but a mortal like yourselves. It is revealed to me that your God is one God. Therefore take the straight path to Him and implore His forgiveness. Woe betide those who serve other gods besides Him;
who give no alms and disbelieve in the life to come
As for those who have faith and do good works, an endless recompense awaits them.‘
Say: ‘Do you indeed disbelieve in Him who created the earth in two days? And do you make other gods His equals? The Lord of the Universe is He.‘
He set therein mountains towering high above it; He pronounced His blessing upon it, and in four days provided it with sustenance for all alike
Then, turning to the sky, which was but a cloud of vapour, He said to it and to the earth: ‘Come forward both, willingly or perforce.‘
And they both said: ‘Come we will, obediently.‘ He decreed them to be seven heavens in two days, and to each heaven He assigned its task. We decked the lowest heaven with lamps and guarded them. Such is the design of the Mighty One, the All-knowing
If they pay no heed, say: ‘I have given you warning of a thunderbolt, like the thunderbolt which struck ‘Ād and Thamūd
When apostles came to them from before them and from behind them, saying: "Serve none but God," they said: "Had it been our Lord‘s will He would have sent down angels. We will never believe in your message."‘
And as for ‘Ād, they conducted themselves with arrogance in the land, without justice. ‘Who is mightier than we?‘ they used to say. Could they not see that God, who had created them, was mightier than they? Yet they denied Our revelations
So, over a few ill-omened days We let loose on them a howling gale, to make them taste the scourge of shame in this nether life; but more shameful still will be the scourge of the life to come. There shall be none to succour them
And as for Thamūd, We offered them Our guidance, but they preferred blindness to guidance. Therefore the thunderbolt of a humiliating scourge struck them for their misdeeds
and We delivered those who believed and those who feared God
Forewarn them of the day when God‘s enemies will be herded into the Fire
so that when they are sorted out, their ears, their eyes, and their very skins will testify to what they did
And to their skins they will say: ‘Why did you testify against us?‘ and their skins will say: ‘God, who gives speech to all things, has made us speak. It was He who in the beginning created you, and to Him shall you be recalled
You did not hide yourselves, so that your ears and eyes and skins could not be made to testify against you; yet you thought that God did not know much of what you did
It was the thoughts you entertained about your Lord that ruined you, so that you are now among the lost.‘
If they persist, the Fire shall be their home: and if they sue for pardon, their suit shall not be granted
We have assigned to them companions who make their past and present seem fair and right to them. Well have they deserved the fate of bygone nations of jinn and humans. They shall assuredly be lost
The unbelievers say: ‘Do not listen to this Koran. Cut short its recital with frivolous chatter, so that you may gain the upper hand.‘
We will surely make the unbelievers taste grievous torment, and pay them back for the worst of their misdeeds.
Thus shall God‘s enemies be recompensed. The Fire shall for ever be their home, because they have denied Our revelations
And the unbelievers will say: ‘Lord, show us those among the jinn and humans who made us go astray. We will trample them under our feet and make them the lowest of the low.‘
As for those who say: ‘Our Lord is God,‘ and then follow the straight path, the angels will descend upon them, saying: ‘Fear not, and do not grieve. Rejoice in the Paradise you have been promised
We are your guardians in this world and in the world to come. There shall you have all that your souls desire and shall have all that you can ask for
a rich provision from a God forgiving and compassionate.‘
And who speaks better than he who calls others to the worship of God, does what is right, and says: ‘I am a Muslim‘
Good deeds and evil deeds are not equal. Requite evil with what is better and lo, he who is your enemy now will become as if your intimate friend
But none will attain this attribute save those who patiently endure; and none will attain it save those who are immensely fortunate
If Satan tempts you, seek refuge in God. He it is who hears all and knows all
Among His signs are the night and the day, and the sun and the moon. But do not prostrate yourselves before the sun or the moon; rather prostrate yourselves before God, who created them both, if you would truly serve Him
If they¹ disdain His service, let them remember that those who dwell with God give glory to Him night and day and are never wearied
And yet another of His signs is that you behold the earth humble and desolate: but when We send down the rain upon it, it stirs and swells. He that gives it life will surely raise the dead to life. He has power over all things
Those that deny Our revelations are not hidden from Our view. Is he who is cast into the Fire better off than he who emerges safe on the Day of Resurrection? Do as you will, He observes whatever you do
Those who deny the Admonition when it is preached to them ― and surely it is a momentous Book
falsehood cannot reach it from before or from behind. It is a revelation from a wise and praiseworthy God
Nothing is said to you that has not been said to other apostles before you. Your Lord is forgiving, but stern in retribution
Had We revealed it a Koran in a foreign tongue they would have said: ‘If only its verses were expounded! Why in a foreign tongue, and he an Arabian?‘ Say: ‘To true believers it is a guide and a healing balm. But those who deny it are deaf and blind: they are called to from a far-off place.‘
We gave the Book to Moses, but contentions arose about it. And but for a word from your Lord, long since decreed, judgement would have been passed among them; grave is their doubt about it
He that does good does it for his own soul; and he that commits evil does so at his own peril. Never is your Lord unjust to mortals
He alone has knowledge of the Hour. No fruit comes out of their pods, no female conceives or is delivered, but with His knowledge. On the day He will call out to them: ‘Where are those fellow-gods of Mine?‘ ‘We confess,‘ they will say, ‘that none of us can vouch for them.‘
The idols to which they prayed before will vanish from them, and they shall learn there is no escape
Man never wearies of praying for good things. But when evil befalls him he loses hope and grows despondent
And if after affliction We vouchsafe him a favour from Ourself, he is sure to say: ‘This is my own. I do not think the Hour will ever come. And even if I do return to my Lord, He will surely reward me well.‘ We shall tell the unbelievers what they did, and We will surely visit upon them a grievous scourge
When We show favour to man, he turns his back and holds aloof; but when evil befalls him he is loud in prayer
Say: ‘Do but consider: if this Koran is indeed from God and you deny it, who can err more than he who openly defies Him?‘
We will show them Our signs across the horizons and in their own souls, until they clearly see that it is the Truth. Does it not suffice that your Lord is the witness of all things
Yet they still doubt that they will ever meet their Lord. Yet surely He encompasses all things