Eat, then, and drink, and let thine eye be gladdened! And if thou shouldst see any human being, convey this unto him:* `Behold, abstinence from speech have I vowed unto the Most Gracious; hence, I may not speak today to any mortal.*

O YOU who have attained to faith! Do not enter the Prophet's dwellings unless you are given leave; [and when invited] to a meal, do not come [so early as] to wait for it to be readied: but whenever you are invited, enter [at the proper time]; and when you have partaken of the meal, disperse without lingering for the sake of mere talk: that, behold, might give offence to the Prophet, and yet he might feel shy of [asking] you [to leave]: but God is not shy of [teaching you] what is right.* And [as for the Prophet's wives,] whenever you ask them for anything that you need, ask them from behind a screen:* this will but deepen the purity of your hearts and theirs. Moreover, it does not behove you to give offence to God's Apostle - just as it would not behove you ever to marry his widows after he has passed away:* that, verily, would be an enormity in the sight of God.

O YOU who have attained to faith! Do not enter houses other than your own unless you have obtained permission and greeted their inmates. This is [enjoined upon you] for your own good, so that you might bear [your mutual rights] in mind.*

And test the orphans [in your charge] until they reach a marriage­able age; then, if you find them to be mature of mind, hand over to them their possessions; and do not consume them by wasteful spending, and in haste, ere they grow up. And let him who is rich abstain entirely [from his ward's property]; and let him who is poor partake thereof in a fair manner. And when you hand over to them their possessions, let there be witnesses on their behalf - although none can take count as God does.

Lo! he saw a fire [in the desert];* and so he said to his family: "Wait here! Behold, I perceive a fire [far away]: perhaps I can bring you a brand there from, or find at the fire some guidance."

Lo! [While lost in the desert,] Moses said to his family:* “Behold, I perceive a fire [far away]; I may bring you from there some tiding [as to which way we arc to pursue], or bring you [at least] a burning brand so that you might warm yourselves."

And when Moses had fulfilled his term and was wandering with his family [in the desert], he per­ceived a fire on the slope of Mount Sinai;* [and so] he said to his family: “Wait here. Behold, I perceive a fire [far away]; perhaps I may bring you from there some tiding,* or [at least] a burning brand from the fire, so that you might warm yourselves.

AND THUS it is that against every prophet We have set up as enemies the evil forces from among humans as well as from among invisible beings that whisper unto one another glittering half-truths meant to delude the mind* But they could not do this unless thy Sustainer had so willed: stand, therefore, aloof from them and from all their false imagery!

AND ON THE DAY when He shall gather them [all] together, [He will say:] "O you who have lived in close communion with [evil] invisible beings! A great many [other] human beings have you ensnared!* And those of the humans who were close to them* will say: "O our Sustainer! We did enjoy one another's fellowship [in life]; but (now that] we have reached the end of our term-the term which Thou hast laid down for us - (we see the error of our ways]!" [But] He will say: "The fire shall be your abode, therein to abide-unless God wills it otherwise."* Verily, thy Sustainer is wise, all-knowing.

[And thus will God continue:] "O you who have lived in close communion with [evil] invisible beings and [like-minded] humans! Have there not come unto you apostles from among yourselves, who conveyed unto you My messages and warned you of the coming of this your Day [of Judgment]?" They will answer: "We do bear witness against ourselves!"-for the life of this world had beguiled them: and so they will bear witness against themselves that they had been denying the truth.

[And God] will say: "Join those hosts of invisible beings and humans who have gone before you into the fire!" [And] every time a host enters [the fire], it will curse its fellow-host -so much so that, when they all shall have passed into it, one after another, the last of them will speak [thus] of the first of them:* "O our Sustainer! It is they who have led us astray: give, them, therefore, double suffering through fire!" He, will reply: "Every one of you deserves double suffering* -but you know it not."

And most certainly have We destined for hell many of the invisible beings* and men who have hearts with which they fail to grasp the truth, and eyes with which they fail to see, and ears with which they fail to hear. They are like cattle -nay, they are even less conscious of the right way:* it is they, they who are the [truly] heedless!

Say: "If all mankind and all invisible beings* would come together with a view to producing the like of this Qur'an, they could not produce its like even though they were to exert all their strength in aiding one another!"

And [one day] there were assembled before Solomon his hosts of invisible beings,* and of men, and of birds; and then they were led forth in orderly ranks,

for [when they became obli­vious of Us,] We assigned to them [their own evil impulses as their] other selves,* and these made appear goodly to them whatever lay open before them and whatever was beyond their ken.* And so, the sentence [of doom] will have fallen due upon them together with the [other sinful] com­munities of invisible beings* and humans that passed away before their time: verily, they [all] will indeed be lost!

And they who [in their life on earth] were bent on denying the truth will [thereupon] exclaim: “O our Sustainer! Show us those of the invisible beings and humans that have led us astray:* we shall trample them underfoot, so that they shall be the lowest of all!"*

It is [such as] these upon whom the sentence [of doom] will fall due, together with the [other sinful] communities of invisible beings* and humans that have passed away before their time. Verily, they will be lost:

And [tell them that] I have not created the invisible beings* and men to any end other than that they may [know and] worship Me.*

O you who live in close communion with [evil] invisible beings and humans!* If you [think that you] can pass beyond the regions of the heavens and the earth, pass beyond them!* [But] you cannot pass beyond them, save by a sanction [from God]!*

For on that Day neither man nor invisible being will be asked about his sins.*

In these [gardens] will be mates of modest gaze, whom neither man nor invisible being will have touched ere then.*

[companions] whom neither man nor invisible being will have touched ere then.

and that [we were mistaken when] we thought that neither man nor [any of] the invisible forces would ever tell a lie about God.*

Yet [it has always happened] that certain kinds of humans would seek refuge with certain kinds of [such] invisible forces:* but these only increased their confusion –

And [remember] when Moses prayed for water for his people and We replied, "Strike the rock with thy staff!"-whereupon twelve springs gushed forth from it, so that all the people knew whence to drink.* [And Moses said:] "Eat and drink the sustenance provided by God, and do not act wickedly on earth by spreading corruption."

God wants to lighten your burdens:* for man has been created weak.

But his people's only answer was this:* "Expel them from your land! Verily, they are folk who make themselves out to be pure!"*

And We divided them into twelve tribes, [or] communities. And when his people asked Moses for water, We inspired him, "Strike the rock with thy staff!" -whereupon twelve springs gushed forth from it, so that all the people knew whence to drink., And We caused the clouds to comfort them with their shade, and We sent down unto them manna and quails, [saying:] "Partake of the good things which We have provided for you as sustenance." And [by all their sinning] they did no harm unto Us-but [only] against their own selves did they sin.

For [thus it is:] when affliction befalls man, he cries out unto Us, whether he be lying on his side or sitting or standing;* but as soon as We have freed him of his affliction, he goes on as though he had never invoked Us to save him from the affliction* that befell him! Thus do their own doings seem goodly unto those who waste their own selves.*

And thus it is: if We let man taste some of Our grace,* and then take it away from him -behold, he abandons all hope,* forgetting all gratitude [for Our past favours].

[Jacob] replied: "O my dear son!* Do not relate thy dream to thy brothers lest [out of envy] they devise an evil scheme against thee; verily, Satan is man's open foe!*

And [always] does He give you something out of what you may be asking of Him;* and should you try to count God's blessings, you could never compute them. [And yet,] behold, man is indeed most persistent in wrongdoing, stubbornly ingrate!

AND, INDEED, We have created man out of sounding clay, out of dark-slime transmuted*

He creates man out of a [mere] drop of sperm: and lo! this same being shows himself endowed with the power to think and to argue!*

As it is,* man [often] prays for things that are bad as if he were praying for something that is good:* for man is prone to be hasty [in his judgments].

And every human being's destiny have We tied to his neck;* and on the Day of Resurrection We shall bring forth for him a record which he will find wide open;

AND TELL My servants that they should speak in the most kindly manner [unto those who do not share their beliefs]:* verily, Satan is always ready to stir up discord between men* - for, verily, Satan is man's open foe!

And whenever danger befalls you at sea, all those (powers] that you are wont to invoke forsake you, [and nothing remains for you] save Him: but as soon as He has brought you safe ashore, you turn aside [and forget Him]-for, indeed, bereft of all gratitude is man!

[but] one Day We shall summon all human beings [and judge them] according to the conscious disposition which governed their deeds [in life]:* whereupon they whose record shall be placed in their right hand* -it is they who will read their record [with happiness]. Yet none shall be wronged by as much as a hair's breadth:*

for [it often happens that] when We bestow Our blessings upon man, he turns away and arrogantly keeps aloof [from any thought of Us]; and when evil fortune touches him, he abandons all hope.*

Say: "If you were to own' all the treasure-houses of my Sustainer's bounty,* lo! you would still try to hold on [to them] tightly for fear of spending [too much]: for man has always been avaricious [whereas God is limitless in His bounty].*

THUS, INDEED, have We given in this Qur'an many facets to every kind of lesson [designed] for [the benefit of] mankind.* However, man is, above all else, always given to contention:

WITH ALL THIS, man [often] says, "What! Once I am dead, shall I again be brought forth alive?"

But does man not bear in mind that We have created him aforetime out of nothing?*

Man is a creature of haste;* [but in time] I shall make obvious to you [the truth of] My mes­sages: do not, then, ask Me to hasten [it]!*

seeing that it is He who gave you life, and then will cause you to die, and then will bring you back to life: [but,] verily, bereft of all gratitude is man!

NOW, INDEED, We create man out of the essence of clay,*

Indeed, he led me astray from the remembrance [of God] after it had come unto me!" For [thus it is:] Satan is ever a betrayer of man.*

so that We may bring dead land to life thereby, and give to drink thereof to many [beings] of Our creation, beasts as well as humans.

But his people's only answer was this: “Expel [Lot and] Lot's followers from your township! Verily, they are folk who make themselves out to be pure!"*

Now [among the best of righteous deeds which] We have enjoined upon man [is] goodness towards his parents;* yet [even so,] should they endeavour to make thee ascribe divinity, side by side with Me, to something which thy mind cannot accept [as divine], obey then, not:* [for] it is unto Me that you all must return, whereupon I shall make you [truly] understand [the right and wrong of] all that you were doing [in life].

“And [God says:] 'We have enjoined upon man goodness towards his parents: his mother bore him by bearing strain upon strain, and his utter dependence on her lasted two years:* [hence, O man,] be grateful towards Me and towards thy parents, [and remember that] with Me is all journeys' end.*

who makes most excellent everything that He creates.* Thus, He begins the creation of man out of clay;*

Verily, We did offer the trust [of reason and volition] to the heavens, and the earth, and the mountains:* but they refused to bear it because they were afraid of it. Yet man took it up -* for, verily, he has always been prone to be most wicked, most foolish.

IS MAN, then, not aware that it is We who create him out of a [mere] drop of sperm - whereupon, lo! he shows himself endowed with the power to think and to argue?*

NOW [thus it is:] when affliction befalls man, he is likely to cry out to his Sustainer, turning unto Him [for help];* but as soon as He has bestowed upon him a boon by His grace, he forgets Him whom he in­voked before, and claims that there are other powers that could rival God* - and thus leads [others] astray from His path. Say [unto him who sins in this way]: “Enjoy thyself for a while in this thy denial of the truth; [yet,] verily, thou art of those who are destined for the fire!

NOW [thus it is:] when affliction befalls man, he cries out unto Us for help; but when We bestow upon him a boon by Our grace, he says [to himself], “I have been given [all] this by virtue of [my own] wisdom!"* Nay, this [bestowal of grace] is a trial: but most of them understand it not!

MAN NEVER TIRES of asking for the good [things of life]; and if evil fortune touches him, he abandons all hope, giving himself up to despair.*

And, too, when We bestow Our blessings upon man, he tends to turn aside and keep aloof [from remembering Us]; but as soon as evil fortune touches him, he is full of wordy prayers!*

BUT IF they turn away [from thee, O Prophet, know that] We have not sent thee to be their keeper: thou art not bound to do more than deliver the message [entrusted to thee]. And, behold, [such as turn away from Our mes­sages are but impelled by the weakness and incon­stancy of human nature: thus,]* when We give man a taste of Our grace, he is prone to exult in it;* but if misfortune befalls [any of] them in result of what their own hands have sent forth, then, behold, man shows how bereft he is of all gratitude!*

AND YET,* they attribute to Him offspring from among some of the beings created by Him!* Verily, most obviously bereft of all gratitude is man!

NOW [among the best of the deeds which] We have enjoined upon man is goodness towards his parents.* In pain did his mother bear him, and in pain did she give him birth; and her bearing him and his utter dependence on her took thirty months.* and so, when he attains to full maturity and reaches forty years,* he [that is righteous] prays: “O my Sustainer! Inspire me so that I may forever be grateful for those blessings of Thine with which Thou hast graced me and my parents, and that I may do what is right [in a manner] that will meet with Thy goodly acceptance; and grant me righteousness in my offspring [as well]. Verily, unto Thee have I turned in repentance:* for, verily, I am of those who have surrendered themselves unto Thee!"

NOW, VERILY, it is We who have created man, and We know what his innermost self whispers within him: for We are closer to him than his neck-vein.

Does man imagine that it is his due to have* all that he might wish for,

and that nought shall be accounted unto man but what he is striving for;*

He has created man:

He has created man out of sounding clay, like pottery,*

the like of [what happens] when Satan says unto man, “Deny the truth!" - but as soon as [man] has denied the truth, [Satan] says, “Behold, I am not responsible for thee: behold, I fear God, the Sustainer of all the worlds!"*

VERILY, man is born with a restless disposition.*

Does man think that We cannot [resurrect him and] bring his bones together again?

None the less man chooses to deny what lies ahead of him,

on that Day will man exclaim "Whither to flee?"

Man will be apprised, on that Day, of what he has done and what he has left undone:*

nay, but man shall against himself be an eye-witness,

DOES MAN, then, think that he is to be left to himself to go about at will?*

HAS THERE [not] been an endless span of time* before man [appeared - a time] when he was not yet a thing to be thought of ?*

Verily, it is We who have created man out of a drop of sperm intermingled,* so that We might try him [in his later life]: and therefore We made him a being endowed with hearing and sight.

on that Day man will [clearly] remember all that he has ever wrought;

[But only too often] man destroys himself:* how stubbornly does he deny the truth!

Let man, then, consider [the sources of] his food:

O MAN! What is it that lures thee away from thy bountiful Sustainer,*

[then,] O man - thou [that] hast, verily, been toiling towards thy Sustainer in painful toil* - then shalt thou meet Him!

LET MAN, then, observe out of what he has been created:

BUT AS FOR man,* whenever his Sustainer tries him by His generosity and by letting him enjoy a life of ease, he says, "My Sustainer has been [justly] generous towards me";*

And on that Day hell will be brought [within sight]; on that Day man will remember [all that he did and failed to do]: but what will that remembrance avail him?

Verily, We have created man into [a life of] pain, toil and trial.*

Verily, We create man in the best conformation;*

created man out of a germ-cell*

taught man what he did not know!*

Nay, verily, man becomes grossly overweening

and man cries out, "What has happened to her?" -

VERILY, towards his Sustainer man is most ungrateful*

Verily, man is bound to lose himself