And if you doubt any part of what We have, bestowed from on high, step by step, upon Our servant [Muhammad],* then produce a surah of similar merit, and call upon any other than God to bear witness for you* -if what you say is true!

Say: "If an afterlife with God is to be for you alone, to the exclusion of all other people,* then. you should long for death-if what you say is true!"

Dost thou not know that God's is the dominion over the heavens and the earth, and that besides God you have none to protect you or bring you succour?

And yet there are people who choose to believe in beings that allegedly rival God,* loving them as [only] God should be loved: whereas those who have attained to faith love God more than all else. If they who are bent on evildoing could but see - as see they will when they are made to suffer* [on Resurrection Day] -that all might belongs to God alone, and that God is severe in [meting out] punishment!

LET NOT the believers take those who deny the truth for their allies in preference to the believers* - since he who does this cuts himself off from God in everything - unless it be to protect yourselves against them in this way.* But God warns you to beware of Him: for with God is all journeys' end.

Say: "O followers of earlier revelation! Come unto that tenet which we and you hold in common:* that we shall worship none but God, and that we shall not ascribe divinity to aught beside Him, and that we shall not take human beings for our lords beside God."* And if they turn away, then say: "Bear witness that it is we who have surrendered ourselves unto Him."

It is not conceivable that a human being unto whom God had granted revelation, and sound judgment, and prophethood, should thereafter have said unto people,* "Worship me beside God"; but rather [did he exhort them], "Become men of God* by spreading the knowledge of the divine writ, and by your own deep study [thereof]."

O YOU who have attained to faith! Do not take for your bosom-friends people who are not of your kind.* They spare no effort to corrupt you; they would love to see you in distress.* Vehement hatred has already come into the open from out of their mouths, but what their hearts conceal is yet worse. We have indeed made the signs [thereof] clear unto you, if you would but use your reason.

VERILY, God does not forgive the ascribing of divinity to aught beside Him, although He forgives any lesser sin* unto whomever He wills: for he who ascribes divinity to aught beside God has indeed contrived an awesome sin.*

VERILY, God does not forgive the ascribing of divinity to aught beside Him, although He forgives any lesser sin unto whomever He wills: for those who ascribe divinity to aught beside God have indeed gone far astray.

In His stead, they invoke only life­less symbols* - thus invoking none but a rebellious Satan

and shall lead them astray, and fill them with vain desires; and I shall command them - and they will cut off the ears of cattle [in idolatrous sacrifice]; and I shall command them - and they will corrupt God's creation!"* But all who take Satan rather than God for their master do indeed, most clearly, lose all:

It may not accord with your wishful thinking - nor with the wishful thinking of the fol­lowers of earlier revelation* - [that] he who does evil shall be requited for it, and shall find none to protect him from God, and none to bring him succour,

As for those who take the deniers of the truth for their allies in preference to the believers - do they hope to be honoured by them when, behold, all honour belongs to God [alone]?*

O you who have attained to faith! Do not take the deniers of the truth for your allies in preference to the believers! Do you want to place before God a manifest proof of your guilt?*

whereupon unto those who attained to faith and did good deeds He will grant their just rewards, and give them yet more out of His bounty; whereas those who felt too proud and gloried in their arrogance He will chastise with grievous suffering: and they shall find none to protect them from God, and none to bring them succour.

Say: "Would you worship, beside God, aught that has no power either to harm or to benefit you-when God alone is all-hearing, all-knowing?"

AND LO! God said:* O Jesus, son of Mary! Didst thou say unto men, `Worship me and my mother as deities beside God'?" [Jesus] answered: "Limitless art Thou in Thy glory! It would not have been possible for me to say what I had no right to [say]! Had I said this, Thou wouldst indeed have known it! Thou knowest all that is within myself, whereas I know not what is in Thy Self. Verily, it is Thou alone who fully knowest all the things that are beyond the reach of a created being's perception.

And warn hereby those who fear lest they be gathered unto their Sustainer with none to protect them from Him or to intercede with Him, so that they might become [fully] conscious of Him.*

SAY [to the deniers of the truth]: "Behold, I have been forbidden to worship those [beings] whom you invoke instead of God." Say: "I do not follow your errant views -or else I should have gone astray, and should not be among those who have found the right path."

And leave to themselves all those who, beguiled by the life of this world, have made play and passing delights their religion;* but remind [them] herewith that [in the life to come] every human being shall be held in pledge for whatever wrong he has done, and shall have none to protect him from God, and none to intercede for him; and though he offer any conceivable ransom,* it shall not be accepted from him. It is [people such as] these that shall be held in pledge for the wrong they have done; for them there is [in the life to come] a draught of burning despair* and grievous suffering awaits them because of their persistent refusal to acknowledge the truth.

SAY: "Shall we invoke, instead of God, something that can neither benefit us nor harm us, and [thus] turn around on our heels after God has guided us aright? -like one whom the satans have enticed into blundering after earthly lusts, the while his companions, trying to guide him, call out unto him [from afar] ,* `Come thou to us!"' Say: "Verily, God's guidance is the only guidance: and so we have been bidden to surrender ourselves unto the Sustainer of all the worlds,

But do not revile those [beings] whom they invoke instead of God,* lest they revile God out of spite, and in ignorance: for, goodly indeed have We made their own doings appear unto every community* In time, [however,] unto their Sustainer they must return: and then He will make them [truly] understand all that they were doing.

"Follow what has been sent down unto you by your Sustainer, and follow no masters other than Him.* How seldom do you keep this in mind!

some [of you] He will have graced with His guidance, whereas, for some a straying from the right path will have become unavoidable:* for, behold, they will have taken [their own] evil impulses for their masters in preference to God, thinking all the while that they have found the right path!"

And who could be more wicked than they who attribute their own lying inventions to God or give the lie to His messages? Whatever has been decreed to be their lot [in life] will be theirs* -till there shall come _ unto them Our messengers to cause them to die, [and] shall say, "Where, now, are those beings whom you were wont to invoke beside God?" And [those sinners] will reply, "They have forsaken us!" -and [thus] they will bear witness against themselves that they had been denying the truth.

Verily, with lust you approach men instead of women: nay, but you are people given to excesses!"

And We dispersed them as [separate] communities all over the earth; some of them were righteous, and some of them less than that: and the latter We tried with blessings as well as with afflictions, so that they might mend their ways.*

Verily, all those whom you invoke beside God are but created beings* like yourselves: invoke them, then, and let them answer your prayer - if what you claim is true!

whereas all those whom you invoke in His stead are neither able to give you succour nor can succour themselves;

And bethink thyself of thy Sustainer humbly and with awe, and without raising thy voice, at morn and at evening; and do not allow thyself to be heedless.

Hence, make ready against them whatever force and war mounts* you are able to muster, so that you might deter thereby the enemies of God, who are your enemies as well,* and others besides them of whom you may be unaware, [but] of whom God is aware; and whatever you may expend* in God's cause shall be repaid to you in full, and you shall not be wronged.

Do you [O believers] think that you will be spared* unless God takes cognizance of your having striven hard [in His cause]* without seeking help from any but God and His Apostle and those who believe in Him?* For, God is aware of all that you do.

They have taken their rabbis and their monks-as well as the Christ, son of Mary-for their lords beside God,* although they had been bidden to worship none but the One God, save whom there is no deity: the One who is utterly remote, in His limitless glory, from anything to which they may ascribe a share in His divinity!

Verily, God's alone is the dominion over the heavens and the earth; He [alone] grants life and deals death; and there is none besides God who could protect you or bring you succour.

and [neither will] they [who] worship, side by side with God, things or beings that can neither harm nor benefit them, saying [to themselves], "These are our intercessors with God!"* Say: "Do you [think that you could] inform God of anything in the heavens or on earth that He does not know?* Limitless is He in His glory, and sublimely exalted above anything to which men may ascribe a share in His divinity!"

Now this Qur'an could not possibly have been devised by anyone save God: nay indeed,* it confirms the truth of whatever there still remains [of earlier revelations] and clearly spells out the revelation [which comes] -let there be no doubt about it-from the Sustainer of all the worlds.*

And yet,* they [who are bent on denying the truth] assert, "[Muhammad] has invented it!" Say [unto them]: "Produce, then, a surah of similar merit; and [to this end] call to your aid whomever you can, other than God, if what you say is true !*

OH, VERILY, unto God belongs whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on earth: hence, what is it that they follow-those who invoke, beside God. beings to whom they ascribe a share in His divinity?* They follow but the conjectures [of others], and themselves do nothing but guess -

SAY [O Prophet]: "O mankind! If you are in doubt as to what my faith is, then [know that] I do not worship those beings whom you worship beside God,* but [that] I worship God alone, who shall cause you [all] to die:* for I have been bidden to be among those who believe [in Him alone]."

Thus, do not invoke, side by side with God, anything that can neither benefit thee nor harm thee: for, behold, if thou do it, thou wilt surely be among the evildoers!

and so they assert, "[Muhammad himself] has invented this [Qur'an)!"* Say [unto them]: "Produce, then, ten surahs of similar merit, invented [by yourselves], and [to this end] call to your aid whomever you can, other than, God, if what you say is true!*

Never can they elude [their final reckoning, even if they remain unscathed] on earth :* never will they find anyone who could protect them from God. [In the life to come] double suffering will be imposed on them* for having lost the ability to hear [the truth] and having failed to see [it].*

beside Him! Contrive, then, [anything that you may wish] against me, all of you, and give me no respite!*

for, no wrong did We do to them, but it was they who wronged themselves. And when thy Sustainer's judgment came to pass, those deities of theirs which they had been wont to invoke instead of God proved of no avail whatever to them, and brought them no more than utter perdition.

And do not incline towards, nor rely upon, those who are bent on evildoing* lest the fire [of the hereafter] touch you: for [then] you would have none to protect you from God, nor would you ever be succoured [by Him].*

"All that you worship instead of God is nothing but [empty] names which you have invented* - you and your forefathers- [and] for which God has bestowed no warrant from on high. Judgment [as to what is right and what is wrong] rests with God alone-[and] He has ordained that you should worship nought but Him: this is the [one] ever-true faith; but most people know it not*

[thinking that] he has hosts of helpers-both such as can be perceived by him and such as are hidden from him* -that could preserve him from whatever God may have willed.* Verily, God does not change men's condition unless they change their inner selves;* and when God wills people to suffer evil [in consequence of their . own evil deeds], there is none who could avert it: for they have none who could protect them from Him.

Unto Him [alone] is due all prayer aiming at the Ultimate Truth,* since those [other beings or powers] whom men invoke instead of God* cannot respond to them in any way - [so that he who invokes them is] but like one who stretches his open hands* towards water, [hoping] that it will reach his mouth, the while it never reaches him. Hence, the prayer of those who deny the truth amounts to no more than losing oneself in grievous error.

Say: "Who is the Sustainer of the heavens and the earth?" Say: "[It is] God." Say: "[Why,] then, do you take for your protectors, instead of Him, such as have it not within their power to bring benefit to, or avert harm from, themselves?" Say: "Can the blind and the seeing be deemed equal? -or can the depths of darkness and the light be deemed equal?" Or do they [really] believe that there are, side by side with God, other divine powers* that have created the like of what He creates, so that this act of creation appears to them to be similar [to His]?* Say: "God is the Creator of all things; and He is the One who holds absolute sway over all that exists."

Now those beings that some people invoke* beside God cannot create anything, since they themselves are but created:

Now they who ascribe divinity to aught beside God say, "Had God so willed, we would not have worshipped aught but Him - neither we nor our forefathers; nor would we have declared aught as forbidden without a commandment from Him."* Even thus did speak those [sinners] who lived before their time; but, then, are the apostles bound to do more than clearly deliver the message [entrusted to them] ?*

and will they [continue to] worship, instead of God, something that has it not within its power to provide for them any sustenance whatever from the heavens or the earth,* and can do nothing at all?

And when they who were wont to ascribe divinity to beings other than God behold [on Judgment Day] those beings to whom they were wont to ascribe a share in His divinity,* they will exclaim: "O our Sustainer! These are the beings to whom we ascribed a share in Thy divinity, and whom we were wont to invoke instead of Thee !"* -whereupon [those beings] will fling at them the retort: "Behold, you have indeed been lying [to yourselves]!"*

And [thus, too,] We vouchsafed revelation unto Moses,* and made it a [source of] guidance for the children of Israel, [commanding them:] "Do not ascribe to any but Me the power to determine your fate,*

SAY:* "Call upon those [beings] whom you imagine [to be endowed with divine powers] beside Him* and [you will find that] they have it not in their power to remove any affliction from you, or to shift it [elsewhere]. "*

And he whom God guides, he alone has found the right way; whereas for those whom He lets go astray thou canst never find anyone to protect them from Him: and [so, when] We shall gather them together on the Day of Resurrection, [they will lie] prone upon their faces, blind and dumb and deaf, with hell as their goal; [and] every time [the fire] abates, We shall increase for them [its] blazing flame.*

and endowed their hearts with strength, so that they stood up* and said [to one another]: "Our Sustainer is the Sustainer of the heavens and the earth. Never shall we invoke any deity other than Him: [if we did,] we should indeed have uttered an enormity!

These people of ours have taken to worshipping [other] deities instead of Him, without being able to* adduce any reasonable evidence in support of their beliefs;* and who could be more wicked than he who invents a lie about God?*

Say: "God knows best how long they remained [there]. His [alone] is the knowledge of the hidden reality of the heavens and the earth: how well does He see and hear! No guardian have they apart from Him, since He allots to no one a share in His rule!"

AND CONVEY [to the world] whatever has been revealed to thee of thy Sustainer's writ. There is nothing that could alter His words;* and thou canst find no refuge other than with Him.

-for now he had nought* to succour him in God's stead, nor could he succour himself.

AND [remember that] when We told the angels, "Prostrate yourselves before Adam,"* they all prostrated themselves, save Iblis: he [too] was one of those invisible beings,* but then he turned away from his Sustainer's command. Will you, then, take him and his cohorts* for (your], masters instead of Me, although they are your foe? How vile an exchange on the evildoers' part!*

Yet, [withal,] thy Sustainer is the Truly-Forgiving One, limitless in His grace. Were He to take them [at once] to task for whatever [wrong] they commit, He would indeed bring about their speedy punishment [then and there]:* but nay, they have a time-limit beyond which they shall find no redemption*

[And then he marched eastwards] till, when he came to the rising of the sun* he found that it was rising on a people for whom We had provided no coverings against it:

[And he marched on] till, when he reached [a place] between the two mountain-barriers,* he found beneath them a people who could scarcely understand a word [of his language].

Do they who are bent on denying the truth think, perchance, that they could take [any of] My creatures for protectors against Me?* Verily, We have readied hell to welcome all who [thus] deny the truth!*

and kept herself in seclusion from them,* whereupon We sent unto her Our angel of revelation, who appeared to her in the shape of a well-made human being.*

But I shall withdraw from you all and from whatever you invoke instead of God, and shall invoke my Sustainer [alone]: it may well be that my prayer [for thee] will not remain unanswered by my Sustainer."*

And after he had withdrawn from them and from all that they were worshipping instead of God, We bestowed upon him Isaac and Jacob, and made each of them a prophet;

For [such as] these have taken to worshipping deities other than God, hoping that they would be a [source of] strength for them.*

and yet,* they choose to worship [imaginary] deities instead of Him! Say [O Prophet]: “Produce an evidence for what you are claiming:* this is a reminder [unceasingly voiced] by those who are with me, just as it was a reminder [voiced] by those who came before me."* But nay, most of them do not know the truth, and so they stubbornly turn away [from it]*

And if any of them were to say, “Behold, I am deity beside Him" - that one We should requite with hell: thus do We requite all [such] evildoers.

Do they [really think that they] have deities that could shield them from Us? Those [alleged dei­ties] are not [even] able to succour themselves: hence, neither can they [who worship them hope to] be aided [by them] against Us.

Said [Abraham]: “Do you then worship, instead of God, something that cannot benefit you in any way, nor harm you?

Fie upon you and upon all that you worship instead of God! Will you not, then, use your reason?"

And among the rebel­lious forces [which We made subservient to him]* there were some that dived for him [into the sea] and performed other works, besides: but it was We who kept watch over them.*

[Then they will be told:] “Verily, you and all that you [were wont to] worship instead of God are but the fuel of hell: that is what you are destined for.*

[By behaving thus,] he invokes, instead of God, something that can neither harm nor benefit him:* [and] this is indeed the utmost one can go astray.*

Thus it is, because God alone is the Ultimate Truth,* so that all that men invoke beside Him is sheer falsehood, and because God alone is exalted, great!

And yet* they [who claim to believe in Him often] worship [other beings or forces] beside God - something for which He has never bestoweed any warrant from on high,* and [of the reality] whereof they cannot have any knowledge:* and such evildoers shall have none to succour them [on Judgment Day].

O MEN! A parable is set forth [herewith]; hearken, then, to it! Behold, those beings whom you invoke instead of God cannot create [as much as] a fly, even were they to join all their forces to that end! And if a fly robs them of anything, they cannot [even] rescue it from him! Weak indeed is the seeker, and [weak] the sought!

NAY, [as for those who have torn asunder the unity of faith] - their hearts are lost in ignorance of all this!* But apart from that [breach of unity] they have [on their conscience even worse] deeds;* and they will [continue to] commit them

And yet, some choose to worship, instead of Him, imaginary deities that cannot create anything but are themselves created,* and have it not within their power to avert harm from, or bring benefit to, themselves, and have no power over death, nor over life, nor over resurrection!

BUT [as for people who are oblivious of thy Sus­tainer's oneness -]* one Day He will gather them together with all that they [now] worship instead of God, and will ask [those to whom divinity was falsely ascribed]:* “Was it you who led these My creatures astray, or did they by themselves stray from the right path?"

They will answer: “Limitless art Thou in Thy glory! It was inconceivable for us to take for our masters anyone but Thyself!* But [as for them -] Thou didst allow them and their forefathers to enjoy [the pleasures of] life to such an extent that* they forgot all remembrance [of Thee]: for they were people devoid of all good."

And yet, some people* worship, instead of God, things that can neither benefit them nor harm them: thus, he who denies the truth does indeed turn his back on his Sustainer!

instead of God?* Can these [things and beings] be of any help to you or to themselves?"

And I found her and her people adoring the sun instead of God; and Satan has made these doings of theirs seem goodly to them, and [thus] has barred them from the path [of God], so that they cannot find the right way:

[And she has recognized the truth] although that which she has been wont to worship instead of God had kept her away [from the right path]:* for, behold, she is descended of people who deny the truth!"*

Must you really approach men with lust instead of women? Nay, but you are people without any awareness (of right and wrong)!"

NOW WHEN he arrived at the wells* of Madyan, he found there a large group of men who were watering [their herds and flocks]; and at some distance from them he came upon two women who were keeping back their flock. He asked [them]: “What is the matter with you?" They answered: “We cannot water [our animals] until the herdsmen drive [theirs] home - for [we are weak and] our father is a very old man."

And thereupon We caused the earth to swallow him and his dwelling; and he had none and nothing to succour him against God, nor was he of those who could succour themselves.*

You worship only [lifeless] idols instead of God, and [thus] you give visible shape to a lie!* Behold, those [things and beings] that you worship instead of God have it not in their power to provide sustenance for you: seek, then, all [your] sustenance from God, and worship Him [alone] and be grateful to Him: [for] unto Him you shall be brought back!

and never - not on earth and not in the skies - can you [hope to] elude Him: and you have none to protect you from God, and none to bring you succour."

And [Abraham] said: “You have chosen to worship idols instead of God for no other reason than to have a bond of love* in the life of this world, between yourselves [and your forebears]:* but then, on Resurrection Day, you shall disown one another and curse one another - for the goal of you all will be the fire, and you will have none to succour you.

The parable of those who take [beings or forces] other than God for their protectors is that of the spider which makes for itself a house: for, behold, the frailest of all houses is the spiders house. Could they but understand this!

Verily, God knows whatever it is that men invoke instead of Him* for He alone is almighty, truly wise.

[All] this is God's creation: show Me, then, what others than He may have created! Nay, but the evildoers* are obviously lost in error!

Thus it is, because God alone is the Ultimate Truth,* so that all that men invoke instead of Him is sheer falsehood; and because God alone is exalted, truly great!

IT IS GOD who has created the heavens and the earth and all that is between them in six aeons, and is established on the throne of His almightiness.* You have none to protect you from God, and none to intercede for you [on Judgment Day]: will you not, then, bethink yourselves?

However, ere [We condemn them to] that supreme suffering, We shall most certainly let them taste of a suffering closer at hand,* so that they might [repent and] mend their ways.*

Say: “Who is there that could keep you away from God if it be His will to harm you, or if it be His will to show you mercy?" For, [do they not know that] besides God they can find none to protect them, and none to bring them succour?

O PROPHET! Behold, We have made lawful to thee thy wives unto whom thou hast paid their dowers,* as well as those whom thy right hand has come to possess from among the captives of war whom God has bestowed upon thee.* And [We have made lawful to thee] the daughters of thy paternal uncles and aunts, and the daughters of thy maternal uncles and aunts, who have migrated with thee [to Yathrib];* and any believing woman who offers herself freely to the Prophet and whom the Prophet might be willing to wed:* [this latter being but] a privilege for thee, and not for other believers - [seeing that] We have already made known what We have enjoined upon them with regard to their wives and those whom their right hands may possess.* [And] in order that thou be not burdened with [undue] anxiety - for God is indeed much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace –

SAY: “Call upon those [beings] whom you imagine [to be endowed with divine powers] beside God: they have not an atom's weight of power either in the heavens or on earth, nor have they any share in [governing] either, nor does He [choose to] have any helper from among them."*

They will answer: “Limitless art Thou in Thy glory! Thou [alone] art close unto us, not they!* Nay, [when they thought that they were worshipping us,] they were but [blindly] worshipping forces concealed from their senses; most of them believed in them."*

He makes the night grow longer by shortening the day, and He makes the day grow longer by shortening the night; and He has made the sun and the moon subservient [to His laws], each running its course for a term set [by Him].* Thus is God, your Sustainer: unto Him belongs all dominion - whereas those whom you invoke instead of Him do not own so much as the husk of a date-stone!

Say: “Have you ever [really] considered those beings and forces to whom you ascribe a share in God's divinity,* [and] whom you invoke beside God? Show me what it is that they have created on earth - or do [you claim that] they have a share in [govern­ing] the heavens?" Have We ever vouchsafed them* a divine writ on which they could rely as evidence [in support of their views]?* Nay, [the hope which] the evildoers hold out to one another [is] nothing but a delusion.*

Should I take to worship­ping [other] deities beside Him? [But then,] if the Most Gracious should will that harm befall me, their intercession could not in the least avail me, nor could they save me:

But [nay,] they take to worshipping deities other than God,* [hoping] to be succoured [by them, and not knowing that]

instead of God, and lead them all onto the way to the blazing fire,

Do you want [to bow down before] a lie - [before] deities other than God?

Is it not to God alone that all sincere faith is due? And yet, they who take for their protectors aught beside Him [are wont to say], “We worship them for no other reason than that they bring us nearer to God."* Behold, God will judge between them [on Resur­rection Day] with regard to all wherein they differ [from the truth]:* for, verily, God does not grace with His guidance anyone who is bent on lying [to himself and is] stubbornly ingrate!*

and [it is up to you, O sinners, to] worship whatever you please instead of Him!" Say: “Behold, the [true] losers will be they who shall have lost their own selves and their kith and kin on Resurrection Day: for is not this, this, the [most] obvious loss?*

IS NOT God enough for His servant? And yet, they would frighten thee with those [imaginary divine powers which they worship] beside Him!* But he whom God lets go astray can never find any guide,

And thus it is [with most people]: if* thou ask them, “Who is it that has created the heavens and the earth?" - they will surely answer, “God."* Say: “Have you, then, ever considered what it is that you invoke instead of God? If God wills that harm should befall me, could those [imaginary powers] remove the harm inflicted by Him? Or, if He wills that grace should alight on me, could they withhold His grace [from me]?" Say: “God is enough for me! In Him [alone] place their trust all who have trust [in His existence]."

And yet,* they choose [to worship], side by side with God, [imaginary] intercessors!"* Say: “Why - even though they have no power over anything, and no understanding?"*

And yet, whenever God alone is mentioned, the hearts of those who will not believe in the life to come contract with bitter aversion - whereas, when those [imaginary powers] are mentioned side by side with Him, lo, they rejoice!*

And God will judge in accordance with truth and justice, whereas those [beings] whom they invoke beside Him* cannot judge at all: for, verily, God alone is all-hearing, all-seeing.

Say: “Since all evidence of the truth has come to me from my Sustainer, I am forbidden to worship [any of] those beings whom you invoke instead of God; and I am bidden to surrender myself to the Sustainer of all the worlds."

side by side with God?" They will answer: “They have forsaken us - or, rather, what we were wont to invoke aforetime did not exist at all!"* And they will be told:] “It is thus that God lets the deniers of the truth go astray:*

NOW AS FOR those who take aught beside Him for their protectors - God watches them, and thou art not responsible for their conduct.

Did they, perchance, [think that they could] choose protectors other than Him? But God alone is the Protector [of all that exists], since it is He alone who brings the dead to life, and He alone who has the power to will anything.

and you cannot elude Him on earth, and you will have none to protect you from God [in the life to come], and none to bring you succour.

and will have no protector whatever to succour them against God: for he whom God lets go astray shall find no way [of escape].

Yet [above all else,] ask any of Our apostles whom We sent forth before thy time* whether We have ever allowed that deities other than the Most Gracious be worshipped!

And those [beings] whom some invoke beside God* have it not in their power to intercede [on Judgment Day] for any but such as have [in their lifetime] borne witness to the truth, and have been aware [that God is one and unique].*

Hell is ahead of them; and all that they may have gained [in this world] shall be of no avail whatever to them, and neither shall any of those things which, instead of God, they have come to regard as their protectors:* for, awesome suffering awaits them.

Say: “Have you [really] given thought to what it is that you invoke instead of God? Show me what these [beings or forces] have created anywhere on earth! Or had they, perchance, a share in [creating] the heavens? [If so,] bring me any divine writ pre­ceding this one, or any [other] vestige of knowledge - if what you claim is true!"*

And who could be more astray than one who invokes, instead of God, such as will not respond to him either now or on the Day of Resurrection,* and are not even conscious of being invoked?

But, then, did those [beings] whom they had chosen to worship as deities beside God, hoping that they would bring them nearer [to Him], help them [in the end]?* Nay, they forsook them: for that [alleged divinity] was but an outcome of their self-delusion and all their false imagery.*

But he who does not respond to God's call can never elude [Him] on earth, nor can he has any protector against Him [in the life to come]: all such are most obviously lost in error."*

Indeed, God has shown the truth in His Apostle's true vision:* most certainly shall you enter the Inviolable House of Worship, if God so wills, in full security, with your heads shaved or your hair cut short, without any fear:* for He has [always] known that which you yourselves could not know.* And He has ordained [for you], besides this, a victory soon to come.*

But, verily, for those who are bent on doing evil, there is suffering in store [even] closer at hand than that [supreme suffering in the hereafter]: but most of them are not aware of it.*

[although] none but God can unveil it....

And besides those two will be yet two [other] gardens -*

Indeed, you have had a good example in Abraham and those who followed him, when they said unto their [idolatrous] people: "Verily, we are quit of you and of all that you worship instead of God: we deny the truth of whatever you believe; and between us and you there has arisen enmity and hatred, to last until such a time* as you come to believe in the One God!" The only exception was* Abraham's saying to his father "I shall indeed pray for [God's] forgiveness for thee,* although I have it not in my power to obtain anything from God in thy behalf." [And Abraham and his followers prayed:] "O our Sustainer! In Thee have we placed our trust, and unto Thee do we turn: for unto Thee is all journeys' end.

Say: "O you who follow the Jewish faith!* If you claim that you [alone] are close to God, to the exclusion of all other people, then you should be longing for death - if what you say is true!"*

[And] is there any, besides the Most Gracious, that could be a shield* for you, and could succour you [against danger]? They who deny this truth are but lost in self- delusion!

And so, because of their sins, they were drowned [in the great flood], and were doomed to suffer the fire [of the hereafter];* and they found none who could succour them against God.