As for those who avoid the [truly] grave sins and shameful deeds - even though they may some­times stumble* behold, thy Sustainer is abounding in forgiveness. He is fully aware of you* when He brings you into being out of dust,* and when you are still hidden in your mothers' wombs: do not, then, consider your­selves pure - [for] He knows best as to who is conscious of Him.*

Then, when the night overshadowed him with its darkness, he beheld a star;., [and] he exclaimed, "This is my Sustainer!" -but when it went down, he said, "I love not the things that go down."

they have made their oaths a cover [for their falseness], and thus they turn others away from the path of God:* hence, shameful suffering awaits them.

They have made their oaths a cover [for their falseness], and thus they turn others away from the Path of God.* Evil indeed is all that they are wont to do:

whereas the invisible beings We had created, [long] before that, out of the fire of scorching winds.*

[And then He said:] “Now throw down thy staff!"* But when he saw it move rapidly, as if it were a serpent, he drew back [in terror], and did not [dare to] return.* [And God spoke to him again:] O Moses! Fear not - for, behold, no fear need the message-bearers have in My Presence,

And [then He said]: “Throw down thy staff!" But as soon as [Moses] saw it move rapidly, as if it were a snake, he drew back [in terror], and did not [dare to] return.* [And God spoke to him again:] “O Moses! Draw near, and have no fear - for, behold, thou art of those who are secure [in this world and in the next]!*

whereas the invisible beings He has created out of a confusing flame of fire.*

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.

Has it, then, never occurred to them* that there is no madness whatever in [this] their fellowman? He is only a plain warner.*

[all of them,] save those upon whom thy Sustainer has bestowed His grace.* And to this end has He created them [all.* But [as for those who refuse to avail themselves of divine guidance,] that word of thy Sustainer shall be fulfilled: "Most certainly will I fill hell with invisible beings as well as with humans, all together!"*

He is nothing but a madman: so bear with him for a while."

Or do they say. “There is madness in him"? Nay, he has brought them the truth - and the truth do most of them detest!*

Yet had We so willed, We could indeed have imposed Our guidance upon every human being:* but [We have not willed it thus - and so] that word of Mine has come true: “Most certainly will I fill hell with invisible beings as well as with humans, all together!"*

Does he [knowingly] attribute his own lying inventions to God - or is he a madman?" Nay, [there is no madness in this Prophet -] but they who will not believe in the life to come are [bound to lose themselves] in suffering and in a profound aberration.*

Say: “I counsel you one thing only: Be [ever­ conscious of] standing before God, whether you are in the company of others or alone;* and then bethink yourselves [that] there is no madness in [this pro­phet,] your fellow-man:* he is only a warner to you of suffering severe to come."

And some people* have invented a kinship between Him and all manner of invisible forces* although [even] these invisible forces know well that, verily, they [who thus blaspheme against God] shall indeed be arraigned [before Him on Judgment Day: for]*

"from all [temptation to evil by] invisible forces as well as men,"*

And yet, they [who deny the truth] say: "O thou unto whom this reminder has [allegedly] been bestowed from on high: verily, thou art mad!

[Pharaoh] exclaimed: “Behold, [this] your 'apostle' who [claims that he] has been sent unto you is mad indeed!

and would say, “Shall we, then, give up our deities at the bidding of a mad poet?"*

whereupon they turned their backs on him and said, “Taught [by others] is he, a madman"?*

and he turned away in [the pride of] his power and said, “A sorcerer [is this Moses], or a madman!" –

[But] thus it is: never yet came any apostle to those who lived before their time but they said, “A spel1binder*

EXHORT, then, [O Prophet, all men:] for, by thy Sustainer's grace, thou art neither a soothsayer nor a madman.

[LONG] BEFORE those [who now deny resurrec­tion] did Noah's people call it a lie; and they gave the lie to Our servant and said, “Mad is he!" - and he was repulsed.*

Thou art not, by thy Sustainer's grace, a madman!*

Hence, [be patient,] even though they who are bent on denying the truth would all but kill thee with their eyes whenever they hear this reminder, and [though] they say, "[As for Mubammad,] behold, most surely he is a madman!"

For, this fellow-man of yours is not a madman:*

And yet, some [people] have come to attribute to all manner of invisible beings* a place side by side with God - although it is He who has created them [all]; and in their ignorance they have invented for Him sons and daughters!* Limitless is He is His glory, and sublimely exalted above anything that men may devise by way of definition:*

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 [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!*

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,

Said a bold one of the invisible beings [subject to Solomon]: “I shall bring it to thee ere thou rise from thy council-seat - for, behold, I am powerful enough to do it, [and] worthy of trust!"

AND UNTO Solomon [We made subservient] the wind: its morning course [covered the distance of] a month's journey, and its evening course, a month's journey.* And We caused a fountain of molten copper to flow at his behest;* and [even] among the invisible beings there were some that had [been constrained] to labour for him by his Sustainer's leave* and whichever of them deviated from Our command, him would We let taste suffering through a blazing flame -:

Yet [even Solomon had to die; but] when We decreed that he should die, nothing showed them that he was dead except an earthworm that gnawed away his staff.* And when he fell to the ground, those invisible beings [subservient to him] saw clearly that, had they but understood the reality which was be­yond the reach of their perception,* they would not have continued [to toil] in the shameful suffering [of servitude]*

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."*

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 LO!* We caused a group of unseen beings to incline towards thee, [O Muhammad,]* so that they might give ear to the Qur'an; and so, as soon as they became aware of it,* they said [unto one another], “Listen in silence!" And when [the recitation] was ended, they returned to their people as warners.*

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]!*

SAY: "It has been revealed to me that some of the unseen beings gave ear [to this divine writ],* and thereupon said [unto their fellow-beings]: "'Verily, we have heard a wondrous discourse,

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 –

But unto those who have attained to faith and do good works give the glad tiding that theirs shall be gardens through which running waters flow. Whenever they are granted fruits there from as their appointed sustenance, they will say, "It is this that in days of yore was granted to us as our sustenance!"-for they shall be given something that will recall that [past].* And there shall they have spouses pure, and there shall they abide.

And We said: "O Adam, dwell thou and thy wife in this garden,* and eat freely thereof, both of you, whatever you may wish; but do not approach this one tree, lest you become wrongdoers."*

whereas those who attain to faith and do righteous deeds -they are destined for paradise, therein to abide.

AND THEY claim,* "None shall ever enter paradise unless he be a Jew" - or, "a Christian". Such are their wishful beliefs! Say: "Produce an evidence for what you are claiming,* if what you say is true!"

[But] do you think that you could enter para-dise without having suffered like those [believers] who passed away before you?* Misfortune and hardship befell them, and so shaken were they that the apostle, and the believers with him, would exclaim, "When will God's succour come?"* Oh, verily, God's succour is [always] near!

AND DO NOT marry women who ascribe divinity to aught beside God ere they attain to [true] belief: for any believing bondwoman [of God]* is certainly better than a woman who ascribes divinity to aught beside God, even though she please you greatly. And do not give your women in marriage to men who ascribe divinity to aught beside God ere they attain to [true] belief: for- any believing bondman [of God] is certainly better than a man who ascribes divinity to aught beside God, even though he please you greatly. [Such as] these invite unto the fire, whereas God invites unto paradise, and unto [the achievement of] forgiveness by His leave; and He makes clear His messages unto mankind, so that they might bear them in mind.

And the parable of those who spend their possessions out of a longing to please God, and out of their own inner certainty, is that of a garden on high, fertile ground: a rainstorm smites it, and thereupon it brings forth its fruit twofold; and if no rainstorm smites it, soft rain [falls upon it]. And God sees all that you do.

Would any of you like to have a garden of date-palms and vines, through which running waters flow, and have all manner of fruit therein - and then be overtaken by old age, with only weak children to [look after] him-and then [see] it smitten by a fiery whirlwind and utterly scorched? In this way God makes clear His messages unto you, so that you might take thought.

Say: "Shall I tell you of better things than those [earthly joys]? For the God-conscious there are, with their Sustainer, gardens through which running waters flow, therein to abide, and spouses pure, and God's goodly acceptance." And God sees all that is in [the hearts of] His servants -

And vie with one another to attain to your Sustainer's forgiveness and to a paradise as vast as the heavens and the earth, which has been readied for the God-conscious

These it is who shall have as their reward forgiveness from their Sustainer, and gardens through which running waters flow, therein to abide: and how excellent a reward for those who labour!

Do you think that you could enter paradise unless God takes cognizance of your having striven hard [in His cause], and takes cognizance of your having been patient in adversity?*

Every human being is bound to taste death: but only on the Day of Resurrection will you be requited in full [for whatever you have done] - whereupon he that shall be drawn away from the fire and brought into paradise will indeed have gained a triumph: for the life of this world is nothing but an enjoyment of self-delusion.

And thus does their Sustainer answer their prayer: "I shall not lose sight of the labour of any of you who labours [in My way], be it man or woman: each of you is an issue of the other.* Hence, as for those who forsake the domain of evil,* and are driven from their homelands, and suffer hurt in My cause, and fight [for it], and are slain - I shall most certainly efface their bad deeds, and shall most certainly bring them into gardens through which running waters flow, as a reward from God: for with God is the most beauteous of rewards."

whereas those who remain conscious of their Sustainer shall have gardens through which running waters flow, therein to abide: a ready welcome from God. And that which is with God is best for the truly virtuous.

These are the bounds set by God. And whoever pays heed unto God and His Apostle, him will He bring into gardens through which running waters flow, therein to abide: and this is a triumph supreme.

But those who attain to faith and do righteous deeds We shall bring into gardens through which running waters flow, therein to abide beyond the count of time; there shall they have spouses pure: and [thus] We shall bring them unto happiness abounding.*

Yet those who attain to faith and do righteous deeds We shall bring into gardens through which running waters flow, therein to abide beyond the count of time: this is, in truth, God's promise - and whose word could be truer than God's?

whereas anyone - be it man or woman - who does [whatever he can] of good deeds and is a believer withal, shall enter paradise, and shall not be wronged by as much as [would fill] the groove of a date-stone.

AND, INDEED, God accepted a [similar] solemn pledge* from the children of Israel when We caused twelve of their leaders to be sent [to Canaan as spies].* And God said: "Behold, I shall be with you! If you are constant in prayer, and spend in charity, and believe in My apostles and aid them, and offer up unto God a goodly loan,* I will surely efface your bad deeds and bring you into gardens through which running waters flow. But he from among you who, after this, denies the truth, will indeed have strayed from the right path!"

If the followers of the Bible would but attain to [true] faith and God-consciousness, We should indeed efface their [previous] bad deeds, and indeed bring them into gardens of bliss;

Indeed, the truth deny they who say, "Behold, God is the Christ, son of Mary" - seeing that the Christ [himself] said, "O children of Israel! Worship God [alone], who is my Sustainer as well as your Sustainer."* Behold, whoever ascribes divinity to any being beside God, unto him will God deny paradise, and his goal shall be the fire: and such evildoers will have none to succour them!

And for this their belief* God will reward them with gardens through which running waters flow, therein to abide: for such is the requital of the doers of good;

[AND on Judgment Day] God will say:* "Today, their truthfulness shall benefit all who have been true to their word: theirs shall be gardens through which running waters flow, therein to abide beyond the count of time; well-pleased is God with them, and well-pleased are they with Him: this is the triumph supreme."

And He it is who has caused waters to come down from the sky; and by this means have We brought forth all living growth, and out of this have We brought forth verdure.* Out of this do We bring forth close-growing grain; and out of the spathe of the palm tree, dates in thick clusters; and gardens of vines, and the olive tree, and the pomegranate: [all] so alike, and yet so different!* Behold their fruit when it comes to fruition and ripens! Verily, in all this there are messages indeed for people who will believe!

For it is He who has brought into being gardens-[both] the cultivated ones and those growing wild* -and the date-palm, and fields bearing multiform produce, and the olive tree, and the pomegranate: [all] resembling one another and yet so different!* Eat of their fruit when it comes to fruition, and give [unto the poor] their due on harvest day. And do not waste [God's bounties]: verily, He does not love the wasteful!

And [as for thee], O Adam', dwell thou and thy wife in this garden, and eat, both of you, whatever you may wish; but do not approach this one tree, lest you become evildoers!"*

-and thus he led them on with deluding thoughts. But as soon as the two had tasted [the fruit] of the tree, they became conscious of their nakedness; and they began to cover themselves with pieced-together leaves from the garden. And their Sustainer called unto them: "Did I not forbid that tree unto you and tell you, `Verily, Satan is your open foe'?"

O children of Adam! Do not allow Satan to seduce you in the same way as he caused your ancestors to be driven out of the garden: he deprived them of their garment [of God-consciousness] in order to make them aware of their nakedness. Verily, he and his tribe are lying in wait for you where you cannot perceive them!* Verily, We have placed [all manner of] satanic forces near unto those who do not [truly] believe;*

VERILY, unto those who give the lie to Our messages and scorn them in their pride, the gates of heaven shall not be opened;* and they shall not enter paradise any more than a twisted rope can pass through a needle's eye:* for thus do We requite such as are lost in sin.

But those who attain to faith and do righteous deeds - [and] We do not burden any human being with more than he is well able to bear - they are destined for paradise, therein to abide,

after We shall have removed whatever unworthy thoughts or feelings may have been [lingering] in their bosoms. Running waters will flow at their feet;* and they will say: "All praise is due to God, who has guided us unto this; for we would certainly not have found the right path unless God had guided us! Indeed, our Sustainer's apostles have told us the truth!" And [a voice] will call out unto them: "This is the paradise which you have inherited by virtue of your past deeds!"

And the inmates of paradise will call out to the inmates of the fire: "Now we have found that what our Sustainer promised us has come true; have you. too, found that what your Sustainer promised you has come true?" [The others] will answer, "Yes!"-whereupon from their midst a voice* will loudly proclaim: "God's rejection is the due of the evildoers

And between the two there will be a barrier.* And there will be persons who [in life] were endowed with the faculty of discernment [between right and wrong], recognizing each by its mark.* And they will call out unto the inmates of paradise, "Peace be upon you!"-not having entered it themselves, but longing [for it].

Are those [blessed ones] the self-same people of whom you once solemnly declared, `Never will God bestow His grace upon them'?* [For now they have been told,] `Enter paradise; no fear need you have, and neither shall you grieve!"'

And the inmates of the fire will call out unto the inmates of paradise: "Pour some water upon us, or some of the sustenance [of paradise] which God has provided for you!" [The inmates of paradise] will reply: "Verily, God has denied both to those who have denied the truth -

Their Sustainer gives them the glad tiding of the grace [that flows] from Him, and of [His] goodly acceptance, and of the gardens which await them, full of lasting bliss,

God has promised the believers, both men and women, gardens through which running waters flow, therein to abide, and goodly dwellings in gardens of perpetual bliss:* but God's goodly acceptance is the greatest [bliss of all] -for this, this is the triumph supreme!

God has readied for them gardens through which running waters flow, therein to abide: and this is the triumph supreme!

And as for the first and foremost of those who have forsaken the domain of evil and of those who have sheltered and succoured the Faith,* as well as those who follow them in [the way of] righteousness - God is well-pleased with them, and well--pleased are they with Him. And for them has He readied gardens through which running waters flow, therein to abide beyond the count of time: this is the triumph supreme!

BEHOLD, God has bought of the believers their lives and their possessions, promising them paradise in return, ,[and so] they fight in God's cause, and slay, and are slain: a promise which in truth He has willed upon Himself in [the words of] the Torah, and the Gospel, and the Qur'an. And who could be more faithful to his covenant than God? Rejoice, then, in the bargain which you have made with Him: for this, this is the triumph supreme!

[But,] verily, as for those who have attained to faith and do righteous deeds - their Sustainer guides them aright by means of their faith. [In the life to come,] running waters will flow at their feet* in gardens of bliss;

For those who persevere in doing good there is the ultimate good in store, and more [than that].* No darkness and no ignominy will overshadow their faces [on Resurrection Day]: it is they who are destined for paradise, therein to abide.

Behold, [only] those who attain to faith and do righteous deeds and humble themselves before their Sustainer - [only] they are destined for paradise, and there shall they abide.

But as for those who [by virtue of their past deeds] will have been blest with happiness, [they shall live] in paradise, therein to abide as long as the heavens and the earth endure -unless thy Sustainer wills it otherwise* -as a gift unceasing.

And there are on earth [many] tracts of land close by one another [and yet widely differing from one another* ]; and [there are on it] vinyards, and fields of grain, and date-palms growing in clusters from one root or standing alone,* [all] watered with the same water: and yet, some of them have We favoured above others by way of the food [which they provide for man and beast].* Verily, in all this there are messages indeed for people who use their reason!

gardens of perpetual bliss, which they shall enter together with the righteous from among their parents, their spouses, and their offspring;* and the angels will come unto them from every gate [and will say]:

THE PARABLE of the paradise promised to those who are conscious of God [is that of a garden] through which running waters flow:* [but, unlike an earthly garden,] its fruits will be everlasting, and [so will be] its shade.* Such will be the destiny of those who remain conscious of God-just as the destiny of those who deny the truth will be the fire.*

But those who shall have attained to faith and done righteous deeds will be brought into gardens through which running waters flow, therein to abide by their Sustainer's leave, and will be welcomed with the greeting, "Peace!"*

VERILY, those who are conscious of God [shall find themselves in the hereafter] amidst gardens and springs,

Gardens of perpetual bliss will they enter - [gardens] through which running waters flow - having therein all that they might desire. Thus will God reward those who are conscious of Him-

those whom the angels gather in death while they are in a state of inner purity, greeting them thus: "Peace be upon you! Enter paradise by virtue of what you were doing [in life]!"

or thou have a garden of date-palms and vines and cause rivers to gush forth in their midst in a sudden rush,*

theirs shall be gardens of perpetual bliss - [gardens] through which running waters flow - wherein they will be adorned with bracelets of gold and will wear green garments of silk and brocade, [and] wherein upon couches they will recline:"* how excellent a recompense, and how goodly a place to rest!

AND PROPOUND unto them the parable of two men, upon one of whom We had bestowed two vinyards, and surrounded them with date-palms, and placed a field of grain in-between.*

Each of the two gardens yielded its produce and never failed therein in any way, for We had caused a stream to gush forth in the midst of each of them.

And having [thus] sinned against himself, he entered his garden, saying, "I do not think that this will ever perish!

And [he continued:] "Alas,* if thou hadst but said, on entering thy garden, `Whatever God wills [shall come to pass, for] there is no power save with God!' Although, as thou seest, I have less wealth and offspring than thou,

yet it may well be that my Sustainer will give me something better than thy garden -just as He may let loose a calamity out of heaven upon this [thy garden], so that it becomes a heap of barren dust

[But,] verily, as for those who attain to faith and do righteous deeds - the gardens of paradise will be there to welcome them;

Excepted, however, shall be those who repent and attain to faith and do righteous deeds: for it is they who will enter paradise and will not be wronged in any way:*

[theirs will be the] gardens of perpetual bliss which the Most Gracious has promised unto His servants, in a realm which is beyond the reach of human perception:* [and,] verily, His promise is ever sure of fulfilment!

this is the paradise which We grant as a heritage unto such of Our servants as are conscious of Us.

gardens of perpetual bliss, through which running waters flow, therein to abide: for that shall be the recompense of all who attain to purity.

and thereupon We said: "O Adam! Verily, this is a foe unto thee and thy wife: so let him not drive the two of you out of this garden and render thee unhappy.*

And so the two ate [of the fruit] thereof: and thereupon they became conscious of their nakedness and began to cover themselves with pieced-together leaves from the garden. And [thus] did Adam disobey his Sustainer, and thus did he fall into grievous error.*

VERILY, God will admit those who have attained to faith and have done righteous deeds into gardens through which running waters flow: for, behold, God does whatever He wills.

[As against this,] behold, God will admit those who attain to faith and do righteous deeds into gar­dens through which running waters flow, wherein they will be adorned with bracelets of gold and pearls, and where silk will be their raiment:*

On that Day, all dominion shall [visibly] belong to God, He shall judge [all men and make a distinction] between them: thus, all who had attained to faith and did righteous deeds shall find themselves in gardens of bliss,

And by means of this [water] We bring forth for you gardens of date-palms and vines, wherein you have fruit abundant and whereof you eat,

Or: “[Why has not] a treasure been granted to him [by God]?" Or: “He should [at least] have a [bountiful] garden, so that he could eat thereof [without effort]!"* And so these evildoers say [unto one another], “If you were to follow [Muhammad, you would follow] but a man bewitched!"

Hallowed is He who, if it be His will, shall give thee something better than that [whereof they speak] - gardens through which running waters flow - and shall assign to thee mansions [of bliss in the life to come].

Say: “Which is better - that, or the paradise of life abiding which has been promised to the God-conscious as their reward and their journey's end –

[whereas] on that same Day those who are destined for paradise will be graced with the best of abodes and the fairest place of repose.*

and so we have [rightly] driven them out of [their] gardens and springs,

and place me among those who shall inherit the garden of bliss!

For, [on that Day,] paradise will be brought within sight of the God-conscious,

and gardens, and springs -:

amidst [these] gardens and springs

whereupon unto those who have attained to faith and wrought good works We shall most certainly assign mansions in that paradise through which run­ning waters flow, therein to abide: how excellent a reward for those who labour –

[As against this,] verily, those who attain to faith and do righteous deeds shall have gardens of bliss,

As for those who attain to faith and do right­eous deeds - gardens of rest await them, as a wel­come [from God], in result of what they did;

INDEED, in [the luxuriant beauty of] their homeland, the people of Sheba had an evidence [of God's grace]* two [vast expanses of] gardens, to the right and to the left, [calling out to them, as it were:] “Eat of what your Sustainer has provided for you, and render thanks unto Him: a land most goodly, and a Sustainer much-forgiving!"

But they turned away [from Us], and so We let loose upon them a flood that overwhelmed the dams,* and changed their two [expanses of luxuriant] gardens into a couple of gardens yielding bitter fruit, and tamarisks, and some few [wild] lote-trees:

[Hence,] gardens of perpetual bliss will they enter, therein to be adorned with bracelets of gold and pearls, and therein to be clad in raiments of silk;*

[And] he was told,* “[Thou shalt] enter paradise!" - [whereupon] he exclaimed: “Would that my people knew

and [how] We make gardens of date-palms and vines [grow] thereon, and cause springs to gush [forth] within it,

“Behold, those who are destined for paradise shall today have joy in whatever they do:

in gardens of bliss,

gardens of perpetual bliss, with gates wide-open to them,*

But those who were conscious of their Sus­tainer will be urged on in throngs towards paradise till, when they reach it, they shall find its gates wide- open;* and its keepers will say unto them, “Peace be upon you! Well have you done: enter, then, this [paradise], herein to abide!"

And they will exclaim: “All praise is due to God, who has made His promise to us come true, and has bestowed upon us this expanse [of bliss] as our portion,* so that we may dwell in paradise as we please!" And how excellent a reward will it be for those who laboured [in God's way]!

“And, O our Sustainer, bring them into the gardens of perpetual bliss* which Thou hast promised them, together with the righteous from among their forebears, and their spouses, and their offspring - for, verily, Thou alone art almighty, truly wise –

[There,] anyone who has done a bad deed will be requited with no more than the like thereof, whereas anyone, be it man or woman, who has done righteous deeds and is a believer withal - all such will enter paradise, wherein they shall be blest with good beyond all reckoning!*

[But,] behold, as for those who say, “Our Sustainer is God," and then steadfastly pursue the right way - upon them do angels often descend, [say­ing:] “Fear not and grieve not, but receive the glad tiding of that paradise which has been promised to you!

[Thou art but entrusted with Our message:] and so We have revealed unto thee a discourse in the Arabic tongue* in order that thou mayest warn the foremost of all cities and all who dwell around it* to wit, warn [them] of the Day of the Gathering, [the coming of] which is beyond all doubt: [the Day when] some shall find themselves in paradise, and some in the blazing flame.

[In that life to come,] thou wilt see the evil­doers full of fear at [the thought of] what they have earned: for [now] it is bound to fall back upon them. And in the flowering meadows of the gardens [of paradise thou wilt see] those who have attained to faith and done righteous deeds: all that they might desire shall they have with their Sustainer: [and] this, this is the great bounty -

Enter paradise, you and your spouses, with happiness blest!"

for such will be the paradise which you shall have inherited by virtue of your past deeds:

[And so they perished: and] how many gardens did they leave behind, and water-runnels,

amid gardens and springs,

it is they who are destined for paradise, therein to abide as a reward for all that they have done.

It is [such as] these from whom We shall accept the best that they ever did,* and whose bad deeds We shall overlook: [they will find themselves] among those who are destined for paradise, in fulfillment of the true promise which they were given [in this world].

and will admit them to the paradise which He has promised them.

Verily, God will admit all who attain to faith and do righteous deeds into gardens through which running waters flow, whereas they who are bent on denying the truth shall have - even though they may enjoy their life [in this world] and eat as cattle eat - the fire [of the hereafter] for their abode.

[And can] the parable of the paradise which the God-conscious are promised* [a paradise] wherein there are rivers of water which time does not corrupt, and rivers of milk the taste whereof never alters, and rivers of wine delightful to those who drink it,* and rivers of honey of all impurity cleansed, and the enjoyment* of all the fruits [of their good deeds] and of forgiveness from their Sustainer -: can this [parable of paradise] be likened unto [the parable of the recompense of]* such as are to abide in the fire and be given waters of burning despair* to drink, so that it will tear their bowels asunder?