Verily, as for those who are bent on denying the truth and die as deniers of the truth - not all the gold on earth could ever be their ransom.* It is they for whom grievous suffering is in store; and they shall have none to succour them.

On that Day We will ask hell, “Art thou filled?"- and it will answer, “[Nay,] is there yet more [for me]?"

and they [who are lost in evil] are indeed bound to eat thereof, and to fill their bellies therewith.

and will have to fill your bellies therewith,

[And God] said: "Go forth from here, disgraced and disowned! [And] as for such of them as follow thee - I will most certainly fill hell with you all!

[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!"*

And thou wouldst have thought that they were awake, whereas they lay asleep. And We caused them to turn over repeatedly, now to the right, now to the left; and their dog [lay] on the threshold, its forepaws outstretched. Hadst thou come upon them [unprepared], thou wouldst surely have turned away from them in flight, and wouldst surely have been filled with awe of them.*

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!"*

Most certainly will I fill hell with thee and such of them as shall follow thee, all together!"

"'And [so it happened] that we reached out towards heaven:* but we found it filled with mighty guards and flames,*

Art thou not aware of those elders of the children of Israel , after the time of Moses, how they said unto a prophet of theirs,* "Raise up a king for us, [and] we shall fight in God's cause"? Said he: "Would you, perchance, refrain from fighting if fighting is ordained for you?" They answered: "And why should we not fight in God's cause when we and our children have been driven from our homelands?"* Yet, when fighting was ordained for them, they did turn back, save for a few of them; but God had full knowledge of the evildoers.

The great ones among his people replied: "Verily, we see that thou art obviously lost in error!"

Said the great ones among his people, who refused to acknowledge the truth: "Verily, we see that thou art weak-minded; and, verily, we think that thou art a liar!"*

The great ones among his people, who gloried in their arrogance towards all who were deemed weak, said unto the believers among them: "Do you [really] know that salih has been sent by his Sustainer?" They answered: "Verily, we believe in the message which he bears."*

Said the great ones among his people, who gloried in their arrogance: "Most certainly, O Shu'ayb, we shall expel thee and thy fellow-believers from our land, unless you indeed return to our ways!" Said [Shu'ayb]: "Why, even though we abhor [them]?

But the great ones among his people, who were bent on denying the truth, said [to his followers]: "Indeed, if you follow Shu'ayb, you will, verily, be the losers!"

AND AFTER those [early people] We sent Moses with Our messages unto Pharaoh and his great ones, and they wilfully rejected them:* and behold what happened in the end to those spreaders of corruption!

The great ones among Pharaoh's people said: "Verily, this is indeed a sorcerer of great knowledge,

And the great ones among Pharaoh's people said: "Wilt thou allow Moses and his people to spread corruption on earth, and to [cause thy people to] forsake thee and thy gods?" [Pharaoh] replied: "We shall slay their sons in great numbers and shall spare [only] their women: for, verily, we hold sway over them!"

And after those [earlier prophets] We sent Moses and Aaron with Our messages unto Pharaoh and his great ones: but they gloried in their arrogance, for they were people lost in sin.

But none save a few of his people declared their faith in Moses,* [while others held back] for fear of Pharaoh and their great ones, lest they persecute them:* for, verily, Pharaoh was mighty on earth and was, verily, of those who are given to excesses.

And Moses prayed: "O our Sustainer! Verily, splendour and riches hast Thou vouchsafed, in the life of this world, unto Pharaoh and his great ones-with the result, O our Sustainer, that they are leading [others] astray from Thy path!* O our Sustainer! Wipe out their riches, and harden their hearts, so that they may not attain to faith ere they see the grievous suffering [that awaits them]!"

But the great ones among his people, who refused to acknowledge the truth, answered: "We do not see in thee anything but a mortal man like ourselves; and we do not see that any follow thee save those who are quite obviously the most abject among us;* and we do not see that you could be in any way superior to us:* on the ,contrary, we think that you are liars!"

And [so Noah] set himself to building the ark; and every time the great ones of his people passed by him, they scoffed at him. [Thereupon] he said: "If you are scoffing at us-behold, we are scoffing at you [and your ignorance], just as you are scoffing at us.*

unto Pharaoh and his great ones: but these followed [only] Pharaoh's bidding - and Pharaoh's bidding led by no means to what is right.*

AND [one day] the King said:* Behold, I saw [in a dream] seven fat cows being devoured by seven emaciated ones, and seven green ears [of wheat] next to [seven] others that were withered. O you nobles! Enlighten me about [the meaning of] my dream, if you are able to interpret dreams!"

But the great ones among his people, who refused to acknowledge the truth, replied: “This [man] is nothing but a mortal like yourselves who wants to make himself superior to you! For, if God had willed [to convey a message unto us], He would surely have sent down angels; [moreover,] we have never heard [any­thing like] this from our forebears of old!*

And [every time] the great ones among his people, who refused to acknowledge the truth and gave the lie to the announcement of a life to come - [simply] because We had granted them ease and plenty in [their] worldly life, and they had become corrupted by it* [every time] they would say: “This [man] is nothing hut a mortal like yourselves, eating of what you eat, and drinking of what you drink:

unto Pharaoh and his great ones;* but these behaved with arrogance, for they were people wont to glorify [only] themselves.

Said [pharaoh] unto the great ones around him: “Verily, this is indeed a sorcerer of great knowledge

[When the Queen had read Solomon's letter,] she said: “O you nobles! A truly distinguished letter has been conveyed unto me.

She added: “O you nobles! Give me your opinion on the problem with which I am now faced;* I would never make a [weighty] decision unless you are present with me."

[When Solomon learned that the Queen of Sheba was coming,]* he said [to his council]: “O you nobles! Which of you can bring me her throne ere she and her followers come unto me in willing surrender to God?"*

And [then and there] a man came running from the farthermost end of the city, and said: “O Moses! Behold, the great ones [of the kingdom] are deli­berating upon thy case with a view to killing thee! Begone, then: verily, I am of those who wish thee well!"

“[And now] put thy hand into thy bosom: it will come forth [shining] white, without blemish.* And [henceforth] hold thine arm close to thyself, free of all fear.* “These, then, shall be the two signs [of thy bearing a message] from thy Sustainer* unto Pharaoh and his great ones - for, behold, they are people depraved!"

Whereupon Pharaoh said: “O you nobles! I did not know that you could have any deity other than myself* Well, then, O Haman, kindle me a fire for [baking bricks of] clay, and then build me a lofty tower, that haply I may have a look at the god of Moses* although, behold, I am convinced that he is of those who [always] tell lies!"

[so that] they [who seek to learn the unknowable] should not be able to overhear the host on high,* but shall be repelled from all sides,

And their leaders launch forth [thus]: “Go ahead, and hold steadfastly onto your deities: this, behold, is the only thing to do!*

[Say, O Muhammad:] “No knowledge would I have had of [what passed among] the host on high when they argued [against the creation of man],*

THUS, INDEED,* have We sent Moses with Our messages unto Pharaoh and his great ones; and he said: “Behold, I am an apostle of the Sustainer of all the worlds!"