and [then bethink thyself of] the promised Day,*

And Abraham's prayer that his father be forgiven was but due to a promise which he had given the latter [in his lifetime];* but when it was made clear unto him that he had been God's enemy, [Abraham] disavowed him - [although;] behold, Abraham was most tender-hearted. most clement.

[Remember that day] when you were at the near end of the valley [of Badr], and they were at its farthest end, while the caravan was below you.* And if you had known that a battle was to take place, you would indeed have refused to accept the challenge:* but [the battle was brought about none the less,] so that God might accomplish a thing [which He willed] to be done,* [and] that he who would perish might perish in clear evidence of the truth, and that he who would remain alive might live in clear evidence of the truth.* And, behold, God is indeed all-hearing, all-knowing.

And do not lie in ambush by every road [that leads to the truth* ], threatening and trying to turn away from God's path all who believe in Him, and trying to make it appear crooked. And remember [the time] when you were few, and [how] He made you many: and behold what happened in the end to the spreaders of corruption!

and when We appointed for Moses forty nights [on Mount Sinai], and in his absence you took to worshipping the [golden] calf, and thus became evildoers:

But you will incur no sin if you give a hint of [an intended] marriage-offer to [any of] these women, or if you conceive such an intention without making it obvious: [for] God knows that you intend to ask them in marriage.* Do not, however, plight your troth with them in secret, but speak only in a decent manner; and do not proceed with tying the marriage-knot ere the ordained [term of waiting] has come to its end. And know that God knows what is in your minds, and therefore remain conscious of Him; and know, too, that God is much-forgiving, forbearing.

AND [then] We appointed for Moses thirty nights [on Mount Sinai ]; and We added to them ten, whereby the term of forty nights set bye, his Sustainer was fulfilled.* And Moses said unto his brother Aaron: "Take thou my place among my people; and act righteously, and follow not the path of the spreaders of corruption."

O children of Israel! [Thus] We saved you from your enemy, and [then] We made a covenant with you on the right-hand slope of Mount Sinai,* and repeatedly sent down manna and quails unto you, [saying,]

"O our Sustainer! Verily, Thou wilt gather mankind together to witness the Day about [the coming of] which there is no doubt: verily, God never fails to fulfil His promise."

"And, O our Sustainer, grant us that which Thou hast promised us through Thy apostles, and disgrace us not on Resurrection Day! Verily, Thou never failest to fulfil Thy promise!"

[Remember that day] when you were at the near end of the valley [of Badr], and they were at its farthest end, while the caravan was below you.* And if you had known that a battle was to take place, you would indeed have refused to accept the challenge:* but [the battle was brought about none the less,] so that God might accomplish a thing [which He willed] to be done,* [and] that he who would perish might perish in clear evidence of the truth, and that he who would remain alive might live in clear evidence of the truth.* And, behold, God is indeed all-hearing, all-knowing.

Yet even if [they should listen to] a [divine] discourse by which mountains could be moved, or the earth cleft asunder, or the dead made to speak - [they who are bent on denying the truth would still refuse to believe in it]!* Nay, but God alone has the power to decide what shall be.* Have, then, they who have attained to faith not yet come to know that, had God so willed; He would indeed have guided all mankind aright?* But as for those who are bent on denying the truth-in result of their [evil] deeds, sudden calamities will always befall them or will alight close to their homes;* [and this will continue] until God's promise [of resurrection] is fulfilled: verily, God never fails to fulfil His promise!

Say: “There has been appointed for you a Day, which you can neither delay nor advance by a single moment."*

As against this* they who of their Sustainer are conscious shall [in the life to come] have man­sions raised upon mansions high, beneath which run­ning waters flow: [this is] God's promise - [and] never does God fail to fulfill His promise.

and most certainly shall We cause you to dwell on earth [long] after they have passed away:* this is [My promise] unto all who stand in awe of My presence, and stand in awe of My warning!"*

AND THUS* have We bestowed from on high this [divine writ] as a discourse in the Arabic tongue,* and have given therein many facets to all manner of warnings, so that men might remain conscious of Us, or that it give rise to a new awareness in them*

and the dwellers of the wooded dales [of Madyan], and the people of Tubba:* they all gave the lie to the apostles - and thereupon that whereof I had warned [them] came true.

and [in the end] the trumpet [of resurrection] will be blown: that will be the Day of a warning fulfilled.

[And] He will say: “Contend not before Me, [O you sinners,] for I gave you a forewarning [of this Day of Reckoning].

Fully aware are We of what they [who deny resurrection] do say; and thou canst by no means force them [to believe in it]. Yet none the less, remind, through this Qur'an, all such as may fear My warning.

Can, then, [he who cares for no more than the life of this world be compared with* ] one who takes his stand on a clear evidence from his Sustainer, conveyed through [this] testimony from Him,* as was the revelation vouchsafed to Moses aforetime-[a divine writ ordained by Him] to be a guidance and grace [unto man]? They [who understand this message-it is they alone who truly] believe in it;* whereas for any of those who, leagued together [in common hostility],* deny its truth - the fire shall be their appointed state [in the life to come]. And so,* be not in doubt about this [revelation]: behold, it is the truth from thy Sustainer, even though* most people will not believe in it.

[Whereupon the angels] said: "O Lot! Behold, we are messengers from thy Sustainer! Never shall [thy enemies] attain to thee! Depart, then, with thy household while it is yet night, and let none of you look back;* [and take with thee all thy family] with the exception of thy wife: for, behold, that which is to befall these [people of Sodom] shall befall her [as well].* Verily, their appointed time is the morning [and] is not the morning nigh?"

and for all such, behold, hell is the promised goal.

And they will be lined up before thy Sustainer, [and He will say:* ] "Now, indeed, you have come unto Us [in a lonely state], even as We created you in the first instances* - although you were wont to assert that We would never 'appoint for you a meeting [with Us]!"

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*

as [was the case with all] those communities that We destroyed when they went on and on doing wrong:* for We had set a time-limit for their destruction.

In that case, we shall most certainly produce before thee the like thereof! Appoint, then, a tryst between us and thee - which we shall not fail to keep, nor [mayest] thou -at a suitable place!"

Answered [Moses]: "Your tryst shall be the day of the Festival ;* and let the people assemble when the sun is risen high."

Thereupon Moses returned to his people full of wrath and sorrow, [and] exclaimed: "O my people! Did not your Sustainer hold out [many] a goodly promise to you? bid, then, [the fulfilment of] this promise seem to you too long in coming?* Or are you, perchance, determined to see your Sustainer's condemnation fall upon you,* and so you broke your promise to me?"

They answered: "We did not break our promise to thee of our own free will, but [this is what happened:] we were loaded with the [sinful] burdens of the [Egyptian] people's ornaments, and so we threw them [into the fire],* and likewise did this Samaritan cast [his into it]."

Said [Moses]; "Begone, then! And, behold, it shall be thy lot to say throughout [thy] life, `Touch me not!* But, verily, [in the life to come] thou shalt be faced with a destiny from which there will be no escape!* And [now] look at this deity of thine to whose worship thou hast become so devoted: we shall most certainly burn it, and then scatter [whatever remains of] it far and wide over the sea!

But nay - the Last Hour is the time when they shall truly meet their fate;* and that Last Hour will be most calamitous, and most bitter:

AND, INDEED, God made good His promise unto you when, by His leave, you were about to destroy your foes* - until the moment when you lost heart and acted contrary to the [Prophet's] command,* and disobeyed after He had brought you within view of that [victory] for which you were longing. There were among you such as cared for this world [alone], just as there were among you such as cared for the life to come:* whereupon, in order that He might put you to a test, He prevented you from defeating your foes.* But now He has effaced your sin: for God is limitless in His bounty unto the believers.

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?

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!

Unto Him you all must return: this is, in truth, God's promise-for, behold, He creates [man] in the first instance, and then brings him forth anew* to the end that He may reward with equity all who attain to faith and do righteous deeds; whereas for those who are bent on denying the truth there is in store a draught of burning despair and grievous suffering because of their persistent refusal to acknowledge the truth.*

And yet, they [who deny the truth] are wont to ask, "When is that promise [of resurrection and judgment] to be fulfilled? [Answer this, O you who believe in it,] if you are men of truth!"

Oh, verily, unto God belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth! Oh, verily, God's promise always comes true-but most of them know it not!

And Noah called out to his Sustainer, and said: "O my Sustainer! Verily, my son was of my family;* and, verily, Thy promise always comes true, and Thou art the most just of all judges!"

But they cruelly slaughtered her.* And thereupon [Salih] said: "[Only] for three days [more] shall you enjoy life in your homes: this is a judgment* which will not be belied!"

Yet even if [they should listen to] a [divine] discourse by which mountains could be moved, or the earth cleft asunder, or the dead made to speak - [they who are bent on denying the truth would still refuse to believe in it]!* Nay, but God alone has the power to decide what shall be.* Have, then, they who have attained to faith not yet come to know that, had God so willed; He would indeed have guided all mankind aright?* But as for those who are bent on denying the truth-in result of their [evil] deeds, sudden calamities will always befall them or will alight close to their homes;* [and this will continue] until God's promise [of resurrection] is fulfilled: verily, God never fails to fulfil His promise!

And when everything will have been decided, Satan will say: "Behold, God promised you something that was bound to come true!* I, too, held out [all manner of] promises to you -but I deceived you. Yet I had no power at all over you: I but called you-and you responded unto me. Hence, blame not me, but blame yourselves.* It is not for me to respond to your cries, nor for you to respond to mine:* for, behold, I have [always] refused to admit that there was any truth in your erstwhile belief that I had a share in God's divinity."* Verily, for all evildoers* there is grievous suffering in store.

HENCE, do not think that God will fail to fulfil the promise which He gave to His apostles:* verily, God is almighty, an avenger of evil!

As it is,* they swear by God with their most solemn oaths, "Never will God raise from the dead anyone who has died!"* Yea indeed! [This very thing has God promised] by a promise which He has willed upon Himself; but most people know it not.

Hence, when the prediction of the first of those two [periods of iniquity] came true, We sent against you some of Our bondmen of terrible prowess in war, and they wrought havoc throughout the land: and so the prediction was fulfilled.*

[And We said:] "If you persevere in doing good, you will but be doing good to yourselves; and if you do evil, it will be [done] to yourselves." And so, when the prediction of the second [period of your iniquity] came true, [We raised new enemies against you, and allowed them] to disgrace you utterly,* and to enter the Temple as [their forerunners] had entered it once before, and to destroy with utter destruction all that they had conquered.

And after that We said unto the children of Israel: "Dwell now securely on earth - but [remember that] when the promise of the Last Day shall come to pass, We will bring you forth as [parts of] a motley crowd!*

and say, "Limitless in His glory is our Sustainer! Verily, our Sustainer's promise has been fulfilled!"*

AND IN THIS way* have We drawn [people's] attention to their story,* so that they might know - whenever they debate among themselves as to what happened to those [Men of the Cave]* that God's promise [of resurrection] is true, and that there can be no doubt as to [the coming of] the Last Hour. And so, some [people] said: "Erect a building in their memory;* God knows best what happened to them." Said they whose opinion prevailed in the end: "Indeed, we must surely raise a house of worship in their memory!"

Said [the King]: "This is a mercy from my Sustainer! Yet when the time appointed by my Sustainer* shall come, He will make this [rampart] level with the ground: and my Sustainer's promise always comes true!"*

AND CALL to mind, through this divine writ, Ishmael.* Behold, he was always true to his promise, and was an apostle [of God], a prophet,

[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!

Thereupon Moses returned to his people full of wrath and sorrow, [and] exclaimed: "O my people! Did not your Sustainer hold out [many] a goodly promise to you? bid, then, [the fulfilment of] this promise seem to you too long in coming?* Or are you, perchance, determined to see your Sustainer's condemnation fall upon you,* and so you broke your promise to me?"

In the end, We made good unto them Our promise, and We saved them and all whom We willed [to save],* and We destroyed those who had wasted their own selves.*

But they [who reject My messages are wont to] ask, “When is that promise [of God's judgment] to be fulfilled? [Answer this, O you who believe in it,] if you are men of truth!"*

the while the true promise [of resurrection] draws close [to its fulfillment]. But then, lo! the eyes of those who [in their lifetime] were bent on denying the truth will stare in horror, [and they will exclaim:] “Oh, woe unto us! We were indeed heedless of this [promise of resur­rection]! - nay, we were [bent on] doing evil!"*

On that Day We shall roll up the skies as written scrolls are rolled up; [and] as We brought into being the first creation, so We shall bring it forth anew* a promise which We have willed upon Our­selves: for, behold, We are able to do [all things]!

And [so, O Muhammad,] they challenge thee to hasten the coming upon them of [God's] chastisement:* but God never fails to fulfill His promise - and, behold, in thy Sustainer's sight a day is like a thousand years of your reckoning.*

a promise given by thy Sustainer, [always] to be prayed for?"

And [when] they ask, “When is this promise [of resurrection] to be fulfilled? [Answer this, O you who believe in it,] if you are men of truth!" –

And thus We restored him to his mother, so that her eye might he gladdened, and that she might grieve no longer, and that she might know that God's promise always comes true - even though most of them know it not!

Is, then, he to whom We have given that goodly promise which he shall see fulfilled [on his resurrection]* comparable to one on whom We have bestowed [all] the enjoyments of this worldly life but who, on Resurrection Day, will find himself among those that shall be arraigned [before Us]?*

[This is] God's promise. Never does God fail to fulfill His promise - but most people know [it] not:

Remain, then, patient in adversity: verily, Gods promise [of resurrection] is true indeed - so let not those who are devoid of all inner certainty disquiet thy mind!

to abide therein in accordance with God's true promise: for He alone is almighty, truly wise.*

O MEN! Be conscious of your Sustainer, and stand in awe of the Day on which no parent will be of any avail to his child, nor a child will in the least avail his parent! Verily, God's promise [of resurrection] is true in­deed: let not, then, the life of this world deludes you, and let not [your own] deceptive thoughts about God delude you!*

and so they ask, “When is this promise [of resurrection and judgment] to be fulfilled? [Answer this, O you who believe in it,] if you are men of truth!"*

O men! Verily, God's promise [of resurrection] is true indeed: let not, then, the life of this world delude you, and let not [your own] deceptive thoughts about God delude you!*

And they add, “When is this promise [of resurrection] to be fulfilled? [Answer this] if you are men of truth!"

As against this* they who of their Sustainer are conscious shall [in the life to come] have man­sions raised upon mansions high, beneath which run­ning waters flow: [this is] God's promise - [and] never does God fail to fulfill His promise.

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]!

hence, remain thou patient in adversity - for, verily, God's promise always comes true - and ask forgiveness for thy sins, and extol thy Sustainer's glory and praise by night and by day.*

HENCE, remain thou patient in adversity - for, verily, God's promise always comes true. And whether We show thee [in this world] something of what We hold in store for those [deniers of the truth], or whether We cause thee to die [ere that retribution takes place - know that, in the end], it is unto Us that they will be brought back.*

for when it was said, 'Behold, God's promise always comes true, and there can be no doubt about [the coming of] the Last Hour' - you would answer, 'We do not know what that Last Hour may be: we think it is no more than an empty guess, and [so] we are by no means convinced!'"

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].

But [there is many a one] who says to his parents [whenever they try to imbue him with faith in God]: “Fie upon both of you! Do you promise me that I shall be brought forth [from the dead], although [so many] generations have passed away before me?"* And [while] they both pray for God's help [and say], “Alas for thee! For, behold, God's promise always comes true!" - he but answers, “All this is nothing but fables of ancient times!"

But they [only] ask, "When is this promise to be fulfilled? [Answer this, O you who believe in it,] if you are men of truth!"

[the Day] on which the skies shall be rent asunder, [and] His promise [of resurrection] fulfilled?

Satan threatens you with the prospect of poverty and bids you to be niggardly, whereas God promises you His forgiveness and bounty; and God is infinite, all-knowing,

"And, O our Sustainer, grant us that which Thou hast promised us through Thy apostles, and disgrace us not on Resurrection Day! Verily, Thou never failest to fulfil Thy promise!"

SUCH of the believers as remain passive* - other than the disabled - cannot be deemed equal to those who strive hard in God's cause with their possessions and their lives:* God has exalted those who strive hard with their possessions and their lives far above those who remain passive. Although God has promised the ultimate good unto all [believers], yet has God exalted those who strive hard above those who remain passive by [promising them] a mighty reward -

he holds out promises to them, and fills them with vain desires: yet whatever Satan promises them is but meant to delude the mind.*

God has promised unto those who attain to faith and do good works [that] theirs shall be forgiveness of sins, and a mighty reward;

Verily, that [reckoning] which you are promised is bound to come, and you cannot elude it!

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

They answered: "Hast thou come to us [with the demand] that we worship God alone, and give up all that our forefathers were wont to worship? Bring about, then, that [punishment] with which thou hast threatened us, if thou art a man of truth!"

And then they cruelly slaughtered the she-camel* and turned with disdain from their Sustainer's commandment, and said: "O Salih! Bring about that [punishment] with which thou hast threatened us, if thou art truly one of God's message bearers!"

And, lo, God gave you the promise that one of the two [enemy] hosts would fall to you: and you would have liked to seize the less powerful one,* whereas it was God's will to prove the truth to be true in accordance with His words, and to wipe out the last remnant of those who denied the truth* -

God- has promised the hypocrites, both men and women-as well as the [outright] deniers of the _ truth-the fire of hell, therein to abide: this shall be their allotted_ portion. For, God has rejected them, and long-lasting suffering awaits them.

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!

whereupon He causes hypocrisy to take root in their hearts, [therein to remain] until the Day on which they shall meet Him"* - because they have failed to fulfil the vow which they had made unto God, and because they were wont to lie.*

And Abraham's prayer that his father be forgiven was but due to a promise which he had given the latter [in his lifetime];* but when it was made clear unto him that he had been God's enemy, [Abraham] disavowed him - [although;] behold, Abraham was most tender-hearted. most clement.

And whether We show thee [in this world something of what We hold in store for those [deniers of the truth],* or whether We cause thee to die [before that retribution takes place - know that, in the end], it is unto Us that they must return; and God is witness to all that they do.*

[But the great ones] said: "O Noah! Thou hast contended with us in argument, and hast [needlessly] prolonged our controversy :* bring upon us, therefore, that with which thou dost threaten us,* if thou art a man of truth!"

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 WHETHER We let thee see [in thy lifetime, O Prophet, the fulfilment of] some of what We have promised them,* or whether We cause thee to die [before its fulfilment] - thy duty is no more than to deliver the message; and the reckoning is Ours.

And when everything will have been decided, Satan will say: "Behold, God promised you something that was bound to come true!* I, too, held out [all manner of] promises to you -but I deceived you. Yet I had no power at all over you: I but called you-and you responded unto me. Hence, blame not me, but blame yourselves.* It is not for me to respond to your cries, nor for you to respond to mine:* for, behold, I have [always] refused to admit that there was any truth in your erstwhile belief that I had a share in God's divinity."* Verily, for all evildoers* there is grievous suffering in store.

Entice, then, with thy voice such of them as thou canst, and bear upon them with all thy horses and all thy men,* and be their partner in [all sins relating to] worldly goods and children,* and hold out [all manner of] promises to them: and [they will not know that] whatever Satan promises them is but meant to delude the mind.*

[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!

Say: "As for him who lives in error, may the Most Gracious lengthen the span of his life!* [And let them say whatever they say* until the time when they behold that [doom] of which they were forewarned-whether it be suffering [in this world] or [at the coming of] the Last Hour -: for then they will understand which [of the two kinds of man] was worse in station and weaker in resources!*

Thereupon Moses returned to his people full of wrath and sorrow, [and] exclaimed: "O my people! Did not your Sustainer hold out [many] a goodly promise to you? bid, then, [the fulfilment of] this promise seem to you too long in coming?* Or are you, perchance, determined to see your Sustainer's condemnation fall upon you,* and so you broke your promise to me?"

The supreme awesomeness [of the Day of Resurrection] will cause them no grief, since the angels will receive them with the greeting. “This is your Day [of triumph - the Day] which you were promised!"

But if they turn away, say: “I have proclaimed this in equity unto all of you alike;* but I do not know whether that [judgment] which you are promised [by God] is near or far [in time].

As it is, whenever Our messages are conveyed unto them in all their clarity, thou canst perceive utter repugnance on the faces of those who are bent on denying the truth: they would almost assault those who convey Our messages unto them! Say: “Shall I, then, tell you of something worse than what you feel at present?* It is the fire [of the hereafter] that God has promised to those who are bent on denying the truth: and how vile a journey's end!"

Does he promise you that, after you have died and become [mere] dust and bones, you shall be brought forth [to a new life]?

Far-fetched, far-fetched indeed is what you are promised!

Indeed, this [very thing] we have been promised - we and our forefathers - long ago! This is nothing but fables of ancient times!"

SAY: “O my Sustainer! If it be Thy will to let me witness* [the fulfillment of] whatever they [who blaspheme against Thee] have been promised [to suffer] –

[Pray thus] for, behold, We are most cer­tainly able to let thee witness [the fulfillment, even in this world, of] whatever We promise them!

God has promised those of you who have attained to faith and do righteous deeds that, of a certainty, He will cause them to accede to power on earth,* even as He caused [some of] those who lived before them to accede to it; and that, of a certainty, He will firmly establish for them the religion which He has been pleased to bestow on them;* and that, of a certainty, He will cause their erstwhile state of fear to be replaced by a sense of security* [seeing that] they worship Me [alone], not ascribing divine powers to aught beside Me.* But all who, after [having understood] this, choose to deny the truth - it is they, they who are truly iniquitous!

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 –

and thereupon that [chastisement] which they were promised befalls them –

Indeed, we were promised this - we and our forefathers - in the past as well; it is nothing but fables of ancient times!"

Is, then, he to whom We have given that goodly promise which he shall see fulfilled [on his resurrection]* comparable to one on whom We have bestowed [all] the enjoyments of this worldly life but who, on Resurrection Day, will find himself among those that shall be arraigned [before Us]?*

And [remember how it was] when the hypo­crites and those with hearts diseased* said [to one another], “God and His Apostle have promised us nothing but delusions!"*

And [so,] when the believers saw the Con­federates [advancing against them], they said, “This is what God and His Apostle have promised us!"- and, “Truly spoke God and His Apostle !“* and all this but increased their faith and their readiness to surrender themselves unto God.

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.*

They will say: “Oh, woe unto us! Who has roused us from our sleep [of death]?" [Whereupon they will be told:] “This is what the Most Gracious has promised! And His message-bearers spoke the truth!"

“This, then, is the hell of which you were warned again and again:*

This is what you are promised for the Day of Reckoning:

“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 –

At that, a believing man of Pharaoh's family, who [until then] had concealed his faith, exclaimed:* “Would you slay a man because he says, 'God is my Sustainer' - seeing, withal, that he has brought you all evidence of this truth from your Sustainer? Now if he be a liar, his lie will fall back on him; but if he is a man of truth, something [of the punishment] whereof he warns you is bound to befall you: for, verily, God would not grace with His guidance one who has wasted his own self by lying [about Him].*

HENCE, remain thou patient in adversity - for, verily, God's promise always comes true. And whether We show thee [in this world] something of what We hold in store for those [deniers of the truth], or whether We cause thee to die [ere that retribution takes place - know that, in the end], it is unto Us that they will be brought back.*

[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!

and whether We show thee [or do not show thee in this world] the fulfillment of what We have promised them - verily, We have full power over them!

But leave them to indulge in idle talk and play [with words]* until they face that [Judgment] Day of theirs which they have been promised:

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].

But [there is many a one] who says to his parents [whenever they try to imbue him with faith in God]: “Fie upon both of you! Do you promise me that I shall be brought forth [from the dead], although [so many] generations have passed away before me?"* And [while] they both pray for God's help [and say], “Alas for thee! For, behold, God's promise always comes true!" - he but answers, “All this is nothing but fables of ancient times!"

They answered: “Hast thou come to seduce us away from our gods? Bring, then, upon us that [doom] with which thou threaten us, if thou art a man of truth!"

REMAIN, then, [O believer,] patient in adversity, just as all of the apostles, endowed with firmness of heart, bore themselves with patience. And do not ask for a speedy doom of those [who still deny the truth]: on the Day when they see [the fulfillment of] what they were promised,* [it will seem to them] as though they had dwelt [on earth] no longer than one hour of [an earthly] day!* [This is Our] message. Will, then, any be [really] destroyed save iniquitous folk?"*

[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?

[O you who believe!] God has promised you many war-gains which you shall yet achieve; and He has vouchsafed you these [worldly gains] well in advance,* and has stayed from you the hands of [hostile] people, so that this [your inner strength] may become a symbol to the believers [who will come after you* ] , and that He may guide you all on a straight way.

MUHAMMAD is God's Apostle; and those who are [truly] with him are firm and unyielding* towards all deniers of the truth, [yet] full of mercy towards one another.* Thou canst see them bowing down, pros­trating themselves [in prayer], seeking favour with God and [His] goodly acceptance: their marks are on their faces, traced by prostration.* This is their parable in the Torah as well as their parable in the Gospel:* [they are] like a seed that brings forth its shoot, and then He strengthens it, so that it grows stout, and [in the end] stands firm upon its stem, delighting the sowers. [Thus will God cause the believers to grow in strength,] so that through them He might confound the deniers of the truth.* [But] unto such of them as may [yet] attain to faith and do righteous deeds, God has promised forgiveness and a reward supreme.*

“This is what you were promised - [promised] unto every­one who was wont to turn unto God and to keep Him always in mind –

Verily, that which you are promised is true indeed,*

And in heaven is [the source of] your sus­tenance [on earth] and [of] all that you are promised [for your life after death]:*

For, woe unto those who are bent on denying the truth - [woe] on the Day which they have been promised

And why should you not spend freely in the cause of God, seeing that God's [alone] is the heritage of the heavens and the earth?* Not equal are those of you who spent and fought [in God's cause] before the Victory* [and those who did not do so]: they are of a higher rank than those who would spend and fight [only] after it - although God has promised the ultimate good to all [who strive in His cause].* and god is aware of that you do.

Hence, leave them to indulge in idle talk and play [with words]* until they face that [Judgment] Day of theirs which they have been promised –

with downcast eyes, with ignominy overwhelming them: that Day which they were promised again and…*

[Let them, then, wait] until the time when they behold that [doom] of which they were forewarned:* for then they will come to understand which [kind of man] is more helpless and counts for less!*

Say: "I do not know whether that [doom] of which you were forewarned is near, or whether my Sustainer has set for it a distant term."

BEHOLD, all that you are told to expect* will surely come to pass.