Never did we hear of [a claim like] this in any faith of latter days!* It is nothing but [a mortal man's] invention!

O MEN! If you are in doubt as to the [truth of] resurrection, [remember that,] verily, We have created [every one of] you out of dust, then out of a drop of sperm, then out of a germ-cell, then out of an embryonic lump complete [in itself] and yet incom­plete* so that We might make [your origin] clear unto you. And whatever We will [to be born] We cause to rest in the [mothers'] wombs for a term set [by Us], and then We bring you forth as infants and [allow you to live] so that [some of] you might attain to maturity: for among you are such as are caused to die [in childhood], just as many a one of you is reduced in old age to a most abject state, ceasing to know anything of what he once knew so well.* And [if, O man, thou art still in doubt as to resur­rection, consider this:] thou canst see the earth dry and lifeless - and [suddenly,] when We send down waters upon it, it stirs and swells and puts forth every kind of lovely plant!

verily, thy Sustainer is the all-knowing Creator of all things!*

Is, then, He who has created the heavens and the earth not able to create [anew] the like of those [who have died]? Yea, indeed - for He alone is the all-knowing Crea­tor:

This [religion of ours] is none other than that to which our forebears clung,*

for, behold, thou keepest indeed to a sublime way of life;*

and follow [instead] that which the evil ones used to practice during Solomon's reign - for it was not Solomon who denied the truth, but those evil ones denied it by teaching people sorcery* -; and [they follow] that which has come down through the two angels in Babylon, Hurut and Marut-although these two never taught it to anyone without first declaring, "We are but a temptation to evil: do not, then, deny [God's] truth!"* And they learn from these two how to create discord between a man and his wife; but whereas they can harm none thereby save by God's leave, they acquire a knowledge that only harms themselves and does not benefit them - although they know; indeed, that he who acquires this [knowledge] shall have no share in the good of the life to come.* For, vile indeed is that [art] for which they have sold their own selves -had they but known it!

And when you have performed your acts of worship, [continue to] bear God in mind as you would bear your own fathers in mind-nay, with a yet keener remembrance!* For there are people who [merely] pray, "O our Sustainer! Give us in this world" -and such shall not partake in the blessings of the life to come.

Behold, those who barter away their bond with God and their own pledges for a trifling gain - they shall not partake in the blessings of the life to come; and God will neither speak unto them nor look upon them on the Day of Resurrection, nor will He cleanse them of their sins; and grievous suffering awaits them.

[Say unto them: "You are] like those [hypocrites] who lived before your time.* Greater than you were they in power, and richer in wealth and in children; and they enjoyed their share [of happiness]. And you have been enjoying your share -just as those who preceded you enjoyed their share; and you have been indulging in scurrilous talk -just as they indulged in it. It is they .whose works have come to nought in this world and in the life to come - and it is they, they who are the cost!"*

Such is God, your Sustainer: there is no deity save Him, the Creator of everything: worship, then, Him alone -for it is He who has everything in His care.

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."

And lo! Thy Sustainer said unto the angels: "Behold, I am about to create mortal man out of sounding clay, out of dark slime transmuted;

and then We create out of the drop of sperm a germ-cell, and then We create out of the germ-cell an embryonic lump, and then We create within the embryonic lump bones, and then We clothe the bones with flesh - and then We bring [all] this into being as a new creation:* hallowed, therefore, is God, the best of artisans!*

O men! Call to mind the blessings which God has bestowed upon you! Is there any creator, other than God, that could provide for you sustenance out of heaven and earth?* There is no deity save Him: and yet, how perverted are your minds!*

Will you invoke Baal and forsake [God,] the best of artisans -*

[For,] lo,* thy Sustainer said unto the angels: “Behold, I am about to create a human being out of clay;*

GOD is the Creator of all things, and He alone has the power to determine the fate of all things.*

Such is God, your Sustainer, the Creator of all that exists: there is no deity save Him. How perverted, then, are your minds!*

[Or do they deny the existence of God?]* Have they themselves been created without anything [that might have caused their creation]?* or were they, perchance, their own creators?

Is it you who create it - or are We the source of its creation?

He is God, the Creator, the Maker who shapes all forms and appearances!* His [alone] are the attributes of perfection.* All that is in the heavens and on earth extols His limitless glory: for He alone is almighty, truly wise!

Verily, in the creation of the heavens and of the earth, and the succession of night and day: and in the ships that speed through the sea with what is useful to man: and in the waters which God sends down from the sky, giving life thereby to the earth after it had, been lifeless, and causing all manner of living creatures to multiply thereon: and in the change of the winds, and the clouds that run their appointed courses between sky and earth: [in all this] there are messages indeed for people who use their reason.*

Verily, in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the succession of night and day, there are indeed messages for all who are endowed with insight,

[and] who remember God when they stand, and when they sit, and when they lie down to sleep,* and [thus] reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth: "O our Sustainer! Thou hast not created [aught of] this without meaning and purpose.* Limitless art Thou in Thy glory! Keep us safe, then, from suffering through fire!

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:

VERILY, your Sustainer is God, who has created the heavens and the earth in six aeons, and is established on the throne of His almightiness.* He covers the day with the night in swift pursuit, with the sun and the moon and the stars subservient to His command: oh, verily, His is all creation and all command. Hallowed is God, the Sustainer of all the worlds!

Why, do you deem it strange that a tiding from your Sustainer should have come unto you through a man from among yourselves, so that he might warn you? Do but remember how He made you heirs to Noah's people, and endowed you abundantly with power:* remember, then, God's blessings, so that you might attain to a happy state!"

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.*

Say: "Can any of those beings to whom you ascribe a share in God's divinity create [life] in the first instance, and then bring it forth anew?"* Say: "It is God [alone] who creates [all life] in the first instance, and then brings it forth anew. How perverted, then, are your minds!"*

BUT IF thou art amazed [at the marvels of God's creation], amazing, too, is their saying, "What! After we have become dust, shall we indeed be [restored to life] in a new act .of creation?"* It is they who [thus show that they] are bent on denying their Sustainer;* and it is they who carry the shackles [of their own making] around their necks;* and it is they who are destined for the fire, therein to abide.

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."

ART THOU NOT aware that God has created the heavens and the earth in accordance with [an inner] truth?* He can, if He so wills, do away with you and bring forth a new mankind [in your stead] :*

And [thus, too,] they say, "After we will have become bones and dust, shall we, forsooth, be raised from the dead in a new act of creation?"

or any [other] substance which, to your minds, appears yet farther removed [from life]!"* And [if] thereupon they ask, "Who is it that will' bring us back [to life]?"-say thou: "He who has brought you into being in the first instance." And [if] thereupon they shake their heads at thee [in disbelief] and ask, "When shall this be?"-say thou: "It may well be soon,

Such will be their requital for having rejected Our messages and having said, "After we will have become bones and dust, shall we, forsooth, be raised from the dead in a new act of creation?"*

I did not make them witnesses of the creation of the heavens and the earth, nor of the creation of their own selves;* and neither do I [have any need to] take as My helpers those [beings] that lead [men] astray.*

He replied: "Our Sustainer is He who gives unto every thing [that exists] its true nature and form. and thereupon guides it [towards its fulfilment].*

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 then We create out of the drop of sperm a germ-cell, and then We create out of the germ-cell an embryonic lump, and then We create within the embryonic lump bones, and then We clothe the bones with flesh - and then We bring [all] this into being as a new creation:* hallowed, therefore, is God, the best of artisans!*

And, indeed, We have created above you seven [celestial] orbits:* and never are We unmindful of [any aspect of Our] creation.

Nay - who is it that creates [all life] in the first instance, and then brings it forth anew?* And who is it that provides you with sustenance out of heaven and earth?* Could there be any divine power besides God? Say: “[If you think so,] produce your evidence - if you truly believe in your claim!"*

Are then they [who deny the truth] not aware of how God creates [life] in the first instance, and then brings it forth anew? This, verily, is easy for God!*

Say: “Go all over the earth and behold how [wondrously] He has created [man] in the first in­stance: and thus, too, will God bring into being your second life for, verily, God has the power to will anything!*

GOD CREATES [man] in the first instance, and then brings him forth anew:* and, in the end, unto Him you all will be brought back.

And among his wonders is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the diversity of your tongues and colours: for in this, behold, there are messages indeed for all who are possessed of [innate] knowledge!

And He it is who creates [all life] in the first instance, and then brings it forth anew:* and most easy is this for Him, since His is the essence of all that is most sublime in the heavens and on earth, and He alone is almighty, truly wise.*

AND SO, set thy face steadfastly towards the [one ever-true] faith,* turning away from all that is false,* in accordance with the natural disposition which God has instilled into man:* [for,] not to allow any change to corrupt what God has thus created* this is the [purpose of the one] ever-true faith; but most people know it not.

[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!

[For Him,] the creation of you all and the resurrection of you all is but like [the creation and resurrection of] a single soul:* for, verily, God is all-hearing, all-seeing.

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

For, [many are] they [who] say, “What! After we have been [dead and] lost in the earth, shall we indeed be [restored to life] in a new act of crea­tion?" Nay, but [by saying this] they deny the truth that they are destined to meet their Sustainer!*

As against this, they who are bent on denying the truth say [unto all who are of like mind]: “Shall we point out to you a man who will tell you that [after your death,] when you will have been scattered in countless fragments, you shall - lo and behold! - be [restored to life] in a new act of creation?

ALL PRAISE is due to God, Originator of the heavens and the earth, who causes the angels to be (His) message-bearers, endowed with wings, two, or three, or four.* [Unceasingly] He adds to His creation whatever He wills: for, verily, God has the power to will anything.*

If He so wills, He can do away with you and bring forth a new mankind [in your stead]:*

But [let them always remember that] if We lengthen a human being's days, We also cause him to decline in his powers [when he grows old]: will they not, then, use their reason?*

And [now] he [argues about Us, and] thinks of Us in terms of comparison,* and is oblivious of how he himself was created! [And so] he says, “Who could give life to bones that have crumbled to dust?"

Say: “He who brought them into being in the first instance will give them life [once again], seeing that He has full knowledge of every act of creation:

AND NOW ask those [who deny the truth] to enlight­en thee: Were they more difficult to create than all those [untold marvels] that We have created? - for, behold, them have We created out of [mere] clay commingled with water!*

He has created you [all] out of one living entity, and out of it fashioned its mate;* and he has be­stowed upon you four kinds of cattle of either sex;* [and] He creates you in your mothers' wombs, one act of creation after another, in threefold depths of darkness.* Thus is God, your Sustainer: unto Him belongs all dominion: there is no deity save Him: how, then, can you lose sight of the truth?*

Greater indeed than the creation of man is the creation of the heavens and the earth:* yet most men do not understand [what this implies].

And among His signs is the [very] creation of the heavens and the earth, and of all the living creatures which He has caused to multiply throughout them:* and [since He has created them,] He has [also] the power to gather them [unto Him­self] whenever He wills.

And [yet] they claim that the angels - who in themselves are but beings created by the Most Gracious - are females:* [but] did they witness their creation? This false claim of theirs* will be recorded, and they will be called to account [for it on Judgment Day]!

And in your own nature, and in [that of] all the animals which He scatters [over the earth] there are messages for people who are endowed with inner certainty.*

ARE, THEN, they [who deny the life to come] not aware that God, who has created the heavens and the earth and never been wearied by their creation,* has [also] the power to bring the dead back to life? Yea, verily, He has the power to will anything!

Could We, then, be [thought of as being] worn out by the first creation?* Nay - but some people* are [still] lost in doubt about [the possibility of] a new creation!

[Hallowed be] He who has created seven heavens in full harmony with one another:* no fault will thou see in the creation of the Most Gracious. And turn thy vision [upon it] once more: canst thou see any flaw?

[O MEN!] Are you more difficult to create than the heaven which He has built?*

O MANKIND! Worship your Sustainer, who has created you and those who lived before you, so that you might remain conscious of Him

He it is who has created for you all that is on earth, and has applied His design to the heavens and fashioned them into seven heavens;* and He alone has full knowledge of everything.

And the divorced women shall undergo, without remarrying,* a waiting-period of three monthly courses: for it is not lawful for them to conceal what God may have created in their wombs,* if they believe in God and the Last Day. And during this period their husbands are fully entitled to take them back, if they desire reconciliation; but, in accordance with justice, the rights of the wives [with regard to their husbands] are equal to the [husbands'] rights with regard to them, although men have precedence over them [in this respect].* And God is almighty, wise.

Said she: "O my Sustainer! How can I have a son when no man has ever touched me?" [The angel] answered: "Thus it is: God creates what He wills* when He wills a thing to be, He but says unto it, 'Be' - and it is.

and [will make him] an apostle unto the children of Israel ."* "I HAVE COME unto you with a message from your Sustainer. I shall create for you out of clay, as it were, the shape of [your] destiny, and then breathe into it, so that it might become [your] destiny by God's leave;* and I shall heal the blind and the leper, and bring the dead back to life by God's leave;* and I shall let you know what you may eat and what you should store up in your houses.* Behold, in all this there is indeed a message for you, if you are [truly] believers.

Verily, in the sight of God, the nature of Jesus is as the nature of Adam, whom He created out of dust and then said unto him, "Be" - and he is.*

[and] who remember God when they stand, and when they sit, and when they lie down to sleep,* and [thus] reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth: "O our Sustainer! Thou hast not created [aught of] this without meaning and purpose.* Limitless art Thou in Thy glory! Keep us safe, then, from suffering through fire!

O MANKIND! Be conscious of your Sustainer, who has created you out of one living entity, and out of it created its mate, and out of the two spread abroad a multitude of men and women.* And remain conscious of God, in whose name you demand [your rights] from one another, and of these ties of kinship. Verily, God is ever watchful over you!

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

Indeed, the truth deny they who say, "Behold, God is the Christ, son of Mary." Say: "And who could have prevailed with God in any way had it been His will to destroy the Christ, son of Mary, and his mother, and everyone who is on earth-all of them? For, God's is the dominion over the heavens and the earth and all that is between them; He creates what He wills: and God has the power to will anything!"

And [both] the Jews and the Christians say, "We are God's children,* and His beloved ones." Say: "Why, then, does He cause you to suffer for your sins? Nay, you are but human beings of His creating. He forgives whom He wills, and He causes to suffer whom He wills: for God's is the dominion over the heavens and the earth and all that is between them, and with Him is all journeys' end."

Lo!* God will say: "O Jesus, son of Mary! Remember the blessings which I bestowed upon thee and thy mother-how I strengthened thee with holy inspiration,* so that thou couldst speak unto men in thy cradle, and as a grown man; and how I imparted unto thee revelation and wisdom, including the Torah and the Gospel;* and how by My leave thou didst create out of clay, as it were, the shape of [thy followers'] destiny, and then didst breathe into it, so that it might become, by My leave, [their] destiny ;* and how thou didst heal the blind and the leper by My leave, and how thou didst raise the dead by My leave;* and how I prevented the children of Israel from harming thee when thou camest unto them with all evidence of the truth, and [when] those of them who were bent on denying the truth were saying, `This is clearly nothing but deception!"'

ALL PRAISE is due to God, who has created the heavens and the earth, and brought into being deep darkness as well as light:* and yet, those who are bent on denying the truth regard other powers as their Sustainer's equals!

He it is who has created you out of clay, and then has decreed a term [for you] - a term known [only] to him.* And yet you doubt –

And He it is who has created the heavens and the earth in accordance with [an inner] truth* - and whenever He says, "Be," His word comes true; and His will be the dominion on the Day when the trumpet [of resurrection] is blown. He knows all that is beyond the reach of a created being's perception, as well as all that can be witnessed by a creature's senses or mind:* for He alone is truly wise, all-aware.

[And God shall say:] "And now, indeed, you have come unto Us in a lonely state, even as We created you in the first instance; and you have left behind you all that We bestowed on you [in your lifetime]. And We do not see with you those intercessors of yours whom you supposed to have a share in God's divinity with regard to yourselves!* Indeed, all the bonds between you [and your earthly life] are now severed, and all your former fancies have forsaken you!*

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:*

the Originator of the heavens and the earth! How could it be that He should have a child without there ever having been a mate for Him - since it is He who has created everything, and He alone knows everything?

Yea, indeed, We have created you, and then formed you;* and then We said unto the angels, "Prostrate yourselves before Adam!" - whereupon they [all] prostrated themselves, save Iblis: he was not among those who prostrated themselves.*

[And God] said: "What has kept thee from prostrating thyself when I commanded thee?" Answered [Iblis]: "I am better than he: Thou hast created me out of fire, whereas him Thou hast created out of clay."

VERILY, your Sustainer is God, who has created the heavens and the earth in six aeons, and is established on the throne of His almightiness.* He covers the day with the night in swift pursuit, with the sun and the moon and the stars subservient to His command: oh, verily, His is all creation and all command. Hallowed is God, the Sustainer of all the worlds!

Now, among those whom We have created there are people who guide [others] in the way of the truth and act justly in its light.*

Have they, then, never considered [God's] mighty dominion over the heavens and the earth, and all the things that God has created, and [asked themselves] whether, perchance, the end of their own term might already have drawn nigh? In what other tiding, then, will they, after this, believe?*

IT IS HE who has created you [all] out of one living entity, and out of it brought into being its mate, so that man might incline [with love] towards woman.* And so, when he has embraced her, she conceives [what at first is] a light burden, and continues to bear it. Then, when she grows heavy [with child], they both call unto God, their Sustainer, "If Thou indeed grant us a sound [child], we shall most certainly be among the grateful!"

Will they, then,- ascribe divinity, side by side with Him, unto beings that cannot create anything* since they themselves are created -

BEHOLD, the number of months, in the sight of God, is twelve months, [laid down] in God's decree on the day when He created the heavens and the earth; [and] out of these, four are sacred:* this is the ever-true law [of God]. Do not, then, sin against* yourselves with regard to these [months]. And fight against those who ascribe divinity to aught beside God, all together-just as they fight against you, [O believers,] all together* -and know that God is with those who are conscious of Him.

VERILY, your Sustainer is God, who has created the heavens and the earth in six aeons, and is established on the throne of His almightiness,* governing all that exists. There is none that could intercede with Him unless He grants leave therefor.* Thus is God, your Sustainer: worship, therefore, Him [alone]: will you not, then, keep this in mind?

He it is who has made the sun a [source of] radiant light and the moon a light [reflected],* and has determined for it phases so that you might know how to compute the years and to measure [time]. None of this has God created without [an inner] truth.* Clearly does He spell out these messages unto people of [innate] knowledge:

for, verily, in the alternating of night and day, and in all that God has created in the heavens and on earth there are messages indeed for people who are conscious of Him!

And He it is who has created the heavens and the earth in six aeons; and [ever since He has willed to create life,] the throne of His almightiness has rested upon water.* [God reminds you of your dependence on Him] in order to test you [and thus to make manifest] which of you is best in conduct. For thus it is: if* thou sayest [unto men], "Behold, you shall be raised again after death!" - they who are bent on denying the truth are sure to answer, "This is clearly nothing but an enchanting delusion"*

[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!"*

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."

ART THOU NOT aware that God has created the heavens and the earth in accordance with [an inner] truth?* He can, if He so wills, do away with you and bring forth a new mankind [in your stead] :*

[And remember that] it is God who has created the heavens and the earth, and who sends down water from the sky and thereby brings forth [all manner] of fruits for your sustenance; and who has made ships subservient to. you, so that they may sail through the sea at His behest; and has made the rivers subservient [to His laws, so that they be of use] to you;

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

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

[Iblis] replied: "It is not for me to prostrate myself before mortal man whom Thou hast created out of sounding clay, out of dark slime transmuted!"

AND [remember:] We have not created the heavens and the earth and all that is between them without [an inner] truth;* but, behold, the Hour [when this will become clear to all] is indeed yet to come. Hence, forgive [men's failings] with fair forbearance:

He has created the heavens and the earth in accordance with [an inner] truth;* sublimely exalted is He above anything to which men may ascribe a share in His divinity!*

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

And He creates cattle: you derive warmth from them, and [various other] uses; and from them you obtain food;

And (it is He who creates] horses and mules and asses for you to ride, as well as for [their] beauty: and He will yet create things of which [today] you have no knowledge.*

IS, THEN, HE who creates comparable to any [being] that cannot create? Will you not, then, bethink yourselves?

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

HAVE, THEN, they [who deny the truth] never considered any of the things that God has created* _ (how] their shadows turn right and left, prostrating themselves before God and utterly submissive [to His will]?*

AND GOD has created you, and in time will cause you to die; and many a one of you is reduced in old age to a most abject state, ceasing to know anything of what he once knew so well.* Verily, God is all-knowing, infinite in His power!

And among the many objects of His creation,* God has appointed for you [various] means of protection:* thus, He has given you in the mountains places of shelter, and has endowed you with [the ability to make] garments to protect you from heat [and cold],* as well as such garments as might protect you from your [mutual] violence.* In this way does He bestow the full measure of His blessings on you, so that you might surrender yourselves unto Him.

AND LO! We said unto the angels, "Prostrate yourselves before Adam"-whereupon they all prostrated themselves, save Iblis.* Said he: "Shall I prostrate myself before one whom Thou hast created out of clay?"

NOW, INDEED, We have conferred dignity on the children of Adam,* and borne them over land and sea, and provided for them sustenance out of the good things of life, and favoured them far above most of Our creation:

Are they, then, not aware that God, who has created the heavens and the earth, has the power to create them anew in their own likeness,* having, beyond any doubt, set a term for their resurrection?* However, all [such] evildoers are unwilling to accept anything but blasphemy!*

And his friend answered him in the course of their argument: "Wilt thou blaspheme against Him who has created thee out of dust,* and then out of a drop of sperm, and in the end has fashioned thee into a [complete] man?

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]!"

Answered [the angel]: "Thus. it is; [but] thy 'Sustainer says, `This is easy for Me -even as I have created thee aforetime out of nothing.*

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

a revelation from Him who has created the earth and the high heavens

out of this [earth] have We created you, and into it shall We return you, and out of it shall We bring you forth once again.*

AND [know that] We have not created the heavens and the earth and all that is between them in mere idle play:*

and [fail to see that] it is He who has created the night and the day and the sun and the moon - all of them floating through space!

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

O MEN! If you are in doubt as to the [truth of] resurrection, [remember that,] verily, We have created [every one of] you out of dust, then out of a drop of sperm, then out of a germ-cell, then out of an embryonic lump complete [in itself] and yet incom­plete* so that We might make [your origin] clear unto you. And whatever We will [to be born] We cause to rest in the [mothers'] wombs for a term set [by Us], and then We bring you forth as infants and [allow you to live] so that [some of] you might attain to maturity: for among you are such as are caused to die [in childhood], just as many a one of you is reduced in old age to a most abject state, ceasing to know anything of what he once knew so well.* And [if, O man, thou art still in doubt as to resur­rection, consider this:] thou canst see the earth dry and lifeless - and [suddenly,] when We send down waters upon it, it stirs and swells and puts forth every kind of lovely plant!

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!

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

and then We create out of the drop of sperm a germ-cell, and then We create out of the germ-cell an embryonic lump, and then We create within the embryonic lump bones, and then We clothe the bones with flesh - and then We bring [all] this into being as a new creation:* hallowed, therefore, is God, the best of artisans!*

And, indeed, We have created above you seven [celestial] orbits:* and never are We unmindful of [any aspect of Our] creation.

Never did God take unto Himself any offspring,* nor has there ever been any deity side by side with Him: [for, had there been any,] lo! each deity would surely have stood apart [from the others] in whatever it had created,* and they would surely have [tried to] overcome one another! Limitless in His glory is God, [far] above anything that men may devise by way of definition,*

Did you, then, think that We created you in mere idle play, and that you would not have to return to Us?"*

And it is God who has created all animals out of water;* and [He has willed that] among them are such as crawl on their bellies, and such as walk on two legs, and such as walk on four. God creates what He will: for, verily, God has the power to will anything.

He to whom the dominion over the heavens and the earth belongs, and who begets no offspring,* and has no partner in His dominion: for it is He who creates every thing and determines its nature in accordance with [His own] design.*

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!

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

And He it is who out of this [very] water has created man,* and has endowed him with [the con­sciousness of] descent and marriage-tie:* for thy Sustainer is ever infinite in His power.

He 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:* the Most Gracious! Ask, then, about Him, [the] One who is [truly] aware.*

who has created me and is the One who guides me,

keeping yourselves aloof from all the [lawful] spouses whom your Sustainer has created for you? Nay, but you are people who transgress all bounds of what is right!"

but be conscious of Him who has created you, just as [He created] those countless generations of old!"*

Nay - who is it that has created the heavens and the earth, and sends down for you [life-giving] water from the skies? For it is by this means that We cause gardens of shining beauty to grow - [whereas] it is not in your power to cause [even one single of] its trees to grow! Could there be any divine power besides God? Nay, they [who think so] are people who swerve [from the path of reason]

AND [thus it is:] thy Sustainer creates whatever He wills; and He chooses [for mankind] whatever is best for them.* Limitless is God in His glory, and sub­limely exalted above anything to which they may ascribe a share in His divinity!