Lord of the Day of Judgment!
And there are people who say, "We do believe in God and the Last Day," the while they do not [really]. believe.
and remain conscious of [the coming of] a Day when no human being shall in the least avail another, nor shall intercession be accepted from any of them, nor ransom taken from them,* and none shall be succoured.
VERILY, those who have attained to faith [in this divine writ], as well as those who follow the Jewish faith, and the Christians, and the Sabians* -all who believe in God and the Last Day and do righteous deeds-shall have their reward with their Sustainer; and no fear need they have, and neither shall they grieve.*
And they say, "The fire will most certainly not touch us for more than a limited number of days."* Say [unto them]: "Have you received a promise from God - for God never breaks His promise - or do you attribute to God something which you cannot know?"
And yet, it is you who slay one another and drive some of your own people from their homelands, aiding one another against them in sin and hatred; but if they come to you as captives, you ransom them - although the very [act of] driving them away has been made unlawful to you!* . Do you, then, believe in some parts of the divine writ and deny the truth pf other parts? What, then, could be the reward of those among you who do such things but ignominy in the life of this world and, on the Day of Resurrection, commitment to most grievous suffering? For God is not unmindful of what you do.
Furthermore, the Jews assert, "The Christians have no valid ground for their beliefs," while the Christians assert, "The Jews have no valid ground for their beliefs" - and both quote the divine writ! Even thus, like unto what they say, have [always] spoken those who were devoid of knowledge;"* but it is God who will judge between them on Resurrection Day with regard to all on which they were wont to differ.*
and remain conscious of [the coming of] a Day when no human being shall in the least avail another, nor shall ransom be accepted from any of them, nor shall intercession be of any use to them, and none shall be succoured.*
And, lo, Abraham prayed: "O my Sustainer! Make this a land secure, and grant its people fruitful sustenance - such of them as believe in God and the Last Day." [God] answered: "And whoever shall deny the truth, him will I let enjoy himself for a short while -but in the end I shall drive him to suffering through fire: and how vile a journey's end!"
VERILY, as for those who suppress aught of the revelation* which God has bestowed from on high, and barter it away for a trifling gain - they but fill their bellies with fire. And God will not speak unto them on the Day of Resurrection, nor will He cleanse them [of their sins]; and grievous suffering awaits them.
True piety does not consist in turning your faces towards the east or the west* - but truly pious is he who believes in God, and the Last Day; and the angels, and revelation,* and the prophets; and spends his substance - however much he himself may cherish - it - upon his near of kin, and the orphans, and the needy, and the wayfarer,* and the beggars, and for the freeing of human beings from bondage;* and is constant in prayer, and renders the purifying dues; and [truly pious are] they who keep their promises whenever they promise, and are patient in misfortune and hardship and in time of peril: it is they that have proved themselves true, and it is they, they who are conscious of God.
[fasting] during a certain number of days.* But whoever of you is ill, or on a journey, [shall fast instead for the same] number of other days; and [in such cases] it is incumbent upon those who can afford it to make sacrifice by feeding a needy person.* And whoever does more good than he is bound to do* does good unto himself thereby; for to fast is to do good unto yourselves - if you but knew it.
It was the month of Ramadan in which the Qur'an was [first] bestowed from on high as a guidance unto man and a self-evident proof of that guidance, and as the standard by which to discern the true from the false. Hence, whoever of you lives to see* this month shall fast throughout it; but he that is ill, or on a journey, [shall fast instead for the same] number of other days. God wills that you shall have ease, and does not will you to suffer hardship; but [He desires] that you complete the number [of days required], and that you extol God for His having guided you aright, and that you render your thanks [unto Him].
AND PERFORM the pilgrimage and the pious visit [to Mecca ]* in honour of God; and if you are held back, give instead whatever offering you can easily afford. And do not shave your heads until the offering has been sacrificed;* but he from among you who is ill or suffers from an ailment of the head shall redeem himself by fasting, or alms, or [any other] act of worship. And if you are hale and secure,* then he who takes advantage of a pious visit before the [time of] pilgrimage shall give whatever offering he can easily afford;* whereas he who cannot afford it shall fast for three days during the pilgrimage and for seven days after your return: that is, ten full [days]. All this relates to him who does not live near the Inviolable House of Worship.* And remain conscious of God, and know that God is severe in retribution.*
And bear God in mind during the appointed days;* but he who hurries away within two days shall incur no sin, and he who tarries longer shall incur no sin, provided that he is conscious of God. Hence, remain conscious of God, and know that unto Him you shall be gathered.
Unto those who are bent on denying the truth the life of this world [alone] seems goodly;* hence, they scoff at those who have attained to faith: but they who are conscious of God shall be above them on Resurrection Day. And God grants sustenance unto whom He wills, beyond all reckoning.*
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.
And when you divorce women, and they have come to the end of their waiting-term, hinder them not from marrying other men if they have agreed with each other in a fair manner. This is an admonition unto every one of you who believes in God and the Last Day; it is the most virtuous [way] for you, and the cleanest. And God knows, whereas you do not know.
And when Saul set out with his forces, he said: "Behold, God will now try you by a river: he who shall drink of it will not belong to me, whereas he who shall refrain from tasting it - he, indeed, will belong to me; but forgiven shall be he* who shall scoop up but a single handful." However, save for a few of them, they all drank [their fill] of it. And as soon as he and those who had kept faith with him had crossed the river, the others said: "No strength have we today [to stand up] against Goliath and his forces!" [Yet] those who knew with certainty that they were destined to meet God, replied: "How often has a small host overcome a great host by God's leave! For God is with those who are patient in adversity."
O YOU who have attained to faith! Spend [in Our way] out of what We have granted you as sustenance ere there come a Day* when there will be no bargaining, and no friendship, and no intercession. And they who deny the truth -it is they who are evildoers!
Or [art thou, O man, of the same mind] as he* who passed by a town deserted by its people, with its roofs caved in, [and] said, "How could God bring all this back to life after its death?"* Thereupon God caused him to be dead for a hundred years; where after He brought him back to life [and] said: "How long hast thou remained thus?" He answered: "I have remained thus a day, or part of a day." Said [God]: "Nay, but thou hast remained thus for a hundred years! But look at thy food and thy drink-untouched is it by the passing of years - and look at thine ass!* And [We did all this so that We might make thee a symbol unto men. And look at the bones [of animals and men] - how We put them together and then clothe them with flesh!"* And when [all this] became clear to him, he said: "I know [now] that God has the power to will anything!"
O you who have attained to faith! Do not deprive your charitable deeds of all worth by stressing your own benevolence and hurting [the feelings of the needy], as does he who spends his wealth only to be seen and praised by men, and believes not in God and the Last Day: for his parable is that of a smooth rock with [a little] earth upon it - and then a rainstorm smites it and leaves it hard and bare. Such as these shall have no gain whatever from all their [good] works: for God does not guide people who refuse to acknowledge the truth.
And be conscious of the Day on which you shall be brought back unto God, whereupon every human being shall be repaid in full for what he has earned, and none shall be wronged .*
"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."
simply because they claim, "The fire will most certainly not touch us for more than a limited number of days":* and thus the false beliefs which they invented have [in time] caused them to betray their faith.*
How, then, [will they fare] when We shall gather them all together to witness the Day about [the coming of] which there is no doubt, and every human being shall be repaid in full for what he has done, and none shall be wronged?
On the Day when every human being will find himself faced with all the good that he has done, and with all the evil that he has done, [many a one] will wish that there were a long span of time between himself and that [Day]. Hence, God warns you to beware of Him; but God is most compassionate towards His creatures.
[Zachariah] prayed: "O my Sustainer! Appoint a sign for me!" Said [the angel]: "Thy sign shall be that for three days thou wilt not speak unto men other than by gestures.* And remember thy Sustainer unceasingly, and extol His limitless glory by night and by day."
Lo! God said: "O Jesus! Verily, I shall cause thee to die, and shall exalt thee unto Me, and cleanse thee of [the presence of] those who are bent on denying the truth; and I shall place those who follow thee [far] above those who are bent on denying the truth, unto the Day of Resurrection. In the end, unto Me you all must return, and I shall judge between you with regard to all on which you were wont to differ.*
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.
on the Day [of Judgment] when some faces will shine [with happiness] and some faces will be dark [with grief]. And as for those with faces darkened, [they shall be told:] "Did you deny the truth after having attained to faith? Taste, then, this suffering for having denied the truth!"
They believe in God and the Last Day, and enjoin the doing of what is right and forbid the doing of what is wrong, and vie with one another in doing good works: and these are among the righteous.
If misfortune* touches you, [know that] similar misfortune has touched [other] people as well; for it is by turns that We apportion unto men such days [of fortune and misfortune]: and [this] to the end that God might mark out those who have attained to faith, and choose from among you such as [with their lives] bear witness to the truth* - since God does not love evildoers -
Behold, as for those of you who turned away [from their duty] on the day when the two hosts met in battle - Satan caused them to stumble only by means of something that they [themselves] had done.* But now God has effaced this sin of theirs: verily, God is much-forgiving, forbearing.
AND IT IS not conceivable that a prophet should deceive* - since he who deceives shall be faced with his deceit on the Day of Resurrection, when every human being shall be repaid in full for whatever he has done, and none shall be wronged.
and all that befell you on the day when the two hosts met in battle happened by God's leave, so that He might mark out the [true] believers,
AND THEY should not think - they who niggardly cling to all that God has granted them out of His bounty - that this is good for them: nay, it is bad for them.* That to which they [so] niggardly cling will, on the Day of Resurrection, be hung about their necks: for unto God [alone] belongs the heritage of the heavens and of the earth; and God is aware of all that you do.
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, 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!"
And [God does not love] those who spend their possessions on others [only] to be seen and praised by men, the while they believe neither in God nor in the Last Day; and he who has Satan for a soul-mate, how evil a soul-mate has he!*
And what would they have to fear* if they would but believe in God and the Last Day, and spend [in His way] out of what God has granted them as sustenance - since God has indeed full knowledge of them?
O you who have attained to faith! Pay heed unto God, and pay heed unto the Apostle and unto those from among you* who have been entrusted with authority; and if you are at variance over any matter, refer it unto God and the Apostle,* if you [truly] believe in God and the Last Day. This is the best [for you], and best in the end.*
God - save whom there is no deity - will surely gather you all together on the Day of Resurrection, [the coming of] which is beyond all doubt: and whose word could be truer than God's?
Oh, you might well argue in their behalf in the life of this world: but who will argue in their behalf with God on the Day of Resurrection, or who will be their defender?
O you who have attained to faith! Hold fast unto your belief in God and His Apostle, and in the divine writ which He has bestowed from on high upon His Apostle, step by step, as well as in the revelation which He sent down aforetime:** for he who denies God, and His angels, and His revelations, and His apostles, and the Last Day, has indeed gone far astray.*
who but wait to see what betides you: thus, if triumph comes to you from God, they say, "Were we not on your side?"- whereas if those who deny the truth are in luck, they say [to them], "Have we not earned your affection by defending you against those believers?''* But God will judge between you all on the Day of Resurrection; and never will God allow those who deny the truth to harm the believers.*
Yet there is not one of the followers of earlier revelation who does not, at the moment of his death, grasp the truth about Jesus;* and on the Day of Resurrection he [himself] shall bear witness to the truth against them.
But as for those from among them who are deeply rooted in knowledge,* and the believers who believe in that which has been bestowed upon thee from on high as well as that which was bestowed from on high before thee, and those who are [especially] constant in prayer,* and spend in charity, and all who believe in God and the Last Day - these it is unto whom We shall grant a mighty reward.
FORBIDDEN to you is carrion, and blood, and the flesh of swine, and that over which any name other than God's has been invoked,* and the animal that has been strangled, or beaten to death, or killed by a fall, or gored to death, or savaged by a beast of prey, save that which you [yourselves] may have slaughtered while it was still alive; and [forbidden to you is] all that has been slaughtered on idolatrous altars.* And [you are forbidden] to seek to learn through divination what the future may hold in store for you:* this is sinful conduct. Today, those who , are bent on denying the truth have lost all hope of [your ever forsaking] your religion: do not, then, hold them in awe, but stand in awe of Me! Today have I perfected your religious law for you, and have bestowed upon you the full measure of My blessings, and willed that self-surrender unto Me shall be your religion.* As for him, however, who is driven [to what is forbidden] by dire necessity* and not by an inclination to sinning -behold, God is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace.
Today, all the good things of life have been made lawful to you. And the food of those who have been vouchsafed revelation aforetime is lawful to you,* and your food is lawful to them. And [lawful to you are], in wedlock, women from among those who believe [in this divine writ], and, in wedlock, women from among those who have been vouchsafed revelation before your time -provided that you give them their dowers, taking them in honest wedlock, not in fornication, nor as secret love-companions.* But as for him who rejects belief [in God] - in vain will be all his works: for in the life to come he shall be among the lost.*
And [likewise,] from those who say, "Behold, we are Christians."* We have accepted a solemn pledge: and they, too, have forgotten much of what they had been told to bear in mind - wherefore We have given rise among them to enmity and hatred, [to last] until Resurrection Day:* and in time God will cause them to understand what they have contrived.
Verily, if those who are bent on denying the truth had all that is on earth, and twice as much,* to offer as ransom from suffering on the Day of Resurrection, it would not be accepted from them: for grievous suffering awaits them.
And the Jews say, "God's hand is shackled!" It is their own hands that are shackled; and rejected [by God] are they because of this their assertion.* Nay, but wide are His hands stretched out: He dispenses [bounty] as He wills. But all that has been bestowed from on high upon thee [O Prophet] by thy Sustainer is bound to make many of them yet more stubborn in their overweening arrogance and in their denial of the truth. And so We have cast enmity and hatred among the followers of the Bible ,* [to last] until Resurrection Day; every time they light the fires of war, God extinguishes them ;* and they labour hard to spread corruption on earth: and God does not -love the spreaders of corruption.
for, verily, those who have attained to faith [in this divine writ], as well as those who follow the Jewish faith, and the Sabians,* and the Christians - all who believe in God and the Last Day and do righteous deeds - no fear need they have, and neither shall they grieve.
GOD will not take you to task for oaths which you may have uttered without thought,* but He will take you to task for oaths which you have sworn in earnest. Thus, the breaking of an oath must be atoned for by* feeding ten needy persons with more or less the same food as you are wont to give to your own families,* or by clothing them, or by freeing a human being from bondage; and he who has not the wherewithal shall fast for three days [instead]. This shall be the atonement for your oaths whenever you have sworn [and broken them]. But be mindful of your oaths!'* Thus God makes clear unto you His messages, so that you might have cause to be grateful.
ON THE DAY when God shall assemble all the apostles and shall ask, "What response did you receive?" -they will answer, "We have no knowledge; verily, it is Thou alone who fully knowest all the things that are beyond the reach of a created being's perception."*
[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."
Say: "Unto whom belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth?" Say: "Unto God, who has willed upon Himself the law of grace and mercy.* He will assuredly gather you all together on the Day of Resurrection, [the coming of] which is beyond all doubt: yet those who have squandered their own selves-it is they who refuse to believe [in Him],
Say: "Behold, I would dread, were I [thus] to rebel against my Sustainer, the suffering [which would befall me] on that awesome Day [of Judgment]."
for one Day We shall gather them all together, and then We shall say unto those who ascribed divinity to aught beside God: "Where, now, are those beings whom you imagined to have a share in God's divinity?"*
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 who could be more wicked than he who invents a lie about God,* or says, "This has been revealed unto me," the while nothing has been revealed to him? - or he who says, "I, too, can bestow from on high the like of what God has bestowed"?* If thou couldst but see [how it will be] when these evildoers find themselves in the agonies of death, and the angels stretch forth their hands [and call]: "Give up your souls! Today you shall be requited with the suffering of humiliation for having attributed to God something that is not true, and for having persistently scorned His messages in your arrogance!"
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.
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!
Do they, perchance, wait for the angels to appear unto them, or for thy Sustainer [Himself] to appear, or for some of thy Sustainer's [final] portents to appear?* [But] on the Day when thy Sustainer's [final] portents do appear, believing will be of no avail to any human being who did not believe before, or who, while believing, did no good works.* Say: "Wait, [then, for the Last Day, O unbelievers:] behold, we [believers] are waiting, too!"
Said [Iblis]: "Grant me a respite till the Day when all shall be raised from the dead."
Say: "Who is there to forbid the beauty which God has brought forth for His creatures, and the good things from among the means of sustenance?" Say: "They are [lawful] in the life of this world unto all who have attained to faith - to be theirs alone on Resurrection Day."* Thus clearly do We spell out these messages unto people of [innate] knowledge!
those who, beguiled by the life of this world, have made play and passing delights their religion!* [And God will say:] "And so We shall be oblivious of them today as they were oblivious of the coming of this their Day [of Judgment], and as Our messages they did deny:
Are [the unbelievers] but waiting for the final meaning of that [Day of Judgment] to unfold?* [But] on the Day when its final meaning is unfolded, those who aforetime had been oblivious thereof will say: "Our Sustainer's apostles have indeed told us the truth! Have we, then, any intercessors who could intercede in our behalf? Or could we be brought back [to life] so that we might act otherwise than we were wont to act?"* Indeed, they will have squandered their own selves, and all their false imagery will have forsaken them.
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!
INDEED, We sent forth Noah unto his people,* and he said: "O my people! Worship God alone: you have no deity other than Him. Verily, I fear lest suffering befall you on an awesome Day!"*
And ask them about that town which stood by the sea: how its people would profane the Sabbath whenever their fish came to them, breaking the water's surface, on a day on which they ought to have kept Sabbath -because they would not come to them on other than Sabbath-days!* Thus did We try them by means of their [own] iniquitous doings.
And lo! Thy Sustainer made it known that most certainly He would rouse against them, unto Resurrection Day, people who would afflict them with cruel suffering: verily, thy Sustainer is swift in retribution - yet, verily, He is [also] much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace.
AND WHENEVER thy Sustainer brings forth their offspring from the loins of the children of Adam, He [thus] calls upon them to bear witness about themselves: "Am I not your Sustainer?" - to which they answer: "Yea, indeed, we do bear witness thereto!"* [Of this We remind you,] lest you say on the Day of Resurrection, "Verily, we were unaware of this";
AND KNOW that whatever booty you acquire [in war], one-fifth thereof belongs to God and the Apostle, and the near of kin, and the orphans, and the needy, and the wayfarer.* [This you must observe] if you believe in God and in what We bestowed from on high upon Our servant on the day when the true was distinguished from the false - the day when the two hosts met in battle. And God has the power to will anything.*
And, lo, Satan made all their doings seem goodly to them, and said, "No one can overcome you this day, for, behold, I shall be your protector !"* but as soon as the two hosts came within sight of one another, he turned on his heels and said, "Behold, I am not responsible for you: behold, I see something that you do not see: behold, I fear God-for God is severe in retribution !"*
And a proclamation from God and His Apostle [is herewith made] unto all mankind on this day of the Greatest Pilgrimage:* "God disavows all who ascribe divinity to aught beside Him, and [so does] His Apostle. Hence, if you repent, it shall be for your own good; and if you turn away, then know that you can never elude God!" And unto those who are bent on denying the truth give thou [O Prophet] the tiding of grievous chastisement.
Only he should visit or tend God's houses of worship who believes in God and the Last Day, and is constant in prayer, and spends in charity, and stands in awe of none but God: for [only such as] these may hope to be among the right-guided!*
Do you, perchance, regard the [mere] giving of water to pilgrims and the tending of the Inviolable House of Worship as being equal to [the works of] one who believes in God and the Last Day and strives hard in God's cause? These [things] are not equal in the sight of God.* And God does not grace with His guidance people who [deliberately] do wrong.
Indeed, God has succoured you on many battlefields, [when you were few;] and [He did so, too,] on the Day of Hunayn, when you took pride in your great numbers and they proved of no avail whatever to you -for the earth, despite all its vastness, became [too] narrow for you and you turned back, retreating:*
[And] fight against those who - despite having been vouchsafed revelation [aforetime]* -do not [truly] believe either in God or the Last Day, and do not consider forbidden that which God and His Apostle have forbidden,* and do not follow the religion of truth [which God has enjoined upon them]* till they [agree to] pay the exemption tax with a willing hand, after having been humbled [in war].*
on the Day when that [hoarded wealth] shall be heated in the fire of hell and their foreheads and their sides and their backs branded therewith* , [those sinners shall be told:] "These are the treasures which you have laid up for yourselves! Taste, then, [the evil of] your hoarded treasures!"
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.
Those who [truly] believe in God and the Last Day do not ask thee for exemption from struggling with their possessions and their lives [in God's cause]-and God has full knowledge as to who is conscious of Him-:*
only those ask thee for exemption who do not [truly] believe in God and the Last Day and whose hearts have become a prey to doubt, so that in their doubting they waver between one thing and another.
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.*
However, among the bedouin there are [also] such as believe in God and the Last Day, and regard all that they spend (in God's cause] as a means of drawing them nearer to God and of [their being remembered in] the. Apostle's prayers. Oh, verily, it shall [indeed] be a means of [God's] nearness to them, [for] God will admit them unto His grace: verily, God is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace!
Never set foot in such a place!* Only a house of worship founded, from the very first day, upon God-consciousness is worthy of thy setting foot therein* -[a house of worship] wherein there are men desirous of growing in purity: for God loves all who purify themselves.
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?
AND [thus it is:] whenever Our messages are conveyed unto them in all their clarity, those who do not believe that they are destined to meet Us [are wont to] say, "Bring us a discourse other than this, or alter this one."* Say [O Prophet]: "It is not conceivable that I should alter it of my own volition; I only follow what is revealed to me. Behold, I would dread, were I [thus] to rebel against my Sustainer, the suffering [which would befall me] on that ,awesome Day [of Judgment]!"
For, one Day We shall gather them all together, and then We shall say unto those who [in their lifetime] ascribed divinity to aught but God, "Stand where you are, you and those [beings and powers] to whom you were wont to ascribe a share in God's divinity!* -for by then We shall have [visibly] separated them from one another .* And the beings to whom they had ascribed a share in God's divinity will say [to those who had worshipped them], "It was not us that you were wont to worship;*
And on the Day when He shall gather them [unto Himself, it will seem to them] as if they had not tarried [on earth] longer than an hour of a day, knowing one another;* [and] lost indeed will be they who [in their lifetime] considered it a lie that they were destined to meet God, and [thus] failed to find the right' way.
But what do they think-they who attribute their own lying inventions to God-[what do they think will happen to them]. on the Day of Resurrection? Behold, God is indeed limitless in His bounty unto men -but most of them are ungrateful.
[Nay,] but today We shall save only thy body,* so that thou mayest be a [warning] sign unto those who will come after thee: for, behold, a good many people are heedless of Our messages!"
And [thereafter], indeed, We assigned unto the children of Israel a most goodly abode,* and provided for them sustenance out of the good things of life. And it was not until knowledge [of God's revelation] was vouchsafed to them that they began to hold divergent views: [but,] verily, thy Sustainer will judge between them on Resurrection Day regarding all on which they were wont to differ.*
Can such, then, expect anything else [to befall them] but the like of the days of [calamity which befell] those [deniers of the truth] who passed away before them? Say: "Wait, then, [for what will happen) verily, I shall wait with you!"
Ask your Sustainer to forgive you your sins, and then turn towards Him in repentance - [whereupon] He will grant you a goodly enjoyment of life [in this world] until a term set [by Him is fulfilled];* and [in the life to come] He will bestow upon everyone possessed of merit [a full reward for] his merit.* But if you turn away, then, verily, I dread for you the suffering [which is bound to befall you] on that awesome Day*
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"*
And thus it is: if We defer their suffering until a time-limit set [by Us],* they are sure to say, "What is preventing it [from coming now]?"* Oh, verily, on the Day when it befalls them there will be nothing to avert it from them; and they shall be overwhelmed by the very thing which they were wont to deride.*
that you may worship none but God-for, verily, I fear lest suffering befall you on a grievous Day!"*
[But the son] answered: "I shall betake myself to a mountain that will protect me from the waters." Said [Noah]: "Today there is no protection [for anyone] from God's judgment, save [for] those who have earned [His] mercy!" And a wave rose up between them, and [the son] was among those who were drowned.
And they were pursued in this world by [God's] rejection, and [shall finally be overtaken by it] on the Day of Resurrection.* Oh, verily, [the tribe of] `Ad denied their Sustainer! Oh, away with the `Ad, the people of Hud!
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!"
AND WHEN Our messengers came unto Lot, he was sorely grieved on their account, seeing that it was beyond his power to shield them;* and he exclaimed: "This is a woeful day!"
AND UNTO [the people of] Madyan [We sent] their brother Shu'ayb.* He said: "O my people! Worship God [alone]: you have no deity other than Him; and do not give short measure and weight [in any of your dealings with men].* Behold, I see you [now] in a happy state; but, verily, I dread lest suffering befall you on a Day that will encompass [you with doom]!
[And so] he shall go before his people on the Day of Resurrection, having led them [in this world] towards the fire [of the life to come]; and vile was the destination towards which they were led -
seeing that they were pursued by [God's] rejection in this [world], and [shall be finally overtaken by it] on the Day of Resurrection;* [and] vile was the gift which they were given!
Herein, behold, lies a message indeed for all who fear the suffering [which may befall them] in the life to come, (and are conscious of the coming of] that Day on which all mankind shall be gathered together-that Day [of Judgment] which shall be witnessed [by all that ever lived],
When that Day comes, not a soul will speak. unless it be by His leave; and of those [that are gathered together], some will be wretched and some, happy.
And the King said: "Bring him unto me, so that I may attach him to my own person." And when he had spoken with him, [the King] said: "Behold, [from] this day thou shalt be of high standing with us, invested with all trust!"
Said he: "No reproach shall be uttered today against you. May God forgive you your sins: for He is the most merciful of the merciful!
And [thus], indeed, have We sent forth Moses with Our messages [and this Our command]: "Lead thy people out of the depths of darkness into the light, and remind them of the Days of God!"* Verily, in this [reminder] there are messages indeed for all who are wholly patient in adversity and deeply grateful [to God].
[This, then, is] the parable of those who are bent on denying their Sustainer: all their works* are as ashes which the wind blows about fiercely on a stormy day: [in the life to come,] they cannot achieve any benefit whatever from all [the good] that they may have wrought: for this [denial of God] is indeed the farthest one can go astray.*
[And] tell [those of] My servants who have attained to faith that they should be constant in prayer and spend [in Our way], secretly and openly, out of what We provide for them as sustenance,* ere there come a Day when there will be no bargaining, and no mutual befriending.*
Grant Thy forgiveness unto me, and my parents, and all the believers, on the Day on which the [last] reckoning will come to pass!"
AND DO NOT think that God is unaware of what the evildoers are doing: He but grants them respite until the Day when their eyes will stare in horror,*
Hence, warn men of the Day when this suffering may befall them, and when those who did wrong [in their lifetime] will exclaim: "O our Sustainer! Grant us respite for a short while, so that we might respond to Thy call and follow the apostles!"* [But God will answer:] "Why - were you not aforetime wont to swear that no kind of resurrection and retribution awaited you?*
[His promise will be fulfilled] on the Day when the earth shall be changed into another earth, as shall be the heavens* and when [all men] shall appear before God, the One who holds absolute sway over all that exists.
and [My] rejection shall be thy due* until the Day of Judgment!"
Said [Iblis]: "Then, O my Sustainer, grant me a respite till the Day when all shall be raised from the dead!"
till the Day the time whereof is known [to Me alone]."
Hence,* on Resurrection Day they shall bear the full weight of their own burdens, as well as some of the burdens of those ignorant ones whom they have led astray:* oh, how evil the load with which they shall be burdened!
And then, on Resurrection Day, He will cover them [all] with ignominy,* and will say: "Where, now, are those beings to whom you ascribed a share in My divinity,* [and] for whose sake you cut yourselves off [from My guidance]?"* [Whereupon] those who [in their lifetime] were endowed with knowledge* will say: "Verily, ignominy and misery [have fallen] this day upon those who have been denying the truth-
By God, [O Prophet,] even before thy time have We sent apostles unto [various] communities: but [those who were bent on denying the truth have always refused to listen to Our messages because] Satan has made all their own doings seem goodly to them: and he is [as] close to them today* [as he was to the sinners of yore]; hence, grievous suffering awaits them.
And God has given you [the ability to build] your houses as places of rest, and has endowed you with [the skill to make] dwellings out of the skins of animals* - easy for you to handle when you travel and when you camp -and [to make] furnishings and goods for temporary use of their [rough] wool and their soft, furry wool* and their hair.
But one Day We shall raise up a witness out of every community,* whereupon they who were bent on denying the truth will not be allowed to plead [ignorance],* and neither will they be allowed to make amends.
for one Day We shall raise up within every community a witness against them from among themselves.* And thee [too, O Prophet,] have We brought forth to bear witness regarding those [whom thy message may have reached],* inasmuch as We have bestowed from on high upon thee, step by step, this divine writ, to make everything clear,* and to provide guidance and grace and a glad tiding unto all who have surrendered themselves to God.
Hence, be not like her who breaks and completely untwists the yarn which she [herself] has spun and made strong-[be not like this by] using your oaths as a means of deceiving one another,* simply because some of you may be more powerful than others."* By all this, God but puts you to a test-and [He does it] so that on Resurrection Day He might make clear unto you all that on which you were wont to differ.*
[Be conscious, then, of] the Day when every human being shall come to plead for himself [alone], and every human being shall be repaid in full for whatever he has done, and none shall be wronged.
[and know that the observance of] the Sabbath was ordained only for those who came to hold divergent views about him;* but, verily, God will judge between them on Resurrection Day with regard to all on which they were wont to differ.*
And every human being's destiny have We tied to his neck;* and on the Day of Resurrection We shall bring forth for him a record which he will find wide open;
[and he will be told:] "Read this thy record,! Sufficient is thine own self today to make out thine account!"*
on a Day when He will call you, and you will answer by praising Him, thinking all the while that you have tarried [on earth] but a little while."*
And [bear in mind:] there is no community which We will not destroy before the Day of Resurrection,* or chastise [even earlier, if it proves sinful,] with suffering severe: all this is laid down in Our decree.*
[And] he added: "Tell me, is this [foolish being] the one whom Thou hast exalted above me? Indeed, if Thou wilt but allow me a respite till the Day of Resurrection, I shall most certainly cause his descendants-all but a few-to obey me blindly !*
[but] one Day We shall summon all human beings [and judge them] according to the conscious disposition which governed their deeds [in life]:* whereupon they whose record shall be placed in their right hand* -it is they who will read their record [with happiness]. Yet none shall be wronged by as much as a hair's breadth:*
And he whom God guides, he alone has found the right way; whereas for those whom He lets go astray thou canst never find anyone to protect them from Him: and [so, when] We shall gather them together on the Day of Resurrection, [they will lie] prone upon their faces, blind and dumb and deaf, with hell as their goal; [and] every time [the fire] abates, We shall increase for them [its] blazing flame.*
And so, [in the course of time,] We awakened them;* and they began to ask one another [as to what had happened to them].* One of them asked: "How long have you remained thus?" [The others] answered: "We have remained thus a day, or part of a day."* Said they [who were endowed with deeper insight]: "Your Sustainer knows best how long you have thus remained.* Let, then, one of you go with these silver coins to the town, and let him find out what food is purest there, and bring you thereof [some] provisions. But let him behave with great care and by no means make anyone aware of you:
Hence, [bear in mind] the Day, on which We shall cause the mountains to disappear and thou shalt behold the earth void and bare: for [on that Day] We will [resurrect the dead and] gather them all together, leaving out none of them.
Hence, [bear in mind] the Day on which He will say, "Call [now] unto those beings whom you imagined to have a share in My divinity!"* - whereupon they will invoke them, but those [beings] will not respond to them: for We shall have placed between them an unbridgeable gulf.*
it is they who have chosen to deny their Sustainer's messages and the truth; that they are deseined to meet Him." Hence, all their [good] deeds come to nought, and no weight shall We assign to them on Resurrection Day.*
Hence, [God's] peace was upon him on the day when he was born, and on the day of his death, and. will be [upon him] on the day when he shall be raised to life [again].
Eat, then, and drink, and let thine eye be gladdened! And if thou shouldst see any human being, convey this unto him:* `Behold, abstinence from speech have I vowed unto the Most Gracious; hence, I may not speak today to any mortal.*
"Hence, peace was upon me on the day when I was born, and [will be upon me] on the day of my death, and on the day when I shall be raised to life [again]!"
And yet, the sects [that follow the Bible] are at variance among themselves [about the nature of Jesus* Woe, then, unto all who deny the truth when that awesome Day will appear!*
How well will they hear and see [the truth] on the Day when they come before Us! Today, however, these evildoers are obviously lost in error:
hence, warn them of [the coming of] the Day of Regrets, when everything will have been decided-for as yet they are heedless, and they do not believe [in it].
On the Day when We shall gather the Godconscious unto [Us,] the Most Gracious, as honoured guests,
and every one of them will appear before Him on Resurrection Day in a lonely state.*
Answered [Moses]: "Your tryst shall be the day of the Festival ;* and let the people assemble when the sun is risen high."
Hence, [O sorcerers of Egypt,] decide upon the scheme which you will pursue, and then come forward in one single body:* for, indeed, he who prevails today shall prosper indeed!"*
All who shall turn away from it will, verily, bear a [heavy] burden on the Day of Resurrection:
they will abide in this [state], and grievous for them will be the weight [of that burden] on the Day of Resurrection -
on the Day when the trumpet is blown: for on that Day We will assemble all such as had been lost in sin, their eyes dimmed* [by terror],
[But] We know best* what they will be saying when the most perceptive of them shall say, "You have spent [there] but one day!"
But as for him who shall turn away from remembering Me - his shall be a life of narrow scope* and on the Day of Resurrection We shall raise him up blind."
[God] will reply: "Thus it is: there came unto thee Our messages, but thou wert oblivious of them; and thus shalt thou be today consigned to oblivion!"
But We shall set up just balance-scales on Resurrection Day, and no human being shall be wronged in the least: for though there be [in him but] the weight of a mustard-seed [of good or evil], We shall bring it forth; and none can take count as We do!
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!"
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]!
On the Day when you behold it, every woman that feeds a child at her breast will utterly forget her nursling, and every woman heavy with child will bring forth her burden [before her time]; and it will seem to thee that all mankind is drunk,* although they will not be drunk - but vehement will be [their dread of] God's chastisement.*
scornfully turning aside [from the truth] so as to lead [others] astray from the path of God. Disgrace [of the spirit] is in store for him in this world;* and on the Day of Resurrection We shall make him taste suffering through fire;
Verily, as for those who have attained to faith [in this divine writ], and those who follow the Jewish faith, and the Sabians,* and the Christians, and the Magians,* [on the one hand,] and those who are bent on ascribing divinity to aught but God, [on the other,]* verily, God will decide between them on Resurrection Day: for, behold, God is witness unto everything.
so that they might experience much that shall be of benefit to them,* and that they might extol the name of God on the days appointed [for sacrifice], over whatever heads of cattle He may have provided for them* [to this end]: eat, then, thereof, and feed the unfortunate poor.*
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.*
whereas those who are bent on denying the truth will not cease to be in doubt about Him until the Last Hour comes suddenly upon them and [supreme] suffering befalls them on a Day void of all hope.*
[For, indeed,] God will judge between you [all] on Resurrection Day with regard to all on which you were wont to differ.*
and then, behold! you shall be raised from the dead on Resurrection Day.
[But they will be told:] Cry not in supplication today: for, behold, you shall not he succoured by Us!
so that I might act righteously in whatever I have failed [aforetime]!''* Nay, it is indeed but a [meaningless] word that he utters: for behind those [who leave the world] there is a barrier [of death] until the Day when all will be raised from the dead!
[But,] behold, today I have rewarded them for their patience in adversity: verily, it is they, they who have achieved a triumph!"
They will answer: 'We have spent there a day, or part of a day; but ask those who [are able to] count [time]
"*
AS FOR the adulteress and the adulterer* flog each of them with a hundred stripes, and let not compassion with them keep you from [carrying out] this law of God, if you [truly] believe in God and the Last Day; and let a group of the believers witness their chastisement.*
on the Day when their own tongues and hands and feet will bear witness against them by [recalling] all that they did!
people whom neither [worldly] commerce nor striving after gain* can divert from the remembrance of God, and from constancy in prayer, and from charity:* [people] who are filled with fear [at the thought] of the Day On which all hearts and eyes will be convulsed,
Oh, verily, unto God belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth: well does He know where you stand and at what you aim!* And one Day, all [who have ever lived] will be brought back unto Him, and then He will make them [truly] understand all that they were doing [in life]: for, God has full knowledge of everything.
[But they will be told:] Pray not today for one single extinction, but pray for many extinctions!"*
BUT [as for people who are oblivious of thy Sustainer's oneness -]* one Day He will gather them together with all that they [now] worship instead of God, and will ask [those to whom divinity was falsely ascribed]:* Was it you who led these My creatures astray, or did they by themselves stray from the right path?"
[Yet] on that Day - the Day on which they shall see the angels* there will be no glad tiding for those who were lost in sin; and they will exclaim, By a forbidding ban [are we from God's grace debarred]!"
And on the Day on which the skies, together with the clouds, shall burst asunder, and the angels are made to descend in a mighty descent
on that Day [it will become obvious to all that] true sovereignty belongs to the Most Gracious [alone]: hence, a Day of distress will it be for all who deny the truth,
and a Day on which the evildoer will bite his hands [in despair], exclaiming: Oh, would that I had followed the path shown to me by the apostle!*
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.*
[but] shall have his suffering doubled on Resurrection Day: for on that [Day] he shall abide in ignominy.
And so the sorcerers were assembled at a set time on a certain day,
and who, [hope, will forgive me my faults on Judgment Day!
and do not put me to shame on the Day when all shall be raised from the dead:*
the Day on which neither wealth will be of any use, nor children,
for, verily, I fear lest suffering befall you on an awesome day!"
Replied he: This she-camel* shall have a share of water, and you shall have a share of water, on the days appointed [therefor];*
and do her no harm, lest suffering befall you on an awesome day!"
But they gave him the lie. And thereupon suffering overtook them on a day dark with shadows:* and, verily, it was the suffering of an awesome day!
And on that Day We shall gather from within every community a host of those who gave the lie to Our messages; and they will be grouped [according to the gravity of their sins]
And on that Day the trumpet [of judgment] will be sounded, and all [creatures] that are in the heavens and all that are on earth will be stricken with terror, except such as God wills [to exempt]: and in utter lowliness all will come unto Him.
[We destroyed them,] and We set them up as archetypes [of evil] that show the way to the fire [of hell];* and [whereas] no succour will come to them on Resurrection Day,
We have caused a curse to follow them in this world as well;* and on Resurrection Day they will find themselves among those who are bereft of all good.*
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]?*
For, on that Day He will call unto them, and will ask: Where, now, are those [beings or powers] whom you imagined to have a share in My divinity?"*
And on that Day He will call unto them, and will ask: How did you respond to My message bearers?"*
Say: Have you ever considered [this]: If God had willed that there should always be night about you, without break, until the Day of Resurrection - is there any deity other than God that could bring you light?* Will you not, then, listen [to the truth]?"
Say: Have you ever considered [this]: If God had willed that there should always be daylight about you, without break, until the Day of Resurrection - is there any deity other than God that could bring you [the darkness of] night, wherein you might rest? Will you not, then, see [the truth]?"*
AND ON THAT DAY* He will call unto those [that shall have been arraigned before His judgment seat], and will ask: Where, now, are those [beings or powers] whom you imagined to have a share in My divinity?"*
Yet most certainly will they have to bear their own burdens, and other burdens besides their own;* and most certainly will they be called to account on Resurrection Day for all their false assertions!
And [Abraham] said: You have chosen to worship idols instead of God for no other reason than to have a bond of love* in the life of this world, between yourselves [and your forebears]:* but then, on Resurrection Day, you shall disown one another and curse one another - for the goal of you all will be the fire, and you will have none to succour you.
AND UNTO [the people of] Madyan [We sent] their brother Shu'ayb* who thereupon said: O my people! Worship God [alone], and look forward to the Last Day, and do not act wickedly on earth by spreading corruption!"
[encompass them] on the Day when suffering will overwhelm them from above them and from beneath their feet,* whereupon He shall say: Taste [now the fruit of] your own doings!"
And when the last Hour dawns, those who were lost in sin will be broken in spirit
And when the Last Hour dawns - on that Day will all [men] be sorted out:
Set, then, thy face steadfastly towards the one ever-true faith,* ere there come from God a Day [of reckoning - the Day] which cannot be averted. On that Day all will be sundered:
[He it is who will cause you to die, and in time will resurrect you.]* And when the Last Hour dawns, those who had been lost in sin will swear that they had not tarried [on earth] longer than an hour: thus were they wont to delude themselves [all their lives]!*
But those who [in their lifetime] were endowed with knowledge* and faith will say: Indeed, you have been tardy in [accepting as true] what God has revealed,* [and you have waited] until the Day of Resurrection: this, then, is the Day of Resurrection: but you - you were determined not to know it!*
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!*
IT IS GOD who has created the heavens and the earth and all that is between them in six aeons, and is established on the throne of His almightiness.* You have none to protect you from God, and none to intercede for you [on Judgment Day]: will you not, then, bethink yourselves?
He governs all that exists, from the celestial space to the earth; and in the end all shall ascend unto Him [for judgment] on a Day the length whereof will be [like] a thousand years of your reckoning.*
[And He will say unto the sinners:] Taste, then, [the recompense] for your having been oblivious of the coming of this your Day [of Judgment] - for, verily, We are [now] oblivious of you: taste, then, [this] abiding suffering for all [the evil] that you were wont to do!"
VERILY, it is God alone who will decide between men* on Resurrection Day with regard to all on which they were wont to differ.*
Say: On the Day of the Final Decision, their [newly-found] faith will be of no use to those who [in their lifetime] were bent on denying the truth, nor will they be granted respite!"
VERILY, in the Apostle of God you have a good example for everyone who looks forward [with hope and awe] to God and the Last Day, and remembers God unceasingly.*
On the Day when they meet Him, they will be welcomed with the greeting, Peace"; and He will have readied for them a most excellent reward.
On the Day when their faces shall be tossed about in the fire,* they will exclaim, Oh, would that we had paid heed unto God, and paid heed unto the Apostle!"
Now [before their downfall,] We had placed between them and the cities which We had blessed* [many] towns within sight of one another; and thus We had made traveling easy [for them, as if to say]: Travel safely in this [land], by night or by day!"
Say: There has been appointed for you a Day, which you can neither delay nor advance by a single moment."*
And [as for those who now deny the truth,] one Day He will gather them all together, and will ask the angels, Was it you that they were wont to worship?"*
And [on that Day God will say]: None of you [created beings] has today any power to benefit or to harm another!" And [then] We shall say unto those who had been bent on evildoing: Taste [now] that suffering through fire which you were wont to call a lie!"
If you invoke them, they do not hear your call; and even if they could hear, they would not [be able to] respond to you. And [withal,] on the Day of Resurrection they will utterly disown your having associated them with God.* And none can make thee understand [the truth] like the One who is all-aware.
Today, then, no human being shall be wronged in the least, nor shalt you be requited for aught but what you were doing [on earth].
Behold, those who are destined for paradise shall today have joy in whatever they do:
But stand aside today, O you who were lost in sin!
endure it today as an outcome of your persistent denial of the truth!"
On that Day We shall set a seal on their mouths* but their hands will speak unto Us, and their feet will bear witness to whatever they have earned [in life].
and will say: Oh, woe unto us! This is the Day of Judgment!"
[And they will be told:] This is the Day of Distinction [between the true and the false - the Day]* which you were wont to call a lie!"
Nay, but on that Day they would willingly surrender [to God];
he would indeed have remained in its belly till the Day when all shall be raised from the dead:
As it is, they say [mockingly]: O our Sustainer! Hasten on to us our share [of punishment even] before the Day of Reckoning!"*
[And We said:] O David! Behold, We have made thee a [prophet and, thus, Our] vicegerent on earth: judge, then, between men with justice, and do not follow vain desire, lest it lead thee astray from the path of God: verily, for those who go astray from the path of God there is suffering severe in store for having forgotten the Day of Reckoning!"
This is what you are promised for the Day of Reckoning:
and My rejection shall be thy due until the Day of Judgment!"
Said [Iblis]: Then, O my Sustainer, grant me a respite till the Day when all shall be raised from the dead!"
till the Day the time whereof is known [only to Me]."*
Say: Behold, I would dread, were I to rebel against my Sustainer, the suffering [which would befall me] on that awesome Day [of Judgment]."
and [it is up to you, O sinners, to] worship whatever you please instead of Him!" Say: Behold, the [true] losers will be they who shall have lost their own selves and their kith and kin on Resurrection Day: for is not this, this, the [most] obvious loss?*
Could, then, one who shall have nothing but is [bare] face to protect him from the awful suffering [that will befall him] on Resurrection Day [be likened to the God-conscious]?* [On that Day,] the evildoers will be told: Taste [now] what you have earned [in life]!"
and then, behold, on the Day of Resurrection you all shall place your dispute before your Sustainer.
But if those who are bent on evildoing possessed all that is on earth, and twice as much,* they would surely offer it as ransom from the awful suffering [that will befall them] on the Day of Resurrection:* for, something with which they had not reckoned before will [by then] have been made obvious to them by God;*
And [so,] on the Day of Resurrection thou wilt see all who invented lies about God [with] their faces darkened [by grief and ignominy].* Is not hell the [proper] abode for all who are given to false pride?*
And no true understanding of God have they [who worship aught beside Him], inasmuch as the whole of the earth will be as a [mere] handful to Him on Resurrection Day, and the heavens will be rolled up in His right hand:* limitless is He in His glory, and sublimely exalted above anything to which they may ascribe a share in His divinity!
And those who were bent on denying the truth will be urged on in throngs towards hell till, when they reach it, its gates will be opened, and its keepers will ask them, Have there not come to you apostles from among yourselves, who conveyed to you your Sustainer's messages and warned you of the coming of this your Day [of Judgment]? "They will answer: Yea, indeed!" But the sentence of suffering will [already] have fallen due upon the deniers of the truth;*
High above all orders [of being] is He, in almightiness enthroned.* By His Own will does He bestow inspiration upon whomever He wills of His servants, so as to warn [all human beings of the coming] of the Day when they shall meet Him*
the Day when they shall come forth [from death], with nothing of themselves hidden from God. With whom will sovereignty rest on that Day? With God, the One who holds absolute sway over all that exists!
On that Day will every human being be requited for what he has earned: no wrong [will be done] on that Day: verily, swift in reckoning is God!
Hence, warn them of that Day which draws ever nearer, when the hearts will chokingly come up to the throats: no loving friend will the evildoers have, nor any intercessor who would be heeded:*
But Moses said: With [Him who is] my Sustainer as well as your Sustainer have I indeed found refuge from everyone who, immersed in false pride, will not believe in [the coming of] the Day of Reckoning!"
O my people! Yours is the dominion today, [and] most eminent are you on earth: but who will rescue us from God's punishment, once it befalls us?" Said Pharaoh: I but want to make you see what I see myself;* and I would never make you follow any path but that of rectitude!"
Thereupon exclaimed he who had attained to faith: O my people! Verily, I fear for you the like of what one day befell those others who were leagued together [against God's truth]
And, O my people, I fear for you [the coming of] that Day of [Judgment - the Day when you will be] calling unto one another [in distress]
the Day when you will [wish to] turn your backs and flee, having none to defend you against God: for he whom God lets go astray can never find any guide.*
the fire [of the hereafter - that fire] which they had been made to contemplate [in vain], morning and evening:* for on the Day when the Last Hour dawns [God will say], Make Pharaoh's folk enter upon suffering most severe!"
And they who are in the fire will say to the keepers of hell,* Pray unto your Sustainer that He lighten, [though it be] for one day [only], this suffering of ours!"
BEHOLD, We shall indeed succour Our apostles and those who have attained to faith, [both] in this world's life and on the Day when all the witnesses shall stand up*
the Day when their excuses will be of no avail to the evildoers, seeing that their lot will be rejection from all that is good, and a woeful hereafter.*
SAY: Would you indeed deny Him who has created the earth in two aeons?* And do you claim that there is any power that could rival Him, the Sustainer of all the worlds?"*
For He [it is who, after creating the earth,] placed firm mountains on it, [towering] above its surface, and bestowed [so many] blessings on it, and equitably apportioned* its means of subsistence to all who would seek it: [and all this He created] in four aeons.*
And He [it is who] decreed that they become seven heavens* in two aeons, and imparted unto each heaven its function. And We adorned the skies nearest to the earth with lights, and made them secure:* such is the ordaining of the Almighty, the All-Knowing.
and thereupon We let loose upon them a storm wind raging through days of misfortune,* so as to give them, in the life of this world, a foretaste of suffering through humiliation: but [their] suffering in the life to come will be far more humiliating, and they will have none to succour them.
Hence, [warn all men of] the Day when the enemies of God shall be gathered together before the fire, and then shall be driven onward,
VERILY, they who distort the meaning of Our messages are not hidden from Us: hence, which [of the two] will be in a better state - he that is [destined to be] cast into the fire, or he that shall come secure [before Us] on Resurrection Day? Do what you will: verily, He sees all that you do.
In Him alone is vested the knowledge of when the Last Hour will come. And no fruit bursts forth from its calyx, and no female ever conceives, nor ever gives birth, save with His knowledge. And so, on the Day when He shall call out to them, Where, now, are those [alleged] partners of Mine?" - they will [surely] answer, We confess unto Thee that none of us can bear witness [to anyone's having a share in Thy divinity]!"
[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.
And thou wilt see them exposed to that [doom], humbling themselves in abasement, looking [around] with a furtive glance - the while those who had attained to faith will say, "Verily, lost on [this] Day of Resurrection are they who have squandered their own and their followers' selves!"* Oh, verily, the evildoers will fall into long-lasting suffering,
[Hence, O men,] respond to your Sustainer before there comes, at God's behest,* a Day on which there will be no turning back: [for] on that Day you will have no place of refuge, and neither will you be able to deny aught [of the wrong that you have done].
On that Day it will not profit you in the least [to know] that, since you have sinned [together], you are now to share your suffering [as well].*
But factions from among those [who came after Jesus] began to hold divergent views:* woe, then, unto those who are bent on evildoing - [woe] for the suffering [that will befall them] on a grievous Day!
[And God will say:] O you servants of Mine! No fear need you have today, and neither shall you grieve
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:
WAIT, THEN, for the Day when the skies shall bring forth a pall of smoke which will make obvious [the approach of the Last Hour],
on the Day when We shall seize [all sinners] with a most mighty onslaught, We shall, verily, inflict Our retribution [on you as well]!
VERILY, the Day of Distinction [between the true and the false] is the term appointed for all of them:*
the Day when no friend shall be of the least avail to his friend, and when none shall be succoured
Tell all who have attained to faith that they should forgive those who do not believe in the coming of the Days of God,* [since it is] for Him [alone] to requite people for whatever they may have earned.
And We gave them clear indications of the purpose [of faith];* and it was only after all this knowledge had been vouchsafed to them that they began, out of mutual jealousy, to hold divergent views:* [but,] verily, thy Sustainer will judge between them on Resurrection Day regarding all whereon they were wont to differ.*
Say: It is God who gives you life, and then causes you to die; and in the end He will gather you together on Resurrection Day, [the coming of] which is beyond all doubt - but most human beings understand it not."
For, God's is the dominion over the heavens and the earth; and on the Day when the Last Hour dawns - on that Day will be lost all who [in their lifetime] tried to reduce to nothing [whatever they could not understand].*
And [on that Day] thou wilt see all people kneeling down [in humility]: all people will be called upon to [face] their record: Today you shall be requited for all that you ever did!
And [the word] will be spoken: Today We shall be oblivious of you as you were oblivious of the coming of this your Day [of Judgment]; and so your goal is the fire, and you shall have none to succour you:
this, because you made God's messages the target of your mockery, having allowed the life of this world to beguile you!"* On that Day, therefore, they will not be brought out of the fire,* nor will they be allowed to make amends.
And who could be more astray than one who invokes, instead of God, such as will not respond to him either now or on the Day of Resurrection,* and are not even conscious of being invoked?
And on the Day when those who were bent on denying the truth will be brought within sight of the fire, [they will be told:] You have exhausted your [share of] good things in your worldly life, having enjoyed them [without any thought of the hereafter]: and so today you shall be requited with the suffering of humiliation for having gloried on earth in your arrogance,* offending against all that is right, and for all your iniquitous doings!"
AND REMEMBER that brother of [the tribe of] Ad,* how - seeing that [other] warnings had already come and gone within his own knowledge as well as in times beyond his ken -* he warned his people [who lived] among those sand-dunes: Worship none but God! Verily, I fear lest suffering befall you on an awesome day!"
And so, on the Day when those who were bent on denying the truth will be brought within sight of the fire [and will be asked], Is not this the truth?" - they will answer, Yea, by Our Sustainer!" [And] He will say: Taste, then, this suffering as an outcome of your denial of the 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 [in the end] the trumpet [of resurrection] will be blown: that will be the Day of a warning fulfilled.
[and will be told:] Indeed, unmindful hast thou been of this [Day of Judgment]; but now We have lifted from thee thy veil, and sharp is thy sight today!"
On that Day We will ask hell, Art thou filled?"- and it will answer, [Nay,] is there yet more [for me]?"
Enter this [paradise] in peace; this is the Day on which life abiding begins!"*
and [who knows that] We have indeed created the heavens and the earth and all that is between them in six aeons, and [that] no weariness could ever touch Us.*
And [always] listen for the day when He who issues the call [of death] shall call [thee] from close-by;*
[and bethink thyself, too, of] the Day on which all [human beings] will in truth hear the final blast - that Day of [their] coming-forth [from death].
on the Day when the earth is riven asunder all around them as they hasten forth [towards God's judgment]: that gathering will be easy for Us [to encompass].
they who [mockingly] ask, When is that Day of Judgment to be?"
[It will be] a Day when they will be sorely tried by the fire,*
For, woe unto those who are bent on denying the truth - [woe] on the Day which they have been promised
[It will come to pass] on the Day when the skies will be convulsed in [a great] convulsion,
on the Day when they shall be thrust into the fire with [an irresistible] thrust, [and will be told:]
Hence, leave them alone until they face that [Judgment] Day of theirs, when they will be stricken with terror:
the Day when none of their scheming will be of the least avail to them, and they will receive no succour.
turn thou away from them. On the Day when the Summoning Voice will summon [man] unto something that the mind cannot conceive,*
running in confusion towards the Summoning Voice; [and] those who [now] deny the truth will exclaim, Calamitous is this Day!"
Behold, We let loose upon them a raging storm wind on a day of bitter misfortune:
On the Day when they shall be dragged into the fire on their faces,* [they will be told:] Taste now the touch of hell-fire!"
On Him depends all creatures* in the heavens and on earth; [and] every day He manifests Himself in yet another [wondrous] way.
will indeed be gathered together at an appointed time on a Day known [only to God]:
Such will be their welcome on Judgment Day!
He it is who has created the heavens and the earth in six aeons, and is established on the throne of His almightiness.* He knows all that enters the earth, and all that comes out of it, as well as all that descends from the skies, and all that ascends to them.* And He is with you wherever you may be; and God sees all that you do.
on the Day when thou shalt see all believing men and believing women, with their light spreading rapidly before them and on their right,* [and with this welcome awaiting them:] A glad tiding for you today: gardens through which running waters flow, therein to abide! This, this is the triumph supreme!"
On that Day shall the hypocrites, both men and women,* speak [thus] unto those who have attained to faith: Wait for us! Let us have a [ray of] light from your light!" [But] they will be told: Turn back, and seek a light [of your own]!"* And thereupon a wall will be raised between them [and the believers], with a gate in it: within it will be grace and mercy, and against the outside thereof, suffering.*
And so, no ransom* shall be accepted today from you, and neither from those who were [openly] bent on denying the truth. Your goal is the fire: it is your [only] refuge -* and how evil a journey's end!"
on the Day when God will raise them all from the dead and will make them truly understand all that they did [in life]: God will have taken [all of] it into account, even though they [themselves] may have forgotten it - for God is witness unto everything.
ART THOU NOT aware that God knows all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth? Never can there be a secret confabulation between three persons without His being the fourth of them, nor between five without His being the sixth of them; and neither between less than that, or more, without His being with them wherever they may he. But in the end, on Resurrection Day, He will make them truly understand what they did: for, verily, God has full knowledge of everything.
On the Day when God will raise them all from the dead, they will swear before Him as they [now] swear before you, thinking that they are on firm ground [in their assumptions].* Oh, verily, it is they, they who are the [greatest] liars!*
Thou canst not find people who [truly] believe in God and the Last Day and [at the same time] love anyone who contends against God and His Apostle - even though they be their fathers, or their sons, or their brothers, or [others of] their kindred.* [As for the true believers,] it is they in whose hearts He has inscribed faith, and whom He has strengthened with inspiration from Himself,* and whom [in time] He will admit into gardens through which running waters flow, therein to abide. Well-pleased is God with them, and well-pleased are they with Him. They are God's partisans: oh, verily, it is they, the partisans of God, who shall attain to a happy state!
But [bear in mind that] neither your kinsfolk nor [even] your own children will be of any benefit to you on Resurrection Day, [for then] He will decide between you [on your merit alone]: and God sees all that you do.
In them, indeed, you have a good example for everyone who looks forward [with hope and awe* ] to God and the Last Day. And if any turns away, [let him know that] God is truly self-sufficient, the One to whom all praise is due."
O YOU who have attained to faith! When the call to prayer is sounded on the day of congregation,* hasten to the remembrance of God, and leave all worldly commerce: this is for your own good, if you but knew it.
[Think of* ] the time when He shall gather you all together unto the Day of the [Last] Gathering - that Day of Loss and Gain! For, as for him who shall have believed in God and done what is just and right, He will [on that Day] efface his bad deeds, and will admit him into gardens through which running waters flow, therein to abide beyond the count of time: that will be a triumph supreme!
And so, when they are about to reach the end of their waiting-term, either retain them in a fair manner or part with them in a fair manner. And let two persons of [known] probity from among your own community* witness [what you have decided]; and do yourselves bear true witness before God:* thus are admonished all who believe in God and the Last Day. And unto everyone who is conscious of God, He [always] grants a way out [of unhappiness],
[Hence,] O you who are bent on denying the truth, make no [empty] excuses today:* [in the life to come] you shall be but recompensed for what you were doing [in this world].
O you who have attained to faith! Turn unto God in sincere repentance:* it may well be .that your Sustainer will efface from you your bad deeds, and will admit you into gardens through which running waters flow, on a Day on which God will not shame the Prophet and those who share his faith:* their light will spread rapidly before them, and on their right;* [and] they will pray: "O our Sustainer! Cause this our light to shine for us forever,* and forgive us our sins: for, verily, Thou hast the power to will anything!"
"Indeed, no needy person shall enter it today [and come] upon you [unawares],"*
Or have you received a solemn promise, binding on Us till Resurrection Day, that yours will assuredly be whatever you judge [to be your rightful due]?
on the Day when man's very being shall be bared to the bone,* and when they [who now deny the truth] shall be called upon to prostrate themselves [before God],* and shall be unable to do so:
which He willed against them for seven nights and eight days without cease, so that in the end thou couldst see those people laid low [in death], as though they were so many [uprooted] trunks of hollow palm trees:
[And all who are thus blest will be told:] "Eat and drink with good cheer in return for all [the good deeds] that you have sent ahead in days gone by!"
and so, no friend has here today,
all the angels and all the inspiration [ever granted to man] ascend unto Him* [daily,] in a day the length whereof is [like] fifty thousand years
*
[It will take place] on a Day when the sky will be like molten lead,
and who accept as true the [coming of the] Day of Judgment;
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
the Day when they shall come forth in haste from their graves, as if racing towards a goal-post,
with downcast eyes, with ignominy overwhelming them: that Day which they were promised again and
*
on the Day when the earth and the mountains will be convulsed and the mountains will [crumble and] become like a sand-dune on the move!*
How, then, if you refuse to acknowledge the truth, will you protect yourselves on that Day which shall turn the hair of children grey,*
that very Day shall be a day of anguish,
and the Day of Judgment we were wont to call a lie
NAY! I call to witness the Day of Resurrection!*
asking [derisively], "When is that Resurrection Day to be?"
[The truly virtuous are] they [who] fulfil their vows,* and stand in awe of a Day the woe of which is bound to spread far and wide,
behold, we stand in awe of our Sustainer's judgment* on a distressful, fateful Day!"
And so, God will preserve them from the woes of that Day, and will bestow on them brightness and joy,
Behold, they [who are unmindful of God] love this fleeting life, and leave behind them [all thought of] a grief-laden Day.
For what day has the term [of all this] been set?
For the Day of Distinction [between the true and the false]!*
And what could make thee conceive what that Day of Distinction will be?
that Day on which they will not [be able to] utter a word,
that Day of Distinction [between the true and the false, when they will be told]: "We have brought you together with those [sinners] of olden times;
VERILY, the Day of Distinction [between the true and the false]* has indeed its appointed time:
the Day when the trumpet [of resurrection] is sounded and you all come forward in multitudes;
on the Day when all [human] souls* and all the angels will stand up in ranks: none will speak but he to whom the Most Gracious will have given leave; and [everyone] will say [only] what is right.*
That will be the Day of Ultimate Truth:* whoever wills, then, let him take the path that leads towards his Sustainer!
Verily, We have warned you of suffering near at hand - [suffering] on the Day when man shall [clearly] see what his hands have sent ahead, and when he who has denied the truth shall say, "Oh, would that I were mere dust... !"*
[HENCE,* think of] the Day when a violent convulsion will convulse [the world],
on that Day man will [clearly] remember all that he has ever wrought;
On the Day when they behold it, [it will seem to them] as if they had tarried [in this world] no longer than one evening or [one night, ending with] its morn!*
on a Day when everyone will [want to] flee from his brother,
[a fire] which they shall enter on Judgment Day,
And what could make thee conceive what that Judgment Day will be?
And once again: What could make thee conceive what that Judgment Day will be?*
[It will be] a Day when no human being shall be of the least avail to another human being: for on that Day [it will become manifest that] all sovereignty is God's alone.
[and called to account] on an awesome Day
the Day when all men shall stand before the Sustainer of all the worlds?
those who give the lie to the [coming of] Judgment Day:
But on the Day [of Judgment], they who had attained to faith will [be able to] laugh at the [erstwhile] deniers of the truth:*
and [then bethink thyself of] the promised Day,*
on the Day when all I secrets will be laid bare,
or the feeding, upon a day of [one's own] hunger,
[It will occur] on the Day when men will be like moths swarming in confusion,
