were Watching over them, and You
are Witness to all things.
118“If you punish them,
they are Your servants;
and if You forgive them—
You are the Almighty, All Wise.”
119God will say, “On this day,
the truthful shall benefit from
their truthfulness. They shall have
gardens with rivers flowing beneath;
there they shall live forever. God
shall be pleased with them, and they
with Him—the supreme triumph.”
120To God belongs dominion
over the heavens and the earth,
and all within them. And He
has Power over all things.
SURA 6
Cattle (Al-Anʿam)
Late Meccan with some Medinan additions, this sura numbers 165 verses. It refers to pre-Islamic practices about cattle sacrifice in vv. 138–46 but also offers strong directives about exclusive worship of the one God, ending with exemplary testimony from the Prophet (vv. 161–65).
In the Name of God, the All Merciful, Ever Merciful
SECTION 1
1All praise be to God
Who created the heavens and the earth,
Who made the darkness and the light—
yet those who disbelieve
ascribe equals to their Lord.
2It is He Who created you from clay,
then decreed for you a term,
—then a fixed term with Him°—
yet still you are in doubt.
3And He is God
in the heavens and the earth;
He knows what you conceal
and what you reveal—
He knows what you reap.
4Yet no sign ever comes
to them from their Lord
but they turn away from it.
5And so they denied the truth
when it came to them, but soon
the truth of what they ridiculed
shall fall upon them.
6Don’t they see the generations
We destroyed before them?
We had settled them on the earth
more securely than you;
We poured down on them
abounding rain from the sky,
and We made rivers
flow beneath them—but
We destroyed them for their sins,
and We brought forward
other generations after them.
7Even if We sent you a Book
written on parchment, which
they could touch with their hands,
those who disbelieve would still say,
“This is nothing but plain sorcery.”
8And they ask, “Why isn’t
an angel sent down to him?”
Had We sent an angel,
judgment would have been
pronounced on them°—then
they would have no respite.
9Had We made him an angel,
We would have shaped him
in the form of a human—
furthering their confusion.
10Messengers before you, Prophet,
were mocked, but those who scoffed
were engulfed by what they mocked.
SECTION 2
11Say, “Wander through the earth
and see how things ended
for those who denied the truth.”
12Ask, “To whom belongs all
that is in the heavens and earth?
Answer, “To God.
He has pledged Himself
to showing mercy;°
He will gather you
on the day of resurrection—
which is beyond doubt;
but those who have lost their souls,
will not believe.
13To Him belongs all that lives
by night and day—for He is
the All Hearing, All Knowing.”
14Say, “Shall I take as my protector
any but God, Maker of the heavens
and the earth, He Who feeds
and is not fed?” Say,
“I am commanded to be the first
of those who submit to God’s will,
so don’t you be among
those who join others with God.”
15Say, “If I disobeyed my Lord,
I would fear the torment
of a momentous day.
16“Whoever is spared [torment]
that day—it is through God’s mercy,
and that will be the clear victory.”
17If God touches you
with affliction, none but He
can remove it;
and if He touches you
with good—it is He
Who has Power over all things.
18He is the Omnipotent, far above
His worshippers, and
He is the All Wise, All Aware.
19Ask, “Whose witness carries
the greatest weight?”
Answer, “God is Witness between me and you;
and this Quran was revealed to me
that I might thereby warn you and
whomever else it reaches.
Can you bear witness that,
besides God, there is another god?”
Say, “I cannot.” And say,
“He is the One God, and I disown
whatever you join with Him.”
20Those to whom We gave the Book
recognize it, as they recognize
their own children;
those who have lost themselves
do not believe.
SECTION 3
21Who does more wrong than
those who invent a lie about God,
and deny His signs?
Those who do wrong shall not flourish.
22One day We shall gather
them all together, then We shall say
to those who ascribed partners to Us:
“Where are the partners you claimed?”
23Then, their only plea will be
to swear, “By God, Our Lord,
we did not ascribe partners to You.”
24See how they lie about themselves
and how the gods they invented
have abandoned them.
25Among them are some who
seem to listen to you.
But We have placed
veils over their hearts—lest they
understand [the Quran]—
and deafness in their ears.
And even if they saw every sign,
they would not believe it,
so that, when they come to you,
they dispute with you.
The disbelievers say,
“These are nothing
but tales of the ancients.”
26And they withhold others
from the Quran—as they themselves
stay away from it; but they merely
bring about their own ruin,
without realizing it.
27If you could see when they are
made to stand before the fire—
they will say, “If only
we could be sent back—
we would not deny the signs
of our Lord, and we would believe.”°
28No—the truth they used to hide
will become clear to them,
and if they were sent back,
they would just go back
to what was forbidden to them,
for they are liars.
29They say, “There is nothing
beyond our life in this world,
and we shall not be resurrected.”
30If you could see when they
stand before their Lord—He will say,
“Is this not real?” They will answer,
“Yes, by our Lord.” He will say,
“Taste, then, the punishment
for persisting in disbelief.”
SECTION 4
31Those who deny the meeting
with God are lost—until the hour
strikes suddenly, and they say,
“How sorry we are
that we did not heed it!”
For they’ll bear their burdens on
their backs—a wicked burden!
32What is the life of this world
but play and a pastime?
The home of the hereafter is better
for those who are mindful of God.
Will you not, then, use reason?
33We know that what they say
grieves you, Prophet, but it’s
not you they deny—it’s the signs
of God the wrongdoers deny.
34Indeed, messengers were denied
before you, and they bore
denial and injury patiently
until Our help came to them.
For none can alter the words of God—
you have received before now
accounts of the messengers.
35If it is so hard on you, when they
turn away, what if you could seek
a tunnel in the earth
or a stairway toward the sky,
to bring them a sign?°
If God wished, He could gather
all of them to guidance; so do not
join those who are ignorant.
36Only those who listen respond;
and God shall bring the dead to life—
then to Him they’ll be brought back.
37And they say, “Why is no sign
sent down to him from his Lord?”
Say, “God has the Power
to send a sign”; but most of them
don’t know it.
38All creatures on the earth,
and all birds that fly on their wings,
are communities,° like you.
We have overlooked nothing
in the Book—then, to their Lord
they shall be gathered.
39Those who deny Our signs
are deaf and dumb, in darkness—
God allows whom He will to stray,
and He sets whom He will
on a straight path.
40Say, “Think to yourselves,
if God’s punishment or the hour
were to come to you, would you call
on any other besides God,
if what you say is true?”
41You would call on Him alone;
if He wished, He would remove
the distress that made you call
on Him—and you would forget
the partners you joined with Him.
SECTION 5
42Yes, We sent messengers
to many nations° before you,
striking them with adversity
and hardship, that they
might learn humility.
43But when Our adversity
fell upon them, why didn’t they
humble themselves? Rather,
their hearts hardened, and Satan
made their actions seem fair to them.
44So, when they forgot
what they had been reminded of,
We opened for them the doors
to all good things,° until
—as they enjoyed their gifts—
We suddenly seized them,
sinking them in despair.
45So the last vestige
of the wrongdoers was erased°—
praise be to God,
Lord of the universe.
46Say, “Do you think that,
if God were to take away
your hearing and your sight, and
seal up your hearts, some other god
could restore them to you?”
See how We explain Our signs—
yet still they turn aside.
47Say, “If God’s punishment
fell on you—whether unforeseen
or seen—do you think that anyone
except those who do wrong
would be destroyed?”
48We send the messengers
only to bring joyous news
and to warn people—
so those who believe
and do good deeds
shall have no fear,
nor shall they grieve.
49But punishment shall strike
those who denied Our signs,
for they were disobedient.
50Say, “I do not say to you
that I have the treasures of God,
nor that I know the unseen, nor
that I’m an angel. I merely follow
what is revealed to me.” Say,
“Are the blind the same
as those who can see?
Won’t you, then, reflect?”
SECTION 6
51And use this [Quran] to warn
those who fear that they will be
gathered before their Lord—so that
they might be mindful of God—
beyond Him they shall have
no protector nor any intercessor.
52Do not send away
those who call upon their Lord,
morning and evening, seeking
His Face. No part of their reckoning
falls on you, nor yours on them.
Should you send them away,
you would be doing wrong.
53In this way, We tried
some of them by means of others,
that they might ask,
“Are these the ones God
has favored among us?”
Does God not know best
who are thankful?
54When those who believe
in Our signs come to you, say,
“Peace be with you.”
Your Lord has pledged Himself
to showing mercy.° If any of you
did wrong in ignorance, and then
repented and amended themselves—
God is Forgiving, Ever Merciful.”
55In this way, We explain the signs
so that the way for sinners
might be made plain.
SECTION 7
56Say, “I am forbidden
to worship the gods on whom
you call besides the One God.”
Say, “I shall not follow
your desires, for I would stray
and not be rightly guided.”
57Say, “I stand upon clear proof
from my Lord, while you deny it.
What you seek to hasten is
not in my power—the decision is
with God alone. He relates the truth,
for He is the Best of Arbiters.”
58Say, “If what you seek to hasten
lay in my power, the matter would be
settled between you and me; but God
best knows who the wrongdoers are.”
59With Him are the keys of the unseen,
which none knows but He.
He knows what is on land and sea;
not a leaf falls without
His knowing; nor is there a grain
in the depth of earth’s darkness,
nor moisture nor dryness, without
being set down in a clear Book.
60It is He Who calls back your souls
by night, knowing all you have done
by day; then, He raises you up,
to fulfill the appointed term. To Him
you shall return—then He will
inform you of all you have done.
SECTION 8
61He is the Forceful, far above
His worshippers, and He sends
guardians over you until,
when
