death comes to any of you,
Our envoys° take his soul—and they
never fail in their duty.
62Then they shall be returned
to God, their true Protector.
His alone is the judgment, and He
is the Swiftest of Reckoners.
63Say, “Who is it that saves you
from the dark depths of land and sea,
when you call on Him
humbly and secretly,
saying, ‘If He saves us from this,
We shall truly be thankful’?”
64Say, “It is God who saves you
from this and every distress—yet still
you ascribe partners to Him.”
65Say, “He is Able to send
punishment to you, from above,
or from beneath your feet,
or split you into factions, to let you
taste one another’s aggression.”
See how We vary Our signs,
so that they might understand.
66But your people deny it,
though it is the truth. Tell them,
“I am not your guardian.
67“There is a given term
for every prophecy—
and soon you will know.”
68When you see people talking idly
about Our signs, turn away from them
until they talk of something else—
if Satan makes you forget,
then, when you remember,
sit apart from those who do wrong.
69Nothing of their reckoning
falls on those who fear God,
except to remind them that they
should be mindful of God.
70As for those who take
their religion as play and a pastime,
deluded by the life of this world—
leave them to themselves—but
remind them that a soul
is destroyed by what it reaps;
it shall have no protector besides God,
nor any intercessor; and no matter
what ransom it offered, none
will be accepted from it. Those
are the ones to be destroyed
by what they have reaped; they
shall have scalding water to drink
and painful punishment, for they
always denied the truth.
SECTION 9
71Say, “Shall we call on others
besides God—who can do us
neither good nor harm?
And shall we turn upon our heels
after God has guided us, like one
seduced by Satan, wandering
bewildered through the land, though
his friends call to him, ‘Come to us!’?”
Say, “God’s guidance
is the right guidance,
and we have been commanded
to submit our will
to the Lord of the universe,
72“to be steadfast in prayer, and
to be mindful of Him—
for it is to Him
that you shall be gathered.”
73It is He Who created
the heavens and the earth
with true purpose;° on the day
when He says, “Be,” it shall be.
His Word is the truth.
And His shall be dominion
on the day the trumpet is blown—
Knower of the unseen and the seen,
He is All Wise, All Aware.
74Remember when Abraham
asked his father, Azar,
“Do you take idols as gods?
I see that you and your people
are clearly wrong.”
75And We showed Abraham
the Kingdom of the heavens
and the earth—to assure his faith.
76When night covered him
with darkness, he saw a star,
and said, “This is my Lord.”
But when it set, he said,
“I dislike things that set.”
77When he saw the moon rising,
he said, “This is my Lord.”
But when it too set, he said,
“If my Lord does not guide me,
I will be one of those
who’ve gone astray.”
78When he saw the sun rising,
he said, “This is my Lord.
This is the most great.”
But when it too set, he said,
“My people, I renounce
your practice of ascribing
partners to God.
79“I have set my face toward the One
Who fashioned the heavens
and the earth; upright in faith,
I shall never be a polytheist.”
80His people argued with him.
He said, “Are you arguing with me
about God, when He has guided me?
I have no fear of the gods
you join with Him;
unless He wishes it, [nothing can happen].
My Lord embraces all things
in His knowing.
So won’t you take heed?
81“Why should I fear what you
join with Him, when you
have no fear of joining partners
with God, for which no sanction
has been sent down to you?
So, which of our two parties
has more right to feel secure?
[Tell me], if you know.
82“Those who believe
and don’t confound their belief
with doing wrong—they are the ones
who will be secure, for they
are the rightly guided ones.”
SECTION 10
83This was the argument We gave
to Abraham against his people.
We raise in rank whom We will—
your Lord is All Wise, All Knowing.
84We gave him Isaac and Jacob,
and We guided all of them.
Earlier, We had guided Noah
and his descendants: David, Solomon,
Job, Joseph, Moses, and Aaron
—this is how We reward
those who do good—
85and Zachariah, John, Jesus, and Elijah
—all were among the righteous—
86and Ishmael, Elisha, Jonah, and Lot—
We favored them above all peoples,
87and their fathers, descendants,
and their brothers—We chose some
and guided them to a straight path.
88This is guidance from God;
He guides by it whichever
of His worshippers He will.
If they were to join partners
with Him, all their deeds
would be rendered vain.
89These were the people to whom
We gave the Book, wisdom,
and prophethood.
If now they deny all this,
We shall entrust it to a people
who will not deny it.
90Those were the people God guided,
so, Prophet, follow the guidance
that they gained. Say,
“I ask of you no reward for this—
this is nothing less than a reminder
for all the worlds.”
SECTION 11
91They fail to appraise
the true measure of God when they say,
“God has never revealed anything
to a mere mortal.” Say,
“Who revealed the Book
by which Moses brought light
and guidance to his people—
you divide it into parchments,
disclosing some things
but hiding many more?
You were taught
what you did not know—
you nor your forefathers.”
Answer, “God revealed it,”
then leave them floundering
in their idle talk.
92This is a blessèd Book
that We have revealed,
confirming what came before it,
that you might warn
the mother of cities,°
and those around her.
Those who believe in the hereafter
believe in the Book,
and they preserve
their practice of prayer.
93Who does more wrong than those
who invent a lie about God, or say,
“Revelation came to me”—
when it did not come to them—or,
“I shall reveal something
similar to what God has revealed”?
If you could see the wrongdoers
in the agonies of death, as the angels
stretch out their hands, saying,
“Surrender your souls. Today,
you shall reap the torment
of humiliation for the untruths
you spoke about God, and for your
proud disdaining of His signs.”
94“And [God will say],
Now, you return to Us alone,
as when We first created you:
you have left behind whatever gifts
We granted you. We do not see
any of your intercessors with you—
those you claimed as God’s partners
in your affairs. All bonds
between you and them are severed,
and those you claimed as partners
have forsaken you.”
SECTION 12
95It is God who splits open
the seed and the date stone;
He brings the living from the dead
and the dead from the living—
this is God—so how
can you be deluded?
96It is He Who breaks open the dawn,
Who makes the night for repose,
and the sun and moon for reckoning.
This is the providence
of the Almighty, the All Knowing.
97It is He Who made for you
the stars, to guide you
in the darkness of land and sea.
We have made Our signs clear
for a people who know.
98It is He who brought you forth
from a single soul, furnishing
a place to dwell and to rest.
We have made Our signs clear
for people who understand.
99It is He Who sends down rain
from the sky—from this
We bring out every plant, from which
We bring greenery, out of which
We bring grain in heaped piles;
and from the spathes of date palm,
low-hanging clusters of dates,
gardens of grapevines, olives, and
pomegranates—all alike yet diverse.
See their fruits as they bear fruit
and ripen—in all this are signs
for people who believe.
100Yet they ascribe jinn as partners
with God—though He created them;
and they falsely ascribe to Him sons
and daughters—without knowledge.
May He be glorified, exalted
far beyond what they ascribe—
SECTION 13
101the Originator of the heavens
and the earth—how could He
have a son, when He has no consort?
He created all things, and He
Knows all things.
102This is God, your Lord.
There is no god but He,
Creator of all things—
so worship Him, for He
Oversees all things.
103No sight can encompass Him,
but He encompasses all sight,
for He is Ever Subtle, All Aware.
104Now insight has come to you
from your Lord—
those who see, shall do so
for their own good;
and those who are blind, shall be so
to their own cost. Tell them, Prophet,
“I am not your guardian.”
105In this way, We explain
and clarify the signs to people
who know, though
[disbelievers] will say to you,
Prophet, “You have been tutored.”
106Follow what your Lord inspired
in you—there is no god but He; and
turn away from those who ascribe
partners to Him.
107Had God wished it, they would not
have ascribed partners to Him;
but We have not made you
their guardian, nor their overseer.
108And do not revile
those they call upon besides God
in case they should revile God
through hostility, without knowing.
We made each nation’s deeds
seem fair to them, but then
they will return to their Lord,
and He shall inform them
of all that they did.
109They swear their strongest oaths
by God, that if a sign came to them,
they would believe it. Tell them,
“Signs are in the hands of God alone.
What would make you realize,
believers, that even if a sign came
to them, they would not believe?”
110We would turn away their hearts
and their vision—just as they
did not believe in it at first,
and we would leave them
in their transgression,
wandering blindly.
SECTION 14
111Even if We sent angels down
to them, and the dead spoke
to them, and We gathered all things
[as evidence] before them,
they would not believe,
unless God wished it—
but most of them are ignorant of this.
112In this way, We made an enemy
for every prophet—demons, among
humans and jinn, urging one another
using deceptive rhetoric.°
Had God wished it, they would not
have done this; so leave them,
with their fabrications,
113so that the hearts of those
who don’t believe in the hereafter
might lean toward their deceit,
pleased with it, and so reap
the evil they have sown.°
114Ask, “Shall I seek some other
judge than God, when it is He
who revealed to you the Book,
explaining all things?
Those to whom We sent the Book
know that it is the truth revealed
by your Lord—so don’t be in doubt.°
115The Word of your Lord
is perfected in truth and justice.
His words cannot be changed,
for He is All Hearing, All Knowing.
116If you followed most of those
upon the earth, they would make you
stray from the path of God;
they follow nothing but conjecture,
and they do nothing but speculate.
117Your Lord knows best
who strays from His path;
and He also knows best
who are rightly guided.
118Eat of animals over which
the name of God has been invoked,
if you truly believe in His signs.
119Why should you not
eat of animals over which
the name of God has been invoked,
when He has explained to you
what He has