night or day,
and We turn it into
a bare harvest,
as if just yesterday
it had never flourished.
This is how We explain Our signs
for a people who reflect.
25God calls [all people]
to the house of peace
and guides whom He will
to a straight path.
26Those who do what is good
shall have what is good, and more;
neither darkness nor shame
shall cover their faces.
They shall inhabit
the garden—forever.°
27But those who did evil
shall reap a reward of equal evil:
they shall be covered with shame,
with no defender against God—
as if their faces were covered
with fragments from the
depth of night’s darkness.
They shall be inmates
of the fire—forever.
28And on the day
we gather them all together,
We shall say to those
who joined other gods with Us,
“Stay in your place,
you and your gods.”
And We shall separate
the one from the other.
And those gods will say,
“It was not us whom
you worshipped.
29“God will suffice as witness
between ourselves and you,
that we were unaware
of your worship of us.”
30There, each of the souls
will be tried for its past deeds;
and they will be returned
to God, their true Master.
And the gods they invented
will abandon them.
31Say, “Who gives you sustenance
from the sky and earth?” or
“Who controls hearing and sight?
Who brings the living
from the dead, and the dead
from the living?
Who regulates all affairs?”
They will say, “God.”
Tell them, “Will you not then
be mindful of God?”
32This is God, your Lord, the Truth.
What is there beyond truth, but error?
So how can you be turned away?
33And so the Word of your Lord
has proven true against those who
disobey—they won’t believe.
34Ask, “Can any of the gods
whom you join with God
initiate the creation,
and then renew it?
Say, “It is God alone
who initiates creation,
and renews it. So how
can you be deluded?”
35Ask, “Can any of the gods
whom you join with God
guide anyone to truth?”
Say, “It is God
Who guides to truth.
Is One Who guides to truth
not worthier to be followed
than one who cannot guide
without being guided?
What is it with you?
How do you judge?”
36And most of them follow
nothing but opinion.
Opinion cannot prevail
at all against truth.
God is Aware of what they do.
37This Quran could not
be conceived by anyone but God.
It confirms what came before it,
and it explains the scripture
that is free of all doubt,
from the Lord of the universe.
38Or do they say,
“He [Muhammad] invented it”?
Say to them,
“Then bring a sura like it,
and call on whomever you can
besides God,
if you are speaking the truth.”
39No—they deny it,
whose knowledge
they cannot compass,°
yet its explication
has not come to them.
Those before them
also denied.
Observe, then, the fate
of the wrongdoers.
40Some of them believe in it,
and others do not—
your Lord knows best
those who wreak mischief.
41And if they deny you, say,
“My actions belong to me,
and yours to you.
You will not answer for what I do,
nor I for what you do.”
42Some of them seem
to listen to you.
But can you make
the deaf listen,
if they won’t use reason?
43Some of them seem
to observe you.
But can you guide the blind
if they won’t see?
44God does not wrong
human beings at all;
it is humans who
wrong themselves.
45On the day, He will gather them,
as if they had stayed but an hour
of the day; they’ll know one another.
Those who denied the meeting
with God will be lost,
for they were not guided.
46Prophet, whether We let you see
some of the punishment
We promised them while you live,
or cause you to die before that,
they shall return to Us;
God shall be Witness
to all they have done.
47A messenger is sent
to every community, and when
a messenger comes to them,
they shall be judged fairly
and shall not be wronged.
48They ask,
“When shall the promise be fulfilled,
if what you say is true?”
49Say, “I have no power over
any harm or good to myself
beyond what God wills.
Every nation has its appointed term.
When their term is due, they can
neither delay it nor advance it—
not even by an hour.”
50Say, “Do you see,
if His punishment came to you
by night or by day—
which part of it would the sinners
seek to hasten?”
51“Will you believe in it
only when it comes?
Now? Even though [before]
you sought to hasten it?”
52Then the wrongdoers will be told,
“Taste the eternal punishment.
Are you requited for anything
other than what you reaped?”
53They ask you, Prophet, “Is it true?”
Say, “Yes, by my Lord, it is true,
and you cannot escape.”
54If every soul that has sinned
possessed all that is on the earth,
it would give it all to ransom itself.
When they saw the punishment
they would repent inwardly—
yet they will be judged with justice,
and they will not be wronged.
55All that is in the heavens
and earth belongs to God.
The promise of God is true—
yet most people don’t know it.
56It is He Who gives life
and He Who brings death—
to Him you will be returned.
57People, a warning
has come to you from your Lord,
and healing for what is in your hearts,
as well as guidance and mercy
for those who believe.
58Say, “Let them rejoice
in the bounty of God,
and in His mercy—
these are better than the goods
they accumulate.”
59Ask, “Have you seen the provision
that God has sent down for you?
Yet you deem some of it
forbidden, some lawful.”
Ask, “Has God given you permission
for this, or are you inventing
things about God?”
60As for those who invent lies
about God—what do they think
will happen on the day of resurrection?
God is Full of Grace to humankind,
but most of them are ungrateful.
61There is no circumstance
you might be in,
no part of the Quran you recite,
no deed that you do,
that We do not witness—whenever
you engage in it.
Nothing escapes your Lord,
not the weight of an atom
in earth or in heaven,
nor anything smaller,
nor larger—all are recorded
in a clear Book.
62But those who ally themselves
with God shall have no fear,
nor shall they grieve—
63those who believe
and are mindful of God.
64There is joyous news for them
in the life of this world,
and in the hereafter.
There is no changing
the words of God—
the supreme triumph.
65Don’t let their words grieve you;
all power belongs to God—
the Hearing, the Knowing.
66All those in the heavens
and all those on earth
undoubtedly belong to God.
And what do they follow,
those who call upon others
besides God?
They follow nothing
but opinion,
and they do nothing
but guess.
67It is He Who made for you
the night, in which you might rest,
and the day, which gives you sight.
In this are signs for people who hear.
68They say, “God has a son.”
Praise Him: He is Self-Sufficient—
to Him belongs
all that is in the heavens
and all that is on the earth.
You have no sanction
for saying this.
Would you say about God
what you do not know?
69Say, “Those who invent lies
about God will never prosper.”
70Their span of enjoyment
in this world is brief—then
they will return to Us
and We shall make them taste
the severest torment
for their persistent disbelief.
71Tell them the story of Noah.
He said to his people,
“My people, if it vexes you
that I remain among you,
and remind you of the signs of God,
then I place my trust in God.
So form your plan, openly,
with your other gods.
Then inflict it upon me—
without respite.
72“But if you turn away, know that
I have asked no reward of you.
My reward is with God alone;
and I have been commanded
to submit my will to God.”
73Still, they denied him,
but We delivered him,
and those with him, in the ark,
making them heirs to the land,
and We drowned those
who denied Our signs—
observe, then, the outcome
of those who were warned.
74After him We sent messengers
to their respective peoples,
who brought them clear signs,
but they refused to believe
what they had already denied—
see how We seal up the hearts
of the transgressors.
75After them
We sent Moses and Aaron
to Pharaoh and his chiefs
with Our signs.
But they were too proud—
a nation of sinners.
76When the truth came to them
from Us, they said, “Plain sorcery!”
77Moses asked, “Is this what you say
about the truth, when it comes to you?
Sorcery? Sorcerers have no success.”
78They said, “Have you come
to turn us away from the faith
of our forefathers,
so that you two might gain
stature in the land?
We don’t believe you.”
79And Pharaoh said, “Bring
every expert sorcerer to me.”
80When the sorcerers came,
Moses said to them,
“Throw down whatever
you want to throw!”
81When they had thrown,
Moses told them,
“Everything you come up with
is sorcery—God will nullify it.
God will not rectify the deeds
of those who wreak mischief.
82“And God proves the truth
by His words, though
the sinners may loathe it.”
83But, apart from some youths,
none of his people believed Moses
for fear that Pharaoh and his nobles
might persecute them—
for Pharaoh was domineering
through the land, given to excess.
84Moses said, “My people,
if you believe in God,
put your trust in Him,
if you really submit to His will.
85They said, “We trust in God—
Our Lord, don’t let us be oppressed
by an unjust people,
86“and deliver us
through Your mercy
from this unbelieving people.”
87We inspired Moses and his brother
with these words,
“Settle your people in homes
in Egypt, and make your homes
sanctuaries for worship.°
Be steadfast in prayer,
and give joyous news to
those who believe.”
88Moses entreated,
“Our Lord, you have endowed
Pharaoh and his nobles
with splendor and wealth
in the life of the world—
and they lead people astray
from Your path.
Our Lord, wipe out their wealth
and harden their hearts,
so that they don’t believe
until they see
the painful punishment.”
89God said, “Your prayers
are answered, so remain steadfast,
both of you, and don’t follow
the path of those who don’t know.”
90We took the children of Israel
across the sea.
Pharaoh and his armies, rebellious
and belligerent, pursued them.
Eventually, when he was drowning,
Pharaoh cried out,
“I believe that there is no god
but the One God in Whom
the children of Israel believe,
and I submit to His will.”
91“Now? When before
you were always disobedient,
and wrought mischief?
92“Yet this day We shall
preserve your body—as a sign
for those who succeed you.
Yet most of humankind
are heedless of Our signs.”
93We settled the children of Israel
in a congenial venue, and gave them
good things to sustain them.
Only when knowledge came to them
did they differ among themselves.
Your Lord shall judge between them
on the day of resurrection
concerning the things they disputed.
94So, Prophet, if you are in doubt
about what We have revealed to you,
ask those who have been
reading the Book before you.
The truth has come to you
from your Lord,
so don’t be unsure,
95nor deny the signs of God—then
you would be among those in loss.
96Those on whom
your Lord’s sentence has passed
will not believe,
97even if every single sign
comes their way
until they are face-to-face
with the painful torment.
98Why is it that
not a single town believed,
and benefited from its belief,
except the people