All praise be to God.
Yet most of them do not know.
76God coins a parable of two men:
one dumb, with no power to do
anything, is a burden to his keeper—
however he directs him,
he brings no good. Is he
equal to one who enjoins justice
and is set on a straight path?
SECTION 11
77To God belongs all that is unseen
in the heavens and the earth.
The hour of judgment° will come
like the blinking of an eye—
or more swiftly.
God has Power over all things.
78It is God Who brought you
from the wombs of your mothers,
knowing nothing; and He gave you
hearing, and sight, and hearts,
that you might give thanks.
79Do they not see the birds,
poised in their skyward flight?
Nothing bears them up except God.
In this are signs
for people who believe.
80It is God Who made your homes
a place of rest, and made for you,
from the skins of animals, tents
that you find light to bear
when you travel and make camp;
and from their wool, fur, and hair,
you derive furnishings
and supplies to last a while.
81It is God Who gave you shade,
among the things He created,
and He gave you shelters
in the mountains, and clothes
to shield you from the heat,
as well as armor to shield you
in your warfare. In these ways,
He perfects His favor to you,
that you might submit to His will.
82But if they turn away,
your task is only to convey
the message clearly.°
83They recognize God’s favors yet
deny them, for most of them
are ungrateful.
SECTION 12
84One day We shall raise up
a witness among every people—then
the unbelievers won’t be allowed
to make excuses or make amends.
85When the wrongdoers see
the punishment,
it will not be lightened for them,
nor will they be shown respite.
86When the polytheists see the gods
they joined with God, they’ll say,
“Our Lord, these are the gods
we invoked instead of You.”
The gods will throw their words
back at them, “You are liars.”
87On that day, they shall willingly
submit to God, and the false gods
they invented will abandon them.
88We shall heap torment
on torment upon those who
disbelieved and barred people
from the path of God,
for their breeding of mischief.
89One day We shall raise up within
every people a witness against them,°
and We shall bring you, Prophet,
as a witness against these people.
We have revealed to you the Book
that clarifies all things—and gives
guidance, mercy, and joyous news
to those who submit to God’s will.
SECTION 13
90God commands justice, goodness,
and generosity to kin. He also forbids
indecency, wrong, and oppression.
He instructs that you might take heed.
91So fulfill your pledge to God
once you have made it,
and don’t break your oaths
after swearing them, for you
have made God your surety.
God knows all that you do.
92And don’t—like a woman who
untwists the yarn she has spun firm°—
indulge your oaths to deceive
one another, if one group happens
to outnumber another—
for God will test you by this.
And on the day of resurrection
He will make clear to you
the issues you dispute.
93Had God wished, He could have
made you one community;
but He leaves to stray whom He will,
and He guides whom He will;
and you shall undoubtedly be asked
about all that you did.
94Don’t indulge your oaths
to deceive one another, else
someone’s foot might slip,
though it was firmly fixed,
and you might taste the evil outcome
of your barring people from God’s path,
and face great punishment.
95And don’t barter God’s pledge
for a paltry price, for what God has
is better for you, if only you knew.
96Whatever you have is ephemeral
but what God has is enduring;
and We shall reward those
who practice patience
for the best of their deeds.
97Whoever does good
—whether man or woman—
and is a true believer,
We will grant them a good life,
and We will reward them
for the best of their deeds.
98When you read the Quran,
seek refuge in God
from Satan—the accursed.°
99He has no sway over those
who believe and trust in their Lord.
100His sway is only over those
who embrace him as an ally,
and those who, on his account,
join other gods with God.
SECTION 14
101When We displace one verse
with another—and God knows best
what He reveals—they say,
“You’re nothing but a forger.”
But most of them have no knowledge.°
102Say, “The holy spirit°
has revealed it [in stages]
from your Lord, bearing truth,
to strengthen those who believe,
and as guidance and joyous news
for those who submit to God’s will.”
103We know well that they say,
“It’s a mere mortal who teaches him.”
But the person they mean
speaks a foreign tongue°,
while this is clear Arabic.
104As for those who don’t believe
in the signs of God—God will not
guide them, and they shall face
a painful punishment.
105Only those who don’t believe
invent lies about the signs of God;
they are the ones who lie.
106Those who deny God
after having faith—unless compelled,
while their hearts kept faith—
those who open their hearts
to unbelief, shall incur God’s wrath,
and they shall face great torment.
107For they preferred the life
of this world to the hereafter,
and God does not guide
a people who disbelieve.
108They are the ones
whose hearts, hearing, and sight
God has sealed,
for they are heedless.
109Without doubt, they are the ones
who will lose in the hereafter.
110But to those who left their homes
after being oppressed, and then strove
in God’s cause with patience,
your Lord will be Forgiving, Ever Merciful.
SECTION 15
111One day, each soul
shall come, pleading for itself,
and each soul shall be paid
in full for what it did,
and none shall be wronged.
112God coins a parable:
there was a town, secure and content,
with ample supplies from all places;
yet it became ungrateful
for God’s favors, so He let it
taste the ravages of hunger and fear
for the things its people did.
113A messenger, one of their own,
came to them, but they deemed him
a fraud—so punishment struck them
even as they indulged in wrongdoing.
114So eat of the lawful and good
things God has provided for you,
and be grateful for God’s favor,
if it is Him that you worship.
115He has forbidden for you only
carrion, blood, the flesh of swine,
and animals killed by invoking
anything other than God’s name.
But if someone is compelled
by hunger, without willful
disobedience or excess, then God
is Forgiving, Ever Merciful.°
116Don’t let your tongues say falsely,
“This is lawful, and this forbidden,”
so as to invent falsehoods about God.
Those who fabricate such lies
shall not prosper—
117their enjoyment is but brief,
for they shall face painful torment.
118Prophet, We forbade for the Jews
the things We cited to you earlier,°
for We never wronged them
but they wronged themselves.
119But to those who do wrong
through ignorance, and then repent
and amend themselves, your Lord
is Forgiving, Ever Merciful.
SECTION 16
120Abraham was a nation in himself:
devoted to God, upright,
and he was not a polytheist.
121He was grateful for the favors
of God, Who chose him and
guided him to a straight path.
122We gave him good in this world,
and he will be among the righteous
in the hereafter.
123Then We inspired you, Prophet,
“Follow the creed of Abraham,
the upright, who was not a polytheist.”
124The [day of the] Sabbath
was decreed only for those
who disputed over it; and
your Lord will judge between them,
on the day of resurrection,
in the things they dispute.
125Call people to the path
of your Lord with wisdom
and exemplary instruction,
and argue with them
in exemplary fashion.
Your Lord knows best
who has strayed from His path,
and who is rightly guided.
126If you must respond to aggression,
retaliate only in like measure—
but it will be better for you
if you show patience.°
127So, Prophet, practice patience—
your patience comes only from God;°
don’t grieve over them,
and don’t distress yourself
over the things they plot.
128For God is with those
who are mindful of Him,
and those who do good.
SURA 17
The Night Journey (Al-Israʾ)
From the middle Meccan period, this sura takes its name from the initial verse, depicting Muhammad’s journey from Mecca to Jerusalem to heaven and back. Whether as a dream or physical happening, that event (known as the miʿraj, or the Prophet’s Ascent) has brought acclaim to this sura of 111 verses, though it also contains stories about Israelites as well as the fall of Iblis (vv. 61–65). It further underscores that the Quran was revealed in stages (v. 106), inviting believers to call on God with His Beautiful Names (v. 110).
In the Name of God, the All Merciful, Ever Merciful
SECTION 1
1Glory be to the One
Who took His servant
on a journey by night
from the sacred mosque
to the farthest mosque,°
whose precincts We blessed
that We might show him
some of Our signs. He alone
is the All Hearing,
All Seeing.
2We gave Moses the Book,°
and made it a guide
for the children of Israel, saying,
“Do not entrust your affairs
to anyone but Me,
3“you descendants of those
We carried in the ark with Noah;
he was a grateful servant.”
4And in the Book We forewarned
the children of Israel:
“Twice you will breed
corruption in the land, and reach
the height of pride.”°
5When the first of the warnings
came to pass, We sent against you
Our servants who had great force;
they entered the inmost precincts
of your homes—the warning
was fulfilled.
6Then We gave back to you victory
over them, and We reinforced you
with wealth and offspring,
multiplying you.
7If you do good, you do good
for yourselves; and if you do evil,
it is for yourselves. And when
the second warning came to pass,
[We sent your enemies]
to distress your countenances
and to enter your place of worship
as they did the first time, and
utterly destroy whatever
they had conquered.
8It may be that your Lord
may yet show you mercy, but
should you turn back,
We shall turn back.
We have made hell
a prison for disbelievers.
9This Quran guides to what
is most right and brings joyous news
to believers who do good deeds—
that they shall have a great reward,
10and that We have prepared
a harrowing punishment
for those who don’t believe,
in the hereafter.
SECTION 2
11Yet humans pray for evil,
as avidly as they pray for good—
they are always in haste.
12We made night and day two signs.
We effaced the sign of night,
and gave light to the sign of day,
that you might seek
the bounty of your Lord,
and know the number of years
and the science of calculation.
We have explained all things in detail.°
13We have fastened
every man’s fate
around his own neck;°
on the day of resurrection
We shall bring out
for him a record,
which he shall find
wide open.
14He will be told,
“Read your record. Your own soul
suffices this day as a reckoning
against you.”
15Whoever receives guidance
is guided for his own good; and
whoever goes astray, strays to his
own harm. And no soul shall bear
another’s burden. Nor do We punish
until We have sent a messenger to warn.
16When We intend to destroy
