by means of others, then monasteries,
churches, synagogues, and mosques
—where the name of God
is remembered often—would be torn down.
God will help those who help His cause,
for God is Supremely Strong, Almighty;
41those who, once We settle them in the land,
are steadfast in prayer, give in charity,
enjoin what is right and forbid the wrong.
With God rests the outcome of all things.
42Prophet, if they deny you,
know that before them
the people of Noah, ʿAd,
and Thamud denied them,
43as did the people
of Abraham and Lot,
44and those of Midian.
Even Moses was denied.
I granted respite
to the unbelievers for a while,
and then I seized them—
how dire was My punishment!
45How many towns did We destroy,
as they fell into wrongdoing?
Their walls fell down with their roofs.
How many wells lie deserted,
how many proud palaces?°
46Have they not journeyed
through the land
with hearts to reason,
and ears to hear?
It is not their eyes that are blind,
but the hearts within their breasts.
47Taunting, they ask you to hasten
the punishment. But God will not fail
in His promise. A day for God is like
a thousand years in your counting.°
48How many were the towns
to which I granted respite,
which fell into wrongdoing?
Afterward, I seized them;
their final destination is to Me.
SECTION 7
49Say to them, “People, I am here
only to give you clear warning:
50“Those who believe
and do good deeds
shall find forgiveness
and rich provision.
51“But those who strive
against Our signs,
vainly opposing [Our might]—
they shall be inmates
of hellfire.”
52We never sent a messenger
or prophet, who aspired [high]
without Satan infusing [doubt]
into his aspiration. But God removes
what Satan infuses, and He
reinforces His signs, for God
is All Knowing, All Wise.
53[God does this] to make
what Satan infuses a trial
for those whose hearts are sick,
and those whose hearts are hardened
—the wrongdoers are mired
in deep resistance to truth—
54and so that those given knowledge
might know that the Quran
is the truth from your Lord,
and believe in it, humbly submitting
their hearts to Him.
For God Guides those who believe
to the straight path.
55But those who disbelieve
won’t cease to doubt it, until
the hour falls upon them suddenly,
or the torment of a day of desolation.
56Dominion on that day
shall belong to God, and
He shall judge between them.
Those who believed
and did good deeds
shall find themselves
in gardens of bliss,
57while those who disbelieved
and denied Our signs
shall face disgracing torment.
SECTION 8
58God shall give a fine provision
to those who leave their homes
in the cause of God,
and are then killed or die—
He is the Best Provider.°
59He will bring them into a place
most pleasing to them,
for God is All Knowing, Forbearing.
60So it will be. If someone requites
a wrong in like measure, and is
wronged again, God will help them—
He is Pardoning, Forgiving.
61So it will be. For God
fades night into day
and day into night. God
is All Hearing, All Seeing.
62So it will be. For God is Reality,
and those they call on besides Him
are illusion. And God is Most High,
the Most Great.
63Do you not see how God
sends down rain from the sky,
and the earth turns green.
God is Most Subtle, All Aware.
64To Him belongs
all that is the heavens
and all that is on the earth.
He is Self-Sufficient, Praiseworthy.
SECTION 9
65Do you not see that God
has subdued to your use
all that is on the earth
and the ships that sail the sea
by His command? That He
prevents the sky from falling
onto the earth, without His leave?
God is Most Kind, Ever Merciful
toward humankind.
66It is He Who gave you life,
will make you die, and give you life
again. Yet humankind is ungrateful.
67We have assigned rites of worship
for every people to perform, so
don’t let them dispute this with you,
Prophet, but call them to your Lord,
for you are guided on a straight path.
68If they should dispute with you,
say, “God knows best what you do.
69“God will judge between you
on the day of resurrection
concerning the things
over which you dispute.”
70Do you not know that God knows
all that is in the heavens and earth?
All this is inscribed in a record—
and this is easy for God.
71Yet they worship, instead of God,
things for which no sanction
has been revealed to them,
things they have no knowledge of;
and there will be none to help
those who do wrong.
72When Our clear verses are recited
to them, you’ll observe recalcitrance
on the faces of those who disbelieve—
they would almost do violence
to those who recite our verses to them.
Say, “Shall I tell you of something
worse than [your anger]?
The fire of hell—which God has
promised for those who disbelieve—
an evil destination.”
SECTION 10
73People, here is a parable, so hear it
with due care: those you invoke
besides God could not create a fly—
though they all combined in trying.
And if the fly snatched something
from them, they couldn’t take it back.
How feeble are those who seek
and those who are sought.
74They fail to assess God
in His true measure—for God
is Supremely Strong, Almighty.
75God chooses messengers
from angels and humans,
for God is All Hearing, All Seeing.
76He knows what lies before them
and what lies behind them;
and all issues return to Him
for resolution.
77You who believe, bow down,
prostrate yourselves,
worship your Lord, and do good,
that you might flourish.
78And strive for God
with due effort. He has chosen you,
and imposed upon you
no hardship in religion.
It is the creed of Abraham.
God named you as those
who submit [to His will],° both
before and in this [Book], so that
the messenger might be a witness
for you, and you for humankind.
Be steadfast, then, in prayer,
give in charity, and hold fast to God,
for He is your Protector—
the Supreme Protector,
the Supreme Helper.
SURA 23
The Believers (Al-Muʾminun)
Late Meccan, this sura of 118 verses underscores the benefit of faith for true believers, invoked in v. 1 and addressed throughout. Instances of God’s power and protection abound (vv. 12–22) and the role of messengers is extolled, including Jesus (vv. 50–51) while the certainty of resurrection is marked by a barrier (barzakh, v. 100), evident for all to see on the Last Day (vv. 101–15).
In the Name of God, the All Merciful, Ever Merciful
SECTION 1
1The true believers shall succeed,
2those who pray humbly,
3who turn away from idle speech,
4who perform deeds of charity,
5and preserve their chastity,
6except with their spouses or servants,
for then they are not blameworthy.
7But those who seek to exceed
these limits are transgressors.
8Those who observe
their covenants and trusts,
9who preserve their practice of prayer—
10shall be the heirs
11who inherit the highest paradise,
living there through eternity.
12We created humankind
from a substance of clay,
13which We lodged as a drop [of sperm]
within a secure, stable home.
14We turned the sperm drop
into a clot, and the clot
into an embryonic mass;
We turned the mass into bones,
clothing the bones with flesh,
to produce from this
a new being.° Blessed be God,
the Most Excellent of Creators.
15After this, you will die,
16and be raised up again
on the day of resurrection.
17We created seven spheres above you,°
never heedless of Our creation.
18We sent down water from the sky
in due measure, and caused it
to soak the earth. Yet We always
have the Power to withdraw it.
19We use it to grow gardens for you
of date palms and grapevines,
yielding abundant fruit for you to eat,
20and a tree springing from Mount Sinai,°
yielding oil and relish for your food.
21There is a lesson for you
in the example of livestock—
from their bellies We give you milk
to drink, and they have many uses
for you; you also feed on them,°
22and you are carried
on them, as you are in ships.
SECTION 2
23We sent Noah to his people.
He said, “My people, worship God.
you have no god other than Him,
so will you not be mindful of Him?”
24The chiefs of the unbelievers
among his people retorted,
“This is but a human, like you,
wanting to show that he is
superior to you. If God had willed it,
He could have sent angels.
We never heard such talk as this
among our ancestors of old.
25“He’s merely a madman,
so let’s wait for a while
[to see what might happen].”
26Noah pleaded, “My Lord, help me,
for they accuse me of lying.”
27So We inspired him,
“Build the ark, under Our gaze
and Our inspiration. Then,
when Our command comes,
and the springs of the earth gush out,
take on board a pair of every species
and your family, except those
already sentenced.
Do not plead with Me
for the wrongdoers—
they will be drowned.
28“And when you and your crew
have embarked on the ark, say,
‘All praise be to God, Who saved us
from a people who do wrong.’
29“And say, ‘My Lord, let me
disembark in a blessèd harbor,
for You bestow the best of harbors.’ ”
30In this are signs—for We have always
put human beings through trials.
31After them We raised
another generation.
32And We sent a messenger to them,
one of their own, who urged,
“Worship God, you have no god
but Him—so will you not
be mindful of Him?”
SECTION 3
33But the chiefs of those
who disbelieved among his people
—who denied the meeting with God
in the hereafter, and to whom
We had granted the luxuries
of the life of this world—
said to them, “This prophet
is but a human like you.
He eats what you eat,
and drinks what you drink.
34“And if you obey a mere human
like yourselves, you will lose out.
35“Does he promise that when you die,
and are nothing but dust and bones,
you’ll be raised up once more?
36“What you’re promised
is far, far-fetched.
37“There’s nothing beyond
our life in this world.
We die and we live—
but we shall never
be raised up again.
38“He’s just a man who invents
a lie about God,
and we don’t believe him.”
39The prophet said,
“My Lord, help me,
for they accuse me of lying.”
40God replied, “Soon, they will
begin to feel remorse.”
41Then the blast struck them,
and We reduced them to debris
of dead leaves. Away, then,
with a people who do wrong!
42After them, We raised
other generations.
43No community can hasten
its term, nor delay it.
44We sent Our messengers, in turn.
Every time a people’s messenger
came to them, they denied him.
So We made them follow one another,
and We made them an example—
a tale of warning. Away, then,
with a people who will not believe!
45Then We sent Moses
and his brother Aaron,
with Our signs,
with clear authority
46to Pharaoh and his chiefs,
but they were proud, arrogant people.
47They said, “Shall we believe
in two men like ourselves,
whose people merely serve us?”
48So they accused them of lying
but they were themselves destroyed.
49And We gave Moses the Book
so that his people might be guided.
50We made the son of Mary
and his mother a sign for humankind,
and We gave them shelter
on a serene
