we led astray. We led them astray
as we ourselves were led astray. Now
we disavow them before you;
it was not us that they worshipped.”
64They will be told,
“Call upon your other gods.”
They will call them, but they
will not answer. Then they
will see the punishment—if only
they had let themselves be guided.
65On the day that God calls them,
He will ask, “How did you answer
the messengers?”
66All news will seem
dubious to them on that day,
when they cannot query one another.
67But those who repent,
believe, and do good deeds
may be among
those who succeed.
68For your Lord creates what He will,
and it is He Who chooses—
there is no choice for them.
Glory be to God—
may He be exalted above
the gods they join with Him.
69And your Lord knows
what their hearts conceal
and what they reveal.
70For He is God: there is
no god but Him. His is the praise
in this world and the next.°
His is the judgment; and to Him
you shall be returned.
71Say, “Do you see? If God
enshrouded you in unending night
until the day of resurrection,
what other god could bring you light?
Will you not, then, listen?”
72Say, “Do you see? If God
exposed you to unending day
until the day of resurrection,
what other god could bring you night
in which you might repose?
Will you not, then, perceive?
73“But through His mercy,
He made for you the night,
where you might repose,
and the day, where you might
seek His bounty,
that you might give thanks.”
74On the day that God
calls them, He will ask,
“Where are the gods
you claimed to be My partners?”
75And from each people
We shall draw a witness,
saying, “Bring your proof.”
Then they shall know
that the truth is with God—
and the gods they invented
will abandon them.
SECTION 8
76Korah belonged to the people
of Moses,° but he oppressed them.
We gave him treasures whose
very keys would weigh down
a company of strong men.
His people told him, “Don’t
flaunt [your wealth], for God
does not love those who boast.
77“But rather, seek through what
God has given you the house
of the hereafter.
Don’t neglect what you have
in this world,° but do good
as God has been good to you,
and do not seek corruption
in the land, for God does not love
those who sow corruption.”
78He said, “This was granted me
on account of my knowledge.”
Did he not know that God
had destroyed generations
before him, greater than him
in strength and possessions amassed?
The sinners shall not be asked
about their sins.
79So he went out among
his people in his finery,
and those hankering after
the life of this world remarked,
“Ah, if only we had the like
of what Korah has been given!
What a great fortune he has!”
80But those endowed with knowledge
retorted, “Shame on you!
God’s reward is better, for those
who believe and do good deeds,
and none will attain it except
those who practice patience.”°
81Then We roused the earth
to swallow him and his house.
There was none° to help him,
beyond God, nor could he
defend himself.
82By morning, those who yesterday
had coveted his position
began to say, “Indeed—
God enlarges provision
or restricts it for whom He will
of his servants. If God did not
favor us, He could have
roused the earth to swallow us.
Indeed—those who deny God
shall not prosper.”
SECTION 9
83We shall grant the house
of the hereafter to those
who don’t seek to be exalted
in the land or to sow corruption,
and the best outcome will be
for those mindful of God.
84Those who bring good
will receive what is better;
as for those who bring evil—
their recompense will equal
their evil deeds.
85He who assigned you
[to convey] the Quran
will bring you back,
to the place of return.°
Say, “My Lord knows best
who comes with guidance and
who is clearly in error.”
86Nor had you, Prophet,
expected the Book
to be sent to you; it was
but a mercy from your Lord.
So, never support the disbelievers.
87And never let them turn you
away from the verses of God
once they are revealed to you.
Call people to your Lord,
and never be among those
who ascribe partners to God.
88Nor call on any other god
besides the One God.
There is no god but Him.
All things shall pass away
except His Face. His is
the judgment; and to Him
you shall be returned.
SURA 29
The Spider (Al-ʿAnkabut)
Taking its name from v. 41, this late Meccan sura of 69 verses warns all those who take anyone but the One God as their support. Not only Qarun but Pharaoh and Haman (v. 39) are marked as proud profligates who disregarded God’s signs. No less unmindful are seafarers who call on God at sea but forget him when they land safely (v. 65).
In the Name of God, the All Merciful, Ever Merciful
SECTION 1
1Alif Lam Mim.°
2Do people imagine
that they’ll be left alone
after saying, “We believe,”
and that they won’t be tested?
3Yes, We tested those before them—
and God knows those who are truthful
and those who lie.
4Do those who do bad deeds
think they can elude Us?
How bad their judgment is!
5For those who hope to meet God,
the hour appointed by God°
will surely come—
for He is All Hearing, All Knowing.
6And whoever strives
strives only for himself,
for God is Self-Sufficing,
free of all need
of created beings.°
7As for those who believe
and do good deeds,
We shall wipe out their misdeeds,
and reward them
for the best of their deeds.
8We have enjoined people
to be kind to parents;
but if they strive to make you
associate things with Me
of which you have no knowledge,
then don’t obey them. To Me
is your return, and I will inform you
of all you have done.
9As for those who believe
and do righteous deeds,
We shall admit them
among the righteous.
10Some of the people say,
“We believe in God.”
But when they are harmed
in the cause of God,
they equate people’s duress
with God’s punishment;
and if help comes to you
from your Lord, they say,
“We were always with you.”
Does God not know best
what lies within the hearts
of His creatures?°
11And God knows those who believe,
just as He knows the hypocrites.
12Those who disbelieve
say to those who believe,
“Follow our way, and
we will bear your sins.”
But they cannot bear
any of their own sins—
they are nothing but liars.
13They will bear their own burdens
and other burdens besides—
they shall be questioned,
on the day of resurrection,
about their fabrications.
SECTION 2
14We sent Noah to his people,
and he stayed with them
for a thousand years less fifty,
but the flood overcame them
for they were wrongdoers.
15But We saved him
and the people of the ark,
and We made it a sign
for all nations.°
16And We sent Abraham,
who said to his people,
“Worship God, and
be mindful of Him.
That is better for you,
if only you knew.
17“You worship instead of God
only idols, and you invent falsehood.
Those you worship instead of God
can give you no provision,
so seek provision from God,
worship Him, and be grateful to Him—
to Him you will be returned.
18“And if you deny the message,
as nations before you denied it,
know that the messenger’s task
is only to convey it clearly.”
19Do they not see how God
originates creation and
then renews it?
This is easy for God.
20Say, “Travel through the earth
and see how He originated creation;
then God will bring about
a new creation,
for God has Power over all things.
21“He will punish whom He will,
and show mercy to whom He will,
and to Him you will be turned back.
22“You cannot evade Him
on the earth nor in the heavens,
Nor shall you find beyond God
any protector or helper.”
SECTION 3
23As for those who deny the signs
of God and the meeting with Him,
they have despaired of My mercy,
and theirs shall be a painful torment.
24His people’s only reply was
“Kill him or burn him,”
but God saved him from the fire.
In this are signs
for people who believe.
25Abraham responded,
“You have adopted idols
instead of God,
out of love for one another
in the life of this world. But on
the day of resurrection, you will
deny and curse one another,°
and your home shall be the fire—
with none to help you.”
26But Lot believed in Him.
He said, “I will flee to my Lord,
for He is Almighty, All Wise.”
27And We granted to Abraham
Isaac and Jacob, and We placed
within his progeny prophethood
and the Book, and We gave him
his reward in this world;
and in the hereafter
he will be among the righteous.
28Recall when Lot said to his people,
“You commit an indecency
without precedent by anyone
in the world before you.
29“Do you approach men,
cut off their path,
and commit wickedness
when you gather together?”
His people’s only reply was
“Bring on God’s punishment,
if you are speaking the truth.”
30He said, “My Lord,
help me against a people
who breed corruption.”
SECTION 4
31When Our messengers came
to Abraham with joyous news
[of his son’s birth], they said,
“We are going to destroy
the people of this town—
they are given to wrongdoing.”
32He said, “But Lot is there!”
They rejoined,
“We well know who is there;
we shall save him and his family—
except for his wife,
who will be among those
who stay behind.”
33When Our messengers came to Lot,
he felt vexed and constrained
on their behalf, powerless
to protect them, but they said,
“Don’t fear and don’t grieve.
We shall save you and your family—
except for your wife,
who will be among those
who stay behind.
34“We are going to bring down
retribution on the people of this town,
for they are given to transgression.”
35And We have left its ruins°
as a clear sign
for people who use reason.
36And We sent to the people
of Midian their brother Shuʿayb,
who said, “My people, worship God,
be wary of the last day,
and don’t do evil on the earth,
sowing corruption.”
37But they denied him—
then the earthquake shook them,
and they lay fallen,
face-down, in their homes.
38The fate of the people of ʿAd
and Thamud is clear
from [the ruins] of their homes.
Satan made their deeds
seem fair to them,
hindering them from the path,
though they possessed insight.
39Moses came to Korah and Pharaoh
and Haman with clear signs,
but they were proud upon the earth—
still they could not elude Us.
40We seized each of them for his sin.
Against one We sent a hailstorm;
another was gripped by a great blast,
and the other We caused to be
swallowed up by the earth,
and yet another We drowned.
It was not God who wronged them
but they who wronged themselves.
41The parable of those who
take protectors other than God
is the house the spider builds.
It is the frailest of houses—
if only they knew.°
42God knows all
that they call upon besides Him—
for He is Almighty, All Wise.
43Such are the parables
We coin for humankind;
but only those with knowledge
can fathom them.
44God created the heavens and earth
with true purpose—in this is a sign
for those who believe.
SECTION 5
45Recite what was revealed to
