of Tubbaʿ° and those before them?
We destroyed them
for they were always sinners.
38We did not create the heavens
and earth and all between them
for mere amusement.
39We created them only
with true purpose; yet
most of them fail to understand.
40The day of decision
is appointed for them all.
41A day when no friend
can help another friend
and none shall be helped,
42except those to whom
God shows mercy—
for He is Almighty, Ever Merciful.
SECTION 3
43The tree of Zaqqum°
44shall be the sinners’ food;
45it will boil, like molten lead,
in their bellies,
46like scalding water.
47[A voice will command,]
“Seize him, and drag him
to the depths of blazing fire.
48“Then pour scalding water
over his head as punishment.”
49“Taste [this], you
who were mighty and noble.
50“This is what you always doubted.”
51But those who fear God
shall be in a secure place,
52amid gardens and springs,
53in fine silk and rich brocade,
arrayed facing one another.
54So it will be. We shall join them
as spouses to fair maidens, large eyed.
55They shall call for all kinds of fruit
in tranquility;
56nor shall they taste death there,
beyond the first death,
and He will save them
from the torment of blazing fire,
57a favor from your Lord—
the supreme triumph.
58We have made this Quran easy,
in your tongue, so they might take heed.
59So, wait—they° too
are waiting.
SURA 45
Kneeling (Al-Jathiya)
A short Meccan sura of 37 verses, this extols the several signs of God in creation and the natural world (vv. 3–13), culminating with a scene where each community will be kneeling on judgment day, attesting to its record, literally, its book (v. 28).
In the Name of God, the All Merciful, Ever Merciful
SECTION 1
1Ha Mim.°
2The revelation of the Book
is from God, the Almighty, All Wise.
3In the heavens and on earth
are signs for those who believe.
4In your own creation,
and in the creatures God dispersed
throughout the earth, are signs
for those with firm faith.
5In the cycle of night and day,
and in the sustenance God sends
from the sky, giving life
to the earth after its death,
and in His steering of the winds
are signs for people who reason.
6These are the verses of God
which We recite to you with truth.
So, in what message can they believe
after rejecting God and His signs?
7Woe to every lying sinner
8who hears the verses of God
recited to him, yet persists in pride,
as though he had not heard them.
Warn him, then, of painful torment.
9Even when he learns something
of Our signs, he mocks them.
Disgraceful torment awaits him.
10Before such people lies hell,
and what they earned will be
of no use to them, nor those they took
as protectors instead of God;
they shall face great torment.
11This is true guidance—
and those who deny
the signs of their Lord
shall face painful torment.
SECTION 2
12It is God Who has subdued to you
the sea, on which ships might sail
by His command, so you might seek
His bounty, and show thanks.
13And He has subdued to you
all that is in the heavens
and all that is on earth—a favor
from Him. In all this are signs
for a people who reflect.
14Tell those who believe to forgive
those who do not truly expect [to see]
the days of God°—
so that He might requite people
for what they have earned.
15If anyone does good,
it is for himself; if he does evil,
it is against himself.
In the end, you shall all
be brought back to your Lord.
16We gave the children of Israel
the Book, wisdom, and prophethood;
We sustained them with good things
and favored them above all nations.
17We gave them clear proof
on questions [of religion].
Yet they quarreled, through mutual envy,
even after knowledge came to them.
On the day of resurrection
your Lord will judge between them
concerning the things they dispute.
18Now We have set you, Prophet,
on a proper path [of religion]°—
so follow it, and don’t follow
the desires of those who don’t know.
19They will be of no help to you
against God, for the wrongdoers
are protectors of one another,
while God is Protector of those
who are mindful of Him.
20These are insights° for humankind,
as well as guidance and mercy
for those of firm faith.
21Do those who commit evil deeds
imagine that We will treat them like
those who believe and do good deeds,
making their lives and deaths alike?
How perverse is their judgment!
SECTION 3
22God created the heavens and earth
with true purpose, so that each soul
might be recompensed for what it earned—
and none of them shall be wronged.
23Have you observed
the [kind of] person who takes
his own desire as his god?
Knowing this, God has let him stray,
placing a seal upon his hearing and
his heart, and a veil over his sight—
who can guide him after God
[has let him stray]?
Will you not, then, take heed?
24And they say, “There is nothing
but our life in this world.
We die and we live—only time
destroys us.” Yet they know nothing
of this, and merely conjecture.
25When Our clear verses are
recited to them, they merely retort,
“Bring back our forefathers
if what you say is true.”
26Say, “It is God Who gives life
to you, then brings you death;
He will gather you all together
on the day of resurrection—
of which there is no doubt,
though most people don’t know.”
SECTION 4
27To God belongs dominion
of the heavens and the earth,
and on the day when the hour falls,
it is the falsifiers who will lose.
28You will see all peoples kneeling.
Each will be called to its record:°
“This day, you shall be requited
for all that you did.
29“Our record here speaks the truth
about you—We have transcribed in it
all that you did.”
30He will admit into His mercy those
who believed and did good deeds—
that is the distinct triumph.
31Those who denied will be asked,
“Were My verses not recited to you?
Yet you remained proud,
a sinful people.”
32When it was said,
“The promise of God is true,
there is no doubt about the hour,”
you retorted,
“We don’t know what the hour is—
we think it is mere speculation
and we’re not convinced.”
33The evil of their deeds
will appear before them,
and they will be engulfed
by what they used to mock.
34They will then be told,
“Today, We will forget you
just as you forgot the meeting
[with Us] on this day of yours.
Your home shall be the fire
and you shall have no helper.
35“This is because you mocked
the signs of God, deluded by the life
of this world.” So on this day,
they shall not be brought out
of the fire, nor shall they
be able to atone.
36Praise be to God,
Lord of the heavens
and Lord of the earth—
Lord of the universe.
37His is the Grandeur
throughout the heavens and earth—
He is Almighty, All Wise.
SURA 46
Sand Dunes (Al-Ahqaf)
This is the final of seven Meccan suras that begin with the same disconnected letters, ha mim. Like others in the series, its 35 verses extol the sending down of the Quran while condemning idolaters’ recalcitrance in the face of God’s signs. It also brings into the chorus of believers a group of spirits (jinn), who are moved by the Quranic message, “a Book, revealed after Moses, confirming what came before it” (v. 30).
In the Name of God, the All Merciful, Ever Merciful
SECTION 1
1Ha Mim.°
2The revelation of the Book
is from God,
the Almighty, All Wise.
3We created the heavens and earth
and all that lies between them
only with true purpose°
and for an appointed term.
Those who disbelieve turn away
from the warnings given to them.°
4Say, Prophet, “Do you see
what it is you call upon besides God?
Show me what they have created
of the earth, or what share they have
of the heavens. Bring me a Book
[revealed] before this one,
or a trace of [earlier] knowledge
if you are speaking the truth.
5And who could be more astray than
those who call on other gods besides God
—others who will not answer them
until the day of resurrection,
who will not heed their prayers?
6And when humankind
are gathered together,
[those other gods]
will be their enemies, and
will deny their worship.
7When Our clear verses are recited
to them, the disbelievers say
—of the truth that has reached them—
“This is clearly just sorcery.”
8Or they say, “He has invented it.”
Say, “Had I invented it,
you would have no power
[to intercede] for me with God.
He knows best what you say about it.
He will suffice as Witness
between you and me—
He is Forgiving, Ever Merciful.”
9Say, “I am not new
among the messengers,
nor do I know what will be done
with me or with you.
I merely follow what
is revealed to me,
and I am merely someone
who gives clear warning.”
10Say, “Have you thought—
what if this [Book] is from God
and you deny it, while a witness
from the children of Israel attests
that it is like [previous scripture]
and believes, while you [turn away]
in your pride? God does not guide
a wrongdoing people.”
SECTION 2
11The unbelievers say about the believers,
“If [this message] had merit,
they would not have embraced it
before we did.” And since [the unbelievers]
will not be guided by it,
they say, “This is an ancient lie.”
12Yet, before this, the Book of Moses
was a guide and a mercy—
this Book confirms it
in the Arabic tongue
to warn those who do wrong
and bring joyous news
to those who do good.
13As for those who say,
“Our Lord is God,”
and remain steadfast—
they shall have no fear,
nor shall they grieve.
14They shall reside in
the garden, abiding there forever—
a reward for all they did.
15We have enjoined man
to be kind to his parents;
in pain his mother bore him
and in pain she gave birth to him.
Bearing him and weaning him
took a full thirty months.
When, eventually, he reaches
maturity—forty years—
he [should] say, “My Lord,
give me strength to be grateful
for Your favor to me
and to my parents.
Let me do good deeds
that are pleasing to You,
and make my offspring righteous—
for I turn to You [repenting]
and I am among those
who bow to Your will.”°
16From them We shall accept
the best of their deeds, and overlook
their bad deeds. They shall be
among those who live in the garden—
fulfilling the promise given to them.°
17But some person might chide
his parents, “Confound you both—
do you really promise me that
I’ll be raised up again—even though
generations before me have passed on?”
But both parents seek God’s help,
saying, “Shame on you! You should
believe—for the promise of God is true.”
Yet still he retorts, “These are merely
fables of the ancients.”
18Sentence shall be passed on
such people, along with generations
of jinn and men that have passed
before them—they shall suffer loss.
19All shall be ranked by degrees
in virtue of what they did,
so that God might
requite them for their deeds—
and none of them shall be wronged.
20The day
