16We created man, and We know
what his soul whispers to him;
We are closer to him
than his jugular vein.
17Two angels,° seated on the right
and left, record everything.
18No word does [a person] utter
but an observer is with him,
ready [to record it].
19And the stupor of death
will bring out the truth—
“This is what you tried to elude.”
20And the trumpet will be blown—
“This is the promised day.”
21And each soul shall come,
with one angel to urge it on,
another to serve as witness:
22“You were heedless of this.
Now, We have removed your veil—
on this day your sight is keen.”
23And his attendant will say,
“I have his record here, ready.”
24“Hurl into hell every
stubborn disbeliever
25“who always forbade
what was good, transgressed,
and remained in doubt,
26“who set up another god
besides the One God.
Hurl him into severe torment.”
27His companion will say, “Our Lord,
I didn’t make him transgress—
he was already far astray.”
28God will say, “Don’t dispute
with each other in My presence.
I sent you a warning—
29“My Word shall not be changed,
nor am I unjust to My servants.”
SECTION 3
30On the day We ask hell,
“Are you full?” it will answer,
“Are there more?”
31But the garden shall be drawn
near for those who feared God,
distant no more.
32“This is what you were promised—
for all who turned [to God, repenting]
keeping [Him in mind],
33“who feared the Most Merciful,
though unseen, and turned to Him
with a penitent heart.
34“Enter it, in peace; this day
begins eternity.”
35They shall have there
all that they desire,
and more besides, from Us.
36How many generations
did We destroy before them,
though they were stronger,
and had explored many lands—
could they find no refuge?
37In this is a reminder for whoever
has a heart, and listens, as a witness.
38We created the heavens and earth,
and all between them in six days,
yet no fatigue could reach Us.
39So bear with patience
whatever they say,
and hymn your Lord’s praise
before sunrise and sunset,
40hymn His glory during the night,
and after bowing in prayer.
41And listen for a day
when the caller calls
from a nearby place,
42the day they hear the actual blast—
that will be the day they come out
[from their graves].
43It is We Who give life
and bring death:
to Us is the final return—
44the day the earth is
cleaved asunder beneath them,
with people rushing away—
such a gathering of them all
will be easy for Us.
45We know best what they say,
and it is not for you, Prophet,
to compel them.
So remind them, with the Quran—
those who fear My warning.
SURA 51
Scattering Winds (Al-Dhariyat)
Also Meccan and also evoking judgment by an appeal to nature (the widely scattering winds, v. 1), this sura recounts Abraham’s hospitality to his honored guests (vv. 24–37), as well as the punishment meted out to Pharaoh and other disbelievers (vv. 38–54). It culminates with a reminder to Muhammad to remind believers: “I have created jinn and humankind only so that they might worship Me” (v. 56).
In the Name of God, the All Merciful, Ever Merciful
SECTION 1
1By the widely scattering [winds];
2and those bearing [clouds of rain];
3and those flowing with ease;
4and those spreading
[rain and other blessings]
as ordained; °
5what you are promised is true:
6the reckoning will surely come.
7By the sky, copious with paths—
8you differ in what you say;
9those who turn away
are thereby turned away;
10may those who lie perish,
11those who flounder in
heedlessness—
12they ask, “When will be
the day of reckoning?”
13It will be a day when
they are tried by fire.
14“Taste your ordeal—this
is what you sought to hasten.”
15Those who were mindful of God
shall be in gardens and springs,
16gaining what their Lord gives them,
for their good deeds in the past.
17They would sleep just
a small part of the night,
18and in the hours before dawn
they would ask for forgiveness;
19and give their due share of wealth
to beggars and those in need.°
20There are signs on the earth
for those assured in their faith,
21and also within your own selves—
will you not, then, see?
22The heavens hold your sustenance
and all that you are promised.
23By the Lord of the heavens
and earth, this is the truth,
as true as the fact that you speak.
SECTION 2
24Has the story of Abraham’s
honored guests reached you?
25When they came to him,
they said, “Peace.” He replied,
“Peace to you, strangers.”
26Then he went back to his family
and brought out a fattened calf,
27which he placed before them.
“Won’t you eat?” he asked,
28feeling some fear of them.
They said, “Don’t be afraid,”
and they gave him joyous news
of the birth of a learnèd son.
29Then his wife came forward,
hollering—cuffing her face,
she scoffed, “A barren old woman?!”
30They said, “It will be so,
says your Lord,
and He is Almighty, All Knowing.”
31Abraham asked, “Messengers,
what is your mission?”
32They said, “We have been sent
to a nation of sinners,
33“to send down brimstone
upon them,
34“marked by your Lord
for those who transgress.”
35Then We brought out
the believers who were there,
36but We found in one house only
those who submit their will to God,°
37and We left there a sign for those
who fear a painful torment.
38In Moses [was a further sign],
when We sent him to Pharaoh
with clear sanction.
39But [Pharaoh] turned away
with his retinue, saying, “He’s either
a sorcerer or simply possessed.”
40So We seized him with his forces
and cast them into the sea
for he was blameworthy.
41[There is also a sign]
in the people of ʿAd—against whom
We sent a barren wind
42that left nothing in its trail
but utter destruction.
43And [another sign]
in the people of Thamud
who were told, “Enjoy this life
for a short while.”
44But they defied
their Lord’s command,
so a thunderbolt struck them
as they looked on.
45Unable even to stand,
they were utterly helpless.
46Like Noah’s people before them,
they were a disobedient people.
SECTION 3
47We forged the sky with Our might,
and We spread it throughout space.
48Then We spread out the earth—
how excellently expansive!
49And We created pairs of each thing
that you might be reminded.
50[Prophet, urge them,]
“Hasten toward God—
I am sent to you from Him
to give clear warning.
51“Set up no other god
besides the One God;
I am sent to you from Him
to give clear warning.”
52Likewise, no messenger came
to the peoples before them
without their saying, “He’s either
a sorcerer or simply possessed.”
53Is this what they have
told one another? No!
They are a transgressive people.
54So turn away from them—
for you have incurred no blame.
55But remind them [of the message]
for a reminder profits believers.
56I have created jinn and humankind
only so that they might worship Me.
57I desire no sustenance from them
nor do I wish them to feed Me.
58For God is the Sustainer,
Possessor of Power,
Supreme in Strength.
59The wrongdoers will be punished
like their predecessors—so let them
not urge Me to hasten this.
60Woe to the unbelievers,
on the day promised to them.
SURA 52
Mount Sinai (Al-Tur)
Opening with a reference to Mount Sinai, this Meccan sura of 49 verses highlights the certainty and the accountability of judgment day (vv. 9–28), with a stern reminder to Muhammad that he is neither a poet nor a soothsayer nor a madman (vv. 29–30), and that he should show patience while praising God day and night (vv. 48–49).
In the Name of God, the All Merciful, Ever Merciful
SECTION 1
1By Mount [Sinai],
2by a Book that is inscribed°
3in a scroll unfolded;
4by the house° that is visited
time after time,
5by the canopy° raised high;
6and by the brimming sea,
[unconfined]
7the torment of your Lord
shall come to pass—
8none can prevent it.
9On the day when the sky
rocks back and forth,
10and the mountains roll
violently around—
11woe on that day
to those who deny,
12who idle away their time
in trifling talk—
13on that day they shall be
thrust into the fire of hell.
14“This,” [they will be told,]
“is the fire you denied.
15“Is this sorcery, then,
or do still you not see?
16“Burn in it—it is the same for you
whether you endure it or not—
You are merely requited for what you did.”
17Those who were mindful of God
shall be in gardens, in bliss,
18relishing their Lord’s gifts to them,
and their Lord shall deliver them
from the torment of blazing fire.
19[They will be told,]
“Eat and drink, to your content—
for all that you have done.”
20Reclining on couches,
arrayed in rows—
We shall wed them
to houris, large eyed.
21We shall unite those who believe
with those of their offspring
who followed them in faith.
We shall not withhold at all
the reward for their deeds—
every person is bound
by° what they have earned.
22And We shall extend to them
all the fruit and meat they desire.
23There, they shall pass around
a cup among themselves, inducing
neither idle talk nor sin.
24Youths as fair as hidden pearls
shall circle among them,
25and they will turn to
one another, asking questions,
26saying, “When we were
with our families before
[on earth], we were fearful.
27“But now God has favored us,
and saved us from
the torment of scorching wind.
28“Even then, we would call on Him—
for He is Most Kind, Ever Merciful.
SECTION 2
29So remind them, Prophet—
for, by the grace of your Lord,
you are neither a soothsayer
nor a madman.
30Or, do they say, “A mere poet—
for whom we anticipate
some misfortune in time!”
31Say, “Wait, then—
and I shall be waiting with you.”
32Do their minds urge them
to [say] this, or are they
a rebellious people?
33Or, do they say,
“He has invented it”?
They just don’t believe.
34Let them produce a discourse like it
if they are speaking the truth.
35Were they created from nothing—
or are they themselves creators?
36Or, did they create the heavens
and the earth? No, they have no
assurance [of the truth].
37Or, do they possess the treasures
of your Lord, or control them?
38Or, do they have a stairway
to climb and hear [the secrets
of heaven]? If so, let those
who heard bring clear proof.
39Or, does He have daughters
while you yourselves have sons?
40Or, do you ask them for payment
that would weigh them down in debt?
41Or, do they have knowledge
of the unseen,
which they can transcribe?
42Or, do they intend to scheme
against you?—those who disbelieve
are already being outschemed.
43Or, do they have a god
other than the One God?
Glory be to God, far above
what they join with Him.
44Even if they saw a fragment
of the sky falling down on them,
they would say,
“It’s merely a mass of clouds.”
45So leave them, Prophet, until
they come face-to-face with their day
when they shall faint, thunderstruck.
46The day when their scheming
shall help them in no way,
and they receive no other help.
47As for those who do wrong
there is yet more torment beyond this
though most of them do not know it.
48So await with patience
the judgment of your Lord
—for you are in Our sight—
and hymn your Lord’s praise
when you rise,
49hymn His praise by night,
and by the evanescing stars.
SURA 53
The Star (Al-Najm)
Like many suras, including the
