In the Name of God, the All Merciful, Ever Merciful
SECTION 1
1By the star when it descends—
2your companion is neither
astray nor misguided,
3nor does he voice his own desire.
4It is nothing less than revelation
that is sent down to him,
5one mighty in power°
has taught him,
6one imbued with great strength,
who stood
7at the horizon’s peak
8then approached, coming down
9to within two bow-lengths away
or closer—
10until he revealed to God’s servant
what He revealed.
11His heart did not mistake
what it saw.
12Will you then dispute with him
what he saw?
13He saw [Gabriel]
descending again
14Near the lote-tree
on the farthest horizon,
15near the garden of repose,
16when the tree was cloaked
[in sublime splendor].°
17His sight never wavered,
nor did it venture beyond,
18for he saw the most sublime
signs of his Lord.
19Have you seen the “goddesses”
Al-Lat and Al-Uzza,
20and a third, Al-Manat?°
21For you the male
and for Him the female?°
22This apportioning would be unjust.
23These are merely names
you and your forefathers
have devised, for which
God has revealed no sanction.
They merely pursue conjecture
and what they themselves desire—
even though guidance has come
to them from their Lord.
24Or shall humankind have
whatever it wishes for?
25No—both beginning and end
belong to God.°
SECTION 2
26How many angels there are in the heavens
whose intercession will be of no help—
except after God grants leave for those
whom He will and approves?
27Those who don’t believe
in the hereafter
assign female names to the angels.
28But they have no knowledge of this.
They pursue mere conjecture—
which is of no use against truth.
29So turn aside from those
who turn away from Our message,
desiring only the life of this world.
30Such is the extent
of their knowledge.
It is your Lord Who best knows
who strays from His path
and who is guided.
31To God belongs
all that is in the heavens,
and all that is on the earth.
He will requite those who do evil
for what they did, and reward those
who do good with what is best,°
32those who avoid major sins
and indecencies, though falling into
minor sins. Your Lord is Expansive
in forgiveness. He knows you well
since He brought you out of the earth,
and since you were mere fetuses
in the wombs of your mothers.
So do not claim to be pure—
He knows best who is mindful of Him.
SECTION 3
33Have you see the one
who turns away,
34who gives a little
then holds back?
35Does he have knowledge
of the unseen, so that he can see?
36Has he not been told of what
the scrolls of Moses hold?°
37And of Abraham,
who fulfilled his trust?°—
38that none shall bear
the burdens of another;
39and that humans can have
only what they strive for;
40and that their striving
will soon be seen,
41then they will be rewarded for it
with a full reward—
42that the final goal is
to your Lord;
43that it is He Who makes people
laugh and cry;
44that it is He Who
brings death and gives life;
45that it is He Who created
male and female in pairs
46from a drop of sperm, discharged;
47that He will bring forth
a second creation;°
48that it is He Who
enriches and suffices;
49that it is He Who is Lord
of Sirius;°
50that it is He Who destroyed
the ancient people of ʿAd
51and the people of Thamud,
without sparing them,
52and the people of Noah
before them—they were most unjust
and most rebellious.
53and He brought low
the overturned cities
[of Sodom and Gomorrah],
54covering them?°
55Which of the favors of your Lord
would you, then, doubt?
56This is one who warns,
like those who warned
in former times.
57The impending hour
draws near.
58None but God
can unveil it.
59Do you yet wonder
at this message?
60And laugh, rather than cry?
61Immersed, as you are, in vanities?
62Bow down before God
and worship Him alone.
SURA 54
The Moon (Al-Qamar)
A middle Meccan sura, its 55 verses begin with a cosmic sign—some would say, miracle—that portends the day of reckoning. “The moon torn asunder” evokes not just the final judgment but also the roll call of prophets honored, like Noah and Lot but also people condemned, like ʿAd and Thamud as well as the family of Pharaoh. None escapes “the book of deeds” in which “each matter, small and great, is recorded.” (vv. 52–53).
In the Name of God, the All Merciful, Ever Merciful
SECTION 1
1The hour draws near,
and the moon is torn asunder.°
2If they see a sign, they turn away,
saying, “The sorcery continues.”°
3They deny the signs
and follow their own desires—
yet every affair will be resolved.
4Stories of former peoples
have already come to them,
to deter them,
5stories consummate in wisdom—
but the warnings are of no use.
6So turn away from them, Prophet.
On the day the caller summons them
to something terrible,
7they will emerge from their graves,
eyes downcast, swarming like locusts,
8scrambling toward the caller.
The unbelievers will cry,
“This is a harsh day.”
9Before them, Noah’s people
denied [the truth],
denying Our servant,
saying “He is possessed”—
and he was reproved.
10Then he called on his Lord,
“I am overcome—so help me!”
11So We opened the gates
of heaven, with water
cascading down.
12And We made the earth
burst open with gushing springs—
the waters came together as decreed.
13But We carried Noah
on [an ark] made of planks and nails
14sailing secure beneath Our gaze—
a reward for the one
who had been spurned.
15And We have left this [ark]
as a sign—so will any take heed?
16How [dire] were My torment
and My warnings.
17We have made the Quran
easy, on mind and memory—
so will any take heed?
18The people of ʿAd also denied
[the truth]—how [dire]
were My torment and My warnings.
19For We sent against them
a furious wind, on a day
of unrelenting calamity,
20plucking people out like stumps
of uprooted palm trees.
21How dire were My torment
and My warnings.
22We have made the Quran
easy, on mind and memory—
so will any take heed?
SECTION 2
23The people of Thamud [also]
denied the warnings.
24For they said, “Shall we follow
a mere mortal from among ourselves?
We would fall into error and folly!
25“Was the reminder sent to him
alone of all those among us?
It can’t be—he’s an insolent liar.”
26They shall know tomorrow
who the insolent liar is.
27We will send the she-camel
as a trial for them. So, watch them,
Salih, and be patient.
28Inform them that the water
is to be shared among them,
each drinking in turn.
29But they called their comrade
who took a sword°
and hamstrung the camel.°
30How dire were My torment
and My warnings.
31For We hurled against them
a single fearsome blast
that turned them into
the like of dry twigs
used by a builder of fences.
32We have made the Quran
easy, on mind and memory—
so will any take heed?
33The people of Lot [also]
denied the warnings.
34We hurled against them
a shower of brimstone—except
the family of Lot, whom we saved
at the hour of dawn,
35by Our grace. In this way
We reward those who are grateful.
36Lot warned them
that We would seize them,
but they disputed the warnings,
37and even solicited his guests
[to seduce them]—
but We blinded them—
“Taste My torment
and the truth of My warnings.”
38Early in the morning
a relentless torment seized them—
39“Taste My torment
and the truth of My warnings.”
40We have made the Quran
easy, on mind and memory—
so will any take heed?
SECTION 3
41Warnings came
to the people of Pharaoh.
42They denied all Our signs,
so We seized them with the power
of the Almighty, the All Powerful.
43Are the unbelievers among you
better than them?
Or, were you granted
exemption in the scriptures?
44Or, do they say,
“We are a strong force,
and we shall win”?
45But their force shall be vanquished
and they will turn their backs, fleeing.
46But the hour—as promised to them—
the hour shall be
most grievous, most bitter.
47It is the sinners who have fallen
into error—and madness;
48on the day they are dragged
into the fire, their faces down,
[they will be told,]
“Taste the embrace of hellfire.”
49We created all things
in due measure,
50Our command works in one flash
like the blinking of an eye.
51We have destroyed your kind
before—so will any take heed?
52Each thing they do
is recorded in the book of deeds
53each matter, small and great,
is recorded.
54The righteous shall be among
gardens and rivers,
55in a seat of honor,
near the All Powerful King.
SURA 55
The All Merciful (Al-Rahman)
Early Meccan in origin, according to modern scholars, this sura of 78 verses echoes one of God’s Beautiful Names, the one most revered after Allah: Rahman, “the All Merciful.” In a refrain that recurs thirty-one times from v. 13 to v. 77, it addresses both humankind and jinn, valuing each as an audience for divine commands and as recipients of divine blessings. The rhetorical use of the Arabic dual marks it as an extraordinary oral performance, one requiring parallel effort in its English rendering.
In the Name of God, the All Merciful, Ever Merciful
SECTION 1
1The All Merciful:
2He taught the Quran,
3He created man,
4He taught him speech.
5Both sun and moon,
exact in their span,
6and stars and trees, both bow down;
7and the sky He raised high,
setting up the balance,
8that you might not infract
what is due in balance;
9set up [your] weights justly, then,
and do not fall short in balance.
10And He laid out the earth
for His creatures,
11with her fruit and date palms
with clustered sheaths;
12and corn, with husks,
and scented plants.
13Which, then, of your Lord’s favors
would you both deny?
14Humankind He created from
dry clay, like earthen pots,
15and jinn He created from
smokeless fire.
16Which of your Lord’s favors
would you both then deny?°
17Lord of the two Easts°
and Lord of the two Wests.°
18And which of your Lord’s favors
would you both deny?
19He let the two seas flow,
so they might converge:
20between them a barrier,
where they shall not merge—
21so which of your Lord’s favors
will you both deny?
22Out of them both come
pearls and coral.
23Which, then, of your Lord’s favors
will you both deny?
24And His are the ships sailing high
on the seas, like mountains.
25So which of the favors of your Lord
will you both deny?
SECTION 2
26All things upon [the earth] shall perish,
27while the Face of your Lord
Abides Forever,
in Majesty and Munificence.
28Which, then, of your Lord’s favors
will you both deny?
29All that is in the heavens and earth
implores Him,
each day His decree exists.°
30Which of your Lord’s favors
will you then both deny?
31Soon We shall attend to you,
you hosts [of jinn and humankind].
32Then which of your Lord’s favors
will you both deny?
33Assembly of jinn and humankind—
if you can pass beyond the realms
of heaven
