have Power over all things.”
9Prophet, strive hard against
the disbelievers and hypocrites,
and be firm with them. Their home
will be hell, an evil end.
10God sets outs a parable
for the unbelievers—
the wife of Noah and the wife of Lot.
They were married to two
of Our righteous servants
but they betrayed them,
and their husbands could not
help them against God.
They were told, “Enter the fire
along with the others.”
11And God sets out a parable
for the believers—
the wife of Pharaoh, who said,
“My Lord, build me a home near You,
in the garden, and save me
from Pharaoh and his deeds,
and from a wrongdoing people.”
12And Mary—the daughter of ʿImran—
who preserved her chastity.
We breathed Our spirit into her,
and she affirmed the truth of the words
of her Lord, and of His Books,
for she was among the devout.
SURA 67
Dominion (Al-Mulk)
A middle Meccan sura, its 30 verses divided into four segments: extolling God’s glory (vv. 1–4); enumerating punishment for the devil and his minions (vv. 5–11); an invocation of God’s might (vv. 13–22); and directives to the Prophet (vv. 23–30). The conclusion is capped by a reminder of divine control of even daily drinking water: “Say, ‘Have you considered—if one morning all your water were to sink into the earth, who would bring you water that is flowing and clear?’ ” (v. 30).
In the Name of God, the All Merciful, Ever Merciful
SECTION 1
1Blessed is He Whose hands
hold dominion—
He Who has Power over all things—
2He Who created death
and life, that He might test
which of you is best in deeds.
He is Almighty, Forgiving—
3He Who created the seven heavens,
one above another. You will see
no flaw in the creation of
the Most Merciful. Look again—
do you see any flaws?
4Look again, a second time—
your sight will return to you
humbled and fatigued.
5And We have adorned
the lowest heaven with lamps,
making them missiles
against the devils,
for whom We have prepared
a torment of blazing fire.
6Those who denied their Lord
shall face the torment of hell,
an evil end.
7When they are thrown into it,
they will hear it bubbling,
as it boils up,
8almost bursting with fury.
Whenever some group is thrown
into it, its keepers will ask,
“Did no one come to warn you?”
9They will reply, “Indeed,
someone did come to warn us
but we denied him, saying,
‘God never sent down any message.
You are gravely mistaken.’ ”°
10And they will say,
“Had we listened,
or used our reason,
we would not now be
inmates of the blazing fire.”
11So they will confess
their sins—so much for the inmates
of the blazing fire!
12As for those who fear
their Lord, unseen—
they shall have forgiveness
and a great reward.
13And whether you conceal
your speech or proclaim it openly,
He Knows what lies
in the hearts [of humankind].
14Would He not know—
He Who created them? He is
Most Subtle, All Aware.
SECTION 2
15It is He Who has made
the earth subservient to you,
so walk in its pathways,
and eat of His provision—
[returning] to Him
you shall be resurrected.
16Do you feel assured° that
He Who is in heaven will not
make the earth swallow you up
when it shakes violently?
17Or do you feel assured
that He Who is in heaven
will not send against you
a hailstorm, that you might
know what My warning is?
18And those who came
before them also denied—
[see] how I rejected them!
19Don’t they see the birds
above them, spreading and folding
their wings? None upholds them
but the All Merciful—
He Sees all things.
20Who can help you—even
an army—besides the All Merciful?
The disbelievers are merely
sunk in delusion.
21Or who can provide for you
if He withholds His provision?
Yet they persist in insolence
and aversion to truth.
22Is someone who walks
with his face down better guided
than someone who walks upright
on a straight path?
23Say, “It is He Who
brought you into being,
and gave you hearing, sight,
and hearts—
how little you give thanks.”
24Say, “It is He Who
multiplied you throughout
the earth, and to Him
you shall all be gathered.”
25They ask, “When will
this promise be fulfilled—
if you are speaking the truth?”
26Say, “God alone has
[that] knowledge. I am merely
one who gives clear warning.”
27But when they see it near them,
the disbelievers’ faces shall
be distressed, and they will be told,
“This is what you called for.”
28Say, “Have you considered—
if God were to destroy me
and those with me, or if He
were to have mercy on us—
who could save the disbelievers
from painful punishment?”
29Say, “He is the All Merciful.
We believe in Him,
and trust in Him.
Soon, you shall know
who is clearly wrong.”
30Say, “Have you considered—
if one morning all your water
were to sink into the earth,
who would bring you water
that is flowing and clear?”
SURA 68
The Pen (Al-Qalam)
A Meccan sura, probably very early, of 52 verses, this extols the pen (v. 1) before offering a retort to the challenge that Muhammad is “possessed,” posed by some wealthy but vitriolic Meccan opponents (vv. 2–18). There follows a parable of proud owners of a garden (vv. 13–34), and the sura closes with a vigorous polemic (vv. 35–46) and invocation of Jonah’s good fortune (vv. 48–50), a reminder to those who think Muhammad possessed (vv. 51–52).
In the Name of God, the All Merciful, Ever Merciful
SECTION 1
1Nun.° By the pen,
and by what they write—
2by the grace of your Lord,
you are not possessed;
3and for you there will be
unending reward.
4for you are most exalted
in moral character.
5Soon you shall see
—and they shall see—
6which of you is afflicted
[with madness].
7It is your Lord who best knows
who has strayed from His path,
and it is He Who knows best
who is rightly guided.
8So, don’t heed those
who deny the truth.
9They want you to compromise
so they can compromise.
10And don’t heed some wretched
swearer of oaths,
11some slanderer, spreading
malicious gossip,
12a sinful transgressor,
thwarting what is good,
13cruel, and above all, ignoble°—
14all on account of his wealth and sons.
15When Our signs are recited
to him, he cries,
“Fables of the ancients!”
16Soon We shall brand him
on the snout.
17We tested them, just as
We tested the owners of the garden
when they swore to pluck its fruit
in the morning,°
18without making allowance
[for God’s will].
19So a calamity from your Lord
struck the garden
while they were sleeping,
20[and the orchard was desolated,]
as though it had been harvested.
21As morning broke, they called
out to one another,
22“Go to your crop early
if you want to harvest its fruits.”
23So they went, whispering,
24“Let no poor person
enter the garden today
[without your consent].”
25And they went early,
strong in this resolve.
26But when they saw the garden, they said,
“We must have lost our way.
27“Oh no—we are ruined.”
28One of them, more moderate than the rest,
said, “Did I not tell you to glorify God?”
29They said, “Glory be to our Lord.
We have done wrong.”
30Then they turned to blame one another,
31saying, “Alas, we have transgressed.
32“But perhaps our Lord
will replace this garden
with something better, for
we turn to Him, in hope.”
33Such is the punishment
in this life. But in the hereafter
it will be greater still—
if only they knew.
SECTION 2
34Those mindful of God
shall have gardens of bliss
with their Lord.
35Would We treat alike
those who submit [to God’s will]
and those who sin?
36What is wrong with you?
On what grounds do you judge?
37Or, do you have a Book
from which you learn
38that you can have there
whatever you choose?
39Or do you have a covenant
with Us, enduring until the day
of resurrection, that you will have
what you deem [to be yours]?
40Ask them, which of them
will guarantee this?
41Or do they have some divine partners?
Then let them bring forward these partners,
if they are speaking the truth.
42On the day of apocalypse,
they shall be called
to bow down—but will be unable.
43Their eyes downcast,
shame will fall over them—
they were called to bow down
when they were sound [in body].
44So, Prophet, leave to Me
those who deny this message:
We shall lead them on, step by step,
in ways they can’t imagine.
45I will grant them some respite—
My intent is resolute.
46Or, is it that you ask of them
some payment, that would
burden them with debt?
47Or is the unseen within their grasp,
so they can transcribe it?
48Await patiently, then,
your Lord’s judgment, and
don’t be like Jonah in the whale°
who called out in distress—
49had his Lord’s grace
not reached him, he would have been
cast on the naked shore, disgraced.
50But his Lord chose him,
and made him one of the righteous.
51When the unbelievers hear
this message, they would almost
strike you down° with their glances,
and they say, “He is possessed.”
52But this is nothing less
than a reminder for all the worlds.
SURA 69
Reality (Al-Haqqa)
A Meccan sura, in 52 verses, this references several previous peoples who disbelieved and were destroyed (vv. 1–12). The sura describes the joy of judgment day for believers (vv. 13–24), with the opposite fate for sinners (vv. 25–37), culminating in a paean to the Quran (vv. 38–52), announced as “certain truth” (v. 51).
In the Name of God, the All Merciful, Ever Merciful
SECTION 1
1The reality [of resurrection].
2What is the reality of resurrection?
3What would make you grasp
the reality of resurrection?
4The people of Thamud and ʿAd
denied the thundering calamity.°
5So the Thamud were destroyed
by an overwhelming blast,
6and the ʿAd were destroyed
by a screaming, violent wind.
7He made it rage against them
for seven nights and eight days
together—so you see its people
fallen down dead, like trunks
of hollow palm trees.
8Do you see any trace of them now?
9Pharaoh and those before him,
and the overturned cities
all committed grave sins,
10and disobeyed each
messenger of their Lord,
so He seized them
with a deathly grasp.
11When the water flooded,
We carried you in the floating ark,
12to make it a reminder for you—
so listening ears might take heed.
13Then, when a single blast
blares from the trumpet,
14and the earth and mountains
are raised and crushed
with a single stroke—
15on that day the event will come,
16and the sky will be torn asunder,
for it will be frail that day.
17and on its verges, the angels
will stand, and eight of them,
that day, shall bear above them
the throne of your Lord.
18On that day, you shall be
exposed, and no secret of yours
shall stay concealed.
19Then those given their record
in their right hand will each say,
“Here, read my record;
20“I was certain that I would
come to my reckoning.”
21And he will be
in a pleasing life,
22in a high garden,
23with its clusters of fruits
hanging near.
24“Eat and drink to your content—
for the deeds you accrued
in days gone by.”
25And those given their record
in their left hand will each say,
“I wish I were not given my record,
26“and that I did not know
what my reckoning was.
27“I wish that death had made
an end of me!
28“My wealth is of no use
