29“My power has gone from me.”
30[A voice will say,] “Seize him
and shackle him,
31“then burn him
in the blazing fire,
32“and bind him in a chain
of seventy cubits—
33“he would not believe
in God, the Supreme,
34“and never urged the feeding
of the poor,
35“so he has no friend here today,
36“nor any food except the pus
37“that only sinners eat.”
SECTION 2
38Yes—I swear by what you see
39and what you do not see,
40that this is the word
of a noble messenger;
41it is not the word of a poet—
how little you believe!
42Nor the word of a soothsayer—
how little you pay heed!
43This is a message revealed
from the Lord of the worlds,
44if the messenger had contrived
any statements in Our Name,
45We would seize him
by his right hand,
46and cut off his heart’s aorta—
47nor could any of you
prevent him from this.
48But this is a message for those
who are mindful of God,
49and We know that some
among you deny it—
50it is a cause of dismay
to those who disbelieve,
51but it is the certain truth,
52so glorify the Name of your Lord,
the Supreme.
SURA 70
The Paths of Ascent (Al-Maʿarij)
A Meccan sura, with some later interpolations, its 44 verses include an opening query about paths of ascent (v. 3) with a command for patience (vv. 5–7), followed by a recapitulation of judgment day (vv. 8–35). It extols those on the right (vv. 22–35), but closes with a warning to those on the left (vv. 36–44).
In the Name of God, the All Merciful, Ever Merciful
SECTION 1
1Someone inquired about
the punishment to come—
2it will fall upon the disbelievers—
none can avert it—
3from God, Who controls
the paths of ascent.
4The angels and the spirit
ascend to Him on a day whose span
is fifty thousand years.°
5So practice patience—
beautiful patience.
6They see the day
as far away,
7while We see it
as near—
8a day when the sky will be
like molten brass,
9and the mountains
like carded wool,
10no friend will ask
after any friend,
11even though they are placed
within sight of each other.
The sinner would ransom himself
from the torment of that day
by offering his children,
12his spouse and his brother,
13his near kin who sheltered him,
14and everyone on the earth—
if this could save him.
15No—it will be
a flame of hell
16that strips his scalp,
17calling to all those
who turned their backs
and turned away,
18amassing wealth, only
to hoard it.
19Humans are created anxious,
20fretful when misfortune
touches them,
21and miserly when good fortune
reaches them—
22except those who pray,
23who remain constant
in their prayers,
24and those whose wealth
bears an acknowledged share
25for the beggar
and the deprived,
26those who accept the truth
of the day of reckoning,
27and are fearful
of their Lord’s punishment
28—from which none
can feel secure—
29and those who preserve
their chastity,°
30except with their wives
or their slaves—for which
they incur no blame
31—but those who venture
beyond this are transgressors—
32while those who fulfill
their trusts and covenants,
33those who are upright
in their testimonies,
34and those who preserve
the practice of their prayers
35shall all be
in gardens, honored.
SECTION 2
36What is it with the disbelievers—
who rush toward you, Prophet,
37from the right, from the left,
in crowds?
38Does every one of them
long to enter the garden of bliss?
39No—they know
from what We created them!
40No—I swear by the Lord
of every sunrise and sunset°
that We have the Power
41to replace them with others,
who are better—and
nothing can thwart Us.°
42So leave them to gossip
and frolic, until they encounter
their day—as promised°—
43a day when they will rush out
from their graves, as if racing
toward a goal,
44eyes downcast, and covered
in disgrace—this is the day
they were promised.
SURA 71
Noah (Nuh)
Likely a Meccan sura, this recalls and lauds the encounter of God with Noah, ending with a plea from Noah that crowns its 28 verses: “My Lord, forgive me, my parents, those who enter my house as believers and all believing men and women” (v. 28).
In the Name of God, the All Merciful, Ever Merciful
SECTION 1
1We sent Noah to his people:
“Warn your people before
painful punishment falls on them.”
2He said, “My people,
I give you clear warning
3“that you should worship God,
be mindful of Him, and obey me.
4“He will forgive you your sins
and grant you respite for
an appointed term.
When that term from God expires,
it cannot be prolonged—
if only you knew.”
5He said, “My Lord, I have called
to my people night and day,
6“but my call merely makes them
fly further away,
7“And every time I call them
—so that you might forgive them—
they block their ears with their fingers
and hide their heads in their robes,
obstinate, inflated with pride.
8“So I called to them openly,
9“declaiming to them in public
and addressing them in private,
10“urging them,
‘Seek forgiveness from your Lord,
for He is Ever Forgiving.
11“ ‘He will send you
abundant rain from the sky,
12“ ‘bestow wealth and children
upon you, and grant you
gardens and rivers.
13“ ‘What is wrong with you—
Why don’t you look toward
the majesty of God?
14“ ‘Who created you in stages?
15“ ‘Do you not see how
God created the seven heavens,
one above the other?
16“ ‘And made the moon
a light within them,
and the sun a lamp?
17“ ‘And made you grow, surging
out of the earth?°
18“ ‘And will return you into it
and bring you out again, anew?
19“ ‘God made the earth
an expanse for you,
20“ ‘That you might wander
along its wide paths.’ ”
SECTION 2
21Noah said, “My Lord,
they have disobeyed me
and they follow those
whose wealth and children
merely increase their loss.
22“And they have devised
a great plot,
23“saying, ‘Don’t abandon
your gods—Wadd, Suwaʿ,
Yaghuth, Yaʿuq, and Nasr.’°
24“They have misled many—
let the wrongdoers
sink only deeper into error.”°
25On account of their sins
they were drowned, and made
to enter the fire. They found
none to help them besides God.
26And Noah said, “My Lord,
don’t leave a single one
of the disbelievers on earth!
27“For if you leave them,
They’ll mislead your servants,
and they’ll breed nothing
but wicked disbelievers.
28“My Lord, forgive me,
my parents, those who enter
my house as believers,
and all believing men and women—
but let the wrongdoers
sink only deeper into ruin.”
SURA 72
The Jinn (Al-Jinn)
Middle or late Meccan, this sura of 28 verses is unusual in that it addresses the jinn as curious listeners, then converted believers. Its style is also unusual, with the first fifteen verses directed to the Prophet, and then the remainder (vv. 16–28) a string of dicta he addresses to the jinn.
In the Name of God, the All Merciful, Ever Merciful
SECTION 1
1Say, Prophet, “It has been
revealed to me that a group of jinn°
listened to [to a recitation] and said,
‘We’ve heard a wondrous Quran,
2“ ‘that guides to the right path,
so we believe in it, and shall never
associate any other with our Lord;
3“ ‘and that He—exalted be
the Majesty of our Lord—
has neither spouse nor son.
4“ ‘but that some foolish one
among us would say
outrageous things about God,
5“ ‘and that we had thought
no human or jinn
would ever lie about God.
6“ ‘and that some humans
sought shelter with the jinn,
merely increasing their
misguidance,
7“ ‘and that they thought,
as you did, that God would
never raise anyone back to life.
8“ ‘and that we tried to reach heaven,
but we found it full of stern guards
and flaming stars.
9“ ‘and that we would sit there
at various stations, trying to hear.
But any who tries to listen now
will find a flaming star
waiting for him.°
10“ ‘And that we don’t know whether
evil is meant for those on earth
or whether their Lord means
them to be rightly guided.
11“ ‘And that some among us
do good deeds while others do not—
we follow divergent paths.
12“ ‘And that we recognized
we could not escape God on earth
nor escape Him by flight.
13“ ‘And that when we heard
the message of guidance,
we believed it. And that whoever
believes in their Lord shall fear
neither loss nor injustice.
14“ ‘And that among us are some
who submit their will to God
while others are unjust.
Those who submit have
sought the right path.
15“ ‘But those who are unjust
shall be fuel for hellfire.’ ”
16Had they stayed steadfast
on the right path, We would have
given them abundant rain,
17a test for them. As for those who
turn away from their Lord’s message—
He will give them severe torment.°
18Know that the places of worship
are for God alone, so do not call
on any but the One God.
19Yet when God’s servant°
stood to pray, they almost
crowded in upon him.
SECTION 2
20Say, “I call only upon my Lord,
and I associate none with Him.”
21Say, “It is not in my power
either to harm you
or to make you upright.”
22Say, “None can protect me
from God, nor can I find
any refuge except in Him.
23“I only convey what is from God
and His messages. Those who
disobey God and His messenger
shall face the fire of hell,
to dwell there forever.
24“When they see for themselves
what was promised them,
they will know whose helpers
are weaker and who are fewer.”
25Say, “I do not know whether
what you are promised is near
or whether my Lord has fixed
a distant term for it.
26“He alone is Knower
of the unseen, and He reveals
to none what lies in the unseen,
27“except a messenger He chooses,
placing a guard
before him and behind him°—
28“so he might know that
each messenger has conveyed
the messages of his Lord.
He Encompasses everything
about them,
and He reckons all things.”
SURA 73
The One Enwrapped (Al-Muzzammil)
One of the earliest Meccan revelations, its last verse (v. 20) is clearly Medinan, expanding the conditions but also exemptions for Quran recitation. Initially addressed to the Prophet alone (vv. 1–8), these exemptions are extended to all believers, including those “fighting in God’s cause” (v. 20), a reference to jihad that took place only after the hijra (622 CE).
In the Name of God, the All Merciful, Ever Merciful
SECTION 1
1You, who lie enwrapped
in your mantle—
2stand in prayer°
for the night,
all but a small part—
3half of it, or a little less,
4or more, reciting the Quran
in clear, rhythmic measure.
5Soon We shall send down
to you a Word
of momentous weight.°
6Rising in the night is austerer,
[achieves deeper self-harmony,]
more suited to
reciting of the Word.
7During the day you are
occupied at length,
8but remember the Name
of your Lord, and devote
yourself wholly to Him—
9Lord of the East and the West;°
there is no god but He,
so take Him as your Guardian.
10Bear patiently what they say,
and depart from them, graciously,
11and leave to Me
those who disbelieve,
the ones who live in ease—
and endure them for a while.
12We have shackles for them
and a blazing fire,
13as well as food that chokes,
and a painful torment
14on a day when the earth
and the mountains shake,
and the mountains crumble to
heaps of sand.
15People, We have sent
a messenger, as a witness to you,
as We sent a messenger to Pharaoh.
16But Pharaoh disobeyed
the messenger,
