— 99 verses
Alif Lam Ra These are the verses of a clear Book, the Quran
A time will surely come when those who are bent on denying the truth will wish that they had surrendered themselves to God
so leave them to eat and enjoy themselves and let them be beguiled by vain hopes; for soon they will realise [the truth]
We have never destroyed a township without a definite decree having been issued
no people can forestall their doom, nor can they delay it
They say, You to whom the Reminder [the Quran] has been sent down, you are surely possessed
Why do you not bring down the angels upon us, if you are truthful
But We send down the angels only to bring justice and then they will not be reprieved
It is We who have sent down the Reminder and We will, most surely, safeguard it
We sent messengers before you to the previous peoples
but there was never a messenger who came to them but they mocked him
thus We cause this [habit of mocking] to enter into the hearts of the sinful
They will not believe in it, though they have before them the example of former peoples
and even if We opened to them a door from heaven, and they began ascending through it
they would still say, Our eyes have been dazzled. We are bewitched
We have placed constellations in heaven and have beautified it for beholders
and We have guarded it from every accursed devil
but if anyone eavesdrops, he is pursued by a bright flaming fire
We have spread out the earth, and set upon it firm mountains and caused everything to grow in due proportion
We have provided therein a means of livelihood for you and for all those creatures for whom you do not provide
There is not a thing but its storehouses are with Us. But We only send down each thing in an appropriate measure
We let loose fertilizing winds, and bring water from the sky for you to drink; and you could not have stored it up for yourselves
Truly, it is We who bring to life and We who cause death and We are the inheritor of all things
We know those who lived before you and those who will come after you
It is your Lord who will gather them. He is all wise and all knowing
We created man out of dry clay, from moulded mud
and the jinn We had created before from flaming fire
Your Lord said to the angels, I am about to bring into being a man wrought from mud
When I have formed him and breathed My spirit into him, fall down in prostration before him
then the angels all prostrated themselves together
But Satan did not; he refused to join those who prostrated themselves
God asked him, What is the matter with you, that you are not among those who have prostrated themselves
He replied, I am not one to prostrate myself to a man whom You have created out of a clay of moulded mud
God said, Then get out of here; for you are accursed
and the curse shall be on you till the Day of Judgement
Satan said, O my Lord! Grant me respite till the Day of Resurrection
He said, You are granted respite
till that Appointed Day
He said, My Lord, since You have let me go astray. I shall make the path of error seem alluring to them on the earth and shall mislead them all
except for Your chosen servants
God said, This is the path which leads straight to Me
Surely, you shall have no power over My true servants, except those misguided ones who choose to follow you
Surely, Hell is the place to which they are destined
it has seven gates: and each gate has a portion of them allotted to it
Truly, the God-fearing shall dwell amid gardens and fountain
Enter therein in peace and security
We shall cleanse their hearts of all traces of ill-will; they will be like brethren seated on couches facing one another
They will not be affected by any weariness there, and they will never be made to leave
Tell My servants that I alone am the Forgiving, the Merciful One
and that My punishment is a painful punishment
Tell them about Abrahams guests
when they came to him they greeted him with: Peace. He said,We feel afraid of you
They said, Do not be afraid. We come to you with good news. You shall have a son who shall be endowed with great knowledge
He said, Do you bring me such news despite my old age? What kind of good news are you bringing me
They said, We have, indeed, given you glad tidings in truth; do not therefore despair
He said, Who but the misguided despair of the mercy of their Lord
Then he asked, What then is your business, O messengers
They said, We have been sent forth to a guilty people
Except for Lots household, all of whom we shall rescue
except his wife. We have decreed that she will be among those who remain behind [and will be lost]
When the messengers came to Lot and his family
he said, You are strangers [to me]
They said, No, but we bring you news about what they disputed
and we have come to you with the truth, and surely we are truthful
so leave with your family some time in the latter part of the night, and walk behind them. Let none of you look back. Go where you are commanded
We communicated to him Our decree that the guilty ones would be destroyed by the morning
The people of the town came along, revelling
and he told them, These are my guests, so do not disgrace me
Fear God and do not shame me
They said, Did we not forbid you to extend hospitality to strangers
He said, Here are my daughters, if you must act in this way
By your life, they wandered on in their wild intoxicatio
and thereupon the blast [of Our punishment] overtook them at sunrise
We turned the town upside down and rained upon them stones of clay
There are certainly signs in that for those who can learn a lesson
it is still there on the highway
surely in this there is a sign for those who believe
The people of the Wood were also surely wrongdoers
So We took vengeance on them. Both are still there on the highway, plain for all to see
The people of al-Hijr also rejected Our messengers
We gave them Our signs, but they turned away from them
They carved out dwellings in the mountains, and lived in securit
the blast overtook them early one morning
All that they had acquired was of no avail to them
We have created the heavens and the earth and all that is between the two in accordance with the requirements of truth and wisdom. The Hour is surely coming. So overlook [their faults] with gracious forgiveness
Surely your Lord is the All Knowing Creator
We have given you the seven oft-recited verses and the great Quran
Do not strain your eyes towards the worldly benefits We have bestowed on some of them, nor grieve on their account. Lower your wing of mercy for the believer
and say, I am, indeed, a plain warner
such as We send down for those who are divisive
and who have broken the Scripture into fragment
by your Lord, We shall question them al
about whatever they had been doing
Proclaim openly what you are commanded, and avoid the polytheists
We will, surely, suffice you against those who mock
who set up another god with God, but they shall soon learn
We do indeed know how your heart is distressed at what they say
But glorify your Lord with His praise, and prostrate yourself
and worship your Lord until what is certain [death] comes to you