Yā‘ sī
By the Wise Koran
you are surely one sent fort
upon a straight path
A revelation from the Almighty, the Forgiving
that you may forewarn a people who, because their fathers were not warned before them, are now heedless
On most of them judgement has been passed, yet still they disbelieve
We have bound their necks with chains of iron reaching up to their chins, so that they cannot bow their heads
We have put a barrier before them and a barrier behind them and covered them over, so that they cannot see
It is the same for them whether or not you warn them: they will not believe
You shall warn only those who observe the Admonition and fear the Merciful, though they cannot see Him. To these give joyful tidings of pardon and a rich reward
It is We who will resurrect the dead. We record their deeds and the vestiges they leave behind: We keep account of all things in a veritable book
You shall cite, as a case in point, the people of the city¹ to which the emissaries made their way
We first sent to them two, but when they rejected both We strengthened them with a third. They said: ‘We have been sent to you as emissaries.‘
But they said: ‘You are but mortals like ourselves. The Merciful has revealed nothing: you are only lying.‘
They said: ‘Our Lord knows that we are true emissaries
Our only duty is to give plain warning.‘
They said: ‘Your presence bodes but evil for us. Desist, or we will stone you or inflict on you a painful scourge.‘
They said: ‘The evil you forebode can come only from yourselves. Will you not take heed? Surely you are great transgressors.‘
Thereupon a man came running from the far quarter of the city. ‘My people,‘ he said, ‘follow those who have been sent to you
Follow those who ask no recompense of you and are rightly guided
Why should I not serve Him who has created me and to whom you shall be recalled
Should I serve other gods than Him? If it is the will of the Merciful to afflict me, their intercession will avail me nothing, nor will they save me
Indeed, I should then be in evident error
I believe in your Lord; so hear me.‘
He was told: ‘Enter Paradise,‘ and he said ‘Would that my people knew
how gracious my Lord has been to me, how highly He has honoured me!‘
After him, We sent down no host from heaven against his people: this We never do
There was but one shout ― and, behold, they were lifeless
Alas for My bondsmen! They laugh to scorn every apostle that comes to them
Do they not see how many generations We have destroyed before them? Never shall they return to them
all shall be brought before Us
Let the once-dead earth be a sign for them. We gave it life, and from it produced grain for their sustenance
We planted it with gardens of the palm and the vine, and watered it with gushing springs,
that they might feed on its fruit. It was not their hands that made all this.¹ Should they not give thanks
Glory be to Him who made all things in pairs: the plants of the earth, mankind themselves, and things they know nothing of
Another sign for them is the night. From the night We sheer off the day ― and lo they are plunged in darkness
And the sun hastens to its own resting-place: its course is laid by the Almighty, the All-knowing
And for the moon We have ordained phases; it wanes, until it returns like a bent old twig
The sun is not to overtake the moon, nor does the night outpace the day. Each in its own orbit swims
Another sign for them is that We carried their offspring in the laden ark
And similar vessels We have made for them to ride on
We drown them if We will: none can help or rescue them
except through Our mercy and unless enjoyment is allowed for a time
When they are told: ‘Have fear of that which is before you and behind you, that you may be shown mercy,‘
they turn away from every sign that comes to them from their Lord
And when they are told: ‘Give from that which God has given you,‘ the unbelievers say to the faithful: ‘Are we to feed those whom God can feed if He chooses? ‘Surely you are in glaring error.‘
And they say: ‘When will this promise be fulfilled, if what you say be true?‘
They must be waiting but for a single blast, which will take them while they are still disputing
They will have no time to make a will, nor shall they return to their kin
The Trumpet will be blown and, behold, from the graves they will stand before their Lord
Woe betide us!‘ they will say. ‘Who has roused us from our resting-place? This is what the Lord of Mercy promised: the apostles have told the truth!‘
And with but one blast they shall be gathered all before Us
On that day no soul shall suffer the least injustice. You shall be rewarded only according to your deeds
On that day the tenants of Paradise will be busy with their joys
They and their spouses in shady groves upon soft couches they shall recline
therein shall they have fruits, and all that they call for
Peace!‘ shall be the word from a compassionate God
Keep yourselves apart, you sinners, this day
Children of Adam, did I not charge you never to worship Satan, your veritable foe
but to worship Me? That is a straight path
Yet has he led from among you many a generation astray. Had you no sense
This is the Hell you have been promised
Burn therein this day on account of your disbelief.‘
On that day We shall seal their mouths. Their hands will speak to Us, and their very feet will testify to what they did
Had it been Our will, We could have put out their eyes: yet even then they would have rushed headlong upon their wonted path. But how could they see their error
Had it been Our will, We could have transformed them where they stood, so that they could neither go forward nor retrace their steps
We reverse the growth of those to whom We give long life. Have they no sense
We have taught¹ him no poetry, nor would poetry befit him. This is but an Admonition: an eloquent Kora
to exhort the living and to pass judgement on the unbelievers
Or have they not considered how, among the things Our hands have made, We have created for them the beasts of which they are masters
We have subjected these to them, that they may ride on some and eat the flesh of others;
they drink their milk and put them to other uses. Will they not give thanks
They have set up other gods besides God, hoping they may be helped
They cannot help them: yet they stand like warriors ready to defend their idols
So let not their words grieve you. We have knowledge of what they conceal and what they reveal
Has not man considered that We created him from a little germ? Yet is he brazenly contentious
He answers Us back with arguments, and forgets his own creation. He says: ‘Who will give life to rotten bones?‘
Say: ‘He who first brought them into being will give them life again: He has knowledge of every creature
He who gives you from the green tree a flame, and lo! you light a fire.‘
Or has He who created the heavens and the earth no power to create others like them? That He surely has. He is the all-knowing Creator
When He decrees a thing He need only say: ‘Be,‘ and it is
So glory be to Him who with His hands holds sovereignty over all things and to whome shall you be recalled