BY THE dust-scattering wind
and the heavily-laden clouds
by the smoothly-gliding ships
and by the angels who deal out as commanded
that which you are promised shall truly be fulfilled
and the Last Judgement shall surely come to pass
By the heaven with its starry highways
the words you utter are inconsistent
None but the perverse turn away from the Truth
Perish the liars
who dwell in darkness and are heedless of the life to come
When will the Day of Judgement be?‘ they ask
On that day they shall be scourged in the Fire
Taste this, the punishment you sought to hasten!‘
The righteous shall dwell amidst gardens and fountain
and shall receive what their Lord will give them. For they did good works before
sleeping but little in the night-time
praying at dawn for God‘s pardon
and sharing their goods with the beggars and the dispossessed
On earth there are signs for firm believers
and in your own souls. Can you not see
Heaven holds your sustenance and all that you are promised
I swear by the Lord of heaven and earth that this is true, as true as you are speaking now
Have you heard the story of Abraham‘s honoured guests
They went in to him and said: ‘Peace!‘ ‘Peace!‘ he said and, seeing that they were strangers
betook himself to his family and returned with a fatted calf
He placed it before them, saying: ‘Will you not eat?‘
He grew afraid of them, but they said, ‘Have no fear,‘ and told him he was to have a son endowed with knowledge
His wife came crying and beating her face. ‘Surely I am a barren old woman,‘ she said
Such is the will of your Lord,‘ they said. ‘He surely is the Wise One, the All-knowing.‘
Messengers,‘ said he, ‘what is your errand?‘
They said: ‘We are sent forth to a perverted people
that we may bring down on them a shower of clay-stone
marked by your Lord for the destruction of the sinful.‘
We led all the believers out of the town ―
We found but one household of true Muslims ―
and left therein a Sign for those who fear the woeful scourge
And in Moses there was a sign. We sent him forth to Pharaoh with manifest authority
but he turned his back, he and his nobles, saying: ‘A sorcerer, or a man possessed.‘
So We seized him and his warriors, and cast them into the sea. Indeed, he deserved much blame
In the fate of ‘Ād there was another sign. We let loose on them a blighting wind
which pounded into dust all that it swept before it
And in Thamūd. They had been told: ‘Enjoy yourselves till a time decreed;‘
but they disobeyed the commandments of their Lord. The thunderbolt struck them as they looked on
they could not rise up from their fall, nor did they gain their end
And the people of Noah before them. Surely they too were a degenerate people
The heaven We built with mighty hands, giving it a vast expanse
and stretched the earth beneath it: gracious is He who spread it out
And all things We have made in pairs, so that you may take thought
Therefore seek God. From Him I come to you with clear warning
You shall not set up another deity besides God. From Him I come to you with a clear warning
Thus no apostle ever came to those before them¹ but that they said: ‘Sorcerer!‘ or ‘A man possessed!‘
Have they handed down this down from one generation to the next? Surely they are transgressors all
Pay no heed to them; you shall incur no blame
Exhort them; exhortation helps the true believers
I created the jinn and mankind only that they might worship Me
I demand no livelihood of them, nor do I ask that they should feed Me
God alone is the Munificent Giver, the Mighty One, the Invincible
The wrongdoers‘ sins are like the sins of those that sinned before them; so let them not hurry Me on
Woe betide then the unbelievers when their promised day is come