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67-THE SOVEREIGNTY
67- THE SOVEREIGNTY [AL-MULK]
Revealed at Mecca, [30 verses]
Al-Mulk takes its name from a word in the first verse. It
belongs to the middle group of Meccan Sûrahs.
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
? . 1 Blessed is He in Whose hand is the Sovereignty, and He
is Able to do all things.
2. Who has created life and death that He may try you, which
of you is best in deed; and He is the Mighty, Forgiving,
3. Who has created seven heavens in layers. You [Muhammad]
can see no fault in the Beneficent’s creation; then look
again: Can you see any rifts?
4. Then look again and yet again, your sight will return to you
weakened and made worn out.
5. And verily We have certainly beautified the world’s nearest
heaven with lamps, and We have made them missiles to
drive away the devils,[1] and for them We have prepared the
doom of the blazing Fire.
6. And for those who disbelieve in their Lord there is the
doom of Hell, and wrecked is the destination!
7. When they are flung therein they hear its inhaling as it
boils up,
8. As it would burst with rage. Whenever a [fresh] host flung
therein the wardens thereof ask them: Came there to you
no warner?
[1] On the authority of a tradition going back to Ibn ‘Abbas, the allusion
is to the soothsayers and astrologers who saw the source of good and
evil in the stars. See Sûrah 72, v. 9, footnote.
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9. They say: Yea, verily, a warner came to us; but we denied
and said: Allah has not sent down anything; you are not
but in great error.
10. And they say: Had we been used to listen or have sense,
we had not been among the dwellers of the blazing Fire.
11. So they acknowledge their sins; but far removed [from
mercy] are the dwellers of the blazing Fire.
12. Lo! those who fear their Lord unseen, theirs will be
forgiveness and a great reward.
13. And keep your speech secret or proclaim it, lo! He is
Knower of all that is in the breasts [of men].
14. Should He not know what He created? And He is the
Subtle, the Acquainted.
15. He it is Who has made the earth subservient to you, so
walk in the paths thereof and eat of His providence. And
to Him will be the resurrection [of the dead].
16. Have you taken security from Him Who is in the heaven
that He will not cause the earth to swallow you when lo!
it is convulsed?
17. Or have you taken security from Him Who is in the
heaven that He will not let loose on you a storm [with
showers of stones]? But you shall know the manner of
My warning.
18. And verily those before them denied, then [see] the
manner of My wrath [with them]!
19. Have they not seen the birds above them spreading out
their wings and closing them? None upholds them save
the Beneficent. Lo! He is Seer of all things.
20. Or who is he that will be an army to you to help you
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instead of the Beneficent? The disbelievers are in
nothing but illusion.
21. Or who is he that will provide for you if He should
withhold His provision? Nay, but they are set in insolence
and aversion.
22. Is he who goes grovelling on his face more rightly guided,
or he who walks upright on a straight path?
23. Say [to them, O Muhammad]: He it is Who created you,
and has assigned to you ears and eyes and hearts. Little
are you grateful!
24. Say, He it is Who multiplies you in the earth, and to Whom
you will be gathered.
25. And they say: When [will] this promise [be fulfilled], if
you are truthful?
26. Say: The knowledge is with Allah only, and I am but a
plain warner;
27. But when they see it near, the faces of those who disbelieve
will be distressed, and it will be said [to them]: This is that
for which you used to call.
28. Say [O Muhammad]: Have you thought: Whether Allah
causes me [Muhammad] and those with me to perish or
has mercy on us, still, who will protect the disbelievers
from a painful doom?
29. Say: He is the Beneficent. In Him we believe and upon
Him we rely. And you will soon know who it is that is in
manifest error.
30. Say: Have you thought: If [all] your water were to
disappear into the earth, who then could bring you
gushing water?
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68- THE PEN
68- THE PEN [AL-QALAM]
Revealed at Mecca, [52 verses]
Al-Qalam, “The Pen” takes its name from a word in the
first verse. A very early Meccan Sûrah.
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
1. Nun. By the pen and that which they inscribe [therewith],
2. You are not, for your Lord’s favour to you, a madman.
3. And lo! yours verily will be a reward unfailing.
4. And lo! you are of a tremendous moral character.
5. And you will see and they will see
6. Which of you is the afflicted [by a devil].
7. Lo! your Lord is most knowing of him who strays from His
way, and He is most knowing of the [rightly] guided.
8. Therefor do not obey the deniers
9. Who would have had you compromise, that they may
compromise.
10. Do not obey each feeble oath-monger,
11. Detractor, going about with malicious gossip,
12. Hinderer of the good, transgressor, malefactor
13. Cruel, moreover, and an illegitimate pretender.
14. It is because he is possessed of wealth and children
15. That, when Our verses are recited to him, he says: Mere
fables of the men of old.
16. We shall brand him on the nose.
17. Lo! we have tried them as We tried the owners of the
garden when they vowed they would pluck its fruit next
morning.
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18. And made no exception [for the will of Allah];[1]
19. Then came upon it an affliction from your Lord while
they were asleep.
20. And in the morning it was as if plucked.
21. And they cried out one to another in the morning,
22. Saying: Run to your field if you would pluck [the fruit].
23. So they went off, saying one to another in low tones:
24. No needy man shall enter it to-day against you.[2]
25. They went early, strong in [this] purpose.
26. But when they saw it, they said: Lo! we are lost!
27. Nay, but we are deprived!
28. The most moderate among them said: Did I not say to
you: Why do you not glorify [Allah]?
29. They said: Glorified be our Lord! Lo! we have been wrongdoers.
30. Then some of them drew near to others, self-reproaching.
31. They said: Alas for us! In truth we were transgressors.
32. It may be that our Lord will substitute for us [one] better
than this in place thereof. Lo! we are toward our Lord
desirous.
33. Such is the punishment. And verily the punishment of the
Hereafter is greater if they did but know.
34. Lo! for the righteous are Gardens of Delight with their
Lord.
35. Shall We then treat the Muslims [who have surrendered]
as We treat the criminals?
36. What ails you? How do you judge!
[1] i.e. they forgot to say: “If God wills.”
[2] It was a custom throughout the East to allow the poor a gleaning of
all harvests.
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37. Or have you a scripture wherein you learn
38. That you shall indeed have all that you choose?
39. Or have you a covenant on oath from Us that reaches to the
Day of Resurrection, that yours shall be all that you ordain?
40. Ask them [O Muhammad] which of them will be responsible
for that [claim]!
41. Or have they partners? Then let them bring their partners
if they are truthful
42. On the day when the shin will be uncovered, and they are
invited to prostration but are not able,
43. With eyes downcast, abasement stupefying them. And
they had been summoned to prostration while they were
yet unhurt.
44. Leave Me [to deal] with those who give the lie to this
Qur’ân. We shall lead [to punishment] them on by steps
from whence they know not.
45. Yet I bear with them, for lo! My Plan is firm.
46. Or do you [Muhammad] ask a fee from them so that they
are heavily burdened with debt?
47. Or is the Unseen theirs that they can write [thereof]?
48. But be patient for your Lord’s decision, and be not like
the companion of the fish [i.e. Jonah], who cried out in
despair.
49. Had it not been that favour from his Lord had reached
him he surely had been cast into the wilderness while he
was to be blamed.
50. But his Lord chose him and placed him among the righteous.
51. And lo! those who disbelieve would fain disconcert you
with their eyes when they hear the Reminder, and they
say: Lo! he is indeed mad;
52. When it is nothing else than a Reminder to the worlds.
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69- THE REALITY
69- THE REALITY [AL-HAQQA]
Revealed at Mecca, [52 verses]
Al-Hâqqah takes its name from a word recurring in
the first three verses. It belongs to the middle group of
Meccan Sûrahs.
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
1. The Reality [i.e. the Day of Resurrection]
2. What is the Reality?
3. Ah, what will convey to you what the reality is!
4. [The tribes of] Thamûd and A’âd disbelieved in the Striking
Calamity.
5. As for Thamûd, they were destroyed by the awful cry.
6. And as for A’âd, they were destroyed by a fierce roaring
wind,
7. Which He imposed on them for seven nights and eight
days in succession so that you might have seen men lying
overthrown [destroyed], as they were hollow trunks of
palm-trees.
8. Can you [O Muhammad] see any remnant of them?
9. And Pharaoh and those before him, and the cities that were
overthrown, brought sin,
10. And they disobeyed the messenger of their Lord, therefor
did He grip them with a tightening grip.
11. Lo! when the water overflowed, We carried you upon the
sailing ship
12. That We might make it a reminder for you, and that
remembering ears [that heard the story] might remember.
13. And when the Horn will be blown with one blast.
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14. And the earth with the mountains shall be lifted up and
crushed with one crash,
15. Then, on that Day will the [Great] Event befall.
16. And the heaven will split asunder, for that day it will be frail.
17. And the angels will be on the sides thereof, and eight will
uphold the Throne of their Lord that day, above them.
18. On that day you will be exposed; not a secret of you will
be hidden.
19. Then, as for him who is given his record in his right hand,
he will say: Take, read my book!
20. Surely I knew that I should have to meet my reckoning.
21. Then he will be in blissful state
22. In a high garden
23. Whereof the clusters are in easy reach.
24. [And it will be said to those therein]: Eat and drink at ease
for that which you sent on before you in past days.
25. But as for him who is given his record in his left hand, he
will say: Oh, would that I had not been given my book
26. And knew not what my reckoning!
27. Oh, would that it had been death!
28. My wealth has not availed me,
29. My power has gone from me.
30. [It will be said]: Take him and shackle him
31. And then drive him into Hell-fire
32. And then insert him in a chain whereof the length is
seventy cubits.
33. Lo! he used not to believe in Allah the Most Great,
34. And urged not on the feeding of the poor,
35. Therefor he has no devouted friend here this day,
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36. Nor any food save filth [from the washing of wounds]
37. Which none but sinners eat.
38. But nay! I swear by all that you see
39. And all that you see not
40. That it is indeed the speech of an illustrious messenger.
41. It is not poet’s speech– little is it that you believe!
42. Nor diviner’s speech– little is it that you remember!
43. It is a revelation from the Lord of the Worlds.
44. And if he [Muhammad] had invented false sayings
concerning Us,
45. We assuredly had taken him by the right hand
46. And then cut off his life-artery [Aorta],
47. And not one of you could have held Us off from him.
48. And lo! The Qur’ân is a reminder for the righteous.
49. And lo! We know that some among you will deny [it].
50. And lo! it is indeed an anguish for the disbelievers.
51. And lo! it [this Qur’ân] is absolute truth [with certainty].
52. So glorify the name of your Lord, the Most Great.
70- THE ASCENDING STAIRWAYS [AL-MA’ARIJ]
Revealed at Mecca, [44 verses]
Al-Ma’ârij takes its name from a word in verse 3. An early
Meccan Sûrah.
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
1. A questioner questioned concerning the doom about to fall
2. Upon the disbelievers, which none can repel,
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3. From Allah, Lord of the ways of ascent
4. [Whereby] the angels and the Spirit [Gabriel] ascend to
Him in a Day whereof the span is fifty thousand years.
5. But be patient [O Muhammad] with a patience fair to see.
6. Lo! they behold it afar off
7. While We behold it near:
8. The day when the sky will become as molten copper,
9. And the mountains become as flakes of wool,
10. And no friend will ask a question of his friend
11. Though they will be given sight of them. The criminal will
long be able to ransom himself from the punishment of
that day at the price of his children
12. And his spouse and his brother
13. And his kin that harboured him
14. And all that are in the earth, if then it might save him.
15. But nay! for lo! it is the fire of Hell
16. Taking away the head skin;
17. It calls him who turned and fled [from truth],
18. And hoarded [wealth] and withheld it.
19. Lo! man was created anxious,
20. Irritable when evil touches him
21. And, when good befalls him, withholding [of it];
22. Save the observers of prayer
23. Who are constant at their prayer
24. And in whose wealth there is a right acknowledged
25. For the needy [who asks] and the destitute;
26. And those who believe in the Day of Recompense,
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27. And those who are fearful of their Lord’s doom–
28. Lo! the doom of their Lord is that before which none can
feel secure–
29. And those who guard their private parts
30. Save with their wives and those whom their right hands
possess, for thus they are not blameworthy;
31. But whoso seeks beyond that, those are they who are
transgressors;
32. And those who keep their trusts and their covenant.
33. And those who stand firm by their testimonies
34. And those who maintain their prayer,
35. These will dwell in Gardens, honoured.
36. What ails those who disbelieve, that they keep staring
toward you [O Muhammad], open-eyed,
37. On the right and on the left, in groups?
38. Does every man among them hope to enter the Garden
of Delight?
39. Nay, verily. Lo! We created them from what they know.
40. But nay! I swear by the Lord of the rising-places and the
setting-places of the planets that We are Able
41. To replace them by [others] better than them. And We are
not to be outrun.
42. So let them chat and play until they meet their Day which
they are promised,
43. The day when they come forth from the graves in haste
as racing to a goal,
44. With eyes aghast, abasement covering them: Such is the
Day which they are promised.
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71- NOAH
71- NOAH [NUH]
Revealed at Mecca, [28 verses]
Takes its name from its subject, which is the preaching of
the prophet Noah. An early Meccan Sûrah.
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
1. Lo! We sent Noah to his people [saying]: Warn your people
before the painful doom come to them.
2. He said: O my people! Lo! I am a plain warner to you
3. [Bidding you]: Worship Allah and fear Him and obey me,
4. That He may forgive you of your sins and delay you to
an appointed term. Lo! the term of Allah, when it comes,
cannot be delayed, if you but knew.
5. He said: My Lord! Lo! I have called unto my people night
and day
6. But all my calling does but add to their flight;
7. And lo! whenever I call to them that You may pardon them
they thrust their fingers in their ears and cover themselves
with their garments and persist [in their refusal] and
magnify themselves in pride.
8. And lo! I have called to them publicly,
9. And lo! I have made public proclamation to them, and I
have confided to them in private.
10. And I have said: Ask forgiveness from your Lord. Lo! He
was ever Forgiving.
11. He will let loose the sky for you in plenteous rain,
12. And will help you with wealth and sons, and will assign to
you Gardens and will assign to you rivers.
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13. What ails you that you do not attribute to Allah [due]
grandeur.
14. When He created you by [different] stages?
15. See you not how Allah has created seven heavens in layers,
16. And has made the moon a light therein, and made the sun
a lamp?
17. And Allah has caused you to grow as a [progressive]
growth from the earth,
18. And afterward He makes you return thereto, and He will
bring you forth again, a [new] forth bringing.
19. And Allah has made the earth a wide expanse for you
20. That you may follow the valley-ways thereof.
21. Noah said: My Lord! they have disobeyed me and followed
one whose wealth and children increase him in nothing
save ruin;
22. And they have plotted a mighty plot,
23. And they have said: Forsake not your gods. Forsake not
Wadd, nor Sûwa, nor Yaghûth and Ya’uq and Nasr.[1]
24. And they have led many astray, and You increase the
wrong-doers in nothing save error.
25. Because of their sins they were drowned, then made to
enter a Fire. And they found not for them besides Allah
[any] helpers.
26. And Noah said: My Lord! Leave upon the earth from
among the disbelievers an inhabitant.
27. If You should leave them, they will mislead Your slaves
and will beget none save wicked disbelievers.
28. My Lord! Forgive me and my parents and him who enters
my house believing, and believing men and believing
women, and increase not the wrong-doers in anything
save ruin.
[1] Idols of the pagan Arabs.
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72-THE JINN
72- THE JINN [AL-JINN]
Revealed at Mecca, [28 verses]
Al-Jinn takes its name from, a word in the first verse, and
also from the subject of verses 1-18. The meaning of the
word jinn in the Qur’ân has exercised the minds of Muslim
commentators, ancient and modern. Mr Ya’qûb Hasan of
Madras, in the first volume of a remarkable work in Urdu,
Kitâbu’l-Hudâ, shows that it has at least three meanings in the
Qur’ân and that one of those meanings is something akin to
“clever foreigners” as in the case of the Jinn who worked for
Solomon. But undoubtedly the first and obvious meaning is
“elemental spirits,” to whom, as to mankind, the Qur’ân came
as a guidance. The incident is said to have occurred during the
Prophet’s return from his unsuccessful missionary journey to
Ta’if. A late Meccan Sûrah.
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
1. Say [O Muhammad]: It is revealed to me that a company
of the Jinn gave ear, and they said: Lo! we have heard a
marvellous Qur’ân,
2. Which guides to righteousness, so we believe in it and we
will never associate with our Lord anyone.
3. And [we believe] that He-Exalted be the glory of our Lord!
has taken neither wife nor son,
4. And that the foolish one among us used to speak concerning
Allah an atrocious lie.
5. And lo! we had thought that humankind and jinn would not
speak a lie concerning Allah.
6. And indeed [O Muhammad] individuals of humankind
used to invoke the protection of individuals of the jinn so
that they increased them in sin;
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7. And indeed they thought, even as you thought, that Allah
would not send any messenger–
8. And [the Jinn who had listened to the Qur’ân said]: We
had sought the heaven but had found it filled with strong
warders and meteors.
9. And we used to sit on places [high] therein to listen. But he
who listened now finds a flame in wait for him;[1]
10. And we know not whether evil is intended to all who are
in the earth, or whether their Lord intends guidance for
them.
11. And among us there are righteous folk and among us
there are far from that. We are sects having different rules.
12. And we know that we cannot escape from Allah in the
earth, nor can we escape Him by flight.
13. And when we heard the guidance, we believed therein,
and whoso believes in his Lord, he fears neither loss nor
oppression.
14. And there are among us some are Muslims [who have
surrendered to Allah] and there are among us some who
are unjust. And whoso has become Muslims, such have
taken the right path purposefully.
15. And as for those who are unjust, they are firewood for
Hell.
16. If they [the polytheists] tread the right path, We shall
bestow on them water [rain] in abundance
17. That We may test them thereby, and whoso turns away
from the remembrance of his Lord; He will thrust him
into ever-growing doom.
[1] About the time of the Prophet’s mission there were many meteors
and other strange appearances in the heavens, which, tradition says,
frightened the astrologers from the high observatories where they
used to watch at night, and threw out all their calculations.
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18. And the mosques are only for Allah, so invoke not to
anyone along with Allah.
19. And when the slave of Allah [i.e. the Prophet] stood up
in prayer supplicating Him, they [jinns] crowded on him,
almost stifling.[1]
20. Say [to them, O Muhammad]: I invoke my lord only, and
associate none as partners along with Him.
21. Say: Lo! I do not possess for you [the power of] hurt nor
bring you to the Right Path.
22. Say: Lo! none can protect me from Allah, nor can I find
any refuge besides Him
23. [Mine is] but conveyance [of the Truth] from Allah, and His
messages; and whoso disobeys Allah and His messenger,
lo! his is fire of Hell, wherein such dwell forever.
24. Till [the day] when they shall behold that which they are
promised [they may doubt]; but then they will know for
certain] who is weaker in allies and less in multitude.
25. Say [O Muhammad, to the disbelievers]: I know not
whether that which you are promised is near, or if my
Lord has set a distant term for it.
26. [He is] the knower of the Unseen, and He reveals to none
His Unseen,
27. Save to every messenger whom he has chosen, and then
He makes a guard to go before him and a guard behind
him.
28. That He may know that they have indeed conveyed the
messages of their Lord. He surrounds all their doings,
and He keeps count of all things.
[1] Generally taken to be an allusion to the rough treatment which the
Prophet received at the hands of the people of Ta’if.
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73-THE ENSHROUDED
ONE
73- THE ENSHROUDED ONE [AL-MUZZAMMIL]
Revealed at Mecca, [20 verses]
Al-Muzammil takes its title from a word in verse 1. After his
first trance and vision, the Prophet went to his wife Khadijah
and told her to wrap him up in cloaks, and that was afterwards
his habit on such occasions, at any rate, in the early days at
Mecca. A very early Meccan revelation with the exception of
the last verse, which all authorities assign to Al-Madînah.
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
1. O you wrapped up in garments!
2. Arise [to pray] the night long, save a little–
3. A half thereof, or abate a little thereof
4. Or add [a little] thereto– and recite the Qur’ân with
measured recitation,
5. For We shall cast upon you with a word of weight.
6. Lo! the rising of the night is very hard and most potent
and good for governing [the soul] and more suitable for
[understanding] the word [of Allah].
7. Lo! you have by day a chain of business.
8. So remember the name of your Lord and devote yourself
with a complete devotion–
9. Lord of the East and the West; there is no deity save Him;
so take Him alone as a Disposer of your affairs–
10. And be patient with what they say, and part from them
with a fair leave-taking.
11. Leave Me to deal with the deniers, lords of ease and
comfort [in this life]; and do respite them awhile.
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12. Lo! with Us are heavy shackles and a raging fire,
13. And food which chokes [the partaker], and a painful
doom
14. On the day when the earth and the mountains convulse,
and the mountains become a heap of running sand.
15. Lo! We have sent to you a messenger as witness against
you, even as We sent to Pharaoh a messenger.
16. But Pharaoh rebelled against the messenger, whereupon
We seized him with a stern grip.
17. Then how, if you disbelieve, will you protect yourselves
upon a Day which will turn children white-haired,
18. The very heaven being then split asunder. His promise is
to be fulfilled.
19. Lo! This is a Reminder. Let him whosoever wills, may take
a way to his Lord.
20. Lo! your Lord knows how you keep vigil sometimes [in
prayer] nearly two-thirds of the night, or [sometimes]
half or a third thereof, as do a party of those with you.
Allah measures the night and the day. He knows that you
count it not, and turns to you in mercy. Recite, then, of
the Qur’ân that which is easy for you. He knows that
there are sick folk among you, while others travel in the
land in search of Allah’s bounty, and others [still] are
fighting for the cause of Allah. So recite of it that which
is easy [for you], and establish prayer and pay the poordue
and [so] lend to Allah a goodly loan.[1] Whatsoever
good you send before you for your souls, you will surely
find it with Allah, better and greater in the recompense.
And seek forgiveness of Allah. Lo! Allah is Forgiving,
Merciful.
[1] i.e. a loan without interest or any thought of gain or loss.
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74-THE CLOAKED ONE
74- THE CLOAKED ONE [AL-MUDDATH-THIR]
Revealed at Mecca, [56 verses]
Al-Mudath-thir takes its name from a word in verse 1. The
Prophet was accustomed to wrap himself in his cloak at the
time of his trances. A tradition says that some time about six
months elapsed between the first revelation (Sûrah 96, vv. 15)
and the second revelation in this Sûrah. Then the Prophet
suddenly again beheld the angel who had appeared to him on
Mt. Hirâ, and wrapped himself in his cloak, whereupon this
Sûrah was revealed to him. Another opinion is that by this
Sûrah the Prophet was ordered to begin the public preaching
of Al-Islâm, his preaching having until then been done
privately among his family and intimates. He is said to have
begun his public preaching three years after his call. In either
case this is a very early Meccan Sûrah.
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
1. O you enveloped in garments,
2. Arise and warn!
3. And your Lord magnify,
4. And your clothing purify,
5. And uncleanliness shun!
6. And show not confer favour, seeking more worldly gain!
7. For the sake of your Lord, be patient!
8. For when the Horn is blown,
9. Surely that day will be a difficult day,
10. Not of ease, for disbelievers.
11. Leave Me [to deal] with him whom I created lonely,
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12. And then bestowed upon him extensive wealth,
13. And sons abiding in his presence
14. And made [life] smooth for him.
15. Yet he desires that I should give more.
16. Nay! For lo! he has been stubborn to Our verses.
17. On him I shall impose an arduous doom.
18. For lo! he did think and deliberated–
19. [Self-] destroyed is he, how he deliberated!
20. Again [self-] destroyed is he, how he deliberated!–
21. Then he thought [again],
22. Then he frowned and scowled.
23. Then he turned away in pride
24. And said: This is nothing else than magic from of old;
25. This is nothing but speech of mortal man.
26. Him shall I fling unto the Hell-fire.
27. -–Ah, what will convey to you what that Hell-fire is–!
28. It leaves nothing remain; It spares nothing [unburnt]
29. It shrivels the skin.
30. Above it are nineteen [angels].
31. We have appointed only angels to be guardians of the Fire,
and their number have We made to be a stumbling-block
for those who disbelieve; that those to whom the Scripture
has been given may have certainty, and that believers may
increase in faith; and that those to whom the Scripture
has been given and believers may not doubt; and that
those in whose hearts there is disease, and disbelievers,
may say: What does Allah mean by this similitude? Thus
Allah sends astray whom He wills, and whom He wills He
guides. None knows the hosts of your Lord save Him.
This is nothing else than a Reminder to humanity.
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32. Nay, by the Moon
33. And the night when it withdraws
34. And the dawn when it shines forth.
35. Lo! this is one of the greatest [signs]
36. As a warning to humanity,
37. To him of you who will advance or hang back.
38. Every soul is a pledge for what it has earned;
39. Save the companions of the right.
40. In gardens they will ask one another
41. Concerning the criminals:
42. What has brought you to enter Hell?
43. They will answer: We were not of those who prayed
44. Nor did we feed the poor.
45. We used to wade [in vain dispute] with [all] waders,
46. And we used to belie the Day of Judgment,
47. Till the inevitable [death] came to us.
48. The intercession of no intercessors will avail them then.
49. Why now they turn away from the Admonishment,
50. As they were frightened donkeys.
51. Fleeing from a lion?
52. Nay, but every one of them desires that he should be
given scriptures spread out [from Allah].
53. Nay, verily. They fear not the Hereafter.
54. Nay, verily. Lo! this is an Admonishment.
55. So whosoever wills may heed.
56. And they will not heed unless Allah wills [it]. He is worthy
of fear and adequate for [granting] forgiveness.
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75-THE RISING OF
THE DEAD
75- THE RISING OF THE DEAD [AL-QIYAMAT]
Revealed at Mecca, [40 verses]
Al-Qiyamat takes its name from a word in the first verse.
An early Meccan Sûrah
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
1. I swear by the Day of Resurrection;
2. I swear by the reproaching soul [to the certainty of the
resurrection].
3. Does man think that We shall not assemble his bones?
4. Yes, verily, We are able to restore his very fingertips!
5. But man would desire to continue in sin.
6. He asks: When will be this Day of Resurrection?
7. But when sight is confounded
8. And the moon is eclipsed
9. And sun and moon are joined,
10. On that day man will cry: To where to flee!
11. Alas! There is no refuge!
12. To your Lord is the [place of] permanence that Day.
13. On that day man will be informed of that which he has
sent before and left behind.
14. Oh, but man is a telling witness against himself,
15. Although he tenders his excuses.
16. Stir not your tongue herewith to hasten it. [1]
17. Lo! upon Us [rests] the putting together thereof and the
recitation thereof.
[1] i.e. the Qur’an, which was revealed gradually, piece by piece.
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18. And when We recited it, then follow its recitation;
19. Then lo! upon Us [rests] the explanation thereof.
20. Nay, but you do love the fleeting Now
21. And neglect the Hereafter.
22. That day [some] faces will be resplendent,
23. Looking toward their Lord;
24. And that day will other faces be despondent,
25. Expecting that some great disaster is about to fall on
them.
26. Nay, but when the soul reaches up to the throat
27. And it is said: “who will cure [him]?
28. And he [the dying one] will conclude that it was the parting
[death];
29. And agony is heaped on agony;
30. To your Lord that day will be the driving.
31. For he neither believed, nor prayed
32. But he belied and flouted.
33. Then he went to his folk swaggering [in pride].
34. Woe to you and woe,
35. Again woe to you and woe [is the doom].
36. Does man think that he is to be left neglected?
37. Was he not a drop of fluid which gushed forth?
38. Then he became a clot; then [Allah] shaped and
fashioned.
39. And made of him a pair, the male and female.
40. Is not He [who does so] able to bring the dead to life?
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76-MAN
76- MAN [AL-LNSAN]
Revealed at Mecca, [31 verses]
Al-lnsan is called from a word in the first verse. An early
Meccan Sûrah.
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
1. Has there come upon man [ever] any period of time in
which he was nothing to be mentioned?
2. Lo! We created man from a drop of mingled semen
[discharge of man and woman] to try him; so We made
him hearing, seeing.
3. Lo! We have guided him the way, whether he be grateful or
disbelieving.
4. Lo! We have prepared for disbelievers chains and shackles
and a raging fire.
5. Lo! the righteous shall drink of a cup whereof the mixture
is of Kafur,
6. A spring wherefrom the slaves of Allah drink, making it
gush forth abundantly,
7. Because they fulfil the vow and fear a day whereof the evil
is wide-spreading,
8. And feed with food the needy wretch, the orphan and the
captive, for love of Him,
9. [Saying]: We feed you, for the sake of Allah only. We wish
for no reward nor thanks from you;
10. Lo! we fear from our Lord a long and frowning day.
11. Therefor Allah has protected them from the evil of that
day, and has made them find brightness and joy;
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76-MAN
12. And has awarded them for all that they endured, a Garden
and silk attire;
13. Reclining therein upon couches, they will find there neither
[heat of] a sun nor bitter cold.
14. The shade thereof is close upon them and the clustered
fruits thereof bow down.
15. Vessels of silver are brought round for them, and cups
[as] of glass
16. [Bright as] glass but [made] of silver, which they
[themselves] have measured to the measure [of their
deeds].
17. There are they watered with a cup [of wine] whereof the
mixture is of ginger,
18. The water of a spring therein, named Salsabil.
19. There serve them boys of everlasting youth, whom, when
you see, you would take for scattered pearls.
20. When you see, you will see there pleasure and great
dominion.
21. Their raiment will be fine green silk and gold embroidery.
They will be adorned with bracelets of silver. And their
Lord will slake their thirst with a pure drink.
22. [And it will be said to them]: Lo! this is a reward for you.
Your endeavour [upon earth] has found acceptance.
23. Lo! We, even We, have sent down to you the Qur’ân, a
revelation;
24. So submit patiently to your Lord’s command, and obey
not of them any sinner or ungrateful [disbeliever].
25. Remember the name of your Lord at morning and evening.
26. And prostrate to Him [a portion] of the night. And glorify
Him through the livelong night.
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77-THE EMISSARIES
27. Lo! these love fleeting life, and put behind them [the
remembrance of] a grievous day.
28. We, even We, created them, and strengthened their frame.
And when We will, We can replace them, bringing others
like them in their stead.
29. Lo! this is an Admonishment, that whoever will may
choose a way to his Lord.
30. Yet you will not, unless Allah wills. Lo! Allah is Knower,
Wise.
31. He makes whom He wills to enter His mercy, and for
wrong-doers has prepared a painful doom.
77- THE EMISSARIES [AL-MURSALAT]
Revealed at Mecca, [50 verses]
Al-Mursalât takes its name from a word in the first verse.
Verses I, 2 and 3 are taken to refer to winds, verses 4 and 5 to
angels. An early Meccan Sûrah.
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
1. By the emissary winds, [sent] one after another
2. By the raging hurricanes,
3. And by the winds that scatter clouds and rain;
4. By those who winnow with a winnowing,
5. By those [angels] who bring down the Reminder,
6. To excuse or to warn,
7. Surely that which you are promised will befall.
8. So when the stars are put out,
9. And when the sky is riven asunder,
10. And when the mountains are blown away,627
77-THE EMISSARIES
11. And when the messengers are brought to their time
appointed–
12. For what day is it postponed?
13. For the Day of Decision.
14. And what will convey to you what the Day of Decision is!
15. Woe to the repudiators on that day!
16. Did We not destroy the former folk,
17. Then We cause the latter folk to follow after?
18. Thus do We deal with the criminals.
19. Woe to the repudiators on that day!
20. Did We not create you from a base fluid
21. Which We laid up in a safe abode
22. For a known term?
23. Thus We measured. How excellent is Our measure!
24. Woe to the repudiators on that day!
25. Have We not made the earth a receptacle
26. Both for the living and the dead,
27. And placed therein high mountains and given you to drink
sweet water therein?
28. Woe to the repudiators on that day!
29. [It will be said to them:] Depart to that [doom] which you
used to deny;
30. Depart to the shadow [of Hell-fire smoke ascending] in
columns.
31. [Which yet is] no relief nor shelter from the flame.
32. Lo! it throws up sparks like the castles,
33. [Or] as it might be camels of bright yellow hue.
34. Woe to the repudiators on that day!
35. This is a day wherein they speak not,