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66. Moses said to him: May I follow you on [the condition]
that you teach me from what you have been taught of
sound judgement?
67. He said: Lo! you can not bear with me.
68. How can you bear with what you do not compass any
knowledge?
69. He [Moses] said: Allah willing, you shall find me patient
and I shall not disobey you in [any] order.
70. He said: Well, if you follow me, ask me not concerning
anything till I myself mention of it to you.
71. So they both set out till, when they were in the ship, he
made a hole therein. [Moses] said: Have you made a hole
therein to drown the folk thereof? You verily have done
a dreadful thing.
72. He said: Did I not tell you that you could not bear with
me?
73. [Moses] said: Be not blame me for what I forgot, and be
not hard upon me for my affair [with you].
74. So they both set out till, when they met a lad, he killed
him. [Moses] said: What! Have you killed an innocent soul
who has killed no man? Verily you have done a horrid
thing.
? . 75 He said: Did I not tell you that you could not bear
with me?
76. [Moses] said: If I ask you after this concerning anything,
keep not company with me. You have received an excuse
from me.
77. So they both set out till, when they came to the folk of
a certain township, they asked its folk for food, but they
refused to make them guests. And they found therein a
wall upon the point of falling into ruin, and he repaired
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it. [Moses] said: If you had wished, you could have taken
payment for it.
78. He said: This is the parting between you and me! I will
announce to you the interpretation of that you could not
bear with patience.
79. As for the ship, it belonged to poor people working at the
sea, and I wished to mar it, for there was a king behind
them who seized every [good] ship by force.
80. And as for the lad, his parents were believers and We feared
lest he should oppress them by rebellion and disbelief.
81. And We intended that their Lord should substitute him
for them for one better in purity and nearer to mercy.
82. And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in
the city, and there was beneath it a treasure belonging to
them and their father had been righteous, and your Lord
intended that they should come to their full strength and
should bring forth their treasure as a mercy from their
Lord; and I did it not upon my own command. Such is
the interpretation of that wherewith you could not bear.
83. And they ask you about Dhû’l-Qarneyn. Say: I shall recite
to you a remembrance of him.
84. Lo! We established him in the land and gave him to
everything a way.
85. And he followed a way
86. Till, when he reached the setting place of the sun, he
found it setting in a muddy spring, and found a people
thereabout: We said: O Dhû’l-Qarneyn! Either punish or
show them kindness.
87. He said: As for him who does wrong, we shall punish him,
and then he will be brought back to his Lord, who will
punish him with awful punishment!
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88. But as for him who believes and does righteousness, good
will be his reward, and We shall speak to him from our
command with ease.
89. Then he followed a way
90. Till, when he reached the rising-place of the sun, he found
it rising on a people for whom We had appointed no
shelter therefrom.
91. So [it was]. And We had encompassed all that he had in
knowledge.
92. Then he followed a way.
93. Till, when he reached [a pass] between the two mountains,
he found upon their hither side a folk that scarce could
understand a saying.
94. They said: O Dhû’l-Qarneyn! Lo! Gog and Magog are
corruptors in the land. So may we pay you tribute on
condition that you set a barrier between us and them?
95. He said: That wherein my Lord has established me better
[than your tribute]. Do but help me with strength [of
men], I will set between you and them a barrier.
96. Bring me pieces of iron - till, when he had levelled up [the
gap] between the cliffs, he said: Blow!- till, when he had
made it a fire, he said: Bring me molten copper to pour
thereon.
97. And [Gog and Magog] were not able to surmount, nor
could they pierce [it].
98. He said: This is a mercy from my Lord; but when the
promise of my Lord comes to pass, He will lay it low, for
the promise of my Lord is true.
99. And on that day We shall let some of them surge against
others, and the Horn will be blown. Then We shall gather
them together in one gathering.
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100. On that day We shall present Hell to the disbelievers,
plain to view,
101. Those whose eyes were veiled from My reminder, and
who could not bear to hear.
102. Do the disbelievers reckon that they can take My bondmen
as protectors besides Me? Lo! We have prepared Hell as
a lodging for the disbelievers.
103. Say: Shall We inform you who will be the greatest losers
in respect of their deeds?
104. Those whose effort goes astray in the life of the world,
and yet they reckon that they do good work.
105. Those are they who disbelieve in the verses of their
Lord and in the meeting with Him. Therefor their
deeds are vain, and on the Day of Resurrection We
assign no weight to them.
106. That is their recompense: Hell, because they disbelieved,
and made a ridicule of My signs and My messengers.
107. Lo! those who believe and do good deeds, theirs are the
Gardens of Paradise, as a lodging,
108. Wherein they will abide eternally, with no desire to be
removed from thence.
109. Say: If the sea became ink for the Words of my Lord,
verily the sea would be used up before the Words of
my Lord were exhausted, even if We brought the like
thereof to help.
110. Say: I am only a mortal like you. My Lord reveals to me
that your god is only One God. And whoever hopes for
the meeting with his Lord, let him do righteous work, and
not associate in the worship of his Lord anyone.
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19- MARY [MARYAM]
Revealed at Mecca, [98 verses]
Maryam takes its name from v. 16 ff. That it is of quite
early Meccan revelation is established by the following
tradition: In the fifth year of the Prophet’s mission (the ninth
before the Hijrah, or Flight, to Al-Madinah) a number of the
poorer converts were allowed by the Prophet to emigrate
to Abyssinia, a Christian country where they would not be
subject to persecution for their worship of the One God.
This is known as the first Hijrah. The rulers of Mecca sent
ambassadors to ask the Negus for their extradition, accusing
them of having left the religion of their own people without
entering the Christian religion, and of having done wrong
in their own country. The Negus (against the wish of the
envoys) sent for the spokesmen of the refugees and, in the
presence of the bishops of his realm, questioned them of
their religion. Ja’far ibn Abî Talîb, cousin of the Prophet,
answered: (I translate from the account given by Ibn Ishâq.)[1]
“We were folk immersed in ignorance, worshipping
idols, eating carrion, given to lewdness, severing the ties of
kinship, bad neighbours, the strong among us preying on the
weak; thus were we till Allah sent to us a messenger of our
own, whose lineage, honesty, trustworthiness and chastity we
knew, and he called us to Allah that we should acknowledge
His unity and worship Him and eschew all the stones and
idols that we and our fathers used to worship beside Him;
and ordered us to be truthful and to restore the pledge and
observe the ties of kinship, and be good neighbours, and to
abstain from things forbidden, and from blood, and forbade
us lewdness and false speech, and to prey upon the wealth of
orphans, and to accuse good women; and commanded us to
[1] Ibn Hishâm Shah (Cairo Edition), Part I, p. 116.
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worship Allah only, ascribing no thing unto Him as partner,
and enjoined upon us prayer and legal alms and fasting. (And
he enumerated for him the teachings of Islâm.)”
“So we trusted him and we believed in him and followed
that which he had brought from Allah, and we worshipped
Allah only, and ascribed no thing as partner unto Him. And
we refrained from that which was forbidden to us, and
indulged in that which was made lawful for us. And our
people became hostile to us and tormented us, and sought
to turn us from our religion that they might bring us back to
the worship of idols from the worship of Allah Most High,
and that we might indulge in those iniquities which before
we had deemed lawful.”
“And when they persecuted and oppressed us, and
hemmed us in, and kept us from the practice of our religion,
we came forth to your land, and chose you above all others,
and sought your protection, and hoped that we should not be
troubled in your land, O King!”
“Then the Negus asked him: Have with you anything
of that which he brought from Allah? Ja’far answered: Yes.
Then the Negus said: Relate it to me, and Ja’far recited to him
the beginning of “Kâf, Hâ, Yâ, A’în, Sad” the Arabic letters
with which this Sûrah begins, such letters being generally
used instead of titles by the early Muslims. Therefore this
Sûrah must have been revealed and well-known before the
departure of the emigrants for Abyssinia.
An early Meccan Sûrah, with the possible exception of
vv. 59 and 60, which, according to some authorities, were
revealed at Al-Madînah.
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In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
1. Kâf. Hâ. Yâ. A’în. Sad.[1]
2. A mention of the mercy of your Lord to His servant
Zachariah.
3. When he called to his Lord a secret supplication,
4. Saying: My Lord! Lo! the bones of me have weakened and
my head is shining with white hair, and I have never been
unblessed in my supplication to You, my Lord.
5. Lo! I fear my kinsfolk after me, since my wife is barren. Oh,
give me from Your presence a successor
6. Who shall inherit of me and inherit [also] of the house of
Jacob. And make him, my Lord, acceptable [to You].
7. [It was said to him]: O Zachariah! Lo! We bring you tidings
of a son whose name is Yahya [John]; We have given the
same name to none before [him].
8. He said: My Lord! How can I have a son when my wife is
barren and I have reached infirm old age?
9. He said: So [it will be]. Your Lord says: It is easy for Me,
even as I created you before, when you were nothing.
10. He said: My Lord! Appoint for me a sign. He said: Your
sign is that you, with no bodily defect, shall not speak to
the people for three nights.
11. Then he came forth to his people from the sanctuary, and
signified to them: Glorify your Lord at break of day and
fall of night.
12. [And it was said to his son]: O Yahya [John]! Hold fast the
Scripture. And We gave him wisdom while yet a boy.
13. And compassion from Us, and purity; and he was Godfearing,
[1] See Sûr. [2], v. 1, footnote.
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14. And dutiful toward his parents. And he was not tyrant,
disobedient.
15. And peace on him the day he was born, and the day he
dies and the day he shall be raised alive!
16. And make mention of Mary in the Book [Qur’ân], when she
had withdrawn from her people to a chamber looking East,
17. And had taken seclusion from them. Then We sent to
her Our Angle and it assumed for her the likeness of a
perfect man.
18. She said: Lo! I seek refuge in the Beneficent One from
you, if you are God-fearing.
19. He said: I am only a messenger of your Lord, that I may
bestow on you a pure son.
20. She said: How can I have a son when no mortal has
touched me, neither have I been unchaste?
21. He said: Thus [it will be]. Your Lord says: It is easy for Me.
And [it will be] that We may make of him a sign for the
people and a mercy from Us, and it is a matter decreed.
22. And she, conceived him, and she withdrew with him to a
far place.
23. And the pangs of childbirth drove her to the trunk of the
palm tree. She said: Oh, would that I had died before this
and was in oblivion, forgotten!
24. Then [one] cried to her from below her, saying: Grieve
not! Your Lord has placed a stream beneath you,
25. And shake the trunk of the palm-tree toward you, you will
cause ripe dates to fall upon you.
26. So eat and drink and be consoled. And if you see any
mortal, say: Lo! I have vowed a fast to the Beneficent, and
may not speak this day to any mortal.
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27. Then she brought him to her own folk, carrying him.
They said: O Mary! You have certainly done a thing
unprecedented.
28. O sister of Aaron! Your father was not a wicked man nor
was your mother a harlot.
29. Then she pointed to him. They said, “How can we talk to
one who is in the cradle a child?
30. He said: Lo! I am the slave of Allah. He has given me the
Scripture and has appointed me a Prophet,
31. And has made me blessed wheresoever I may be, and
has enjoined upon me prayer and almsgiving so long as I
remain alive,
32. And [has made me] dutiful to my mother, and has not
made me wretched, tyrant.
33. And peace on me the day I was born, and the day I die,
and the day I shall be raised alive!
34. Such was Jesus, son of Mary: [this is] a statement of the
truth concerning which they doubt.
35. It befits not [the Majesty of] Allah that He should take
to Himself a son. Glory be to Him! When He decrees a
matter, He says to it only: Be! and it is.
36. And lo! Allah is my Lord and your Lord. So worship Him.
That is a straight path.
37. The sects among them differ: but woe to the disbelievers
from the scene of an awful Day.
38. How [clearly] they will hear and see the Day they come to
Us! Yet the wrong-doers are to-day in manifest error.
39. And warn them of the Day of Regret when the matter
has been decided. Now they are in a state of heedlessness,
and they believe not.
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40. Lo! We, only We, inherit the earth and all who are thereon,
and to Us they are returned.
41. And make mention [O Muhammad] in the Book [the
story of] Abraham. Lo! he was a man of truth, a prophet.
42. When he said to his father: O my father! Why do you
worship that which hears not nor sees, nor can in anything
avail you?
43. O my father! Lo! there has come to me of knowledge that
which came not to you. So follow me, and I will lead you
on an even path.
44. O my father! Worship not Satan. Lo! the Satan is a rebel
to the Beneficent.
45. O my father! Lo! I fear lest a punishment from the
Beneficent overtakes you so that you become a companion
of the Satan [in the Hell-fire].
46. He said: You reject my gods, O Abraham? If you cease
not, I shall surely stone you. Depart from me a long while!
47. He said: Peace be unto you! I shall ask forgiveness of my
Lord for you. Lo! He was ever gracious to me.
48. I shall leave you and that to which you invoke other than
Allah, and I shall invoke my Lord. It may be that, in
invocation of my Lord, I shall not be unblessed.
49. So, when he had left them and that which they were
worshipping other than Allah. We gave him Isaac and
Jacob. Each of them We made a prophet.
50. And We gave them of Our mercy, and assigned to them a
high and true renown.
51. And make mention in the Book, Moses. Lo! he was chosen,
and he was a messenger [of Allah], a prophet.
52. We called him from the right slope of [At-Tur] the Mount,
and brought him near, confiding [to him].
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53. And We bestowed upon him of Our mercy his brother
Aaron, a prophet [likewise].
54. And mention in the Book, Ishmael. Lo! he was a keeper
of his promise, and he was a messenger [of Allah] a
prophet.
55. He enjoined upon his family and his people prayer and
almsgiving, and was acceptable in the sight of his Lord.
56. And mention in the Scripture, Idrîs.[1] Lo! he was a man of
truth, a prophet;
57. And We raised him to a high station.
58. These are they to whom Allah showed favour from
among the prophets, of the offspring of Adam and of
those whom We carried [in the ship] with Noah, and of
the offspring of Abraham and Israel, and from among
those whom We guided and chose. When the verses
of the Beneficent were recited to them, they fell down,
prostrating and weeping.
59. Now there has succeeded them a later generation who
have wasted prayer and have followed lusts. But they will
meet evil.
60. Save him who shall repent and believe and do righteousness.
Such will enter the Paradise and they will not be wronged
in anything.
61. Gardens of perpetual resided, which the Beneficent has
promised to His slaves in the Unseen. Lo! His promise is
ever sure of fulfilment–
62. They hear therein no idle talk, but only Peace; and therein
they will have their provision morning and evening.
63. Such is the Paradise which We cause the devout among
Our bondmen to inherit.
[1] Identified with Enoch.
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64. We [angels] come not down save by commandment of
your Lord. To Him belongs all that is before us and all
that is behind us and all that is between those two, and
your Lord was never forgetful–
65. Lord of the heavens and the earth and all that is between
them! Therefor, worship Him and be patient in His worship.
Do you know one that can be named along with Him? `
66. And man says: When I am dead, shall I truly be brought
forth alive?
67. Does not man remember that We created him before,
when he was nothing?
68. And, by your Lord, verily We shall assemble them and the
devils, then We shall bring them, crouching, around Hell.
69. Then We shall pluck out from every sect whichever of
them was most stern in rebellion to the Beneficent.
70. And surely We are Most knowing of those most worthy
to be burned therein.
71. There is not one of you but shall approach it. That is a
fixed decree of your Lord.
72. Then We shall rescue those who feared Allah, and leave
the wrong-doers crouching there.
73. And when Our clear verses are recited to them those who
disbelieve say to those who believe: Which of the two
parties [yours or ours] is better in position, and best in
association?
74. How many a generation have We destroyed before them,
who were more imposing in respect of gear and outward
seeming!
75. Say: As for him who is in error, the Beneficent will verily
prolong his span of life until, when they see that which
they were promised, whether it be punishment [in the
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world], or Hour [of Doom], they will know who is worse
in position and who is weaker in soldiers.
76. Allah increases in guidance those who were guided, and
the good deeds which endure are better in your Lord’s
sight for reward, and better for resort.
77. Have you seen him who disbelieves in Our verses and
says: Assuredly I shall be given wealth and children!
78. Has he perused the Unseen, or has he made a covenant
with the Beneficent?
79. Nay, but We shall record that which he says and prolong
for him a span of torment.
80. And We shall inherit from him that whereof he mentions,
and he will come to Us, alone [without his wealth and
children].
81. And they have taken [other] gods besides Allah that they
may be a power for them.
82. Nay, but they will deny their worship of them, and become
opponents to them [on the Day of Judgement].
83. See you not that We have set the devils on the disbelievers
to incite them with incitement?
84. So make no haste against them [O Muhammad]. We do
but number to them a sum [of days].
85. On the Day when We shall gather the righteous to the
Beneficent, as a delegation.
86. And drive the criminals to Hell in thirst,
87. They will have no power of intercession, save him who
has made a covenant with his Lord.
88. And they say: The Beneficent has taken [to Himself] a son.
89. Assuredly you utter a disastrous thing,
90. Whereby almost the heavens are torn, and the earth is
split asunder and the mountains fall in ruins,
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91. That you ascribe to the Beneficent a son,
92. When it is not appropriate for [the Majesty of] the
Beneficent that He should take a son.
93. There is none in the heavens and the earth but comes to
the Beneficent as a slave.
94. Verily He knows them and numbers them with [right]
numbering.
95. And each one of them will come to Him on the Day of
Resurrection, alone.
96. Lo! those who believe and do good deeds, the Beneficent
will appoint for them affection.
97. And We make [this Qur’ân] easy in your tongue, [O
Muhammad] only that you may bear good tidings therewith
to the righteous, and warn therewith the adverse folk.
98. And how many a generation before them have We
destroyed! Can you [Muhammad] see a single man of
them, or hear from them the slightest sound?
20- TA-HA [TA HA]
Revealed at Mecca, [135 verses]
Tâ Hâ takes its name from the Arabic letters which form
the first verse. As in the case of Sûrah 19, the early date of
revelation is established by a strong tradition.
Omar ibn ul-Khattâb, who afterwards became Caliph,
was among the bitterest opponents of Islâm in early days.
He set out one day, sword in hand, with the intention of
killing the Prophet “this Sabaean who has split the unity of
Qureysh, calls their ideals foolish and their religion shameful,
and blasphemes their gods” when a friend who met him
dissuaded him, reminding him that if he slew the Prophet
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he would have to reckon with the vengeance of a powerful
clan: “Think you that the Banû ‘Abd Munâf would let you
walk on the earth if you have slain Muhammad?” for tribal
pride survived religious difference. “Is it not better for you
to return to the folk of your own house and keep them
straight?” Omar asked: “Which of the folk of my house?”
“Your brother-in-law and cousin, Sa’id ibn Zeyd, and your
sister, Fatimah daughter of Al-Khattâb, for, by Allah, they are
become Muslims and followers of Muhammad in his religion,
so look you to them.” Then Omar returned, enraged against
his sister and brother-in-law, and there was with them in the
house Khabab ibn ‘Arit, having with him a leaf on which was
written Tâ Hâ (this Sûrah) which he was reading aloud to
them. When they heard the noise of Omar’s coming, Khabab
hid in a closet that they had in the house and Fatimah took
the leaf and hid it under her thigh. But Omar had heard the
sound of Khabab’s reading as he drew near the house, and
when he entered he said: “What was that mumbling which I
heard?” They said: “You heard nothing.” Omar said: “Yea, by
Allah! And I have already been informed that you are become
followers of Muhammad in his religion.” Then he attacked
his brother-in-law Sa’id ibn Zeyd, but Fatimah sprang to keep
him off her husband and he struck and wounded her. And
when he had done that, his sister and his brother-in-law said
to him: “Yes, we are Muslims and we believe in Allah and
His messenger, so do what you will!” But when Omar saw
the blood upon his sister he was sorry for what he had done,
and he said to his sister: “Give me that leaf from which I
heard you reading just now, that I may see what this is that
Muhammad has brought.” And Omar was a scribe. When he
said that, his sister said: “We fear to trust you with it” He said:
“Fear not!” and swore by his gods that he would return it to
her when he had read it. And when he said that, she hoped for
his conversion to Al-Islâm, but said: “O my brother, you are
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unclean on account of your idolatry and none may touch it
save the purified.” Then Omar went out and washed himself,
and she gave him the leaf on which Ta Ha was written and
he read it. And when he had read it he said: “How excellent
are these words!” and praised it highly. And when he heard
that, Khabab came out to him and said: “O Omar, I hope that
Allah has brought you in answer to the prayer of the Prophet,
for only yesterday I heard him saying: O Allah! Strengthen
Al-Islâm with Abû’l-Hukm ibn Hishâm or Omar ibn Al-
Khattâb; and Allah is Allah, O Omar!” At that he said: “O
Khabab, direct me to Muhammad that I may go to him and
make surrender.” [1]
The conversion of Omar took place in the fifth year of
the Prophet’s mission (ninth before the Hijrah) soon after the
departure of the emigrants to Abyssinia. At that time this
Sûrah was already written down and in circulation. An early
Meccan Sûrah.
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
1. Tâ Hâ
2. We have not sent down to you [Muhammad] this Qur’ân
that you should be distressed,
3. But as a reminder to those who fear, [Allah]
4. A revelation from Him Who created the earth and the
highest heavens,
5. The Beneficent, Who is established above the Throne.
6. To Him belongs whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever
is in the earth, and whatsoever is between them, and
whatsoever is beneath the soil.
[1] Ibn Hishâm, Part I, pp. 119 and 120.
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7. And if you speak aloud, then lo! He knows the secret
[thought] and [that which is yet] more hidden.
8. Allah! There is no deity save Him. His are the most beautiful
names.
9. Has there come to you the story of Moses?
10. When he saw a fire and said to his family: Wait! I see a fire
afar off. Perhaps I may bring you a brand therefrom or
may find guidance at the fire.
11. And when he reached it, he was called: O Moses!
12. Lo! I, even I, am your Lord. So take off your shoes, for lo!
you are in the sacred valley of Tuwa.
13. And I have chosen you, so listen to that which is revealed
[to you].
14. Lo! I, even I, am Allah. There is no deity save Me. So
worship Me and establish prayer for My remembrance.
15. Lo! the Hour is surely coming. But I almost conceal it,
that every soul may be rewarded for that which it strives
[to achieve].
16. Therefor, let not him turn you aside from [the thought of]
it who believes not therein but follows his own desire, lest
you perish.
17. And what is that in your right hand, O Moses?
18. He said: This is my staff whereon I lean, and wherewith
I beat down branches for my sheep, and wherein I find
other uses.
19. He said: Cast it down, O Moses!
20. So he cast it down, and lo! it was a serpent, gliding.
21. He said: Grasp it and fear not. We shall return it to its
former state.
22. And thrust your hand within your armpit, it will come
forth white without hurt. [That will be] another sign.
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23. That We may show you [some] of Our greater signs,
24. Go you to Pharaoh! Lo! he has transgressed [the bounds].
25. [Moses] said: My Lord! Expand for me my breast [with
assurance].
26. And ease my task for me;
27. And untie a knot from my tongue,
28. That they may understand my saying.
29. Appoint for me a minster from my folk,
30. Aaron, my brother.
31. Increase my strength with him.
32. And let him share my task,
33. That we may glorify You much.
34. And remember You much.
35. Lo! You are ever Seeing us.
36. He said: You are granted your request, O Moses.
37. And indeed, another time, already We have shown you
favour,
38. When We inspired in your mother that which is inspired,
39. Saying: Cast him into the chest, and cast it into the river,
then the river shall cast it on to the bank, and there an
enemy to Me and an enemy to him shall take him. And I
endued you with love from Me that you would be brought
up under My eye.
40. When your sister went and said: Shall I show you one
who will nurse him? And We restored you to your mother
that she might be content and might not sorrow. And you
did kill a man and We delivered you from great distress,
and tried you with a heavy trial. And you did tarry years
among the folk of Madyan. Then you come [here] at the
decreed time, O Moses,
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41. And I have produced you to Myself.
42. Go, you and your brother, with My signs, and be not
slacken in remembrance of Me.
43. Go, both of you, to Pharaoh. Lo! he has transgressed [the
bounds].
44. And speak to him a gentle word, that perhaps he may
heed or fear.
45. They said: Our Lord! Lo! we fear that he will hasten
[punishment] against us or that he may play the tyrant.
46. He said: Fear not. Lo! I am with you, Hearing and Seeing.
47. So go you to him and say: Lo! we are messengers of your
Lord. So let the Children of Israel go with us, and doom
them not. We bring you a sign from your Lord. And peace
will be for him who follows the guidance.
48. Lo! it has been revealed to us that the doom will be for
him who denies and turns away.
49. [Pharaoh] said: Who then is the Lord of you, O Moses?
50. He said: Our Lord is He Who gave to everything its nature,
then guided it aright.
51. He said: What then is the state of the generations of old?
52. He said: The knowledge thereof is with my Lord in a
Record. My Lord neither errs nor forgets,
53. Who has made the earth as a bed and has threaded roads
for you therein and has sent down water from the sky
and thereby We have brought forth different kinds of
vegetation,
54. [Saying]: Eat and feed your cattle. Lo! herein verily are
signs for men of thought.
55. Thereof We created you, and thereunto We return you
and thence We bring you forth a second time.
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56. And We verily did show him all Our signs, but he denied
them and refused.
57. He said: Have you come to drive us out from our land by
your magic, O Moses?
58. But we surely can produce magic the like thereof; so
appoint a tryst between us and you, which neither we nor
you shall fail to keep, at a place convenient [to us both].
59. [Moses] said: Your tryst shall be the day of the feast, and
let the people assemble when the sun has risen high.
60. Then Pharaoh went away and he put together his plan and
came [to the appointed tryst].
61. Moses said to them: Woe to you! Invent not a lie against
Allah, lest He extirpates you by some punishment. He
who lies fails miserably.
62. Then they debated one with another what they must do,
and they kept their counsel secret.
63. They said: Lo! these are two magicians who would drive
you out from your country by their magic, and do away
with your most exemplary way;
64. So arrange your plan, and come in line. Whoso is
uppermost this day will be indeed successful.
65. They said: O Moses! Either you throw first, or let us be
the first to throw?
66. He said: Nay, you throw! Then lo! their cords and their
staves, by their magic, appeared to him as though they ran
[like snakes].
67. And Moses conceived a fear in his mind
68. We said: Fear not! Lo! you are the higher.
69. Throw that which is in your right hand! It will eat up that
which they have made. Lo! that which they have made but
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a magicians artifice, and a magician shall not be successful
to whatever point [of skill] he may attain.
70. Then the magicians were [all] fell down prostrate, they
said: We believe in the Lord of Aaron and Moses.
71. [Pharaoh] said: You believed in him before I give you
leave. Lo! he is your chief who taught you magic. Now
surely I shall cut off your hands and your feet alternately,
and I shall crucify you on the trunks of palm trees, and
you shall know for certain which of us has sterner and
more lasting punishment.
72. They said: We prefer you not above the clear proofs that
have come to us, and above Him Who created us. So
decree what you will decree. You will decree for us only
the life of the world.
73. Lo! we believe in our Lord, that He may forgive us our
sins and the magic to which you did force us. Allah is
better and more lasting.
74. Lo! whoso comes criminal to his Lord, verily for him is
Hell. There he will neither die nor live.
75. But whoso comes to Him a believer, having done righteous
deeds, for such are the highest degrees;
76. Gardens of perpetual residence underneath which rivers
flow, wherein they will abide for ever. That is the reward
of him who purifies himself.
77. And verily We inspired to Moses, saying: Take away My slaves
by night and strike for them a dry path in the sea, fearing not
to be overtaken, neither being afraid [of the sea].
78. Then Pharaoh followed them with his hosts and there
covered them that which did cover them of the sea.
79. And Pharaoh led his folk astray, he did not guide them.
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80. O Children of Israel! We delivered you from your enemy, and
We made an appointment with you on the right side of At-
Tur Mount and sent down on you the manna and the quails,
81. [Saying]: Eat of the good things wherewith We have
provided you, and transgress not in respect thereof lest
My wrath come upon you; and he on whom My wrath
comes, he is lost indeed.
82. And lo! verily I am Forgiving toward him who repents and
believes and does good, and then continues in guidance.
83. And [Allah said]: What has made you hasten from your
folk, O Moses?
84. He said: They are close upon my track. I hastened to You
that You might be well pleased.
85. He said: Lo! We have tried your folk in your absence, and
As-Sâmiri has misled them.
86. Then Moses went back to his folk, angry and sad He
said: O my people! Has not your Lord promised you a
fair promise? Did the time appointed then appear too
long for you, or did you wish that wrath from your Lord
should come upon you, that you broke tryst with me?
87. They said: We broke not tryst with you of our own will,
but we were laden with burdens of ornaments of the
folk, then cast them [in the fire], for thus As-Sâmiri threw.
88. Then he produced for them a calf, which gave forth a
lowing sound. And they cried: This is your god and the
god of Moses, but he has forgotten.
89. See they not, then, that it returns no saying to them and
possesses for them neither harm nor benefit?
90. And Aaron indeed had told them beforehand: O my
people! You are but being seduced therewith, for lo! your
Lord is the Beneficent, so follow me and obey my order.
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91. They said: We shall by no means cease to be its devotees
to the calf till Moses return to us.
92. He [Moses] said: O Aaron! What held you back when you
did see them gone astray,
93. That you follow me not? Have you then disobeyed my
order?
94. He said: O son of my mother! Clutch not my beard nor
my head! I feared lest you should say: You have caused
division among the Children of Israel, and have not
waited for my word.
95. [Moses] said: And what have you to say, O Sâmiri?
96. He said: I perceived what they perceive not, so I seized a
handful from the footsteps of the messenger, and then
threw it in. Thus my soul commended me.[1]
97. [Moses] said: Then go! And lo! in this life it is for you to
say: Touch me not! and lo! there is for you a tryst you can
not break. Now look upon your god of which you have
remained a devotee. Verily we will burn it and will scatter
its dust over the sea.
98. Your god is only Allah, than Whom there is no other deity
He encompasses all things in His knowledge.
99. Thus We relate to you [Muhammad] some tidings of that
which happened of old, and We have given you from Us
a Reminder.
100. Whoso turns away from it, he verily will bear a burden
on the Day of Resurrection,
101. Abiding under it– an evil burden for them on the Day of
Resurrection,
[1] The explanation usually given is that As-Sâmiri had seen the angel
Gabriel pass by, and had taken some of the dust which he had
hallowed, and thrown it into the image of the calf, thus giving it a
semblance of life. Others say that As-Sâmiri was an adept of the
Egyptian idolatry who had believed for a little while and half-heartedly
in the God of Moses.
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102. The day when the Horn is blown. On that day we
assemble the criminals blue-eyed [with terror],
103. Murmuring among themselves: You have tarried but ten
[days].
104. We are Best Aware of what they utter when their best in
conduct say: You have tarried but a day.
105. They will ask you of the mountains [on that day]. Say: My
Lord will blow them away into scattered dust with a blast.
106. And leave it as an empty plain,
107. Wherein you see neither curve nor ruggedness.
108. On that day they follow the summoner, who deceives
not, and voices are hushed for the Beneficent, and you
hear but a faint murmur.
109. On that Day no intercession avails save [that of] him to
whom the Beneficent has given leave and whose He accepts:
110. He knows [all] that is before them and [all] that is behind
them, while they cannot compass Him in knowledge.
111. And faces humble themselves before the Ever-Living,
the Sustainer of existence. And he who bears [a burden
of] wrong-doing is indeed a failure [on that Day].
112. And he who has done some good deeds, while being a
believer, he fears not injustice nor curtailment [of his
reward].
113. Thus We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur’ân, and have
displayed therein certain threats, that perhaps they may
keep from evil or that it may cause them remembrance.
114. Then exalted be Allah, the True King! And hasten not
[O Muhammad] with the Qur’ân before its revelation
has been completed to you, and say: My Lord! Increase
me in knowledge.
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115. And verily We made a covenant of old with Adam, but
he forgot, and We found no constancy[1] in him.
116. And when We said to the angels: Fall prostrate before
Adam, they fell prostrate [all] save Iblîs; he refused.
117. Therefor We said: O Adam! This is an enemy to you and
to your wife, so let him not drive you both out of the
Paradise so that you come to toil.
118. It is [promised] to you that you hunger not therein nor
are naked,
119. And you thirst not therein nor are exposed to the sun’s
heat.
120. But the Satan whispered to him, saying: O Adam! Shall I
show you the tree of immortality and power that wastes
not away?
121. Then they both ate thereof, so that their shame became
apparent to them, and they began to hide by heaping
on themselves some of the leaves of the Paradise. And
Adam disobeyed his Lord, so went astray.
122. Then his Lord chose him, and turned to him in forgiveness,
and guided him.
123. He said: Go down hence, both of you, one of you a
foe to the other. But if there come to you from Me a
guidance, then whoso follows My guidance, he will not
go astray nor come to grief.
124. But he who turns away from remembrance of Me, his
will be a life of hardship, and We shall bring him blind to
the assembly on the Day of Resurrection.
125. He will say: My Lord! Why have You gathered me [hither]
blind, when I was [once] seeing?
126. He will say: So [it must be]. Our signs came to you but
you did forget them. In like manner you are forgotten
this Day.
[1] To resist temptation.
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127. Thus do We requite him who prodigal and believes
not the signs of his Lord; and verily the doom of the
Hereafter will be sterner and more lasting.
128. Is it not a guidance for them [to know] how many a generation
We destroyed before them, amid whose dwellings they
walk? Lo! therein verily are signs for men of thought.
129. And but for a word that had already gone forth from
your Lord, and a term already fixed, the judgment would
[have] been inevitable [in this world].
130. Therefor [O Muhammad], bear with what they say, and
celebrate the praises of your Lord before the rising of
the sun and before the going down thereof. And glorify
Him some hours of the night and at the two ends of the
day, that you may be satisfied.
131. And strain not your eyes toward that by which We have
given enjoyment to some men among them, the flower
of the life of the world, that We may try them thereby.
The provision of your Lord is better and more lasting.
132. And enjoin prayer upon your people [and family], and
be steadfast therein. We ask not of you a provision: We
provide for you. And the sequel is for righteousness.
133. And they say: If only he would bring us a sign from his
Lord! Has there not come to them the proof of what is
in the former Scriptures?
134. And if We had destroyed them with some punishment
before it, they would assuredly have said: Our Lord!
If only you had sent to us a messenger, so that we
might have followed Your verses before we were [thus]
humiliated and disgraced!
135. Say: Each is awaiting; so await you! You will come to
know who are the owners of the straight path, and who
is guided.