The surah that records the prayer of Abraham for the security and perpetual godliness of the barren valley of Mecca, when, at God’s command, he settled his beloved wife Hagar and first son Ishmael there, in order to establish the perennial rites of the prayer, as well as other forms of worship, for all time on earth. It is named after Abraham, whose prayer appears in verse 35 . Throughout the surah the ungrateful are condemned, and the grateful commended. Abraham also asks that he and his descendants may be protected from idol-worship. This serves to remind the Meccans that they should shun the worship of idols.
1
الر ۚ كِتابٌ أَنزَلناهُ إِلَيكَ لِتُخرِجَ النّاسَ مِنَ الظُّلُماتِ إِلَى النّورِ بِإِذنِ رَبِّهِم إِلىٰ صِراطِ العَزيزِ الحَميدِ
a-l-r (ʾalif lām rā) kitābun ʾanzalnāhu ʾilayka li-tukhrija n-nāsa mina ẓ-ẓulumāti ʾilā n-nūri bi-ʾidhni rabbihim ʾilā ṣirāṭi l-ʿazīzi l-ḥamīdi
Alif, Lām, Rā. [This is] a Book We have sent down to you that you may bring mankind out from darkness into light, by the command of their Lord, to the path of the All-mighty, the All-laudable
2
اللَّهِ الَّذي لَهُ ما فِي السَّماواتِ وَما فِي الأَرضِ ۗ وَوَيلٌ لِلكافِرينَ مِن عَذابٍ شَديدٍ
allāhi lladhī lahū mā fī s-samāwāti wa-mā fī l-ʾarḍi wa-waylun li-l-kāfirīna min ʿadhābin shadīdin-i
—Allah, to whom belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. And woe to the faithless for a severe punishment
3
الَّذينَ يَستَحِبّونَ الحَياةَ الدُّنيا عَلَى الآخِرَةِ وَيَصُدّونَ عَن سَبيلِ اللَّهِ وَيَبغونَها عِوَجًا ۚ أُولٰئِكَ في ضَلالٍ بَعيدٍ
alladhīna yastaḥibbūna l-ḥayāta d-dunyā ʿalā l-ʾākhirati wa-yaṣuddūna ʿan sabīli llāhi wa-yabghūnahā ʿiwajan ʾulāʾika fī ḍalālin baʿīdin
—those who prefer the life of this world to the Hereafter, and bar [others] from the way of Allah, and seek to make it crooked. They are in extreme error.
4
وَما أَرسَلنا مِن رَسولٍ إِلّا بِلِسانِ قَومِهِ لِيُبَيِّنَ لَهُم ۖ فَيُضِلُّ اللَّهُ مَن يَشاءُ وَيَهدي مَن يَشاءُ ۚ وَهُوَ العَزيزُ الحَكيمُ
wa-mā ʾarsalnā min rasūlin ʾillā bi-lisāni qawmihī li-yubayyina lahum fa-yuḍillu llāhu man yashāʾu wa-yahdī man yashāʾu wa-huwa l-ʿazīzu l-ḥakīmu
We did not send any apostle except with the language of his people, so that he might make [Our messages] clear to them. Then Allah leads astray whomever He wishes, and He guides whomsoever He wishes, and He is the All-mighty, the All-wise.
5
وَلَقَد أَرسَلنا موسىٰ بِآياتِنا أَن أَخرِج قَومَكَ مِنَ الظُّلُماتِ إِلَى النّورِ وَذَكِّرهُم بِأَيّامِ اللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ في ذٰلِكَ لَآياتٍ لِكُلِّ صَبّارٍ شَكورٍ
wa-la-qad ʾarsalnā mūsā bi-ʾāyātinā ʾan ʾakhrij qawmaka mina ẓ-ẓulumāti ʾilā n-nūri wa-dhakkirhum bi-ʾayyāmi llāhi ʾinna fī dhālika la-ʾāyātin li-kulli ṣabbārin shakūrin
Certainly We sent Moses with Our signs: ‘Bring your people out from darkness into light and remind them of Allah’s [holy] days. There are indeed signs in that for every patient and grateful [servant].’
6
وَإِذ قالَ موسىٰ لِقَومِهِ اذكُروا نِعمَةَ اللَّهِ عَلَيكُم إِذ أَنجاكُم مِن آلِ فِرعَونَ يَسومونَكُم سوءَ العَذابِ وَيُذَبِّحونَ أَبناءَكُم وَيَستَحيونَ نِساءَكُم ۚ وَفي ذٰلِكُم بَلاءٌ مِن رَبِّكُم عَظيمٌ
wa-ʾidh qāla mūsā li-qawmihi dhkurū niʿmata llāhi ʿalaykum ʾidh ʾanjākum min ʾāli firʿawna yasūmūnakum sūʾa l-ʿadhābi wa-yudhabbiḥūna ʾabnāʾakum wa-yastaḥyūna nisāʾakum wa-fī dhālikum balāʾun min rabbikum ʿaẓīmun
When Moses said to his people, ‘Remember Allah’s blessing upon you when He delivered you from Pharaoh’s clan who inflicted a terrible torment on you, and slaughtered your sons and spared your women, and in that there was a great test from your Lord.’
7
وَإِذ تَأَذَّنَ رَبُّكُم لَئِن شَكَرتُم لَأَزيدَنَّكُم ۖ وَلَئِن كَفَرتُم إِنَّ عَذابي لَشَديدٌ
wa-ʾidh taʾadhdhana rabbukum la-ʾin shakartum la-ʾazīdannakum wa-la-ʾin kafartum ʾinna ʿadhābī la-shadīdun
And when your Lord proclaimed, ‘If you are grateful, I will surely enhance you [in blessing], but if you are ungrateful, My punishment is indeed severe.’
8
وَقالَ موسىٰ إِن تَكفُروا أَنتُم وَمَن فِي الأَرضِ جَميعًا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَغَنِيٌّ حَميدٌ
wa-qāla mūsā ʾin takfurū ʾantum wa-man fī l-ʾarḍi jamīʿan fa-ʾinna llāha la-ghaniyyun ḥamīdun
And Moses said, ‘Should you be faithless —you and everyone on the earth, all together— indeed Allah is all-sufficient, all-laudable.’
9
أَلَم يَأتِكُم نَبَأُ الَّذينَ مِن قَبلِكُم قَومِ نوحٍ وَعادٍ وَثَمودَ ۛ وَالَّذينَ مِن بَعدِهِم ۛ لا يَعلَمُهُم إِلَّا اللَّهُ ۚ جاءَتهُم رُسُلُهُم بِالبَيِّناتِ فَرَدّوا أَيدِيَهُم في أَفواهِهِم وَقالوا إِنّا كَفَرنا بِما أُرسِلتُم بِهِ وَإِنّا لَفي شَكٍّ مِمّا تَدعونَنا إِلَيهِ مُريبٍ
ʾa-lam yaʾtikum nabaʾu lladhīna min qablikum qawmi nūḥin wa-ʿādin wa-thamūda wa-lladhīna min baʿdihim lā yaʿlamuhum ʾillā llāhu jāʾathum rusuluhum bi-l-bayyināti fa-raddū ʾaydiyahum fī ʾafwāhihim wa-qālū ʾinnā kafarnā bi-mā ʾursiltum bihī wa-ʾinnā la-fī shakkin mimmā tadʿūnanā ʾilayhi murībin
Has there not come to you the account of those who were before you —the people of Noah, ʿĀd and Thamūd, and those who were after them, whom no one knows [well] except Allah? Their apostles brought them manifest proofs, but they did not respond to them,1 and said, ‘We disbelieve in what you have been sent with. Indeed we have grave doubts concerning that to which you invite us.’Literally, ‘they put their hands into their mouths,’ an idiomatic expression that has been interpreted variously. See Ṭabrisī and Ṭabarī.
10
۞ قالَت رُسُلُهُم أَفِي اللَّهِ شَكٌّ فاطِرِ السَّماواتِ وَالأَرضِ ۖ يَدعوكُم لِيَغفِرَ لَكُم مِن ذُنوبِكُم وَيُؤَخِّرَكُم إِلىٰ أَجَلٍ مُسَمًّى ۚ قالوا إِن أَنتُم إِلّا بَشَرٌ مِثلُنا تُريدونَ أَن تَصُدّونا عَمّا كانَ يَعبُدُ آباؤُنا فَأتونا بِسُلطانٍ مُبينٍ
qālat rusuluhum ʾa-fī llāhi shakkun fāṭiri s-samāwāti wa-l-ʾarḍi yadʿūkum li-yaghfira lakum min dhunūbikum wa-yuʾakhkhirakum ʾilā ʾajalin musamman qālū ʾin ʾantum ʾillā basharun mithlunā turīdūna ʾan taṣuddūnā ʿammā kāna yaʿbudu ʾābāʾunā fa-ʾtūnā bi-sulṭānin mubīnin
Their apostles said, ‘Is there any doubt about Allah, the originator of the heavens and the earth?! He calls you to forgive you a part of your sins, and grants you respite until a specified time.’1 They said, ‘You are nothing but humans like us who desire to bar us from what our fathers used to worship. So bring us a manifest authority.’Or ‘for a specified term.’
11
قالَت لَهُم رُسُلُهُم إِن نَحنُ إِلّا بَشَرٌ مِثلُكُم وَلٰكِنَّ اللَّهَ يَمُنُّ عَلىٰ مَن يَشاءُ مِن عِبادِهِ ۖ وَما كانَ لَنا أَن نَأتِيَكُم بِسُلطانٍ إِلّا بِإِذنِ اللَّهِ ۚ وَعَلَى اللَّهِ فَليَتَوَكَّلِ المُؤمِنونَ
qālat lahum rusuluhum ʾin naḥnu ʾillā basharun mithlukum wa-lākinna llāha yamunnu ʿalā man yashāʾu min ʿibādihī wa-mā kāna lanā ʾan naʾtiyakum bi-sulṭānin ʾillā bi-ʾidhni llāhi wa-ʿalā llāhi fa-l-yatawakkali l-muʾminūna
Their apostles said to them, ‘Indeed we are just human beings like yourselves; but Allah favours whomever of His servants that He wishes. We may not bring you an authority except by Allah’s leave, and in Allah let all the faithful put their trust.
12
وَما لَنا أَلّا نَتَوَكَّلَ عَلَى اللَّهِ وَقَد هَدانا سُبُلَنا ۚ وَلَنَصبِرَنَّ عَلىٰ ما آذَيتُمونا ۚ وَعَلَى اللَّهِ فَليَتَوَكَّلِ المُتَوَكِّلونَ
wa-mā lanā ʾallā natawakkala ʿalā llāhi wa-qad hadānā subulanā wa-la-naṣbiranna ʿalā mā ʾādhaytumūnā wa-ʿalā llāhi fa-l-yatawakkali l-mutawakkilūna
And why should we not put our trust in Allah, seeing that He has guided us in our ways? Surely, we will put up patiently with whatever torment you may inflict upon us, and in Allah let all the trusting put their trust.’
13
وَقالَ الَّذينَ كَفَروا لِرُسُلِهِم لَنُخرِجَنَّكُم مِن أَرضِنا أَو لَتَعودُنَّ في مِلَّتِنا ۖ فَأَوحىٰ إِلَيهِم رَبُّهُم لَنُهلِكَنَّ الظّالِمينَ
wa-qāla lladhīna kafarū li-rusulihim la-nukhrijannakum min ʾarḍinā ʾaw la-taʿūdunna fī millatinā fa-ʾawḥā ʾilayhim rabbuhum la-nuhlikanna ẓ-ẓālimīna
But the faithless said to their apostles, ‘Surely we will expel you from our land, or you should revert to our creed.’ Thereat their Lord revealed to them: ‘We will surely destroy the wrongdoers,
14
وَلَنُسكِنَنَّكُمُ الأَرضَ مِن بَعدِهِم ۚ ذٰلِكَ لِمَن خافَ مَقامي وَخافَ وَعيدِ
wa-la-nuskinannakumu l-ʾarḍa min baʿdihim dhālika li-man khāfa maqāmī wa-khāfa waʿīdi
and surely We will settle you in the land after them. This [promise] is for someone who is awed to stand before Me and fears My threat.’
15
وَاستَفتَحوا وَخابَ كُلُّ جَبّارٍ عَنيدٍ
wa-staftaḥū wa-khāba kullu jabbārin ʿanīdin
They1 prayed for victory2 [against the infidels], and every obdurate tyrant has failed,That is, the apostles.Or ‘verdict;’ that is, the verdict of Allah against the unbelievers.
16
مِن وَرائِهِ جَهَنَّمُ وَيُسقىٰ مِن ماءٍ صَديدٍ
min warāʾihī jahannamu wa-yusqā min māʾin ṣadīdin
with hell lying ahead of him,1 [where] he shall be given to drink of a purulent fluid,That is, with hell waiting for him.
17
يَتَجَرَّعُهُ وَلا يَكادُ يُسيغُهُ وَيَأتيهِ المَوتُ مِن كُلِّ مَكانٍ وَما هُوَ بِمَيِّتٍ ۖ وَمِن وَرائِهِ عَذابٌ غَليظٌ
yatajarraʿuhū wa-lā yakādu yusīghuhū wa-yaʾtīhi l-mawtu min kulli makānin wa-mā huwa bi-mayyitin wa-min warāʾihī ʿadhābun ghalīẓun
gulping it down, but hardly swallowing it: death will assail him from every side, but he will not die, and there is [yet] a harsh punishment ahead of him.
18
مَثَلُ الَّذينَ كَفَروا بِرَبِّهِم ۖ أَعمالُهُم كَرَمادٍ اشتَدَّت بِهِ الرّيحُ في يَومٍ عاصِفٍ ۖ لا يَقدِرونَ مِمّا كَسَبوا عَلىٰ شَيءٍ ۚ ذٰلِكَ هُوَ الضَّلالُ البَعيدُ
mathalu lladhīna kafarū bi-rabbihim ʾaʿmāluhum ka-ramādin-i shtaddat bihi r-rīhu fī yawmin ʿāṣifin lā yaqdirūna mimmā kasabū ʿalā shayʾin dhālika huwa ḍ-ḍalālu l-baʿīdu
A parable of those who defy their Lord: their deeds are like ashes over which the wind blows hard on a tempestuous day: they have no power over anything they have earned. That is extreme error.
19
أَلَم تَرَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ خَلَقَ السَّماواتِ وَالأَرضَ بِالحَقِّ ۚ إِن يَشَأ يُذهِبكُم وَيَأتِ بِخَلقٍ جَديدٍ
ʾa-lam tara ʾanna llāha khalaqa s-samāwāti wa-l-ʾarḍa bi-l-ḥaqqi ʾin yashaʾ yudhhibkum wa-yaʾti bi-khalqin jadīdin
Have you not regarded that Allah created the heavens and the earth with reason? If He wishes, He will take you away, and bring about a new creation,
20
وَما ذٰلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ بِعَزيزٍ
wa-mā dhālika ʿalā llāhi bi-ʿazīzin
and that is not a hard thing for Allah.
21
وَبَرَزوا لِلَّهِ جَميعًا فَقالَ الضُّعَفاءُ لِلَّذينَ استَكبَروا إِنّا كُنّا لَكُم تَبَعًا فَهَل أَنتُم مُغنونَ عَنّا مِن عَذابِ اللَّهِ مِن شَيءٍ ۚ قالوا لَو هَدانَا اللَّهُ لَهَدَيناكُم ۖ سَواءٌ عَلَينا أَجَزِعنا أَم صَبَرنا ما لَنا مِن مَحيصٍ
wa-barazū li-llāhi jamīʿan fa-qāla ḍ-ḍuʿafāʾu li-lladhīna stakbarū ʾinnā kunnā lakum tabaʿan fa-hal ʾantum mughnūna ʿannā min ʿadhābi llāhi min shayʾin qālū law hadānā llāhu la-hadaynākum sawāʾun ʿalaynā ʾa-jaziʿnā ʾam ṣabarnā mā lanā min maḥīṣin
Together they will be presented before Allah. Then those who were weak will say to those who were arrogant, ‘Indeed we were your followers. So will you avail us against Allah’s punishment in any wise?’ They will say, ‘Had Allah guided us, surely we would have guided you. It is the same to us whether we are restless or patient: there is no escape for us.’
22
وَقالَ الشَّيطانُ لَمّا قُضِيَ الأَمرُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَعَدَكُم وَعدَ الحَقِّ وَوَعَدتُكُم فَأَخلَفتُكُم ۖ وَما كانَ لِيَ عَلَيكُم مِن سُلطانٍ إِلّا أَن دَعَوتُكُم فَاستَجَبتُم لي ۖ فَلا تَلوموني وَلوموا أَنفُسَكُم ۖ ما أَنا بِمُصرِخِكُم وَما أَنتُم بِمُصرِخِيَّ ۖ إِنّي كَفَرتُ بِما أَشرَكتُمونِ مِن قَبلُ ۗ إِنَّ الظّالِمينَ لَهُم عَذابٌ أَليمٌ
wa-qāla sh-shayṭānu lammā quḍiya l-ʾamru ʾinna llāha waʿadakum waʿda l-ḥaqqi wa-waʿadtukum fa-ʾakhlaftukum wa-mā kāna liya ʿalaykum min sulṭānin ʾillā ʾan daʿawtukum fa-stajabtum lī fa-lā talūmūnī wa-lūmū ʾanfusakum mā ʾana bi-muṣrikhikum wa-mā ʾantum bi-muṣrikhiyya ʾinnī kafartu bi-mā ʾashraktumūni min qablu ʾinna ẓ-ẓālimīna lahum ʿadhābun ʾalīmun
When the matter is all over, Satan will say, ‘Indeed Allah made you a promise that was true and I [too] made you a promise, but I failed you. I had no authority over you, except that I called you and you responded to me. So do not blame me, but blame yourselves. I cannot respond to your distress calls, neither can you respond to my distress calls. Indeed I disavow your taking me for [Allah’s] partner aforetime. There is indeed a painful punishment for the wrongdoers.’
23
وَأُدخِلَ الَّذينَ آمَنوا وَعَمِلُوا الصّالِحاتِ جَنّاتٍ تَجري مِن تَحتِهَا الأَنهارُ خالِدينَ فيها بِإِذنِ رَبِّهِم ۖ تَحِيَّتُهُم فيها سَلامٌ
wa-ʾudkhila lladhīna ʾāmanū wa-ʿamilū ṣ-ṣāliḥāti jannātin tajrī min taḥtihā l-ʾanhāru khālidīna fīhā bi-ʾidhni rabbihim taḥiyyatuhum fīhā salāmun
Those who have faith and do righteous deeds will be admitted into gardens with streams running in them, to remain in them [forever], by the leave of their Lord. Their greeting therein will be ‘Peace!’
24
أَلَم تَرَ كَيفَ ضَرَبَ اللَّهُ مَثَلًا كَلِمَةً طَيِّبَةً كَشَجَرَةٍ طَيِّبَةٍ أَصلُها ثابِتٌ وَفَرعُها فِي السَّماءِ
ʾa-lam tara kayfa ḍaraba llāhu mathalan kalimatan ṭayyibatan ka-shajaratin ṭayyibatin ʾaṣluhā thābitun wa-farʿuhā fī s-samāʾi
Have you not regarded how Allah has drawn a parable? A good word is like a good tree: its roots are steady and its branches are in the sky.
25
تُؤتي أُكُلَها كُلَّ حينٍ بِإِذنِ رَبِّها ۗ وَيَضرِبُ اللَّهُ الأَمثالَ لِلنّاسِ لَعَلَّهُم يَتَذَكَّرونَ
tuʾtī ʾukulahā kulla ḥīnin bi-ʾidhni rabbihā wa-yaḍribu llāhu l-ʾamthāla li-n-nāsi laʿallahum yatadhakkarūna
It gives its fruit every season by the leave of its Lord. Allah draws these parables for mankind so that they may take admonition.
26
وَمَثَلُ كَلِمَةٍ خَبيثَةٍ كَشَجَرَةٍ خَبيثَةٍ اجتُثَّت مِن فَوقِ الأَرضِ ما لَها مِن قَرارٍ
wa-mathalu kalimatin khabīthatin ka-shajaratin khabīthatin-i jtuththat min fawqi l-ʾarḍi mā lahā min qarārin
And the parable of a bad word is that of a bad tree: uprooted from the ground, it has no stability.
27
يُثَبِّتُ اللَّهُ الَّذينَ آمَنوا بِالقَولِ الثّابِتِ فِي الحَياةِ الدُّنيا وَفِي الآخِرَةِ ۖ وَيُضِلُّ اللَّهُ الظّالِمينَ ۚ وَيَفعَلُ اللَّهُ ما يَشاءُ
yuthabbitu llāhu lladhīna ʾāmanū bi-l-qawli th-thābiti fī l-ḥayāti d-dunyā wa-fī l-ʾākhirati wa-yuḍillu llāhu ẓ-ẓālimīna wa-yafʿalu llāhu mā yashāʾu
Allah fortifies those who have faith with an immutable word in the life of this world and in the Hereafter, and Allah leads astray the wrongdoers, and Allah does whatever He wishes.
28
۞ أَلَم تَرَ إِلَى الَّذينَ بَدَّلوا نِعمَتَ اللَّهِ كُفرًا وَأَحَلّوا قَومَهُم دارَ البَوارِ
ʾa-lam tara ʾilā lladhīna baddalū niʿmata llāhi kufran wa-ʾaḥallū qawmahum dāra l-bawāri
Have you not regarded those who have changed Allah’s blessing with ingratitude, and landed their people in the house of ruin?
29
جَهَنَّمَ يَصلَونَها ۖ وَبِئسَ القَرارُ
jahannama yaṣlawnahā wa-biʾsa l-qarāru
—hell, which they shall enter, and it is an evil abode!
30
وَجَعَلوا لِلَّهِ أَندادًا لِيُضِلّوا عَن سَبيلِهِ ۗ قُل تَمَتَّعوا فَإِنَّ مَصيرَكُم إِلَى النّارِ
wa-jaʿalū li-llāhi ʾandādan li-yuḍillū ʿan sabīlihī qul tamattaʿū fa-ʾinna maṣīrakum ʾilā n-nāri
They have set up equals to Allah, to lead [people] astray from His way. Say, ‘Enjoy [for a while], for indeed your destination is hellfire!’
31
قُل لِعِبادِيَ الَّذينَ آمَنوا يُقيمُوا الصَّلاةَ وَيُنفِقوا مِمّا رَزَقناهُم سِرًّا وَعَلانِيَةً مِن قَبلِ أَن يَأتِيَ يَومٌ لا بَيعٌ فيهِ وَلا خِلالٌ
qul li-ʿibādiya lladhīna ʾāmanū yuqīmū ṣ-ṣalāta wa-yunfiqū mimmā razaqnāhum sirran wa-ʿalāniyatan min qabli ʾan yaʾtiya yawmun lā bayʿun fīhi wa-lā khilālun-i
Tell My servants who have faith to maintain the prayer and to spend out of what We have provided them with, secretly and openly, before there comes a day on which there will be neither any bargaining nor friendship.
32
اللَّهُ الَّذي خَلَقَ السَّماواتِ وَالأَرضَ وَأَنزَلَ مِنَ السَّماءِ ماءً فَأَخرَجَ بِهِ مِنَ الثَّمَراتِ رِزقًا لَكُم ۖ وَسَخَّرَ لَكُمُ الفُلكَ لِتَجرِيَ فِي البَحرِ بِأَمرِهِ ۖ وَسَخَّرَ لَكُمُ الأَنهارَ
allāhu lladhī khalaqa s-samāwāti wa-l-ʾarḍa wa-ʾanzala mina s-samāʾi māʾan fa-ʾakhraja bihī mina th-thamarāti rizqan lakum wa-sakhkhara lakumu l-fulka li-tajriya fī l-baḥri bi-ʾamrihī wa-sakhkhara lakumu l-ʾanhāra
It is Allah who created the heavens and the earth, and He sends down water from the sky and with it He brings forth crops for your sustenance. And He disposed the ships for you[r benefit] so that they may sail at sea by His command, and He disposed the rivers for you.
33
وَسَخَّرَ لَكُمُ الشَّمسَ وَالقَمَرَ دائِبَينِ ۖ وَسَخَّرَ لَكُمُ اللَّيلَ وَالنَّهارَ
wa-sakhkhara lakumu sh-shamsa wa-l-qamara dāʾibayni wa-sakhkhara lakumu l-layla wa-n-nahāra
He disposed the sun and the moon for you, constant [in their courses], and He disposed the night and the day,
34
وَآتاكُم مِن كُلِّ ما سَأَلتُموهُ ۚ وَإِن تَعُدّوا نِعمَتَ اللَّهِ لا تُحصوها ۗ إِنَّ الإِنسانَ لَظَلومٌ كَفّارٌ
wa-ʾatākum min kulli mā saʾaltumūhu wa-ʾin taʿuddū niʿmata llāhi lā tuḥṣūhā ʾinna l-ʾinsāna la-ẓalūmun kaffārun
and He gave you all that you had asked Him.1 If you enumerate Allah’s blessings, you will not be able to count them. Indeed man is most unfair and ungrateful!That is, He provided you with everything demanded by your nature and your original capacities.
35
وَإِذ قالَ إِبراهيمُ رَبِّ اجعَل هٰذَا البَلَدَ آمِنًا وَاجنُبني وَبَنِيَّ أَن نَعبُدَ الأَصنامَ
wa-ʾidh qāla ʾibrāhīmu rabbi jʿal hādhā l-balada ʾāminan wa-jnubnī wa-baniyya ʾan naʿbuda l-ʾaṣnāma
When Abraham said, ‘My Lord! Make this city a sanctuary, and save me and my children from worshiping idols.
36
رَبِّ إِنَّهُنَّ أَضلَلنَ كَثيرًا مِنَ النّاسِ ۖ فَمَن تَبِعَني فَإِنَّهُ مِنّي ۖ وَمَن عَصاني فَإِنَّكَ غَفورٌ رَحيمٌ
rabbi ʾinnahunna ʾaḍlalna kathīran mina n-nāsi fa-man tabiʿanī fa-ʾinnahū minnī wa-man ʿaṣānī fa-ʾinnaka ghafūrun raḥīmun
My Lord! Indeed they have misled many people. So whoever follows me indeed belongs to me, and as for someone who disobeys me, well, You are indeed all-forgiving, all-merciful.
37
رَبَّنا إِنّي أَسكَنتُ مِن ذُرِّيَّتي بِوادٍ غَيرِ ذي زَرعٍ عِندَ بَيتِكَ المُحَرَّمِ رَبَّنا لِيُقيمُوا الصَّلاةَ فَاجعَل أَفئِدَةً مِنَ النّاسِ تَهوي إِلَيهِم وَارزُقهُم مِنَ الثَّمَراتِ لَعَلَّهُم يَشكُرونَ
rabbanā ʾinnī ʾaskantu min dhurriyyatī bi-wādin ghayri dhī zarʿin ʿinda baytika l-muḥarrami rabbanā li-yuqīmū ṣ-ṣalāta fa-jʿal ʾafʾidatan mina n-nāsi tahwī ʾilayhim wa-rzuqhum mina th-thamarāti laʿallahum yashkurūna
Our Lord! I have settled part of my descendants in a barren valley, by Your sacred House, our Lord, that they may maintain the prayer. So make the hearts of a part of the people fond of them, and provide them with fruits, so that they may give thanks.
38
رَبَّنا إِنَّكَ تَعلَمُ ما نُخفي وَما نُعلِنُ ۗ وَما يَخفىٰ عَلَى اللَّهِ مِن شَيءٍ فِي الأَرضِ وَلا فِي السَّماءِ
rabbanā ʾinnaka taʿlamu mā nukhfī wa-mā nuʿlinu wa-mā yakhfā ʿalā llāhi min shayʾin fī l-ʾarḍi wa-lā fī s-samāʾi
Our Lord! Indeed You know whatever we hide and whatever we disclose, and nothing is hidden from Allah on the earth or in the sky.
39
الحَمدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذي وَهَبَ لي عَلَى الكِبَرِ إِسماعيلَ وَإِسحاقَ ۚ إِنَّ رَبّي لَسَميعُ الدُّعاءِ
al-ḥamdu li-llāhi lladhī wahaba lī ʿalā l-kibari ʾismāʿīla wa-ʾisḥāqa ʾinna rabbī la-samīʿu d-duʿāʾi
All praise belongs to Allah, who, despite [my] old age, gave me Ishmael and Isaac. Indeed my Lord hears all supplications.
40
رَبِّ اجعَلني مُقيمَ الصَّلاةِ وَمِن ذُرِّيَّتي ۚ رَبَّنا وَتَقَبَّل دُعاءِ
rabbi jʿalnī muqīma ṣ-ṣalāti wa-min dhurriyyatī rabbanā wa-taqabbal duʿāʾi
My Lord! Make me a maintainer of the prayer, and my descendants [too]. Our Lord, accept my supplication.
41
رَبَّنَا اغفِر لي وَلِوالِدَيَّ وَلِلمُؤمِنينَ يَومَ يَقومُ الحِسابُ
rabbanā ghfir lī wa-li-wālidayya wa-li-l-muʾminīna yawma yaqūmu l-ḥisābu
Our Lord! Forgive me and my parents, and all the faithful, on the day when the reckoning is held.’
42
وَلا تَحسَبَنَّ اللَّهَ غافِلًا عَمّا يَعمَلُ الظّالِمونَ ۚ إِنَّما يُؤَخِّرُهُم لِيَومٍ تَشخَصُ فيهِ الأَبصارُ
wa-lā taḥsabanna llāha ghāfilan ʿammā yaʿmalu ẓ-ẓālimūna ʾinnamā yuʾakhkhiruhum li-yawmin tashkhaṣu fīhi l-ʾabṣāru
Do not suppose that Allah is oblivious to what the wrongdoers are doing. He is only granting them respite until the day when the eyes will be glazed.
43
مُهطِعينَ مُقنِعي رُءوسِهِم لا يَرتَدُّ إِلَيهِم طَرفُهُم ۖ وَأَفئِدَتُهُم هَواءٌ
muhṭiʿīna muqniʿī ruʾūsihim lā yartaddu ʾilayhim ṭarfuhum wa-ʾafʾidatuhum hawāʾun
Scrambling with their heads upturned, there will be a fixed gaze in their eyes and their hearts will be vacant.
44
وَأَنذِرِ النّاسَ يَومَ يَأتيهِمُ العَذابُ فَيَقولُ الَّذينَ ظَلَموا رَبَّنا أَخِّرنا إِلىٰ أَجَلٍ قَريبٍ نُجِب دَعوَتَكَ وَنَتَّبِعِ الرُّسُلَ ۗ أَوَلَم تَكونوا أَقسَمتُم مِن قَبلُ ما لَكُم مِن زَوالٍ
wa-ʾandhiri n-nāsa yawma yaʾtīhimu l-ʿadhābu fa-yaqūlu lladhīna ẓalamū rabbanā ʾakhkhirnā ʾilā ʾajalin qarībin nujib daʿwataka wa-nattabiʿi r-rusula ʾa-wa-lam takūnū ʾaqsamtum min qablu mā lakum min zawālin
Warn the people of the day when the punishment will overtake them, whereat the wrongdoers will say, ‘Our Lord! Respite us for a brief while so that we may respond to Your call, and follow the apostles.’1 [They will be told,] ‘Did you not use to swear earlier that there would be no reverse for you,The appeal for respite made by the wrongdoers indicates that the punishment mentioned here is one that will befall them in the life of this world.
45
وَسَكَنتُم في مَساكِنِ الَّذينَ ظَلَموا أَنفُسَهُم وَتَبَيَّنَ لَكُم كَيفَ فَعَلنا بِهِم وَضَرَبنا لَكُمُ الأَمثالَ
wa-sakantum fī masākini lladhīna ẓalamū ʾanfusahum wa-tabayyana lakum kayfa faʿalnā bihim wa-ḍarabnā lakumu l-ʾamthāla
while you dwelt in the dwellings of those who had wronged themselves [before], and it had been made clear to you how We had dealt with them [before you], and We had [also] cited examples for you?’
46
وَقَد مَكَروا مَكرَهُم وَعِندَ اللَّهِ مَكرُهُم وَإِن كانَ مَكرُهُم لِتَزولَ مِنهُ الجِبالُ
wa-qad makarū makrahum wa-ʿinda llāhi makruhum wa-ʾin kāna makruhum li-tazūla minhu l-jibālu
They certainly devised their schemes, but their schemes are known to Allah, and their schemes are not such as to dislodge the mountains.1According to an alternate reading (with la-tazūlu), the meaning will be ‘their schemes are indeed such as to dislodge (or annihilate) [even] the mountains.’
47
فَلا تَحسَبَنَّ اللَّهَ مُخلِفَ وَعدِهِ رُسُلَهُ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزيزٌ ذُو انتِقامٍ
fa-lā taḥsabanna llāha mukhlifa waʿdihī rusulahū ʾinna llāha ʿazīzun dhū ntiqāmin
So do not suppose that Allah will break His promise to His apostles. Indeed Allah is all-mighty, avenger.
48
يَومَ تُبَدَّلُ الأَرضُ غَيرَ الأَرضِ وَالسَّماواتُ ۖ وَبَرَزوا لِلَّهِ الواحِدِ القَهّارِ
yawma tubaddalu l-ʾarḍu ghayra l-ʾarḍi wa-s-samāwātu wa-barazū li-llāhi l-wāḥidi l-qahhāri
The day the earth is transformed into another earth and the heavens [as well], and they are presented before Allah, the One, the All-paramount.
49
وَتَرَى المُجرِمينَ يَومَئِذٍ مُقَرَّنينَ فِي الأَصفادِ
wa-tarā l-mujrimīna yawmaʾidhin muqarranīna fī l-ʾaṣfādi
On that day you will see the guilty bound together in chains,
50
سَرابيلُهُم مِن قَطِرانٍ وَتَغشىٰ وُجوهَهُمُ النّارُ
sarābīluhum min qaṭirānin wa-taghshā wujūhahumu n-nāru
their garments made of pitch,1 and the Fire covering their faces,Or ‘of molten copper.’
51
لِيَجزِيَ اللَّهُ كُلَّ نَفسٍ ما كَسَبَت ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ سَريعُ الحِسابِ
li-yajziya llāhu kulla nafsin mā kasabat ʾinna llāha sarīʿu l-ḥisābi
so that Allah may reward every soul for what it has earned.1 Indeed Allah is swift at reckoning.Or, perhaps preferably, ‘so that Allah may requite every soul with what it has earned,’ which implies that deeds are identical with their recompense, or that deeds are their own recompense.
52
هٰذا بَلاغٌ لِلنّاسِ وَلِيُنذَروا بِهِ وَلِيَعلَموا أَنَّما هُوَ إِلٰهٌ واحِدٌ وَلِيَذَّكَّرَ أُولُو الأَلبابِ
hādhā balāghun li-n-nāsi wa-li-yundharū bihī wa-li-yaʿlamū ʾannamā huwa ʾilāhun wāḥidun wa-li-yadhdhakkara ʾulū l-ʾalbābi
This is a proclamation for mankind, so that they may be warned thereby and know that He is indeed the One God, and those who possess intellect may take admonition.