The surah that opens with the discrete Arabic letters Yā Sīn. “Yā Sīn” (mentioned in verse 1) is one of the names of the Prophet. The surah emphasizes the divine source of the Quran and defends it from the charge of being poetry made by man (verse 5 . and verse 69 .). It warns of the fate of men who are stubborn and always mock God’s revelations. They are reminded of the punishment that befell earlier generations, and of God’s power as shown in His Creation. The end of the surah gives strong arguments for the reality of the Resurrection.The surah is also known as: Ya-Sin, Yaa Siin.
1
يس
y-s (yā sīn)
Yā Sīn!
2
وَالقُرآنِ الحَكيمِ
wa-l-qurʾāni l-ḥakīmi
By the Wise1 Qurʾān,Or ‘Definitive.’
3
إِنَّكَ لَمِنَ المُرسَلينَ
ʾinnaka la-mina l-mursalīna
you are indeed one of the apostles,
4
عَلىٰ صِراطٍ مُستَقيمٍ
ʿalā ṣirāṭin mustaqīmin
on a straight path.
5
تَنزيلَ العَزيزِ الرَّحيمِ
tanzīla l-ʿazīzi r-raḥīmi
[It is a scripture] sent down gradually from the All-mighty, the All-merciful
6
لِتُنذِرَ قَومًا ما أُنذِرَ آباؤُهُم فَهُم غافِلونَ
li-tundhira qawman mā ʾundhira ʾābāʾuhum fa-hum ghāfilūna
that you may warn a people whose fathers were not warned,1 so they are oblivious.Cf. 28:46; 32:3; 34:44.
7
لَقَد حَقَّ القَولُ عَلىٰ أَكثَرِهِم فَهُم لا يُؤمِنونَ
la-qad ḥaqqa l-qawlu ʿalā ʾaktharihim fa-hum lā yuʾminūna
The word has certainly become due against most of them, so they will not have faith.
8
إِنّا جَعَلنا في أَعناقِهِم أَغلالًا فَهِيَ إِلَى الأَذقانِ فَهُم مُقمَحونَ
ʾinnā jaʿalnā fī ʾaʿnāqihim ʾaghlālan fa-hiya ʾilā l-ʾadhqāni fa-hum muqmaḥūna
Indeed We have put iron collars around their necks, which are up to the chins, so their heads are upturned.1That is, they dwell in a state of blindness, defiance and arrogance in regard to the God-sent guidance and truth.
9
وَجَعَلنا مِن بَينِ أَيديهِم سَدًّا وَمِن خَلفِهِم سَدًّا فَأَغشَيناهُم فَهُم لا يُبصِرونَ
wa-jaʿalnā min bayni ʾaydīhim saddan wa-min khalfihim saddan fa-ʾaghshaynāhum fa-hum lā yubṣirūna
And We have put a barrier before them and a barrier behind them, then We have blind-folded them, so they do not see.
10
وَسَواءٌ عَلَيهِم أَأَنذَرتَهُم أَم لَم تُنذِرهُم لا يُؤمِنونَ
wa-sawāʾun ʿalayhim ʾa-ʾandhartahum ʾam lam tundhirhum lā yuʾminūna
It is the same to them whether you warn them or do not warn them, they will not have faith.
11
إِنَّما تُنذِرُ مَنِ اتَّبَعَ الذِّكرَ وَخَشِيَ الرَّحمٰنَ بِالغَيبِ ۖ فَبَشِّرهُ بِمَغفِرَةٍ وَأَجرٍ كَريمٍ
ʾinnamā tundhiru mani ttabaʿa dh-dhikra wa-khashiya r-raḥmāna bi-l-ghaybi fa-bashshirhu bi-maghfiratin wa-ʾajrin karīmin
You can only warn someone who follows the Reminder1 and fears the All-beneficent in secret; so give him the good news of forgiveness and a noble reward.That is, the Qurʾān.
12
إِنّا نَحنُ نُحيِي المَوتىٰ وَنَكتُبُ ما قَدَّموا وَآثارَهُم ۚ وَكُلَّ شَيءٍ أَحصَيناهُ في إِمامٍ مُبينٍ
ʾinnā naḥnu nuḥyi l-mawtā wa-naktubu mā qaddamū wa-ʾāthārahum wa-kulla shayʾin ʾaḥṣaynāhu fī ʾimāmin mubīnin
Indeed it is We who revive the dead and write what they have sent ahead1 and their effects [which they left behind],2 and We have figured everything in a manifest Imam.3That is, the deeds they have done.That is, the good or evil heritage and imprint they leave behind in the society in which they have lived, and which outlive them.Or, in a manifest book.
13
وَاضرِب لَهُم مَثَلًا أَصحابَ القَريَةِ إِذ جاءَهَا المُرسَلونَ
wa-ḍrib lahum mathalan ʾaṣḥāba l-qaryati ʾidh jāʾahā l-mursalūna
Cite for them the example of the inhabitants of the town when the apostles came to it.
14
إِذ أَرسَلنا إِلَيهِمُ اثنَينِ فَكَذَّبوهُما فَعَزَّزنا بِثالِثٍ فَقالوا إِنّا إِلَيكُم مُرسَلونَ
ʾidh ʾarsalnā ʾilayhimu thnayni fa-kadhdhabūhumā fa-ʿazzaznā bi-thālithin fa-qālū ʾinnā ʾilaykum mursalūna
When We sent to them two [apostles], they impugned both of them. Then We reinforced them with a third, and they said, ‘We have indeed been sent to you.’
15
قالوا ما أَنتُم إِلّا بَشَرٌ مِثلُنا وَما أَنزَلَ الرَّحمٰنُ مِن شَيءٍ إِن أَنتُم إِلّا تَكذِبونَ
qālū mā ʾantum ʾillā basharun mithlunā wa-mā ʾanzala r-raḥmānu min shayʾin ʾin ʾantum ʾillā takdhibūna
They said, ‘You are nothing but humans like us, and the All-beneficent has not sent down anything, and you are only lying.’
16
قالوا رَبُّنا يَعلَمُ إِنّا إِلَيكُم لَمُرسَلونَ
qālū rabbunā yaʿlamu ʾinnā ʾilaykum la-mursalūna
They said, ‘Our Lord knows that we have indeed been sent to you,
17
وَما عَلَينا إِلَّا البَلاغُ المُبينُ
wa-mā ʿalaynā ʾillā l-balāghu l-mubīnu
and our duty is only to communicate in clear terms.’
18
قالوا إِنّا تَطَيَّرنا بِكُم ۖ لَئِن لَم تَنتَهوا لَنَرجُمَنَّكُم وَلَيَمَسَّنَّكُم مِنّا عَذابٌ أَليمٌ
qālū ʾinnā taṭayyarnā bikum la-ʾin lam tantahū la-narjumannakum wa-la-yamassannakum minnā ʿadhābun ʾalīmun
They said, ‘Indeed we take you for a bad omen. If you do not relinquish we will stone you, and surely a painful punishment will visit you from us.’
19
قالوا طائِرُكُم مَعَكُم ۚ أَئِن ذُكِّرتُم ۚ بَل أَنتُم قَومٌ مُسرِفونَ
qālū ṭāʾirukum maʿakum ʾa-ʾin dhukkirtum bal ʾantum qawmun musrifūna
They said, ‘Your bad omens attend you. What! If you are admonished … .1 Rather you are a profligate lot.’Ellipsis. The phrase omitted is ‘do you take it for a bad omen?!’
20
وَجاءَ مِن أَقصَى المَدينَةِ رَجُلٌ يَسعىٰ قالَ يا قَومِ اتَّبِعُوا المُرسَلينَ
wa-jāʾa min ʾaqṣā l-madīnati rajulun yasʿā qāla yā-qawmi ttabiʿū l-mursalīna
There came a man from the city outskirts, hurrying. He said, ‘O my people! Follow the apostles!
21
اتَّبِعوا مَن لا يَسأَلُكُم أَجرًا وَهُم مُهتَدونَ
ittabiʿū man lā yasʾalukum ʾajran wa-hum muhtadūna
Follow them who do not ask you any reward and they are rightly guided.
22
وَما لِيَ لا أَعبُدُ الَّذي فَطَرَني وَإِلَيهِ تُرجَعونَ
wa-mā liya lā ʾaʿbudu lladhī faṭaranī wa-ʾilayhi turjaʿūna
Why should I not worship Him who has originated me, and to whom you shall be brought back?
23
أَأَتَّخِذُ مِن دونِهِ آلِهَةً إِن يُرِدنِ الرَّحمٰنُ بِضُرٍّ لا تُغنِ عَنّي شَفاعَتُهُم شَيئًا وَلا يُنقِذونِ
ʾa-ʾattakhidhu min dūnihī ʾālihatan ʾin yuridni r-raḥmānu bi-ḍurrin lā tughni ʿannī shafāʿatuhum shayʾan wa-lā yunqidhūni
Shall I take gods besides Him? If the All-beneficent desired to cause me any distress their intercession will not avail me in any way, nor will they rescue me.
24
إِنّي إِذًا لَفي ضَلالٍ مُبينٍ
ʾinnī ʾidhan la-fī ḍalālin mubīnin
Indeed then I would be in manifest error.
25
إِنّي آمَنتُ بِرَبِّكُم فَاسمَعونِ
ʾinnī ʾāmantu bi-rabbikum fa-smaʿūni
Indeed I have faith in your Lord, so listen to me.’
26
قيلَ ادخُلِ الجَنَّةَ ۖ قالَ يا لَيتَ قَومي يَعلَمونَ
qīla dkhuli l-jannata qāla yā-layta qawmī yaʿlamūna
He was told, ‘Enter paradise!’ He said, ‘Alas! Had my people only known
27
بِما غَفَرَ لي رَبّي وَجَعَلَني مِنَ المُكرَمينَ
bi-mā ghafara lī rabbī wa-jaʿalanī mina l-mukramīna
for what my Lord forgave me and made me one of the honoured ones!’
28
۞ وَما أَنزَلنا عَلىٰ قَومِهِ مِن بَعدِهِ مِن جُندٍ مِنَ السَّماءِ وَما كُنّا مُنزِلينَ
wa-mā ʾanzalnā ʿalā qawmihī min baʿdihī min jundin mina s-samāʾi wa-mā kunnā munzilīna
After him We did not send down on his people a host from the sky, nor We would have sent down.1Or ‘and what We used to send down [before];’ see Ṭabrisī, Fayḍ Kāshānī.
29
إِن كانَت إِلّا صَيحَةً واحِدَةً فَإِذا هُم خامِدونَ
ʾin kānat ʾillā ṣayḥatan wāḥidatan fa-ʾidhā hum khāmidūna
It was but a single Cry, and, behold, they were stilled [like burnt ashes]!
30
يا حَسرَةً عَلَى العِبادِ ۚ ما يَأتيهِم مِن رَسولٍ إِلّا كانوا بِهِ يَستَهزِئونَ
yā-ḥasratan ʿalā l-ʿibādi mā yaʾtīhim min rasūlin ʾillā kānū bihī yastahziʾūna
How regrettable of the servants! There did not come to them any apostle but that they used to deride him.
31
أَلَم يَرَوا كَم أَهلَكنا قَبلَهُم مِنَ القُرونِ أَنَّهُم إِلَيهِم لا يَرجِعونَ
ʾa-lam yaraw kam ʾahlaknā qablahum mina l-qurūni ʾannahum ʾilayhim lā yarjiʿūna
Have they not regarded how many generations We have destroyed before them who will not come back to them?
32
وَإِن كُلٌّ لَمّا جَميعٌ لَدَينا مُحضَرونَ
wa-ʾin kullun lammā jamīʿun ladaynā muḥḍarūna
And all of them will indeed be presented before Us.
33
وَآيَةٌ لَهُمُ الأَرضُ المَيتَةُ أَحيَيناها وَأَخرَجنا مِنها حَبًّا فَمِنهُ يَأكُلونَ
wa-ʾāyatun lahumu l-ʾarḍu l-maytatu ʾaḥyaynāhā wa-ʾakhrajnā minhā ḥabban fa-minhu yaʾkulūna
A sign for them is the dead earth, which We revive and out of it bring forth grain, so they eat of it.
34
وَجَعَلنا فيها جَنّاتٍ مِن نَخيلٍ وَأَعنابٍ وَفَجَّرنا فيها مِنَ العُيونِ
wa-jaʿalnā fīhā jannātin min nakhīlin wa-ʾaʿnābin wa-fajjarnā fīhā mina l-ʿuyūni
And We make in it orchards of date palms and vines, and We cause springs to gush forth in it,
35
لِيَأكُلوا مِن ثَمَرِهِ وَما عَمِلَتهُ أَيديهِم ۖ أَفَلا يَشكُرونَ
li-yaʾkulū min thamarihī wa-mā ʿamilathu ʾaydīhim ʾa-fa-lā yashkurūna
so that they may eat of its fruit and what their hands have cultivated.1 Will they not then give thanks?Or ‘and their hands did not cultivate it.’ That is, it is We who produce the fruits, not their hands. Cf. 27:60 and 56:64.
36
سُبحانَ الَّذي خَلَقَ الأَزواجَ كُلَّها مِمّا تُنبِتُ الأَرضُ وَمِن أَنفُسِهِم وَمِمّا لا يَعلَمونَ
subḥāna lladhī khalaqa l-ʾazwāja kullahā mimmā tunbitu l-ʾarḍu wa-min ʾanfusihim wa-mimmā lā yaʿlamūna
Immaculate is He who has created all the kinds1 of what the earth grows, and of themselves, and of what they do not know.Or, ‘all the pairs.’
37
وَآيَةٌ لَهُمُ اللَّيلُ نَسلَخُ مِنهُ النَّهارَ فَإِذا هُم مُظلِمونَ
wa-ʾāyatun lahumu l-laylu naslakhu minhu n-nahāra fa-ʾidhā hum muẓlimūna
And a sign for them is the night, which We strip of daylight, and, behold, they find themselves in the dark!
38
وَالشَّمسُ تَجري لِمُستَقَرٍّ لَها ۚ ذٰلِكَ تَقديرُ العَزيزِ العَليمِ
wa-sh-shamsu tajrī li-mustaqarrin lahā dhālika taqdīru l-ʿazīzi l-ʿalīmi
And the sun runs on to its place of rest:1 That is the ordaining of the All-mighty, the All-knowing.Or ‘it has no place of rest.’ This is in accordance with the alternate reading ‘lā mustaqarra lahā.’ Ṭabrisī in Majmaʿ al-Bayān narrates a tradition which ascribes the reading lā mustaqarra lahā to the Imams ʿAli b. al-Ḥusayn, Muḥammad al-Bāqir, and Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq, as well as to a number of the early exegetes such as Ibn ʿAbbās, Ibn Masʿūd, ʿIkrimah, and ʿAṭāʾ b. Abī Rabāḥ. See Muʿjam al-Qirāʾāt al-Qurʾāniyyah, v, 208, for further sources of this reading. The reading li mustaqarrin lahā seems to have been suggested and reinforced by the popular astronomical notions of the age.
39
وَالقَمَرَ قَدَّرناهُ مَنازِلَ حَتّىٰ عادَ كَالعُرجونِ القَديمِ
wa-l-qamara qaddarnāhu manāzila ḥattā ʿāda ka-l-ʿurjūni l-qadīmi
As for the moon, We have ordained its phases, until it becomes like an old palm leaf.
40
لَا الشَّمسُ يَنبَغي لَها أَن تُدرِكَ القَمَرَ وَلَا اللَّيلُ سابِقُ النَّهارِ ۚ وَكُلٌّ في فَلَكٍ يَسبَحونَ
lā sh-shamsu yanbaghī lahā ʾan tudrika l-qamara wa-lā l-laylu sābiqu n-nahāri wa-kullun fī falakin yasbaḥūna
Neither it behooves the sun to overtake the moon, nor may the night outrun the day, and each swims in an orbit.
41
وَآيَةٌ لَهُم أَنّا حَمَلنا ذُرِّيَّتَهُم فِي الفُلكِ المَشحونِ
wa-ʾāyatun lahum ʾannā ḥamalnā dhurriyyatahum fī l-fulki l-mashḥūni
A sign for them is that We carried their progeny in the laden ship,1That is, in the ark of Noah.
42
وَخَلَقنا لَهُم مِن مِثلِهِ ما يَركَبونَ
wa-khalaqnā lahum min mithlihī mā yarkabūna
and We have created for them what is similar to it, which they ride.1Or ‘board,’ that is, ships which are similar to their prototype, the ark of Noah; or, alternatively, the camel, which has been called ‘the ship of the desert,’ and other animals and means of transport.
43
وَإِن نَشَأ نُغرِقهُم فَلا صَريخَ لَهُم وَلا هُم يُنقَذونَ
wa-ʾin nashaʾ nughriqhum fa-lā ṣarīkha lahum wa-lā hum yunqadhūna
And if We like We drown them, whereat they have no one to call for help, nor are they rescued
44
إِلّا رَحمَةً مِنّا وَمَتاعًا إِلىٰ حينٍ
ʾillā raḥmatan minnā wa-matāʿan ʾilā ḥīnin
⎯except by a mercy from Us and for an enjoyment until some time.
45
وَإِذا قيلَ لَهُمُ اتَّقوا ما بَينَ أَيديكُم وَما خَلفَكُم لَعَلَّكُم تُرحَمونَ
wa-ʾidhā qīla lahumu ttaqū mā bayna ʾaydīkum wa-mā khalfakum laʿallakum turḥamūna
And when they are told, ‘Beware of that which is before you and that which is behind you,1 so that you may receive [His] mercy.’2See 34:9.Ellipsis. The omitted clause is, ‘they turn away arrogantly.’
46
وَما تَأتيهِم مِن آيَةٍ مِن آياتِ رَبِّهِم إِلّا كانوا عَنها مُعرِضينَ
wa-mā taʾtīhim min ʾāyatin min ʾāyāti rabbihim ʾillā kānū ʿanhā muʿriḍīna
There did not come to them any sign from among the signs of their Lord but that they used to disregard it.
47
وَإِذا قيلَ لَهُم أَنفِقوا مِمّا رَزَقَكُمُ اللَّهُ قالَ الَّذينَ كَفَروا لِلَّذينَ آمَنوا أَنُطعِمُ مَن لَو يَشاءُ اللَّهُ أَطعَمَهُ إِن أَنتُم إِلّا في ضَلالٍ مُبينٍ
wa-ʾidhā qīla lahum ʾanfiqū mimmā razaqakumu llāhu qāla lladhīna kafarū li-lladhīna ʾāmanū ʾa-nuṭʿimu man law yashāʾu llāhu ʾaṭʿamahū ʾin ʾantum ʾillā fī ḍalālin mubīnin
When they are told, ‘Spend out of what Allah has provided you,’ the faithless say to the faithful, ‘Shall we feed [someone] whom Allah would have fed, had He wished? You are only in manifest error.’
48
وَيَقولونَ مَتىٰ هٰذَا الوَعدُ إِن كُنتُم صادِقينَ
wa-yaqūlūna matā hādhā l-waʿdu ʾin kuntum ṣādiqīna
And they say, ‘When will this promise be fulfilled, should you be truthful?’
49
ما يَنظُرونَ إِلّا صَيحَةً واحِدَةً تَأخُذُهُم وَهُم يَخِصِّمونَ
mā yanẓurūna ʾillā ṣayḥatan wāḥidatan taʾkhudhuhum wa-hum yakhiṣṣimūna
They do not await but a single Cry that would seize them as they wrangle.
50
فَلا يَستَطيعونَ تَوصِيَةً وَلا إِلىٰ أَهلِهِم يَرجِعونَ
fa-lā yastaṭīʿūna tawṣiyatan wa-lā ʾilā ʾahlihim yarjiʿūna
Then they will not be able to make any will, nor will they return to their folks.
51
وَنُفِخَ فِي الصّورِ فَإِذا هُم مِنَ الأَجداثِ إِلىٰ رَبِّهِم يَنسِلونَ
wa-nufikha fī ṣ-ṣūri fa-ʾidhā hum mina l-ʾajdāthi ʾilā rabbihim yansilūna
And when the Trumpet is blown, behold, there they will be, scrambling from their graves towards their Lord!
52
قالوا يا وَيلَنا مَن بَعَثَنا مِن مَرقَدِنا ۜ ۗ هٰذا ما وَعَدَ الرَّحمٰنُ وَصَدَقَ المُرسَلونَ
qālū yā-waylanā man baʿathanā min marqadinā hādhā mā waʿada r-raḥmānu wa-ṣadaqa l-mursalūna
They will say, ‘Woe to us! Who raised us from our place of sleep?’ ‘This is what the All-beneficent had promised, and the apostles had spoken the truth!’
53
إِن كانَت إِلّا صَيحَةً واحِدَةً فَإِذا هُم جَميعٌ لَدَينا مُحضَرونَ
ʾin kānat ʾillā ṣayḥatan wāḥidatan fa-ʾidhā hum jamīʿun ladaynā muḥḍarūna
It will be but a single Cry, and, behold, they will all be presented before Us!
54
فَاليَومَ لا تُظلَمُ نَفسٌ شَيئًا وَلا تُجزَونَ إِلّا ما كُنتُم تَعمَلونَ
fa-l-yawma lā tuẓlamu nafsun shayʾan wa-lā tujzawna ʾillā mā kuntum taʿmalūna
‘Today no soul will be wronged in the least, nor will you be requited except for what you used to do.’
55
إِنَّ أَصحابَ الجَنَّةِ اليَومَ في شُغُلٍ فاكِهونَ
ʾinna ʾaṣḥāba l-jannati l-yawma fī shughulin fākihūna
Indeed today the inhabitants of paradise rejoice in their engagements
56
هُم وَأَزواجُهُم في ظِلالٍ عَلَى الأَرائِكِ مُتَّكِئونَ
hum wa-ʾazwājuhum fī ẓilālin ʿalā l-ʾarāʾiki muttakiʾūna
—they and their mates, reclining on couches in the shades.
57
لَهُم فيها فاكِهَةٌ وَلَهُم ما يَدَّعونَ
lahum fīhā fākihatun wa-lahum mā yaddaʿūna
There they have fruits and they have whatever they want.
58
سَلامٌ قَولًا مِن رَبٍّ رَحيمٍ
salāmun qawlan min rabbin raḥīmin
‘Peace!’—a watchword from the all-merciful Lord.
59
وَامتازُوا اليَومَ أَيُّهَا المُجرِمونَ
wa-mtāzū l-yawma ʾayyuhā l-mujrimūna
And ‘Get apart today, you guilty ones!’
60
۞ أَلَم أَعهَد إِلَيكُم يا بَني آدَمَ أَن لا تَعبُدُوا الشَّيطانَ ۖ إِنَّهُ لَكُم عَدُوٌّ مُبينٌ
ʾa-lam ʾaʿhad ʾilaykum yā-banī ʾādama ʾan lā taʿbudū sh-shayṭāna ʾinnahū lakum ʿaduwwun mubīnun
‘Did I not exhort you, O children of Adam, saying, “Do not worship Satan. He is indeed your manifest enemy.
61
وَأَنِ اعبُدوني ۚ هٰذا صِراطٌ مُستَقيمٌ
wa-ʾani ʿbudūnī hādhā ṣirāṭun mustaqīmun
Worship Me. That is a straight path”?
62
وَلَقَد أَضَلَّ مِنكُم جِبِلًّا كَثيرًا ۖ أَفَلَم تَكونوا تَعقِلونَ
wa-la-qad ʾaḍalla minkum jibillan kathīran ʾa-fa-lam takūnū taʿqilūna
Certainly he has led astray many of your generations. Did you not use to apply reason?
63
هٰذِهِ جَهَنَّمُ الَّتي كُنتُم توعَدونَ
hādhihī jahannamu llatī kuntum tūʿadūna
This is the hell you had been promised!
64
اصلَوهَا اليَومَ بِما كُنتُم تَكفُرونَ
iṣlawhā l-yawma bi-mā kuntum takfurūna
Enter it today, because of what you used to defy.
65
اليَومَ نَختِمُ عَلىٰ أَفواهِهِم وَتُكَلِّمُنا أَيديهِم وَتَشهَدُ أَرجُلُهُم بِما كانوا يَكسِبونَ
al-yawma nakhtimu ʿalā ʾafwāhihim wa-tukallimunā ʾaydīhim wa-tashhadu ʾarjuluhum bi-mā kānū yaksibūna
Today We shall seal their mouths, and their hands shall speak to Us, and their feet shall bear witness concerning what they used to earn.’
66
وَلَو نَشاءُ لَطَمَسنا عَلىٰ أَعيُنِهِم فَاستَبَقُوا الصِّراطَ فَأَنّىٰ يُبصِرونَ
wa-law nashāʾu la-ṭamasnā ʿalā ʾaʿyunihim fa-stabaqū ṣ-ṣirāṭa fa-ʾannā yubṣirūna
Had We wished We would have blotted out their eyes:1 then, were they to advance towards the path, how would have they seen?That is, the insight to see the course of true human felicity.
67
وَلَو نَشاءُ لَمَسَخناهُم عَلىٰ مَكانَتِهِم فَمَا استَطاعوا مُضِيًّا وَلا يَرجِعونَ
wa-law nashāʾu la-masakhnāhum ʿalā makānatihim fa-mā staṭāʿū muḍiyyan wa-lā yarjiʿūna
And had We wished We would have deformed them in their place;1 then they would have neither been able to go ahead nor to go back.2That is, brought them to a standstill with their deformed inner state.That is, they would have neither been able to move ahead to make spiritual progress, nor to return to their original state of unsullied God-given nature.
68
وَمَن نُعَمِّرهُ نُنَكِّسهُ فِي الخَلقِ ۖ أَفَلا يَعقِلونَ
wa-man nuʿammirhu nunakkishu fī l-khalqi ʾa-fa-lā yaʿqilūna
And whomever We give a long life, We cause him to regress in creation. Then will they not apply reason?
69
وَما عَلَّمناهُ الشِّعرَ وَما يَنبَغي لَهُ ۚ إِن هُوَ إِلّا ذِكرٌ وَقُرآنٌ مُبينٌ
wa-mā ʿallamnāhu sh-shiʿra wa-mā yanbaghī lahū ʾin huwa ʾillā dhikrun wa-qurʾānun mubīnun
We did not teach him poetry, nor does it behoove him. This is just a reminder and a manifest Qurʾān,
70
لِيُنذِرَ مَن كانَ حَيًّا وَيَحِقَّ القَولُ عَلَى الكافِرينَ
li-yundhira man kāna ḥayyan wa-yaḥiqqa l-qawlu ʿalā l-kāfirīna
so that anyone who is alive may be warned, and that the word may come due against the faithless.
71
أَوَلَم يَرَوا أَنّا خَلَقنا لَهُم مِمّا عَمِلَت أَيدينا أَنعامًا فَهُم لَها مالِكونَ
ʾa-wa-lam yaraw ʾannā khalaqnā lahum mimmā ʿamilat ʾaydīnā ʾanʿāman fa-hum lahā mālikūna
Have they not seen that We have created for them —of what Our hands have worked— cattle, so they have become their masters?
72
وَذَلَّلناها لَهُم فَمِنها رَكوبُهُم وَمِنها يَأكُلونَ
wa-dhallalnāhā lahum fa-minhā rakūbuhum wa-minhā yaʾkulūna
And We made them tractable for them, so some of them make their mounts and some of them they eat.
73
وَلَهُم فيها مَنافِعُ وَمَشارِبُ ۖ أَفَلا يَشكُرونَ
wa-lahum fīhā manāfiʿu wa-mashāribu ʾa-fa-lā yashkurūna
There are other benefits for them therein, and drinks.1 Will they not then give thanks?That is, milk and other drinks derived from it.
74
وَاتَّخَذوا مِن دونِ اللَّهِ آلِهَةً لَعَلَّهُم يُنصَرونَ
wa-ttakhadhū min dūni llāhi ʾālihatan laʿallahum yunṣarūna
They have taken gods besides Allah [hoping] that they might be helped.
75
لا يَستَطيعونَ نَصرَهُم وَهُم لَهُم جُندٌ مُحضَرونَ
lā yastaṭīʿūna naṣrahum wa-hum lahum jundun muḥḍarūna
[Yet] they cannot help them, while they [themselves] are ready warriors for them.1That is, while the idols are unable to offer the idolaters any kind of assistance, the idolaters are ready to fight for them and defend them.
76
فَلا يَحزُنكَ قَولُهُم ۘ إِنّا نَعلَمُ ما يُسِرّونَ وَما يُعلِنونَ
fa-lā yaḥzunka qawluhum ʾinnā naʿlamu mā yusirrūna wa-mā yuʿlinūna
So do not let their remarks grieve you. We indeed know whatever they hide and whatever they disclose.
77
أَوَلَم يَرَ الإِنسانُ أَنّا خَلَقناهُ مِن نُطفَةٍ فَإِذا هُوَ خَصيمٌ مُبينٌ
ʾa-wa-lam yara l-ʾinsānu ʾannā khalaqnāhu min nuṭfatin fa-ʾidhā huwa khaṣīmun mubīnun
Does not man see that We created him from a drop of [seminal] fluid, and, behold, he is an open contender!?
78
وَضَرَبَ لَنا مَثَلًا وَنَسِيَ خَلقَهُ ۖ قالَ مَن يُحيِي العِظامَ وَهِيَ رَميمٌ
wa-ḍaraba lanā mathalan wa-nasiya khalqahū qāla man yuḥyi l-ʿiẓāma wa-hiya ramīmun
He draws comparisons for Us, and forgets his own creation. He says, ‘Who shall revive the bones when they have decayed?’
79
قُل يُحييهَا الَّذي أَنشَأَها أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ ۖ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ خَلقٍ عَليمٌ
qul yuḥyīhā lladhī ʾanshaʾahā ʾawwala marratin wa-huwa bi-kulli khalqin ʿalīmun-i
Say, ‘He will revive them who produced them the first time, and He has knowledge of all creation.
80
الَّذي جَعَلَ لَكُم مِنَ الشَّجَرِ الأَخضَرِ نارًا فَإِذا أَنتُم مِنهُ توقِدونَ
alladhī jaʿala lakum mina sh-shajari l-ʾakhḍari nāran fa-ʾidhā ʾantum minhu tūqidūna
—He, who made for you fire out of the green tree, and, behold, you light fire from it!
81
أَوَلَيسَ الَّذي خَلَقَ السَّماواتِ وَالأَرضَ بِقادِرٍ عَلىٰ أَن يَخلُقَ مِثلَهُم ۚ بَلىٰ وَهُوَ الخَلّاقُ العَليمُ
ʾa-wa-laysa lladhī khalaqa s-samāwāti wa-l-ʾarḍa bi-qādirin ʿalā ʾan yakhluqa mithlahum balā wa-huwa l-khallāqu l-ʿalīmu
Is not He who created the heavens and the earth able to create the like of them? Yes indeed! He is the All-creator, the All-knowing.
82
إِنَّما أَمرُهُ إِذا أَرادَ شَيئًا أَن يَقولَ لَهُ كُن فَيَكونُ
ʾinnamā ʾamruhū ʾidhā ʾarāda shayʾan ʾan yaqūla lahū kun fa-yakūnu
All His command, when He wills something, is to say to it ‘Be,’ and it is.
83
فَسُبحانَ الَّذي بِيَدِهِ مَلَكوتُ كُلِّ شَيءٍ وَإِلَيهِ تُرجَعونَ
fa-subḥāna lladhī bi-yadihī malakūtu kulli shayʾin wa-ʾilayhi turjaʿūna
So immaculate is He in whose hand is the dominion of all things and to whom you shall be brought back.