English - Chapter 21 - Al-Anbiya

Their reckoning draws nigh to men, yet in heedlessness they turn aside

No new reminder comes to them from their Lord, but they listen to it as in (or while they play (or as a jest)

Their heart trifling with it (or pre-occupied elsewhere). And those who do wrong discourse secretly, saying, "Is this man aught but a mortal like yourselves? Will you succumb to magic with open eyes

Say, "My Lord knows what is said in the heavens and the earth, He is Hearer and Knower

Nay!" they say, "Muddled dreams; nay! He has forged it; nay! He is a poet; but let him bring us a sign as those of yore were sent

Of those before them not one of the communities which We destroyed believed, how will these believe

Nor did We send before them any but men whom We inspired? Ask you the people of the Scriptures if you do not know

Nor did We give them bodies that ate no food, nor were they immortal

Yet We made Our promise to them good, and We saved them and whom We pleased; but We destroyed those who committed excesses

Now have We sent down to you a Book in which is a reminder for you; have you then no sense

How many a community that had done wrong have We shattered, and raised up after it another people

And when they perceived Our Might, behold, they tried to flee from it

Flee not away, but return to what you delighted in, and to your dwellings, that you may be questioned

Said they, "O woe is us! Verily, we were wrong-doers

And that ceased not to be their cry until We made them like mown down fields, extinct (or as smouldering ashes)

We did not create the heaven and the earth and what is between the two in play

Had We wished to find a pastime, We could have found it in (or nearer) Our Presence, if We would do such a thing

Nay, We hurl the True against the False and it does break its head, and lo! It vanishes. But woe to you for what you attribute (to Allah)

Unto Him belongs whoever is in the heavens and the earth, and those who dwell in His Presence are not too proud to serve Him, nor do they weary

They glorify Him by night and day without intermission

Or have they chosen gods from the earth who can raise the dead

Were there in both (heaven and earth) gods beside Allah, both would surely have been disordered. Glorified is Allah, the Lord of the Throne, above all they ascribe unto Him

He can not be questioned concerning what He does, but They shall be questioned

Have they chosen gods beside Him? Say, "Bring your proofs. This is the reminder (Message) of those who are with me (Muhammad), and of those who were before me." Nay, most of them know not the truth, so they turn away

We have not sent any messenger before you, but We inspired him that, "There is no god but Me, so serve you Me

And they say, "The Beneficent has taken a son; glorified be He! Nay, but they are honoured servants

They speak not until He speaks; and they act by His command (John)

He knows what is before them, and what is behind them, and they can not intercede except for him whom He accepts; and they shrink through awe of Him

And whoever of them should say, "Verily, I am God instead of (or besides) Him," such a one We recompense with hell; thus do We repay the wrong-doers

Do not those who disbelieve see that the heavens and the earth were of one piece, and We parted them; and We made every living thing from water. Will they then not believe

And We placed on the earth firm mountains lest it should move with them, and He made therein open roads for paths, per chance (or possibly) they may be guided

And We made the heaven a guarded canopy; yet from our signs they turn aside

He it is who created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon, they float each in their orbit

We appointed immortality for no mortal before you. What! If you die, will they live on forever

Every soul must taste of death. We will test you with evil and with good, as a trial; and unto Us will you be returned

And when those who disbelieve see you, they only take you for a jest, saying, "Is this he who mentions your gods?" Yet they blaspheme at the mention of the Beneficent

Man is made of haste. I will show you My signs; but do not ask Me to hasten

And they say, "When will this threat (come to pass), if you tell the truth

If those who disbelieve but knew the time when they will not be able to ward off the Fire from their faces and from their backs, and they will not be helped

Nay, it shall come on them unawares, and shall dumbfound them, and they shall not be able to repel it, nor shall they be reprieved

Prophets before you have been mocked at, but that whereat they jested encompassed those who mocked

Say, "Who guards you by night and by day from the Beneficent?" Nay, but they turn away from the mention of their Lord

Have they gods to defend them against Us? These cannot help themselves, nor can they be defended against Us

Nay, but We have granted enjoyment to these men and to their fathers until the period grew long for them. Do they not see that We come to the land and shorten its borders? Shall they then prevail

Say, "I only warn you by inspiration;" but the deaf hear not the call when they are warned

But if a breath of the Wrath of your Lord touches them, they will surely say, "O, woe is us! Verily, we were wrong-doers

We will place a just balance on the Day of Resurrection, and no soul shall be wronged in anything. Even though it is the weight of a grain of mustard seed, We will bring it; for We are sufficient as a reckoner

In the past We did give to Moses and Aaron the Criterion (or Discrimination), and a Light and a Reminder to those who fear (evil)

Those who fear their Lord in secret (in thought), and who dread the Hour (of Judgment)

This is a blessed Reminder which We have sent down (or revealed), will you then reject it

And We gave Abraham of old his Rectitude of conduct (or proper course, as distinct from Faith); for We were aware of him (his faith)

When he said to his father and to his people, "What are these images to which you pay devotion

Said they, "We found our fathers worshipping them

Said he, "Verily, both you and your fathers have been in obvious error

They said, "Do you come to us with the truth, or are you but of those who jest

He said, "Nay, but your Lord is Lord of the heavens and the earth, which He originated (created from nothing); and I am of those who testify unto this

And, by Allah! I have a plan for your idols after you have gone and turned your backs

So he broke them in pieces, all except their largest, that they might have recourse to it

Said they, "Who has done this to our gods? Surely, he is of the evil-doers

Others said, "We heard a youth mention them, he is called Abraham

Said they, "Then bring him before the eyes of the people, that they may bear witness

Said they, "Was it you who did this to our gods, O Abraham

Said he, "Nay, it was this largest of the idols. But ask them, if they can speak

Then they turned to themselves and said, "Surely, you are the ones in the wrong

Then were they confounded with shame and said, "You knew well that these cannot speak

Fie upon you, and what you serve beside Allah! Have you then no sense

They cried, "Burn him, and stand by your gods, if you are going to do anything

We said, "O fire! Be you cool and a safety for Abraham

They desired to set a snare for him, but We made them the losers

And We brought him and Lot safely to the land (Aram or Syria) which We have blessed for all nations (or peoples)

And We bestowed upon him Isaac, and as an additional gift (a grandson), Jacob and each of them We made righteous

And We made them Leaders to guide men by Our command, and We sent inspiration to them to do good works, and to be steadfast in prayer, and to practice charity; and they were constant in their service of Us alone

And Lot, to him We gave judgment and knowledge, and We delivered him safely from the community which practiced abominations; truly, they were a people given to evil lewdness

And We brought him into Our Mercy; verily, he was of the righteous

And Noah, of old times, when he called We answered him and saved him and his people from the great affliction

And We helped him against the people who said Our signs were lies; verily, they were a bad people, therefore did We drown them all

And David and Solomon, when they gave judgment concerning the field, when some people´s sheep had strayed therein at night; and We were witness to their judgment

And We gave Solomon right understanding of matters (or cases). To each of them We gave judgment and knowledge; and it was by Our power that the hills and the birds celebrate Our praises with David. It was We who did it

And We taught him the art of making coats of mail for you, to shield you from each other´s violence; are you then grateful

And to Solomon We subjected the violent wind, to flow tamely at his bidding to the land which We have blessed - for We are aware of all things

And some devils (evil ones), who dived for him, and did other works beside, it was We who kept guard over them

And Job, when he cried to his Lord, saying, "Lo! Adversity has touched me, but you are the most Merciful of the merciful ones

And We answered him, and removed from him the distress that was upon him; and We restored to him his people, and doubled their number as a mercy from Us, and as a remembrance to those who serve Us

And (remember) Ishmael, and Idris (Enoch?), and Zul-Kifl (Ezekiel?), all men of constancy and patient

And We admitted them into Our Mercy; verily, they were among the righteous

And remember Zun-nun (the man of the Whale, Jonah), when he went away in wrath and thought that We had no power over him; but he cried out in the darkness, "There is no God but Thou, celebrated be Thy praise! Verily, I was of the wrong

And We answered him, and saved him from the distress. Thus do We deliver those who have faith

And (remember) Zachariah, when he cried unto his Lord, "O Lord! Leave me not without off-spring, though you are the best of inheritors

And We answered him, and bestowed upon him Yahya (John); and We made his wife right for him (cured her barrenness). Verily, they used to vie with one another in good works, and they called unto Us with longing and awe, and were humble (or submissive) befo

And (remember) her who guarded her chastity, and We breathed into her of Our Spirit, and We made her and her son a sign unto the worlds (or all peoples, or all creatures)

Verily, this your religion (or brotherhood) is a single religion (brotherhood); and I am your Lord, so serve Me

But they cut up their affairs (religion, politics etc. into fragments) amongst themselves, yet they all shall return unto Us

And he who acts right and he who is a believer (or has faith), there is no denial of his efforts, for, verily, We record it for him

There is a ban upon any community which We have destroyed that they shall not return

Until Yagug and Magug (Gog and Magog, Lawless tribes or Lawlessness itself) are let loose (through every barrier), and they hasten out of every mound (rock, nook and cranny)

And the True Promise draws nigh, and lo! They are staring, wide-eyed are those who disbelieve, saying, "O, woe is us! We were heedless of this, aye, we were wrong-doers

Verily, ye, and what you serve beside Allah, shall be the fuel of hell. Thereto shall you go down

Had these been gods, they would not have come hither, but all shall dwell therein

For them therein is groaning, and they shall not be heard

Verily, those for whom the Good from Us has gone before, they will be removed far there from

They shall not hear the slightest sound of Hell, and they will dwell in what their souls desire

The Great Terror shall not grieve them; but the angels shall greet them, saying, "This is your day, the one which you were promised

The Day when We will roll up the heavens as a recorder rolls up the scroll. As We produced it at its first creation, We shall repeat it - a promise binding upon Us; verily, We shall do it

And already have We written in the Psalms after the Reminder (the Message of Moses) that "My righteous servants shall inherit the earth

Verily, in this is a plain statement for a people who serve Me

We have sent you not, but as a mercy to the worlds

Say, "I am only inspired that your God is one God; will ye, then, surrender unto Him (become Muslims)

But if they turn their backs, then say, "I have proclaimed the message to you all alike, though I know not if what you are promised be near or far

Verily, He knows what is spoken openly, and that which you hide

I know not but that this may be a trial for you, and provision for a season

Say, "O My Lord! Judge you with truth! Our Lord is the Beneficent Whose aid is to be sought against the blasphemies you utter