English - Chapter 17 - Al-Isra

Glorified He is Who took His devotee on a night journey from the Sacred Place of Worship (at Makkah) to the Distant Place of Worship, the precincts of which We have blessed, so that We may show to him some of Our signs. It is He indeed Who hears, sees, everything

And We gave Moses the Book and made it a guidance for the Children of Israel, "Entrust none but Me for management of your affairs

They were offspring of those whom We bore with Noah on the Ark. He was indeed a grateful subject

And We had decreed, in the Book, to the Children of Israel, "You will surely make mischief on the earth twice, and you will surely rise to great heights of haughtiness

So when the first of the two prophecies came to pass, We let loose over you Our subjects of mighty strength; and they ravaged through the houses. And it was a prophecy accomplished. a

Then We gave you back the turn to prevail against them, and aided you with wealth and children and made you a numerous predominant force

If you do good deeds, you do it for your own good. And if you do bad deeds, you do it to your own detriment. So when the second prophecy would come so that they (your enemies) disgrace you and enter the Place of Worship as they had entered it the first time, and that they might destroy utterly whatever they lay their hands on

It may be that your Lord will have mercy on you. And if you revert to disobedience, We too will revert to punishing you. And We have made Hell a prison for those who suppress the Truth

This Qur'aan does indeed guide to that which is straight and stable. And it gives the good news to the believers who do good work that they shall have a great reward

And the Qur'aan warns those who do not believe in the Hereafter that We have prepared a painful punishment for them

And man prays for evil as he ought to pray for good. And man is ever hasty

And We have made the night and the day as two signs. We efface the sign of the night and make the sign of the day clear, so that you may seek favour from your Lord, know the calendar and keep accounts. And We have explained everything in details

And We have tied every man's actions to his neck. And We will bring out for him on the Resurrection Day a record thrown wide open

Read your record! You yourself are sufficient as an auditor against you this day

One that goes on the right path does so for one's own self. And one that goes astray does so to one's own detriment. And no bearer of a burden bears the burden of another, nor do We punish until We send a Messenger

And when We wish to destroy a town, We send Our commandment to its wealthy people who lead easy lives, but they defiantly disobey! So the divine Word takes effect against that town, and We deal with it destructively

And many a generation, after Noah, did We destroy! And your Lord has a sufficient knowledge of and is a sufficient Witness to His subjects' faults/mistakes/sins

As for one who desires instant gains in this present life, We do hasten therein, to whom We will, what We please. Then We make the Hell burn, to disgrace and reject that one

And as for one who desires the Hereafter and strives for it as one ought to strive and is a believer, the strivings of such people are duly accepted

We do aid all — these (mentioned in Verse above) as well as those (mentioned in Verse)

See how We have favoured some of them over others. And, of course, the Hereafter is much superior in ranks and favours

Worship none but Allah lest you remain disgraced, forsaken

And your Lord has commanded that you shall worship none but Him, and that you shall be good to your parents. If either or both of them reach old age while with you, you shall not utter even a word of the slightest annoyance or reproach to them. And speak to them kindly

And be submissively and compassionately protective of them, and pray, `O my Lord! Have mercy on them as they had brought me up during my childhood

Your Lord knows what is in your minds. If you are good, then He does indeed forgive those who often turn to Him in penitence

And give to the near of kin his/her due, and to the needy and the wayfarer their dues. And be not a spendthrift

Indeed, the spendthrifts are brothers of the satanic people and the Satan is ever ungrateful to his Lord

And if you are not in a position to help them out and you are yourself seeking mercy from your Lord, speak to them a kind word

And do not make your hand tied to your neck nor extend it to its utmost limit, lest you should be left blamed and impoverished

Your Lord does indeed enlarge means of subsistence for those He wills and restrict for those He wills. He does indeed have full knowledge of and does constantly keep watch on His creatures that always ought to obey Him

And kill not your children for fear of poverty. We give them sustenance as We give it to you. Killing them is indeed a great wrong

And go not near fornication/adultery! It is indeed an abomination and an evil path

And do not kill any one, whose killing Allah has forbidden, unless duly authorized to do so. And whoever is slain unjustly, We have of course given to his heir power to retaliate. But let him not then exceed just limits in killing. He does indeed deserve help

And come not near the property of the orphan except as propriety demands till he attains his maturity. And keep the promise you make. The promise shall indeed be questioned about

And give full measure when you give anything by measure, and weigh with a true balance. This is fair and yields a better result in the end

And follow not that of which you have no knowledge! The hearing, the sight and the mind shall all be questioned thereon

And walk not on earth exultantly, for you cannot tear the earth nor reach the mountains in height

All that — the evil thereof — is hateful in the sight of your Lord

This is of what your Lord has revealed to you of wisdom. And worship not any god other than Allah lest you should be thrown into Hell, blamed, rejected

Has then your Lord chosen sons for you, and taken daughters for Himself from among the angels!? What you say is indeed very grave

And We certainly have explained things variously in this Quran that they may take heed. But it adds nothing but aversion to their credit

Say, "If, as they say, there were other gods along with Him, then certainly they would have sought a way to the Lord of the Throne." a

Glorified He is and exalted extremely high above what they say

The seven heavens, the earth and whoever or whatever is in them declare His glory. And there is not a thing but glorifies Him with His praise, but their glorification you understand not. He is indeed Considerate, Forgiving

And when you recite the Qur'aan, We place between you and those who do not believe in the Hereafter a hidden barrier

And We have placed a veil on their hearts and deafness in their ears lest they understand it. And when you mention only your Lord (and not their deities other than Allah) in the Qur'aan, they turn their backs in aversion

We know best what they listen to when they listen to you, and when they talk secretly among themselves. Then the wicked people say, "You follow none but one who is under a magic spell

See what they liken you to! That is because they have gone astray and cannot find the way

And they ask, "When we shall have become bones and dust (after death), shall we even then be raised up as a new creation

Say, "Even when you become stones or iron

Or some other creation that is too hard to be revived to life in your minds!" Then they will ask, "Who will revive us?" Say, "He Who created you the first time." Then they will shake their heads at you in disbelief and say, "When will it be?" Say, "Maybe it is near

On that Day of Resurrection, He will call you, and you shall respond uttering His praise. And you will think that you had remained in the grave for only a little while

And say to My human creatures, who all ought to obey Me, that they speak that which is most appropriate and proper. Indeed, the Satan sows discord among them. The Satan is indeed an open enemy to man

Your Lord knows you. He will have mercy on you, or He will punish you, as He wills. And We have not sent you as the manager of their affairs

And your Lord knows those who are in the heavens and the earth. And We have certainly favoured some of the prophets over others. And We gave Dawood the Psalms

Say, "Call on whom you want to, besides Him! They cannot remove the distress from you nor can they change it

They themselves — whom they call upon — seek the means of getting closest, among themselves, to their Lord. And they hope for His mercy and fear His punishment. Indeed, the punishment of your Lord is a thing to be afraid of

And not a village/town/city but We will destroy it before the Day of Resurrection or punish it with a severe punishment. This stands recorded in the Divine Ordinance

And nothing prevented Us from sending miracles except that the ancients rejected them. And We gave Thamood the she-camel — a manifest miracle — but they wronged her. And Weh do not send miracles but to warn

And We did say to you, "Your Lord has indeed kept mankind under His control. And We did not make the visionwhich We showed you — as also the tree cursed in the Qur'aan — but a trial for mankind. And We warn them. But it only adds to their utter transgression

And when We asked the angels to prostrate to Adam, they prostrated. But Iblees did not. He said, "Shall I prostrate to him whom You have created of dust

He said, "Do you see whom You have honoured above me? If You should give me parole till the Day of Resurrection, I will most certainly keep a tight leash on his progeny but for a few of them

Allah said, "Get out of here! And Hell is the due recompense to you and to all those who, among them, will follow you

And beguile whom you can of them with your voice, and cover them with your thinking and your behaviour, and be their partner in wealth and children, and feed them with promises." And the Satan promises them not but to deceive

Indeed, you have no authority over all those whom I have created and who all obey Me. And your Lord is sufficient as a Guardian/Manager of their interests

Your Lord is He Who navigates the ships for you in the sea that you may seek things out of His grace. He is indeed ever Merciful to you

And when, while on the sea, distress strikes you, all, but He, whom you pray to, desert you. Then when He brings you back safe to the land, you turn away from Him. And man is ever ungrateful

Do you then feel secure that He will not crush you under a landslide or send upon you a violent storm? Then you may not find anyone to save you

Or, do you feel secure that He will not take you back into it (sea) another time, then send on you a stormy wind and thus drown you on account of your ungratefulness? Then you may not find anyone to help you against Us in the matter

And verily We have been liberal to the children of Adam, and We have carried them in the land and the sea, and We have provided them with wholesome good things, and We have preferred them, in granting favours, over most of our creations

On the Day of Resurrection, We will call every people with their Imam. Then those shall read their books, every one of whom will be given his book in his right hand. And they shall not be wronged a bit

And he, who is blind in this world and has strayed away from the Path, shall also be blind in the Hereafter

And, indeed, they wanted to turn you away from that which We have revealed to you, so that you concoct against Us something else. And then they would certainly have taken you as a friend

And had We not made you firm, you would almost certainly have inclined to them a little

In that case We would certainly have doubled for you the suffering in life and in death. Then you would not have found any one to help you against Us

And, indeed, they wanted to make you unsettled in the land in order to drive you therefrom. And in that case they would not have lived there after you but a little

This was Our custom with regard to those of Our Messengers whom We had sent before you, and you shall find no change in Our custom

Establish ritual prayer during the interval from the time the sun sets till the darkness of the night spreads completely. And recite the Qur'aan at dawn. The recitation at dawn is indeed to be in the presence of a congregation

And keep awake part of the night reciting it (Qur'aan). This is an additional thing for you (the Messenger) to do. Maybe your Lord will raise you to a praiseworthy position

And say, "My Lord! Grant me a truly sound entry into and a truly sound exit from any course of action I undertake in this world. And My Lord! Grant me Your powerful support in whatever good I do

And We reveal, of the Quran, that which is a healing and a mercy to the believers. And it adds to nothing but doom of the wicked people

And when We bestow some favour on man, he keeps himself arrogantly aloof. And when anything bad happens to him, he is in despair

Say, "Every one goes his own way. And your Lord knows who it is that is guided to the right path

And they ask you about the soul. Say, "The soul is one of the commands of my Lord. And you are not given knowledge but a little thereof

And if We so will, We could certainly take away that which We have revealed to you. Then you would not find anyone to guard it for you against Our doing so

Except for Mercy from your Lord! His favour upon you is indeed abundant

Say, "Even if men and jinn should join together and help each other to bring about the like of this Quran, they would not be able to do it

And certainly, in this Quran, We have variously explained every aspect of life for mankind. But most of them did not but reject it ungratefully

And they say, "We will not believe in you until you cause a fountain to gush forth from the earth for us

Or there are for you a garden of date-palms and grape-vines with rivers flowing luxuriantly through them

Or you cause the heaven to come down upon us in pieces as you think it would, or you bring Allah and the angels before us

Or you have a house of gold, or you ascend into heaven, and we will not believe in your ascent until you bring down to us a book for us to read." Say, "Glorified is my Lord! Am I anything but a mortal man sent with a divine Message

And nothing prevented people from believing when the divine Guidance came to them except for what they said, "Has Allah raised a mortal man as His Messenger

Say, "Had angels been the normal inhabitants on earth, We would certainly have sent down to them from the heaven an angel as divine Messenger

Say, "Allah suffices as a witness between me and you. HE is indeed well aware and minutely observant of all His human creatures

And the one, whom Allah guides, is the one who is guided. And the one, whom He leaves to go astray, you shall not find any awliya for him besides Him. And We will gather them together, on the Day of Resurrection, all lying on their faces — blind, dumb and deaf. Their abode shall be in Hell. We will increase the intensity of the blazing Fire, whenever it abates, for them

This is their retribution because they suppressed the truth of Our Messages/Verses/Signs and because they said, "What! When we shall have become bones and dust, shall we then indeed be raised up as a new creation

Do they not see that Allah — Who created the heavens and the earth and appointed an end for them wherein there in no doubt — is able to create their like?hBut the wicked people do not but suppress the Truth

Say, "Even if you were in control of the treasures of the Mercy of my Lord, you would miserly hold on to it for fear of exhausting it. And man is stingy

And We did give Moses nine clear signs. Ask the Children of Israel about them. When he came to them, Pharaoh told him, "I do indeed consider you, O Moses, to be a man bewitched

Moses said, "You do know that none but the Lord of the heavens and the earth has sent down these as clear evidence. And I do indeed consider you, O Pharaoh, to be a man doomed

Then Pharaoh wanted to get them destabilised in the land. And We drowned him and those with him all together

And, afterwards, We said to the Children of Israel, "Settle down in the land. Then when the second prophecy would come to pass, we will bring you together in one place

And in truth have We sent itdown, and in truth has it come down. And We have not sent you but as the giver of good news and as a warner

And We have made divisions in the Qur'aan and sent it down in stages, so that you recite it to the people at intervals

Say, "Believe in it or not; but they indeed, who are given the knowledge before it, fall down on their faces in humble prostration, when it is recited to them

And they say, "Glorified is our Lord! The prophecy of our Lord was bound to be fulfilled

And they fall down on their faces weeping, and it adds to their humility

Say, "Pray to Allah or pray to the Gracious One; you may pray to Him by any of His beautiful names. And say your ritual prayer neither too loudly nor in an undertone, but choose a suitable tone in between

And say, "To Allah is due all praise, Who has taken no son to Himself. And He has no partner in His absolute sovereignty, and has no infirmity to protect against. And do proclaim His greatness