English - Chapter 15 - Al-Hijr

Alif. Lam. Ra. THESE ARE MESSAGES of revelation -of a discourse clear in itself and clearly showing the truth

And it will come to pass that those who are [now] bent on denying this truth will wish that they had surrendered themselves to God [in their life time]

Leave them alone; let them eat and enjoy themselves the while the hope [of vain delights] be guiles them: for in time they will come to know [the truth]

And never have We destroyed any community [for its wrongdoing] unless a divine writ had (previously] been made known to it

[but remember that] no community can ever forestall [the end of] its term - and neither can they delay [it]

And yet, they [who deny the truth] say: "O thou unto whom this reminder has [allegedly] been bestowed from on high: verily, thou art mad

Why dost thou not bring before us angels, if thou art a man of truth

[Yet] We never send down angels otherwise than in accordance with the [demands of] truth; and [were the angels to appear now,] lo! they [who reject this divine writ] would have no further respite

Behold, it is We Ourselves who have bestowed from on high, step by step, this reminder? and, behold, it is We who shall truly guard it [from all corruption]

AND, INDEED, [O Prophet,] even before thy time did We send [Our apostles] unto communities of old

and never yet came an apostle to them without their deriding him

Even so do We [now] cause this [scorn of Our message] to pervade the hearts of those who are lost in sin

who do not believe in it, although the way which those [evildoers] of olden times had to go has long been within their ken

Yet even had We opened to them a gateway to heaven and they had ascended, on and on, up to it

they would surely have said, "It is only our eyes that are spellbound! Nay, we have been bewitched

AND, INDEED, We have set up in the heavens great constellations, and endowed them with beauty for all to behold

and We have made them secure against every satanic force accursed

so that anyone who seeks to learn [the unknowable] by stealth is pursued by a flame clear to see

And the earth -We have spread it out wide, and placed on it mountains firm, and caused [life] of every kind to grow on it in a balanced manner

and provided thereon means of livelihood for you [O men] as well as for all [living beings] whose sustenance does not depend on you

For, no single thing exists that does not have its source with Us; and nought do We bestow from on high unless it be in accordance with a measure well-defined

And We let loose the winds to fertilize [plants] and We send down water from the skies and let you drink thereof: and it is not you who dispose of its source

for, behold, it is We-We alone -who grant life and deal death, and it is We alone who shall remain after all else will have passed away

And well do We know [the hearts and deeds of all human beings - both] those who lived before you and those who will come after you

and, behold, it is thy Sustainer who will gather them all together [on Judgment Day]: verily, He is wise, all-knowing

AND, INDEED, We have created man out of sounding clay, out of dark-slime transmuted

whereas the invisible beings We had created, [long] before that, out of the fire of scorching winds

And lo! Thy Sustainer said unto the angels: "Behold, I am about to create mortal man out of sounding clay, out of dark slime transmuted

and when I have formed him fully and breathed into him of My spirit, fall down before him in prostration

Thereupon the angels prostrated themselves, all of them together

save Iblis: he refused to be among those who prostrated themselves

Said He: "O Iblis! What is thy reason for not being among those who have prostrated themselves

[Iblis] replied: "It is not for me to prostrate myself before mortal man whom Thou hast created out of sounding clay, out of dark slime transmuted

Said He: "Go forth, then, from this [angelic state]: for, behold, thou art [henceforth] accursed

and [My] rejection shall be thy due until the Day of Judgment

Said [Iblis]: "Then, O my Sustainer, grant me a respite till the Day when all shall be raised from the dead

Answered He: "Verily, so be it: thou shalt be among those who are granted respite

till the Day the time whereof is known [to Me alone]

[Whereupon Iblis] said: "O my Sustainer! Since Thou hast thwarted me, I shall indeed make [all that is evil] on earth seem goodly to them, and shall most certainly beguile them-into grievous error

[all] save such of them as are truly Thy servants

Said He: "This is, with Me. a straight way

verily, thou shalt have no power over My creatures- unless it be such as are [already] lost in grievous error and follow thee [of their own will]

and for all such, behold, hell is the promised goal

with seven gates leading into it, each gate receiving its allotted share of sinners

VERILY, those who are conscious of God [shall find themselves in the hereafter] amidst gardens and springs

[having been received with the greeting,] "Enter here in peace, secure

And [by then] We shall have removed whatever unworthy thoughts or feelings may have been [lingering] in their breasts, [and they shall rest] as brethren, facing one another [in love] upon thrones of happiness

No weariness shall ever touch them in this [state of bliss], and never shall they have to forgo it

Tell My servants that I - I alone - am truly forgiving, a true dispenser of grace

and [also,] that the suffering which I shall impose [on sinners] will indeed be a suffering most grievous

AND TELL THEM [once again] about Abraham's guests

[how,] when they presented themselves before him and bade him peace, he answered: "Behold, we are afraid of you

Said they: "Fear not! Behold, we bring thee the glad tiding of [the birth of] a son who will be endowed with deep knowledge

Said he: "Do you give me this glad tiding despite the fact that old age has overtaken me? Of what [strange thing], then, are you giving me a tiding

They answered: "We have given thee the glad tiding of something that is bound to come true. - so be not of those who abandon hope

[Abraham] exclaimed: "And who-other than those who have utterly lost their way-could ever abandon the hope of his Sustainer's grace

He added: "And what [else] may you have in view, O you [heavenly] messengers

They answered: "We are sent to people lost in sin [who are to be destroyed]

barring Lot's household, all of whom, behold, we shall save

excepting only his wife, [of whom God says,] `We have ordained [that], behold, she should be among those who stay behind

AND WHEN the messengers [of God] came to the house of Lot

They answered: "Nay, but we have come unto thee with [the announcement of] something that they [who are given to evil] have always been wont to call in question

and we are bringing thee the certainty [of its fulfilment]: for, behold, we are speaking the truth indeed

Go, then., with thy household while it is yet night, with thyself following them in the rear; and let none of you look back, but proceed whither you are bidden

And [through Our messengers] We revealed unto him this decree: "The last remnant of those [sinners] shall be wiped out" in the morn

And the people of the city came [unto Lot], rejoicing at the glad tiding

Exclaimed [Lot]: "Behold, these are my guests: so put me not to shame

but be conscious of God and disgrace me not

They answered: "Have we not forbidden thee [to offer protection] to any kind of people

[Lot] said: "[Take instead] these daughters of mine, if you must do [whatever you intend to do]

[But the angels spoke thus:] "As thou livest, [O Lot, they will not listen to thee:] behold, in their delirium [of lust] they are but blindly stumbling to and fro

And thereupon the blast [of Our punishment] overtook them at the time of sunrise

and We turned those [sinful towns} upside down, and rained down upon them stone-hard blows of chastisement pre-ordained

Verily, in all this there are messages indeed for those who can read the signs

for, behold, those [towns] stood by a road that still exists

Verily, herein lies a message indeed for all who believe [in God]

AND THE DWELLERS of the wooded dales [of Madyan, too,] were inveterate evildoers

and so We inflicted Our retribution on them. And, behold, both these [sinful communities] lived by a highway, [to this day] plain to see

AND, [likewise,] indeed, the people of Al-Hijr gave the lie to [Our] message-bearers

for We did vouchsafe them Our messages, but they obstinately turned their backs upon them

notwithstanding that they had been wont [to enjoy Our blessings and] to hew out dwellings from the mountains, [wherein they could live] in security

and so the blast [of Our punishment] overtook them at early morn

and of no avail to them was all [the power] that they had acquired

AND [remember:] We have not created the heavens and the earth and all that is between them without [an inner] truth; but, behold, the Hour [when this will become clear to all] is indeed yet to come. Hence, forgive [men's failings] with fair forbearance

verily, thy Sustainer is the all-knowing Creator of all things

AND, INDEED, We have bestowed upon thee seven of the oft repeated [verses], and [have, thus, laid open before thee] this sublime Qur'an

[so] turn, not thine eyes [longingly] towards the worldly benefits which We have granted unto some of those [that deny the truth]. And neither grieve over those [who refuse to heed thee], but spread the wings of thy tenderness over the believers

and say: "Behold, I am indeed the plain warner [promised by God]

[For, thou art the bearer of a divine writ] such as We have bestowed from on high upon those who [afterwards] broke it up into parts

[and] who [now] declare this Qur'an to be [a tissue of] falsehoods

But, by thy Sustainer! [On the Day of Judgment] We shall indeed call them to account, one and all

for whatever they have done

Hence, proclaim openly all that thou hast been bidden [to say], and leave alone all those who ascribe divinity to aught beside God

verily, We shall suffice thee against all who [now] deride [this message - all]

who assert that there are, side by side with God, other divine powers as well: for in time they will come to know [the truth]

And well do We know that thy bosom is constricted by the [blasphemous] things that they say

but extol thou thy Sustainer's limitless glory and praise Him, and be of those who prostrate themselves [before Him] in adoration

and worship thy Sustainer till death comes to thee