English - Chapter 87 - Al-Ala

EXTOL the limitless glory of thy Sustainer's name: [the glory of] the Al-Highest

who creates [every thing], and thereupon forms it in accordance with what it is meant to be

and who determines the nature [of all that exists], and thereupon guides it [towards its fulfilment]

and who brings forth herbage

and thereupon causes it to decay into rust-brown stubble

WE SHALL teach thee, and thou wilt not forget [aught of what thou art taught]

save what God may will [thee to forget] - for, verily, He [alone] knows all that is open to [man's] perception as well as all that is hidden [from it]

and [thus] shall We make easy for thee the path towards [ultimate] ease

REMIND, THEN, [others of the truth, regardless of] whether this reminding [would seem to] be of use [or not]

in mind will keep it he who stands in awe [of God]

but aloof from it will remain that most hapless wretch –

wherein he will neither die nor remain alive

To happiness [in the life to come] will indeed attain he who attains to purity [in this world]

and remembers his Sustainer's name, and prays [unto Him]

But nay, [O men,] you prefer the life of this world

although the life to come is better and more enduring

Verily, [all] this has indeed been [said] in the earlier revelations –

the revelations of Abraham and Moses