English - Chapter 17 - Al-Isra

Glory be to Him Who carried His servant by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque, whose precincts We have blessed, that We might show him some of Our signs. Truly He is the Hearer, the Seer

And We gave unto Moses the Book, and We made it a guidance for the Children of Israel—“Take no guardian apart from Me”—

the progeny of those whom We carried with Noah. Truly he was a thankful servant

And We decreed for the Children of Israel in the Book, “Surely you will work corruption upon the earth twice, and you will ascend to great height.”

So when the promise of the first of these came to pass, We sent against you servants of Ours, possessed of great might, and they ravaged your dwellings, and it was a promise fulfilled

Then We gave you a turn against them, and We aided you with wealth and children, and We made you greater in number

If you are virtuous, you are virtuous for the sake of your own souls, and if you commit evil, it is for them. So when the other promise comes to pass, they will make wretched your faces, and enter the Temple as they entered it the first time, and utterly ruin whatsoever they overtake

It may be that your Lord will have mercy upon you, but if you revert, We shall revert. And We have made Hell a prison for the disbelievers

Truly this Quran guides toward that which is most upright, and gives glad tidings to the believers who perform righteous deeds that theirs shall be a great reward

and that We have prepared a painful punishment for those who believe not in the Hereafter

Man prays for evil as he prays for good, and man is ever hasty

We made the night and the day two signs. Then We effaced the sign of the night, and made the sign of the day, giving sight, that you might seek bounty from your Lord, and that you might know the number of years and the reckoning. And We have expounded everything in detail

And [for] every man We have fastened his omen upon his neck, and We shall bring it forth for him on the Day of Resurrection as a book he will meet wide open

“Read your book! On this Day, your soul suffices as a reckoner against you.”

Whosoever is rightly guided is only rightly guided for the sake of his own soul, and whosoever is astray is only astray to its detriment. None shall bear the burden of another. And never do We punish till We have sent a messenger

And when We desire to destroy a town, We command those who live a life of luxury within it; yet they commit iniquity therein. Thus the Word comes due against it and We annihilate it completely

How many a generation have We destroyed after Noah! Thy Lord suffices as One Aware of the sins of His servants, Seeing

Whosoever would desire the ephemeral, We hasten for him therein whatsoever We will for whomsoever We desire. Then We appointed Hell for him, wherein he shall burn, blameworthy, banished

And whosoever desires the Hereafter, and endeavors for it earnestly, and is a believer, it is they whose efforts shall be appreciated

Each do We aid—both these and those—with the Gift of thy Lord; and the Gift of thy Lord is not confined

Observe how We have favored some of them over others, and surely the Hereafter is greater in ranking and greater in favor

Do not set up another god along with God, lest you sit blameworthy, forsaken

Thy Lord decrees that you worship none but Him, and be virtuous to parents. Whether one or both of them reaches old age, say not to them “Uff!” nor chide them, but speak unto them a noble word

Lower unto them the wing of humility out of mercy and say, “My Lord! Have mercy upon them, as they raised me when I was small.”

Your Lord knows best that which is in your souls. If you are righteous, then verily He is Forgiving toward the penitent

Give unto the kinsman his right, and unto the indigent and the traveler, but do not squander wastefully

Truly the wasteful are the brethren of satans, and Satan is ungrateful to his Lord

But if thou turnest away from them, seeking a mercy from thy Lord, for which thou dost hope, then speak unto them a gentle word

And let not thine hand be shackled to thy neck; nor let it be entirely open, lest thou shouldst sit condemned, destitute

Truly thy Lord outspreads and straitens provision for whomsoever He will. Verily of His servants He is Aware, Seeing

And slay not your children for fear of poverty. We shall provide for them and for you. Surely their slaying is a great sin

And approach not adultery; verily it is indecency and an evil way

And slay not the soul that God has made inviolable, save by right. And whosoever is slain unjustly, We have appointed authority unto his heir. Then let him not be excessive in slaying. Verily he shall be helped

And approach not the orphan’s property, save in the most virtuous manner, till he reaches maturity. And fulfill the pact; surely the pact is called to account

And give full measure when you measure, and weigh with the straight balance. That is better and more virtuous in the end

And pursue not that whereof you have no knowledge. Truly hearing, and sight, and the heart—all of these will be called to account

And walk not exultantly upon the earth; surely thou shalt not penetrate the earth, nor reach the mountains in height

The evil of all this is loathsome unto thy Lord

Did your Lord favor you with sons, while He took females from among the angels [for Himself]? Surely you speak a monstrous word

And We have indeed varied [Our signs] in this Quran, that they might reflect, though it increased them in naught but aversion

Say, “If there were gods with Him, as they say, they would surely seek a way unto the Possessor of the Throne.”

Glory be to Him! Exalted is He above whatsoever they say

The seven heavens, and the earth, and whosoever is in them glorify Him. And there is no thing, save that it hymns His praise, though you do not understand their praise. Truly He is Clement, Forgiving

And when thou recitest the Quran, We place a hidden veil between thee and those who believe not in the Hereafter

And We have placed coverings over their hearts, such that they understand it not, and in their ears a deafness. And whenever thou dost mention thy Lord alone in the Quran, they turn their backs in aversion

We know best that which they listen for when they listen to thee, and when they converse in secret, when the wrongdoers say, “You follow naught but a man bewitched!”

Look how they set forth descriptions of thee. Thus they go astray and cannot find a way

They say, “What! When we are bones and dust, shall we indeed be resurrected as a new creation?”

Say, “Be you of stone, or of iron

or some other created thing more difficult [to resurrect] to your minds.” Then they will say, “Who will bring us back?” Say, “He Who originated you the first time.” And they will shake their heads at thee and say, “When will it be?” Say, “It may well be nigh.”

The Day when He calls you, you will respond by praising Him, and you will think that you tarried but a short while

Say unto My servants that they should say that which is more virtuous. Surely Satan provokes ill feeling between them. Surely Satan is a manifest enemy unto man

Your Lord knows you best. If He wills, He has Mercy upon you, and if He wills, He punishes you, and We have not sent thee as a guardian over them

And thy Lord knows best whosoever is in the heavens and the earth. And We indeed favored some of the prophets over others, and unto David We gave the Psalms

Say, “Call upon those whom you claim apart from Him, but they have no power to remove affliction from you, nor to change [it].”

It is they who make supplication, seeking a means of approach to their Lord. Which of them is nearer? And they hope for His Mercy and fear His Punishment. Truly the Punishment of thy Lord is something of which to be wary

There is no town, save that We shall destroy it before the Day of Resurrection, or punish it with a severe punishment. That is inscribed in the Book

Naught hinders Us from sending signs, save that those of old denied them. And We gave unto Thamud the she-camel as a clear portent, but they wronged her. And We do not send down Our signs, save to inspire fear

And [remember] when We said unto thee, “Surely thy Lord encompasses mankind.” We did not ordain the vision that We showed thee, save as a trial for mankind, and the Accursed Tree in the Quran. And We inspire fear in them, but it increases them in naught but great rebellion

And when We said unto the angels, “Prostrate before Adam,” they all prostrated, save Iblis. He said, “Shall I prostrate before one whom Thou hast created of clay?”

He said, “Dost Thou see this, which Thou hast honored above me? If Thou dost grant me reprieve till the Day of Resurrection, I shall surely gain mastery over his progeny, all save a few.”

He said, “Go! And whosoever among them should follow thee, surely Hell shall be thy recompense—an ample recompense

So incite whomsoever thou canst among them with thy voice, and bear down upon them with thy cavalry and thy infantry, and be their partner in wealth and children, and make them promises.” Satan promises them naught but delusion

“As for My servants, truly thou hast no authority over them.” And thy Lord suffices as a Guardian

Your Lord is He Who makes the ships sail upon the sea, that you might seek of His Bounty. Verily, He is Merciful unto you

And whenever affliction befalls you at sea, forgotten are those whom you would call upon, save for Him. Then when He has delivered you safely to land, you turn away. Man is ever ungrateful

Do you feel secure that He will not cause the shore to engulf you or unleash a torrent of stones upon you? Then would you find no guardian for yourselves

Or do you feel secure that He will not cause you to return to it another time, and unleash upon you a tempestuous wind, and drown you for your having been ungrateful? Then you would find no avenger therein against Us

We have indeed honored the Children of Adam, and We carry them over land and sea, and provide them with good things, and We have favored them above many We have created

On the Day We shall call every people by their imam, whosoever is given his book in his right hand, it is they who shall read their book, and they shall not be wronged so much as the thread of a date stone

And whosoever was blind in this [life] will be blind in the Hereafter, and further astray from the way

And they were about to tempt thee away from that which We revealed unto thee, that thou mightest falsely ascribe unto Us something other than it, whereupon they would surely have taken thee as a friend

And had We not made thee firm, thou wouldst certainly have inclined toward them a little

Then We would have made thee taste double in life and double in death. Then thou wouldst have found for thyself no helper against Us

And they were about to incite thee from the land, in order to expel thee therefrom, whereupon they would not have tarried after thee, save a little—

the wont of those among Our messengers whom We sent before thee. And thou wilt find no change in Our wont

Perform the prayer at the declining of the sun till the darkening of the night. And the recitation at dawn—truly, the recitation at dawn is ever witnessed

And keep vigil in prayer for part of the night, as a supererogatory act for thee. It may be that thy Lord will resurrect thee in a praiseworthy station

And say, “My Lord! Make me enter in a sincere manner, and make me go forth in a sincere manner, and ordain for me, from Thy Presence, an authority to help me.”

Say, “Truth has come, and falsehood has vanished. Truly falsehood is ever vanishing.”

And We send down of the Quran that which is a cure and a mercy for the believers. And it increases the wrongdoers in naught but loss

And whenever We bestow a blessing upon man, he turns away and withdraws. And whenever evil befalls him, he is in despair

Say, “Each acts according to his disposition, and your Lord knows well who is more rightly guided on the way.”

They ask thee about the Spirit. Say, “The Spirit is from the Command of my Lord, and you have not been given knowledge, save a little.”

And if We willed, We could take away that which We revealed unto thee. Then thou wouldst not find, for thyself, any guardian against Us

save a mercy from thy Lord. Truly His Bounty toward thee is ever great

Say, “Surely if mankind and jinn banded together to bring the like of this Quran, they would not bring the like thereof, even if they supported one another.”

And indeed We have employed every kind of parable for mankind in this Quran. Yet most of mankind refuse aught but disbelief

And they say, “We shall not believe in you till you make a spring gush forth for us from the earth

or till you have a garden of date palms and grapevines, and you make streams gush forth in the midst of it

or till you make the sky fall upon us in pieces, as you have claimed, or you bring God and the angels before us

or till you have a house of gold ornament, or you ascend to Heaven. And we shall not believe in your ascension till you bring down unto us a book we can read.” Say, “Glory be to my Lord! Am I aught but a human being, a messenger?”

And nothing hindered men from believing when guidance came unto them, save that they said, “Has God sent a human being as a messenger?”

Say, “Were there angels walking about upon the earth in peace, We would have sent down upon them an angel from Heaven as a messenger.”

Say, “God suffices as a Witness between you and me. Verily, of His servants He is Aware, Seeing.”

Whomsoever God guides, he is rightly guided; and whomsoever He leads astray, thou wilt find no protectors for them apart from Him. And We shall gather them on the Day of Resurrection upon their faces—blind, dumb, and deaf—their refuge shall be Hell. Every time it abates, We shall increase for them a blazing flame

That is their recompense for having disbelieved in Our signs. And they say, “What! When we are bones and dust, shall we indeed be resurrected as a new creation?”

Have they not considered that God, Who created the heavens and the earth, has the power to create the like of them? And He has ordained for them a term, about which there is no doubt. Yet the wrongdoers refuse aught but disbelief

Say, “Were you to possess the treasuries of my Lord’s Mercy, you would surely withhold them, out of fear of spending. Man is ever miserly!”

And We indeed gave unto Moses nine clear signs. So ask the Children of Israel. When he came unto them, Pharaoh said, “Truly I think that you, O Moses, are bewitched!”

He said, “You certainly know that no one has sent these down as clear portents, save the Lord of the heavens and the earth. And truly I think that you, O Pharaoh, are doomed.”

And he desired to incite them from the land; so We drowned him and those with him all together

And We said thereafter unto the Children of Israel, “Dwell in the land. And when the promise of the Hereafter comes to pass, We shall bring you as a mixed assembly.”

In truth We sent it down, and in truth it descended. And We sent thee not, save as a bearer of glad tidings and as a warner

and [We sent it down] as a recitation We have divided in parts, that thou mayest recite it unto men in intervals, and We sent it down in successive revelations

Say, “Believe in it, or believe not.” Surely those who were given knowledge before it, when it is recited unto them, fall down prostrate on their faces

And they say, “Glory be to our Lord! The Promise of our Lord is indeed fulfilled.”

And they fall down on their faces, weeping, and it increases them in humility

Say, “Call upon God, or call upon the Compassionate. Whichever you call upon, to Him belong the Most Beautiful Names. And be not loud in your prayer, nor too quiet therein, but seek a way between.”

And say, “Praise be to God, who has no child! He has no partner in sovereignty; nor has He any protector out of lowliness.” And proclaim His Greatness