Chapter 15, 99 verses
Alif Lam Ra. These are the verses of the Book and (of) a Quran that makes (things) clear.
A. L. R. These are the Ayats of Revelation, - of a Qur'an that makes things clear.
Often will those who disbelieve wish that they had been Muslims.
Again and again will those who disbelieve, wish that they had bowed (to Allah's will) in Islam.
Leave them that they may eat and enjoy themselves and (that) hope may beguile them, for they will soon know.
Leave them alone, to enjoy (the good things of this life) and to please themselves: let (false) hope amuse them: soon will knowledge (undeceive them).
And never did We destroy a town but it had a term made known.
Never did We destroy a population that had not a term decreed and assigned beforehand.
No people can hasten on their doom nor can they postpone (it).
Neither can a people anticipate its term, nor delay it.
And they say: O you to whom the Reminder has been revealed! you are most surely insane:
They say: "O thou to whom the Message is being revealed! truly thou art mad (or possessed)!
Why do you not bring to us the angels if you are of the truthful ones?
"Why bringest thou not angels to us if it be that thou hast the Truth?"
We do not send the angels but with truth, and then they would not be respited.
We send not the angels down except for just cause: if they came (to the ungodly), behold! no respite would they have!
Surely We have revealed the Reminder and We will most surely be its guardian.
We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption).
And certainly We sent (apostles) before you among the nations of yore.
We did send messengers before thee amongst the religious sects of old:
And there never came an apostle to them but they mocked him.
But never came a messenger to them but they mocked him.
Thus do We make it to enter into the hearts of the guilty;
Even so do we let it creep into the hearts of the sinners -
They do not believe in it, and indeed the example of the former people has already passed.
That they should not believe in the (Message); but the ways of the ancients have passed away.
And even if We open to them a gateway of heaven, so that they ascend into it all the while,
Even if We opened out to them a gate from heaven, and they were to continue (all day) ascending therein,
They would certainly say: Only our eyes have been covered over, rather we are an enchanted people.
They would only say: "Our eyes have been intoxicated: Nay, we have been bewitched by sorcery."
And certainly We have made strongholds in the heaven and We have made it fair seeming to the beholders.
It is We Who have set out the zodiacal signs in the heavens, and made them fair - seeming to (all) beholders;
And We guard it against every accursed Shaitan,
And (moreover) We have guarded them from every cursed devil:
But he who steals a hearing, so there follows him a visible flame.
But any that gains a hearing by stealth, is pursued by a flaming fire, bright (to see).
And the earth - - We have spread it forth and made in it firm mountains and caused to grow in it of every suitable thing.
And the earth We have spread out (like a carpet); set thereon mountains firm and immovable; and produced therein all kinds of things in due balance.
And We have made in it means of subsistence for you and for him for whom you are not the suppliers.
And We have provided therein means of subsistence, - for you and for those for whose sustenance ye are not responsible.
And there is not a thing but with Us are the treasures of it, and We do not send it down but in a known measure.
And there is not a thing but its (sources and) treasures (inexhaustible) are with Us; but We only send down thereof in due and ascertainable measures.
And We send the winds fertilizing, then send down water from the cloud so We give it to you to drink of, nor is it you who store it up.
And We send the fecundating winds, then cause the rain to descend from the sky, therewith providing you with water (in abundance), though ye are not the guardians of its stores.
And most surely We bring to life and cause to die and We are the heirs.
And verily, it is We Who give life, and Who give death: it is We Who remain inheritors (after all else passes away).
And certainly We know those of you who have gone before and We certainly know those who shall come later.
To Us are known those of you who hasten forward, and those who lag behind.
And surely your Lord will gather them together; surely He is Wise, Knowing.
Assuredly it is thy Lord Who will gather them together: for He is perfect in Wisdom and Knowledge.
And certainly We created man of clay that gives forth sound, of black mud fashioned in shape.
We created man from sounding clay, from mud moulded into shape;
And the jinn We created before, of intensely hot fire.
And the Jinn race, We had created before, from the fire of a scorching wind.
And when your Lord said to the angels: Surely I am going to create a mortal of the essence of black mud fashioned in shape.
Behold! thy Lord said to the angels: "I am about to create man, from sounding clay from mud moulded into shape;
So when I have made him complete and breathed into him of My spirit, fall down making obeisance to him.
"When I have fashioned him (in due proportion) and breathed into him of My spirit, fall ye down in obeisance unto him."
So the angels made obeisance, all of them together,
So the angels prostrated themselves, all of them together:
But Iblis (did it not); he refused to be with those who made obeisance.
Not so Iblis: he refused to be among those who prostrated themselves.
He said: O Iblis! what excuse have you that you are not with those who make obeisance?
(Allah) said: "O Iblis! what is your reason for not being among those who prostrated themselves?"
He said: I am not such that I should make obeisance to a mortal whom Thou hast created of the essence of black mud fashioned in shape.
(Iblis) said: "I am not one to prostrate myself to man, whom Thou didst create from sounding clay, from mud moulded into shape."
He said: Then get out of it, for surely you are driven away:
(Allah) said: "Then get thee out from here; for thou art rejected, accursed.
And surely on you is curse until the day of judgment.
"And the curse shall be on thee till the day of Judgment."
He said: My Lord! then respite me till the time when they are raised.
(Iblis) said: "O my Lord! give me then respite till the Day the (dead) are raised."
He said: So surely you are of the respited ones
(Allah) said: "Respite is granted thee
Till the period of the time made known.
"Till the Day of the Time appointed."
He said: My Lord! because Thou hast made life evil to me, I will certainly make (evil) fair - seeming to them on earth, and I will certainly cause them all to deviate
(Iblis) said: "O my Lord! because Thou hast put me in the wrong, I will make (wrong) fair - seeming to them on the earth, and I will put them all in the wrong, -
Except Thy servants from among them, the devoted ones.
"Except Thy servants among them, sincere and purified (by Thy Grace)."
He said: This is a right way with Me:
(Allah) said: "This (way of My sincere servants) is indeed a way that leads straight to Me.
Surely. as regards My servants, you have no authority, over them except those who follow you of the deviators.
"For over My servants no authority shalt thou have, except such as put themselves in the wrong and follow thee."
And surely Hell is the promised place of them all:
And verily, Hell is the promised abode for them all!
It has seven gates; for every gate there shall be a separate party of them.
To it are seven gates: for each of those gates is a (special) class (of sinners) assigned.
Surely those who guard (against evil) shall be in the midst of gardens and fountains:
The righteous (will be) amid gardens and fountains (of clear - flowing water).
Enter them in peace, secure.
(Their greeting will be): "Enter ye here in peace and security."
And We will root out whatever of rancor is in their breasts - - (they shall be) as brethren, on raised couches, face to face.
And We shall remove from their hearts any lurking sense of injury: (they will be) brothers (joyfully) facing each other on thrones (of dignity).
Toil shall not afflict them in it, nor shall they be ever ejected from it.
There no sense of fatigue shall touch them, nor shall they (ever) be asked to leave.
Inform My servants that I am the Forgiving, the Merciful,
Tell My servants that I am indeed the Oft - forgiving, Most Merciful;
And that My punishment - - that is the painful punishment.
And that My Penalty will be indeed the most grievous Penalty.
And inform them of the guests of Ibrahim:
Tell them about the guests of Abraham.
When they entered upon him, they said, Peace. He said: Surely we are afraid of you.
When they entered his presence and said, "Peace!" He said, "We feel afraid of you!"
They said: Be not afraid, surely we give you the good news of a boy, possessing knowledge.
They said: "Fear not! We give thee glad tidings of a son endowed with wisdom."
He said: Do you give me good news (of a son) when old age has come upon me? - - Of what then do you give me good news!
He said: "Do ye give me glad tidings that old age has seized me? Of what, then, is your good news?"
They said: We give you good news with truth, therefore be not of the despairing.
They said: "We give thee glad tidings in truth: be not then in despair!"
He said: And who despairs of the mercy of his Lord but the erring ones?
He said: "And who despairs of the mercy of his Lord, but such as go astray?"
He said: What is your business then, O apostles?
Abraham said: "What then is the business on which ye (have come), O ye messengers (of Allah)?"
They said: Surely we are sent towards a guilty people,
They said: "We have been sent to a people (deep) in sin,
Except Lut's followers: We will most surely deliver them all,
"Excepting the adherents of Lut: them we are certainly (charged) to save (from harm), - All -
Except his wife; We ordained that she shall surely be of those who remain behind.
"Except his wife, who, We have ascertained, will be among those who will lag behind."
So when the apostles came to Lut's followers,
At length when the messengers arrived among the adherents of Lut,
He said: Surely you are an unknown people.
He said: "Ye appear to be uncommon folk."
They said: Nay, we have come to you with that about which they disputed.
They said: "Yea, we have come to thee to accomplish that of which they doubt.
And we have come to you with the truth, and we are most surely truthful.
"We have brought to thee that which is inevitably due, and assuredly we tell the truth.
Therefore go forth with your followers in a part of the night and yourself follow their rear, and let not any one of you turn round, and go forth whither you are commanded.
"Then travel by night with thy household, when a portion of the night (yet remains), and do thou bring up the rear: let no one amongst you look back, but pass on whither ye are ordered."
And We revealed to him this decree, that the roots of these shall be cut off in the morning.
And We made known this decree to him, that the last remnants of those (sinners) should be cut off by the morning.
And the people of the town came rejoicing.
The inhabitants of the city came in (mad) joy (at news of the young men).
He said: Surely these are my guests, therefore do not disgrace me,
Lut said: "These are my guests: disgrace me not:
And guard against (the punishment of) Allah and do not put me to shame.
"But fear Allah, and shame me not."
They said: Have we not forbidden you from (other) people?
They said: "Did we not forbid thee (to speak) for all and sundry?"
He said: These are my daughters, if you will do (aught).
He said: "There are my daughters (to marry), if ye must act (so)."
By your life! they were blindly wandering on in their intoxication.
Verily, by thy life (O Prophet), in their wild intoxication, they wander in distraction, to and fro.
So the rumbling overtook them (while) entering upon the time of sunrise;
But the (mighty) Blast overtook them before morning,
Thus did We turn it upside down, and rained down upon them stones of what had been decreed.
And We turned (the cities) upside down, and rained down on them brimstones hard as baked clay.
Surely in this are signs for those who examine.
Behold! in this are Signs for those who by tokens do understand.
And surely it is on a road that still abides.
And the (cities were) right on the high - road.
Most surely there is a sign in this for the believers.
Behold! in this is a sign for those who believed.
And the dwellers of the thicket also were most surely unjust.
And the Companions of the Wood were also wrong - doers;
So We inflicted retribution on them, and they are both, indeed, on an open road (still) pursued.
So We exacted retribution from them. They were both on an open highway, plain to see.
And the dwellers of the Rock certainly rejected the apostles;
The Companions of the Rocky Tract also rejected the messengers:
And We gave them Our communications, but they turned aside from them;
We sent them Our Signs, but they persisted in turning away from them.
And they hewed houses in the mountains in security.
Out of the mountains did they hew (their) edifices, (feeling themselves) secure.
So the rumbling overtook them in the morning;
But the (mighty) Blast seized them of a morning,
And what they earned did not avail them.
And of no avail to them was all that they did (with such art and care)!
And We did not create the heavens and the earth and what is between them two but in truth; and the hour is most surely coming, so turn away with kindly forgiveness.
We created not the heavens, the earth, and all between them, but for just ends. And the Hour is surely coming (when this will be manifest). So overlook (any human faults) with gracious forgiveness.
Surely your Lord is the Creator of all things, the Knowing.
For verily it is thy Lord who is the Master - Creator, knowing all things.
And certainly We have given you seven of the oft - repeated (verses) and the grand Quran.
And We have bestowed upon thee the Seven Oft - repeated (verses) and the Grand Qur'an.
Do not strain your eyes after what We have given certain classes of them to enjoy, and do not grieve for them, and make yourself gentle to the believers.
Strain not thine eyes. (Wistfully) at what We have bestowed on certain classes of them, nor grieve over them: but lower thy wing (in gentleness) to the believers.
And say: Surely I am the plain warner.
And say: "I am indeed he that warneth openly and without ambiguity," -
Like as We sent down on the dividers
(Of just such wrath) as We sent down on those who divided (Scripture into arbitrary parts), -
Those who made the Quran into shreds.
(So also on such) as have made Qur'an into shreds (as they please).
So, by your Lord, We would most certainly question them all,
Therefore, by the Lord, We will, of a surety, call them to account,
As to what they did.
For all their deeds.
Therefore declare openly what you are bidden and turn aside from the polytheists.
Therefore expound openly what thou art commanded, and turn away from those who join false gods with Allah.
Surely We will suffice you against the scoffers
For sufficient are We unto thee against those who scoff, -
Those who set up another god with Allah; so they shall soon know.
Those who adopt, with Allah, another god: but soon will they come to know.
And surely We know that your breast straitens at what they say;
We do indeed know how thy heart is distressed at what they say.
Therefore celebrate the praise of your Lord, and be of those who make obeisance.
But celebrate the praises of thy Lord, and be of those who prostrate themselves in adoration.
And serve your Lord until there comes to you that which is certain.
And serve thy Lord until there come unto thee the Hour that is Certain.