A Book revealed unto thee,- So let thy heart be oppressed no more by any difficulty on that account,-
that with it thou mightest warn (the erring) and teach the Believers).
Follow (O men!) the revelation given unto you from your Lord, and follow not, as friends or protectors,
other than Him. Little it is ye remember of admonition.
It is We Who have placed you with authority on earth, and provided you therein with means for the
fulfilment of your life: small are the thanks that ye give!
It is We Who created you and gave you shape; then We bade the angels bow down to Adam, and they bowed
down; not so Iblis; He refused to be of those who bow down.
(Allah) said: "What prevented thee from bowing down when I commanded thee?" He said: "I am better than
he: Thou didst create me from fire, and him from clay."
"Then will I assault them from before them and behind them, from their right and their left: Nor wilt
thou find, in most of them, gratitude (for thy mercies)."
"O Adam! dwell thou and thy wife in the Garden, and enjoy (its good things) as ye wish: but approach not
this tree, or ye run into harm and transgression."
Then began Satan to whisper suggestions to them, bringing openly before their minds all their shame that
was hidden from them (before): he said: "Your Lord only forbade you this tree, lest ye should become
angels or such beings as live for ever."
So by deceit he brought about their fall: when they tasted of the tree, their shame became manifest to
them, and they began to sew together the leaves of the garden over their bodies. And their Lord called
unto them: "Did I not forbid you that tree, and tell you that Satan was an avowed enemy unto you?"
O ye Children of Adam! We have bestowed raiment upon you to cover your shame, as well as to be an
adornment to you. But the raiment of righteousness,- that is the best. Such are among the Signs of
Allah, that they may receive admonition!
O ye Children of Adam! Let not Satan seduce you, in the same manner as He got your parents out of the
Garden, stripping them of their raiment, to expose their shame: for he and his tribe watch you from a
position where ye cannot see them: We made the evil ones friends (only) to those without faith.
When they do aught that is shameful, they say: "We found our fathers doing so"; and "Allah commanded us
thus": Say: "Nay, Allah never commands what is shameful: do ye say of Allah what ye know not?"
Say: "My Lord hath commanded justice; and that ye set your whole selves (to Him) at every time and place
of prayer, and call upon Him, making your devotion sincere as in His sight: such as He created you in
the beginning, so shall ye return."
Some He hath guided: Others have (by their choice) deserved the loss of their way; in that they took the
evil ones, in preference to Allah, for their friends and protectors, and think that they receive
guidance.
O Children of Adam! wear your beautiful apparel at every time and place of prayer: eat and drink: But
waste not by excess, for Allah loveth not the wasters.
Say: Who hath forbidden the beautiful (gifts) of Allah, which He hath produced for His servants, and the
things, clean and pure, (which He hath provided) for sustenance? Say: They are, in the life of this
world, for those who believe, (and) purely for them on the Day of Judgment. Thus do We explain the signs
in detail for those who understand.
Say: the things that my Lord hath indeed forbidden are: shameful deeds, whether open or secret; sins and
trespasses against truth or reason; assigning of partners to Allah, for which He hath given no
authority; and saying things about Allah of which ye have no knowledge.
To every people is a term appointed: when their term is reached, not an hour can they cause delay, nor
(an hour) can they advance (it in anticipation).
O ye Children of Adam! whenever there come to you apostles from amongst you, rehearsing My signs unto
you,- those who are righteous and mend (their lives),- on them shall be no fear nor shall they grieve.
Who is more unjust than one who invents a lie against Allah or rejects His Signs? For such, their
portion appointed must reach them from the Book (of decrees): until, when our messengers (of death)
arrive and take their souls, they say: "Where are the things that ye used to invoke besides Allah?" They
will reply, "They have left us in the lurch," And they will bear witness against themselves, that they
had rejected Allah.
He will say: "Enter ye in the company of the peoples who passed away before you - men and jinns, - into
the Fire." Every time a new people enters, it curses its sister-people (that went before), until they
follow each other, all into the Fire. Saith the last about the first: "Our Lord! it is these that misled
us: so give them a double penalty in the Fire." He will say: "Doubled for all" : but this ye do not
understand.
To those who reject Our signs and treat them with arrogance, no opening will there be of the gates of
heaven, nor will they enter the garden, until the camel can pass through the eye of the needle: Such is
Our reward for those in sin.
But those who believe and work righteousness,- no burden do We place on any soul, but that which it can
bear,- they will be Companions of the Garden, therein to dwell (for ever).
And We shall remove from their hearts any lurking sense of injury;- beneath them will be rivers
flowing;- and they shall say: "Praise be to Allah, who hath guided us to this (felicity): never could we
have found guidance, had it not been for the guidance of Allah: indeed it was the truth, that the
apostles of our Lord brought unto us." And they shall hear the cry: "Behold! the garden before you! Ye
have been made its inheritors, for your deeds (of righteousness)."
Between them shall be a veil, and on the heights will be men who would know every one by his marks: they
will call out to the Companions of the Garden, "peace on you": they will not have entered, but they will
have an assurance (thereof).
The men on the heights will call to certain men whom they will know from their marks, saying: "Of what
profit to you were your hoards and your arrogant ways?
"Behold! are these not the men whom you swore that Allah with His Mercy would never bless? Enter ye the
Garden: no fear shall be on you, nor shall ye grieve."
"Such as took their religion to be mere amusement and play, and were deceived by the life of the world."
That day shall We forget them as they forgot the meeting of this day of theirs, and as they were wont to
reject Our signs.
Do they just wait for the final fulfilment of the event? On the day the event is finally fulfilled,
those who disregarded it before will say: "The apostles of our Lord did indeed bring true (tidings).
Have we no intercessors now to intercede on our behalf? Or could we be sent back? then should we behave
differently from our behaviour in the past." In fact they will have lost their souls, and the things
they invented will leave them in the lurch.
Your Guardian-Lord is Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth in six days, and is firmly
established on the throne (of authority): He draweth the night as a veil oer the day, each seeking
the other in rapid succession: He created the sun, the moon, and the stars, (all) governed by laws under
His command. Is it not His to create and to govern? Blessed be Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the
worlds!
Do no mischief on the earth, after it hath been set in order, but call on Him with fear and longing (in
your hearts): for the Mercy of Allah is (always) near to those who do good.
It is He Who sendeth the winds like heralds of glad tidings, going before His mercy: when they have
carried the heavy-laden clouds, We drive them to a land that is dead, make rain to descend thereon, and
produce every kind of harvest therewith: thus shall We raise up the dead: perchance ye may remember.
From the land that is clean and good, by the will of its Cherisher, springs up produce, (rich) after its
kind: but from the land that is bad, springs up nothing but that which is niggardly: thus do we explain
the signs by various (symbols) to those who are grateful.
"Do ye wonder that there hath come to you a message from your Lord, through a man of your own people, to
warn you,- so that ye may fear Allah and haply receive His Mercy?"
But they rejected him, and We delivered him, and those with him, in the Ark: but We overwhelmed in the
flood those who rejected Our signs. They were indeed a blind people!
To the Ad people, (We sent) Hud, one of their (own) brethren: He said: O my people! worship Allah!
ye have no other god but Him will ye not fear (Allah)?"
"Do ye wonder that there hath come to you a message from your Lord through a man of your own people, to
warn you? call in remembrance that He made you inheritors after the people of Noah, and gave you a
stature tall among the nations. Call in remembrance the benefits (ye have received) from Allah: that so
ye may prosper."
They said: "Comest thou to us, that we may worship Allah alone, and give up the cult of our fathers?
bring us what thou threatenest us with, if so be that thou tellest the truth!"
He said: "Punishment and wrath have already come upon you from your Lord: dispute ye with me over names
which ye have devised - ye and your fathers,- without authority from Allah? then wait: I am amongst you,
also waiting."
"And remember how He made you inheritors after the Ad people and gave you habitations in the land:
ye build for yourselves palaces and castles in (open) plains, and care out homes in the mountains; so
bring to remembrance the benefits (ye have received) from Allah, and refrain from evil and mischief on
the earth."
The leaders of the arrogant party among his people said to those who were reckoned powerless - those
among them who believed: "know ye indeed that Salih is an apostle from his Lord?" They said: "We do
indeed believe in the revelation which hath been sent through him."
Then they ham-strung the she-camel, and insolently defied the order of their Lord, saying: "O Salih!
bring about thy threats, if thou art an apostle (of Allah)!"
So Salih left them, saying: "O my people! I did indeed convey to you the message for which I was sent by
my Lord: I gave you good counsel, but ye love not good counsellors!"
"And squat not on every road, breathing threats, hindering from the path of Allah those who believe in
Him, and seeking in it something crooked; But remember how ye were little, and He gave you increase. And
hold in your minds eye what was the end of those who did mischief.
"And if there is a party among you who believes in the message with which I have been sent, and a party
which does not believe, hold yourselves in patience until Allah doth decide between us: for He is the
best to decide.
The leaders, the arrogant party among his people, said: "O Shuaib! we shall certainly drive thee
out of our city - (thee) and those who believe with thee; or else ye (thou and they) shall have to
return to our ways and religion." He said: "What! even though we do detest (them)?
"We should indeed invent a lie against Allah, if we returned to your ways after Allah hath rescued us
therefrom; nor could we by any manner of means return thereto unless it be as in the will and plan of
Allah, Our Lord. Our Lord can reach out to the utmost recesses of things by His knowledge. In the Allah
is our trust. our Lord! decide Thou between us and our people in truth, for Thou art the best to
decide."
The men who reject Shuaib became as if they had never been in the homes where they had flourished:
the men who rejected Shuaib - it was they who were ruined!
So Shuaib left them, saying: "O my people! I did indeed convey to you the messages for which I was
sent by my Lord: I gave you good counsel, but how shall I lament over a people who refuse to believe!"
Then We changed their suffering into prosperity, until they grew and multiplied, and began to say: "Our
fathers (too) were touched by suffering and affluence" ... Behold! We called them to account of a
sudden, while they realised not (their peril).
If the people of the towns had but believed and feared Allah, We should indeed have opened out to them
(All kinds of) blessings from heaven and earth; but they rejected (the truth), and We brought them to
book for their misdeeds.
To those who inherit the earth in succession to its (previous) possessors, is it not a guiding, (lesson)
that, if We so willed, We could punish them (too) for their sins, and seal up their hearts so that they
could not hear?
Such were the towns whose story We (thus) relate unto thee: There came indeed to them their apostles
with clear (signs): But they would not believe what they had rejected before. Thus doth Allah seal up
the hearts of those who reject faith.
Then after them We sent Moses with Our signs to Pharaoh and his chiefs, but they wrongfully rejected
them: So see what was the end of those who made mischief.
One for whom it is right to say nothing but truth about Allah. Now have I come unto you (people), from
your Lord, with a clear (Sign): So let the Children of Israel depart along with me."
Said Moses: "Throw ye (first)." So when they threw, they bewitched the eyes of the people, and struck
terror into them: for they showed a great (feat of) magic.
So the (great ones) were vanquished there and then, and were made to look small.
119 فَغُلِبُوا هُنَالِكَ وَانقَلَبُوا صَاغِرِينَ
But the sorcerers fell down prostrate in adoration.
120 وَأُلْقِيَ السَّحَرَةُ سَاجِدِينَ
Saying: "We believe in the Lord of the Worlds,-
121 قَالُوا آمَنَّا بِرَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
"The Lord of Moses and Aaron."
122 رَبِّ مُوسَىٰ وَهَارُونَ
Said Pharaoh: "Believe ye in Him before I give you permission? Surely this is a trick which ye have
planned in the city to drive out its people: but soon shall ye know (the consequences).
They said: "For us, We are but sent back unto our Lord:
125 قَالُوا إِنَّا إِلَىٰ رَبِّنَا مُنقَلِبُونَ
"But thou dost wreak thy vengeance on us simply because we believed in the Signs of our Lord when they
reached us! Our Lord! pour out on us patience and constancy, and take our souls unto thee as Muslims
(who bow to thy will)!
Said the chiefs of Pharaohs people: "Wilt thou leave Moses and his people, to spread mischief in
the land, and to abandon thee and thy gods?" He said: "Their male children will we slay; (only) their
females will we save alive; and we have over them (power) irresistible."
Said Moses to his people: "Pray for help from Allah, and (wait) in patience and constancy: for the earth
is Allahs, to give as a heritage to such of His servants as He pleaseth; and the end is (best) for
the righteous.
They said: "We have had (nothing but) trouble, both before and after thou camest to us." He said: "It
may be that your Lord will destroy your enemy and make you inheritors in the earth; that so He may try
you by your deeds."
But when good (times) came, they said, "This is due to us;" When gripped by calamity, they ascribed it
to evil omens connected with Moses and those with him! Behold! in truth the omens of evil are theirs in
Allahs sight, but most of them do not understand!
So We sent (plagues) on them: Wholesale death, Locusts, Lice, Frogs, And Blood: Signs openly
self-explained: but they were steeped in arrogance,- a people given to sin.
Every time the penalty fell on them, they said: "O Moses! on your behalf call on thy Lord in virtue of
his promise to thee: If thou wilt remove the penalty from us, we shall truly believe in thee, and we
shall send away the Children of Israel with thee."
And We made a people, considered weak (and of no account), inheritors of lands in both east and west, -
lands whereon We sent down Our blessings. The fair promise of thy Lord was fulfilled for the Children of
Israel, because they had patience and constancy, and We levelled to the ground the great works and fine
buildings which Pharaoh and his people erected (with such pride).
We took the Children of Israel (with safety) across the sea. They came upon a people devoted entirely to
some idols they had. They said: "O Moses! fashion for us a god like unto the gods they have." He said:
"Surely ye are a people without knowledge.
And remember We rescued you from Pharaohs people, who afflicted you with the worst of penalties,
who slew your male children and saved alive your females: in that was a momentous trial from your Lord.
We appointed for Moses thirty nights, and completed (the period) with ten (more): thus was completed the
term (of communion) with his Lord, forty nights. And Moses had charged his brother Aaron (before he went
up): "Act for me amongst my people: Do right, and follow not the way of those who do mischief."
When Moses came to the place appointed by Us, and his Lord addressed him, He said: "O my Lord! show
(Thyself) to me, that I may look upon thee." Allah said: "By no means canst thou see Me (direct); But
look upon the mount; if it abide in its place, then shalt thou see Me." When his Lord manifested His
glory on the Mount, He made it as dust. And Moses fell down in a swoon. When he recovered his senses he
said: "Glory be to Thee! to Thee I turn in repentance, and I am the first to believe."
(Allah) said: "O Moses! I have chosen thee above (other) men, by the mission I (have given thee) and the
words I (have spoken to thee): take then the (revelation) which I give thee, and be of those who give
thanks."
And We ordained laws for him in the tablets in all matters, both commanding and explaining all things,
(and said): "Take and hold these with firmness, and enjoin thy people to hold fast by the best in the
precepts: soon shall I show you the homes of the wicked,- (How they lie desolate)."
Those who behave arrogantly on the earth in defiance of right - them will I turn away from My signs:
Even if they see all the signs, they will not believe in them; and if they see the way of right conduct,
they will not adopt it as the way; but if they see the way of error, that is the way they will adopt.
For they have rejected our signs, and failed to take warning from them.
The people of Moses made, in his absence, out of their ornaments, the image of calf, (for worship): it
seemed to low: did they not see that it could neither speak to them, nor show them the way? They took it
for worship and they did wrong.
When they repented, and saw that they had erred, they said: "If our Lord have not mercy upon us and
forgive us, we shall indeed be of those who perish."
When Moses came back to his people, angry and grieved, he said: "Evil it is that ye have done in my
place in my absence: did ye make haste to bring on the judgment of your Lord?" He put down the tablets,
seized his brother by (the hair of) his head, and dragged him to him. Aaron said: "Son of my mother! the
people did indeed reckon me as naught, and went near to slaying me! Make not the enemies rejoice over my
misfortune, nor count thou me amongst the people of sin."
Those who took the calf (for worship) will indeed be overwhelmed with wrath from their Lord, and with
shame in this life: thus do We recompense those who invent (falsehoods).
And Moses chose seventy of his people for Our place of meeting: when they were seized with violent
quaking, he prayed: "O my Lord! if it had been Thy will Thou couldst have destroyed, long before, both
them and me: wouldst Thou destroy us for the deeds of the foolish ones among us? this is no more than
Thy trial: by it Thou causest whom Thou wilt to stray, and Thou leadest whom Thou wilt into the right
path. Thou art our Protector: so forgive us and give us Thy mercy; for Thou art the best of those who
forgive.
"And ordain for us that which is good, in this life and in the Hereafter: for we have turned unto Thee."
He said: "With My punishment I visit whom I will; but My mercy extendeth to all things. That (mercy) I
shall ordain for those who do right, and practise regular charity, and those who believe in Our signs;-
"Those who follow the apostle, the unlettered Prophet, whom they find mentioned in their own
(scriptures),- in the law and the Gospel;- for he commands them what is just and forbids them what is
evil; he allows them as lawful what is good (and pure) and prohibits them from what is bad (and impure);
He releases them from their heavy burdens and from the yokes that are upon them. So it is those who
believe in him, honour him, help him, and follow the light which is sent down with him,- it is they who
will prosper."
day: "O men! I am sent unto you all, as the Apostle of Allah, to Whom belongeth the dominion of the
heavens and the earth: there is no god but He: it is He That giveth both life and death. So believe in
Allah and His Apostle, the Unlettered Prophet, who believeth in Allah and His words: follow him that
(so) ye may be guided."
We divided them into twelve tribes or nations. We directed Moses by inspiration, when his (thirsty)
people asked him for water: "Strike the rock with thy staff": out of it there gushed forth twelve
springs: Each group knew its own place for water. We gave them the shade of clouds, and sent down to
them manna and quails, (saying): "Eat of the good things We have provided for you": (but they rebelled);
to Us they did no harm, but they harmed their own souls.
And remember it was said to them: "Dwell in this town and eat therein as ye wish, but say the word of
humility and enter the gate in a posture of humility: We shall forgive you your faults; We shall
increase (the portion of) those who do good."
But the transgressors among them changed the word from that which had been given them so we sent on them
a plague from heaven. For that they repeatedly transgressed.
Ask them concerning the town standing close by the sea. Behold! they transgressed in the matter of the
Sabbath. For on the day of their Sabbath their fish did come to them, openly holding up their heads, but
on the day they had no Sabbath, they came not: thus did We make a trial of them, for they were given to
transgression.
When some of them said: "Why do ye preach to a people whom Allah will destroy or visit with a terrible
punishment?"- said the preachers:" To discharge our duty to your Lord, and perchance they may fear Him."
When they disregarded the warnings that had been given them, We rescued those who forbade Evil; but We
visited the wrong-doers with a grievous punishment because they were given to transgression.
Behold! thy Lord did declare that He would send against them, to the Day of Judgment, those who would
afflict them with grievous penalty. Thy Lord is quick in retribution, but He is also Oft-forgiving, Most
Merciful.
We broke them up into sections on this earth. There are among them some that are the righteous, and some
that are the opposite. We have tried them with both prosperity and adversity: In order that they might
turn (to us).
When We shook the Mount over them, as if it had been a canopy, and they thought it was going to fall on
them (We said): "Hold firmly to what We have given you, and bring (ever) to remembrance what is therein;
perchance ye may fear Allah."
When thy Lord drew forth from the Children of Adam - from their loins - their descendants, and made them
testify concerning themselves, (saying): "Am I not your Lord (who cherishes and sustains you)?"- They
said: "Yea! We do testify!" (This), lest ye should say on the Day of Judgment: "Of this we were never
mindful":
Or lest ye should say: "Our fathers before us may have taken false gods, but we are (their) descendants
after them: wilt Thou then destroy us because of the deeds of men who were futile?"
If it had been Our will, We should have elevated him with Our signs; but he inclined to the earth, and
followed his own vain desires. His similitude is that of a dog: if you attack him, he lolls out his
tongue, or if you leave him alone, he (still) lolls out his tongue. That is the similitude of those who
reject Our signs; So relate the story; perchance they may reflect.
Many are the Jinns and men we have made for Hell: They have hearts wherewith they understand not, eyes
wherewith they see not, and ears wherewith they hear not. They are like cattle,- nay more misguided: for
they are heedless (of warning).
The most beautiful names belong to Allah: so call on him by them; but shun such men as use profanity in
his names: for what they do, they will soon be requited.
Do they see nothing in the government of the heavens and the earth and all that Allah hath created? (Do
they not see) that it may well be that their terms is nigh drawing to an end? In what message after this
will they then believe?
Say: "I have no power over any good or harm to myself except as Allah willeth. If I had knowledge of the
unseen, I should have multiplied all good, and no evil should have touched me: I am but a warner, and a
bringer of glad tidings to those who have faith."
It is He Who created you from a single person, and made his mate of like nature, in order that he might
dwell with her (in love). When they are united, she bears a light burden and carries it about
(unnoticed). When she grows heavy, they both pray to Allah their Lord, (saying): "If Thou givest us a
goodly child, we vow we shall (ever) be grateful."
But when He giveth them a goodly child, they ascribe to others a share in the gift they have received:
but Allah is exalted high above the partners they ascribe to Him.
Verily those whom ye call upon besides Allah are servants like unto you: Call upon them, and let them
listen to your prayer, if ye are (indeed) truthful!
If thou bring them not a revelation, they say: "Why hast thou not got it together?" Say: "I but follow
what is revealed to me from my Lord: this is (nothing but) lights from your Lord, and Guidance, and
mercy, for any who have faith."
And do thou (O reader!) Bring thy Lord to remembrance in thy (very) soul, with humility and in
reverence, without loudness in words, in the mornings and evenings; and be not thou of those who are
unheedful.