They say: "Our hearts are under veils, (concealed) from that to which thou dost invite us, and in our
ears in a deafness, and between us and thee is a screen: so do thou (what thou wilt); for us, we shall
do (what we will!)"
Say thou: "I am but a man like you: It is revealed to me by Inspiration, that your Allah is one Allah:
so stand true to Him, and ask for His Forgiveness." And woe to those who join gods with Allah,-
He set on the (earth), mountains standing firm, high above it, and bestowed blessings on the earth, and
measure therein all things to give them nourishment in due proportion, in four Days, in accordance with
(the needs of) those who seek (Sustenance).
Moreover He comprehended in His design the sky, and it had been (as) smoke: He said to it and to the
earth: "Come ye together, willingly or unwillingly." They said: "We do come (together), in willing
obedience."
So He completed them as seven firmaments in two Days, and He assigned to each heaven its duty and
command. And We adorned the lower heaven with lights, and (provided it) with guard. Such is the Decree
of (Him) the Exalted in Might, Full of Knowledge.
But if they turn away, say thou: "I have warned you of a stunning Punishment (as of thunder and
lightning) like that which (overtook) the Ad and the Thamud!"
Behold, the apostles came to them, from before them and behind them, (preaching): "Serve none but
Allah." They said, "If our Lord had so pleased, He would certainly have sent down angels (to preach).
Now we reject your mission (altogether)."
Now the Ad behaved arrogantly through the land, against (all) truth and reason, and said: "Who is
superior to us in strength?" What! did they not see that Allah, Who created them, was superior to them
in strength? But they continued to reject Our Signs!
So We sent against them a furious Wind through days of disaster, that We might give them a taste of a
Penalty of humiliation in this life; but the Penalty of a Hereafter will be more humiliating still: and
they will find no help.
As to the Thamud, We gave them Guidance, but they preferred blindness (of heart) to Guidance: so the
stunning Punishment of humiliation seized them, because of what they had earned.
They will say to their skins: "Why bear ye witness against us?" They will say: "Allah hath given us
speech,- (He) Who giveth speech to everything: He created you for the first time, and unto Him were ye
to return.
"Ye did not seek to hide yourselves, lest your hearing, your sight, and your skins should bear witness
against you! But ye did think that Allah knew not many of the things that ye used to do!
"But this thought of yours which ye did entertain concerning your Lord, hath brought you to destruction,
and (now) have ye become of those utterly lost!"
If, then, they have patience, the Fire will be a home for them! and if they beg to be received into
favour, into favour will they not (then) be received.
And We have destined for them intimate companions (of like nature), who made alluring to them what was
before them and behind them; and the sentence among the previous generations of Jinns and men, who have
passed away, is proved against them; for they are utterly lost.
Such is the requital of the enemies of Allah,- the Fire: therein will be for them the Eternal Home: a
(fit) requital, for that they were wont to reject Our Sings.
And the Unbelievers will say: "Our Lord! Show us those, among Jinns and men, who misled us: We shall
crush them beneath our feet, so that they become the vilest (before all)."
In the case of those who say, "Our Lord is Allah", and, further, stand straight and steadfast, the
angels descend on them (from time to time): "Fear ye not!" (they suggest), "Nor grieve! but receive the
Glad Tidings of the Garden (of Bliss), the which ye were promised!
"We are your protectors in this life and in the Hereafter: therein shall ye have all that your souls
shall desire; therein shall ye have all that ye ask for!-
Nor can goodness and Evil be equal. Repel (Evil) with what is better: Then will he between whom and thee
was hatred become as it were thy friend and intimate!
But is the (Unbelievers) are arrogant, (no matter): for in the presence of thy Lord are those who
celebrate His praises by night and by day. And they never flag (nor feel themselves above it).
And among His Signs in this: thou seest the earth barren and desolate; but when We send down rain to it,
it is stirred to life and yields increase. Truly, He Who gives life to the (dead) earth can surely give
life to (men) who are dead. For He has power over all things.
Those who pervert the Truth in Our Signs are not hidden from Us. Which is better?- he that is cast into
the Fire, or he that comes safe through, on the Day of Judgment? Do what ye will: verily He seeth
(clearly) all that ye do.
Nothing is said to thee that was not said to the apostles before thee: that thy lord has at his Command
(all) forgiveness as well as a most Grievous Penalty.
Had We sent this as a Quran (in the language) other than Arabic, they would have said: "Why are
not its verses explained in detail? What! (a Book) not in Arabic and (a Messenger an Arab?" Say: "It is
a Guide and a Healing to those who believe; and for those who believe not, there is a deafness in their
ears, and it is blindness in their (eyes): They are (as it were) being called from a place far distant!"
Whoever works righteousness benefits his own soul; whoever works evil, it is against his own soul: nor
is thy Lord ever unjust (in the least) to His Servants.
When we give him a taste of some Mercy from Ourselves, after some adversity has touched him, he is sure
to say, "This is due to my (merit): I think not that the Hour (of Judgment) will (ever) be established;
but if I am brought back to my Lord, I have (much) good (stored) in His sight!" But We will show the
Unbelievers the truth of all that they did, and We shall give them the taste of a severe Penalty.
When We bestow favours on man, he turns away, and gets himself remote on his side (instead of coming to
Us); and when evil seizes him, (he comes) full of prolonged prayer!
Soon will We show them our Signs in the (furthest) regions (of the earth), and in their own souls, until
it becomes manifest to them that this is the Truth. Is it not enough that thy Lord doth witness all
things?