Surah Az-zumar in english

Verse 32

So who is — in other words, none is — a greater wrongdoer than he who imputes falsehood to God, by ascribing partners and child to Him, and [who] denies the truth, namely, the Qur’ān, when it reaches him? Is there not a [fitting] abode in Hell for the disbelievers? Indeed, there is.

Verse 33

And he who brings the truth — and that is the Prophet (s) — and [those] who confirm it, namely, the believers (here alladhī, ‘he who’, has the significance of alladhīna, ‘those who’), those, they are the ones who guard themselves, against idolatry.

Verse 34

They shall have whatever they wish with their Lord. That is the reward of those who are virtuous, to their own souls through their [acceptance of] faith;

Verse 35

so that God may absolve them of the worst of what they did, and pay them their reward by the best of what they used to do (aswa’a and ahsana mean [simply] al-sayyi’, ‘bad’, and al-hasan, ‘good’).

Verse 36

Does God not suffice [as defender of] His servant?, the Prophet? Indeed, He does. Yet they would frighten you — the address is for him (s) — of those besides Him, namely, the idols, [by telling him] that these [idols] might kill him or render him insane. And whomever God leads astray, for him there is no guide.

Verse 37

But whomever God guides, there is no one [able] to lead him astray. Is not God Mighty, One Whose way [always] prevails, a Lord of Retribution?, against His enemies? Indeed, He is.

Verse 38

And if (wa-la-in: the lām is for oaths) you ask them, ‘Who created the heavens and the earth?’ they will surely say, ‘God.’ Say: ‘Have you considered then those on whom you call, [those whom] you worship, besides God, namely, the idols, if God should desire some harm to befall me, would they [be able to] remove the harm imposed by Him? No! Or if He should desire some mercy for me, would they [be able to] withhold His mercy?’ No! (a variant reading for the two clauses [kāshifātun durrahu and mumsikātun rahmatahu] has the genitive construction [kāshifātu durrihi and mumsikātu rahmatihi). Say: ‘God is sufficient for me. In Him do [all] the trusting put their trust’.

Verse 39

Say: ‘O my people! Act according to your situation, [according to] your circumstances, I [too] am acting, according to my circumstances. For you will [come to] know

Verse 40

to whom (man, introduces the relative clause that is the direct object of [the action of] ‘knowing’) will come a chastisement that will disgrace him and on whom there will descend a lasting chastisement’, an everlasting one, namely, the chastisement of the Fire. Indeed God [then] disgraced them at Badr.

Verse 41

Truly We have revealed the Book to you for [the sake of] mankind with the truth (bi’l-haqqi is semantically connected to anzalnā, ‘We have revealed’). So whoever is guided, then it, his being guided, is for [the sake of] his own soul, and whoever goes astray, goes astray only to the detriment thereof. And you are not [meant to be] a guardian over them, and so compel them to [embrace] guidance.

Verse 42

God takes the souls at the time of their death, and, He takes, those that have not died in their sleep, in other words, He takes them during sleep. Then He retains those for whom He has ordained death and releases the others until an appointed term, that is, until the time of their death. The one that is released is the soul [that possesses the faculty] of discernment, without which the soul [containing the force] of life is able to remain [temporarily] — but this cannot be the other way round. Truly in that, mentioned, there are signs, indications, for a people who reflect, and then realise that the One with the power to do this also has the power to resurrect — Quraysh, however, never reflected on this [fact].

Verse 43

Or have they — nay, but [they have] — taken besides God, idols, as gods [to act as], intercessors?, with God, as they [are wont to] allege. Say, to them: ‘What!, will they intercede, even though they have no power whatever, of intercession or otherwise, and are unable to comprehend?’, that you worship them or [to comprehend] anything else [for that matter]? Nay.

Verse 44

Say: ‘All intercession belongs [solely] to God, that is to say, He has exclusive control over it, and so none can intercede except with His permission. To Him belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth; then to Him you will be brought back’.

Verse 45

And when God is mentioned alone, that is, without [the mention of] their gods, thereat shrink, they are repelled and they become constricted, the hearts of those who do not believe in the Hereafter; but when those [others] besides Him, namely, the idols, are mentioned, behold, they rejoice!

Verse 46

Say: ‘O God! (Allāhumma means yā Allāh) Originator of the heavens and the earth!, the Creator of them without precedent, Knower of the Unseen and the visible, [Knower of] what is hidden and what is witnessed, You will judge between Your servants concerning that wherein they used to differ’, in the matter of religion: guide me to the truth over which they are at variance.

Verse 47

And [even] if the evildoers possessed all that is in the earth, and as much of it besides, they would surely offer it to ransom themselves from the terrible chastisement on the Day of Resurrection. And there will appear, [there will become] manifest, to them from God that which they had never reckoned, [what they never] supposed [they would see].

Verse 48

And there will appear to them the evils of what they had earned, and they will be besieged by, there will descend [on them], that which they used to deride, in other words, the chastisement.

Verse 49

So when some distress befalls man (al-insān, here a generic), he supplicates Us. Then, when We bestow on him a grace from Us, he says, ‘I was given it merely by force of knowledge’, from God that I was deserving of it. Nay, but it, this saying, is a trial, a test by which servants are tested. But most of them do not know, that such bestowal [of grace] is a way of drawing [them] on and a test [of their faith].

Verse 50

Already the same was said by those who were before them, of communities, such as Korah and those of his people who were content with such [a saying]. But what they used to earn did not avail them.

Verse 51

So the evils of what they earned smote them, that is, the requital thereof [smote them]. And the evildoers among these, namely, [among] Quraysh, shall also be smitten by the evils of what they earned, and they will not be able to thwart it: [they will not] elude Our chastisement — thus they were made to suffer seven years of drought and [only] afterwards were they enriched [with provision from God].

Verse 52

Do they not know that God extends His provision, [that He] makes it abundant, for whomever He will, as a test, and restricts [it]?, for whomever He will, as a trial? Truly in that there are signs for a people who believe, in Him.

Verse 53

Say [that God declares]: ‘O My servants who have been prodigal against their own souls, do not despair (read taqnitū, taqnatū, or taqnutū), do not give up hope, of God’s mercy. Truly God forgives all sins, for those who repent from idolatry. Truly He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.

Verse 54

And turn, return, [penitently] to your Lord and submit, perform deeds sincerely, to Him, before the chastisement comes on you, whereupon you will not be helped, to ward it off, if you have not repented.

Verse 55

And follow the best of what has been revealed to you from your Lord — namely, the Qur’ān — before the chastisement comes on you suddenly while you are unaware’, of the time [of its arrival] until it has [actually] come;

Verse 56

so apply yourselves to this, before any soul should say, ‘Alas for me (yā hasratā is actually yā hasratī, meaning ‘O regret of mine’) for what I have neglected of my duty to God, in other words, [of] obedience to Him. Indeed (wa-in: in is softened in place of the hardened form, in other words [understand it as] wa-innī) I was among those who ridiculed’, His religion and His Book;

Verse 57

or [before] that it should say, ‘If only God had guided me, to obedience and I had become guided, I would have been among those who have feared’, His chastisement;

Verse 58

or [before] that it should say, when it sees the chastisement, ‘If only there had been a second chance, a return to this world, I would be among the virtuous’, the believers. It is then said to him by God:

Verse 59

‘Yes indeed! My signs came to you, the Qur’ān — which is the means to guidance — but you denied them and were arrogant, you disdained to believe in them, and you were among the disbelievers’.

Verse 60

And on the Day of Resurrection you will see those who imputed lies to God, by ascribing partner and child to Him, with their faces blackened. Is there not in Hell a [fitting] abode for those who are [too] arrogant?, to believe? Indeed [there is].

Verse 61

And God will deliver, from Hell, those who fear, idolatry, because of their triumph, that is, on account of the place they have won in Paradise, by placing them in it. No evil will touch them, nor will they grieve.

Verse 62

God is the Creator of all things and He is Guardian over all things, disposing of them as He will.

Verse 63

To Him belong the keys of the heavens and the earth, in other words, the keys to their storehouses of rain and vegetation and other things. And those who disbelieve in the signs of God, [such as] the Qur’ān — those, they are the losers (ūlā’ika humu’l-khāsirūna is semantically connected to His words wa-yunajjī’Llāhu’lladhīna ittaqaw, ‘and God will deliver those who guarded themselves …’ to the end [of that statement]; the intervening statements are parentheticals).

Verse 64

Say: ‘Is it [something] other than God that you bid me to worship, O you who are ignorant?’ (ghayra is in the accusative because of [the verb] a‘budu, ‘I worship’, which itself is operated by ta’murūnī, ‘you bid me’, read with one nūn on the basis of an implicit an; it [ta’murūnī] may also be read with two nūns assimilated [ta’murūnnī] or separated [ta’murūnanī]).

Verse 65

And certainly it has been revealed to you and to those before you [that], by God!, if you associate others [with God], O Muhammad (s) — hypothetically — your work shall surely fail and you shall surely be among the losers’.

Verse 66

Rather, worship God, alone, and be among the thankful, of His bestowal of graces on you.

Verse 67

And they do not esteem God as He should be esteemed, they do not understand His true nature, or [it means] that they do not exalt Him with the exaltation truly worthy of Him, when they associate others with Him. And the entire earth (jamī‘an is a circumstantial qualifier) in other words, the seven [earths], will be in His grasp, in other words, it shall be grasped by Him, meaning [that it will be] in His possession and at His disposal, on the Day of Resurrection, and the heavens will be rolled up, brought together, in His Right Hand, by His power. Glory be to Him! And exalted be He above what they associate!, with Him [of partners].

Verse 68

And the Trumpet will be blown, for the First Blast, and whoever is in the heavens and whoever is in the earth will swoon, will die, except whomever God wills, such as the houris, the beautiful youths [of Paradise] and others. Then it will be blown again, and behold, they, that is, all creatures who are dead, will rise up, looking on, waiting to see what will be done with them.

Verse 69

And the earth will shine with the light of its Lord, when God reveals Himself for the passing of judgement, and the Book, of deeds, shall be set in place, for the Reckoning, and the prophets and witnesses, namely, Muhammad (s) and his community, will be brought, to bear witness that the messengers delivered [the Message to their respective communities]. And judgement will be made between them with truth, in other words, justly, and they will not be wronged, in a single thing.

Verse 70

And every soul will be paid in full for what it did, that is, [it will be paid] the requital thereof, and He is best aware of what they do, and has no need for any witnesses.

Verse 71

And those who disbelieve will be driven, violently, to Hell in troops, in separate groups, until, when they reach it, its gates are opened (futihat abwābuhā is the response to idhā, ‘when’) and its keepers will say to them, ‘Did there not come to you [any] messengers from among yourselves, reciting to you the signs of your Lord, the Qur’ān and otherwise, and warning you of the encounter of this day of yours?’ They will say, ‘Yes, indeed; but the word of chastisement — namely, the verse: Assuredly I will fill Hell … [Q. 11:119] — against the disbelievers has been fulfilled’.

Verse 72

It will be said, ‘Enter the gates of Hell to abide therein’ — decreed for you to abide [therein]. For evil [indeed] is the abode of the arrogant!’

Verse 73

And those who feared their Lord will be driven, gently, to Paradise in troops, until, when they reach it, and its gates are opened (wa-futihat: the wāw here indicates a circumstantial qualifier, implying qad, ‘already’) and its keepers will say to them, ‘Peace be to you! You are good! (tibtum, a circumstantial qualifier) So enter it to abide [therein]’ — [enter it] with the decree that you are to abide in it [forever] (the response to idhā, ‘when’, is implicit and is, in other words, dakhalūhā, ‘they enter it’). [The manner of] their being driven as well as the opening of the gates before their arrival is a way of honouring them; the driving of the disbelievers, however, and the opening of the gates only upon their arrival so that [all of] its heat is retained for them, is a means of humiliating them.

Verse 74

And they will say: (this is a supplement to the implicit [response] dakhalūhā, ‘they enter it’) ‘Praise be to God, Who has fulfilled His promise to us, of Paradise, and has made us inherit the land, the land of Paradise, that we may settle in Paradise wherever we wish’, for it is all [Paradise], and there is no spot that can be preferred to another. So how excellent is, Paradise [as], the reward of those who worked [hard]!

Verse 75

And you will see the angels encircling (hāffīna, a circumstantial qualifier) all round the Throne, from its every side, glorifying (yusabbihūn is a circumstantial qualifier referring to the person [of the participle] hāffīn) with praise of their Lord, continuously proclaiming [His] praise — in other words, saying subhāna’Llāhi wa-bi-hamdih, ‘Glory, and praise, be to God!’ — and judgement will be made between them, that is, between all creatures, with truth, in other words, [with] justice, so that believers enter Paradise while the disbelievers enter the Fire, and it will be said, ‘Praise be to God, the Lord of the Worlds!’ — the [final] establishing of both groups [in their respective abodes] is concluded with [this] angelic praise.

Verse 1

Hā mīm: God knows best what He means by these [letters].

Verse 2

The revelation of the Book, the Qur’ān (tanzīlu’l-kitābi is the subject), is from God (mina’Llāhi is its predicate), the Mighty, in His kingdom, the Knower, of His creatures.

Verse 3

Forgiver of sins, for believers, and Accepter of repentance, from them (al-tawb is the verbal noun), Severe in punishment, of disbelievers — in other words, One Who makes it severe for them — One of [abundant] bounty, bestower of abundant grace — God is eternally possessed of all of these attributes, and so the annexation construction using the derivatives [of these attributes] is for the purposes of characterisation, as in the case of the last. There is no god except Him; to Him is the journeying, the [ultimate] return.

Verse 4

None dispute the signs of God — the Qur’ān — except those who disbelieve, from among the people of Mecca, so do not be deceived by their bustle in the towns, [going about] seeking their livelihood in security, for the sequel for them will be the Fire.

Verse 5

The people of Noah denied before them and [also] the factions, such as ‘Ād, Thamūd and others, [who came] after them. And every community sought to seize their messenger, to slay him, and they argued falsely [thinking] to rebut, to eliminate, thereby the truth. Then I seized them, with punishment; so how [fitting] was My punishment!, of them — in other words, it was appropriate.

Verse 6

And thus was the word of your Lord — namely, the verse: Assuredly I will fill Hell … [Q. 11:119] — fulfilled against those who disbelieve: that they shall be the inhabitants of the Fire (annahum ashābu’l-nāri substitutes for kalimatu, ‘the word’).

Verse 7

Those who bear the Throne (alladhīna yahmilūna’l-‘arsha is the subject) and those around it (wa-man hawlahu is a supplement to that [subject]) glorify (yusabbihūna, is the predicate thereof) with praise of their Lord, continuously proclaiming praise, in other words, [continuously] saying: subhāna’Llāhi wa-bi-hamdihi, ‘Glory, and praise, be to God’; and they believe in Him, exalted be He, through their power of discernment, in other words, they affirm the truth of His Oneness, and they ask forgiveness for those who believe, saying: ‘Our Lord, You embrace all things in [Your] mercy and knowledge, that is to say, Your mercy embraces all things and Your knowledge [also embraces] all things. So forgive those who repent, of idolatry, and follow Your way — the religion of Islam — and shield them from the chastisement of Hell-fire, that is, the Fire.

Verse 8

Our Lord, and admit them into the Gardens of Eden, as [a place of] residence [for them], that which You have promised them, along with whoever were righteous (wa-man salaha is a supplement [either] to [the pronominal third person plural suffix] hum, ‘them’ in wa-adkhilhum, ‘and admit them’, or in wa‘adttahum, ‘You have promised them’) among their fathers and their wives and their descendants. Surely You are the One Who is the Mighty, the Wise, in what He does.

Verse 9

And shield them from evil deeds, that is, [from] the chastisement thereof; for whomever You shield from evil deeds that day, the Day of Resurrection, verily him You will have had been merciful to; and that is indeed the supreme triumph’.

Verse 10

Indeed to those who disbelieve it will be proclaimed [to them], from the part of the angels, as they [disbelievers] enter the Fire in utter loathing of themselves: ‘Surely God’s loathing, of you, is greater than your loathing of yourselves, as you were called, [during life] in this world, to faith but you used to disbelieve’.

Verse 11

They will say, ‘Our Lord, You have caused us to die twice, two deaths, and You have given us life twice — for they were lifeless drops of semen, then they were given life, then made to die, then brought back to life for the Resurrection. We [now] confess our sins, in having disbelieved in the Resurrection. Is there then any way to go out?’, out of the Fire and return to the world to be obedient to our Lord? The answer given to them will be: No!

Verse 12

That, namely, the chastisement which you find yourselves in, is because, during [the life of] this world, when God was invoked alone, you would disbelieve, in His Oneness; but if partners were ascribed to Him, you would believe, you would accept such idolatry. So the judgement, to chastise you, belongs to God, the Exalted, above His creation, the Great, the Tremendous.

Verse 13

He it is Who shows you His signs, the proofs of His Oneness, and sends down from the heaven for you provision, by way of rain. Yet no one remembers, [no one] is admonished, except him who returns penitently, [who] recants idolatry.

Verse 14

So supplicate God, worship Him, devoting [your] religion purely to Him, [free] from any idolatry, however much the disbelievers be averse, to its being free of such [idolatry].

Verse 15

Exalter of ranks, [either means] that God is One Whose attributes are majestic — or [it means] the raiser of the ranks of believers in Paradise — Lord of the Throne, in other words, the Creator thereof, He casts the Spirit, the Revelation, of His command, that is, [of] His words, upon whomever He will of His servants, that he, the one upon whom it is cast, may warn them of, [that he may] make people fear, the Day of Encounter (read yawma’l-talāqi, omitting the [final long] yā’, or yawma’l-talāqī), that is to say, the Day of Resurrection, [so called] because thereat the inhabitants of the heavens will encounter those of the earth, and the worshipper [will encounter] the one whom he worshipped, and the wrongdoer [will encounter] the person whom he wronged;

Verse 16

the day when they will emerge, [the day] they will exit from their graves; nothing about them will be hidden from God. ‘To whom does Sovereignty belong today?’ — God, exalted be He, asks this and Himself responds — ‘To God, the One, the All-compelling!’, over His creatures.

Verse 17

Today every soul shall be requited for what it has earned; there will be no injustice today. Indeed God is swift at reckoning’, reckoning with all of creation in the space of half a day of the days of this world — a hadīth states this.

Verse 18

And warn them of the Impending Day, namely, the Day of Resurrection (al-azifa, as in azifa al-rahīlu, ‘departure is very near’) when the hearts will, rising up in fear, reach the throats, choking with anguish, filled with [suppressed] anxiety (kāzimīna is a circumstantial qualifier referring to al-qulūbu, ‘the hearts’, which is qualified by the [active animate participle] plural [kāzimīna] and referred to as though they were the very individuals themselves). The evildoers will not have any intimate [friend], [any] sympathiser, nor any intercessor who might be heeded — the adjectival qualification [‘who might be heeded’] has no [literal] significance, for they do not have intercessors in the first place: So [now] we have no intercessors … [Q. 26:100]. The first part, however, may [be said to] have significance if [understand] on the basis of their claim to have intercessors, and so, in other words, even if — hypothetically speaking — they [their intercessors] did intercede for them, they would not be heeded.

Verse 19

He, namely, God, knows the treachery of the eyes, when it steals a glance at what is prohibited [for it to look at], and what the breasts hide — [what] the hearts [hide].

Verse 20

And God decrees with truth, while those on whom they call, whom they worship, that is, the disbelievers of Mecca (read yad‘ūna, ‘they call’, or tad‘ūna, ‘you call’) besides Him — and these are the idols — do not decree by any means [at all]: so how can they be God’s associates? Truly God is the Hearer, of their sayings, the Seer, of their actions.

Verse 21

Have they not travelled in the land and beheld the nature of the consequence for those who were before them? They were more powerful than them (a variant reading has minkum, ‘than yourselves’) in strength and in [their] vestiges on earth, in the way of large structures and palaces. Yet God seized them, He destroyed them, for their sins and they had none to shield them from God, from His chastisement.

Verse 22

That was because their messengers used to bring them clear signs, manifest miracles, but they disbelieved. So God seized them. Indeed He is Strong, Severe in punishment.

Verse 23

And verily We sent Moses with Our signs and a clear warrant, an evident and manifest proof,

Verse 24

to Pharaoh and Hāmān and Korah, but they said — that he was — ‘A sorcerer, a [mere] liar!’

Verse 25

So when he brought them the truth from Us, they said, ‘Slay the sons of those who believe with him, and spare, keep alive, their women’. But the guile of the disbelievers is ever in error, in perdition.

Verse 26

And Pharaoh said, ‘Let me slay Moses — for they used to restrain him from slaying him — and let him call to his Lord, to defend him against me. Indeed I fear that he may change your religion, [involving] your worship of me, so that you will then follow him [in his religion], or that he may cause corruption to appear in the land’, by [initiating] killing and otherwise (a variant reading [for wa-an, ‘and that’] is aw-an, ‘or that’; a variant reading [for an yuzhira fī’l-ardi’l-fasāda] is [the impersonal construction] an yazhara fī’l-ardi’l-fasādu, ‘that corruption may appear in the land’).

Verse 27

And Moses said, to his people, after he had heard that [saying of Pharaoh]: ‘Indeed I seek refuge in my Lord and your Lord from every arrogant one who does not believe in the Day of Reckoning’.

Verse 28

Then said a believing man from among Pharaoh’s folk — this is said to have been his paternal cousin — who had concealed his faith, ‘Will you slay a man for saying, “My Lord is God”, even though he has [also] brought you clear signs, manifest miracles, from your Lord? If he is lying, then his mendacity will be to his own detriment, that is, the harm resulting from his mendacity [will be to his own detriment]; but if he is truthful, then there will befall you some of that with which he is threatening you, in the way of chastisement, soon. Truly God does not guide one who is a prodigal, an idolater, a liar.

Verse 29

O my people! Today the kingdom is yours: [you are] dominant, prevailing (zāhirīna, a circumstantial qualifier) in the land, the land of Egypt. But who will help us against the might of God, [against] His chastisement, if you [resolve to] slay His friends, should it reach us?’ In other words, we would have no helper. Pharaoh said, ‘I only point out to you what I see [to be best], that is to say, I only suggest to you what I suggest to myself, and that is, to kill Moses [would be best]; and I am only guiding you to the path of rectitude’, [to] the correct way.

Verse 30

Then said he who believed, ‘O my people! Truly I fear for you [a day] like the day of the factions, in other words, the day of one faction [being destroyed] after another;

Verse 31

like the case of the people of Noah, and ‘Ād, and Thamūd, and those [who came] after them (mithla, ‘like’, substitutes for the previous mithla, ‘like’) in other words, the same requital as was customarily dealt to those who disbelieved before you, of their being chastised in this world, and God does not desire to wrong [any of] His servants.

Verse 32

And O my people! Truly I fear for you a day of [mutual] calling (read yawma’l-tanādi, omitting the [final long] yā’, or retaining it thus: yawma’l-tanādī) that is to say, the Day of Resurrection, in which repeated calls are made by those meriting Paradise to those meriting the Fire and vice versa, as well as calls [proclaiming] good fortune for those who merit the former and misery for those who merit the latter and [many] other such [calls],

Verse 33

a day when you will turn back to flee, from the site of the Reckoning [leading] to the Fire, not having anyone to defend you, to protect you, from God, in other words, from His chastisement, and whomever God leads astray, for him there is no guide.

Verse 34

And verily Joseph brought you, before, in other words, before Moses — according to one opinion, this Joseph is the son of Jacob, having been given life until the time of Moses; according to another opinion this is Joseph son of Abraham son of Joseph son of Jacob — clear signs, manifest miracles, but you continued to be in doubt concerning what he had brought you until, when he died, you said, without any evidence [to support such a claim]: “God will never send any messenger after him” — in other words, you will never cease to disbelieve in Joseph and others [that may come after him]. So, that is, just as you have been led astray, God leads astray one who is a prodigal, an idolater, a skeptic’, a doubter of that which the clear signs have certified.

Verse 35

Those who dispute the signs of God, His miracles (alladhīna yujādilūna fī āyāti’Llāhi, the subject) without any warrant, any evidence, that has come to them — greatly hateful [is that], disputing of theirs (kabura, the predicate of the subject) in the sight of God and in the sight of those who believe. So, just as they have been led astray, God sets a seal, of misguidance, on the heart of every arrogant tyrant (read qalbin, ‘the heart of’, with nunation, or without, qalbi). As the heart grows arrogant, so does the individual and vice versa (kulli, in both readings, is meant to indicate the totality of the misguidance of such hearts, not the totality of the hearts).

Verse 36

And Pharaoh said, ‘O Hāmān! Build for me a tower, a lofty edifice, that perhaps I may reach the routes —

Verse 37

the routes of the heavens — the paths that lead to it, and look upon (read [indicative] fa-attali‘u as a supplement to ablughu, ‘I may reach’; or read [subjunctive] fa-attali‘a, as the response to ibni lī, ‘build for me’) the God of Moses; for I truly think that he, that is, Moses, is lying’, about his having a god other than me — Pharaoh said this in order to disguise [the truth]. And that is how the evil [nature] of his conduct was made to seem fair to Pharaoh, and [that is how] he was barred from the [right] way, the path to guidance (read sadda, ‘[that is how] he barred [others]’, or sudda, ‘[that is how] he was barred’). And Pharaoh’s guile ended only in ruin, loss.

Verse 38

And he who believed, ‘O my people! Follow me (read ittabi‘ūnī, with the [final long] yā’, or ittabi‘ūni, without); I will guide you to the way of rectitude ([a similar statement] has already been mentioned [verse 29, above]).

Verse 39

O my people! Truly this life of the world is only an [ephemeral] enjoyment, [containing] comforts which will [eventually] disappear, whereas the Hereafter truly is the enduring abode.

Verse 40

Whoever commits an evil deed shall not be requited except with the like of it; but whoever acts righteously, whether male or female, and is a believer — such shall be admitted into Paradise (read [passive] yudkhalūna, or the opposite [active yadkhulūna, ‘they shall enter’) wherein they will be provided without any reckoning, an abundant provision, [given to them] unconditionally.

Verse 41

And O my people! [Think] what makes me call you to deliverance when you call me to the Fire?

Verse 42

You call me to disbelieve in God and to associate with Him that whereof I have no knowledge, whereas I call you to the Mighty, Whose way [always] prevails, the Forgiver, to those who repent.

Verse 43

No doubt, verily, that to which you call me, to worship, has no call [that is heard], in other words, [has no] call answered, in this world or in the Hereafter, and indeed our return will be to God, and indeed the prodigal, the disbelievers, it is they who will be the inhabitants of the Fire.

Verse 44

For you will [soon] remember what I have said to you, when you see the chastisement with your own eyes. And I entrust my affair to God. Truly God is Seer of [His] servants’ — he said this after they threatened him [with retribution] for opposing their religion.

Verse 45

So God shielded him from the evils of what they had plotted, against him, in the way of killing [him], and there besieged, befell, the folk of Pharaoh, his people as well as him, a dreadful chastisement, drowning,

Verse 46

then: the Fire, to which they are exposed, in which they are burnt, morning and evening. And on the day when the Hour comes, it will be said: ‘Enter, O, folk of Pharaoh (a variant reading [for udkhulū, ‘enter’] has adkhilū, ‘admit’, being a command to the angels) the most awful chastisement!’, the chastisement of Hell.

Verse 47

And, mention, when they will be arguing, [when] they, the disbelievers, will be disputing, [with one another] in the Fire, and the weak will say to those who were arrogant, ‘Indeed we were your followers (taba‘an is the plural of tābi‘); so will you [now] avail, [will you] defend, us against any portion of the Fire?’

Verse 48

Those who were arrogant will say, ‘Indeed we are all [together] in it. God has indeed judged [fairly] between His servants’, admitting believers into Paradise and disbelievers into the Fire.

Verse 49

And those who are in the Fire will say to the keepers of Hell, ‘Call on your Lord that He relieve us of [at least] a day, in other words, the equivalent of one day, of the chastisement!’

Verse 50

They, that is, the keepers, will say, mockingly: ‘Did not your messengers bring you clear signs?’, manifest miracles? They will say, ‘Yes indeed’ — in other words, they disbelieved them. They will say, ‘Then supplicate [God]!’, yourselves, for we do not intercede for disbelievers. God, exalted be He, says: but the supplications of the disbelievers can only be misguided, void.

Verse 51

Truly We shall help Our messengers and those who believe, in the life of this world and on the day when the witnesses rise up (ashhād is the plural of shāhid) — these are the angels, who will testify in support of the messengers, that they indeed delivered [their Messages], and against the disbelievers, that they denied [them];

Verse 52

the day when their excuses will not benefit (read lā yanfa‘u, or lā tanfa‘u) the evildoers, [even] if they were to offer them, and theirs will be the curse, in other words, the banishment from [God’s] Mercy, and theirs will be the ills of the [ultimate] abode, in the Hereafter, meaning, the most severe of its chastisements.

Verse 53

And verily We gave Moses the guidance, the Torah and miracles, and We made the Children of Israel, after Moses, heirs to the scripture, the Torah,

Verse 54

as a guidance, to guide, and as a remembrance for people of pith, a reminder for possessors of intellect.

Verse 55

So be patient, O Muhammad (s). Surely God’s promise, to grant victory to His friends, is true — for you and whoever follows you are among such [friends]. And ask forgiveness for your sin, so that you will be emulated in this [by your community], and glorify, perform prayer, continuously, with praise of your Lord at night — which means after sunset — and in the early hours: the five prayers.

Verse 56

Truly those who dispute the signs of God, the Qur’ān, without any warrant, any evidence, that has come to them — there is only vanity in their breasts, [only] arrogance and an [evil] desire to get the better of you, which they will never attain [and satisfy]. So seek refuge with God, from their evil. Surely He is the Hearer, of their sayings, the Seer, of their state.

Verse 57

The following was revealed regarding the deniers of resurrection: Assuredly the creation of the heavens and the earth, as an [unprecedented] first act, is greater than the creation of mankind, a second time — which is the restoration [of them after death]; but most people, namely, the disbelievers of Mecca, do not know, this, and so they are like the blind, whereas those who know it are like those who have sight.

Verse 58

And the blind one and the seer are not equal; nor are [they equal] those who believe and perform righteous deeds — such a person being the virtuous one — and the evildoer (wa-lā’l-musī’u: lā here is extra). Little do they reflect, [little] are they admonished (read yatadhakkarūna, or [second person plural] tatadhakkarūna, ‘do you reflect’), in other words, their reflections are very few.

Verse 59

Truly the Hour is coming; there is no doubt in it. But most people do not believe, in it.

Verse 60

And your Lord has said, ‘Call on Me and I will respond to you, in other words, worship Me and I will reward you — judging [this to be the meaning] by what follows. Surely those who disdain to worship Me shall enter (sa-yadkhulūna, or [passive] sa-yudkhalūna, ‘they shall be admitted into’) Hell [utterly] humiliated’, abased.

Verse 61

God it is Who made for you night that you may rest in it, and day for seeing — the attribution of sight (ibsār) to ‘day’ is figurative, and it is [so attributed] because one is able to see in it. Surely God is a Lord of bounty to mankind, but most people are not thankful, to God, and so they do not believe.

Verse 62

That then is God, your Lord, the Creator of all things; there is no god except Him. How then are you made to deviate?, how then are you turned away from faith, despite the evidence having been established [for it]?

Verse 63

So deviate, that is, in the same way that these [Meccans] deviate, deviate, those who used to deny the signs of God, His miracles.

Verse 64

God it is Who made for you the earth as a [stable] abode and the heaven as a canopy, a ceiling. And He formed you and perfected your forms, and provided you with [all] the wholesome things. That then is God, your Lord, so blessed be God, the Lord of the Worlds.

Verse 65

He is the Living; there is no god except Him. So supplicate Him, worship Him, devoting [your] religion purely to Him, [free] from any idolatry. Praise be to God, the Lord of the Worlds.

Verse 66

Say: ‘I have been forbidden to worship those on whom you call, [those whom] you worship, besides God, since there have come to me clear signs, proofs of His Oneness, from my Lord; and I have been commanded to submit to the Lord of the Worlds’.

Verse 67

He it is Who created you from dust, by having created your father Adam from it, then from a drop [of sperm], then from a blood-clot, congealed blood, then He brings you forth as infants, then, He sustains you, that you may come of age, [until you have attained] your full strength — [this being] from the age of thirty to forty — then that you may become aged (read shuyūkhan or shiyūkhan)— though there are some of you who die earlier, that is, before coming of age or becoming aged. He does this to you so that you may live [on], and that you may complete an appointed term, a defined length of time, that perhaps you might understand, the proofs of [His] Oneness and thus become believers.

Verse 68

He it is Who gives life and brings death. So when He decides upon a matter, [when] He wants to bring something into existence, He only says to it ‘Be!’ and it is (read fa-yakūnu, or fa-yakūna [in the subjunctive] on account of an implied [preceding] an). In other words, it comes into existence after He has willed it, that which is signified by the said words.

Verse 69

Have you not regarded those who dispute the signs of God, the Qur’ān, how they are turned away?, from faith —

Verse 70

those who deny the Book, the Qur’ān, and that wherewith We have sent Our messengers, in the way of the affirmation of [God’s] Oneness and [belief in] the Resurrection — and these [deniers] are the Meccan disbelievers. But they will come to know, the punishment for their denials;

Verse 71

when (idh has the meaning of idhā) [with] fetters around their necks and chains (wa’l-salāsilu, a supplement to al-aghlālu, ‘fetters’, so that the meaning is that these [chains] are also around their necks; or it [al-salāsilu, ‘chains’] is the subject, the predicate of which has been omitted, in other words [the meaning being]: around their feet [will be these chains] — or [alternatively] its predicate is [the following, yushabūna]), they are dragged, in other words, they are dragged away by these [chains].

Verse 72

into the boiling water, that is, [into] Hell, then in the Fire they are set aflame.

Verse 73

Then it will be said to them, in reproach: ‘Where are those whom you used to make partners,

Verse 74

besides God?’, alongside Him, and these are the idols. They will say, ‘They have forsaken, abandoned, us, and so we cannot see them. Nay, but [actually] we were not invoking anything before’. They deny that they used to worship these [idols]; but then these [idols] are brought [before them] — [which is where] God, exalted be He, says: ‘Truly you and what you worship besides God shall be fuel for Hell’ [Q. 21:98]). So, in the same way that these disbelievers have been led astray, God leads astray the disbelievers.

Verse 75

And it will also be said to them: ‘That, chastisement, is because you used to exult in the earth without right, by [your] idolatry and denial of resurrection, and because you were insolent, committing acts of disobedience in abundance.

Verse 76

Enter the gates of Hell, to abide therein’. Evil then is the [ultimate] abode of the arrogant!

Verse 77

So be patient. Assuredly God’s promise, to chastise them, is true. And if We show you (fa-immā contains an assimilated conditional particle in; the mā is extra and emphasises the conditional import at the beginning of the verb, while the nūn emphasises it at the end) a part of what We promise them, of chastisement, in your lifetime (the response to the conditional has been omitted, in other words [it is something like]: ‘then so be it!’) … or We take you unto Us [in death], before their chastisement, then [in any case] to Us they will be returned, whereupon We shall chastise them with the most severe punishment (this [last] mentioned response is that of the supplement only).

Verse 78

And verily We sent messengers before you. Of them are those whom We have recounted to you, and of them are those whom We have not recounted to you: it is reported that God, exalted be He, sent 8,000 prophets, 4,000 prophets [sent] from among the Children of Israel and [the other] 4,000 from among the remainder of mankind. And it was never [permitted] for any messenger, from among them, to bring a sign except with God’s permission, for they are [also] servants enthralled [by Him]. Hence when God’s command comes, for the chastisement to be sent down on the disbelievers, judgement, between the messengers and their deniers, is passed justly; and it is thence that the advocates of falsehood become losers, that is to say, [it is thence that] the judgement and the loss become manifest for mankind, although such [advocates of falsehood] will have always been losers always before that.

Verse 79

God it is Who made for you cattle — it is said that ‘camels’ are specifically meant here, even though it seems to signify cows and sheep also — that you may ride some of them and eat of some.

Verse 80

And there are [other] uses for you in them, such as [their] milk, offspring, fur and wool, and that by them you may satisfy any need that is in your breasts, namely, to transport heavy loads to [other] lands, and on them, on land, and on the ships, in the sea, you are carried.

Verse 81

And He shows you His signs. So which of God’s signs, that is, [the signs] that prove His Oneness, do you reject? (the interrogative here is meant as a rebuke; ayya, ‘which of’ is more commonly made masculine than feminine).

Verse 82

Have they not travelled across the land to see the nature of the consequence for those before them? They were more powerful than them in might and in [their] vestiges on earth, in the way of large structures and palaces. But what they used to earn did not avail them.

Verse 83

And when their messengers brought them clear signs, manifest miracles, they, the disbelievers, exulted in the knowledge they, the messengers, possessed, an exultation that entailed mockery and amusement, as they rejected such [knowledge], and there besieged, befell, them that which they used to deride, namely, the chastisement.

Verse 84

Then, when they saw Our doom, that is, the severity of Our chastisement, they said, ‘We believe in God alone, and we disavow what we used to associate with Him’.

Verse 85

But their faith was of no benefit to them when they saw Our doom — [This is] God’s way (sunnata’Llāhi is in the accusative because it functions as a verbal noun from an implicit verb of the same expression) with the believers, among all communities, which is that faith is of no benefit to them once the chastisement has been sent down, which has its precdent; and it is thence that the disbelievers will be losers — [it is thence that] their status as losers will become apparent to all [of mankind], even though they will have always been losers before that.

Verse 1

Hā mīm: God knows best what He means by these [letters].

Verse 2

A revelation from the Compassionate, the Merciful (tanzīlun mina’l-rahmāni’l-rahīm, the subject).

Verse 3

A Book (kitābun, the predicate thereof) whose signs have been set out in detail, [whose signs have been] expounded through [various] rulings, stories and admonitions, as an Arabic Qur’ān (qur’ānan ‘arabiyyan, a circumstantial qualifier referring to kitābun, ‘a Book’, by qualifying it adjectivally) for a people (li-qawmin is semantically connected to fussilat, ‘set out in detail’) who have knowledge, [who] understand this [fact] — and they are the Arabs;

Verse 4

[containing] good tidings (bashīran is an adjective describing qur’ānan, ‘a Qur’ān’) and a warning. But most of them turn away so that they do not hear, in a way so as to accept [its message].

Verse 5

And they say, to the Prophet, ‘Our hearts are veiled, [they are] masked, from that to which you call us, and in our ears there is a deafness and between us and you there is a partition, a variance over religion, so act, according to your religion; indeed we shall be acting!’, according to our religion.

Verse 6

Say: ‘I am only a human being like you. It has been revealed to me [simply] that your God is One God. So be upright [in your conduct] before Him, through faith and obedience, and seek forgiveness from Him. And woe (waylun is an expression implying ‘chastisement’) to the idolaters,

Verse 7

who do not pay the alms and who are disbelievers in the Hereafter ([the repetition of] hum, ‘they’, is for emphasis).

Verse 8

Indeed those who believe and perform righteous deeds shall have an enduring reward’, [one that is] unceasing.

Verse 9

Say: ‘Do you [really] (read a-innakum, pronouncing both hamzas, or by not pronouncing the second one but inserting an alif between the two in both cases) disbelieve in Him Who created the earth in two days, Sunday and Monday, and ascribe to Him associates? That is the Lord, in other words, the Possesser, of [all] the Worlds (al-‘ālamīn, the plural of ‘ālam, which denotes everything apart from God. On account of the variety [of beings] that it subsumes, it has been expressed in the plural form ending with –īn, as a way of giving prevalence [in the address] to rational beings).

Verse 10

And He set (wa-ja‘ala, the beginning of a new [independent] sentence and cannot be a supplement to [the preceding] relative clause containing alladhī, ‘Who’, because of the intervening clause that is [syntactically] unrelated) therein firm mountains [rising] above it, and blessed it, with an abundance of water, crops and stock, and ordained, divided, therein its [various means of] sustenance, for human beings and beasts, in four, complete, days — in other words, the ‘setting therein [of mountains]’ together with what has been mentioned in addition [all] took place on Tuesday and Wednesday — evenly (sawā’an, in the accusative because it is a verbal noun) in other words, the four days were exactly four, neither less nor more, for [all] enquirers, about the creation of the earth and all that is in it.

Verse 11

Then He turned to the heaven when it was smoke, [consisting of] rising vapours, and He said to it and to the earth, “Come both of you, to what I desire from you, willingly, or unwillingly!” (taw‘an aw karhan, their [syntactical] locus is that of a circumstantial qualifier, in other words, ‘[Come] being obedient or coerced’). They said, “We come, together with all those inhabiting us, willingly!” (tā’i‘īna mainly indicates masculine rational beings; it may also be that they are referred to in this way because they are being addressed thus).

Verse 12

Then He ordained them (the [suffixed] pronoun refers back to al-samā’, ‘the heaven’, because it [al-samā’] actually denotes that plural [sense] to which it will lead [in the following clause), in other words, He made them to be, seven heavens in two days — Thursday and Friday. He completed them in the last hour thereof, in which He created Adam — which is why He does not say sawā’an, ‘evenly’ here [as He did earlier]; what is said here concords with those verse in which it is stated that the heavens and the earth were created in six days; and in each heaven He revealed its commandment’, that to which He commanded those in it [to follow], in the way of obedience and worship. And We adorned the lowest heaven with lamps, with stars, and [this was also] to guard them (hifzan is in the accusative because of its implicit verbal sense, in other words, ‘We guarded it against the devils lest they try to listen therein [to the angels] by stealth with meteors’). That is the ordaining of the Mighty, in His kingdom, the Knower, of His creatures.

Verse 13

But if they, that is, the Meccan disbelievers, turn away, from belief, after this clear statement, then say, ‘I warn you of, I threaten you [with], a thunderbolt like the thunderbolt of ‘Ād and Thamūd’, in other words, a chastisement that will destroy you like the one that destroyed them.

Verse 14

When the messengers came to them from in front of them and from behind them, that is, coming to them [to warn them] and leaving them behind [as they departed], but they disbelieved, as will be stated shortly — the destruction [of them meant] would only take place in his time — saying, ‘Worship none but God’, they said, ‘Had our Lord willed, He would have surely sent down, to us, angels; therefore we indeed disbelieve in what you, according to your claim, have been sent with!’

Verse 15

As for ‘Ād, they acted arrogantly in the earth without right, and they said, upon their being threatened with the chastisement, ‘Who is more powerful than us in might?’, in other words, [they believed] no one [to be so] — a single man among them could pull out a huge rock from a mountainside and [have the strength to] place it wherever he wished. Did they not see, [did they not] realise, that God, He Who created them, was more powerful than them in might? And they used to deny Our signs, the miracles [We sent down].

Verse 16

So We unleashed upon them a raging wind, cold and violent, but without rain, during [some] ill-fated days (read nahisātin, or nahsātin), [days that were] calamitous for them, that We might make them taste the chastisement of disgrace, humiliation, in the life of this world; yet the chastisement of the Hereafter is indeed more disgraceful, more severe, and they will not be helped, to have it warded off from them.

Verse 17

And as for Thamūd, We offered them guidance, We pointed out to them the path of guidance, but they preferred blindness, they chose disbelief [as opposed], to guidance. So the thunderbolt of the humiliating chastisement seized them on account of what they used to earn.

Verse 18

And We delivered, from it, those who believed and feared, God.

Verse 19

And, mention, the day when God’s enemies are gathered ([read either] yuhsharu a‘dā’u’Llāhi, or nahshuru a‘dā’a’Llāhi, ‘[when] We gather God’s enemies’) to the Fire, for they will be driven [thereto],

Verse 20

until, when they reach it (idhā mā: the mā is extra), their hearing and their eyes and their skins will bear witness against them concerning what they used to do.

Verse 21

And they will say to their skins, ‘Why did you bear witness against us?’ They will say, ‘God made us speak, Who gave speech to all things, in other words, [all things] which He wanted to [be able to] speak. And He created you the first time, and to Him you will be returned: it is said that this statement is made by their skins; but it is also said to be God’s words, as is the case with what follows, for it is similar in context to what preceded, namely, that the One with the power to originate you without any precedent and restore you to life after death, also has the power to make your skins and your limbs speak.

Verse 22

And you did not use to conceal yourselves, when you used to commit lewd acts, lest your hearing or your eyes or your skins should bear witness against you, because you were never certain about [the truth of] resurrection; but you thought, when you used to conceal yourselves, that God did not know most of what you did.

Verse 23

And that (wa-dhālikum, the subject) supposition of yours (zannukum, substitutes for it) which you supposed of your Lord (alladhī zanantum bi-rabbikum, a descriptive clause; the predicate [is the following, ardākum]) has ruined you, that is, it has brought about your destruction. So you have become among the losers’.

Verse 24

So if they endure, the chastisement, the Fire will [still] be their abode; and if they seek reconciliation, if they seek the satisfaction [of God], then they will not be among the reconciled, those deemed satisfactory [by God].

Verse 25

And We have assigned, We have occasioned [for], them companions, from among the devils, who have adorned for them that which is before them, of what concerns this world and the following after lusts, and that which is behind them, of what concerns the Hereafter, when they [make them] say that there will be neither resurrection nor reckoning. And the word, of chastisement — namely, the verse: Assuredly I will fill Hell … [Q. 11:119]) — became due against them, being among, all those, communities that passed away, [that] were destroyed, before them of jinn and mankind. Truly they were losers.

Verse 26

And those who disbelieve say, during the Prophet’s (s) recitation [of the Qur’ān], ‘Do not listen to this Qur’ān and hoot it down, make a din and so forth, and clamour whenever he is reciting, that perhaps you might prevail’, so that he will then desist from recitation.

Verse 27

God, exalted be He, says regarding them: But verily We will make those who disbelieve taste a severe chastisement, and We will verily requite them the worst of what they used to do, in other words, [with] the worst requital for their deeds.

Verse 28

That, severe chastisement and worst requital, is the requital of God’s enemies (jazā’u a‘dā’i, the second hamza may be pronounced fully or replaced with a wāw) — the Fire! (al-nāru, an explicative supplement to jazā’u, ‘the requital’, alluded to by [the demonstrative] dhālika, ‘that’). Therein will be their everlasting abode, that is, as a place of [permanent] residence, from which there will be no removal, as a requital (jazā’an is in the accusative as a verbal noun from the implicit verbal action) for their denial of Our signs, [for their denial of] the Qur’ān.

Verse 29

And those who disbelieve will say, [while] in the Fire: ‘Our Lord, show us those who led us astray from among the jinn and mankind — namely, Iblīs and Cain [respectively], both of whom established disbelief and slaying as something to be emulated — so that we may have them underneath our feet [to trample them], in the Fire, that they may be among the lowermost’, in other words, in a chastisement more severe than ours.

Verse 30

Truly those who say, ‘Our Lord is God!’ and then remain upright, [adhering] to the affirmation of [God’s] Oneness and to whatever else has been enjoined on them, the angels descend upon them, at the point of death, [saying to them], ‘Do not fear, death and what will come after it, nor grieve, for any family or children that you have left behind, for we will look after them after you, and rejoice in the good tidings of the paradise which you were promised.

Verse 31

We are your friends in the life of this world, that is, we will look after you in it, and in the Hereafter, in other words, we will be alongside you thereat until you enter Paradise; and therein you will have whatever your souls desire, and therein you will have whatever you request,

Verse 32

as a hospitality, a pre-prepared provision (nuzulan is in the accusative because of an implied [preceding verb] ‘appointed [for you]’) from One Forgiving, Merciful’, namely, God.

Verse 33

And who speaks better [words] — in other words, no one speaks better [words] — than him who summons [others] to God, by affirming His Oneness, and acts righteously and says, ‘Indeed I am one of those who submit [to God]’?

Verse 34

And they are not equal, the good deed and the evil deed, [even] with respect to their subdivisions, because any number of such [good deeds] are [always] above any number of the latter. Repel, the evil deed, with that, in other words, with that trait, which is better, such as [repelling] anger with endurance, ignorance with forbearance, and [the intention to inflict] harm with pardon, then, behold, he between whom and you there was enmity will be as though he were a dear friend, in other words, then your enemy will become like a close friend in terms of [his] affection [for you], if you act in such a way (alladhī, ‘he … whom’, is the subject; ka-annahu, ‘as though’, is the predicate; idhā is an adverbial particle for [expressing] the comparative import).

Verse 35

But none is granted it, in other words, [none] is given that better trait, except those who are steadfast; and none is granted it except one [deserving] of a great reward.

Verse 36

And if (wa-immā: here the nūn of the conditional particle in has been assimilated with the mā, which is extra) some temptation from Satan should provoke you, in other words, if some diversion should turn you away from that [better] trait and other good acts, then seek refuge in God (this is the response to the conditional [‘and if’]; the response to the command clause is omitted, being ‘and He will ward it off from you’). Truly He is the Hearer, of what is said, the Knower, of what is done.

Verse 37

And among His signs are the night and the day, and the sun and the moon. Do not prostrate to the sun and moon, but prostrate to God Who created them, namely, these fours signs, if it is Him Whom you worship.

Verse 38

But if they disdain, to prostrate to God alone, still those who are with your Lord, that is to say, still the angels, glorify, perform prayers to, Him night and day, and they tire not, they never weary [thereof].

Verse 39

And among His signs is that you see the earth desolate, dried out, without any vegetation, but when We send down water upon it, it stirs, it moves, and swells, [swells] and rises. Truly He Who revives it is indeed the Reviver of the dead. Surely He has power over all things.

Verse 40

Indeed those who blaspheme (yulhidūna derives from [the verb] alhada, or lahada, ‘he blasphemed’) Our signs — the Qur’ān, by denying [its truth] — are not hidden from Us, and We will requite them. Is one who is cast into the Fire better [off], or one who arrives secure on the Day of Resurrection? Act as you wish; indeed He is Seer of what you do — this is [meant as] a threat for them.

Verse 41

Truly those who disbelieve in the Remembrance — the Qur’ān — when it comes to them …, We will requite them — and truly it is an unassailable Book:

Verse 42

falsehood cannot approach it from before it or from behind it, in other words, there is no scripture before it or after it that contradicts it; [it is] a revelation from One Wise, Praised, that is to say, [from] God, the One Who is praised in His affair.

Verse 43

Nothing is said to you, in terms of denial [of you], except, the like of, what has already been said to the messengers before you. Surely your Lord is One of forgiveness, to believers, and [also] One of painful punishment, for disbelievers.

Verse 44

And had We made it, namely, the Remembrance, a non-Arabic Qur’ān, they would have said, ‘Why have its signs not been explained [clearly]?, so that we might understand them? What!, a Qur’ān [that is], non-Arabic and an Arab, prophet?’ (this is an interrogative of denial [spoken] by them; read [a-a‘jamiyyun] pronouncing [both the first and] the second hamza, or by changing it into an alif and either writing it out in full or not). Say: ‘For those who believe it is guidance, from error, and a healing, from [the disease of] ignorance; but as for those who do not believe, there is a deafness in their ears, a heaviness, and so they are unable to hear it, and they are blind to it, so they are unable to comprehend it. Those, they are [as if they were being] called from a distant place’, that is to say, they are like one who is called from far away, unable to hear or comprehend what is being called out to him.

Verse 45

And verily We gave Moses the Scripture, the Torah, but differences arose concerning it, in terms of [some] affirming the truth [of it] and [others] denying [it], as with the Qur’ān; and were it not for a Word that had [already] preceded from your Lord, to defer the reckoning and requital of creatures until the Day of Resurrection, judgement would have been made between them, in this world, concerning that over which they differed; for indeed they, the deniers of it, are in grave doubt concerning it, [doubt] which leads to [utter] uncertainty.

Verse 46

Whoever acts righteously, it is for [the good of] his own soul, that he acts [thus], and whoever does evil, it is to the detriment thereof, in other words, the harm consequent from his evildoing will [only] be to him. And your Lord is not [at all] a tyrant to His servants, that is, He is not One of injustice, as He, exalted be He, says: Surely God shall not wrong so much as the weight of an atom [Q. 4:40].

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Juz 24 | AZ-ZUMAR 39:32 -> FUSSILAT 41:46

Surah 39 AZ-ZUMAR

Surah 40 GAFIR

Surah 41 FUSSILAT

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