۞ قَالَفَمَاخَطْبُكُمْأَيُّهَاٱلْمُرْسَلُونَ٣١

[Abraham] said, "Then what is your business [here], O messengers?"

They said, "Indeed, we have been sent to a people of criminals¹

To send down upon them stones of clay,

Marked in the presence of your Lord for the transgressors."

So We brought out whoever was in them [i.e., the cities] of the believers.

And We found not within them other than a [single] house of Muslims.¹

And We left therein a sign for those who fear the painful punishment.

And in Moses [was a sign], when We sent him to Pharaoh with clear authority.¹

But he turned away with his supporters and said, "A magician or a madman."

So We took him and his soldiers and cast them into the sea, and he was blameworthy.

And in ʿAad [was a sign], when We sent against them the barren wind.¹

It left nothing of what it came upon but that it made it like disintegrated ruins.

And in Thamūd, when it was said to them, "Enjoy yourselves for a time."

But they were insolent toward the command of their Lord, so the thunderbolt seized them while they were looking on.

And they were unable to arise, nor could they defend themselves.

And [We destroyed] the people of Noah before; indeed, they were a people defiantly disobedient.

And the heaven We constructed with strength,¹ and indeed, We are [its] expander.

And the earth We have spread out, and excellent is the preparer.

And of all things We created two mates [i.e., counterparts]; perhaps you will remember.

So flee to Allāh.¹ Indeed, I am to you from Him a clear warner.

And do not make [as equal] with Allāh another deity. Indeed, I am to you from Him a clear warner.

Similarly, there came not to those before them any messenger except that they said, "A magician or a madman."

Did they suggest it to them?¹ Rather, they [themselves] are a transgressing people.

So leave them, [O Muḥammad], for you are not to be blamed.

And remind, for indeed, the reminder benefits the believers.

And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.

I do not want from them any provision, nor do I want them to feed Me.

Indeed, it is Allāh who is the [continual] Provider,¹ the firm possessor of strength.

And indeed, for those who have wronged is a portion [of punishment] like the portion of their companions [i.e., predecessors], so let them not impatiently urge Me.

And woe to those who have disbelieved from their Day which they are promised.

By the mount

And [by] a Book inscribed¹

In parchment spread open

And [by] the frequented House¹

And [by] the ceiling [i.e., heaven] raised high

And [by] the sea set on fire,¹

Indeed, the punishment of your Lord will occur.

Of it there is no preventer.

On the Day the heaven will sway with circular motion

And the mountains will pass on, departing¹ -

Then woe, that Day, to the deniers,

Who are in [empty] discourse amusing themselves.

The Day they are thrust toward the fire of Hell with a [violent] thrust, [its angels will say],

"This is the Fire which you used to deny.

Then is this magic, or do you not see?

[Enter to] burn therein; then be patient or impatient - it is all the same for you. You are only being recompensed [for] what you used to do."

Indeed, the righteous will be in gardens and pleasure,

Enjoying what their Lord has given them, and their Lord protected them from the punishment of Hellfire.

[They will be told], "Eat and drink in satisfaction for what you used to do."

They will be reclining on thrones lined up, and We will marry them to fair women with large, [beautiful] eyes.

And those who believed and whose descendants followed them in faith - We will join with them their descendants, and We will not deprive them of anything of their deeds.¹ Every person, for what he earned, is retained.²

And We will provide them with fruit and meat from whatever they desire.

They will exchange with one another a cup [of wine] wherein [results] no ill speech or commission of sin.

There will circulate among them [servant] boys [especially] for them, as if they were pearls well-protected.

And they will approach one another, inquiring of each other.

They will say, "Indeed, we were previously among our people fearful [of displeasing Allāh].

So Allāh conferred favor upon us and protected us from the punishment of the Scorching Fire.

Indeed, we used to supplicate¹ Him before. Indeed, it is He who is the Beneficent, the Merciful."

So remind, [O Muḥammad], for you are not, by the favor of your Lord, a soothsayer or a madman.

Or do they say [of you], "A poet for whom we await a misfortune of time"?¹

Say, "Wait, for indeed I am, with you, among the waiters."

Or do their minds¹ command them to [say] this, or are they a transgressing people?

Or do they say, "He has made it up"? Rather, they do not believe.

Then let them produce a statement like it, if they should be truthful.

Or were they created by nothing, or were they the creators [of themselves]?

Or did they create the heavens and the earth? Rather, they are not certain.

Or have they the depositories [containing the provision] of your Lord? Or are they the controllers [of them]?

Or have they a stairway [into the heaven] upon which they listen? Then let their listener produce a clear authority [i.e., proof].

Or has He daughters while you have sons?

Or do you, [O Muḥammad], ask of them a payment, so they are by debt burdened down?

Or have they [knowledge of] the unseen, so they write [it] down?

Or do they intend a plan? But those who disbelieve - they are the object of a plan.

Or have they a deity other than Allāh? Exalted is Allāh above whatever they associate with Him.

And if they were to see a fragment from the sky falling,¹ they would say, "[It is merely] clouds heaped up."

So leave them until they meet their Day in which they will be struck insensible -

The Day their plan will not avail them at all, nor will they be helped.

And indeed, for those who have wronged is a punishment¹ before that, but most of them do not know.

And be patient, [O Muḥammad], for the decision of your Lord, for indeed, you are in Our eyes [i.e., sight]. And exalt [Allāh] with praise of your Lord when you arise

And in a part of the night exalt Him and after [the setting of] the stars.

By the star when it descends,

Your companion [i.e., Muḥammad] has not strayed, nor has he erred,

Nor does he speak from [his own] inclination.

It is not but a revelation revealed,

Taught to him by one intense in strength [i.e., Gabriel] -

One of soundness.¹ And he rose to [his] true form²

While he was in the higher [part of the] horizon.¹

Then he approached and descended

And was at a distance of two bow lengths or nearer.

And he revealed to His Servant¹ what he revealed [i.e., conveyed].

The heart¹ did not lie [about] what it saw.

So will you dispute with him over what he saw?

And he certainly saw him in another descent¹

At the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary -

Near it is the Garden of Refuge [i.e., Paradise] -

When there covered the Lote Tree that which covered [it].¹

The sight [of the Prophet (ﷺ)] did not swerve, nor did it transgress [its limit].

He certainly saw of the greatest signs of his Lord.

So have you considered al-Lāt and al-ʿUzzā?

And Manāt, the third - the other one?¹

Is the male for you and for Him the female?

That, then, is an unjust division.¹

They are not but [mere] names you have named them - you and your forefathers - for which Allāh has sent down no authority. They follow not except assumption and what [their] souls desire, and there has already come to them from their Lord guidance.

Or is there for man whatever he wishes?

Rather, to Allāh belongs the Hereafter and the first [life].

And how many angels there are in the heavens whose intercession will not avail at all except [only] after Allāh has permitted [it] to whom He wills and approves.

Indeed, those who do not believe in the Hereafter name the angels female names,

And they have thereof no knowledge. They follow not except assumption, and indeed, assumption avails not against the truth at all.

So turn away from whoever turns his back on Our message and desires not except the worldly life.

That is their sum of knowledge. Indeed, your Lord is most knowing of who strays from His way, and He is most knowing of who is guided.

And to Allāh belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth - that He may recompense those who do evil with [the penalty of] what they have done and recompense those who do good with the best [reward] -

Those who avoid the major sins and immoralities, only [committing] slight ones. Indeed, your Lord is vast in forgiveness. He was most knowing of you when He produced you from the earth and when you were fetuses in the wombs of your mothers. So do not claim yourselves to be pure; He is most knowing of who fears Him.

Have you seen the one who turned away

And gave a little and [then] refrained?

Does he have knowledge of the unseen, so he sees?¹

Or has he not been informed of what was in the scriptures of Moses

And [of] Abraham, who fulfilled [his obligations] -

That no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another

And that there is not for man except that [good] for which he strives

And that his effort is going to be seen -

Then he will be recompensed for it with the fullest recompense -

And that to your Lord is the finality

And that it is He who makes [one] laugh and weep

And that it is He who causes death and gives life

And that He creates the two mates - the male and female -

From a sperm-drop when it is emitted

And that [incumbent] upon Him is the other [i.e., next] creation.

And that it is He who enriches and suffices

And that it is He who is the Lord of Sirius¹.

And that He destroyed the first [people of] ʿAad.

And Thamūd - and He did not spare [them] -

And the people of Noah before. Indeed, it was they who were [even] more unjust and oppressing.

And the overturned towns¹ He hurled down.

And covered them by that which He covered.¹

Then which of the favors of your Lord do you doubt?

This [Prophet (ﷺ)] is a warner from [i.e., like] the former warners.

The Approaching Day has approached.

Of it, [from those] besides Allāh, there is no remover.

Then at this statement do you wonder?

And you laugh and do not weep

While you are proudly sporting?¹

So prostrate to Allāh and worship [Him].

The Hour has come near, and the moon has split [in two].¹

And if they see a sign [i.e., miracle], they turn away and say, "Passing magic."¹

And they denied and followed their inclinations. But for every matter is a [time of] settlement.

And there has already come to them of information that in which there is deterrence.

Extensive wisdom - but warning does not avail [them].

So leave them, [O Muḥammad]. The Day the Caller¹ calls to something forbidding,

Their eyes humbled, they will emerge from the graves as if they were locusts spreading,

Racing ahead toward the Caller. The disbelievers will say, "This is a difficult Day."

The people of Noah denied before them, and they denied Our servant and said, "A madman," and he was repelled.

So he invoked his Lord, "Indeed, I am overpowered, so help."

Then We opened the gates of the heaven with rain pouring down

And caused the earth to burst with springs, and the waters met for a matter already predestined.

And We carried him on a [construction of] planks and nails,

Sailing under Our observation as reward for he who had been denied.

And We left it as a sign, so is there any who will remember?

And how [severe] were My punishment and warning.¹

And We have certainly made the Qur’ān easy for remembrance, so is there any who will remember?

ʿAad denied; and how [severe] were My punishment and warning.

Indeed, We sent upon them a screaming wind on a day of continuous misfortune,

Extracting the people¹ as if they were trunks of palm trees uprooted.

And how [severe] were My punishment and warning.

And We have certainly made the Qur’ān easy for remembrance, so is there any who will remember?

Thamūd denied the warning.

And said, "Is it one human being¹ among us that we should follow? Indeed, we would then be in error and madness.

Has the message been sent down upon him from among us? Rather, he is an insolent liar."

They will know tomorrow who is the insolent liar.

Indeed, We are sending the she-camel as trial for them, so watch them and be patient.¹

And inform them that the water is shared between them,¹ each [day of] drink attended [by turn].

But they called their companion,¹ and he dared² and hamstrung [her].

And how [severe] were My punishment and warning.

Indeed, We sent upon them one shriek [i.e., blast from the sky], and they became like the dry twig fragments of an [animal] pen.

And We have certainly made the Qur’ān easy for remembrance, so is there any who will remember?

The people of Lot denied the warning.

Indeed, We sent upon them a storm of stones, except the family of Lot - We saved them before dawn.

As favor from Us. Thus do We reward he who is grateful.

And he had already warned them of Our assault, but they disputed the warning.