O humankind! Keep from disobedience to your Lord in reverence for Him and piety and get under His protection. (Never forget that) the violent convulsion of the Last Hour is an awesome thing.
On the Day when you all see it, every suckling mother will utterly forsake her infant in dread, and every pregnant female will cast off her burden. You will see all people as if gone out of their senses, while, in fact, they are in their senses. This is because God’s punishment is extremely severe.
Among people there are such as dispute about God without any true knowledge and follow every corrupt, rebellious, and mischievous satan.
It is decreed about him (Satan) that whoever takes him for a guardian, surely he leads him astray, and guides him to the punishment of the Blaze.
O humankind! If you are in doubt about the Resurrection, (consider that) We created you from earth (in the beginning while there was nothing of your existence as humankind, and the material origin of every one of you is also earth). Then (We have created you) from a drop of seminal fluid, then from a clot clinging (to the womb wall), then from a lump in part shaped and in part not shaped, and differentiated and undifferentiated, and so do We clarify for you (the reality of the Resurrection). And We cause what We will (to come into the world) to rest in the wombs for an appointed term, then We bring you out as (dependent) infants, then (We provide what is necessary and appropriate) so that you may attain your age of full strength. Among you some are caused to die (during this period of growth and afterwards), and some are kept back to the most miserable state of old age, ceasing to know anything after once having known some things. (As another proof for the Resurrection and a sign to comprehend it,) you see earth dry and lifeless, and suddenly, when We send down the (known, blessed) water on it, it stirs and swells and grows every pleasant pair of vegetation.
And so, God is He Who is the Absolute Truth and Ever-Constant, and He gives life to the dead, and He has full power over everything.
And the Last Hour is sure to come – there is no doubt about it. And God will surely raise up all who are in the graves.
And yet, among people there are some who dispute about God without having any true knowledge or any true guidance or an enlightening (Divine) Book.
They keep on disputing arrogantly to lead people astray from God’s way. For such there is disgrace in the world, and on the Day of Resurrection We will cause them to taste the punishment of the scorching Fire.
"This punishment is the outcome of what you have (committed and) forwarded with your own hands, and never does God do the least wrong to His servants."
Among people are also many a one who worships God on the borderline (of faith) in expectation of only worldly gains. If any good befalls him, he is satisfied with it, but if a trial afflicts him, he turns away utterly, reverting back to unbelief. He (thereby) incurs loss of both this world and the Hereafter. This indeed is the obvious loss.
He invokes, apart from God, that which can neither harm nor benefit him. That indeed is straying very far away.
He even invokes the being that is far more likely to cause harm than benefit: what evil a patron, and what evil an associate!
Surely God will admit those who believe and do good, righteous deeds into the Gardens through which rivers flow. Surely God does whatever He wills.
Whoever thinks that God will not help the Messenger to victory in the world and to utmost prosperity in the Hereafter, then let him move heaven and earth to prevent His help: let him stretch out a rope to heaven (to prevent God’s help and Revelation from reaching him), and then sever that rope to descend without being broken into pieces. Then let him see whether the schemes he makes will be of any avail to him, and (whether he can) do away with what enrages him.
It is in the face of such rage and malice that We send down the Qur’an in messages clear in meaning and content and as manifest signs of the truth; and God guides whomever He wills.
Those who truly believe (in God and follow Muhammad), and those who have become Jews, and the Sabaeans, and the Christians, and the Magians, and those who associate partners with God (without having any relation with a Divinely-inspired religion) – God will certainly judge between them on the Day of Resurrection. God is witness over everything.
Do you ever consider that all who are in the heavens and all who are on the earth prostrate themselves to God, and so do the sun, the moon, the stars, the mountains, the trees, and the beasts, and so do many among human beings? Whereas many others are deservedly condemned to punishment. Whoever God humiliates can have none to give him honor. Assuredly, God does whatever He wills.
These are two opposing groups (– those who prostrate to God and those who do not. Though there may be differences of approach within either group), they contend about (the truth concerning) their Lord. As for those who disbelieve (by categorically denying Him or associating partners with Him in His Attributes or authority as the Lord), garments of fire are certain to be cut out for them, with boiling water being poured down over their heads,
With which all that is within their bodies, as well as their skins, is melted away.
For them are also goads and maces of iron.
Whenever in their anguish they attempt to come out of the Fire, they will be returned into it (and told): "Taste the punishment of the scorching Fire!"
(On the other hand,) God will admit those who believe and do good, righteous deeds into the Gardens through which rivers flow; adorned therein with armbands of gold and pearls, and their garments therein will be of silk.
They have been guided to (believe in and declare) the purest of words, and they have been guided to the path of the All-Praiseworthy One, (saying and doing only what is praiseworthy).
Those who disbelieve and bar (others) from God’s way and (the believers from visiting) the Sacred Mosque, which We have set up as a place of worship for all (believing) people alike, both for those who dwell therein (in Makkah) and for those who come from abroad – whoever seeks a deviation from the right course therein by deliberate wrongdoing, We cause him to taste a painful punishment.
Remember when We assigned to Abraham the site of the House (Ka‘bah) as a place of worship, (directing him): "Do not associate any partners with Me in any way, and keep My House pure (from any material and spiritual filth) for those who will go round it in devotion, and those who will stand in prayer before it, and those who will bow down and prostrate themselves in worship."
Publicly proclaim the (duty of) Pilgrimage for all humankind, that they come to you on foot and on lean camels, coming from every far-away point,
So that they may witness all (the spiritual, social, and economic) benefits in store for them, and offer during the known, appointed days the sacrificial cattle that He has provided for them by pronouncing God’s Name over them. Eat of their meat and feed the distressed, the poor.
Thereafter let them tidy themselves up (by having their hair cut, removing their ihram (Hajj attire), taking a bath, and clipping their nails, etc.), and fulfill the vows (if they have made any, and complete other acts of the Pilgrimage), and go round the Most Ancient, Honorable House in devotion.
All that (is what God ordained concerning the Hajj). So whoever venerates God’s sanctities will find it to be the best for him in his Lord’s sight. Cattle have been made lawful for you (for sacrifice and food) except what has already been mentioned to you (as unlawful). So, shun the loathsome evil of idol-worship and shun all words of falsehood (never say or consider or legislate anything contrary to revealed commandments concerning the lawful and the unlawful),
Being believers of pure faith in God, without associating any partners with Him. Whoever associates any partners with God, it is as if he fell down from heaven, and thereupon the wild birds of prey snatch him away, or the wind blows him away into a distant, abysmal ditch (causing him to be shattered into pieces).
That (is the truth itself). And whoever venerates the public symbols and rituals set up by God (such as Jumu‘ah and ‘Id Prayers, call to the Prayer, Sacrifice, and the rites of the Pilgrimage), surely it is because of the true piety and God-consciousness of their hearts.
There are benefits for you in them (the sacrificial animals offering of which in God’s cause is among Islam’s public symbols and rituals,) until the appointed term (of their sacrifice). Then their being carried for sacrifice (during the Hajj) ends in the sacred precincts of the Most Ancient, Honorable House.
For every believing community We have laid down sacrifice as an act of worship to be performed at a certain time and place. So they must pronounce God’s Name over what We have provided for them of cattle (while offering it). And (bear in mind that) your God is the One and Only God, so to Him alone submit yourselves wholly. And give glad tidings to the deeply devoted, humble servants –
Those whose hearts tremble with awe whenever God is mentioned, who are always patient with whatever ill befalls them, who always establish the Prayer in conformity with its conditions, and who spend (in God’s cause and for the needy) out of whatever We provide for them.
And the cattle, (including especially the camels) – We have appointed their sacrifice as among the public symbols and rituals set up by God for you, in which there is much good for you. When they (the camels) are lined up in standing position for sacrifice, pronounce God’s Name over them. When they fall down on their sides and fully die ready to be eaten, eat of their meat and feed the poor such as (beg not but) live in contentment and such as beg with due humility. (It is for the purposes and benefits mentioned, and based on the principles mentioned) that We have put the sacrificial animals in your service, so that you may give thanks to God.
(Bear in mind that) neither their flesh nor their blood reaches God, but only piety and consciousness of God reach Him from you. (It is for the purposes and benefits mentioned, and based on the principles mentioned) that We have put them in your service so that you must exalt God because He has guided you (to correct belief and worship and obedience to Him). Give glad tidings to those devoted to doing good, aware that God is seeing them.
Surely God defends strongly those who believe. Certainly God does not love any treacherous, ungrateful one.
The believers against whom war is waged are given permission to fight in response, for they have been wronged. Surely, God has full power to help them to victory –
Those who have been driven from their homeland against all right, for no other reason than that they say, "Our Lord is God." Were it not for God’s repelling some people by means of others, monasteries and churches and synagogues and mosques, where God is regularly worshipped and His Name is much mentioned, would surely have been pulled down (with the result that God is no longer worshipped and the earth becomes uninhabitable). God most certainly helps whoever helps His cause. Surely, God is All-Strong, All-Glorious with irresistible might.
They are the believers who, if We give them authority on earth, without doubt establish the Prayer in conformity with its conditions, pay the Prescribed Purifying Alms fully, and enjoin and promote what is right and good and forbid and try to prevent the evil. With God rests the outcome for all matters.
If they are denying you (O Messenger, you know that) before them the people of Noah, the Ad and the Thamud also denied (the Messengers sent to each.)
And so too did the people of Abraham and the people of Lot;
And the dwellers of Midian, and Moses too was denied (by the Pharaoh and his clan). Every time I granted respite to the unbelievers and then seized them (when they persisted in unbelief and injustices), how awesome was My disowning them!
How many a township have We destroyed because it was given up to wrongdoing: so they all lie in ruins, with their roofs caved in, wells and fountains deserted, and towering, lofty castles collapsed.
Do they never travel about the earth (and view all these scenes with an eye to learn lessons) so that they may have hearts with which to reason (and arrive at truth), or ears with which to hear (God’s call)? For indeed it is not the eyes that have become blind, it is rather the hearts in the breasts that are blind.
They challenge you to hasten the coming upon them of God’s punishment (with which they are threatened). Let them know that God never fails to fulfill His promise; but a day with your Lord is like a thousand years in your reckoning.
(Let them not hasten you to bring on them Our punishment.) How many a township that was given up to wrongdoing have I given respite to, but then seized them (when they persisted in unbelief and injustices); and to Me is the homecoming.
Say (O Messenger): "O people! (I am not a man who can do whatever he wills, nor whatever you wish;) I am only a plain warner sent to you."
So those who believe and do good, righteous deeds – for them is a forgiveness (to bring unforeseen blessings) and an honorable, generous provision (in the Hereafter).
As to those who strive against Our Revelations, seeking to frustrate and void them, they are the companions of the Blazing Flame.
Never did We send a Messenger or a Prophet before you but that when he recited (God’s Revelations to the people) Satan would make insinuations (about these Revelations, prompting people to misconstrue them in many wrong senses, rather than the right one). But God abrogates whatever insinuations Satan may make, and then He confirms and establishes His Revelations. God is All-Knowing, All-Wise.
He makes Satan’s insinuations a trial for those in the center of whose hearts there is a sickness (that extinguishes their power of understanding and corrupts their character), and who have hardened hearts. The wrongdoers have certainly veered far from the truth and are in wide schism.
While those who have been granted knowledge (of the truth) know (with a greater certainty) that whatever God reveals is the truth itself, and they believe in it and their hearts submit to Him in utmost humility. God most certainly guides to a straight path those who believe with sincerity.
Whereas those who persistently disbelieve will not cease to be in doubt about it (the Revelation) until the Last Hour comes upon them suddenly, or there comes to them the punishment of a barren day (when every hope would turn into despair, and after which there will be no night to rest in).
On that Day the absolute authority belongs to God exclusively. He judges (all people and makes a distinction) between them. Consequently, those who believe and do good, righteous deeds will be in Gardens of bounty and blessings.
As for those who disbelieve and deny Our Revelations, for them there will be a shameful, humiliating punishment.
Those who emigrate in God’s cause, and then are killed (for God’s cause) or die – God will most certainly provide for them with a good, wholesome sustenance. Surely God is He Who is the Best to be sought as provider with the ultimate rank of providing."
He will most certainly admit them into a place with which they will be pleased. Surely God is All-Knowing, All-Clement.
So it will be. And whoever responds to the wrong done to him to the extent of the wrong, and then is again subjected to oppression, God will most certainly help him. Assuredly, God is All-Pardoning, (Who overlooks the faults of His servants), All-Forgiving.
So (will He do), because God makes the night pass into the day and makes the day pass into the night, and God is All-Hearing, All-Seeing.
So (will He do), because God is He Who is the Absolute Truth and all that they (the unbelievers) deify and invoke instead of (or apart from) Him is sheer falsehood, and God is He Who is the All-Exalted, the All-Great.
Do you not consider that God sends down from the sky water, and behold, the earth turns green. Surely, God is All-Subtle (penetrating to the most minute dimensions of all things and accomplishing what He wills by ways that are not quite tangible), All-Aware.
To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on the earth. And surely God is He Who is the All-Wealthy and Self-Sufficient (absolutely independent of the whole creation), the All-Praiseworthy (Who provides for all of them as their Lord).
Do you not consider that God has made all that is on earth to be of service to you, and the ships that run upon the sea by His command? And He holds the heaven so that it may not fall upon the earth unless by His leave. Surely God is for humankind All-Pitying, All-Compassionate.
It is He Who has given you life, then He causes you to die, then He will bring you to life again. However, humankind are really ungrateful.
For every community We have appointed a whole system of worship which they are to observe. So do not let those (who follow their own systems) draw you into disputes concerning this matter, but continue to call people to your Lord. You are most certainly on the straight way leading to pure guidance.
If they argue with you, say only: "God knows well what you are doing. (To me are accounted my deeds, and to you, your deeds. You are quit of all that I do, and I am quit of all that you do.)"
God will judge between you on the Day of Resurrection concerning what you used to differ on.
Do you not know that surely God knows whatever there is in the heavens and on the earth (including whatever takes place in them). They are all recorded in a Book. This (keeping the record of them all) is indeed easy for God.
And yet, they worship, apart from God, things for which He has sent down no warrant, nor are they are based on true knowledge (when they claim that there can be partners with Him). The wrongdoers will have no helper (to protect them from God’s punishment).
When Our Revelations, clear as evidence and in meaning are recited (and conveyed) to them, you perceive utter repugnance and denial on the faces of those who disbelieve; they would almost pounce upon those who convey Our Revelations to them. Say: "Then, shall I tell you of something worse than what you now regard as repugnant? The Fire! God has promised it to those who disbelieve. How evil a destination to arrive at!
O humankind! A parable is struck, so pay heed to it: Those whom, apart from God, you deify and invoke will never be able to create even a fly, even if all of them were to come together to do so. And if a fly snatches away anything from them, they cannot recover that from it. Powerless indeed is the seeker, and (so is) the sought!
They have no true judgment of God as His right (in being God) requires. God is certainly All-Strong, All-Glorious with irresistible might.
God chooses Messengers from among the angels as well as from among humankind (so they are all created beings having no share in Divinity at all.) Surely God is All-Hearing, All-Seeing.
He knows what lies before them and what lies after them (what lies in their future and in their past, what is known to them and what is hidden from them). To God are all affairs ultimately referred, (and whatever He wills occurs).
O you who believe! Bow down and prostrate yourselves, (thus performing the Prayer), and fulfill all your other duties of worship to your Lord, and do (all the other commands of your Religion, which are all) good, so that you may prosper.
Strive in God’s cause and purely for His sake (against His enemies to raise His Word, and against Satan and your carnal, evil-commanding souls,) in a manner worthy of that striving. He has chosen you (especially for this task) and has not laid any hardship on you in the Religion. This is the way of your father Abraham. God named you Muslims previously, and in this Book, that the (most noble) Messenger may be a witness for you (as to the ways you follow), and that you may be the witnesses for people. So establish the Prayer in conformity with its conditions, pay the Prescribed Purifying Alms, and hold fast to God. He is your Owner and Guardian. How excellent a Guardian and an Owner He is, how excellent a Helper.