Blessed is the One Who has revealed Al-Furqan (the criterion to distinguish right from wrong: The Qur'an) to His servant, that he may be a Warner to the worlds;
He is the One to Whom belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, has begotten no son and has no partner in His kingdom; He has created everything and ordained them in due proportions.
Yet the unbelievers have taken besides Him other gods which can create nothing but are themselves created, which can neither harm nor help even themselves, and which have no power over life or death, or raising the dead to life.
Those who deny the Truth say: "This Al-Furqan (The Qur'an) is but a forgery which he (Muhammad) himself has devised and some other people have helped him." Unjust is what they do and falsehood is what they utter!
And they say: "These are the stories of the ancients which he has copied down from what is read to him day and night."
Tell them: "This (The Qur'an) is revealed by Him Who knows the secrets of the heavens and the earth; surely He is Ever-Forgiving, Merciful."
And they say: "What sort of Rasool is he who eats food and walks through the streets? Why has no angel been sent down with him to threaten the disbelievers?
Why he has not been given a treasure or at least a garden from which he could eat?" And these wicked people further say: "You are only following a man who is bewitched."
See what sort of examples they apply to you! Because they are lost and cannot find the way to refute the truth of Tawhid and life after death.
Blessed is He, Who, if He wills, could give you much better things than what they propose for you: not one but many gardens beneath which rivers flow; and make for you palaces too.
But in fact they deny the Hour - and for the one who denies the coming of the Hour, We have prepared a blazing fire.
When it shall come into their sight, from a long distance, they will hear its raging and roaring.
And when, chained together, they are flung into some narrow space, they will fervently plead for death.
But they will be told: "Do not plead for one death today, but plead for many deaths."
Ask them: "Which is better, this hell or the eternal paradise which the righteous are being promised, which will be the reward of their good deeds and also their final destination;
wherein they will live forever and get everything that they wish for: and this is the promise worth praying for, which your Rabb is going to fulfill."
On that Day, He will gather all these people together along with the deities whom they worshiped besides Allah, and ask: "Was it you who misled these servants of Mine, or did they choose to go astray themselves?"
Those deities will answer: "Glory be to You! It was not befitting for us that we could take any guardian besides You, but You let them and their forefathers enjoy the comforts of worldly life until they forgot the Reminder, and thereby became worthless people."
Thus your gods will deny all that you profess today. Then you shall neither be able to avert your punishment nor shall you get any help from anywhere; and every one among you who is guilty of wrongdoing, We shall make him taste the mighty punishment.
We have sent no Rasool before you, who did not eat or walk through the streets. In fact, We test you by means of one another. Now, will you show patience, for your Rabb is Ever Observant.
Those who do not expect to meet Us on the Day of Judgement say: "Why are not the angels sent down to us or why do we not see our Rabb?" Certainly they are too proud of themselves, and have revolted in a great revolt.
On the Day when they see the angels, it will not be a Day of rejoicing for the criminal; rather they will cry: "May there be a stone barrier between us and the angels of punishment."
Then We shall turn to the deeds which they did, based on their wrong opinions, and render them vain like blown dust.
In contrast, the heirs of paradise shall have the best residence and finest lodging on that Day.
On that Day when the heavens shall burst asunder with clouds and the angels will be sent down ranks after ranks,
the real Kingdom on that Day will belong only to the Compassionate (Allah), a hard Day shall it be for the unbelievers.
On that Day the wrongdoer will bite his hands saying: "Oh! Would that I had only taken the pathway alongside the Rasool!
Oh! Would that I had never chosen so-and-so for my companion.
He was the one who led me astray from the admonition even after it had reached me." Shaitan is ever treacherous to man.
The Rasool will say: "O my Rabb! Surely my people took this Qur'an for foolish nonsense."
That is how We made for every Rasool an enemy among the criminals, but your Rabb is sufficient for you (O Muhammad) as a Guide and Helper.
The unbelievers ask: "Why is not the Qur'an revealed to him all in a single revelation?" This method of slow, well arranged, piecemeal revelations is adopted to strengthen your heart.
The other reason for this method is that any time they come to you with an argument, We reveal to you the Truth and properly explain it.
Those who will be dragged headlong into hell shall have an evil place to dwell in, for they had lost the Way by taking an utterly wrong stand.
We gave Musa (Moses) the Book and appointed his brother Haroon (Aaron) as a deputy with him,
and said to them: "Both of you should go to the people who have denied Our Revelations." But those people rejected Our Rasools, as a result We destroyed them with utter destruction.
Likewise, the people of Nuh (Noah) We drowned when they rejected the Rasools and made them an example for mankind; and We have prepared a painful punishment for such wrongdoers.
The nations of `Ad and Thamud were also destroyed, and so were the dwellers of Ar-Rass, and many generations between them.
We admonished each of them by citing examples of those who were destroyed before them, even then they rejected Our revelations, so We exterminated each one of them.
These unbelievers must have passed by that town which was destroyed by a fatal rain; had they not seen its ruins? But the fact of the matter is they do not believe in the life hereafter.
Whenever they see you, they scoff at you, saying: "Is this the man whom Allah has sent as a Rasool?
Had we not stood firm, he (Muhammad) would have turned us away from our gods." Very soon, when they face the punishment, they will realize who actually went off the Right Path.
Have you ever seen the one who has taken his own desires as his god? Would you take the responsibility of guiding him?
Or do you think that most of them listen or try to understand? They are nothing but animals - nay, they are even further off track!
Have you not seen how your Rabb extends a shadow? If He wanted, He could make it constant. Then We made the sun an indication of it;
as the sun climbs up, We draw it in little by little towards Ourselves.
He is the One Who has made the night a mantle for you, and sleep a rest, and made the day to rise up again.
He is the One Who sends the winds as heralds announcing His Mercy and sends down pure water from the sky,
so that with it We may give life to a dead land, and quench the thirst of countless animals and men that We have created.
We distribute this water among them so that they may glorify Us, yet most people refuse to do anything except show ingratitude.
Had it been Our Will, We could have sent a Warner to every town,
therefore, do not yield to the unbelievers, and make Jihad (strive) against them with this Qur'an, a mighty Jihad (strenuous striving).
He is the One Who has made the two seas rolling, the one sweet and fresh, the other salt and bitter, and set a rampart between them, an insurmountable barrier.
He is the One Who has created man from water, then made for him blood relationships and that of marriage relationships, your Rabb is indeed All-Powerful.
Yet they worship those deities besides Allah which can neither help nor harm them, over and above this, the unbeliever has become a helper of every rebel against his own Rabb.
But O Muhammad! We have sent you only to proclaim good news and to give warning.
Say: "I ask of you no recompense for this work except that he who wants, may take a the Right Way to his Rabb."
Put your trust in the Ever-Living (Allah) Who never dies: celebrate His praise, for He Alone is sufficient to be aware of the sins of His servants.
The One Who created the heavens and the earth and all that is between them in six days, and is firmly established on the Throne of authority; the Compassionate (Allah): as to His Glory, ask the one who knows.
When it is said to them, "Prostrate yourselves before the Most Compassionate," they ask: "Who is that Most Compassionate? Are we to prostrate just because you order us to?" It merely increase their disdain.
Blessed is the One Who has decked the sky with constellations and placed in it a lamp and a shining moon.
He is the One Who has caused the night and the day to succeed each other, for him who desires to learn a lesson or desires to render thanks.
True servants of the Compassionate (Allah) are those who walk on the earth in humility and when the ignorant people address them, they say: "Peace;"
who pass the night prostrating before their Rabb and standing in prayers;
who say: "Our Rabb! Ward off the punishment of hell from us, for its punishment is atrocious
- certainly it is an evil abode and an evil resting place;"
who, when they spend, are neither extravagant nor stingy, but keep the balance between those two extremes;
who do not invoke any other god besides Allah, nor kill any soul which Allah has made sacred, except for a just cause, nor commit fornication - he that does this shall be punished for his sin,
and his punishment shall be doubled on the Day of Resurrection and in disgrace he shall abide forever,
except the one who repents, becomes a true believer, and starts doing good deeds, for then Allah will change his evil deeds into good, and Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.
He that repents and does good deeds, has truly turned to Allah with good turning.
Those are the ones who do not bear witness to falsehood and, if they ever pass by futility, pass with dignity.
Who, when reminded about the revelations of their Rabb, do not turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to them.
Who pray: "Our Rabb! Make our wives and our children to be the comfort of our eyes, and make us leaders of the righteous."
Such are the ones who will be rewarded with the lofty places in paradise for their patience, wherein they shall be welcomed with greetings and salutations.
They shall live forever in that excellent dwelling and excellent resting place!
O Muhammad! Say: "My Rabb does not care at all if you invoke Him or not. Now that you have rejected His revelations, soon you will face the inevitable punishment."