Surah “The Prophets”

as rendered by Maulana Muhammad Ali — 112 verses

Their reckoning draw nigh to men, and they turn away in heedlessness
There comes not to them a new Reminder from their Lord but they hear it while they sport
Their hearts trifling. And they -- the wrongdoers -- counsel in secret: He is nothing but a mortal like yourselves; will you then yield to enchantment while you see
He said: My Lord knows (every) utterance in the heaven and the earth, and He is the Hearer, the Knower
Nay, say they: Medleys of dreams! nay, he has forged it! nay, he is a poet! so let him bring to us a sign such as the former (prophets) were sent (with)
Not a town believed before them which We destroyed: will they then believe
And We sent not before thee any but men to whom We sent revelation; so ask the followers of the Reminder if you know not
Nor did We give them bodies not eating food, nor did they abide
Then We made Our promise good to them; so We delivered them and whom We pleased, and We destroyed the extravagant
Certainly We have revealed to you a Book which will give you eminence. Do you not then understand
And how many a town which was iniquitous did We demolish, and We raised up after it another people
So when they felt Our might, lo! they began to flee from it
Flee not and return to the easy lives which you led, and to your dwellings, that you may be questioned
They said: O woe to us! Surely we were unjust
And this cry of theirs ceased not till We made them cut off, extinct
And We created not the heaven and the earth and what is between them for sport
Had We wished to take a pastime, We would have taken it from before Ourselves; by no means would We do (so)
Nay, We hurl the Truth against falsehood, so it knocks out its brains, and lo! it vanishes. And woe to you for what you describe
And to Him belongs whoever is in the heavens and the earth. And those who are with Him are not too proud to serve Him, nor are they weary
They glorify (Him) night and day: they flag not
Or have they taken gods from the earth who give life
If there were in them gods besides Allah, they would both have been in disorder. So glory be to Allah, the Lord of the Throne, being above what they describe
He cannot be questioned as to what He does, and they will be questioned
Or, have they taken gods besides Him? Say: Bring your proof. This is the reminder of those with me and the reminder of those before me. Nay, most of them know not the Truth, so they turn away
And We sent no messenger before thee but We revealed to him that there is no God but Me, so serve Me
And they say: The Beneficent has taken to Himself a son. Glory be to Him! Nay, they are honoured servants -
They speak not before He speaks, and according to his command they act
He knows what is before them and what is behind them, and they intercede not except for him whom He approves, and for fear of Him they tremble
And whoever of them should say, I am a god besides Him, such a one We recompense with hell. Thus We reward the unjust
Do not those who disbelieve see that the heavens and the earth were closed up, so We rent them. And We made from water everything living. Will they not then believe
And We made firm mountains in the earth lest it be convulsed with them, and We made in it wide ways that they might follow a right direction
And We have made the heaven a guarded canopy; yet they turn away from its signs
And He it is Who created the night and the day and the sun and the moon. All float in orbits
And We granted abiding for ever to no mortal before thee. If thou diest, will they abide
Every soul must taste of death. And We test you by evil and good by way of trial. And to Us you are returned
And when those who disbelieve see thee, they treat thee not but with mockery: Is this he who speaks of your gods? And they deny when the Beneficent God is mentioned
Man is created of haste. Soon will I show you My signs, so ask Me not to hasten them
And they say: When will this threat come to pass, if you are truthful
If those who disbelieve but knew the time when they will not be able to ward off the fire from their faces, nor from their backs, and they will not be helped
Nay, it will come to them all of a sudden and confound them, so they will not have the power to avert it, nor will they be respited
And messengers before thee were indeed mocked, so there befell those of them who scoffed, that whereat they scoffed
Say: Who guards you by night and by day from the Beneficent? Nay, they turn away at the mention of their Lord
Or, have they gods who can defend them against Us? They cannot help themselves, nor can they be defended from Us
Nay, We gave provision to these and their fathers, until life was prolonged to them. See they not then that We are visiting the land, curtailing it of its sides? Can they then prevail
Say: I warn you only by revelation; and the deaf hear not the call when they are warned
And if a blast of the chastisement of thy Lord were to touch them, they would say: O woe to us! Surely we were unjust
And We will set up a just balance on the day of Resurrection, so that no soul will be wronged in the least. And if there be the weight of a grain of mustard see, We will bring it. And sufficient are We to take account
And certainly We gave Moses and Aaron the criterion and a light and a reminder for those who keep from evil
Who fear their Lord in secret and they are fearful of the Hour
And this is a blessed Reminder, which We have revealed. Will you then deny it
And certainly We gave Abraham his rectitude before, and We knew him well
When he said to his sire and his people: What are these images to whose worship you cleave
They said: We found our fathers worshipping them
He said: Certainly you have been, you and your fathers, in manifest error
They said: Hast thou brought us the truth, or art thou of the jesters
He said: Nay, your Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth, Who created them; and I am of those who bear witness to this
And, by Allah! I will certainly plan against your idols after you go away, turning your backs
So he broke them into pieces, except the chief of them, that haply they might return to it
They said: Who has done this to our gods? Surely he is one of the unjust
They said: We heard a youth, who is called Abraham, speak of them
They said: Then bring him before the people’s eyes, perhaps they may bear witness
They said: Hast thou done this to our gods, O Abraham
He said: Surely (someone) has done it. The chief of them is this; so ask them, if they can speak
Then they turned to themselves and said: Surely you yourselves are wrongdoers
Then they were made to hang down their heads: Thou knowest indeed that they speak not
He said: Serve you then besides Allah what does you no good, nor harms you
Fie on you and on what you serve besides Allah! Have you no sense
They said: Burn him, and help your gods, if you are going to do (anything)
We said: O fire, be coolness and peace for Abraham
And they intended a plan against him, but We made them the greater losers
And We delivered him and Lot (directing them) to the land which We had blessed for the nations
And We gave them Isaac; and Jacob, a son’s son. And We made (them) all good
And We made them leaders who guided (people) by Our command, and We revealed to them the doing of good and the keeping up of prayer and the giving of alms, and Us (alone) they served
And to Lot We gave wisdom and knowledge, and We delivered him from the town which wrought abomination. Surely they were an evil people, transgressors
And We admitted him to Our mercy; surely he was of the righteous
And Noah, when he cried aforetime, so We answered him, and delivered him and his people from the great calamity
And We helped him against the people who rejected Our messages. Surely they were an evil people, so We drowned them all
And David and Solomon, when they gave judgment concerning the field, when the people’s sheep strayed therein by night, and We were bearers of witness to their judgment
So We made Solomon to understand it. And to each (of them) We gave wisdom and knowledge. And We made the mountains, declaring (Our) glory, and the birds, subservient to David. And We were the Doers
And We taught him the making of coats of mail for you, to protect you in your wars; will you then be grateful
And to Solomon (We subdued) the wind blowing violent, pursuing its course by His command to the land which We had blessed, and We are ever Knower of all things
And of the devils there were those who dived for him and did other work besides that; and We kept guard over them
And Job, when he cried to his Lord; Distress has afflicted me! and Thou art the most Merciful of those who show mercy
So We responded to him and removed the distress he had, and We gave him his people and the like of them with them: a mercy from Us and a reminder to the worshippers
And Ishmael and Idris and Dhu-l-Kifl; all were of the patient ones
And We admitted them to Our mercy; surely they were of the good ones
And Dhu-l-Nun, when he went away in wrath, and he thought that We would not straiten him, so he called out among afflictions: There is no God but Thou, glory be to Thee! Surely I am of the sufferers of loss
So We responded to him and delivered him from grief. And thus do We deliver the believers
And Zacharias, when he cried to his Lord: My Lord leave me not alone! and Thou art the Best of inheritors
So We responded to him and gave him John and made his wife fit for him. Surely they used to vie, one with another, in good deeds and called upon Us, hoping and fearing; and they were humble before Us
And she who guarded her chastity, so We breathed into her of Our inspiration, and made her and her son a sign for the nations
Surely this your community is a single community, and I am your Lord, so serve Me
And they cut off their affair among them: To Us will all return
So whoever does good deeds and is a believer, there is no rejection of his effort, and We surely write (it) down for him
And it is forbidden to a town which We destroy: they shall not return
Even when Gog and Magog are let loose and they sally forth from every elevated place
And the True Promise draws nigh, then lo! the eyes of those who disbelieve will be fixedly open: O woe to us! Surely we were heedless of this; nay, we were unjust
Surely you and what you worship besides Allah are fuel of hell; to it you will come
Had these been gods, they would not have come to it. And all will abide therein
For them therein is groaning and therein they hear not
Those for whom the good has already gone forth from Us, they will be kept far off from it -
They will not hear the faintest sound of it and they will abide in that which their souls desire
The great Terror will not grieve them, and the angels will meet them: This is your day which you were promised
The day when We roll up heaven like the rolling up of the scroll of writings. As We began the first creation, We shall reproduce it. A promise (binding) on Us. We shall bring it about
And certainly We wrote in the Book after the reminder that My righteous servants will inherit the land
Surely in this is a message for a people who serve (us)
And We have not sent thee but as a mercy to the nations
Say: It is only revealed to me that your God is one God: will you then submit
But if they turn back, say: I have warned you in fairness, and I know not whether that which you are promised is near or far
Surely He knows what is spoken openly and He knows what you hide
And I know not if this may be a trial for you and a provision till a time
He said: My Lord, judge Thou with truth. And Our Lord is the Beneficent, Whose help is sought against what you ascribe (to Him)