?a. Sin. Mim
These are the signs of the clear Book
Perhaps thou dost torment thyself that they are not believers
If We will, We will send down a sign from Heaven and their heads would remain bowed before it in humility
Yet no new reminder comes to them from the Compassionate, but that they turn away from it
Indeed, they have denied it, but there shall come to them the tidings of that which they used to mock
Have they not considered the earth, how much of every noble kind We have caused to grow therein
Truly in that is a sign, but most of them are not believers
And truly thy Lord is the Mighty, the Merciful
And [remember] when thy Lord called out to Moses, “Go to the wrongdoing people
the people of Pharaoh. Will they not be reverent?
He said, “My Lord, truly I fear that they will deny me
And my breast will be straitened, and my tongue will not be unfettered; so send unto Aaron
And they have a crime against me; thus I fear that they will slay me.
He said, “Nay! Go forth, then, with Our signs. We shall be with you, listening
So go to Pharaoh and say, ‘Verily we are sent by the Lord of the worlds
that you may send with us the Children of Israel.’
He said, “Did we not raise you among us as a child, and did you not stay among us for years of your life
And you did your deed which you did, and you are one of the ingrates.
He said, “I did it then, when I was one of those who are astray
So I fled from you when I was afraid of you. Then my Lord granted me judgment and placed me among the messengers
And that blessing you recount to me is that you have enslaved the Children of Israel.
Pharaoh said, “And what is the Lord of the worlds?
He said, “The Lord of the heavens and the earth and whatsoever is between them—would that you were certain.
He said to those around him, “Do you not hear?
He said, “Your Lord, and the Lord of your fathers of old.
He said, “Truly your messenger who has been sent to you is possessed!
He said, “The Lord of the East and the West and whatsoever is between them, if you understand.
He said, “Truly if you take a god apart from me, I shall place you among the imprisoned!
He said, “And if I bring you something manifest?
“Bring it, then, if you are among the truthful.
So Moses cast his staff, and behold, it was a serpent manifest
Then he drew out his hand, and behold, it was white to the beholders
He said to the notables around him, “Truly this is a knowing sorcerer
who desires to expel you from your land with his sorcery. What would you command?
They said, “Leave him and his brother a while, and send marshalers to the cities
to bring to you every knowing sorcerer.
So the sorcerers were brought together for the tryst of an appointed day
And it was said unto the people, “Will you gather
that haply we may follow the sorcerers if they are the victors?
Then, when the sorcerers came, they said to Pharaoh, “Shall we truly have a reward if we are the victors?
He said, “Yes, and you shall then be among those brought nigh.
Moses said to them, “Cast what you would cast!
So they cast their ropes and staffs and said, “By the might of Pharaoh, we shall surely be the victors!
Then Moses cast his staff, and behold, it devours what they make falsely
Then were the sorcerers cast down, prostrating
They said, “We believe in the Lord of the worlds
the Lord of Moses and Aaron.
He said, “Do you believe in Him before I give you leave? He is indeed your chief, who has taught you sorcery. You will surely know! I shall surely cut off your hands and your feet from opposite sides, and I shall surely crucify you all!
They said, “It is no harm. Truly unto our Lord do we turn
Truly we hope that our Lord will forgive us our sins for our having been the first of the believers.
Then We revealed unto Moses, “Set forth with My servants by night; you shall indeed be pursued.
Then Pharaoh sent marshalers to the cities [saying]
“These indeed are a small band
and indeed they have enraged us
and we are a host at the ready!
So We expelled them from gardens and springs
and treasures and a noble station
So it was, and We made the Children of Israel to inherit them
Then they pursued them at sunrise
And when the two hosts saw one another, the companions of Moses said, “We are overtaken!
He said, “Nay! Truly my Lord is with me; He will guide me.
Then We revealed unto Moses, “Strike the sea with thy staff!” and it parted, and each part was as a great mountain
And thither We brought the others nigh
And We delivered Moses and those with him all together
Then We drowned the others
Truly in that is a sign, though most of them are not believers
And truly thy Lord is the Mighty, the Merciful
And recite unto them the story of Abraham
when he said to his father and his people, “What are you worshipping?
They said, “We worship idols, and we remain ever devoted to them.
He said, “Do they hear you when you call
Or do they benefit or harm you?
They said, “Nay, but we found our fathers doing so.
He said, “Have you considered what you worship
you and your ancestors
For they are all enemies unto me, save the Lord of the worlds
Who created me, and guides me
and Who feeds me and gives me drink
and Who, when I am ill, heals me
and Who causes me to die, then gives me life
and Who I hope will forgive me my sins on the Day of Judgment
My Lord! Grant me judgment, and bind me to the righteous
And make for me faithful renown among later generations
And place me among the heirs of the Garden of bliss
And forgive my father—he is one of those who are astray
And disgrace me not on the Day they are resurrected
the Day when neither wealth nor children avail
save for him who comes to God with a sound heart.
And the Garden will be brought nigh unto the reverent
and Hellfire will become apparent to the errant
And it will be said unto them, “Where is that which you worshipped
apart from God? Are they helping you or helping themselves?
Then they shall be toppled into it, they and the errant
and the hosts of Iblis all together
They will say, as they dispute with one another therein
“By God, indeed we were in manifest error
when we made you equal with the Lord of the worlds
And none caused us to go astray but the guilty
So now we have no intercessors
nor any loyal friend
If we had another turn, we would be among the believers.
Truly in that is a sign, but most of them are not believers
And truly thy Lord is indeed the Mighty, the Merciful
The people of Noah denied the messengers
when their brother Noah said unto them, “Will you not be reverent
Truly I am a trustworthy messenger unto you
So reverence God and obey me
And I ask not of you any reward for it; my reward lies only with the Lord of the worlds
So reverence God and obey me.
They said, “Shall we believe you, when the lowliest follow you?
He said, “What knowledge have I of what they used to do
Their reckoning is only by my Lord, were you but aware
And I shall not drive away the believers
I am but a clear warner.
They said, “Truly if you cease not, O Noah, you shall indeed be among the stoned.
He said, “My Lord, verily my people have denied me
So decide between me and them, and deliver me and the believers who are with me!
So We delivered him and those who were with him in the full-laden Ark
Then afterwards We drowned those who remained
Truly in that is a sign, but most of them are not believers
And truly thy Lord is indeed the Mighty, the Merciful
?Ad denied the messengers
when their brother Hud said unto them, “Will you not be reverent
Truly I am a trustworthy messenger unto you
So reverence God and obey me
And I ask not of you any reward for it; my reward lies only with the Lord of the worlds
Do you frivolously build on every high place a sign
And do you occupy castles, that haply you may ever abide
And when you strike, do you strike as tyrants
So reverence God and obey me
And reverence Him who has succored you with what you know
succored you with cattle and children
and gardens and springs
Truly I fear for you the punishment of a tremendous day!
They said, “It is the same to us whether you exhort us or whether you are not among those who exhort
This is naught but the ethos of those of old
and we shall not be punished.
So they denied him, and We destroyed them. Truly in that is a sign, but most of them are not believers
And truly thy Lord is, indeed, the Mighty, the Merciful
The Thamud denied the messengers
when their brother ?ali? said unto them, “Will you not be reverent
Truly I am a trustworthy messenger unto you
So reverence God and obey me
And I ask not of you any reward for it; my reward lies only with the Lord of the worlds
Will you be left among that which is here, secure
amid gardens and springs
sown fields, date palms with ripe stalks
And you skillfully hew dwellings in the mountains
So reverence God and obey me
And obey not the commands of the prodigal
who work corruption upon the earth, and do not set matters aright.
They said, “You are but one of the bewitched
You are naught but a human being like us; so bring a sign, if you are among the truthful.
He said, “This is a she-camel; she shall have drink and you shall drink on an appointed day
And touch her not with harm, lest you be taken by the punishment of a tremendous day.
But they hamstrung her, and then became remorseful
So the punishment seized them. Truly in that is a sign, but most of them are not believers
And truly thy Lord is the Mighty, the Merciful
The people of Lot denied the messengers
when their brother Lot said unto them, “Will you not be reverent
Truly I am a trustworthy messenger unto you
so reverence God and obey me
And I ask not of you any reward for it; my reward lies only with the Lord of the worlds
Among all creatures do you come unto males
leaving your spouses your Lord created for you? Nay, but you are a transgressing people.
They said, “If you cease not, O Lot, you will be among those who are expelled.
He said, “Truly I am of those who detest what you do
My Lord! Deliver me and my family from what they do.
So We delivered him and his family all together
save for an old woman among those who lagged behind
Then We destroyed the others
And We rained a rain upon them. Evil was the rain of the warned
Truly in that is a sign, but most of them are not believers
And truly thy Lord is indeed the Mighty, the Merciful
The inhabitants of the thicket denied the messengers
when Shu?ayb said unto them, “Will you not be reverent
Truly I am a trustworthy messenger unto you
So reverence God and obey me
And I ask not of you any reward for it; my reward lies only with the Lord of the worlds
Give full measure, and be not among those who fall short
Weigh with the right balance
and diminish not people’s goods, nor behave wickedly upon the earth, working corruption
And reverence Him Who created you and the generations of old.
They said, “You are but one of the bewitched
You are naught but a human being like us, and indeed we deem you to be among the liars
so make fragments from the sky fall upon us, if you are among the truthful.
He said, “My Lord knows best what you do.
So they denied him, and the punishment of the day of gloom seized them. Truly it was the punishment of a tremendous day
Truly in that is a sign, but most of them are not believers
And truly thy Lord is indeed the Mighty, the Merciful
And truly it is a revelation of the Lord of the worlds
brought down by the Trustworthy Spirit
upon thine heart—that thou mayest be among the warners
in a clear, Arabic tongue
It is indeed in the scriptures of those of old
Is it not a sign for them that the learned of the Children of Israel know it
And had We sent it down upon some non-Arab
and he recited it unto them, they would not have believed in it
Thus do We place it into the hearts of the guilty
they will not believe in it till they see the painful punishment
so it will come upon them suddenly, while they are unaware
Then they will say, “Will we be granted respite?
Do they seek to hasten Our Punishment
Consider: if We grant them enjoyment for years
and there comes upon them that which they were promised
of what avail to them will be that which they were made to enjoy
And never did We destroy a town save that it had warners
as a reminder; and We did no wrong
And the satans did not descend with it
nor is it fitting for them, nor are they able
Indeed, they are debarred from hearing [it]
So call not upon another god along with God, lest thou be among the punished
And warn thy tribe, thy nearest kin
and lower thy wing to the believers who follow thee
And should they disobey thee, say, “Truly I am quit of that which you do.
And trust in the Mighty, the Merciful
Who sees thee when thou standest [to pray]
and thy movement amid those who prostrate
Truly He is the Hearing, the Knowing
Shall I inform thee of those upon whom the satans descend
They descend upon every sinful liar
eavesdropping, and most of them are liars
And as for the poets, the errant follow them
Hast thou not considered that they wander in every valley
and that they say what they do not do
Not so those who believe and perform righteous deeds, and remember God much, and help one another after having been wronged. And those who do wrong shall know to what homecoming they will return