BY THE star when it declines
your compatriot¹ is not in error, nor is he deceived
He does not speak out of his own fancy
This is a revelation inspired
He is taught by one who is powerful and mighty.²
--(translation missing in source)-
He stood on the uppermost horizon
then, drawing near
he came down within two bows‘ length or even closer
and revealed to his servant that which he revealed
His³ own heart did not deny his vision
Do you⁴ doubt, then, what he beholds
He beheld him once again
at the sidra tree, beyond which no one may pass
Nearby it is the Garden of Repose
When that tree was covered with what covered it
his eyes did not wander, nor did they turn aside
he beheld some of his Lord‘s mightiest signs
Have you thought on Al-Lāt and Al-‘Uzzā
and on Manāt, the third other?¹
Are you to have the male, and He the female
This is indeed an unfair distinction
They are but names which you and your forefathers have invented: God has vested no authority in them. The unbelievers follow but vain conjectures and the whims of their own souls, although the guidance of their Lord has long since come to them
Or is man to attain all that he desires
To God belongs the life to come, and this first life
Numerous are the angels in the heavens; yet their intercession shall avail nothing until God gives leave to whom He wills and accepts
Those that disbelieve in the hereafter call the angels by the names of females
Yet of this they have no knowledge: they follow mere conjecture, and conjecture is no substitute for Truth
Pay no heed, then, to those who ignore Our Admonition and seek only the life of this world
This is the sum of their knowledge. Your Lord best knows who has strayed from His path, and He best knows who has followed the right guidance
And to God belongs what the heavens and the earth contain. He will requite the evil-doers according to their deeds, and richly recompense those who do good works
To those who avoid the grossest sins and indecencies and commit only small offences, your Lord will show abundant forgiveness. He knew you well when He created you from earth and when you were still in your mothers‘ wombs. Do not pretend to purity; He best knows those who fear Him
Have you considered him who turns his back
giving little at first and then nothing at all
Does he know, and can he see, what is hidden
Or has he not been told of what is writ in the Scriptures of Mose
and Abraham, who was true to his covenant
that no burdened soul shall bear another‘s burden
and that man shall be judged only by his labours
that his labours shall be scrutinized
and that he shall be justly requited for them
that all things shall in the end return to your Lord
that it is He who moves to laughter and to tears
and He who ordains death and life
that God created the two sexes, the male and the female
from a drop of ejaculated semen
and will bring about the other creation
that it is He who bestows and enriches
He who is the Lord of Sirius;¹
that it was He who obliterated ‘Ād at firs
and then Thamūd, sparing no one
and before them the people of Noah, who were more sinful and more rebellious
The Mu‘tafikah² He also doomed
so that they were smitten by the scourge that smote them
Which then of your Lord‘s blessings would you deny
He that now warns you is just like those who warned the others before you
That which is coming is near at hand
none but God can disclose the Hour
Do you marvel then at this revelation
and laugh instead of weeping
Making merry still
Rather prostrate yourselves before God, and worship