Surah “The Star”

By the star when it sets

your companion has neither gone astray, nor gone amiss

Nor does he speak out of [his own] desire

it is just a revelation that is revealed [to him]

taught him by One of great powers

possessed of sound judgement. He settled

while he was on the highest horizon

Then he drew nearer and nearer

until he was within two bows’ length or even nearer

whereat He revealed to His servant whatever He revealed

The heart did not deny what it saw

Will you then dispute with him about what he saw?

Certainly he saw it yet another time

by the Lote Tree of the Ultimate Boundary

near which is the Garden of the Abode

when there covered the Lote Tree what covered it

The gaze did not swerve, nor did it overstep the bounds

Certainly he saw some of the greatest signs of his Lord

Have you considered Lat and ‘Uzza

and Manat, the third one

Are you to have males and He females

That, then, will be an unfair division

These are but names which you have coined —you and your fathers— for which Allah has not sent down any authority. They follow nothing but conjectures and the desires of the [lower] soul, while there has already come to them the guidance from their Lord

Shall man have whatever he yearns for

Yet to Allah belong this world and the Hereafter

How many an angel there is in the heavens whose intercession is of no avail in any way except after Allah grants permission to whomever He wishes and approves of

Indeed those who do not believe in the Hereafter give female names to the angels

They do not have any knowledge of that. They follow nothing but conjectures, and indeed conjecture is no substitute for the truth

So avoid those who turn away from Our remembrance and desire nothing but the life of the world

That is the ultimate reach of their knowledge. Indeed your Lord knows best those who stray from His way, and He knows best those who are [rightly] guided

To Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth, that He may requite those who do evil for what they have done, and reward those who do good with the best [of rewards]

Those who avoid major sins and indecencies, excepting [minor and occasional] lapses. Indeed your Lord is expansive in [His] forgiveness. He knows you best since [the time] He produced you from the earth, and since you were fetuses in the bellies of your mothers. So do not flaunt your piety: He knows best those who are Godwary

Did you see him who turned away

gave a little and held off

Does he have the knowledge of the Unseen so that he sees

Has he not been informed of what is in the scriptures of Moses

and of Abraham, who fulfilled [his summons]

that no bearer shall bear another’s burden

and that nothing belongs to man except what he strives for

and that he will soon be shown his endeavour

then he will be rewarded for it with the fullest reward

and that the terminus is toward your Lord

and that it is He who makes [men] laugh, and makes [them] weep

and that it is He who brings death and gives life

and that it is He who created the mates, the male and the female

from a drop of [seminal] fluid when emitted

and that with Him lies the second genesis

and that it is He who enriches and grants possessions

and that it is He who is the Lord of Sirius

and that it is He who destroyed the former ‘a€d

and Thamud, sparing none [of them]

and the people of Noah before that; indeed they were more unjust and rebellious

and He overthrew the town that was overturned

covering it with what covered it

Then which of the bounties of your Lord will you dispute

This is a warner, [in the tradition] of the warners of old

The Imminent [Hour] is near at hand

There is none that may unveil it besides Allah

Do you then wonder at this discourse

and laugh and not weep

while you remain heedless?

So prostrate yourselves to Allah and worship Him