In the name of God, the Almighty,¹ the Merciful.

¹ alif lām rā¹ A Writ² the proofs³ whereof are fortified⁴ then set out and detailed,⁵ from One wise and aware:

² “Serve not save God”; I am to you from Him a warner and a bearer of glad tidings.

³ And: “Ask forgiveness of your Lord; then turn to Him, He will cause you to enjoy a fair provision to a stated term; and He will give every bountiful one his bounty;¹ but if you turn away, I fear for you the punishment of a great day;

⁴ “Unto God is your return; and He is over all things powerful.”

⁵ In truth,¹ they fold over their breasts to hide from Him; is it not that when they cover themselves with their garments He knows what they keep secret and what they make known? He knows what is in the breasts.

⁶ And there is no creature upon the earth but upon¹ God is its provision; and He knows its dwelling-place and its repository; all is in a clear writ.²

⁷ And He it is that created the heavens and the earth in six days,¹ — and His Throne² was upon the water³ — that He might try you, which of you is best in deed. And if thou sayest: “You will be raised up after death,” those who ignore warning⁴ will say: “This is only obvious sorcery.”⁵

⁸ And if We delay from them the punishment until a reckoned time, they will say: “What detains it?” In truth,¹ the day it comes to them, it will not be averted from them; and there will surround them that whereat they mocked.

⁹ And if We let man taste mercy from Us¹ then remove it from him, he is without hope² and ungrateful.

¹⁰ And if We let him taste favour after affliction has touched him, he will say: “All evil¹ has left me,” and he is exultant and boastful —

¹¹ Save those who are patient, and do righteous deeds; those have forgiveness and a great reward.

¹² Then thou mightest leave some of what is revealed¹ to thee, and thy breast be straitened, that they say: “Oh, that a treasure had but been sent down upon him, or an angel had but² come with him!” Thou art only a warner; and God is guardian over all things.

¹³ If¹ they say: “He has invented it,”² then say thou: “Then bring ten sūrahs³ the like thereof, invented; and call to whom you can,⁴ besides⁵ God, if you be truthful.”⁶

¹⁴ And if they respond not to you,¹ then know that it² is but sent down with the knowledge of God, and that there is no god save He — so will you be submitting?³

¹⁵ Whoso desires the life of this world and its adornment, We will repay them in full for their deeds therein; and they will not be deprived therein.

¹⁶ Those are they for whom there is nothing in the Hereafter save the Fire; and vain is what they wrought therein,¹ and vanity² is what they did.

¹⁷ Is then he who¹ is upon clear evidence from his Lord[...]?² And a witness from Him recites it; and before it was the Writ³ of Moses as an example⁴ and a mercy; those⁵ believe in⁶ it. But whoso denies it among the parties,⁷ then the Fire is his appointed place.⁸ And be thou not in doubt about it, it is the truth⁹ from thy Lord; but most men do not believe.¹⁰

¹⁸ And who is more unjust than he who invents a lie about God? Those will be brought before their Lord, and the witnesses will say: “These are they who lied against their Lord.” In truth,¹ the curse of God is upon the wrongdoers:²

¹⁹ Those who turn away from¹ the path of God and would make it crooked, and of the Hereafter they are deniers.

²⁰ Those will not escape¹ in the earth, and they have not, besides² God, any allies. Doubled for them is the punishment; they could not hear, neither did they see;

²¹ Those are they who have lost their souls, and strayed from them is what they invented.

²² Without doubt, it is they, in the Hereafter, who will be the greatest losers.

²³ Those who heed warning¹ and do righteous deeds, and humble themselves unto their Lord: those are the companions of the Garden; therein they abide eternally.

²⁴ The likeness of the two factions is like the blind and the deaf, and the seeing and the hearer: are they equal in likeness? Will you then not¹ take heed!

²⁵ And We sent Noah to his people: “I am to you a clear warner,

²⁶ “That you serve not save God; I fear for you the punishment of a painful day.”

²⁷ Then said the eminent ones who disbelieved¹ among his people: “We see thee not but as a mortal like us; and we see not that any follow thee save those who are the abject among us, at first appearance;² and we see not in you³ over us any merit.⁴ The truth is,⁵ we think you are liars.”

²⁸ He said: “O my people: have you considered:¹ if I be upon clear evidence from my Lord, and there has come to me mercy from Him, but made obscure to you: should we compel you to it when you are averse to it?”

²⁹ And: “O my people: I ask of you for it no wealth; my reward is only upon¹ God. And I am not one to drive away those who heed warning;² they are going to meet their Lord. But I see you are a people in ignorance.”

³⁰ And: “O my people: who will save me from God if I drive them away? Will you then not¹ take heed!”

³¹ And: “I say not to you: ‘I have the treasuries of God,’ or: ‘I have knowledge of the Unseen,’ nor do I say: ‘I am an angel,’ nor say I to¹ those whom your eyes disdain: ‘God will not give them good.’” — God best knows what is in their souls — “Indeed, I would then be of the wrongdoers.”²

³² They said: “O Noah: thou hast disputed with us — and hast greatly disputed with us — so bring thou upon us what thou promisest us, if thou be of the truthful.”

³³ He said: “God will but bring it upon you, if He wills; and you cannot escape.

³⁴ “And my sincere counsel will not profit you, if I desire to give you sincere counsel, if God has desired to cause you to err; He is your Lord, and to Him will you be returned.”

³⁵ (If¹ they say: “He has invented it,”² say thou: “If I have invented it, then upon me is my crime — but I am quit of what you commit.”³)

³⁶ And Noah was instructed:¹ “None of thy people will believe but he who has believed already; so despair thou not at what they did.

³⁷ “And make thou the ship under Our eyes and Our instruction;¹ and address thou Me not concerning those who have done wrong; they will be drowned.”

³⁸ And he made the ship. And every time eminent ones among his people passed by him they derided him. He said: “If you deride us, yet will we deride you just as you deride,

³⁹ “And you will come to know to whom comes a punishment that disgraces him, and upon whom there descends a lasting punishment.”

⁴⁰ When¹ Our command had come to pass, and the oven² boiled over, We said: “Load thou therein of every pair, two; and thy household — save him against whom the word has gone forth — and him who believes.” And there believed with him only a few.

⁴¹ And he said: “Embark therein! In the name of God be her passage and her anchorage.¹ My Lord is forgiving and merciful.”

⁴² And it sailed with them amid waves like mountains; and Noah called to his son: — and he was set apart — “O my son: embark thou with us, and be thou not with the false claimers of guidance.”¹

⁴³ Said he: “I will take shelter in a mountain that will protect me from the water.” He said: “There is no protector this day from the command of God save for him upon whom He has mercy.” And the waves came between them;¹ and he was among the drowned.

⁴⁴ And it was said: “O earth: swallow thou thy water,” and: “O sky: desist thou,” and the water subsided and the matter was concluded. And it came to rest¹ upon Al-Jūdī.² And it was said: “Away with the wrongdoing³ people!”

⁴⁵ And Noah called to his Lord, and said: “My Lord: my son was of my household — and Thy promise is the truth;¹ and Thou art the most just of judges.”

⁴⁶ He said: “O Noah: he was not of thy household. He was a deed not righteous;¹ so ask thou Me not of that whereof thou hast no knowledge; I admonish thee lest thou be of the ignorant.”

⁴⁷ Said he: “My Lord, in Thee do I seek refuge lest I ask of Thee that whereof I have no knowledge; and save Thou forgive me, and have mercy on me, I will be among the losers.”

⁴⁸ It was said: “O Noah: get thee down in peace from Us, and blessings upon thee and upon nations¹ out of those with thee. And nations will We give enjoyment — then a painful punishment from Us will touch them.”

⁴⁹ That is from the reports of the Unseen that We reveal¹ to thee; thou knewest it not, neither thou, nor thy people before this. So be thou patient; the final outcome is for those of prudent fear.²

⁵⁰ And to ʿĀd, their brother Hūd. He said: “O my people: serve God; you have no god but He; you are only inventing.”¹

⁵¹ “O my people: I ask of you for it no reward; my reward is only upon¹ Him who created me. Will you then not² use reason!”

⁵² And: “O my people: ask forgiveness of your Lord; then turn to Him. He will send the sky upon you in abundant rains, and increase you in strength to your strength. And turn not away as lawbreakers.”

⁵³ They said: “O Hūd: thou hast not brought us clear evidence; and we will not leave our gods at thy word; and we do not believe thee.

⁵⁴ “We say only that some of our gods have afflicted thee with evil.”¹ He said: “I call God to witness — and bear you witness² — that I am quit of that to which you ascribe a partnership,³

⁵⁵ “Besides¹ Him; so scheme against me all together; then grant me no respite.

⁵⁶ “I have placed my trust in God, my Lord and your Lord. There is no creature save He holds it by its forelock.¹ My Lord is on a straight path.²

⁵⁷ “Then if you turn away: I have conveyed to you that wherewith I was sent to you; and my Lord will make succeed you¹ a people other than you; and you will not harm Him at all. My Lord is custodian over all things.”

⁵⁸ And when Our command came, We delivered Hūd and those who heeded warning¹ with him, by mercy from Us; and We saved them from a stern punishment.

⁵⁹ And those were ʿĀd; they rejected the proofs¹ of their Lord, and opposed His messengers, and followed the command of every obstinate tyrant.

⁶⁰ And they were followed¹ by a curse in the World; and on the Day of Resurrection[...].² In truth,³ ʿĀd denied their Lord — so away with ʿĀd, the people of Hūd!⁴

⁶¹ And to Thamūd, their brother Ṣāliḥ. He said: “O my people: serve God; you have no god but He. He produced you from the earth and settled you therein, so ask forgiveness of Him; then turn to Him; my Lord is near and responsive.”

⁶² They said: “O Ṣāliḥ: thou hadst been among us one in whom hope was placed before this!¹ Dost thou forbid us to serve what our fathers served? We are, about that to which thou invitest us, in sceptical doubt.”

⁶³ He said: “O my people: have you considered:¹ if I be upon clear evidence from my Lord, and He has given me mercy from Him, then who would help me against God if I disobeyed Him? Then would you not increase me other than in loss.”²

⁶⁴ And: “O my people: this is the she-camel of God: to you a proof.¹ So leave her to feed in God’s earth, and touch her not with evil² lest a near punishment seize you.”

⁶⁵ Then they hamstrung¹ her;² and he said: “Enjoy yourselves in your homes three days — that is a promise not to be belied.”

⁶⁶ And when Our command came, We delivered Ṣāliḥ and those who heeded warning¹ with him, by mercy from Us, and from the disgrace of that day; thy Lord: He is the Strong, the Exalted in Might.

⁶⁷ And the Blast seized those who did wrong; and morning found them lying prone in their homes

⁶⁸ As if they had never lived¹ therein. In truth,² Thamūd denied their Lord — so away with Thamūd!³

⁶⁹ And Our messengers came to Abraham with glad tidings; they said: “Peace!” Said he: “Peace!” And he tarried not to bring a roasted calf.

⁷⁰ And when he saw their hands reaching not towards it, he was suspicious¹ of them, and conceived a fear from them.² They said: “Fear thou not; we have been sent to the people of Lot.”

⁷¹ And his wife was standing; and she laughed; and We gave her glad tidings of Isaac, and after Isaac, Jacob.

⁷² She said: “Oh, woe is me! Shall I bear a child when I am an old woman and this, my husband, an old man? This is an amazing thing!”

⁷³ They said: “Dost thou marvel at the command of God? The mercy of God and His blessings be upon you, people of the house; He is praiseworthy and glorious.”

⁷⁴ And when the alarm had left Abraham and the glad tidings had reached him, he disputed with Us concerning the people of Lot;¹

⁷⁵ Abraham was clement, compassionate, penitent.

⁷⁶ “O Abraham: forsake thou this; the command of thy Lord has come, and there will come to them a punishment which cannot be repelled.”

⁷⁷ And when Our messengers came to Lot, he was distressed for them and straitened with unease for them;¹ and he said: “This is a trying² day.”

⁷⁸ And his people came to him, hastening towards him; and before had they been doing evil deeds.¹ He said: “O my people: these are my daughters; they are purer for you. So be in prudent fear² of God, and disgrace me not concerning my guests. Is then there not³ among you a right-minded man?”⁴

⁷⁹ They said: “Thou knewest we have no right¹ to² thy daughters; and thou knowest what we desire.”

⁸⁰ He said: “Would that I had power against you, or could take shelter in a strong support!”

⁸¹ Said they: “O Lot: we are messengers of thy Lord; they will not reach thee. And travel thou with thy household during a portion of the night; and let not any one of you turn around save thy wife — there will befall her what befalls them. Their appointment is the morning; is then the morning not¹ near?”

⁸² And when Our command came, We utterly overthrew it,¹ and rained upon it stones of baked clay,² piled up in layers,

⁸³ Marked¹ in the sight of thy Lord. And it² is not far from the wrongdoers.³

⁸⁴ And to Madyan,¹ their brother Shuʿayb: he said: “O my people: serve God; you have no god but He; so decrease not the measure and the balance. I see you in affluence,² but I fear for you the punishment of an encompassing day.”

⁸⁵ And: “O my people: fulfil the measure and the balance with equity,¹ and deprive not men of their possessions,² and commit not evil in the earth, working corruption.

⁸⁶ “The remainder of God¹ is better² for you, if you be believers.³ And I am not a custodian over you.”

⁸⁷ They said: “O Shuʿayb: does thy duty¹ command thee that we leave what our fathers served, or that we do not with our wealth what we will? Thou art the clement, the right-minded!”²

⁸⁸ He said: “O my people: have you considered:¹ if I be upon clear evidence from my Lord, and He has provided me with a goodly provision from Him[...]?² But I desire not to oppose you in that which I forbid you;³ I desire only right ordering, so far as I am able. And my success is only through God; in Him have I placed my trust, and to Him do I turn.”

⁸⁹ And: “O my people: let not my¹ dissension cause you to commit evil, that there befall you the like of what befell the people of Noah, or the people of Hūd, or the people of Ṣāliḥ; and the people of Lot are not far from you.”

⁹⁰ And: “Ask forgiveness of your Lord; then turn to Him; my Lord is merciful and loving.”

⁹¹ They said: “O Shuʿayb: we understand not much of what thou sayest; and we consider thee among us as weak. And were it not for thy family, we would have stoned thee; and thou art not to us one respected.”¹

⁹² He said: “O my people: is my family more respected for power by you than God? And Him have you put¹ behind your backs.² My Lord encompasses what you do.”

⁹³ And: “O my people: work according to your power¹ — I am working; you will come to know to whom comes a punishment that disgraces him, and who is a liar. And watch — I am with you watching.”

⁹⁴ And when Our command came, We saved Shuʿayb and those who heeded warning¹ with him, by mercy from Us. And the Blast seized those who were doing wrong; and morning found them lying prone in their homes

⁹⁵ As though they had never lived¹ therein — so away with Madyan,² even as Thamūd was taken away!³

⁹⁶ And We sent Moses with Our proofs¹ and a clear authority

⁹⁷ To Pharaoh¹ and his eminent ones, but they followed the command of Pharaoh;² and the command of Pharaoh³ was not right-minded.

⁹⁸ He will precede his people on the Day of Resurrection, and lead them to the Fire, and evil is the place¹ led to.

⁹⁹ And they¹ were followed² here³ by a curse; and on the Day of Resurrection evil is the gift given.

¹⁰⁰ That is from the reports of the cities We relate to thee; among them¹ are standing and reaped.²

¹⁰¹ And We wronged them not, but they wronged their souls; and their gods to whom they called, besides¹ God, availed them nothing when the command of thy Lord came; and they increased them not save in ruin.

¹⁰² And thus is the seizing of thy Lord, when He takes the cities when they are doing wrong;¹ His seizing is painful and strong.

¹⁰³ In that is a proof¹ for those who fear the punishment of the Hereafter; that is a day to which mankind will be gathered; and that is a day witnessed;

¹⁰⁴ And We delay it not save to a set term.

¹⁰⁵ On the day it comes no soul will speak save by His leave. And among them will be wretched and glad:

¹⁰⁶ And as for those wretched — then in the Fire! — they will have therein roaring¹ and wailing,

¹⁰⁷ They abiding eternally therein so long as the heavens and the earth endure save that thy Lord should will; thy Lord is doer of what He wills.

¹⁰⁸ And as for those glad — then in the Garden! — they abiding eternally therein so long as the heavens and the earth endure save that thy Lord should will; a gift without end.¹

¹⁰⁹ So be thou not in doubt concerning what these serve: they serve only as their fathers served before; and We will pay them in full their portion without reduction.

¹¹⁰ And We gave Moses the Writ;¹ then were there differences concerning it. And were it not for a word that preceded from thy Lord, it would have been decided between them;² and they are in sceptical doubt concerning it.³

¹¹¹ And each, thy Lord will repay them in full for their deeds; He is of what they do, aware.

¹¹² So take thou a straight path as thou art commanded, and he who has repented with thee, and transgress not; He sees what you do.

¹¹³ And rely¹ not upon those who do wrong lest the Fire touch you; — and you have, besides² God, no allies — then will you not be helped.

¹¹⁴ And uphold thou the duty¹ at the two ends of the day, and at an approach of the night: good deeds take away evil deeds!² — that is a reminder for those who remember —

¹¹⁵ And be thou patient, for God causes not to be lost the reward of the doers of good.

¹¹⁶ Oh, that among the generations before you there had but¹ been a remnant forbidding corruption in the land save a few whom We saved among them! But those who did wrong followed what they had been given therein of opulence, and were lawbreakers.

¹¹⁷ And never would thy Lord destroy the cities in injustice, when their people were those who do right.

¹¹⁸ And had thy Lord willed, He would have made mankind one community; but they will cease not to differ,

¹¹⁹ Save he upon whom thy Lord has mercy. And for that¹ He created them; and the word of thy Lord will be fulfilled:² “I will fill Gehenna with the jinna³ and mankind all together.”

¹²⁰ And all We relate to thee from the reports of the messengers is that whereby We make firm thy heart. And there has come to thee in this the truth,¹ and an admonition, and a reminder for the believers.²

¹²¹ And say thou to those who do not believe:¹ “Work according to your power² — we are working.

¹²² “And wait — we are waiting.”

¹²³ And to God belongs the unseen of the heavens and the earth; and to Him will be returned the whole matter. So serve thou Him, and place thou thy trust in Him; and thy Lord is not unmindful of what you do.