الر تِلْكَ آيَاتُ الْكِتَابِ الْحَكِيمِ
Alif. Lām. Rā. THESE ARE MESSAGES of the divine writ, full of wisdom. (1)
أَكَانَ لِلنَّاسِ عَجَبًا أَنْ أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَىٰ رَجُلٍ مِنْهُمْ أَنْ أَنْذِرِ النَّاسَ وَبَشِّرِ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَنَّ لَهُمْ قَدَمَ صِدْقٍ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ قَالَ الْكَافِرُونَ إِنَّ هَٰذَا لَسَاحِرٌ مُبِينٌ
Do people deem it strange that We should have inspired a man from their own midst [with this Our message]: "Warn all mankind, and give unto those who have attained to faith the glad tiding that in their Sustainer's sight they surpass all others in that they are completely sincere"? [Only] they who deny the truth say, "Behold, he is clearly but a spellbinder!" (2)
إِنَّ رَبَّكُمُ اللَّهُ الَّذِي خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ فِي سِتَّةِ أَيَّامٍ ثُمَّ اسْتَوَىٰ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ يُدَبِّرُ الْأَمْرَ مَا مِنْ شَفِيعٍ إِلَّا مِنْ بَعْدِ إِذْنِهِ ذَٰلِكُمُ اللَّهُ رَبُّكُمْ فَاعْبُدُوهُ أَفَلَا تَذَكَّرُونَ
VERILY, your Sustainer is God, who has created the heavens and the earth in six aeons, and is established on the throne of His almightiness, governing all that exists. There is none that could intercede with Him unless He grants leave therefor. Thus is God, your Sustainer: worship, therefore, Him [alone]: will you not, then, keep this in mind? (3)
إِلَيْهِ مَرْجِعُكُمْ جَمِيعًا وَعْدَ اللَّهِ حَقًّا إِنَّهُ يَبْدَأُ الْخَلْقَ ثُمَّ يُعِيدُهُ لِيَجْزِيَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ بِالْقِسْطِ وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَهُمْ شَرَابٌ مِنْ حَمِيمٍ وَعَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْفُرُونَ
Unto Him you all must return: this is, in truth, God's promise – for, behold, He creates [man] in the first instance, and then brings him forth anew to the end that He may reward with equity all who attain to faith and do righteous deeds; whereas for those who are bent on denying the truth there is in store a draught of burning despair and grievous suffering because of their persistent refusal to acknowledge the truth. (4)
هُوَ الَّذِي جَعَلَ الشَّمْسَ ضِيَاءً وَالْقَمَرَ نُورًا وَقَدَّرَهُ مَنَازِلَ لِتَعْلَمُوا عَدَدَ السِّنِينَ وَالْحِسَابَ مَا خَلَقَ اللَّهُ ذَٰلِكَ إِلَّا بِالْحَقِّ يُفَصِّلُ الْآيَاتِ لِقَوْمٍ يَعْلَمُونَ
He it is who has made the sun a [source of] radiant light and the moon a light [reflected], and has determined for it phases so that you might know how to compute the years and to measure [time]. None of this has God created without [an inner] truth. Clearly does He spell out these messages unto people of [innate] knowledge: (5)
إِنَّ فِي اخْتِلَافِ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ وَمَا خَلَقَ اللَّهُ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ لَآيَاتٍ لِقَوْمٍ يَتَّقُونَ
for, verily, in the alternating of night and day, and in all that God has created in the heavens and on earth there are messages indeed for people who are conscious of Him! (6)
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ لَا يَرْجُونَ لِقَاءَنَا وَرَضُوا بِالْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَاطْمَأَنُّوا بِهَا وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ عَنْ آيَاتِنَا غَافِلُونَ
Verily, as for those who do not believe that they are destined to meet Us, but content themselves with the life of this world and do not look beyond it, and are heedless of Our messages (7)
أُولَٰئِكَ مَأْوَاهُمُ النَّارُ بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ
their goal is the fire in return for all [the evil] that they were wont to do. (8)
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ يَهْدِيهِمْ رَبُّهُمْ بِإِيمَانِهِمْ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهِمُ الْأَنْهَارُ فِي جَنَّاتِ النَّعِيمِ
[But,] verily, as for those who have attained to faith and do righteous deeds – their Sustainer guides them aright by means of their faith. [In the life to come,] running waters will flow at their feet in gardens of bliss; (9)
دَعْوَاهُمْ فِيهَا سُبْحَانَكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَتَحِيَّتُهُمْ فِيهَا سَلَامٌ وَآخِرُ دَعْوَاهُمْ أَنِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
[and] in that [state of happiness] they will call out, "Limitless art Thou in Thy glory, O God!" – and will be answered with the greeting, "Peace!" And their call will close with [the words] "All praise is due to God, the Sustainer of all the worlds!" (10)
- Unto Him you all must return: this is, in truth, God's promise - for, behold, He creates [man] in the first instance, and then brings him forth anew8 to the end that He may reward with equity all who attain to faith and do righteous deeds; whereas for those who are bent on denying the truth there is in store a draught of burning despair and grievous suffering because of their persistent refusal to acknowledge the truth.9
- 8 I.e., He will resurrect him by a new act of creation. That the verb yu'iduhu ("He brings him forth anew") refers here to the individual resurrection of human beings becomes obvious from the sequence. The noun khalq primarily denotes "creation" (i.e., the bringing into being of something that did not exist before); subsequently, it denotes the result or object of creation, i.e., a "created being" (or "beings"); finally, it is used in the sense of "man" in the generic connotation of this word, i.e., "mankind".
- 9 See surah 6, note 62 (for my rendering of hamim as "burning despair").
- To Him will be your return- of all of you. The promise of Allah is true and sure.1388 It is He Who beginneth the process of Creation,1389 and repeateth it, that He may reward with justice those who believe and work righteousness; but those who reject Him will have draughts1390 of boiling fluids, and a penalty grievous, because they did reject Him.
- 1388 Haqq. true, right, for just ends, in right proportions, sure and certain: all these ideas are implied.
- 1389 Cf. n. 120 to 2:117. Allah's creation is not a simple act, once done and finished with. It is continuous, and there are many stages, not the least important of which is the Hereafter, when the fruits of our life will be achieved.
- 1390 Hamim: boiling fluid; it is associated as in 38:57, with ghassaq, a dark, murky, or intensely cold fluid: both symbols of the grievous penalty that results from rebellion against Allah.
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To Him will be your return- of all of you. The promise of Allah is true and sure. It is He Who beginneth the process of creation, and repeateth it, that He may reward with justice those who believe and work righteousness; but those who reject Him will have draughts of boiling fluids, and a penalty grievous, because they did reject Him.
— Abdullah Yusuf Ali -
Unto Him is the return of all of you; it is a promise of Allah in truth. Lo! He produceth creation, then reproduceth it, that He may reward those who believe and do good works with equity; while, as for those who disbelieve, theirs will be a boiling drink and painful doom because they disbelieved.
— Marmaduke Pickthall -
To Him is your return, of all (of you); the promise of Allah (made) in truth; surely He begins the creation in the first mstance, then He reproduces it, that He may with justice recompense those who believe and do good; and (as for) those who disbelieve, they shall have a drink of hot water and painful punishment because they disbelieved.
— M. Habib Shakir -
To Him is the return of all of you. The Promise of Allah is true. It is He Who begins the creation and then will repeat it, that He may reward with justice those who believed (in the Oneness of Allah - Islamic Monotheism) and did deeds of righteousness. But those who disbelieved will have a drink of boiling fluids and painful torment because they used to disbelieve.
— Taqiuddin Hilali and M. Mohsin Khan -
Unto Him is the return of you all--the promise of Allah is truth. Verily He beginneth the creation, then He shall repeat it, that he may recompense those who believed and did righteous works with equity. And those who disbelieved -- for them shall be draught of boiling water and a torment afflictive for they were wont to disbelieve.
— Abdul-Majid Daryabadi -
To Him all of you will return together. This is, in truth, the promise of Allah. He originates creation, then He revives it so that He may recompense those who believe and do righteous deeds. As for the unbelievers, theirs is a drink of boiling water and a painful punishment for their disbelief.
— Hasan Qaribullah and Ahmed Darwish -
To Him shall you be returned, all together; it is God's promise in truth. He begins the creation, then shall repeat it, that He may justly recompense those who believe and do righteous deeds. And the unbelievers, for them shall be a draught of hot water and a painful punishment for that they disbelieved.
— Ayub Khan -
To Him shall you all return. The promise of God is true. Surely, He originates the creation; then He reproduces it, that He may reward those who believe and do good works, with equity; and as for those who disbelieve, they shall have boiling water to drink and a painful punishment, because they disbelieved.
— Sher Ali -
Unto Him you all must return: this is, in truth, God's promise – for, behold, He creates [man] in the first instance, and then brings him forth anew to the end that He may reward with equity all who attain to faith and do righteous deeds; whereas for those who are bent on denying the truth there is in store a draught of burning despair and grievous suffering because of their persistent refusal to acknowledge the truth.
— Muhammad Asad -
To Him shall you return, all together -- Gods promise, in truth. He originates creation, then He brings it back again that He may recompense those who believe and do deeds of righteousness, justly. And those who disbelieve -- for them awaits a draught of boiling water, and a painful chastisement, for their disbelieving.
— Arthur Arberry -
To Him is your return.{{8}} This is Allah's promise that will certainly come true. Surely it is He Who brings about the creation of all and He will repeat it{{9}} so that He may justly reward those who believe and do righteous deeds; and that those who disbelieve may have a draught of boiling water and suffer a painful chastisement for their denying the truth.{{10}}
— Abu'l Ala Maududi