الر تِلْكَ آيَاتُ الْكِتَابِ وَقُرْآنٍ مُبِينٍ

Alif. Lām. Rā. THESE ARE MESSAGES of revelation – of a discourse clear in itself and clearly showing the truth. (1)

رُبَمَا يَوَدُّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَوْ كَانُوا مُسْلِمِينَ

And it will come to pass that those who are [now] bent on denying this truth will wish that they had surrendered themselves to God [in their lifetime]. (2)

وَمَا أَهْلَكْنَا مِنْ قَرْيَةٍ إِلَّا وَلَهَا كِتَابٌ مَعْلُومٌ

And never have We destroyed any community [for its wrongdoing] unless a divine writ had [previously] been made known to it; (4)

مَا تَسْبِقُ مِنْ أُمَّةٍ أَجَلَهَا وَمَا يَسْتَأْخِرُونَ

[but remember that] no community can ever forestall [the end of] its term – and neither can they delay [it]. (5)

وَقَالُوا يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِي نُزِّلَ عَلَيْهِ الذِّكْرُ إِنَّكَ لَمَجْنُونٌ

And yet, they [who deny the truth] say: "O thou unto whom this reminder has [allegedly] been bestowed from on high: verily, thou art mad! (6)

لَوْ مَا تَأْتِينَا بِالْمَلَائِكَةِ إِنْ كُنْتَ مِنَ الصَّادِقِينَ

Why dost thou not bring before us angels, if thou art a man of truth?" (7)

مَا نُنَزِّلُ الْمَلَائِكَةَ إِلَّا بِالْحَقِّ وَمَا كَانُوا إِذًا مُنْظَرِينَ

[Yet] We never send down angels otherwise than in accordance with the [demands of] truth; and [were the angels to appear now,] lo! they [who reject this divine writ] would have no further respite! (8)

إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُ لَحَافِظُونَ

Behold, it is We Ourselves who have bestowed from on high, step by step, this reminder: and, behold, it is We who shall truly guard it [from all corruption]. (9)

وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا مِنْ قَبْلِكَ فِي شِيَعِ الْأَوَّلِينَ

AND, INDEED, [O Prophet,] even before thy time did We send [Our apostles] unto communities of old (10)

وَمَا يَأْتِيهِمْ مِنْ رَسُولٍ إِلَّا كَانُوا بِهِ يَسْتَهْزِئُونَ

and never yet came an apostle to them without their deriding him. (11)

كَذَٰلِكَ نَسْلُكُهُ فِي قُلُوبِ الْمُجْرِمِينَ

Even so do We [now] cause this [scorn of Our message] to pervade the hearts of those who are lost in sin, (12)

لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ وَقَدْ خَلَتْ سُنَّةُ الْأَوَّلِينَ

who do not believe in it, although the way which those [evildoers] of olden times had to go has long been within their ken. (13)

وَلَوْ فَتَحْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ بَابًا مِنَ السَّمَاءِ فَظَلُّوا فِيهِ يَعْرُجُونَ

Yet even had We opened to them a gateway to heaven and they had ascended, on and on, up to it, (14)

لَقَالُوا إِنَّمَا سُكِّرَتْ أَبْصَارُنَا بَلْ نَحْنُ قَوْمٌ مَسْحُورُونَ

they would surely have said, "It is only our eyes that are spellbound! Nay, we have been bewitched!" (15)