الم
Alif. Lām. Mīm. (1)
تَنْزِيلُ الْكِتَابِ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ مِنْ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
THE BESTOWAL from on high of this divine writ issues, beyond any doubt, from the Sustainer of all the worlds: (2)
أَمْ يَقُولُونَ افْتَرَاهُ بَلْ هُوَ الْحَقُّ مِنْ رَبِّكَ لِتُنْذِرَ قَوْمًا مَا أَتَاهُمْ مِنْ نَذِيرٍ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَهْتَدُونَ
and yet, they [who are bent on denying the truth] assert, "[Muhammad] has invented it!" Nay, but it is the truth from thy Sustainer, enabling thee to warn [this] people to whom no warner has come before thee, so that they might follow the right path. (3)
اللَّهُ الَّذِي خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا فِي سِتَّةِ أَيَّامٍ ثُمَّ اسْتَوَىٰ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ مَا لَكُمْ مِنْ دُونِهِ مِنْ وَلِيٍّ وَلَا شَفِيعٍ أَفَلَا تَتَذَكَّرُونَ
IT IS GOD who has created the heavens and the earth and all that is between them in six aeons, and is established on the throne of His almightiness. You have none to protect you from God, and none to intercede for you [on Judgment Day]: will you not, then, bethink yourselves? (4)
يُدَبِّرُ الْأَمْرَ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ إِلَى الْأَرْضِ ثُمَّ يَعْرُجُ إِلَيْهِ فِي يَوْمٍ كَانَ مِقْدَارُهُ أَلْفَ سَنَةٍ مِمَّا تَعُدُّونَ
He governs all that exists, from the celestial space to the earth; and in the end all shall ascend unto Him [for judgment] on a Day the length whereof will be [like] a thousand years of your reckoning. (5)
ذَٰلِكَ عَالِمُ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ الْعَزِيزُ الرَّحِيمُ
Such is He who knows all that is beyond the reach of a created being's perception, as well as all that can be witnessed by a creature's senses or mind: the Almighty, the Dispenser of Grace, (6)
الَّذِي أَحْسَنَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ خَلَقَهُ وَبَدَأَ خَلْقَ الْإِنْسَانِ مِنْ طِينٍ
who makes most excellent everything that He creates. Thus, He begins the creation of man out of clay; (7)
ثُمَّ جَعَلَ نَسْلَهُ مِنْ سُلَالَةٍ مِنْ مَاءٍ مَهِينٍ
then He causes him to be begotten out of the essence of a humble fluid; (8)
ثُمَّ سَوَّاهُ وَنَفَخَ فِيهِ مِنْ رُوحِهِ وَجَعَلَ لَكُمُ السَّمْعَ وَالْأَبْصَارَ وَالْأَفْئِدَةَ قَلِيلًا مَا تَشْكُرُونَ
and then He forms him in accordance with what he is meant to be, and breathes into him of His spirit: and [thus, O men,] He endows you with hearing, and sight, and feelings as well as minds: [yet] how seldom are you grateful! (9)
وَقَالُوا أَإِذَا ضَلَلْنَا فِي الْأَرْضِ أَإِنَّا لَفِي خَلْقٍ جَدِيدٍ بَلْ هُمْ بِلِقَاءِ رَبِّهِمْ كَافِرُونَ
For [many are] they [who] say, "What! After we have been [dead and] lost in the earth, shall we indeed be [restored to life] in a new act of creation?" Nay, but [by saying this] they deny the truth that they are destined to meet their Sustainer! (10)
قُلْ يَتَوَفَّاكُمْ مَلَكُ الْمَوْتِ الَّذِي وُكِّلَ بِكُمْ ثُمَّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكُمْ تُرْجَعُونَ
Say: "[One day,] the angel of death who has been given charge of you will gather you, and then unto your Sustainer you will be brought back." (11)
- and yet,2 they [who are bent on denying the truth] assert, "[Muhammad] has invented it!" Nay, but it is the truth from thy Sustainer, enabling thee to warn [this] people to whom no warner has come before thee, so that they might follow the right path.
- 2 Cf. note 61 on 10:38.
- Or3630 do they say, "He has forged it"? Nay, it is the Truth from thy Lord, that thou mayest admonish a people to whom no warner has come before thee: in order that they may receive guidance.3631
- 3630 The force of "or" (am in Arabic) is that the only alternative to the acceptance of the Book as a divine revelation is the supposition that it was a forgery by the Prophet. But this supposition is absurd on the face of it because (1) Quraysh, his critics, knew him to be an honest and truthful man; (2) he was unlettered, and such a Book would have been beyond his powers as a simple unlettered Arab, unless Allah inspired it; and (3) there was a definite reason for its coming as it did, because the Arabs had received no Messenger before him and Allah has sent Messengers to every nation.
- 3631 The Arabs very much needed guidance for themselves, and the advent of a World Prophet through them was what might have been expected in view of the past course of Allah's Revelations.
-
Or do they say, "He has forged it"? Nay, it is the Truth from thy Lord, that thou mayest admonish a people to whom no warner has come before thee: in order that they may receive guidance.
— Abdullah Yusuf Ali -
Or say they: He hath invented it? Nay, but it is the Truth from thy Lord, that thou mayst warn a folk to whom no warner came before thee, that haply they may walk aright.
— Marmaduke Pickthall -
Or do they say: He has forged it? Nay! it is the truth from your Lord that you may warn a people to whom no warner has come before you, that they may follow the right direction.
— M. Habib Shakir -
Or say they: "He (Muhammad SAW) has fabricated it?" Nay, it is the truth from your Lord, that you may warn a people to whom no warner has come before you (O Muhammad SAW), in order that they may be guided.
— Taqiuddin Hilali and M. Mohsin Khan -
Will they say: he hath fabricated it? Aye! it is the truth from thy Lord, that thou mayest warn therewith a people unto whom no warner came before thee, that haply they may be guided.
— Abdul-Majid Daryabadi -
Or do they say: 'He has forged it himself? ' Say: 'No, it is the truth from your Lord so that you can warn a nation to whom none has warned before you, in order that they are guided.
— Hasan Qaribullah and Ahmed Darwish -
Or do they say, `he has forged it?' No, it is the Truth from thy Lord, that thou mayest warn a people to whom no warner came before thee, that they may be guided.
— Ayub Khan -
Do they say, 'He has forged it?' Nay, it is the truth from thy Lord, that thou mayest warn a people to whom no Warner has come before thee, that they may be guided.
— Sher Ali -
and yet, they [who are bent on denying the truth] assert, "[Muhammad] has invented it!"
Nay, but it is the truth from thy Sustainer, enabling thee to warn [this] people to whom no warner has come before thee, so that they might follow the right path.
— Muhammad Asad -
Or do they say, He has forged it? Say: Not so; it is the truth from thy Lord that thou mayest warn a people to whom no warner came before thee, that haply so they may be guided.
— Arthur Arberry -
Or do{{2}} they say: "He has fabricated it?"{{3}} Nay, it is the Truth from your Lord so that you may warn a people to whom no warner came before you;{{4}} perhaps they will be guided to the Right Way.{{5}}
— Abu'l Ala Maududi