The Constellations

CONSIDER the sky full of great constellations,

and [then bethink thyself of] the promised Day,

and [of] Him who witnesses [all], and [of] that unto which witness is borne [by Him]!

THEY DESTROY [but] themselves, they who would ready a pit

of fire fiercely burning [for all who have attained to faith]!

Lo! [With glee do] they contemplate that [fire],

fully conscious of what they are doing to the believers,

whom they hate for no other reason than that they believe in God, the Almighty, the One to whom all praise is due,

[and] to whom the dominion of the heavens and the earth belongs. But God is witness unto everything!

Verily, as for those who persecute believing men and believing women, and thereafter do not repent, hell's suffering awaits them: yea, suffering through fire awaits them!

[But,] verily, they who attain to faith and do righteous deeds shall [in the life to come] have gardens through which running waters flow - that triumph most great!

VERILY, thy Sustainer's grip is exceedingly strong!

Behold, it is He who creates [man] in the first instance, and He [it is who] will bring him forth anew.

And He alone is truly-forgiving, all-embracing in His love,

in sublime almightiness enthroned,

a sovereign doer of whatever He wills.

HAS IT ever come within thy ken, the story of the [sinful] hosts

of Pharaoh, and of [the tribe of] Thamud?

And yet, they who are bent on denying the truth persist in giving it the lie:

but all the while God encompasses them [with His knowledge and might] without their being aware of it.

Nay, but this [divine writ which they reject] is a discourse sublime,

upon an imperishable tablet [inscribed].