The Rock

Alif. Lam. Ra. These are the verses of the Book, and a Qur'an luminous.

Oft times would those who disbelieve fain that they had been Muslims.

Leave them thou to eat and to enjoy, and let vain hope divert them; presently they will know.

And We have not destroyed a town but there was therefor a decree known.

No community precedeth the term thereof nor doth it fall behind.

And they say: O thou unto whom the Admonition hath been sent down! verily thou art possessed.

Why bringest thou not angels unto us if thou art of the truthtellers!

We send not the angels down save with judgment, and then they would not be respited.

Verily We! it is We who have revealed the Admonition, and verily We are the guardians thereof.

And assuredly We have sent apostles before thee among the sects of the ancients.

And not an apostle came unto them but at him they were wont to mock.

Even so we make a way for it in the hearts of the culprits.

They believe not therein, and already the example of the ancients hath gone forth.

And if We opened upon them a door of the heaven, and they passed the day mounting thereto.

They would surely say: intoxicated have been our sights; aye! we are a people enchanted.

And assuredly We have set constellations in the heaven and made it fairseeming unto the beholders

And We have guarded it from every Satan damned.

Save him who stealeth the hearing, and him there followeth a flame gleaming.

And the earth! We have stretched it out and have cast thereon mountains firm, and We have caused to spring up thereon everything weighed.

And We have appointed thereon for you livelihoods and also for those of whom ye are not the providers.

And there is not of aught but with Us are the treasures thereof, and We send it not down save in a measure known

And We send the winds fertilizing, then We send down water from the heaven and We give it to you to drink, and thereof ye could not be the treasurers.

And verily We! it is We who give life and death, and We shall be the survivors.

And assuredly We know those of you who have gone before and those who will come hereafter.

And veriiy thy Lord! He will gather them, and verily He is Wise. Knowing.

And assuredly We have created human being from ringing clay of loam moulded.

And the Jinn, We had created them afore of the fire of the scroching wind.

And recall what time thy Lord said unto the angels: verily I am about to createa man from ringing clay of loam moulded.

Then when I have formed him and breathed into him of My Spirit fall down unto him prostrate.

So the angels prostrated themselves, all of them together.

But Iblis did not; he refused to be with the prostrates.

Allah said: O Iblis! what aileth thou that thou art not with the prostrates?

He said it was not for me that should prostrate myself unto a human being whom Thou hast created from ringing clay of loam moulded.

Allah said: then get thee forth therefrom; verily thou art one damned.

And verily on thee shall be the curse till the Day of Requital.

He said: my Lord! respite me then till the Day whereon they will be raised up.

Allah said: verily then thou art of the respited:

Till the Day of the Time known.

He said: my Lord! because Thou hast led me to err I will surely make things fairseeming unto them on the earth and will surely seduce them all:

But not such of them as are Thy bondmen single-hearted.

Allah said: this is the path leeding unto Me straight.

Verily as for My bondmen, no authority shalt thou have over them, except the erring one who follow thee.

And verily Hell is the place promised unto them all.

Unto it are seven portals; unto each portal is a Portion of them assigned.

Verily the God-fearing shall be amidst gardens and springs.

Enter therein in peace, secure.

And We shall have removed whatsoever of grudge may be in their breasts: brethren they. sitting upon couches facing each other.

There shall touch them no toil therein, nor therefrom they shall ever be driven out.

Declare thou unto My bondmen: verily I! I am the Forgiver, the Merciful.

And verily My torment! that is the torment afflictive

And declare thou unto them of Ibrahim's guests.

When they entered unto him, and said; peace! He said: verily we are afraid of you.

They said: be not afraid; verily we bear thou the glad tidings of a boy knowing.

He said: bear ye me glad tidings when old age hath touched me? of what then ye bear me glad tidings?

They said: we bear tidings of a truth; be then thou not of the desponding.

He said: and who despondeth of the mercy of his Lord except the astray

He said: what is your errand, sent ones?

They said: verily we have been sent unto a people guilty-

All except the household of Lut; surely we are going to deliver all of them.

But not his wife; we have decreed that she will be of those staying behind.

Then when the sent ones entered unto the household of Lut.

He said: verily ye are a people stranger.

They said: nay! we have come to thee with that whereof they have been dubitating.

And we have brought unto thee the truth, and verily we say sooth.

So set out thou with thy house hold in a portion of the night, and follow thou their backs, and let not one of you look back, and pass whither ye are commanded.

And We decreed unto him this commandment because the last of those was to be cut off in the early morning.

And there came the people of the city rejoicing

He said: verily these are my guests, so disgace me not.

And fear Allah, and humiliate me not.

They said: forbade we not thee against the worlds?

He said: these are my daughters, if act ye must.

By thy life, in their intoxication they were wandering bewildered.

Then the shout took hold of them at the sunrise.

And We made the upside there of downwards, and We rained on them stones of baked clay.

Verily therein are signs for men of sagacity.

And verily they are on a pathway lasting.

Verily in that is a sign for the believers.

And the dwellers of the wood surely were wrong-doers.

So We took vengeance on them. And verily both are on a high-road open.

And assuredly the dwellers of Hijr belied the sent ones.

And We brought Our signs unto them, yet they were averting themselves therefrom.

And they were hewing out houses from mountains feeling secure.

Then the shout took hold of them in the early morn.

Then availed them not that which they had been earning.

And We have not created the heaven and the earth and that which is in between them save with a purpose. And verily the Hour is surely coming; so overlook thou with a seemly overlooking,

Verify thy Lord! He is the Great Creator, the Knower.

And assuredly We have vouchsafed unto thee seven of the repetitions and the mighty Qur'an.

Cast not thine eyes toward that which We have let classes of them to enjoy; and grieve not over them, and lower thy wing unto the believers.

And say thou: verily I! I am a plain warner.

Even as We sent down on the dividers -

Those who have made the scripture bits.

By thy Lord, We will question them all.

For that which they have been working.

Promulgate thou that which thou art commanded, and turn away from the associaters.

Verily We will suffice unto thee against the mockers.

Who set up along with Allah anot her god; presently they shall know.

And assuredly We know that thou straitenest thy breast by that which they say.

So hallow thou the praise of thy Lord, and be thou of the prostrate.

And worship thy Lord until there cometh unto thee the certainty.