Sheba

All praise Unto Allah whose is whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth; and His is the praise in the Hereafter And He is the Wise, the Aware.

He knoweth whatsoever penetrateth into the earth and whatsoever cometh forth therefrom and whatsoever descendeth from the heaven and whatsoever ascendeth thereto. And He is the Merciful, the Forgiving.

Those who disbelieve say: the Hour will not come Unto us. Say thou: yea, by my Lord the Knower of the unseen, it will surely come Unto you. Not the weight of an atom escapeth Him in the heavens or in the earth; nor is there anything less than it nor greater but it is inscribed in a Luminous Book

That He may recompense these who believed and worked righteous works. Those! theirs shall be forgiveness and a generous provision.

And those who endeavoured to frustrate Our signs - those! theirs shall be a torment of afflictive calamity.

And who have been vouchsafed knowledge beholding that the Book which hath been sent down Unto thee from thy Lord, - it is the truth and it guideth Unto the path of the Mighty, the Praiseworthy,

And those who disbelieve say: shall we direct you toward a man declaring Unto you that when ye have become dispersed" with full dispersion, then ye will be raised Unto a new creation?

Hath he fabricated a lie against Allah, or is therein him a madness? Nay, but those who disbelieve in the Hereafter are themselves in a torment and error far-reaching:

Behold they not that which is before them and that which is behind them of the heaven and the earth If We will, We shall sink the earth with them or cause a fragment of the heaven to fall on them. Verily therein is a sign Unto every repentant bondman.

And assuredly We vouchsafed Unto Da'ud grace from us,' and said: mountains! repeat Our praise with him; and also ye birds! And We softened for him the iron.

Saying: make thou complete coats of mail, and rightly dispose the links, and work ye, righteously; verily I am of that which Ye work a Beholder.

And Unto Sulaiman We subjected the wind, whereof the morning journeying was a month and the evening journeying a month. And We made a fount of brass to flow for him. And of the Jinn were some who worked before him by the Will Of his Lord. And whosoever of them swerved from Our command, him We shall cause to taste the torment of the Blaze.

They worked for him whatsoever he pleased, of lofty halls and statues and basins like cisterns and cauldrons Standing firm. Work ye, house of Da'ud! with thanksgiving; few of My bondmen are thankful.

Then when We decreed death for him, naught discovered his death to them' save a moving creature of the earth which gnawed away his staff. Then when he fell, the Jinn clearly perceived that, if they had known the unseen they would not have tarried in the ignominious torment.

Assuredly there was for Saba a sign in their own dwelling- place: two gardens on the right hand and on the left. And it was said Unto them: eat ye of the provision of your Lord and give thanks Unto Him: a fair land' and a forgiving Lord.

But they turned away. Wherefore We sent upon them the inundation of the dam and We exchanged their two gardens for two gardens bearing bitter fruit, and tamarisk. And some few lote-trees.

In this wise We requited them for they were ungrateful. And We requite not thus any save the ungrateful infidels.

And We had placed between them and the cities" which We had blest cities easy to be seen, and We had made the stages of journey between them easy:" travel in them nights and days secure.

Then they said: Our Lord make the distance between our journeys longer. And they wronged themselves. Wherefore We made them by words and dispersed them with a total dispersion. Verily herein are signs for every persevering, grateful persons.

And assuredly Iblis found his conjecture true concerning them; and they followed him all save a party of the believers.

And he hath no authority over them except that We would know him who believeth in the Hereafter from him who is in doubt thereof. And thy Lord is over everything a Warden.

Say thou: call upon those whom ye assert beside Allah. They own not an atom's weight either in the heavens or in the earth, nor have they any partnership in either, nor is there for Him from among them any supporter.

lntercession with Him profiteth not save the intercession of him whom He giveth leave. They hold their peace until when fright is taken off from their hearts, they say: What is it that your Lord hath said? They say: the very truth. And He is the Exalted, the Great.

Say thou: who provideth food for you from the heavens and the earth? Say thou: Allah; verily either we or ye are on the guidance or in error manifest.

Say thou: ye will not be questioned about that which we have committed, nor shall we be questioned about that which ye work.

Say thou: our Lord shall assemble us together, then He shall judge between us with truth; and He is the Great Judge, the Knower.

Say thou: show me those whom ye have joined with Him as associates. By no means! Aye! He is Allah, the Mighty, the Wise.

And We have not sent thee save as a bearer of glad tidings and a warner Unto all mankind; but most of man kind know not.

And they say: when is this promise to be fulfilled if ye say sooth?

Say thou: the appointment to you is for a Day which ye cannot put back for one hour nor can ye anticipate.

And those who disbelieve say: we shall by no means believe in this Qur'an nor in that which hath been before it. Would that thou couldst see when the wrong-doers shall be made to stand before their Lord! They shall cast back the word one to another; those who were deemed weak will say Unto those who were stiff-necked: had it not been for you, surely we should have been believers.

Those who were stiff-necked will say Unto those who were deemed weak: was it we who prevented you from the guidance after it had come Unto you? Aye! ye have been guilty yourselves.

And those who were deemed weak will say Unto those who were stiff necked: aye, it was your plotting by night and by day, When ye were commanding us that we should disbelieve in Allah and set up peers Unto Him. And they Will keep secret their shame when they behold the torment. And We shall place shackles on the necks of those who disbelieved. They shall be requited not save according to that which they had been working.

And We sent not a warner Unto a town but the affluent thereof said:' verily in that wherewith ye have been sent we are disbelievers.

And they said: we are more numerous in riches and children, and we are not going to be tormented.

Say thou: verily my Lord expandeth the provision for whomsoever He will and stinteth it; but most of mankind know not.

And it is not your riches nor your children that shall draw you nigh Unto us with a near approach, but whoso ever believeth and worketh righteously- then those! theirs shall be a twofold meed for that which they will have worked, and they will be in upper apartments secure.

And those who endeavour to frustrate Our signs, Unto the torment they will be brought.

Say thou: verily my Lord expandeth the provision for whomsoever He listeth of His bondmen, and stinteth it for him. And whatsoever ye expend of aught He shall replace it. And He is the Best of Providers.

And on the Day whereon He gathereth them together, then He will say Unto the angels: was it ye that these were wont to worship?

They will say: hallowed be Thou! Thou art our protecting friend, not they; Aye! they have been worshipping the jinn; In them most of them were believers.

To-day ye own not for one another either benefit or hurt. And We shall say Unto those who did wrong: taste the torment of the Fire which ye were wont to belie.

And when there are rehearsed Unto them Our plain revelations, they this messenger is naught but as a man who seeketh to prevent you from that which your fathers have been worshipping. And they say: this message is naught but a fraud fabricated. And those who disbelieve say of the truth When it is come Unto them: this is naught but manifest magic.

And We had not vouchsafed Unto them Books they should have been studying, nor had We sent Unto them, before thee, any warner.

And those before them belied; and these have not arrived Unto a tithe of that which We vouchsafed Unto them. But they belied My apostles. So how terrible was My disapproval

Say thou: I but exhort you Unto one thing: that ye stand, for Allah's sake, by twos and singly, and then ponder; in your companion there is no madness; he is naught but a warner Unto you preceding a torment severe.

Say thou: whatsoever hire might have asked of you is yours; my hire is with Allah only. And He is of everything a Witness.

Say thou: verily my Lord hurleth the truth: the Knower of things hidden.

Say thou: the truth is come, and falsehood shall neither originate nor be restored."

Say thou: if ever I go astray, I shall stray only against myself, and if I remain guided it is because of that which my Lord hath revealed Unto me. Verily He is Hearing, Nigh.

And couldst thou see the time when they shall be terrified! Then there shall be no escaping, and they shall be laid hold of from a place quite nigh.

And then they will say: we believe therein. But whence can there be the attainment of faith from a place so afar.

Whereas they disbelieved therein afore, and conjectured about the unseen from a place so afar.

And they will be shut off from that which they will eagerly desire, as shall be done with the likes of them of yore. Verily they have been in doubt perplexing.