Sheba

It is only God who deserves all praise. To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and the earth and it is only He who deserves to be praised in the life to come. He is All-wise and All-aware.

He knows all that enters the earth, all that comes out of it, all that descends from the sky and all that ascends to it. He is All-merciful and All-forgiving.

The disbelievers have said, "There will be no Hour of Doom." Say, "By my Lord, it certainly will come. My Lord knows the unseen. Not even an atom's weight in the heavens or the earth remains hidden from Him. Nothing exists greater or smaller than this without its record in the illustrious Book.

God will certainly reward the righteously striving believers. These are the ones who will receive forgiveness and honorable sustenance.

However, those who try to challenge Our revelations will face the most painful torment.

Those who have been given knowledge will see that whatever has been revealed to you from your Lord is the truth and that it guides to the straight path of the Majestic and Praiseworthy One.

The unbelievers have said, "Should we tell you about a man who says that you will be brought back to life again after your having been completely disintegrated?

Has he invented this falsehood against God or is he possessed by jinn?" However, those who do not have any faith in the life to come will suffer torment for their serious error.

Have they not seen the heavens and the earth in front and behind them. Had We wanted, We could have caused the earth to swallow them up or made a part of the sky fall upon them. In this there is evidence (of the truth) for every repenting person.

We granted David a favor by commanding the mountains and birds to sing Our praise along with him and softened iron for him

so that he could make coats of mail and properly measure their rings. We told him and his people to act righteously. We are Well-Aware of what you do.

(We made subservient to) Solomon the wind that travelled a month's journey in the morning and a month's journey in the evening. We made a stream of brass flow for him and some of the jinn worked for him by his Lord's command. We would make whichever of them (jinn) who turned away from Our command to suffer a burning torment.

They would make for him anything that he wanted like fortresses, statues, large basins like reservoirs, and huge immovable cooking pots. It was said, "Family of David, worship and act gratefully. Only few of my servants are grateful."

When We decreed that Solomon should die, no one knew of his death except for a creeping creature of the earth who ate-up his staff. When he fell down, the jinn realized that if they had known about the unseen, they would not have remained in such a humiliating torment for so long.

There was evidence (of the truth) for the people of Sheba in their homeland. (We gave them) two gardens, one on the left and one on the right and (told them), "Consume the sustenance which your Lord has given to you and give Him thanks. You have a blessed land and an All-forgiving Lord".

They ignored (the evidence) and We sent to them a flood, arising from a broken dam. Nothing was left in their gardens but bitter fruits, some tamarisk and a few lotus trees.

This was how We recompensed them for their ungratefulness and thus do We recompense the ungrateful ones.

We established between them and the town that We had blessed, other towns nearby, and thus made it easier to travel. We told them, "Travel there safely day and night".

They said, "Lord, make the distances of our journeys longer." They did injustice to themselves and We turned their existence into ancient tales by making them disintegrate totally. In this there is evidence (of the truth) for every forbearing and grateful person.

Iblis (satan) made his judgment about them to come true. They all followed them except a believing group among them.

He did not have any authority over them except to the extent that would allow Us to know who had faith in the life to come and who had doubts about it. Your Lord is a Guard over all things.

Say, (Muhammad), "Ask help from those whom you worship besides God. They do not possess an atom's weight in the heavens and the earth, have no share therein, nor will any of their idols be able to support them."

No intercession with Him will be of any benefit except that of those whom He has granted permission. The angels cannot intercede. They are always submissive to their Lord. Fear vanishes from their heart when (they receive a message from their Lord). They ask each other, "What did your Lord say?" Others answer, "He spoke the Truth. He is the Most High and the Most Great."

Say, "Who provides you with sustenance from the heavens and the earth?" Say, "It is God. Only one group among us has the true guidance. The others must certainly be in plain error".

Say, "You will not be questioned about our sins nor shall we about your deeds".

Say, "Our Lord will gather us all together and issue the true Judgment about our differences. He is the Best Judge and All-knowing."

Say, "Show me those whom you have related to God as His partner. He is too Exalted to have any partners. He is the Majestic and All-wise God."

We have sent you as a bearer of glad news and a warner to the whole of mankind, but most people do not know.

They say, "When will the Day of Judgment be if what you say is true?"

Say, "That day has already been decreed for you and you cannot change the time of its coming even by a single hour."

The unbelievers have said, "We shall never believe in this Quran nor in the Bible." Would that you could see the unjust having been halted in the presence of their Lord, exchanging words among themselves. The oppressed among them will say to their oppressors, "Had it not been for you, we would certainly have been believers."

The suppressing ones will say to the oppressed ones, "Did we prevent you from having guidance after it had come to you? In fact, you yourselves were criminals."

The oppressed ones will say to them, "It was you who planned night and day, ordering us to disbelieve God, and consider other things equal to Him." They will hide their regret on seeing their torment. We shall chain the necks of the disbelievers. Can they be recompensed with other than what they deserved for their deeds?

Every time We sent a warner to a town, the rich ones therein said (to Our Messenger), "We have no faith in what you have brought (to us).

We are the ones who have more wealth and children and we shall suffer no punishment".

Say, "My Lord increases and determines the sustenance of whomever He wants, but most people do not know."

Your property and children cannot bring you closer to Us. Only those who believe and act righteously will have double reward for their deeds and will live in secure mansions.

Those who try to challenge Our revelations will be driven into torment.

Say, "It is my Lord who determines and increases the sustenance of whomever He wants. He will replace whatever you spend for His cause and He is the best Sustainer."

On the day when God will rise them all together and ask the angels, "Had these people been worshipping you?"

They will reply, "All glory belongs to you. You are our guardian, not they. They had been worshipping the jinn and most of them had strong faith".

None of them can help or harm each other on this day. We shall tell the unjust ones, "Suffer the torment of the fire which you had called a lie."

When Our illustrious revelations are recited to them, they say, "This man only wants to prevent you from worshipping what your father's had worshipped." They say "This, (the Quran), is a mere invented lie." The unbelievers have said about the truth when it came to them, "This only is plain magic."

We did not send to them, (the pagans), any books to study nor a Messenger to warn them, and those who lived before them had rejected the Truth.

These people have not one tenth of power or wealth that we had given to those who lived before them. They called Our Messengers liars. Thus, how terrible was My vengeance.

Say, "I advise you to believe only in One God and worship Him individually or two people together." Think carefully; your companion is not possessed by jinn. He is only warning you of the coming severe torment.

Say, "Whatever reward I ask you (for my preaching) will be for your own good. No one can reward me except God. He is the Witness over all things."

Say, "My Lord speaks the Truth. He has the knowledge of the unseen".

Say, "The truth has come. Falsehood has vanished and it will not come back again".

Say, "If I go astray it will only be against my own soul, but if I receive guidance, it will be through my Lord's revelations." He is All-hearing and Omnipresent.

Would that you could see how the unbelievers will be terrified by death from which they cannot escape. They will be seized from a nearby place

and then they will say, "We have faith in the Quran." How can they have any faith when they are far away from this world.

They had rejected it in their worldly life and expressed disbelief at the unseen (Day of Judgment), considering it less than a remote possibility.

A gulf will exist between them and their desires on the Day of Judgment like the similar people who lived before. They, too, had lived in doubt and uncertainty (about the life hereafter).