The Throngs (Al-Zumer)
In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
THE REVELATION OF this Book is from God, the mighty and all-wise. 1 We have sent down the Book with the truth to you (Prophet Muhammad), therefore worship Allah, and make your religion sincerely His. 2 Surely pure religion is for Allah only. And those who choose protecting friends beside Him (say): We worship them only that they may bring us near unto Allah. Lo! Allah will judge between them concerning that wherein they differ. Lo! Allah guideth not him who is a liar, an ingrate. 3 If Allah desire to take a son to Himself, He will surely choose those He pleases from what He has created. Glory be to Him: He is Allah, the One, the Subduer (of all). 4 He created the heavens and the earth in truth, wrapping night about the day, and wrapping the day about the night; and He has subjected the sun and the moon, each of them running to a stated term. Is not He the All-mighty, the All-forgiving? 5 He has created you from a single being, then made its mate of the same (kind), and He has made for you eight of the cattle in pairs. He creates you in the wombs of your mothers-- a creation after a creation-- in triple darkness; that is Allah your Lord, His is the kingdom; there is no god but He; whence are you then turned away? 6 If you are unthankful, God is independent of you, yet He approves not unthankfulness in His servants; but if you are thankful, He will approve it in you. And no soul laden bears the load of another. Then to your Lord shall you return, and He will tell you what you have been doing. He knows the thoughts within the breasts. 7 ۞ NOW [thus it is:] when affliction befalls man, he is likely to cry out to his Sustainer, turning unto Him [for help]; but as soon as He has bestowed upon him a boon by His grace, he forgets Him whom he invoked before, and claims that there are other powers that could rival God - and thus leads [others] astray from His path. Say [unto him who sins in this way]: "Enjoy thyself for a while in this thy denial of the truth; [yet,] verily, thou art of those who are destined for the fire! 8 Or is he who is obedient in the watches of the night, bowing himself and standing, he being afraid of the world to come and hoping for the mercy of his Lord..? Say: 'Are they equal -- those who know and those who know not?' Only men possessed of minds remember. 9