Jonah (Younus)
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
Alif Lam. Ra. THESE ARE MESSAGES of the divine writ, full of wisdom. 1 Does it seem strange to people that We have sent revelation to a man from among themselves, saying, "Warn mankind and give glad tidings to the believers that they have a true rank [of honour] with their Lord?" Those who deny the truth say, "This man is clearly a sorcerer." 2 God is your Lord who has created the heavens and the earth in six days and established His Dominion over the Throne. He maintains order over the creation. No one can intercede for others without His permission. It is God who is your only Lord. Worship only Him. Will you then not think? 3 Unto Him you all must return: this is, in truth, God's promise - for, behold, He creates [man] in the first instance, and then brings him forth anew to the end that He may reward with equity all who attain to faith and do righteous deeds; whereas for those who are bent on denying the truth there is in store a draught of burning despair and grievous suffering because of their persistent refusal to acknowledge the truth. 4 It is God who has made the sun radiant and the moon luminous and has appointed for the moon certain phases so that you may compute the number of years and other reckonings. God has created them for a genuine purpose. He explains the evidence (of His existence) to the people of knowledge. 5 Lo! in the difference of day and night and all that Allah hath created in the heavens and the earth are portents, verily, for folk who ward off (evil). 6 Verily, those who hope not for their meeting with Us, but are pleased and satisfied with the life of the present world, and those who are heedless of Our Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.), 7 their goal is the fire in return for all [the evil] that they were wont to do. 8 Lo! those who believe and do good works, their Lord guideth them by their faith. Rivers will flow beneath them in the Gardens of Delight, 9 Their prayer shall be, "Glory be to you Lord," and their greeting, "Peace be with you," and the only other words (of worldly speech) they will speak will be, "It is God, Lord of the Universe, who deserves all praise." 10