التفسير المحرر

Glory be to Allah, exalted above all that is unbefitting of Him, the One Who took His servant Muhammad in a part of the night from the Sacred Mosque in Makkah to the Aqsā (farthest) Mosque in Jerusalem, whose surroundings We have blessed with rivers, trees, and fruits, and which We made a place for many of the prophets and the chosen ones. We took Our servant Muhammad on this journey so that We may show him some of the great wonders of Our power and Our supreme signs. Indeed, Allah is the All-Hearing of all that is heard and the All-Seeing of all that is seen. And part of that is His hearing the words of His servants, and He is the All-Seeing of them, so He rewards each according to what they deserve in this world and the Hereafter.

And We gave Moses the Torah, and We made the book of Moses a guide to the truth for the Children of Israel, that you—O Children of Israel—should not take besides Me a deity upon whom you rely and to whom you entrust your affairs.

O descendants of those We carried with Noah in the ark, whom We saved from drowning; Noah was indeed a grateful servant to Allah for His blessings. So follow the example of your forefather, thank Me for My favours upon you, and associate nothing with Me.

And We informed the Children of Israel in the Torah—in accordance with Our foreknowledge—that they would cause corruption in the land twice through disbelief, sins, and violating the commandments of the Torah. And We also informed them that they would become extremely arrogant and tyrannical, defying Allah's command and oppressing His servants.

So when the time for your punishment came—O Children of Israel—for the first of the two times in which you would cause corruption in the land, We sent against you soldiers from Our creation, of great might and severe power. So the soldiers whom Allah sent against the Children of Israel roamed among their homes, going back and forth between them to kill them, and Allah's sending of those soldiers against the Children of Israel was a decree that was bound to be fulfilled.

Then We gave you back—O Children of Israel—the victory and triumph over your enemies who had defeated and subjugated you when you repented from corruption, tyranny, and arrogance and obeyed. We gave you an increase in wealth and sons and made you more numerous in manpower than your enemy.

If you obey Allah—O Children of Israel—then this goodness is for your own benefit, and with it you benefit yourselves. So Allah will increase you in provision and strength, defend you, and admit you into Paradise. And if you disobey Allah, then the harm of your wrongdoing is upon yourselves. So Allah will let your enemies overpower you in this world, and He will punish you in the Hereafter. Then when the time for your punishment for your second corruption comes, We will send against you servants of Ours to make the signs of sorrow and gloom appear on your faces by killing you, taking you captive, subjugating you, and humiliating you, and to enter the Bait al-Maqdis (Jerusalem) and destroy it through force, conquest, and your humiliation, just as they entered it the first time when We punished you for your first corruption. They entered it by force, destroyed it, and went through the homes, killing you. And they will utterly destroy everything they conquered and overcame in your lands, so they will ruin the Bait al-Maqdis, your homes, and your farms.

Perhaps Allah—O Children of Israel—will have mercy on you after His retribution against you by rescuing you, restoring your honour after your humiliation, granting you strength, and returning the authority to you. And if you return to causing corruption in the land by disobeying Me after My mercy upon you, I will return to My retribution against you, so I will give dominance once again to those who will kill and humiliate you. And We have made Hell for the disbelievers a prison and a confinement, from which they can never escape.

Indeed, this Qur’an guides its followers to the most just, excellent, and correct path in all affairs of creed, deeds, and morals, which is the religion of Islam. And this Qur’an gives good tidings to the believers who affirm their faith with righteous deeds that they will have a great reward in the Hereafter.

And the Qur’an also gives good tidings to the believers that Allah has prepared for their enemies, the disbelievers who do not believe in the Resurrection on the Day of Judgment, a painful punishment in the Hereafter.

And man, in a state of anger, supplicates against himself, his family, and his children for death or other harmful things, just as he supplicates to his Lord for good. For if his supplication for evil were to be answered as his supplication is answered for good, he would have perished. Man does this only because haste is part of his nature; thus, he rushes to ask for whatever comes to his heart or crosses his mind, without pausing to reflect or contemplate its consequences.

And We made the night and the day two signs indicating the existence of Allah, His Oneness, and the perfection of His Power and Mercy, and that He alone is worthy of worship. So We obliterated the moon so that the night would be dark, and We made the sun illuminating for you in the daytime so that by the light of day you could seek the sustenance that your Lord makes easy for you from His vast bounty. And We erased the sign of the night so that you know the number of the years and the calculation of the nights and months, and thus benefit in the affairs of your religion and your worldly life. And everything you people need to be clarified for the good of your religion and your worldly life, We have explained to you in the Qur'an with a clear and sufficient explanation, free of any ambiguity or deficiency whatsoever.

And We have bound to every human being his deeds, which We have decreed for him, and Our judgment of them, whether good or evil, has preceded, emanating from his own choice. He alone will be recompensed for them; he will not be held accountable for the deeds of another, nor will another be held accountable for his deeds. And on the Day of Resurrection, We will bring forth for every person a record of his deeds, which he will find laid open, containing all that he did in the worldly life, of good or evil.

It is said to every person on the Day of Resurrection: "Read the record of your deeds that the guardian angels have written in it, and your own self is sufficient to take account of your deeds; it is sufficient as a reckoner against you, and We seek no witness against you other than it."

Whoever is guided and follows the truth, it is only for his own benefit, with a good reward and a praiseworthy outcome in this world and the Hereafter. And whoever goes astray from the truth, it is only to his own loss, and the harm of it befalls him in this world and the Hereafter. No sinful soul will bear the sin of another. And We would never punish a people except after the proof has been established against them by sending a messenger to them. Then if they reject the truth, We punish them according to what they deserve.

Whenever We intend to destroy the people of a town with a punishment in this world, We command its affluent and its tyrants, through the messenger sent to them, to obey Me. But they act rebelliously against My commands and disobey Me. So the decree of punishment they had been warned of is justified against the people of the town, and We destroy the town completely and utterly annihilate its people.

And We punished many of the people of the past generations in this world for their disbelief and their denial of their messengers, and that was after the first of the messengers, Noah. So you—O disbelievers of the Quraysh—are not more honored by Allah than they were, yet you have denied the noblest of the messengers. Your punishment is therefore more fitting and deserved if you do not cease from your disbelief and denial. And sufficient is your Lord, O Muhammad, as one who is All-Aware and All-Seeing of the sins of His servants. He knows their inner and outer aspects, and He sees them, so nothing of them is hidden from Him, and He will recompense them for them.

Whoever's intention is the immediate abode, which is this world, and he works for it alone, We hasten for him in this world what We will of its enjoyments and provisions, for whomever We intend to give of that. Then We have appointed for him in the Hereafter the punishment of Hell; he will enter it and burn in its fire, blamed by Allah and His servants, banished from the mercy of his Lord, rejected, and humiliated.

Whoever desires the reward of the Hereafter and does righteous deeds for Paradise with sincerity to Allah and in adherence to His Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, while being a believer in Allah and in what must be believed in, and affirming the reward and the recompense—it is they whose deeds in obedience to Allah will be accepted and not rejected. Allah will multiply their reward and perfect their recompense.

To each of the two groups—the disbelievers who desire this world and the believers who desire the Hereafter—We extend, O Muhammad, from the bounty and provision of your Lord. And the bounty of your Lord is never withheld from any of His creation; everyone will have a share thereof.

See—O Muhammad—how We have favored some people over others in the bestowals of this worldly life, such as sustenance, knowledge, intellect, beauty, health, and otherwise. But the disparity between them in the Hereafter is greater than in this world, for the differentiation in the ranks of the righteous in the Hereafter is greater, and its people will have far greater distinction among them than people have in this world.

Do not set up any other god with Allah. But if you associate anything with Allah, you will be left blameworthy with no one to commend you and forsaken with no one to help you.

And your Lord has commanded and ordained—O Muhammad—that you and all of creation worship none but Allah alone, and He has commanded you to show kindness to your parents in all words and deeds. If your parents live with you and have reached old age, with their strength weakened, whether one or both of them, then do not say a word of annoyance to them, showing your displeasure at what bothers you about them, and do not harm them in any way. Do not rebuke your parents or speak harshly to them; instead, speak to them a good, gentle, tender, and beautiful word, with politeness and kindness.

And be humble and submissive to your parents, out of mercy for them, and do not disobey them in what they command you or forbid you from, as long as it does not involve disobedience to Allah Almighty. And say: "My Lord, have mercy on my parents in their lives and after their death, as a recompense for them for raising me in my childhood and in my state of weakness, helplessness, and need."

Your Lord, O people, knows best what is in your hearts regarding honoring the rights of parents and being merciful to them, or taking them lightly, and of intending to be dutiful to them, or to mistreat and disobey them. Nothing of that is hidden from Him, and He will recompense you for it. So beware of harboring ill will towards them. If you rectify your intentions and are sincere in your resolve to be dutiful to your parents, obeying Allah's command in this regard, then indeed Allah is All-Forgiving to those who repent to Him for their slips and shortcomings toward their parents, who repeatedly return to Allah and His pleasure. He conceals their slips and overlooks holding them accountable.

And give the relative—O Muhammad—his right of kinship, kindness, and solace; and the needy his right of charity; and the stranded traveler passing by you his right of hospitality and assistance in reaching his destination. And do not squander your wealth by spending it improperly or by placing it in places other than those which Allah has ordained, such as spending in disobedience to Allah Almighty.

Indeed, those who spend their wealth in ways other than its rightful and legitimate purpose are the brothers of the devils for following them in extravagance, foolishness, and disobedience to Allah. And Satan is ever ungrateful to his Lord for His blessings, not thanking Him for them.

But if you—O Muhammad—must turn away from giving the relatives, the needy, and the wayfarers their rights due to your lack of wealth, while you are awaiting a provision from your Lord, hoping He will make it easy for you, then do not cause them to despair of your giving, nor be harsh in your speech to them. Rather, speak to them a soft, gentle, and kind word that their souls will accept, such as a gracious apology, a beautiful promise to give to them, and a prayer for them for provision.

Do not withhold your hand completely out of stinginess from spending for good, as if it were chained to your neck, so that you cannot extend it to give anything good to anyone. And do not extend your hand completely in giving and spending, lest you spend beyond your means and be left with no money. You would then become blamed before Allah Almighty, people, and yourself, becoming insolvent, with nothing left for you to spend, and unable to manage your own affairs.

Indeed, your Lord—O Muhammad—extends His provision to whom He wills of His servants and restricts it for whom He wills among them, according to His wisdom. Glorified is He. For He is All-Aware of the inner states of His servants, their conditions, and their affairs, and All-Seeing of their outward appearances and how they manage their provisions and other matters. He is Most Knowledgeable of their best interests and what is befitting for each of them, and thus knows who is suited for wealth and who is suited for poverty.

And do not kill—O fathers—your children for fear that poverty will afflict you by spending on them. We give your children their provision, and you are not their providers, and We give you your provision as well, so do not fear poverty on their account. Indeed, the killing of children by their fathers is a great sin.

And do not approach the act of adultery—O people—and keep away from its precursors and causes. It is truly a great sin and an exceedingly shameful deed according to the Sharia (divine law), reason, and natural disposition. What an evil way is the path of adultery, for it leads to various types of corruption in this world and to punishment and disgrace in the Hereafter.

And do not kill the soul that Allah has forbidden to be killed, except when it is deserved according to the law. And whoever is killed unjustly, We have given his heir authority over the killer; he has the choice: if he wishes, he may kill him in just retribution; if he wishes, he may take the blood money; and if he wishes, he may pardon him. But let the heir of the slain not exceed the limits set for him by transgressing to kill someone other than the killer, or killing two or more for one, or mutilating the killer. Indeed, the heir of the slain has been supported against the killer [by the law].

And do not approach the orphan's property except in a way that is best and most excellent, and that is by improving it, preserving it, investing in it, and making it grow, until he reaches puberty and maturity, such that his intellect is complete and he can manage his wealth. So when he reaches that stage, the guardianship over him is removed, he becomes his own guardian, and his wealth is handed over to him. And fulfill, O people, the covenants you have made with Allah and the contracts that are between you, because Allah will question you about them on the Day of Resurrection and will recompense you for their fulfillment or lack thereof.

And give full measure to the people when you measure for them, and give them their rights—with justice—in full without any reduction. And weigh with the straight balance, which has no deviation or crookedness and no cheating or deception. That is better for you than giving short measure and a better outcome for you in your worldly life: through blessing, contentment of the soul, and so on, and in your hereafter: with the reward from Allah Almighty.

And do not say or do anything based on mere conjecture, following that of which you have no knowledge or proof of its correctness. This includes falsely accusing and slandering people and bearing witness against them unjustly. Indeed, the hearing, the sight, and the heart—all of these faculties—Allah will question a person about them on the Day of Resurrection regarding how he used them. And these limbs will be questioned about what their owner did with them, and they will testify against him for what he said and did, of good and evil.

And do not walk on the earth arrogantly, swaggering, swaying, and pridefully, like the gait of tyrants. For you—O arrogant one, haughty in your gait—will never tear the earth with the force of your footsteps in your conceited walk, nor will you ever reach the height of the mountains by stretching your body upwards in your walk. So what entices you to this gait when your ability does not reach this extent?! Therefore, be humble and not arrogant, and know the measure of your weakness and inability.

All that was mentioned in the previous verses of commands and prohibitions, the evil of it—that which Allah has forbidden—is repugnant and hateful in the sight of your Lord, Who has bestowed upon you a kindness that should only be met with gratitude, O Muhammad.

These rulings, commands, and prohibitions in the preceding verses are part of the wisdom your Lord has revealed to you, O Muhammad, for you to act upon and to call the people to. And do not set up another god with Allah, or you will be thrown into Hell, blamed by your own self and by creation, and banished and expelled from His mercy, Glorified is He.

Has your Lord favoured you—O pagans—with sons and taken angels as His daughters as you claim, when you yourselves would not be content with daughters?! This is contrary to reason and established custom, for masters do not favour their servants with the best of things while taking the inferior for themselves! Indeed, you—O pagans—are making a monstrous claim against Allah by fabricating that the angels are His daughters.

And We have certainly set forth and diversified in this Qur’an the lessons, admonitions, wisdoms, parables, arguments, and proofs so that they may be reminded and take heed. But this diversification and reminder through the verses of the Qur’an only increase the wrongdoers’ flight from the truth, their distance from faith, and their heedlessness towards reflection and taking heed.

Say, O Muhammad, "If there were other deities with Allah besides Him—as the polytheists claim—then those alleged deities would have sought to draw near to Allah and to gain His pleasure by worshipping Him because of their acknowledgment of His grace and their knowledge of His power and their own inability. So how can you worship them besides Him when this is the case?"

Exalted is Allah, far above what is not befitting His greatness; He is Highly Exalted far above the falsehoods they claim against Him, such as attributing a son and a partner to Him.

The seven heavens and the earth, and all those in them—the angels, humans, jinn, and all of creation—glorify Him, exalting Him above all that is unworthy of Him. And there is not a single thing among creation that does not glorify Allah Almighty with His praise, exalting Him with a glorification coupled with ascribing to Him attributes of perfection, along with love and veneration for Him, the Mighty and Majestic. But you—O people—do not understand the glorification of the creation, for it is not in your language. Indeed, Allah is ever Forbearing, so He does not hasten the punishment for those who disbelieve in Him and disobey Him, and He is All-Forgiving to those of His servants who repent, for He conceals their sins and refrains from holding them accountable for them.

And when you, O Muhammad, begin to recite the Qur’an, and the polytheists of your people hear it—those who do not believe in the Resurrection nor acknowledge reward and punishment—We place between you and them a hidden barrier, preventing them from understanding the Qur’an, contemplating it, and benefiting from it, and coming between them and believing in it.

And We have placed coverings and veils over the hearts of those who do not believe in the Hereafter, lest they should comprehend the meanings of the Qur’an with a beneficial understanding. And We have placed deafness and a heaviness in the ears of the polytheists that prevent them from hearing the Qur’an with acceptance and benefiting from it. And when you affirm the Oneness of your Lord in your recitation of the Qur’an—O Muhammad—saying, "There is no god but Allah," the polytheists turn their backs on you in aversion and arrogance from the Oneness of Allah, due to their intense hatred for this truth and their love for the falsehood they are upon.

We know best—O Muhammad—how the polytheists mock and belittle the Qur’an, rejecting it as they listen to your recitation. And We know best what the polytheists of your people secretly discuss about your affair, whispering to one another about you, when these polytheists say in their private counsel, "You follow not—if you were to follow Muhammad—but a man overcome by magic, who rambles with words and does not know what he is saying!"

See—O Muhammad—what false examples the polytheists have put forward for you, likening you to one bewitched and calling you a poet, a madman, a sorcerer, and a liar! So the polytheists have gone astray from the path of truth by setting forth such false and contradictory examples for you and have become so bewildered that they cannot find a way to lead them out of this misguidance and bring them to the truth.

And these polytheists, who do not believe in the Hereafter, said, denying the resurrection on the Day of Judgment, "When we are reduced to bones and dust, and our bodies have decayed in our graves, will Allah resurrect us alive again as we were before our death?! This is an impossible matter that cannot happen."

Say—O Muhammad—to these deniers of the Resurrection, "If you are amazed at Allah’s power to bring you back to life, then become stones or iron if you can—He will still resurrect you."

Or be—O you deniers of the Resurrection—any creation that you deem great in your minds, if you are able, something that makes you consider Allah's power to resurrect you as improbable. Then know that you will inevitably be resurrected, whatever creation you may be, no matter how great its power and hardness. Then the deniers of the Resurrection will say, "Who will resurrect us after our death if we become stones or iron or any creation that seems great in our minds?" Say to them, O Muhammad, "Allah, Who initiated your creation the first time from nothingness without any preceding example, will bring you back to life." For the One Who had the power to create in the first place is certainly able to recreate. When you answer them with this, they will shake their heads at you, raising and lowering them in mockery, saying out of stubbornness and disbelief in its occurrence, "When will this resurrection you claim take place?" Say to them, "It is near. It will inevitably come to you, so beware of it."

And that Resurrection, which you deny—O polytheists—will occur on the Day your Lord calls you for account and recompense on the Day of Resurrection. Then you will all respond to Allah by immediately emerging from your graves alive, and you will submit to His call, praising Him. And you will think—O people—when you are resurrected on the Day of Resurrection, that you had only remained in the world for a little while.

And say—O Muhammad—commanding My believing servants to speak to one another in their conversations and discourses with the best of words—words that are good, gentle, and kind, which are better than any other. Indeed, Satan, who is distant from mercy and all good, seeks to sow discord among them and stir up enmity and evil, such as quarreling, fighting, and the like, for he has been a clear enemy to Adam and his offspring, making his severe enmity apparent.

Your Lord knows best who among you deserves mercy and guidance and who does not. If He wills to have mercy on you, He grants you success towards its causes so that you are guided, or if He wills to punish you, He forsakes you from the causes of mercy so that you go astray. And We have not sent you, O Muhammad, over those to whom We sent you as a keeper and a guarantor. You have not been entrusted with their faith nor their recompense; We have only sent you to them to convey Our messages.

And your Lord—O Muhammad—knows best all those in the heavens and the earth of His creation. He knows all their affairs, and He knows who among them deserves mercy, so He guides him, and who deserves punishment, so He lets him go astray—all in accordance with His wisdom, Glorified is He. And indeed, We have favored some prophets over others, such as favoring them with knowledge, scriptures, laws, miracles, and unique distinctions. And We gave Our prophet David the Zabur (the Psalms) and favored him with it. Therefore, it is not for those who deny Muhammad to deny Our favoring him with prophethood and the Qur’an.

Say—O Muhammad—to the polytheists, "Invoke those you claimed to be gods besides Allah when hardships befall you, and see if they can remove the harm from you entirely, or shift it from one state to another, changing its nature or its extent, or transfer it to someone else?! For they have no power to do so; rather, Allah alone has power over it. So if this is their state, why then do you invoke them besides Allah?”

Those whom the polytheists claim as gods besides Allah—from among the angels, the prophets, and the righteous of mankind and jinn—are themselves seeking to draw near to Allah by obeying Him through obligatory and recommended acts, calling upon Him and seeking refuge in Him alone, competing in His worship and striving in His obedience, like one who seeks to be nearer to Him than others, hoping for Allah's mercy and fearing His punishment. So how can the polytheists worship them when this is their state?! Indeed, the punishment of your Lord—O Muhammad—is something to be feared, and one must be constantly cautious of falling into its causes.

There is no town but that We will destroy its people with a punishment of annihilation before the Day of Resurrection, or punish them with a severe punishment by unleashing an enemy upon them, or by afflicting them with famine, fear, diseases, and the like; that is because of their disbelief or disobedience. Indeed, this destruction or punishment is written in the Preserved Tablet; it will inevitably come to pass.

And nothing prevents Us from sending the signs that the disbelievers among your people demand, O Muhammad, except that the former peoples denied them after they had requested them, so We hastened their destruction. Thus, if your people were to deny them, they would deserve the same destruction and punishment as those before them. And We gave Thamūd the she-camel as a clear sign and proof, necessitating insight and certainty, and indicating the Oneness of Allah Almighty and His power, and the truthfulness of His Messenger, Sālih (peace be upon him). But they disbelieved in Allah and did wrong by killing her, so We destroyed them. And We send not the signs, which serve as lessons and admonitions, except as a warning to the servants, so that they may believe and be deterred from their current ways.

And remember when We told you, O Muhammad, "Indeed, your Lord encompasses the people with His power and knowledge, for they are in His grasp and under His will." And Allah protects you from them so that you may convey His message. So fear none of them, and proceed with what We have commanded you of delivering Our message. And We made the vision of wonders, which We showed you on the night of the Isrā’ (night journey) and Mi‘rāj (ascension), only as a test for the people, to make clear who believes you and who denies you. And We made the accursed tree in the Qur’an—which is the tree of Zaqqūm that grows in Hellfire—only as a test for the people as well, to make clear who believes in it and who denies and mocks it. And We warn the polytheists with the punishment We threaten them with, but Our frightening them only increases their persistence in disbelief and error.

And remember, O Muhammad, when We said to the angels, "Prostrate before Adam," so all the angels prostrated to him except Iblīs. He disobeyed Allah's command and did not prostrate, out of envy for him and arrogance. And he said, addressing his Lord with disapproval, "Do You command me to prostrate to one You have created from clay?!"

Satan said, addressing his Lord with all audacity, "Tell me, is this the one you have favoured above me? Why then do you command me to prostrate myself to him when I am better than him?! I swear by You, if you delay my destruction until the Day of Judgment, I will certainly take hold of the descendants of Adam and mislead them from the Path of Truth and lead them wherever I wish to the paths of falsehood, except for a few of them."

Allah said to Iblīs, "Be gone! For I have postponed your destruction. Whoever among the offspring of Adam follows you, Hell will surely be a recompense for you all for your deeds—an ample and full recompense, with no deficiency in it."

Allah Almighty said to Iblīs, "And incite and provoke whoever you can from the children of Adam with your call to the disobedience of Allah. And rally against them your forces—both cavalry and infantry—who call them to the disobedience of Allah, and let them assault them with all their might, using every means of temptation and evil plans to mislead them. And be a partner with them in every wealth or child connected to the disobedience of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, and make them false promises. But Satan promises them nothing in reality except false hopes.

Indeed, you have no authority—O Iblīs—over My righteous servants who worship Me alone with sincere devotion, nor can you tempt or lead them astray, for Allah protects, guards, and supports them. And sufficient is your Lord as a Protector from the schemes and cunning of the devils and as a Helper and Supporter for those who put their trust in Him.

It is your Lord alone Who makes the ships sail for you in the sea so that you may seek sustenance from Allah by boarding them through trade and seeking a livelihood, for He is Merciful to you.

When adversity strikes you at sea—as when the wind intensifies against you, the waves surge and become turbulent, and you fear drowning—all those you call upon besides Allah vanish from your minds, and you cry out for help to none but Allah alone, for you know that no one can save you except Him. But when He delivers you and brings you safely to land, you turn away from thanking Him, affirming His Oneness, and being sincere to Him, Glorified is He! And man is by nature ungrateful for the blessings of Allah upon him; this is his disposition, except for those whom Allah Almighty protects.

Do you feel secure, having reached the shore safely, that He will not cause a part of the land to swallow you up? For He is able to destroy you whether at sea or on land. Or do you feel secure that He will not send upon you a storm of stones from the sky to rain upon you and destroy you? Then you will find no protector for yourselves to ward off the punishment and save you from it.

Or do you feel secure—O you who turned away from the Oneness of Allah and sincere devotion to Him after you acknowledged it at sea and He saved you—that Allah will send you back to sea once again? Then He will send upon you a violent wind to shatter your ships, drowning you for your disbelief in Allah and your turning away from Him? Then you will not find for yourselves a follower to avenge you or to hold Us to account for what We have done to you.

And We have certainly honored all the children of Adam, their righteous and their wicked, with many types of honor and virtues, and with apparent and hidden blessings that they cannot enumerate. We carried them on land on the backs of riding beasts and other conveyances, and on the sea upon ships and boats, and We have provided the children of Adam with all that they enjoy and benefit from, such as various kinds of foods and drinks, and We have greatly preferred the children of Adam over many of the creatures.

Remember the Day of Resurrection when We will call upon every people with their leader in the worldly life. So whoever is given the record of his deeds in his right hand, they will read their record with joy and happiness for the righteous deeds they see therein, which they did in the world. And Allah will not diminish anything from the reward of their righteous deeds, even if it were as trivial and insignificant as the thread in the groove of a date stone.

And whoever is blind of heart in this world, not seeing the truth, will be blinder and more astray from the right way in the Hereafter.

The disbelievers of your people—O Muhammad—were about to lure you away with their schemes from the Qur'an, which We have revealed to you, hoping you would fabricate something else against Us and bring forth what agrees with their desires. And had you done what your people called you to—by opposing the Qur’an and following their desires—they would have certainly taken you as a beloved friend, a close ally, and a chosen one.

And had We not made you firm—O Muhammad—upon the truth and protected you from being deceived by the schemes of your disbelieving people, you would have almost inclined toward them a little and done some of what they asked you to do.

If you had inclined a little towards the polytheists—O Muhammad—and done some of what they asked you, We would have surely made you taste a double punishment in this worldly life and in the Hereafter. Then you would not find for yourself any helper to aid you and protect you from Our punishment.

These polytheists were about to provoke and unsettle you from Makkah, O Muhammad, by inflicting much harm upon you to drive you out of it. Had your people driven you out of Makkah, they would not have remained in it after you, except for a short while until Allah would destroy them with a swift punishment.

They would not remain after you except for a little while, then We would destroy them with Our punishment. Such has been Our way with the disbelieving nations to whom We sent messengers before you: they harmed them and drove them out of their lands. And you will not find—O Muhammad—any change in Our way, nor can anyone change it.

Perform—O Muhammad—the prescribed prayers in their most complete form with all their pillars and conditions at their appointed times, from the decline of the sun—which includes the Zhuhr (Noon) and ‘Asr (Mid-afternoon) prayers—until the darkness of the night, which includes the Maghrib (Sunset) and ‘Isha’ (Night) prayers. And establish the Fajr (dawn) prayer, for indeed the dawn prayer is attended by the angels of the night and the angels of the day.

And from a part of the night, rise—O Muhammad—from your sleep and pray with the Qur’an, as an additional prayer for you. Do what I have commanded you, so your Lord will raise you on the Day of Resurrection as an intercessor for the people of the Standing, and the first and the last will praise you.

And say, O Muhammad, "My Lord, make my entry into Madinah and all my undertakings a good entry, pleasing to You, and make my exit from Makkah and all that I leave behind a good and pleasing exit, and guide me to obey You. And grant me from Yourself, O Lord, a manifest proof, dominion, authority, and victory by which You make my religion prevail and grant me victory over those who are hostile to me."

And say, O Muhammad, "The truth has come from Allah and is established, and falsehood, which is contrary to the law of Allah, has departed and vanished. Indeed, falsehood is bound to perish; it has no permanence when the truth comes."

And We send down of the Qur’an that which is a healing for what is in the hearts of the believers from doubts and desires, and a healing for the illnesses in their bodies, and a mercy for the believers who act upon it, being the cause of their salvation from punishment and their entry into Paradise. However, the Qur’an does not increase the wrongdoers, who wrong themselves with disbelief, except in destruction; for hearing the Qur’an only increases their distance from the truth and their disbelief. That is because of their denial of it and their turning away from it.

When We bestow a favor upon man—such as provision, victory, health, or relief—he turns away from the worship of Allah, His gratitude, and His remembrance. And he distances himself from obedience to his Lord, so he neither complies with His command nor avoids His prohibition. But when harm befalls man—such as poverty, illness, or misery—he becomes despairing of relief after hardship, losing hope in the mercy of his Lord, Glorified is He.

Say—O Muhammad—to the people, "Every person acts according to his intention and according to the way that befits him and suits his morals, nature, creed, and the habit to which he is accustomed. For your Lord—O people—knows best who among you is a believer and who is a disbeliever, and who is more rightly guided to the truth than others, and He will recompense every doer according to his deed."

The disbelievers ask you—O Muhammad—about the essence of the soul by which life exists; what is its reality? Say to them, "The soul is of the affair of my Lord; He has kept its knowledge exclusively to Himself. He is the One Who created it, and no one knows its reality except Allah. And Allah has given you—O people—only a little knowledge compared to what He, Glorified is He, knows.

And I swear—O Muhammad—that if We willed, We would surely take away the Qur’an, which We have revealed to you from your heart, so that nothing of it would remain, neither preserved in hearts nor written in scriptures. For just as We were able to send it down, We can take it away. Then you would find no supporter to prevent Us from removing the Qur’an from your heart or to restore it to you after it has been taken from you.

But your Lord—O Muhammad—does not will to take the Qur’an away from your heart, as a mercy from Him to you and His servants. Indeed, the grace of Allah upon you has been immense in this world and the Hereafter, and He will not deprive you of the grace He has revealed to you.

Say, O Muhammad, "If all humans and jinn were to come together to produce the like of this Qur’an in its eloquence, the beauty of its composition, and the perfection of its meanings, they would not be able to do so and could not achieve it, even if they were to collaborate and support one another in that."

And We have certainly explained and diversified for people in this Qur’an the arguments and proofs, the exhortations and parables, and the stories and lessons, so that they may take heed and be mindful of Allah. Yet, most people were content with nothing but disbelief in the truth and denial of this great blessing. So they rejected what is in the Qur’an, turned away from guidance, and demanded signs that were not for them to have.

The polytheists of Quraysh said, "We will never believe you—O Muhammad—in what you say until you cause a spring to gush forth for us from the barren land of Makkah, flowing with abundant running water.

Or you have in Makkah, O Muhammad, a garden of palm trees and grapevines, and you cause rivers to flow forcefully through the midst of that garden.

Or you cause the sky to fall upon us in pieces as you have promised us, and hasten this punishment for us so that we may believe you! Or you bring Allah and the angels—O Muhammad—so that we may meet them and see them face-to-face!

Or you have a house of gold, of perfect beauty and adornment, or you ascend into the sky, step by step, while we are watching you. And we will never believe—O Muhammad—that you are the Messenger of Allah merely by your ascension into the sky until you bring down upon us a book from Allah in which we can read a command for us to follow you and believe in you! Say, O Muhammad, to these polytheists, "I exalt my Lord above all that is not befitting Him of imperfection and inability, and among that is exalting Him above the inability to do what you have proposed, for He is capable of all things. If He wills, He will grant you what you have asked, and if He wills, He will not grant you. For I am but a human like you; it is not within my power to bring forth those signs that you demand. None brings them forth except Allah alone, and I am but a messenger from Him to you, and I have conveyed His message to you."

Nothing prevented the disbelievers from believing in the truth when the guidance came to them from Allah except their saying—out of their ignorance, in astonishment and wonder, "Has Allah, with all His might and majesty, sent to us a human like ourselves?! Why did He not send to us an angel as a messenger?!"

Say—O Muhammad—to these disbelievers who refused to believe in you, out of their disapproval that Allah would send a human as a messenger: If there were on earth angels walking upon it like humans, inhabiting it peacefully and settled therein, We would have certainly sent down to them from the heaven an angel of their own kind so they could mingle with him and see him, and it would be easy for them to associate with him, receive from him, and understand his speech, as wisdom dictates.

Say to them, O Muhammad, "Sufficient is Allah as Witness between me and you. He knows my truthfulness, and He supports me with miracles, sends down the verses upon me, and grants me victory over those who oppose me. And if I were a liar against Him, He would have taken vengeance on me. Allah is sufficient as a witness to that, because He is Aware of the conditions, deeds, and intentions of His servants and is All-Seeing of them. And He will recompense them all for their deeds, both their good and their evil.

Whoever Allah guides, granting him success to believe in Him, His Messenger, and what he brought, he is the truly guided one. And whoever Allah sends astray from the truth, abandoning him from belief in Allah and His Messenger, you will never find for them—O Muhammad—helpers besides Allah to save them from His punishment and guide them to the truth. And We will gather the misguided on the Day of Resurrection, walking on their faces—blind, unable to see; mute, unable to speak; and deaf, unable to hear. The abode and dwelling of the misguided is Hell. Whenever the flame of Hell's fire subsides in the bodies of the disbelievers and is about to be extinguished, We will increase for them a fire that blazes and rages in their bodies.

That punishment is their recompense for rejecting Our proofs and evidence in the worldly life, for Allah, Glorified is He, did not wrong them; rather, He rewarded them with what they deserve, and for their saying, in denial of their resurrection on the Day of Judgment, "When we have become decayed bones and dust in our graves, will Allah resurrect us after our death as a new creation?!"

Have these deniers of the resurrection not considered and known that Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth and originated them from nothingness with His power, without any prior example—and they are greater than them—is also able to re-create them after their bodies have perished?! For the One Who is able to create what is bigger and greater than you is without a doubt more capable of creating you. And Allah has set a specific time for the death of the polytheists and their resurrection on the Day of Judgment, in whose coming there is no doubt. Yet, the polytheists refused anything but denial and disbelief in the occurrence of the resurrection, denial of His blessings upon them, and persistence in worshipping others besides Him.

Say—O Prophet—to these polytheists, "If you were to possess the treasuries of provision that belong to Allah, you would surely withhold from giving anything to anyone, fearing to spend out of your extreme stinginess and fear of poverty from the depletion of the treasuries—even though they are inexhaustible! For humankind is ever stingy, withholding, and tight-fisted, having been created with miserliness and greed."

And We had certainly given Moses nine clear signs and definitive proofs, demonstrating his truthfulness and the validity of his prophethood. Yet, Pharaoh and his people did not believe in the message of Moses, despite the multitude of these signs he was given. Likewise, if We were to grant those who ask you—O Muhammad—the signs they demand, they would not respond or believe, unless Allah wills, for you are not the first messenger to be rejected by the people! So ask—O Muhammad—the Jews of your time about when Moses came to their ancestors with guidance and clear signs. Then Pharaoh said to Moses out of defiance and arrogance: "I really think, O Moses, that you are bewitched, for your mind has been affected and corrupted, and you have begun to rave and speak nonsense."

Moses said to Pharaoh, "You are certain, O Pharaoh, that none has sent down these nine signs except Allah, the Lord of the heavens and the earth, for none but He has the power to produce them. He sent them down as clear evidence of His power, His Oneness, and the truth of my message. And I truly think, O Pharaoh, that you are doomed."

So Pharaoh wanted to drive the Children of Israel out of the land by killing them or by expulsion and banishment from it, so We drowned him and all of his soldiers with him in the sea.

And We said to the Children of Israel after the destruction of Pharaoh, "Dwell in the land, and when the time of the Hour comes, We will bring you and your enemy from your graves to the place of standing for Judgment as mixed crowds from diverse groups and nations, then We will distinguish the fortunate among you from the wretched, and recompense each according to their deeds."

We have sent down the Qur’an as a revelation from Allah Almighty for the benefit of creation, containing the truth and comprising truthful reports and just rulings. It came down with the truth, guarded from Satan and preserved from any addition or omission, and no alteration or change occurred in it during its revelation. And We have sent you—O Muhammad—only to give good tidings to the obedient of goodness and reward in this world and Paradise in the Hereafter, and to warn the disobedient of punishment in this world and the Hereafter.

And it is a Qur’an that We have detailed, clarified, and perfected, and in which We have distinguished between truth and falsehood and guidance and misguidance so that you, O Muhammad, may recite it to people at a slow, deliberate, and measured pace and not be hasty in its recitation. For that is easier for memorization and more conducive to understanding, so that people may ponder it, reflect upon its meanings, and derive knowledge from it. And We have sent down the Qur’an to you, O Muhammad, in pieces and in a successive manner.

Say—O Muhammad—to the deniers who turn away from the Qur’an, "Believe in the Qur’an or do not believe in it; it is all the same whether you believe or disbelieve, for it is the truth in itself. You will not benefit Allah if you believe, nor will you harm Him if you disbelieve. The harm of that falls only upon you. And if you disbelieve in the Qur’an, then indeed, those who were given knowledge before its revelation—from the believers of the People of the Book—when this Qur’an is recited to them, they fall swiftly upon their faces in prostration to Allah Almighty."

And they say, "Glory be to our Lord from what the polytheists attribute to Him and from what the ignorant say of that which is not befitting of His majesty. For He does not break the promise He foretold in the previous scriptures of the sending of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and the revelation of the Qur’an to him. Indeed, the promise of our Lord to send His Prophet Muhammad and other than that of what He promised is bound to happen and will come to pass."

And they fall upon their faces weeping, submissive to Allah upon hearing the Qur’an, and the Qur’an increases them in humble submission and compliance to Him, and in tenderness and softness in their hearts.

Say, O Muhammad, "Whether you say in your supplication, ‘O Allah,’ or you say, ‘O the Most Compassionate,’ both are names for the One, Allah, Who has no partner. By whichever of Allah’s names you call, you are indeed calling upon the One Allah, Glorified is He. To Him belong the Most Beautiful Names, which encompass the most excellent attributes. Do not raise your voice too high in your prayer—in your recitation of the Qur’an, your supplication, or your remembrance of Allah—nor be too quiet, but seek a middle way between being loud and quiet."

And say, O Muhammad, "All beautiful praise is for Allah, Who is characterized with perfection, free from all imperfections, Who has never had any offspring, nor is there anyone who shares with Him in His dominion and authority, nor does Allah have a protector to support and defend Him, or from whom He seeks strength, or who assists Him out of any humiliation, inability, or need. Glorified and Exalted is He; rather, He is the Self-Sufficient, the Possessor of might and majesty. And everything is subservient to Him and under His subjugation and power. And magnify—O Muhammad—your Lord with a complete and profound magnification. So do not worship other than Him, obey His command, and avoid His prohibition. And speak of Him by His most beautiful attributes and His mighty deeds, and declare Him free from every flaw and imperfection."

Al-Kahf (The Cave)

Praise be to Allah, Who has sent down the Qur’an to His servant Muhammad and has not placed in it any kind of deviation or swerving from the truth, nor any contradiction, discrepancy, or defect in its words and meanings; for its reports are true, and its rulings are just.

He sent it down perfectly upright, upholding the interests of His slaves in their religious and worldly affairs, a guardian over all other divine scriptures, confirming them and testifying to their authenticity; to warn the disbelievers of a severe punishment in this world and the Hereafter, and to give glad tidings to the believers who have affirmed their faith by performing righteous deeds that they will have a great and beautiful reward, which is Paradise.

Abiding forever in the goodly reward that Allah has prepared for them, without end or interruption.

And to warn the disbelievers—those who said, "Allah has taken a son"—of His severe punishment in this life and the Hereafter.

Those who say that Allah has taken a son for Himself have no knowledge of this, nor did their fathers who made the same claim. What a terrible claim this is that comes out of their mouths! How heinous a statement, and how atrocious their audacity to utter it! Those who attribute a son to Allah say nothing but a lie against Allah Almighty; it is a statement that contradicts the truth, opposes reality, and has no basis whatsoever.

Perhaps you—O Muhammad—will kill yourself with grief because they have turned away and rejected you if they do not believe in this Qur’an that I have sent down to you.

Indeed, We have made that which is on the face of the earth of animals, plants, and inanimate objects an adornment for it, so that We may test the people as to which of them is most righteous in deeds, most sincere to Allah, and most correct in terms of its conformity with the divine law.

And We will certainly reduce all that is on the face of the earth of its adornment into level, barren, and dry soil, with no vegetation, water, or buildings on it.

Do you think—O Muhammad—that the people of the Cave and the Inscription were of Our wondrous signs?! Rather, among Our signs is that which is more wondrous than that.

And remember when those youths sought refuge in a mountain cave, fearing that their disbelieving people would make them abandon their religion. They said, "Our Lord, grant us a great mercy from Yourself, and facilitate for us a means and a course of action whose outcome is attainment of what You have granted us of steadfastness upon the truth, deliverance from the polytheists, and the attainment of beneficial knowledge and acting upon it, so that the affair of our religion and our worldly life may be righteous and in accordance with what is right.

So We caused them to fall into a dead sleep for a great number of years.

Then We awakened them from their sleep—after the passing of those many years—to make it manifest which of the two parties, who differed regarding the length of their stay in the cave, was more precise and accurate in calculating the length of that period.

We—O Muhammad—and none other than Us, narrate to you the story of the Companions of the Cave with the truth that corresponds to reality and the certainty in which there is no doubt. Indeed, the Companions of the Cave were youths who truly believed in Allah, so they affirmed His Oneness and did not associate anything with Him, and We increased them in faith, knowledge of the truth, and righteous deeds.

We strengthened their hearts and made them steadfast with faith and patience when they stood up and declared the truth, saying, "Our Lord is the One Who created us, possesses us, provides for us, and governs our affairs; He is the sole Lord of the creation, dominion, and governance of the heavens and the earth. We will worship none other than Him, for He is the only God worthy of worship, without a partner. If we were to call upon other than Allah, we would indeed have uttered an excessive transgression and an outrageous lie and spoken a great falsehood and slander."

The believing youths said, "These people of ours have taken gods to worship besides Allah. Why do they not bring clear proof that shows the correctness of worshipping those gods they have taken?! For no one is more unjust than one who fabricates a lie against Allah, claiming that He has a partner to be worshipped."

Some of the youths said to one another, "Since you have withdrawn and distanced yourselves from your disbelieving people and have abandoned what they worship of gods besides Allah, take refuge in the cave. There you may hide from your people and worship Allah alone. For if you withdraw from your people and what they worship other than Allah and retreat to the cave, your Lord will extend His mercy to you, preserve your faith, and deliver you from your people. And your Lord will make your affair, which you are in, easy for you, providing what you need for your sustenance and granting you ease, gentleness, and grace.

You would see the sun, when it rose, inclining away from the cave where the youths took refuge, to the right, so its rays would not strike them; and when it set, turning away from them to the left side of the cave, so its rays would not strike them, while the youths were in a spacious area within the cave. That which We did with these youths is one of the wondrous signs of Allah's creation, indicative of His great power, dominion, and kindness to His servants. Whoever Allah guides to the truth is the one truly guided, but whoever He forsakes, you will never find for him—O Muhammad—a guiding friend to lead him to the truth.

If you saw these youths—O addressee—you would think them awake, while they were asleep. We turned them over, to the right side and to the left, while their dog sat on its belly, stretching its forelegs at the entrance of the cave in its threshold to guard them. Had you looked upon the companions of the cave as they slept, you would have fled away from them, and your soul would have been filled with fear and terror of them.

And just as We caused these youths to sleep and preserved them in the cave, so did We awaken them from their long sleep in the same state they were in, without any change in their conditions or appearances, so that they may question one another about the duration of their sleep. A speaker from among the youths said to his companions, "How long was the duration of your sleep?!" The others answered with what they thought: "We remained in our sleep for a full day or part of it." Then they said, entrusting the knowledge to Allah, "Your Lord is more knowledgeable than you about the duration of your sleep." And the youths said, "So send one of us with these silver coins that we possess to our city from which we fled. Let him see which of the city's people has the best, most lawful, and purest food, and let him buy you some provisions from it and bring it to you so you may eat it. And let him be discreet, stealthy, and cautious in his entry into the city, his purchase, his exit from it, and his return to the cave. And let him not inform anyone about your location where you are hiding. And let him not say or do anything that might unintentionally lead them to become aware of you.

For if your disbelieving people were to find out about your location in the cave and overcome you, they would kill you by stoning if you remain firm upon the truth you hold, or they would force you to return to their religion, and you would become disbelievers like them. And you will never succeed, neither in this world nor in the Hereafter, if you return to their faith.

And just as We put the youths to sleep and then raised them from their sleep in their same state, We caused the people of the city at that time to discover them so that they would know that Allah’s promise to revive the dead is true—so they would not doubt Allah’s power of resurrection—and that the Hour is true, with no doubt about its coming and the occurrence of reward and punishment therein. We caused the People of the Cave to be found when the people of that time disputed about the resurrection after death; some of them believed in it, while others denied it. Then those whom Allah caused to find the People of the Cave said when they died, "Build a structure over them to cover them; their Lord knows best about them, their affair, and their condition." The leaders of the city who prevailed over its people said, "We will surely build over them a place of worship wherein Allah will be worshipped."

Some of those who speculate about the number of the Companions of the Cave will say: They were three, their fourth being their dog. And some will say: They were five, their sixth being their dog—merely guessing and conjecturing, without knowledge or certainty. And some will say: The number of the Companions of the Cave was seven, and their eighth was their dog. Say—O Muhammad—to those who speculate about the number of the Companions of the Cave without knowledge: "My Lord knows their number best with perfect knowledge, and none knows the correct number of the Companions of the Cave except a few of His creation." So do not argue—O Muhammad—about the Companions of the Cave except with an apparent argument, and do not exert yourself in what is of no benefit, and do not ask—O Muhammad—anyone from the People of the Book about the Companions of the Cave.

And never say—O Muhammad—of anything you resolve to do, "I will surely do that thing in the future."

Unless you say, "If Allah wills." So if you say, O Muhammad, "I will do something tomorrow," and you forget to say, "If Allah wills," then remember your Lord after your forgetfulness by saying, "If Allah wills." And say, O Muhammad, praying to your Lord, "I hope that my Lord will grant me success, guide me to a path that is the closest of paths leading to righteousness, and make me firm upon it."

The youths remained in the cave asleep for a period of three hundred years and an additional nine years.

Say O Muhammad, "Allah knows best the duration of the youths' stay in the cave [while] sleeping. He has informed us of its duration with truth and honesty that corresponds to reality, so we accept the word of none other than Him. To Allah alone belongs the knowledge of what is unseen and hidden in the heavens and the earth. How perfectly He sees all that exists, and how perfectly He hears every sound! Nothing from among them is hidden from Him. All of creation in the heavens and the earth has no guardian besides Allah to manage their affairs and arrange their matters. And Allah does not associate anyone else with Himself in His judgment among His creation and in their management, for He alone is unique in ruling His creation in decree and destiny, in creation and management, and in judging them with commands and prohibitions and with reward and punishment.

And recite—O Muhammad—what Allah has revealed to you from the Qur’an, convey it to the people, and follow it by affirming its reports, acting upon what is in it, obeying its commands, and avoiding its prohibitions. None can change the legislative Words of Allah—by distorting the Qur’an, altering its reports, changing its rulings, or diverting them from their correct meanings—nor can they change His universal Words. And you will not find—O Muhammad—any refuge besides Allah to flee to and seek protection in Him from the punishment if you do not recite the Qur’an, follow it, and convey it.

And keep yourself patiently, O Muhammad, with your companions who worship their Lord morning and evening, calling upon Him and remembering Him with sincere devotion. Do not turn your eyes away from them, despising them for their shabby appearance and attire, to look beyond them toward the people of honor, status, wealth, and fortune, desiring their company instead of theirs. And do not obey one whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance, Our worship, and the Qur’an; and who is preoccupied with this world instead and has preferred to follow the desires of his own soul over faith, monotheism, and obedience and whose affairs and deeds are foolishness, neglect, and utter loss.

And say—O Muhammad—declaring, "This which I have brought to you from your Lord is the truth, without a doubt. So whoever wills, let him believe, and whoever wills, let him disbelieve. Indeed, We have prepared and made ready for the disbelievers a fire whose walls will surround them from every side, so they will have no way to exit from it. And if the tormented disbelievers in the Fire cry for water due to their intense thirst, they will be given a foul, thick, black water, extreme in heat, that scalds their faces from its intense heat. What a wretched drink for the disbelievers is this water they are given, which will only increase their punishment! And how evil is Hell as a dwelling place where the disbelievers will settle!

Indeed, those who have believed in all that they must believe in and have done righteous deeds, We will not allow their reward to be lost, for they did well in their deeds. Nor will We allow the reward of anyone who likewise did well in his deeds to be lost, making them purely for Allah and following in them His law upon the guidance of His Messenger.

Those who believed and did righteous deeds—for them are gardens of eternal residence, where many rivers flow from beneath their chambers, their homes, and their trees. The believers in Paradise will be adorned with bracelets of gold on their hands, and they will wear green garments of fine silk and rich brocade while they recline in Paradise on adorned couches covered with canopies of luxurious fabrics. What an excellent reward is the reward of the believers, those gardens of which Allah has described some of their bliss, as a reward for their righteous deeds! And what a beautiful dwelling and resting place those gardens are, in which those who believed and did righteous deeds will settle!

And mention—O Muhammad—to these arrogant polytheists who asked you to drive away the weak and the poor from among the Muslims, mention to them as an example the story of two men, one of them a believer and the other a disbeliever, so that they may take a lesson from their situation and be admonished by what happened to them. We made for one of these two men—and he was the disbeliever—two gardens of grapevines, and We surrounded these two gardens with palm trees, and We placed crops between them.

Each of the two gardens brought forth its produce without falling short thereof in anything, and We caused a river to gush forth and flow through both gardens between their trees.

And the owner of the two gardens had abundant produce from them. So the disbelieving owner of the two gardens boasted to his believing companion—who was made an example for the poor believers—while conversing and arguing with him in arrogance and boastfulness, "I am greater than you in wealth and mightier than you in clan and kinsmen and have more children and servants who stand with me in important matters and rush to my aid in times of need."

The man entered his garden while he was wronging himself by his disbelief in Allah, his arrogance, his tyranny, and his denial of the Resurrection on the Day of Judgment, saying, "I do not think that this garden of mine will ever perish!"

Nor do I think the Resurrection will ever happen, and even if it were assumed and supposed that I were returned to my Lord and He resurrected me after my death, I would surely be given in the Hereafter a garden better than this garden that He gave me in this world because He only gave me this because I deserve it and have favor and status with Him. So my state will be the same in the Hereafter, on the supposition that it even exists!

His believing companion said to him, while conversing with him, "Do you disbelieve in the One Who created your origin, Adam, from dust, then developed you from a sperm-drop, then fashioned you into a well-proportioned man of balanced form and sound limbs?! So the One Who created you as such is surely capable of the Resurrection which you deny!"

But as for me, I do not disbelieve as you do. Rather, I say: "The only One worthy of worship is Allah, my Lord, and I will never associate anyone with Him in worship."

If only you had said, upon entering your garden when it pleased you, ‘This is what Allah has willed! I have no power over anything except with the aid of Allah’—and from that is the establishment of the two gardens, their cultivation, and the management of their affairs—rather than, upon seeing me as inferior to you in wealth and offspring, becoming arrogant, boasting about it over me, and despising me.

Perhaps my Lord will grant me, for my faith, something better than your garden, which you boast about over me, and will send upon your garden—which you thought would never perish or cease to exist—a punishment from the sky to destroy it, so that because of the punishment, your garden will turn into a level and barren land with no plants, slippery, upon which no foot can stand firm.

Or the water of the river that waters your garden may sink deep into the earth, so you will not be able to seek the water out.

And so ruin encircled the produce of the disbeliever's garden from every side, destroying its trees, crops, and fruits. He began to wring his hands in anguish and regret for the vast wealth he had spent on his garden, for which he received nothing in return. It was now empty of trees, crops, and fruits; its trellises had collapsed, and then its walls had fallen upon them. And the disbeliever said, "Oh, I wish I had been a monotheist and had not associated anyone with my Lord."

And he had no manpower to protect him from Allah's punishment, nor could he defend himself against it.

In such a state and situation, support only comes from Allah, the one True God; none besides Him possesses it or has power over it. Allah is best in reward for those who obey Him in this world and in the Hereafter, and the outcome of obeying Him is better than the outcome of obeying anyone else.

And mention—O Muhammad—to them the likeness of the life of this world in its splendor and its swift fluctuation, its passing, and its end, so that they may know its reality. Its description is like rain. We sent down from the sky upon the earth, and the vegetation of the earth grew and became well-formed, abundant, and intertwined, mingling with one another because of the rain. Then this vegetation becomes dry and broken, which the winds carry and scatter. And Allah has full power over all things—to create, to bring to an end, to restore, and otherwise—He is Powerful and Able, and nothing is beyond His ability.

Wealth and children are what people adorn themselves with in their worldly life, but they are not what benefit them in the Hereafter, for they are among what will soon perish. The righteous good deeds that endure for their doer in the everlasting Hereafter, and whose benefit and reward remain, are better in reward with your Lord—O Muhammad—than the adornment of this fleeting worldly life and are a better hope for the one who desires its benefit and praiseworthy consequences.

And remember the Day We will remove the mountains from their places and pulverize them so they will disintegrate and vanish. And you will see the earth on the Day of Judgment laid bare and exposed to the onlookers, with nothing upon it to cover it—neither mountain, nor tree, nor structure—and no place for anyone to hide. And We will gather the servants, the first and the last of them, upon that land for reckoning and recompense, leaving not a single one of them behind without being resurrected.

And the servants will be presented before your Lord—O Muhammad—in rows, fully exposed, with none of them hidden. They will be told, "You have certainly come to Us alive after your death, in the same state as We created you the first time: all alone, barefoot, naked, and uncircumcised, with nothing of the family and wealth you used to boast of in the world." And it will be said to the deniers of the Resurrection, "But you wrongly believed in the world that Allah would not resurrect you after you die for account and recompense on the Day of Resurrection."

And the records of the deeds of the servants—which the angels wrote—will be placed in their hands; some will receive their record in their right hand, and some in their left. And you will see the wicked fearful of the evil deeds contained within their records, which they committed in the world. The wicked will say when they look upon their records of deeds and see the evil within them, “Woe to us! What kind of record is this that leaves no sin of ours, small or large, except that it has preserved and counted it?!” And they will find all that they did in the world, of good and evil, written and affirmed in their records of deeds, and they will be recompensed for them. And your Lord—O Muhammad—wrongs none of His servants; He neither diminishes anyone’s good deeds nor adds to their evil deeds, nor punishes them for a sin they did not commit.

And remember when We said to the angels, “Prostrate before Adam,” so all the angels prostrated in compliance with Allah’s command—a prostration of honor and respect—but not Iblīs. He was one of the jinn, so he rebelled against the command of his Lord and refused to prostrate. Would you then take him and his devilish offspring as patrons whom you obey and befriend against My pleasure, while they are enemies to you who lead you astray, instead of obeying Me, and I am your Lord Who has blessed and honored you?! What an evil alternative for the wrongdoers to take Iblīs and his offspring as patrons instead of Allah, while they are their enemies!

I did not make the devils witness the creation of the heavens and the earth to seek their help in creating them or consult them in that matter. Rather, I alone am the exclusive Creator of the heavens and the earth. Nor did I make some of them witness the creation of others; instead, I alone created them without any helper or supporter. How then can you turn My right over to them and take them as allies besides Me, when I am the Creator of all things?! Nor is it befitting or appropriate for Me to take those who mislead creation from the path of truth as helpers in any matter whatsoever.

And remember the Day when Allah will say to the polytheists on the Day of Resurrection, rebuking and reprimanding them: "Call upon your gods whom you falsely claimed in the world were My partners in worship; call them to come to your aid and protect you from My punishment." So the polytheists will cry out to their gods, but they will not respond to them nor will they help them, and We will place between the polytheists and their gods a destructive barrier separating them, so neither of the two groups will have a way to reach the other.

The polytheists will see the Fire and will be certain that they are bound to enter it and fall therein, and will find no place of refuge from the Fire they have seen, nor any path of escape that would divert them from falling into it.

And We have certainly diversified, repeated, and clarified in this Qur’an for the people parables with different expressions and diverse styles and of every kind and type so that they may understand, remember, take heed, and be guided to the truth. Yet, despite this clarification, they did not accept the Qur’an and argued about it, because man, by his nature, is the most argumentative, contentious, and in opposition of things, opposing truth with falsehood.

Nothing prevents people from believing in the truth when it comes to them and from seeking forgiveness from their Lord for their sins, except what Allah has decreed and was foreknown in His knowledge that they would not believe. Rather, they persist in their disbelief until the fate of the disbelieving nations before them comes to them—which is the punishment of annihilation and destruction in this world—or the punishment comes to the disbelievers, clearly seeing it before their very eyes.

And We send the messengers only to give good tidings to the believers of the immediate and future reward and to warn the disbelievers of the immediate and future punishment. We did not send them for argument and disputes, but the disbelievers dispute with their messengers with falsehood to invalidate and nullify with their argument the truth that the messengers brought. And the disbelievers made My arguments, My proofs, the miracles with which I supported My messengers, and the punishment with which they were warned a subject of ridicule, disdain, and mockery.

No one does more wrong to himself than one who is reminded of his Lord’s verses, which guide him to the path of truth, yet he turns away from them, neither pondering them nor taking heed, and forgets the evil deeds of disbelief and sin he has committed, without reflecting on their consequences or repenting to Allah. Indeed, We have placed veils over the hearts of those who turn away from Allah’s verses when reminded of them, leaving them unable to comprehend what they are reminded of or grasp its beneficial meanings. And We have placed deafness in their ears so they cannot hear His verses with understanding and benefit. And if you—O Muhammad—invite them to the path of truth, they will never follow it.

Your Lord—O Muhammad—is Most Forgiving of the sins of His servants, overlooking them and refraining from calling them to account for them, and He is the Merciful to them. If He were to punish these disbelievers who turn away from His verses for the sins and misdeeds they have committed, He would have hastened the punishment for them in this world. But being characterized by forgiveness and mercy, He, the Exalted, does not hasten it. Rather, there is an appointed time and a decreed term for their punishment, to which Allah delays them, and they will find no refuge from the punishment to which they can resort.

Those were the towns of the people of Nūh (Noah), Hūd, Sālih, Shu‘ayb, and Lūt (Lot), and other bygone nations; We destroyed their people when they wronged themselves through disbelief and sins, and We appointed for their destruction a known and decreed time, neither to be advanced nor delayed.

And remember—O Muhammad—when Moses said to his young servant, Joshua son of Nun, "I will not stop traveling in search of the servant whom Allah has told me about because of his knowledge and grace until I reach the junction of the two seas that I know of and meet him there, or I will travel for a long time—if I do not find him there—until I find him so that I may learn from him what I do not know."

When Moses and his young servant reached the junction of the two seas, they forgot their fish, which Allah had made a sign for the presence of Al-Khadir at the place where they would lose it. The fish then took its path into the sea, forming a visible tunnel in the water that did not close up behind it.

When Moses and his servant passed beyond the junction of the two seas where they had forgotten their fish, Moses said to his servant, “Bring us our meal! We have certainly experienced fatigue and hardship on this journey of ours.”

Joshua said to Moses, “Do you remember when we stayed at the rock at the junction of the two seas? Indeed, I forgot the fish in that place! And none made me forget to mention the fish except Satan. And the fish took its way into the sea in a wondrous way.”

Moses said to his young servant, "The loss of the fish is the sign we seek on our journey, for we will find the man we are looking for at the place where we lost the fish." So Moses and his young servant returned by the way they had come, retracing their footsteps, to reach the rock where they had lost the fish.

So Moses and his young servant found at the rock a servant from among the servants of Allah—who was Al-Khadir—upon whom We had bestowed a vast and great mercy from Us and enlightened him with beneficial knowledge from Us with which We had distinguished him, including what Allah had informed him of the knowledge of the unseen.

Moses said to Al-Khadir, “May I accompany you so that you may teach me some of what Allah has taught you, by which I may be guided to what is right?"

Al-Khidr said to Moses, "You certainly cannot be patient with me, for you will see actions from me that are outwardly reprehensible but inwardly are quite the opposite."

"And how can you be patient—O Moses—with me doing something you consider wrong when you do not know the reason for its validity, nor the wisdom behind my doing it, nor its underlying benefit, which has been revealed to me and not to you?"

Moses said to Al-Khadir, "You will find me patient, Allah willing, with what I see from you, even if it contradicts what I believe to be right, and I will not oppose you in anything you command me."

Al-Khadir said to Moses, "If you accompany me, then do not start asking me about anything I do that you disapprove of; do not ask me at all until I tell you the reason for my action that you disapprove of and explain to you its reality and its justification."

So Moses and Al-Khadir set out walking until they boarded a ship on the sea, whereupon Al-Khadir made a hole in it. Moses said to Al-Khadir, "Have you made a hole in the ship to drown its passengers? Making a hole in it is a cause for water to enter and for them to drown! You have certainly done a grave thing and committed a reprehensible act.

Al-Khidr replied to Moses, “Did I not tell you that you cannot have patience to follow me because of what you see of my actions that outwardly seem reprehensible and ugly?! And that you would inevitably question my actions, lacking full knowledge of them?!”

Moses said to al-Khadir, apologizing, "Do not blame me for what I forgot of your covenant to me and your condition that I should not ask you about anything until you inform me, and do not make my affair with you difficult, nor be harsh on me in my companionship with you."

So Moses and Al-Khadir set out after that, walking until they met a young boy, and Al-Khadir killed him. Moses said, denouncing Al-Khadir for killing the boy, "Have you killed a soul pure of sins without any right or basis authorizing you to kill him?! You have certainly done—by killing the innocent boy—a manifestly reprehensible act!"