30

1Alif Lam Mim

2The Byzantines have been defeated

3in a nearby land. They will reverse their defeat with a victory

4in a few years’ time––God is in command, first and last. On that day, the believers will rejoice

5at God’s help. He helps whoever He pleases: He is the Mighty, the Merciful

6This is God’s promise: God never breaks His promise, but most people do not know

7they only know the outer surface of this present life and are heedless of the life to come

8Have they not thought about their own selves? God did not create the heavens and earth and everything between them without a serious purpose and an appointed time, yet many people deny that they will meet their Lord

9Have they not travelled through the land and seen how their predecessors met their end? They were mightier than them: they cultivated the earth more and built more upon it. Their own mes-sengers also came to them with clear signs: God did not wrong them; they wronged themselves

10Later the evildoers met a terrible end for rejecting and [repeatedly] mocking God’s revelations

11God brings creation into being; in the end He will reproduce it and it is to Him you will be recalled

12On the Day the Hour arrives, the guilty will despair

13and they will have no intercessors among those partners they ascribed to God- they will deny these partners

14When the Hour arrives, on that Day people will be separated

15those who believed and did good deeds will delight in a Garden

16while those who disbelieved and denied Our messages and the meeting of the Hereafter will be brought for punishment

17So celebrate God’s glory in the evening, in the morning

18praise is due to Him in the heavens and the earth- in the late afternoon, and at midday

19He brings the living out of the dead and the dead out of the living. He gives life to the earth after death, and you will be brought out in the same way

20One of His signs is that He created you from dust and- lo and behold!- you became human and scattered far and wide

21Another of His signs is that He created spouses from among yourselves for you to live with in tranquillity: He ordained love and kindness between you. There truly are signs in this for those who reflect

22Another of His signs is the creation of the heavens and earth, and the diversity of your languages and colours. There truly are signs in this for those who know

23Among His signs are your sleep, by night and by day, and your seeking His bounty. There truly are signs in this for those who can hear

24Among His signs, too, are that He shows you the lightning that terrifies and inspires hope; that He sends water down from the sky to restore the earth to life after death. There truly are signs in this for those who use their reason

25Among His signs, too, is the fact that the heavens and the earth stand firm by His command. In the end, you will all emerge when He calls you from the earth

26Everyone in the heavens and earth belongs to Him, and all are obedient to Him

27He is the One who originates creation and will do it again- this is even easier for Him. He is above all comparison in the heavens and earth; He is the Almighty, the All Wise

28He gives you this example, drawn from your own lives: do you make your slaves full partners with an equal share in what We have given you? Do you fear them as you fear each other? This is how We make Our messages clear to those who use their reason

29And still the idolaters follow their own desires without any knowledge. Who can guide those God leaves to stray, who have no one to help them

30So [Prophet] as a man of pure faith, stand firm and true in your devotion to the religion. This is the natural disposition God instilled in mankind- there is no altering God’s creation- and this is the right religion, though most people do not realize it

31Turn to Him alone, all of you. Be mindful of Him; keep up the prayer; do not join those who ascribe partners to God

32those who divide their religion into sects, with each party rejoicing in their own

33When something bad happens to people, they cry to their Lord and turn to Him for help, but no sooner does He let them taste His blessing than- lo and behold!- some of them ascribe partners to their Lord

34showing no gratitude for what We have given them. ‘Take your pleasure! You will come to know.’

35Did We send them down any authority that sanctions the partners they ascribe to God

36When We give people a taste of Our blessing, they rejoice, but when something bad happens to them- because of their own actions- they fall into utter despair

37Do they not see that God gives abundantly to whoever He will and sparingly [to whoever He will]? There truly are signs in this for those who believe

38So give their due to the near relative, the needy, and the wayfarer- that is best for those whose goal is God’s approval: these are the ones who will prosper

39Whatever you lend out in usury to gain value through other people’s wealth will not increase in God’s eyes, but whatever you give in charity, in your desire for God’s approval, will earn multiple rewards

40It is God who created you and provided for you, who will cause you to die and then give you life again. Which of your ‘partners’ can do any one of these things? Glory be to God, and exalted be He above the partners they attribute to Him

41Corruption has flourished on land and sea as a result of people’s actions and He will make them taste the consequences of some of their own actions so that they may turn back

42Say, ‘Travel through the land, and see how those before you met their end- most of them were idolaters.’

43[Prophet], stand firm in your devotion to the upright religion, before an irresistible Day comes from God. On that Day, mankind will be divided

44those who rejected the truth will bear the burden of that rejection, and those who did good deeds will have made good provision for themselves

45From His bounty God will reward those who believe and do good deeds; He does not like those who reject the truth

46Another of His signs is that He sends out the winds bearing good news, giving you a taste of His grace, making the ships sail at His command, enabling you to [journey in] search of His bounty so that you may be grateful

47Before you [Muhammad], We sent mes-sengers, each to their own people: they brought them clear proofs and then We punished the evildoers. We make it Our duty to help the believers

48It is God who sends out the winds; they stir up the clouds; He spreads them over the skies as He pleases; He makes them break up and you see the rain falling from them. See how they rejoice when He makes it fall upon whichever of His servants He wishes

49though before it is sent they may have lost all hope

50Look, then, at the imprints of God’s mercy, how He restores the earth to life after death: this same God is the one who will return people to life after death- He has power over all things

51Yet they will continue in their disbelief, even if We send a [scorching] wind and they see their crops turn yellow

52You [Prophet] cannot make the dead hear and you cannot make the deaf hear your call when they turn their backs and leave

53you cannot lead the blind out of their error: the only ones you can make hear you are those who believe in Our revelations and devote themselves [to Us]

54It is God who creates you weak, then gives you strength, then weakness after strength, together with your grey hair: He creates what He will; He is the All Knowing, the All Powerful

55On the Day the Hour comes, the guilty will swear they lingered no more than an hour- they have always been deluded

56but those endowed with knowledge and faith will say, ‘In accordance with God’s decree, you actually lingered till the Day of Resurrection: this is the Day of Resurrection, yet you did not know.’

57On that Day the evildoers’ excuses will be of no use to them: they will not be allowed to make amends

58In this Quran We have set every kind of illustration before people, yet if you [Prophet] brought them a miracle, the disbelievers would still say, ‘You [prophets] deal only in falsehood.’

59In this way God seals the hearts of those who do not know

60so be patient, for God’s promise is true: do not let those with no firm beliefs discourage you