53

1By the star when it sets

2Your companion has not strayed; he is not deluded

3he does not speak from his own desire

4The Quran is nothing less than a revelation that is sent to him

5It was taught to him by [an angel] with mighty powers

6and great strength, who stood

7on the highest horizon

8and then approached––coming down

9until he was two bow-lengths away or even closer––

10and revealed to God’s servant what He revealed

11[The Prophet’s] own heart did not distort what he saw

12Are you going to dispute with him what he saw with his own eyes

13A second time he saw him

14by the lote tree beyond which none may pass

15near the Garden of Restfulness

16when the tree was covered in nameless [splendour]

17His sight never wavered, nor was it too bold

18and he saw some of the greatest signs of his Lord

19[Disbelievers], consider al-Lat and al-Uzza

20and the third one, Manat––

21are you to have the male and He the female

22That would be a most unjust distribution!––

23these are nothing but names you have invented yourselves, you and your forefathers. God has sent no authority for them. These people merely follow guesswork and the whims of their souls, even though guidance has come to them from their Lord

24Is man to have everything he wishes for

25when the present life and the life to come belong only to God

26There are many angels in heaven whose intercession will be of no use until God gives permission to those He will, whose words He will accept

27Those who deny the life to come give the angels female names

28They have no knowledge to base this on: they merely follow guesswork. Guesswork is of no value against the Truth

29So [Prophet] ignore those who turn away from Our revelation, who want only the life of this world

30Their knowledge does not go beyond that. Your Lord knows best who strays from His path and who follows guidance

31Everything in the heavens and earth belongs to God. He will repay those who do evil according to their deeds, and reward, with what is best, those who do good

32As for those who avoid grave sins and foul acts, though they may commit small sins, your Lord is ample in forgiveness. He has been aware of you from the time He produced you from the earth and from your hiding places in your mothers’ wombs, so do not assert your own goodness:He knows best who is mindful of Him

33[Prophet], consider that man who turned away

34he only gave a little and then he stopped

35Does he have knowledge of the Unseen? Can he see [the Hereafter]

36Has he not been told what was written in the Scriptures of Moses

37and of Abraham, who fulfilled his duty

38that no soul shall bear the burden of another

39that man will only have what he has worked towards

40that his labour will be seen

41and that in the end he will be repaid in full for it

42that the final goal is your Lord

43that it is He who makes people laugh and weep

44that it is He who gives death and life

45that He Himself created the two sexes, male and female

46from an ejected drop of sperm

47that He will undertake the second Creation

48that it is He who gives wealth and possessions

49that He is the Lord of Sirius

50that it was He who destroyed, in their entirety, ancient 'Ad

51and Thamud

52and before them the people of Noah who were even more unjust and insolent

53that it was He who brought down the ruined cities

54and enveloped them in the punishment He ordained for them

55Which then of your Lord’s blessings do you deny

56This is a warning just like the warnings sent in former times

57The imminent Hour draws near

58and only God can disclose it

59Do you [people] marvel at this

60Why do you laugh instead of weeping

61Why do you pay no heed

62Bow down before God and worship