14
14. Ibrahim - Abraham
| 1 | Alif-Lam-Ra; it is a Book which We have sent down upon you (O dear Prophet Mohammed – peace and blessings be upon him) so that you may bring forth people from the realms of darkness into light – by the command of their Lord, towards the path of the Most Honourable, the Most Praiseworthy. |
| 2 | Allah – because all that is in the heavens and in the earth belongs only to Him; and woe is for the disbelievers through a severe punishment. |
| 3 | To whom the worldly life is dearer than the Hereafter, and who prevent from the way of Allah and wish deviations in it; they are in extreme error. |
| 4 | And We sent every Noble Messenger with the same language as his people*, so that he may clearly explain to them; then Allah sends astray whomever He wills, and He guides whomever He wills; and He only is the Most Honourable, the Wise. (* Prophet Mohammed (peace and blessings be upon him) was taught all the languages as he is sent towards all.) |
| 5 | And indeed We sent Moosa along with Our signs that, “Bring your people from the realms of darkness into light – and remind them of the days of Allah*; indeed in them are signs for every greatly enduring, grateful person.” (* When various favours were bestowed – in order to give thanks and be patient.) |
| 6 | And when Moosa said to his people, “Remember Allah’s favour upon you when He rescued you from the people of Firaun who were inflicting you with a dreadful torment, and were slaying your sons and sparing your daughters; and in it occurred a great favour of your Lord.”* (* On the 10th day of Moharram – therefore the Jews used to fast on that day as thanksgiving.) |
| 7 | And remember when your Lord proclaimed, “If you give thanks, I will give you more, and if you are ungrateful then (know that) My punishment is severe.” |
| 8 | And Moosa said, “If you and all who are in the earth turn disbelievers, then indeed Allah is definitely Independent (Unwanting), Most Praiseworthy.” |
| 9 | Did not the tidings of those before you reach you? The people of Nooh, and the A’ad and the Thamud, and those after them? Only Allah knows them; their Noble Messengers came to them with clear proofs, they therefore raised their hands towards their own mouths, and said, “We disbelieve in what you have been sent with, and we are in a deeply intriguing doubt regarding the path you call us to.” |
| 10 | Their Noble Messengers said, “What! You doubt concerning Allah, the Creator of the heavens and the earth? He calls you that He may forgive some of your sins and until the time of death give you a life free from punishment”; they said, “You are just human beings like us; you wish to prevent us from what our forefathers used to worship – therefore now bring some clear proof to us.” |
| 11 | Their Noble Messengers said to them, “We are indeed human beings like you, but Allah bestows favour upon whomever He wills, among His bondmen*; it is not our task to bring any proof to you except by the command of Allah; and only upon Allah must the Muslims rely.” (* Therefore Prophets and other men are not equal in status.) |
| 12 | “And what is the matter with us that we should not rely on Allah? He has in fact shown us our ways; and we will surely be patient upon the troubles you cause us; and those who trust must rely only upon Allah.” |
| 13 | And the disbelievers said to their Noble Messengers, “We will surely expel you from our land, unless you accept our religion”; so their Lord sent them the divine revelation that, “Indeed We will destroy these unjust people.” |
| 14 | “And indeed We will establish you in the land after them; this is for him who fears to stand before Me and fears the commands of punishment declared by Me.” |
| 15 | And they sought a decision, and every stubborn rebel was destroyed. |
| 16 | Hell went after him, and he will be made to drink liquid pus*. (* Discharged from the wounds of other people in hell.) |
| 17 | He will sip it with difficulty but be unable to swallow, and death will approach him from every side and he will not die; and a severe punishment is after him. |
| 18 | The state of those who disbelieve in their Lord is that their deeds are like ashes which the strong wind blew away on a stormy day; they got nothing from all that they earned; this is the extreme error. |
| 19 | Have you not seen that Allah has created the heavens and the earth with true purpose? If He wills, He can remove you all and bring a new creation. |
| 20 | And this is not at all difficult for Allah. |
| 21 | They will all publicly come in the presence of Allah – then those who were weak will say to those who were the leaders, “We were your followers – is it possible for you to avert some of Allah’s punishment from us?” They will answer, “If Allah had guided us, we would have guided you; it is the same for us, whether we panic or patiently endure – we have no place of refuge.” (* This conversation will take place between the disbelievers and their leaders.) |
| 22 | And Satan will say when the matter has been decided, “Indeed Allah had given you a true promise – and the promise I gave you, I made it untrue to you; and I had no control over you except that I called you and you obeyed me; so do not accuse me, blame only yourselves; neither can I help you, nor can you help me; I have no concern with your ascribing me as a partner (to Allah); indeed for the unjust is a painful punishment.” |
| 23 | And those who believed and did good deeds will be admitted into Gardens beneath which rivers flow, abiding in it forever, by the command of their Lord; their greeting in it is “Peace”. |
| 24 | Did you not see how Allah illustrated the example of a sacred saying? Like a sacred tree, which has firm roots and branches reaching into heaven. |
| 25 | Bearing fruit at all times by the command of its Lord; and Allah illustrates examples for people so that they may understand. |
| 26 | And the example of a bad saying is like a filthy tree, which is cut off above the ground, therefore not having stability. |
| 27 | Allah keeps the believers firm upon the truth in the life of this world and in the Hereafter; and Allah sends the unjust astray; and Allah may do whatever He wills. |
| 28 | Did you not see those who exchanged the grace of Allah for ungratefulness and led their people down to the home of destruction? |
| 29 | Which is hell; they will enter it; and what a wretched place of stay! |
| 30 | And they ascribed equals to Allah to mislead from His way; say, “Enjoy a while, for your end will be the fire.” |
| 31 | Say to the bondmen of Mine who believe, that they must keep the prayer established and spend in Our way from what We have given them, secretly and publicly, before the advent of a day in which there will be no trade nor friendship. |
| 32 | It is Allah Who created the heavens and the earth, and sent down water from the sky, therefore producing some fruits for you to eat; and subjected the ships for you, that they may sail upon the sea by His command; and subjected the rivers for you. |
| 33 | And subjected the sun and the moon for you, which are constantly moving; and has subjected the night and the day for you. |
| 34 | And He gave you much of what you seek; and if you enumerate the favours of Allah, you will never be able to count them; indeed man is very unjust, most ungrateful. |
| 35 | And remember when Ibrahim prayed, “O my Lord! Make this town (Mecca) a safe one, and safeguard me and my sons from worshipping idols.” |
| 36 | “O my Lord! The idols have led many people astray; so whoever followed me, is indeed mine; and whoever disobeyed me – then indeed You are Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful.” |
| 37 | “O our Lord! I have settled some of my descendants in a valley having no cultivation, near Your Sacred House – O our Lord! So that they may keep the prayer established, therefore incline some hearts of men towards them, and provide them fruits to eat – perhaps they may be thankful.” |
| 38 | “O our Lord! You know what we hide and what we disclose; and nothing is hidden from Allah, neither in the earth nor in the heavens.” |
| 39 | “All praise is to Allah Who gave me Ismail and Ishaq, in my old age; indeed my Lord is the Listener of Prayer.” |
| 40 | “O my Lord! Maintain me as one who establishes prayer, and some of my descendants; O our Lord! and accept my prayer.” |
| 41 | “O our Lord! And forgive me, and my parents, and all the Muslims on the day when the account will be established.” |
| 42 | And do not ever assume that Allah is unaware of what the unjust do; He does not give them respite but for a day in which the eyes will become fixed, staring. |
| 43 | They shall come out running in bewilderment, with their heads raised, their gaze not returning to them; and their hearts will not have any calm. |
| 44 | And warn the people of a day when the punishment will come upon them, therefore the unjust will say, “O our Lord! Give us respite for a little while – for us to obey Your call and follow the Noble Messengers”; (It will be said) “So had you not sworn before that, ‘We have not to move to any place else from the earth’?” |
| 45 | “And you dwelt in the houses of those who had wronged themselves and it became very clear to you how We had dealt with them, and We illustrated several examples for you.” |
| 46 | And indeed they carried out their scheme, and their scheming is within Allah’s control; and their scheme was not such that could move these mountains*. (* The revelations / signs of Allah.) |
| 47 | So do not ever assume that Allah will not fulfil His promise to His Noble Messengers; indeed Allah is the Dominant, the Avenger. |
| 48 | On the day when the earth will be changed to other than this earth, and the heavens – and they will all come forth standing before Allah, the One, the Dominant above all. |
| 49 | And on that day you will see the guilty linked together in chains. |
| 50 | Their cloaks will be of pitch and fire will cover their faces. |
| 51 | In order that Allah may repay each soul what it had earned; indeed Allah spends no time in judging the account. |
| 52 | This is the message to be conveyed to all mankind – and in order to warn them with it, and for them to know that He is the only One God, and for men of understanding to heed advice. |