Hizb 24

And to Midian [We sent] Shu‘ayb, their brother. He said, ‘O my people! Worship Allah. You have no other god besides Him. Do not diminish the measure or the balance. Indeed I see that you are faring well, but I fear for you the punishment of an all-embracing day.’

‘O my people! Observe fully the measure and the balance, with justice, and do not cheat the people of their goods, and do not act wickedly on the earth, causing corruption.’

‘What remains of Allah’s provision is better for you, should you be faithful, and I am not a keeper over you.’

They said, ‘O Shu‘ayb, does your worship require that we abandon what our fathers have been worshiping, or that we should not do with our wealth whatever we wish? You are indeed [a] gentle and sensible [person].’

He said, ‘O my people! Have you considered, should I stand on a manifest proof from my Lord, who has provided me a good provision from Himself? I do not wish to oppose you by what I forbid you. I only desire to put things in order, as far as I can, and my success lies only with Allah: in Him I have put my trust, and to Him I turn penitently.

O my people, do not let your defiance toward me lead you to be visited by the like of what was visited on the people of Noah, or the people of Hud, or the people of Salih, and the people of Lot are not distant from you.

Plead with your Lord for forgiveness, then turn to Him penitently. My Lord is indeed all-merciful, all-affectionate.’

They said, ‘O Shu‘ayb, we do not understand much of what you say. Indeed we see that you are weak amongst us, and were it not for your tribe, we would have stoned you, and you are not a formidable [challenge] for us.’

He said, ‘O my people! Is my tribe more formidable in your sight than Allah, to whom you pay no regard? Indeed my Lord comprehends whatever you do.

O my people! Act according to your ability; I too am acting. Soon you will know who will be overtaken by a punishment that will disgrace him, and who is a liar. So be on the watch; I too will be watching along with you.’

When Our edict came, We delivered Shu‘ayb and the faithful who were with him by a mercy from Us. And the Cry seized those who were wrongdoers, whereat they lay lifeless prostrate in their homes,

as if they had never lived there. Behold, away with Midian!—just as Thamud was done away with!

Certainly We sent Moses with Our signs and a manifest authority

to Pharaoh and his elite, but they followed Pharaoh’s dictates, and Pharaoh’s dictates were not right-minded.

On the Day of Resurrection he will lead his people and conduct them into the Fire: an evil goal for the incoming!

They are pursued by a curse in this [world], as well as on the Day of Resurrection; evil is the award conferred [upon them]!

These are from the accounts of the townships, which We recount to you. Of them, there are some that still stand, and some that have been mown down.

We did not wrong them, but they wronged themselves. When your Lord’s edict came, their gods whom they would invoke besides Allah were of no avail to them in any wise, and they did not increase them in anything but ruin.

Such is the seizing of your Lord when He seizes the townships that are wrongdoing. Indeed His seizing is painful and severe.

There is indeed a sign in that for those who fear the punishment of the Hereafter. That is a day on which all mankind will be gathered, and it is a day witnessed [by all creatures].

And We do not defer it but for a determinate term.

The day it comes, no one shall speak except by His leave. [On that day,] some of them will be wretched and [some] felicitous.

As for the wretched, they shall be in the Fire: their lot therein will be groaning and wailing.

They shall remain in it for as long as the heavens and the earth endure—except what your Lord may wish; indeed your Lord does whatever He desires.

As for the felicitous, they will be in paradise. They will remain in it for as long as the heavens and the earth endure—except what your Lord may wish—an endless bounty.

So do not be in doubt about what these worship: they worship just as their fathers worshiped before, and We shall surely pay them their full share, undiminished.

Certainly We gave Moses the Book, but differences arose about it, and were it not for a prior decree of your Lord, a decision would have been made between them; indeed they are in grave doubt concerning it.

Your Lord will indeed recompense everyone fully for their works. Indeed, He is well aware of what they do.

So be steadfast, just as you have been commanded—[you] and whoever has turned [to Allah] with you—and do not overstep the bounds. Indeed, He watches what you do.

Do not incline toward the wrongdoers, lest the Fire should touch you, and you will not have any friend besides Allah; then you will not be helped.

Maintain the prayer at the two ends of the day, and during the early hours of the night. Indeed good deeds efface misdeeds. That is an admonition for the mindful.

And be patient; indeed Allah does not waste the reward of the virtuous.

Why were there not among the generations before you a remnant [of the wise] who might forbid corruption in the earth, except a few of those whom We delivered from among them? Those who were wrongdoers pursued that in which they had been granted affluence, and they were a guilty lot.

Your Lord would never destroy the townships unjustly while their inhabitants were bringing about reform.

Had your Lord wished, He would have made mankind one community; but they continue to differ,

except those on whom your Lord has mercy—and that is why He created them—and the word of your Lord has been fulfilled: ‘I will surely fill hell with jinn and humans, all together!’

Whatever We relate to you of the accounts of the apostles are those by which We strengthen your heart, and there has come to you in this [surah] the truth and an advice and admonition for the faithful.

Say to those who do not have faith, ‘Act according to your ability; we too are acting.

And wait! We too are waiting.’

To Allah belongs the Unseen of the heavens and the earth, and to Him all matters are returned. So worship Him and trust in Him. Your Lord is not oblivious of what you do.

Aif, Lam, Ra. These are the signs of the Manifest Book.

Indeed We have sent it down as an Arabic Quran so that you may exercise your reason.

We will recount to you the best of narratives in what We have revealed to you of this Quran, and indeed prior to it you were among those who are unaware [of it].

When Joseph said to his father, ‘Father! I saw eleven planets, and the sun and the moon: I saw them prostrating themselves before me,’

he said, ‘My son, do not recount your dream to your brothers, lest they should devise schemes against you. Satan is indeed man’s manifest enemy.

That is how your Lord will choose you, and teach you the interpretation of dreams, and complete His blessing upon you and upon the house of Jacob, just as He completed it earlier for your fathers, Abraham and Isaac. Your Lord is indeed all-knowing and all-wise.’

In Joseph and his brothers there are certainly signs for the seekers.

When they said, ‘Surely Joseph and his brother are dearer to our father than [the rest of] us, though we are a hardy band. Our father is indeed in manifest error.’

‘Kill Joseph or cast him away into some [distant] land, so that your father’s attention may be exclusively towards you, and thereafter you may become a righteous lot.’

One of them said, ‘Do not kill Joseph, but cast him into the recess of a well so that some caravan may pick him up, if you are to do [anything].’

They said, ‘Father! Why is it that you do not trust us with Joseph? We are indeed his well-wishers.

Let him go with us tomorrow so that he may eat lots of fruits and play, and we will indeed take [good] care of him.’

He said, ‘It really upsets me that you should take him away, and I fear the wolf may eat him while you are oblivious of him.’

They said, ‘Should the wolf eat him while we are a hardy band, then we will indeed be losers!’

So when they took him away and conspired to put him into the recess of a well, We revealed to him, ‘[A day will come when] you will surely inform them about this affair of theirs while they are not aware [of your identity].’

In the evening, they came weeping to their father.

They said, ‘Father! We had gone racing and left Joseph with our things, whereat the wolf ate him. But you will not believe us even if we spoke truly.’

And they produced sham blood on his shirt. He said, ‘No, your souls have made a matter seem decorous to you. Yet patience is graceful, and Allah is my resort against what you allege.’

There came a caravan, and they sent their water-drawer, who let down his bucket. ‘Good news!’ he said. ‘This is a young boy!’ So they hid him as [a piece of] merchandise, and Allah knew best what they were doing.

And they sold him for a cheap price, a few dirhams, for they set small store by him.

The man from Egypt who had bought him said to his wife, ‘Give him an honourable place [in the household]. Maybe he will be useful to us, or we may adopt him as a son.’ Thus We established Joseph in the land and that We might teach him the interpretation of dreams. Allah has [full] command of His affairs, but most people do not know.

When he came of age, We gave him judgement and [sacred] knowledge, and thus do We reward the virtuous.

The woman in whose house he was, solicited him. She closed the doors and said, ‘Come!!’ He said, ‘God forbid! Indeed He is my Lord; He has given me a good abode. Indeed the wrongdoers are not felicitous.’

She certainly made for him; and he would have made for her [too] had he not beheld the proof of his Lord. So it was, that We might turn away from him all evil and indecency. He was indeed one of Our dedicated servants.

They raced to the door, and she tore his shirt from behind, and they ran into her husband at the door. She said, ‘What is to be the requital of him who has evil intentions for your wife except imprisonment or a painful punishment?’

He said, ‘It was she who solicited me.’ A witness of her own household testified [thus]: ‘If his shirt is torn from the front, she tells the truth and he lies.

But if his shirt is torn from behind, then she lies and he tells the truth.’

So when he saw that his shirt was torn from behind, he said, ‘This is [a case] of you women’s guile! Your guile is indeed great!

Joseph, let this matter alone, and you, woman, plead for forgiveness for your sin, for you have indeed been erring.’

Some of the townswomen said, ‘The chieftain’s wife has solicited her slave boy! He has captivated her love. Indeed we see her to be in manifest error.’

When she heard of their machinations, she sent for them and arranged a repast, and gave each of them a knife, and said [to Joseph], ‘Come out before them.’ So when they saw him, they marvelled at him and cut their hands [absent-mindedly], and they said, ‘Good heavens! This is not a human being! This is but a noble angel!’

She said, ‘He is the one on whose account you blamed me. Certainly, I did solicit him, but he was continent, and if he does not do what I bid him, surely he shall be imprisoned and humbled.’

He said, ‘My Lord! The prison is dearer to me than to what they invite me. If You do not turn away their schemes from me, I will incline towards them and become one of the senseless.’

So his Lord answered him and turned away their stratagems from him. Indeed, He is the All-hearing, the All-knowing.

Then it appeared to them, after they had seen all the signs [of his innocence], that they should confine him for some time.

There entered the prison two youths along with him. One of them said, ‘I dreamt that I am pressing grapes.’ The other said, ‘I dreamt that I am carrying bread on my head from which the birds are eating.’ ‘Inform us of its interpretation,’ [they said], ‘for indeed we see you to be a virtuous man.’

He said, ‘Before the meals you are served come to you I will inform you of its interpretation. That is among things my Lord has taught me. Indeed, I renounce the creed of the people who have no faith in Allah and who [also] disbelieve in the Hereafter.

I follow the creed of my fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It is not for us to ascribe any partner to Allah. That is by virtue of Allah’s grace upon us and upon all mankind, but most people do not give thanks.

O my prison mates! Are different masters better, or Allah, the One, the All-paramount?

You do not worship besides Him but [mere] names that you and your fathers have coined, for which Allah has not sent down any authority. Sovereignty belongs only to Allah. He has commanded you to worship none except Him. That is the upright religion, but most people do not know.

O my prison mates! As for one of you, he will serve wine to his master, and as for the other, he will be crucified and vultures will eat from his head. The matter about which you inquire has been decided.’

Then he said to the one whom he knew would be delivered from among the two: ‘Mention me to your master.’ But Satan caused him to forget mentioning [it] to his master. So he remained in the prison for several years.

[One day] the king said, ‘I saw [in a dream] seven fat cows being devoured by seven lean ones, and seven green ears and [seven] others [that were] dry. O courtiers, give me your opinion about my dream, if you can interpret dreams.’

They said, ‘[These are] confused nightmares, and we do not know the interpretation of nightmares.’

Said the one of the two who had been delivered, remembering [Joseph] after a long time: ‘I will inform you of its interpretation; so let me go [to meet Joseph in the prison].’

‘Joseph,’ [he said], ‘O truthful one, give us your opinion concerning seven fat cows who are eaten by seven lean ones, and seven green ears and [seven] others dry, that I may return to the people so that they may know [the truth of the matter].’

He said, ‘You will sow for seven consecutive years. Then leave in the ear whatever [grain] you harvest, except a little that you eat.

Then after that there will come seven hard years which will eat up whatever you have set aside for them—all except a little which you preserve [for seed].

Then after that there will come a year wherein the people will be granted relief and provided with rains therein.

The king said, ‘Bring him to me!’ When the messenger came to him, he said, ‘Go back to your master, and ask him about the affair of women who cut their hands. My Lord is indeed well aware of their stratagems.’

The king said, ‘What was your business, women, when you solicited Joseph?’ They said, ‘Heaven be praised! We know of no evil in him.’ The prince’s wife said, ‘Now the truth has come to light! It was I who solicited him, and he is indeed telling the truth.’

[Joseph said], [‘I initiated] this [inquiry], that he may know that I did not betray him in his absence, and that Allah does not further the schemes of the treacherous.’