Hizb 38

They said, ‘Shall we believe in you, when it is the riffraff who follow you?’

He said, ‘What do I know as to what they used to do?

Their reckoning is only with my Lord, should you be aware.

I will not drive away the faithful.

I am just a manifest warner.’

They said, ‘Noah, if you do not desist, you will certainly be stoned [to death].’

He said, ‘My Lord! Indeed my people have impugned me.

So judge conclusively between me and them, and deliver me and the faithful who are with me.’

Thereupon We delivered him and those who were with him in the laden ark.

Then We drowned the rest.

There is indeed a sign in that; but most of them do not have faith.

Indeed your Lord is the All-mighty, the All-merciful.

[The people of] ‘Ad impugned the apostles,

when Hud, their brother, said to them, ‘Will you not be wary [of Allah]?

Indeed I am a trusted apostle [sent] to you.

So be wary of Allah and obey me.

I do not ask you any reward for it; my reward lies only with the Lord of all the worlds.

Do you build futile a sign on every prominence?

You set up structures as if you will be immortal,

and when you seize [someone for punishment], you seize [him] like tyrants.

So be wary of Allah and obey me.

Be wary of Him who has provided you with whatever you know,

and aided you with sons and with cattle,

gardens and springs.

Indeed I fear for you the punishment of a tremendous day.’

They said, ‘It is the same to us whether you exhort us or not.

These are nothing but the traditions of the ancients,

and we will not be punished.’

So they impugned him, whereupon We destroyed them. There is indeed a sign in that; but most of them do not have faith.

Indeed your Lord is the All-mighty, the All-merciful.

[The people of] Thamud impugned the apostles

when Salih, their brother, said to them, ‘Will you not be wary [of Allah]?

Indeed I am a trusted apostle [sent] to you.

So be wary of Allah and obey me.

I do not ask you any reward for it; my reward lies only with the Lord of all the worlds.

Will you be left secure in that which is here

—amid gardens and springs,

farms and date palms with dainty spathes

—while you skillfully hew out houses from the mountains?

So be wary of Allah and obey me,

and do not obey the dictates of the transgressors,

who cause corruption in the land and do not bring about reform.’

They said, ‘Indeed you are one of the bewitched.

You are just a human being like us. So bring us a sign, should you be truthful.’

He said, ‘This is a she-camel; she shall drink and you shall drink on known days.

Do not cause her any harm, for then you shall be seized by the punishment of a terrible day.’

But they hamstrung her, whereupon they became regretful.

So the punishment seized them. There is indeed a sign in that; but most of them do not have faith.

Indeed your Lord is the All-mighty, the All-merciful.

The people of Lot impugned the apostles

when Lot, their brother, said to them, ‘Will you not be wary [of Allah]?

Indeed I am a trusted apostle [sent] to you.

So be wary of Allah and obey me.

I do not ask you any reward for it; my reward lies only with the Lord of all the worlds.

What! Of all people do you come to males,

abandoning your wives your Lord has created for you? Indeed, you are a transgressing lot.’

They said, ‘Lot, if you do not desist, you will surely be banished.’

He said, ‘Indeed I detest your conduct.’

‘My Lord! Deliver me and my family from what they do.’

So We delivered him and all his family,

except an old woman who remained behind.

Then We destroyed [all] the rest,

and rained down upon them a rain [of stones]. Evil was the rain of those who were warned!

There is indeed a sign in that; but most of them do not have faith.

Indeed your Lord is the All-mighty, the All-merciful.

The inhabitants of Aykah impugned the apostles,

when Shu‘ayb said to them, ‘Will you not be wary [of Allah]?

Indeed I am a trusted apostle [sent] to you.

So be wary of Allah and obey me.

I do not ask you any reward for it; my reward lies only with the Lord of all the worlds.

Observe the full measure, and do not be of those who give short measure.

Weigh with an even balance,

and do not cheat the people of their goods. Do not act wickedly on the earth, causing corruption.

Be wary of Him who created you and the earlier generations.’

They said, ‘Indeed you are one of the bewitched.

You are just a human being like us, and we indeed consider you to be a liar.

Make a fragment of the sky falls upon us, should you be truthful.’

He said, ‘My Lord knows best what you are doing.’

So they impugned him, and then they were overtaken by the punishment of the day of the overshadowing cloud. It was indeed the punishment of a terrible day.

There is indeed a sign in that; but most of them do not have faith.

Indeed your Lord is the All-mighty, the All-merciful.

This is indeed [a Book] sent down by the Lord of all the worlds,

brought down by the Trustworthy Spirit

upon your heart (so that you may be one of the warners),

in a clear Arabic language.

It is indeed [foretold] in the scriptures of the ancients.

Is it not a sign for them that the learned of the Children of Israel recognize it?

Had We sent it down upon some non-Arab

and had he recited it to them, they would not have believed in it.

This is how We let it pass through the hearts of the guilty:

they do not believe in it until they sight the painful punishment.

It will overtake them suddenly while they are unaware.

Thereupon they will say, ‘Shall we be granted any respite?’

So do they seek to hasten on Our punishment?

Tell me, should We let them enjoy for some years,

then there comes to them what they have been promised,

of what avail to them will be that which they were given to enjoy?

We have not destroyed any town without its having warners,

for the sake of admonition, and We were not unjust.

It has not been brought down by the devils.

Neither does it behoove them, nor are they capable [of doing that].

Indeed, they are kept at bay [even] from hearing it.

So do not invoke any god besides Allah, lest you should be among the punished.

Warn the nearest of your kinsfolk,

and lower your wing to the faithful who follow you.

But if they disobey you, say, ‘I am absolved of what you do.’

And put your trust in the All-mighty, the All-merciful,

who sees you when you stand [for prayer],

and your going about among those who prostrate.

Indeed He is the All-hearing, the All-knowing.

Should I inform you on whom the devils descend?

They descend on every sinful liar.

They eavesdrop, and most of them are liars.

As for the poets, [only] the perverse follow them.

Have you not regarded that they rove in every valley,

and that they say what they do not do?

Barring those who have faith, do righteous deeds, and remember Allah much often, and vindicate themselves after they have been wronged. And the wrongdoers will soon know at what goal they will end up.

Ta, Seen. These are the signs of the Quran and a manifest Book,

a guidance and good news for the faithful

—those who maintain the prayer and pay the zakat, and who are certain of the Hereafter.

As for those who do not believe in the Hereafter, We have made their deeds seem decorous to them, and so they are bewildered.

They are the ones for whom there is a terrible punishment, and they are the ones who will be the biggest losers in the Hereafter.

Indeed you receive the Quran from One who is all-wise, all-knowing.

When Moses said to his family, ‘Indeed I descry a fire! I will bring you some news from it, or bring you a firebrand so that you may warm yourselves.’

When he came to it, he was called: ‘Blessed is He who is in the fire and who is [as well] around it, and immaculate is Allah, the Lord of all the worlds!’

‘O Moses! Indeed I am Allah, the All-mighty, the All-wise.’

‘Throw down your staff!’ When he saw it wriggling, as if it were a snake, he turned his back [to flee], without looking back. ‘O Moses! ‘Do not be afraid. Indeed the apostles are not afraid before Me,

nor those who do wrong and then make up for [their] fault with goodness, for indeed I am all-forgiving, all-merciful.’

‘Insert your hand into your shirt. It will emerge white and bright, without any fault—among nine signs meant for Pharaoh and his people. Indeed they are a transgressing lot.’

But when Our signs came to them, as eye-openers, they said, ‘This is plain magic.’

They impugned them, wrongfully and out of arrogance, though they were convinced in their hearts [of their veracity]. So observe how the fate of the agents of corruption was!

Certainly, We gave knowledge to David and Solomon, and they said, ‘All praise belongs to Allah, who granted us an advantage over many of His faithful servants.’

Solomon inherited from David, and he said, ‘O people! We have been taught the speech of the birds, and we have been given out of everything. Indeed this is a manifest advantage.’

[Once] Solomon’s hosts were marched out for him, comprising jinn, humans and birds, and they were held in check.

When they came to the Valley of Ants, an ant said, ‘O ants! Enter your dwellings, lest Solomon and his hosts should trample on you while they are unaware.’

Whereat he smiled, amused at its words, and he said, ‘My Lord! Inspire me to give thanks for Your blessing with which You have blessed me and my parents, and that I may do righteous deeds which please You, and admit me, by Your mercy, among Your righteous servants.’

[One day] he reviewed the birds, and said, ‘Why do I not see the hoopoe? Or is he absent?’

‘I will punish him with a severe punishment, or I will behead him, unless he brings me a credible excuse.’

He did not stay for long [before he turned up] and said, ‘I have alighted on something which you have not alighted on, and I have brought you from Sheba a definite report.

I found a woman ruling over them, and she has been given everything, and she has a great throne.

I found her and her people prostrating to the sun instead of Allah, and Satan has made their deeds seem decorous to them—thus he has barred them from the way [of Allah], so they are not guided—

so that they do not prostrate themselves to Allah, who brings forth the hidden in the heavens and the earth, and He knows whatever you hide and whatever you disclose.

Allah—there is no god except Him—is the Lord of the Great Throne.’

He said, ‘We shall see whether you are truthful, or if you are one of the liars.

Take this letter of mine and deliver it to them. Then draw away from them and observe what [response] they return.’

She said, ‘O [members of the] elite! Indeed a noble letter has been delivered to me.

It is from Solomon, and it begins in the name of Allah, the All-beneficent, the All-merciful.

[It states,] ‘‘Do not defy me, and come to me in submission.’’ ’

She said, ‘O [members of the] elite! Give me your opinion concerning my matter. I do not decide any matter until you are present.’

They said, ‘We are powerful and possess a great might. But it is up to you to command. So consider what orders you will give.’

She said, ‘Indeed when kings enter a town, they devastate it, and make the mightiest of its people the weakest. That is how they act.

I will send them a gift, and see what the envoys bring back.’

So when he came to Solomon, he said, ‘Are you aiding me with wealth? What Allah has given me is better than what He has given you. Indeed, you are proud of your gift!

Go back to them, for we will come at them with hosts which they cannot face, and we will expel them from it, abased and degraded.’

He said, ‘O [members of the] elite! Which of you will bring me her throne before they come to me in submission?’

An afreet from among the jinn said, ‘I will bring it to you before you rise from your place. I have the power to do it and am trustworthy.’

The one who had knowledge of the Book said, ‘I will bring it to you in the twinkling of an eye.’ So when he saw it set near him, he said, ‘This is by the grace of my Lord, to test me if I will give thanks or be ungrateful. Whoever gives thanks, gives thanks only for his own sake. And whoever is ungrateful [should know that] my Lord is indeed all-sufficient, all-generous.’

He said, ‘Disguise her throne for her, so that we may see whether she is discerning or if she is one of the undiscerning ones.’

So when she came, it was said [to her], ‘Is your throne like this one?’ She said, ‘It seems to be the same, and we were informed before it, and we had submitted.’

She had been barred [from the way of Allah] by what she used to worship besides Allah, for she belonged to a faithless people.

It was said to her, ‘Enter the palace.’ So when she saw it, she supposed it to be a pool of water, and she bared her shanks. He said, ‘It is a palace paved with crystal.’ She said, ‘My Lord! Indeed I have wronged myself, and I submit with Solomon to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds.’

Certainly We sent to Thamud Salih, their brother, [with the summons:] ‘Worship Allah!’ But thereat they became two groups contending with each other.

He said, ‘O My people! Why do you press for evil sooner than for good? Why do you not plead to Allah for forgiveness so that you may receive His mercy?’

They said, ‘We take you and those who are with you for a bad omen.’ He said, ‘Your bad omens are from Allah. Indeed, you are a people being tested.’

There were nine persons in the city who caused corruption in the land and did not set things right.

They said, ‘Swear by Allah that we will attack him and his family by night. Then we will tell his heir that we were not present at the murder of his family and that we speak the truth.’

They devised a plot, and We [too] devised a plan, but they were not aware.

So observe how was the outcome of their plotting, as We destroyed them and all their people.

So there lay their houses, fallen in ruin because of their wrongdoing. There is indeed a sign in that for a people who have knowledge.

And We delivered those who had faith and were Godwary.

[We also sent] Lot, when he said to his people, ‘What! Do you commit this indecency while you look on?

Do you approach men with [sexual] desire instead of women?! Indeed, you are a senseless lot!’