Sourate Al-Ahqaf (46) unvowelled

In the name of God, the All-Benevolent, the Benevolent. Ha-Mim.i 1

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم حم

The gradual revelation of the Scripture comes from God, the All-Powerful, the Wise.i 2

تنزيل الكتب من الله العزيز الحكيم

We did not create the heavens and the earth, and what is between them, except in truth and for an appointed term. 3

ما خلقنا السموت والارض وما بينهما الا بالحق واجل مسمى

And those who deny turn away from what they were warned of. 3

والذين كفروا عما انذروا معرضون

Say: "Have you considered what you invoke besides God? Show me what they have created of the earth, or do they have a share in the heavens?" 4

قل ارءيتم ما تدعون من دون الله اروني ماذا خلقوا من الارض ام لهم شرك في السموت

Bring me a Writ prior to this one, or a remnant of knowledge, if you are truthful.i 4

ايتوني بكتب من قبل هذا او اثرة من علم ان كنتم صدقين

And who is more astray than one who invokes, besides God, that which will not answer him until the Day of Appearance, while they remain heedless of their invocation?i 5

ومن اضل ممن يدعوا من دون الله من لا يستجيب له الى يوم القيمة وهم عن دعايهم غفلون

And when mankind is gathered, [these objects of invocation] will be enemies to them, and they will deny [deny] that obey [which was devoted to them]. 6

واذا حشر الناس كانوا لهم اعداء وكانوا بعبادتهم كفرين

And when Our clear signs are recited to them, those who deny say of the truth once it reaches them: "This is a manifest illusion." 7

واذا تتلى عليهم ءايتنا بينت قال الذين كفروا للحق لما جاءهم هذا سحر مبين

Or do they say: "He has invented it"? 8

ام يقولون افترىه

Say: "If I have invented it, you can do nothing for me against God." 8

قل ان افتريته فلا تملكون لي من الله شيا

He knows best what you engage in concerning it. 8

هو اعلم بما تفيضون فيه

He suffices as a witness between me and you. 8

كفى به شهيدا بيني وبينكم

And He is the Forgiving, the benevolent. 8

وهو الغفور الرحيم

Say: "I am not a novelty among the messengers, and I do not know what will be done with me or with you." 9

قل ما كنت بدعا من الرسل وما ادري ما يفعل بي ولا بكم

I follow only what is revealed to me. 9

ان اتبع الا ما يوحى الى

And I am only a clear warner. 9

وما انا الا نذير مبين

Say: "Have you considered: if this is from God and you deny it, while a witness among the Children of Israel has testified to its conformity and believed, whereas you are arrogant..." 10

قل ارءيتم ان كان من عند الله وكفرتم به وشهد شاهد من بني اسرءيل على مثله فامن واستكبرتم

Indeed, God does not guide the unjust people. 10

ان الله لا يهدي القوم الظلمين

And those who deny say to those who believe: "If it were good, they would not have preceded us to it." 11

وقال الذين كفروا للذين ءامنوا لو كان خيرا ما سبقونا اليه

And since they are not guided by it, they will say: "This is an ancient falsehood." 11

واذ لم يهتدوا به فسيقولون هذا افك قديم

And before it was the Scripture of Moussa, a guide and a benevolence.i 12

ومن قبله كتب موسى اماما ورحمة

And this is a confirming Writ, in an unblemished, undistorted expression, so that you may warn those who have done wrong, and as good news for those who do good.i 12

وهذا كتب مصدق لسانا عربيا لينذر الذين ظلموا وبشرى للمحسنين

Indeed, those who say: "Our Guardian is God," then stand firm — no fear will be upon them, nor will they grieve. 13

ان الذين قالوا ربنا الله ثم استقموا فلا خوف عليهم ولا هم يحزنون

Those are the companions of the Garden, abiding therein eternally, 14

اوليك اصحب الجنة خلدين فيها

as a reward for what they used to do. 14

جزاء بما كانوا يعملون

And We enjoined upon the human being kindness toward his two parents.i 15

ووصينا الانسن بولديه احسنا

His mother carried him with hardship and bore him with hardship. 15

حملته امه كرها ووضعته كرها

And his bearing and his weaning are thirty months. 15

وحمله وفصله ثلثون شهرا

Until he reaches his full maturity and reaches forty years, he says: "My Guardian, inspire me to be grateful for Your favor which You bestowed upon me and upon my parents, and to do righteousness that pleases You. 15

حتى اذا بلغ اشده وبلغ اربعين سنة قال رب اوزعني ان اشكر نعمتك التي انعمت على وعلى ولدى وان اعمل صلحا ترضىه

And make righteous for me my offspring. 15

واصلح لي في ذريتي

Indeed, I turn to You, and I am among those true to God alone." 15

اني تبت اليك واني من المسلمين

Those are the ones from whom We accept the best of what they did, and overlook their bad deeds, among the companions of the Garden — 16

اوليك الذين نتقبل عنهم احسن ما عملوا ونتجاوز عن سياتهم في اصحب الجنة

a true promise which they were promised. 16

وعد الصدق الذي كانوا يوعدون

And he who says to his two parents: "Fie on you both! Do you promise me that I will be raised, when generations have already passed before me?" — while they both cry out to God for help: "Woe to you, believe! Indeed the promise of God is true" — and he says: "This is nothing but legends of the ancients." 17

والذي قال لولديه اف لكما اتعدانني ان اخرج وقد خلت القرون من قبلي وهما يستغيثان الله ويلك ءامن ان وعد الله حق فيقول ما هذا الا اسطير الاولين

Those are the ones against whom the word [of punishment] has come due, among communities that had already passed before them, of the Occulted and mankind.i 18

اوليك الذين حق عليهم القول في امم قد خلت من قبلهم من الجن والانس

Indeed, they were losers. 18

انهم كانوا خسرين

And to each are degrees according to what they did, 19

ولكل درجت مما عملوا

and so that He may fully repay them for their deeds, and they will not be wronged.i 19

وليوفيهم اعملهم وهم لا يظلمون

And the Day those who deny are exposed to the Fire: "You exhausted your good things in your present life and enjoyed them." 20

ويوم يعرض الذين كفروا على النار اذهبتم طيبتكم في حياتكم الدنيا واستمتعتم بها

So today you are repaid the punishment of disgrace for what you used to arrogantly claim on earth without right, and for your overstepping [the limits]. 20

فاليوم تجزون عذاب الهون بما كنتم تستكبرون في الارض بغير الحق وبما كنتم تفسقون

And remember the brother of the Recidivists [Aad], when he warned his people at the Ahqaf — while warners had already passed before him and after him — [saying]: "Obey none but God." 21

واذكر اخا عاد اذ انذر قومه بالاحقاف وقد خلت النذر من بين يديه ومن خلفه الا تعبدوا الا الله

Indeed, I fear for you the punishment of a tremendous day. 21

اني اخاف عليكم عذاب يوم عظيم

They said: "Have you come to us to turn us away by falsehood from our gods? Then bring us what you promise us, if you are among the truthful." 22

قالوا اجيتنا لتافكنا عن ءالهتنا فاتنا بما تعدنا ان كنت من الصدقين

He said: "The knowledge [of that] is with God alone; I convey to you what I was sent with, but I see you to be a people who are ignorant." 23

قال انما العلم عند الله وابلغكم ما ارسلت به ولكني ارىكم قوما تجهلون

Then, when they saw it as a cloud approaching their valleys, they said: "This is a cloud bringing us rain." 24

فلما راوه عارضا مستقبل اوديتهم قالوا هذا عارض ممطرنا

No, it is rather what you sought to hasten — 24

بل هو ما استعجلتم به

a wind carrying a painful punishment, 24

ريح فيها عذاب اليم

destroying everything by the command of its Guardian. 25

تدمر كل شىء بامر ربها

And they became such that nothing could be seen except their dwellings.i 25

فاصبحوا لا يرى الا مسكنهم

Thus do We repay the severed people. 25

كذلك نجزي القوم المجرمين

And We had certainly established them in what We have not established you, and We gave them hearing, sight, and consciences, 26

ولقد مكنهم فيما ان مكنكم فيه وجعلنا لهم سمعا وابصرا وافدة

but neither their hearing, nor their sight, nor their consciences availed them anything, since they used to deny the signs of God, 26

فما اغنى عنهم سمعهم ولا ابصرهم ولا افدتهم من شىء اذ كانوا يجحدون بايت الله

and there enveloped them that which they used to mock. 26

وحاق بهم ما كانوا به يستهزءون

And We had certainly destroyed the cities around you, and We diversified the signs, that they might return. 27

ولقد اهلكنا ما حولكم من القرى وصرفنا الءايت لعلهم يرجعون

Why then did those they took, besides God, as an offering — as gods — not help them? 28

فلولا نصرهم الذين اتخذوا من دون الله قربانا ءالهة

Rather, they strayed from them, 28

بل ضلوا عنهم

and that was their falsehood and what they used to invent. 28

وذلك افكهم وما كانوا يفترون

And remember when We directed toward you a group of the Occulted, listening to the Recitation; and when they were present at it, they said: "Listen closely."i 29

واذ صرفنا اليك نفرا من الجن يستمعون القرءان فلما حضروه قالوا انصتوا

Then, when it was concluded, they turned back to their people as warners. 29

فلما قضي ولوا الى قومهم منذرين

They said: "O our people, we have heard a scripture sent down after Moussa, confirming what came before it, guiding to the truth and to a straight path.i 30

قالوا يقومنا انا سمعنا كتبا انزل من بعد موسى مصدقا لما بين يديه يهدي الى الحق والى طريق مستقيم

O our people, respond to the caller of God and believe in him: He will forgive you some of your wrongs and protect you from a painful punishment. 31

يقومنا اجيبوا داعي الله وءامنوا به يغفر لكم من ذنوبكم ويجركم من عذاب اليم

And whoever does not respond to the caller of God cannot escape on earth, and has no protectors besides Him. 32

ومن لا يجب داعي الله فليس بمعجز في الارض وليس له من دونه اولياء

Those are in manifest error. 32

اوليك في ضلل مبين

Do they not see that God, who created the heavens and the earth and was not wearied by their creation, is able to give life to the dead? Yes, indeed. 33

اولم يروا ان الله الذي خلق السموت والارض ولم يعي بخلقهن بقدر على ان يحي الموتى بلى

He is capable of all things. 33

انه على كل شىء قدير

And the Day those who deny are exposed to the Fire: "Is this not the truth?" 34

ويوم يعرض الذين كفروا على النار اليس هذا بالحق

They will say: "Yes, by our Guardian!" 34

قالوا بلى وربنا

He will say: "Then taste the punishment for what you used to deny." 34

قال فذوقوا العذاب بما كنتم تكفرون

So be patient, as the resolute among the messengers were patient, and do not seek to hasten [the punishment], 35

فاصبر كما صبر اولوا العزم من الرسل ولا تستعجل

To them: "As if, on the day they see what they were promised, they had remained only an hour of the day" — this is an Announcement.i 35

لهم كانهم يوم يرون ما يوعدون لم يلبثوا الا ساعة من نهار بلغ

So will any be destroyed except the overstepping people? 35

فهل يهلك الا القوم الفسقون