Sourate Al-Kahf (18) with hamza shown

In the name of God, the All-Benevolent, the Benevolent. Praise be to God, who has sent down upon His obedient one the Scripture and placed in it no deviation,i 1

بسم ٱلله ٱلرحمن ٱلرحيم ٱلحمد لله ٱلذي أنزل على عبده ٱلكتب ولم يجعل له عوجا

straight — to warn of a severe rigor from Him, to give the believers who do righteous deeds the glad tidings that they will have a fine reward, wherein they will remain forever, and to warn those who said: "God has taken a child."i 4

قيما لينذر بأسا شديدا من لدنه ويبشر ٱلمؤمنين ٱلذين يعملون ٱلصلحت أن لهم أجرا حسنا مكثين فيه أبدا وينذر ٱلذين قالوا ٱتخذ ٱلله ولدا

They have no knowledge of it, nor did their ancestors.i 5

ما لهم به من علم ولا لءابآئهم

How grave is the word that comes out of their mouths! 5

كبرت كلمة تخرج من أفوههم

They say nothing but falsehood. 5

إن يقولون إلا كذبا

Perhaps you will consume yourself with grief, following after them, if they do not believe in this account.i 6

فلعلك بخع نفسك على ءاثرهم إن لم يؤمنوا بهذا ٱلحديث أسفا

We have made what is on the earth an ornament for it, so as to test them: which of them is best in deed. 7

إنا جعلنا ما على ٱلأرض زينة لها لنبلوهم أيهم أحسن عملا

And We shall surely make what is on it a barren, stripped ground.i 8

وإنا لجعلون ما عليها صعيدا جرزا

Did you suppose that the companions of the Cave and of ar-Raqim were, among Our signs, a marvel?i 9

أم حسبت أن أصحب ٱلكهف وٱلرقيم كانوا من ءايتنا عجبا

When the young people took refuge in the Cave and said: "Our Guardian, grant us, from Yourself, a benevolence, and prepare for us, in our affair, a path of rectitude."i 10

إذ أوى ٱلفتية إلى ٱلكهف فقالوا ربنآ ءاتنا من لدنك رحمة وهيئ لنا من أمرنا رشدا

We then set up [a barrier] over their ears, in the Cave, for a counted number of years; then We revived them to know which of the two groups better reckoned the length of their stay.i 12

فضربنا على ءاذانهم في ٱلكهف سنين عددا ثم بعثنهم لنعلم أى ٱلحزبين أحصى لما لبثوا أمدا

We relate to you their account in truth: 13

نحن نقص عليك نبأهم بٱلحق

they were young people who believed in their Guardian, and We increased them in guidance. 13

إنهم فتية ءامنوا بربهم وزدنهم هدى

We bound their Cores [firm], when they stood up and said: "Our Guardian is the Guardian of the heavens and the earth; never shall we call upon any deity besides Him — we would then have uttered an enormous excess."i 14

وربطنا على قلوبهم إذ قاموا فقالوا ربنا رب ٱلسموت وٱلأرض لن ندعوا من دونه إلها لقد قلنآ إذا شططا

Here is our people, who have taken deities besides Him: why do they not produce, concerning them, a clear authority? 15

هؤلآء قومنا ٱتخذوا من دونه ءالهة لولا يأتون عليهم بسلطن بين

Who then is more unjust than one who invents a lie against God? 15

فمن أظلم ممن ٱفترى على ٱلله كذبا

And since you have separated yourselves from them and from what they obey besides God, take refuge in the Cave: your Guardian will spread over you some of His benevolence and prepare for you, in your affair, a support.i 16

وإذ ٱعتزلتموهم وما يعبدون إلا ٱلله فأوا إلى ٱلكهف ينشر لكم ربكم من رحمته ويهيئ لكم من أمركم مرفقا

You would have seen the sun, at its rising, pay only a brief visit to their cave on the right, and at its setting, leave it with a graze on the left, while they lay in a recess set apart from it.i 17

وترى ٱلشمس إذا طلعت تزور عن كهفهم ذات ٱليمين وإذا غربت تقرضهم ذات ٱلشمال وهم في فجوة منه

That is among the signs of God. 17

ذلك من ءايت ٱلله

Whoever God guides, he is rightly guided, 17

من يهد ٱلله فهو ٱلمهتد

and whoever He lets go astray, you will never find for him an ally to set him back on the path. 17

ومن يضلل فلن تجد له وليا مرشدا

You would have thought them awake, while they were asleep. 18

وتحسبهم أيقاظا وهم رقود

We turned them to the right and to the left, while their dog lay, paws stretched out, in a guarding stance [on watch].i 18

ونقلبهم ذات ٱليمين وذات ٱلشمال وكلبهم بسط ذراعيه بٱلوصيد

Had you seen them, you would surely have turned away from them in flight, and been filled with terror at them.i 18

لو ٱطلعت عليهم لوليت منهم فرارا ولملئت منهم رعبا

Thus We revived them, so that they might question one another. 19

وكذلك بعثنهم ليتسآءلوا بينهم

One of them said: "How long have you stayed?" 19

قال قآئل منهم كم لبثتم

They said: "We have stayed a day, or part of a day." 19

قالوا لبثنا يوما أو بعض يوم

They said: "Your Guardian knows best how long you have stayed; so send one of you, with this note, to the Capital, and let him see which of its foods is purest, and let him bring you provision from it, and let him act with discretion,i 19

قالوا ربكم أعلم بما لبثتم فٱبعثوا أحدكم بورقكم هذه إلى ٱلمدينة فلينظر أيهآ أزكى طعاما فليأتكم برزق منه وليتلطف

and let no one notice you in any way. 19

ولا يشعرن بكم أحدا

for if they discovered you, they would banish you, or bring you back into their doctrine, and you would then never succeed."i 20

إنهم إن يظهروا عليكم يرجموكم أو يعيدوكم في ملتهم ولن تفلحوا إذا أبدا

Thus We caused their presence to be discovered, so that they might know that God's promise is true and that the Hour is not in doubt, 21

وكذلك أعثرنا عليهم ليعلموا أن وعد ٱلله حق وأن ٱلساعة لا ريب فيهآ

when they disputed among themselves about them and said: "Build over them a structure" — 21

إذ يتنزعون بينهم أمرهم فقالوا ٱبنوا عليهم بنينا

their Guardian knows them best. 21

ربهم أعلم بهم

Those who prevailed in the matter said: "We shall surely set up over them a place of service."i 21

قال ٱلذين غلبوا على أمرهم لنتخذن عليهم مسجدا

They will say: "Three, their dog the fourth," 22

سيقولون ثلثة رابعهم كلبهم

and they will say: "Five, their dog the sixth," guessing at what escapes the senses,i 22

ويقولون خمسة سادسهم كلبهم رجما بٱلغيب

and they will say: "Seven," 22

ويقولون سبعة

their dog being the eighth. 22

وثامنهم كلبهم

Say: "My Guardian knows best their number"; 22

قل ربي أعلم بعدتهم

none knows them, except a few.i 22

ما يعلمهم إلا قليل

So do not dispute about them except in an apparent dispute, and do not consult anyone among them about them. 22

فلا تمار فيهم إلا مرآء ظهرا ولا تستفت فيهم منهم أحدا

And never say, of a thing: "I will do that tomorrow," without [adding]: "unless God wills." 24

ولا تقولن لشايء إني فاعل ذلك غدا إلآ أن يشآء ٱلله

And remember your Guardian when you forget, 24

وٱذكر ربك إذا نسيت

and say: "It may be that my Guardian will guide me to a rectitude nearer than this." 24

وقل عسى أن يهدين ربي لأقرب من هذا رشدا

They remained in their cave three hundred years, and added nine.i 25

ولبثوا في كهفهم ثلث مائة سنين وٱزدادوا تسعا

Say: "God knows best how long they remained: 26

قل ٱلله أعلم بما لبثوا

to Him belongs what escapes the senses in the heavens and on the earth.i 26

له غيب ٱلسموت وٱلأرض

How well He sees and hears! 26

أبصر به وأسمع

They have, besides Him, no protector,i 26

ما لهم من دونه من ولي

and He associates no one with His judgment."i 26

ولا يشرك في حكمه أحدا

Recite what has been revealed to you of the Scripture of your Guardian: none can alter His words, 27

وٱتل مآ أوحي إليك من كتاب ربك لا مبدل لكلمته

and you will find, besides Him, no refuge.i 27

ولن تجد من دونه ملتحدا

Hold yourself, with constancy, alongside those who call upon their Guardian morning and evening, seeking His direction,i 28

وٱصبر نفسك مع ٱلذين يدعون ربهم بٱلغدوة وٱلعشي يريدون وجهه

and do not let your eyes turn away from them, seeking the ornament of the present life; 28

ولا تعد عيناك عنهم تريد زينة ٱلحيوة ٱلدنيا

and do not obey one whose Core We have made heedless of Our remembrance, who has followed his emotion, and whose affair has [become] excess.i 28

ولا تطع من أغفلنا قلبه عن ذكرنا وٱتبع هوىه وكان أمره فرطا

And say: "The truth is from your Guardian: so let whoever wishes believe, and whoever wishes deny."i 29

وقل ٱلحق من ربكم فمن شآء فليؤمن ومن شآء فليكفر

We have prepared for the wrongdoers a fire whose enclosure surrounds them.i 29

إنآ أعتدنا للظلمين نارا أحاط بهم سرادقها

And if they cry for help, they will be helped with a water like molten metal, which scalds the faces.i 29

وإن يستغيثوا يغاثوا بمآء كٱلمهل يشوي ٱلوجوه

What a detestable drink! 29

بئس ٱلشراب

And what a detestable resting-place! 29

وسآءت مرتفقا

Those who believe and do righteous deeds — We surely do not let go to waste the reward of one who does well. 30

إن ٱلذين ءامنوا وعملوا ٱلصلحت إنا لا نضيع أجر من أحسن عملا

Those are the ones who will have the Gardens of Eden, beneath which rivers flow; they will be adorned there with bracelets of gold and clothed in green garments of fine silk and brocade, reclining on couches. 31

أولئك لهم جنت عدن تجري من تحتهم ٱلأنهر يحلون فيها من أساور من ذهب ويلبسون ثيابا خضرا من سندس وإستبرق متكين فيها على ٱلأرآئك

What an excellent reward! 31

نعم ٱلثواب

And what an excellent resting-place! 31

وحسنت مرتفقا

Multiply for them an example: two men; to one of them We gave two gardens of vines, which We surrounded with palm trees, and between which We placed cultivated fields.i 32

وٱضرب لهم مثلا رجلين جعلنا لأحدهما جنتين من أعنب وحففنهما بنخل وجعلنا بينهما زرعا

Each of the two gardens gave its fruit without failing in anything, 33

كلتا ٱلجنتين ءاتت أكلها ولم تظلم منه شيا

and We made a river burst forth between them; and he had [other] fruit. 34

وفجرنا خللهما نهرا وكان له ثمر

He said to his companion, while conversing with him: "I am richer than you in wealth, and stronger in numbers."i 34

فقال لصحبه وهو يحاوره أنا أكثر منك مالا وأعز نفرا

He entered his garden, wronging himself, 35

ودخل جنته وهو ظالم لنفسه

and said: "I do not think this will ever perish, and I do not think the Hour will come; and even if I am brought back to my Guardian, I shall surely find something better than these two gardens as a return."i 36

قال مآ أظن أن تبيد هذه أبدا ومآ أظن ٱلساعة قآئمة ولئن رددت إلى ربي لأجدن خيرا منها منقلبا

His companion said to him, while conversing with him: "Do you deny Him who created you from earth, then from a drop, then fashioned you into a well-formed man?i 37

قال له صاحبه وهو يحاوره أكفرت بٱلذي خلقك من تراب ثم من نطفة ثم سوىك رجلا

As for me, He is God, my Guardian, and I associate no one with my Guardian. 38

لكنا هو ٱلله ربي ولآ أشرك بربي أحدا

Why did you not say, upon entering your garden: 'What God wills! No strength except in God!' — 39

ولولآ إذ دخلت جنتك قلت ما شآء ٱلله لا قوة إلا بٱلله

If you see me as having less wealth and children than you, it may be that my Guardian will grant me better than your garden, and send upon it, from the sky, a reckoned punishment, so that it becomes a slippery ground, or its water sinks away, so that you will never be able to seek it out.i 41

إن ترن أنا أقل منك مالا وولدا فعسى ربي أن يؤتين خيرا من جنتك ويرسل عليها حسبانا من ٱلسمآء فتصبح صعيدا زلقا أو يصبح مآؤها غورا فلن تستطيع له طلبا

And his fruits were surrounded [by ruin], so that he began wringing his hands over what he had spent on it, while it [the garden] was empty despite its edifices, and he was saying: "Would that I had associated no one with my Guardian!"i 42

وأحيط بثمره فأصبح يقلب كفيه على مآ أنفق فيها وهي خاوية على عروشها ويقول يليتني لم أشرك بربي أحدا

He had no group to help him besides God, 43

ولم تكن له فئة ينصرونه من دون ٱلله

and he could not help himself. 43

وما كان منتصرا

In this, the [protective] sovereignty belongs to God, the True.i 44

هنالك ٱلولية لله ٱلحق

He is best in reward and best in outcome. 44

هو خير ثوابا وخير عقبا

Multiply for them the example of the present life: it is like water that We send down from the sky; the vegetation of the earth mingles with it, then it becomes chaff scattered by the winds —i 45

وٱضرب لهم مثل ٱلحيوة ٱلدنيا كمآء أنزلنه من ٱلسمآء فٱختلط به نبات ٱلأرض فأصبح هشيما تذروه ٱلريح

God has power over everything. 45

وكان ٱلله على كل شىء مقتدرا

Wealth and children are the ornament of the present life; 46

ٱلمال وٱلبنون زينة ٱلحيوة ٱلدنيا

and the enduring, righteous deeds are, with your Guardian, better in reward and better in hope.i 46

وٱلبقيت ٱلصلحت خير عند ربك ثوابا وخير أملا

The Day We set the mountains in motion, and you see the earth laid bare, and We gather them, leaving out not one of them.i 47

ويوم نسير ٱلجبال وترى ٱلأرض بارزة وحشرنهم فلم نغادر منهم أحدا

They will be presented before your Guardian in rows: 48

وعرضوا على ربك صفا

"Here you have come to Us as We created you the first time; 48

لقد جئتمونا كما خلقنكم أول مرة

but you claimed that We would never appoint you a meeting."i 48

بل زعمتم ألن نجعل لكم موعدا

The register will be set down, and you will see the severed apprehensive of what is in it,i 49

ووضع ٱلكتب فترى ٱلمجرمين مشفقين مما فيه

and they will say: "Woe to us! What is it with this register that it leaves out nothing, small or great, without counting it!"i 49

ويقولون يويلتنا مال هذا ٱلكتب لا يغادر صغيرة ولا كبيرة إلآ أحصىها

They will find before them what they have done, 49

ووجدوا ما عملوا حاضرا

and your Guardian wrongs no one. 49

ولا يظلم ربك أحدا

And [recall] when We said to the Agents: "Prostrate before Adam," they prostrated,i 50

وإذ قلنا للملئكة ٱسجدوا لءادم فسجدوا

except the Despairing One [Iblis]: he was among the Occulted, and he overstepped the command of his Guardian.i 50

إلآ إبليس كان من ٱلجن ففسق عن أمر ربه

Would you then take him and his progeny as allies besides Me, while they are enemies to you? 50

أفتتخذونه وذريته أوليآء من دوني وهم لكم عدو

What a detestable exchange for the wrongdoers! 50

بئس للظلمين بدلا

I did not make them witnesses to the creation of the heavens and the earth, nor to their own creation, and I would never take those who mislead as a support.i 51

مآ أشهدتهم خلق ٱلسموت وٱلأرض ولا خلق أنفسهم وما كنت متخذ ٱلمضلين عضدا

And the Day He says: "Call upon My associates whom you claimed [to have]," they will call upon them, but they will not respond to them; and We shall place between them a place of perdition.i 52

ويوم يقول نادوا شركآءي ٱلذين زعمتم فدعوهم فلم يستجيبوا لهم وجعلنا بينهم موبقا

The severed will see the Fire and know that they are about to fall into it, finding no way to turn away from it. 53

ورءا ٱلمجرمون ٱلنار فظنوا أنهم مواقعوها ولم يجدوا عنها مصرفا

We have indeed set forth, in this Recitation, every kind of example for the people;i 54

ولقد صرفنا في هذا ٱلقرءان للناس من كل مثل

but the human being is, more than anything, given to contention. 54

وكان ٱلإنسن أكثر شىء جدلا

And nothing prevents the people from believing, when guidance has come to them, and from asking forgiveness of their Guardian, except that they wait for the precedent of the former peoples to come to them, or for the punishment to come to them, face to face. 55

وما منع ٱلناس أن يؤمنوا إذ جآءهم ٱلهدى ويستغفروا ربهم إلآ أن تأتيهم سنة ٱلأولين أو يأتيهم ٱلعذاب قبلا

We send the messengers only as bearers of glad tidings and warners; 56

وما نرسل ٱلمرسلين إلا مبشرين ومنذرين

and those who deny dispute by falsehood, to shake the truth by it,i 56

ويجدل ٱلذين كفروا بٱلبطل ليدحضوا به ٱلحق

and they have taken My signs, and what they were warned of, in mockery. 56

وٱتخذوا ءايتي ومآ أنذروا هزوا

And who is more unjust than one who, reminded of the signs of his Guardian, turns away from them, forgetting what his hands have sent forth? 57

ومن أظلم ممن ذكر بايت ربه فأعرض عنها ونسي ما قدمت يداه

We have placed over their Cores veils, [preventing them] from understanding it, and in their ears a deafness;i 57

إنا جعلنا على قلوبهم أكنة أن يفقهوه وفي ءاذانهم وقرا

and if you call them to guidance, they will never let themselves be guided. 57

وإن تدعهم إلى ٱلهدى فلن يهتدوا إذا أبدا

Your Guardian is the Most-Forbearing, the Possessor of benevolence; 58

وربك ٱلغفور ذو ٱلرحمة

were He to seize them for what they have earned, He would have hastened the punishment for them; 58

لو يؤاخذهم بما كسبوا لعجل لهم ٱلعذاب

but they have an appointment from which they will find, besides Him, no refuge.i 58

بل لهم موعد لن يجدوا من دونه موئلا

And those cities, We destroyed them when they did wrong, and We set an appointment for their destruction. 59

وتلك ٱلقرى أهلكنهم لما ظلموا وجعلنا لمهلكهم موعدا

And [recall] when Moussa said to his young companion: "I will not stop until I reach the meeting-place of the two seas, though I journey long."i 60

وإذ قال موسى لفتىه لآ أبرح حتى أبلغ مجمع ٱلبحرين أو أمضي حقبا

When they had reached the meeting-place of the two seas, they forgot their fish, which then took its way into the sea, like a mirage vanishing.i 61

فلما بلغا مجمع بينهما نسيا حوتهما فٱتخذ سبيله في ٱلبحر سربا

When they had passed beyond [the place], he said to his young companion: "Bring us our meal; we have indeed met, on this journey, much fatigue." 62

فلما جاوزا قال لفتىه ءاتنا غدآءنا لقد لقينا من سفرنا هذا نصبا

He said: "Did you see? When we took refuge near the rock, I forgot the fish — 63

قال أرءيت إذ أوينآ إلى ٱلصخرة فإني نسيت ٱلحوت

and only the Diverter made me forget it, so that I did not think to mention it —i 63

ومآ أنسىنيه إلا ٱلشيطن أن أذكره

and it took its way into the sea, 63

وٱتخذ سبيله في ٱلبحر

in an astonishing way!" 63

عجبا

He said: "That is what we were seeking." 64

قال ذلك ما كنا نبغ

So they returned upon their own tracks, retracing them, and found a the obedient one among Our obedient ones, to whom We had granted a benevolence from Us and to whom We had taught, from Us, a knowledge.i 65

فٱرتدا على ءاثارهما قصصا فوجدا عبدا من عبادنآ ءاتينه رحمة من عندنا وعلمنه من لدنا علما

Moussa said to him: "May I follow you, on condition that you teach me, of what you have been taught, a rectitude?"i 66

قال له موسى هل أتبعك على أن تعلمن مما علمت رشدا

He said: "You will never be able to be patient with me. 67

قال إنك لن تستطيع معي صبرا

And how would you be patient about what you do not encompass by experience?" 68

وكيف تصبر على ما لم تحط به خبرا

He said: "You will find me, if God wills, patient, 69

قال ستجدني إن شآء ٱلله صابرا

and I will not disobey you in anything." 69

ولآ أعصي لك أمرا

He said: "If then you follow me, do not question me about anything, until I myself make mention of it to you." 70

قال فإن ٱتبعتني فلا تسلني عن شىء حتى أحدث لك منه ذكرا

So they set off, until, when they had boarded the boat, he made a hole in it. 71

فٱنطلقا حتى إذا ركبا في ٱلسفينة خرقها

He said: "Have you made a hole in it to drown its occupants? You have done a very grave thing!"i 71

قال أخرقتها لتغرق أهلها لقد جئت شيا إمرا

He said: "Did I not tell you that you would never be able to be patient with me?" 72

قال ألم أقل إنك لن تستطيع معي صبرا

He said: "Do not take me to task for what I forgot, and do not burden me, in my affair, with excessive hardship."i 73

قال لا تؤاخذني بما نسيت ولا ترهقني من أمري عسرا

So they set off, until, meeting a young boy, he killed him. He said: "Have you killed an innocent soul, though it killed no other soul? You have done a horrible thing!"i 74

فٱنطلقا حتى إذا لقيا غلما فقتله قال أقتلت نفسا زكية بغير نفس لقد جئت شيا نكرا

He said: "Did I not tell you that you would never be able to be patient with me?" 75

قال ألم أقل لك إنك لن تستطيع معي صبرا

He said: "If I question you about anything after this, do not keep me as a companion; you will then have, from me, an excuse." 76

قال إن سألتك عن شىء بعدها فلا تصحبني قد بلغت من لدني عذرا

So they set off, until, arriving at the people of a city, they asked them for food; but they refused to receive them as guests. There they found a wall about to collapse, and he set it upright. 77

فٱنطلقا حتى إذآ أتيآ أهل قرية ٱستطعمآ أهلها فأبوا أن يضيفوهما فوجدا فيها جدارا يريد أن ينقض فأقامه

He said: "Had you wished, you could have taken a wage for that." 77

قال لو شئت لتخذت عليه أجرا

He said: "This is the parting between you and me; 78

قال هذا فراق بيني وبينك

I will tell you the interpretation of what you were not able to bear with patience.i 78

سأنبئك بتأويل ما لم تستطع عليه صبرا

As for the boat, it belonged to destitute people working at sea; I wanted to damage it, for behind them was a king who was seizing every [sound] boat by force.i 79

أما ٱلسفينة فكانت لمسكين يعملون في ٱلبحر فأردت أن أعيبها وكان ورآءهم ملك يأخذ كل سفينة غصبا

As for the boy, his parents were believers, and we feared that he would overwhelm them with tyranny and denial,i 80

وأما ٱلغلم فكان أبواه مؤمنين فخشينآ أن يرهقهما طغينا وكفرا

and we wanted their Guardian to give them in exchange one [a child] better than him in purity and closer in tenderness.i 81

فأردنآ أن يبدلهما ربهما خيرا منه زكوة وأقرب رحما

As for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys of the Capital, and beneath it was a treasure belonging to them;i 82

وأما ٱلجدار فكان لغلمين يتيمين في ٱلمدينة وكان تحته كنز لهما

their father was righteous, and your Guardian wanted them to reach their full maturity and extract their treasure themselves, as a benevolence from your Guardian;i 82

وكان أبوهما صلحا فأراد ربك أن يبلغآ أشدهما ويستخرجا كنزهما رحمة من ربك

and I did not do that of my own accord. 82

وما فعلته عن أمري

That is the interpretation of what you were not able to bear with patience." 82

ذلك تأويل ما لم تسطع عليه صبرا

And they ask you about Dhul-Qarnayn.i 83

ويسلونك عن ذي ٱلقرنين

Say: "I will recite to you a remembrance of him." 83

قل سأتلوا عليكم منه ذكرا

We established him on the earth, and gave him, of everything, a link; he then followed a link, until, having reached the setting-place of the sun, he found it setting in a boiling spring, and found by it a people.i 86

إنا مكنا له في ٱلأرض وءاتينه من كل شىء سببا فأتبع سببا حتى إذا بلغ مغرب ٱلشمس وجدها تغرب في عين حمئة ووجد عندها قوما

We said: "O Dhul-Qarnayn, either you punish them, or you adopt toward them a fine conduct."i 86

قلنا يذا ٱلقرنين إمآ أن تعذب وإمآ أن تتخذ فيهم حسنا

He said: "As for the one who has done wrong, we shall punish him; then he will be brought back to his Guardian, who will punish him with a horrible punishment.i 87

قال أما من ظلم فسوف نعذبه ثم يرد إلى ربه فيعذبه عذابا نكرا

As for the one who believes and does a righteous deed, he will have the finest [of outcomes] as reward, 88

وأما من ءامن وعمل صلحا فله جزآء ٱلحسنى

and we shall speak to him, of our affair, an easy word." 88

وسنقول له من أمرنا يسرا

Then he followed a link, until, having reached the rising-place of the sun, he found it rising on a people to whom We had given, besides it, no shelter.i 91

ثم أتبع سببا حتى إذا بلغ مطلع ٱلشمس وجدها تطلع على قوم لم نجعل لهم من دونها سترا كذلك

And We encompassed by knowledge all that concerned him. 91

وقد أحطنا بما لديه خبرا

Then he followed a link, until, having reached [a place] between the two barriers, he found, on the near side of them, a people who could hardly understand any speech.i 93

ثم أتبع سببا حتى إذا بلغ بين ٱلسدين وجد من دونهما قوما لا يكادون يفقهون قولا

They said: "O Dhul-Qarnayn, Yajuj and Majuj are spreading corruption in the land; shall we grant you a tribute, on condition that you place between us and them a dam?"i 94

قالوا يذا ٱلقرنين إن يأجوج ومأجوج مفسدون في ٱلأرض فهل نجعل لك خرجا على أن تجعل بيننا وبينهم سدا

He said: "That in which my Guardian has established me is better [than your tribute];i 95

قال ما مكني فيه ربي خير

so help me with strength, and I will set up between you and them a barrier.i 95

فأعينوني بقوة أجعل بينكم وبينهم ردما

Bring me blocks of iron."i 96

ءاتوني زبر ٱلحديد

Then, when he had leveled the space between the two sides, he said: "Blow!" 96

حتى إذا ساوى بين ٱلصدفين قال ٱنفخوا

Then, when he had made it fire, he said: "Bring me, that I may pour molten naphtha over it."i 96

حتى إذا جعله نارا قال ءاتوني أفرغ عليه قطرا

They were able neither to scale it, nor to pierce it. 97

فما ٱسطعوا أن يظهروه وما ٱستطعوا له نقبا

He said: "This is a benevolence from my Guardian; 98

قال هذا رحمة من ربي

but when the promise of my Guardian comes, He will reduce it to dust — and the promise of my Guardian is true."i 98

فإذا جآء وعد ربي جعله دكآء وكان وعد ربي حقا

We shall leave them, that Day, surging one against another, 99

وتركنا بعضهم يومئذ يموج في بعض

and it will be blown into the Trumpet, and We shall gather them in a single gathering.i 99

ونفخ في ٱلصور فجمعنهم جمعا

And We shall present, that Day, Jahannam to those who deny, in full view — those whose eyes were under a veil, away from My remembrance, and who could not hear at all.i 101

وعرضنا جهنم يومئذ للكفرين عرضا ٱلذين كانت أعينهم في غطآء عن ذكري وكانوا لا يستطيعون سمعا

Have those who deny then thought they could take My obedient ones, besides Me, as allies? 102

أفحسب ٱلذين كفروا أن يتخذوا عبادي من دوني أوليآء

We have prepared Jahannam as a lodging for those who deny. 102

إنآ أعتدنا جهنم للكفرين نزلا

Say: "Shall I inform you of those who are the greatest losers in their deeds — those whose effort has gone astray in the present life, while they think they are doing well?" 104

قل هل ننبئكم بٱلأخسرين أعملا ٱلذين ضل سعيهم في ٱلحيوة ٱلدنيا وهم يحسبون أنهم يحسنون صنعا

Those are the ones who denied the signs of their Guardian and the meeting with Him: their works have collapsed, and We shall not assign them, on the Day of Appearance, any weight.i 105

أولئك ٱلذين كفروا بايت ربهم ولقآئه فحبطت أعملهم فلا نقيم لهم يوم ٱلقيمة وزنا

Such: their reward will be Jahannam, for having denied and having taken My signs and My messengers in mockery. 106

ذلك جزآؤهم جهنم بما كفروا وٱتخذوا ءايتي ورسلي هزوا

Those who believe and do righteous deeds will have, as a lodging, the Gardens of the Firdaws, wherein they will remain, with no desire to turn away from it.i 108

إن ٱلذين ءامنوا وعملوا ٱلصلحت كانت لهم جنت ٱلفردوس نزلا خلدين فيها لا يبغون عنها حولا

Say: "If the sea were ink for the words of my Guardian, the sea would be exhausted before the words of my Guardian were exhausted, even if We brought the like of it in reinforcement." 109

قل لو كان ٱلبحر مدادا لكلمت ربي لنفد ٱلبحر قبل أن تنفد كلمت ربي ولو جئنا بمثله مددا

Say: "I am only a human being like you; it is revealed to me that your deity is a single deity. 110

قل إنمآ أنا بشر مثلكم يوحى إلى أنمآ إلهكم إله وحد

So whoever hopes for the meeting with his Guardian, let him do a righteous deed and associate no one in the service of his Guardian." 110

فمن كان يرجوا لقآء ربه فليعمل عملا صلحا ولا يشرك بعبادة ربه أحدا