7
SURE
Araf Suresi
⌄
⌄
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
Thus he led them on the way of guile and deceit. And when they tasted of the tree (and committed the things forbidden to them), their shortcomings became manifest to them. They (in order to cover themselves) began to stick the leaves of the garden over themselves and their Lord called out to them both (saying,) `Did I not forbid you from (approaching) that tree, and tell you that satan is to you an enemy disuniting (from Me)?'
23
24
25
26
27
O Children of Adam! do not let satan put you in trouble (in the same way) as he turned your parents out of the garden, stripping them of their raiment (of innocence) with the result that their shortcomings were made manifest to them both. Verily, he (- satan) sees you, he and his tribe, in such a way as you see them not. Verily, We have made satans friends of those who do not believe.
28
29
30
31
32
Say, `Who has made unlawful Allâh's beautiful things of adornment and elegance which He has produced for His servants and the delicious and pure things of (His) providing?' Say, `They are primarily meant for the believers (and for the disbelievers too) in this present life (but) exclusively for (the believers) on the Day of Resurrection. ' In this way do We explain the Messages for a people who would know.
33
Say, `Verily, My Lord has forbidden all (acts of) indecency, open and hidden, and every (kind of) sin and aggression, which is never justifiable; and (He forbids you also) to associate with Allâh that for which He has sent down no authority, and to say concerning Allâh that which you do not know (that it is in fact said by Him). '
34
35
36
37
Who is more unjust than he who forges a lie in the name of Allâh or cries lies to His Messages. It is these who shall continue to have their lot of the Book as ordained (by Allâh) until (there comes the time) when Our messengers (- the angels) come to them to take away their souls. They (- the angels) will say, `Where is (now) that which you used to call upon besides Allâh?' They will reply, `They are lost to us;' and they will bear witness against themselves that they were disbelievers.
38
He (- God) will say, `Enter into the Fire along with the communities that have passed away before you, from among the jinns and ordinary people. ' Every time a (new) community enters it, it curses its sister (evil-doing community), until when they have all followed one another into it, the last of them will say with regard to the first of them (-the leaders), `Our Lord! these led us astray so give them punishment of the Fire over and over again.' He will say, `Everyone is having (his punishment) over and over again, but you do not know (about one another).'
39
40
Be sure, those who cry lies to Our Messages and turn away from them disdainfully, the gates of the (spiritual) firmament shall not be opened for them, nor shall they enter Paradise until a camel passes through the eye of a needle. In this way do We award punishment to those who cut their ties (with Allâh).
41
42
43
We shall strip their hearts of whatever rancour there may be (for others). They shall have streams rolling at their feet, and they shall say, `All perfect and true praise belongs to Allâh Who guided us to attain to this (Paradise). We could never have been led aright (to this) if Allâh had not guided us. The Messengers of Our Lord did come (to us) with the truth.' It will be proclaimed to them, `This is the very Paradise which you are made to inherit as a reward of your (good) deeds.'
44
The owners of Paradise will call out to the fellows of the Fire, `We have found, what Our Lord had promised, to be true. Have you (too) found what your Lord had promised (to you) to be true?' They will say, `Yes.' Then a herald will proclaim amongst them, `Let the disapproval of Allâh be on these wrong-doers
45
46
And between the two (- the Fire and the Paradise) is a barrier, and on the elevated places there shall be men (like the Prophets and other exalted spiritual dignitaries) who will recognise every one by his appearance. And they shall call out to the (prospective) inmates of Paradise, `Peace be on you!' These (prospective inmates of Paradise) will not have (yet) entered therein, though they will be hoping (for this entry).
47
48
49
50
51
`Those who took their faith for a futile and frivolous thing causing diversion (from Allâh), they were beguiled by the worldly life. ' (And God will say,) `So on this day We shall forsake them as they forsook (the idea of) the meeting of this day of theirs, and as they denied Our Messages deliberately.
52
53
Do these (disbelievers) just await the final sequel (of the warning) thereof? The day its final sequel comes, those who had forsaken it before (in this life) would say, `The Messengers of our Lord did indeed come with the truth. Have we (now) any intercessors so that they may intercede for us? Or could we be sent back so that we might act otherwise than we used to act?' They have indeed ruined their souls and that which they used to forge has failed them.
54
As a matter of fact your Lord is Allâh, Who created the heavens and the earth in six aeons and at the same time He is well established on the Throne of Authority. He covers the night with the day which follows (the night) incessantly. And He created the sun and the moon and the stars all subservient (to mankind) by His command. Beware! His is all, the creation and the command. Blessed be Allâh, Lord of the worlds.
55
56
57
He it is Who sends the winds as good tidings heralding His mercy, till when they (those winds) bear heavy clouds, find them light, We drive (the clouds) to a dead land, then We make it rain, then We bring forth (from the dead land) by means of that (water) all manner of fruit; that is how We will bring forth the dead so that you may achieve eminence and honour.
58
59
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
69
`Do you wonder that an exhortation, leading to eminence and honour, should come to you from your Lord, through a man from among you so that he may warn you? Remember (His favour) when He made you (- the Adites) rulers after the people of Noah and increased you vastly in respect of (your bodily) constitution (by making you stout and strong and tall), remember then the favours of Allâh so that you may attain the goal. '
70
71
He said, `There has already fallen upon you the punishment and the displeasure from your Lord. Would you dispute with me regarding mere names (of your false gods) which you have coined, you and your fathers, names in support of which Allâh has sent down no authority? (If so) then wait (for the consequences), I too, am with you, among those who wait.'
72
73
And to Thamûd (We sent) their brother Sâlih. He said, `O my people! worship Allâh, you have no other god than Him. A clear proof has already come to you from your Lord. Here is a she-camel (let loose for the cause) of Allâh, a sign for you. Let her alone to pasture in Allâh's land and do her no harm or a woeful punishment shall overtake you.
74
`And recall (His favour) when He made you (- Thamûd) the ruler after `Âd and assigned you abode in the land after your sufferings. You build castles in its plains, and hew out of the mountains houses. Remember, therefore, the favours of Allâh and do not commit mischief in the land, (acting as) creators of disorder.'
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
84
85
And to (the people of) Midian (We sent) their brother Shu`aib. He said, `O my people! worship Allâh for you have no One worthy of worship other than Him. A clear proof (to this effect) has already come to you from your Lord, so give full measure and (full) weight, and do not cheat people of their goods, nor create disorder in the land after the fair ordering therein. This indeed is best for you, if you are true believers.
86
`And do not sit in every path holding out threats (to the wayfarers), and turning those who believe in Him, away from the path of Allâh and seeking to make it (appear as) crooked. And remember (His favours) when you were but a few then He multiplied you. Behold! what was the end of the spreader of corruption.
87
88
The chiefs who considered themselves strong and great among his people said, `We will certainly turn you O Shu`aib! and also those who believe with you, out of our township or else you (all) shall have to revert to our creed. ' He said, `What! (shall we be forced to accept your creed) even though we are unwilling (at heart)?
89
`We should indeed be forging a lie against Allâh, if we revert to your creed after Allâh has delivered us from it, and it is in no way possible for us to revert thereto unless Allâh, our Lord, should (so) will. Our Lord comprehends all things in His knowledge. In Allâh alone do we put our trust, (so Him do we beseech,) "O our Lord! decide between us and our people rightly for You are the Best of all Who open (the truth)".'
90
91
92
93
94
95
Then We brought comfort (for them) in place of (their) distress until they grew in affluence, (number and excess) and said, `Surely, tribulations and prosperity visited our fathers (also, so it is a normal course of events). ' So We seized them unawares while they perceived not (the peril they were in).
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
105
106
109
111
113
115
116
117
119
123
124
125
126
127
Then the chiefs of the people of Pharaoh said (to Pharaoh), `Will you leave Moses and his people (free) to create disorder in the land and to desert you and your gods?' He said, `We shall certainly go on gradually killing their sons and will let their women live, seeking to make them immodest. Surely, we are dominant over them.'
128
129
They (- the persons of superficial thinking of the Children of Israel) said, `We were persecuted before you came to us and (are being persecuted) even after you have come to us. ' (Moses) said, `It is well nigh that your Lord will destroy your enemy and make you rulers in the (promised) land and then He will see how you act.'
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
And We made the people who were deemed weak (and were oppressed) inherit the eastern and western parts of the (promised) land which We had blessed. Thus was fulfilled the most gracious word of your Lord in favour of the Children of Israel, for they had patiently persevered; and We annihilated all that Pharaoh and his people had wrought and what they had erected.
138
139
140
141
142
And We made an appointment with Moses for thirty nights (and days to pray in solitude) which We supplemented with another ten (to rceive the Law) so that the period appointed by his Lord came to be full forty nights (and days). (When leaving) Moses said to his brother Aaron, `Act for me (taking my place) in my absence among my people and reform and manage (them) well and do not follow the way of those who create disorder.'
143
And when Moses came at the time and place appointed by Us, and his Lord spoke to him, he said, `My Lord! reveal Yourself to me that I may look at You. ' He said, `You cannot stand My revelation. Yet look at the mountain, and if it stands firm in its place, (only) then you shall stand My revelation.' Then when his Lord manifested His glory to the mountain, He sent it crashing down into pieces and Moses fell down unconscious, so that when he recovered he said, `Glory be to You! I turn towards You and I am the first to believe.'
144
145
And We preserved (in writing) for him on the Tablets all kinds of precepts and clear details of everything (which the Children of Israel needed). Then (We bade him), `Hold them fast and bid your people to carry out its best (teachings in its true significance). I will soon show you people the resort of the transgressors.' (- This nation will become corrupt and will meet an evil end.)
146
I shall soon turn away from My Messages those who behave haughtily in the land without any justification. Even if they witness every (possible) sign they will not believe therein and even if they see the path of rectitude they will not adopt it as (their) way; but if they see the way of error and falsehood they will adopt it as (their) way. This (state of theirs) is because they cried lies to Our Messages and they were heedless to them.
147
148
149
150
And when Moses returned to his people indignant and sorrowful he said, `How evil is that (course) which you adopted in my place in my absence! Did you seek to hasten on the command of your Lord (for punishment)?' And he put down the Tablets and caught hold of his brother (Aaron, who was entrusted to carry out Moses' mission in his absence) by the head, pulling him towards himself. He (- Aaron) said, `Son of my Mother! surely (I am not to be blamed for it), these people deemed me weak and were about to kill me. Therefore let not the enemies rejoice over my misery and count me not with these idolaters.'
151
152
153
154
155
Now Moses selected from his people seventy men (to take with him) to Our appointed place and time, but when the earthquake seized them he said, `My Lord! if You so willed You could have destroyed them as well as me before (this). But would You destroy us on account of that which the foolish among us have done? This (matter of the calf) is nothing but (an ordeal from You) that You may distinguish the good from the bad (of us). You adjudge, by such means, to be astray whomsoever You will and You guide whomsoever You will. You are our Patron, protect us therefore, and have mercy on us, for You are the Best of Protectors (against the consequence of our faults).
156
`And ordain for us what is good in this world and in the Hereafter for to You alone we turn (repenting). ' He (the Almighty) said, `As for My punishment, I inflict on whom I will, but My mercy embraces all things. So I will ordain it for those who guard against evil and spend in charity, and for those who believe in Our Messages;
157
`Those who follow this perfect Messenger, the Arab Prophet whom they find described in the Torah and the Evangel which are with them, who enjoins upon them that which is right and forbids them that which is wrong, and who makes lawful for them all the pure and good things, and makes unlawful all the impure and bad things, and who relieves them of their heavy burden and shackles that weigh them down. Indeed those who believe in him and honour him and serve him and follow the light that has been sent down with him, it is these who will attain their goal.'
158
Say, `O mankind! I am a Messenger to you all from Allâh to whom belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth. There is no other, cannot be and will never be One worthy of worship but He, Who gives life and causes death, so believe in Allâh and in His Messenger, the Arab, the Prophet who believes in Allâh and in (all) His words, and follow him so that you may be rightly guided so as to reach the goal.'
159
160
We divided them (- the people of Moses) into twelve tribes according to the ancestral lineage (to which they belonged). And We sent Our revelation to Moses when his people asked of him (something) to drink (saying), `Strike that rock with your staff.' Then (as he did), there gushed out from it twelve springs, so that all the people now knew their (respective) drinking place. And We outspread the rain clouds to be a shade over them and We sent down for them Manna and quails (saying), `Eat of the pure things wherewith We have provided you.' And they did Us no harm (when they went wrong) but it was to themselves that they had been doing harm.
161
And (recall the time) when it was said to them, `Dwell in this township (-Yathrib) and eat therefrom when you will and pray, "Relieve us of the burden of our sins," and enter its gate submissively. (If you do so) We will protect you against (the consequences of) your sins. We shall multiply the reward of the doers of excellent deeds.'
162
163
And ask them as to (what happened to the people of) the township (- Eila) which was on the seashore (of the Red Sea) when they profaned the Sabbath. On the day of their Sabbath their fish appeared to them in shoals upon shoals on the surface (of the water), but on the day when they did not observe the Sabbath (and fishing was open), it did not appear to them. Thus did We go on making a distinction between the good and the evil ones of them by means of their acts of disobedience.
164
And (ask them what happened to those people) when a section from amongst them said (to another section), `Why do you admonish a people whom Allâh is going to destroy completely, or whom He is going to punish with a severe punishment?' They answered, `We do it so that it may serve as an excuse (to be absolved from blame) before your Lord and that they may become secure (against the punishment). '
165
166
167
And (imagine the time) when your Lord proclaimed (to the Children of Israel) that He would certainly continue to subject them, till the Day of Resurrection, to the people who would afflict them with the worst torment. Verily, your Lord is Quick to punish the evil but He is (all the same) Great Protector, Ever Merciful.
168
169
Then there succeeded them an evil generation who having inherited the Scripture (of Moses), go on taking the paltry goods of this base (life) and say, `We shall surely be protected. ' And if the like of these goods (again) come their way, they will take them (and sin persistently). Were they not bound to the covenant mentioned in the Scripture that they would not say of Allâh anything but the truth? And they have read for themselves what it (- the Scripture) contains. And the abode of the Hereafter is better only for those who become secure against evil. Have you then no sense?
170
171
And (make them recall the time) when We shook (due to the quake) the Mount (Sinai) above them, as though it were to be a shade above them (like a wall) and they thought it was about to fall on them. (We said,) `Hold fast to that which We have given you and remember its contents that you might become secure against evil.'
172
Behold! when your Lord brings forth from Adam's children - from their loins, their offspring, and makes them bear witness to themselves when He says, `Am I not your Lord who sustains you?' They say (in evidence which human nature itself bears), `Yes we bear witness (to it and acknowledge it). ' (Allâh does that) lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection, `Surely, we were unaware of this (that you are our Lord).'
173
174
175
176
Had We so willed We would have exalted him (in ranks) thereby (- by means of these Our commandments), but he remained inclined to (the material things of) this world and followed his low desires. His case therefore is like that of a dog, if you bear down upon it, it lolls its tongue out or if you leave it alone, it still lolls out its tongue. Such is the case with the people who cry lies to Our commandments; (they do not give up their evil ways whether you warn them or not). So narrate to them the account (of the people of old) that they may reflect.
177
178
179
And, verily, We have created many of the jinns and the ordinary people whose end is Gehenna. They have hearts wherewith they do not understand and they have eyes but they do not see with them (the truth), and they have ears but they do not hear (the Messages) with them. They are like cattle, nay, they are (even) worse. It is these who are utterly heedless (to the warnings).
180
181
182
184
185
Have they not pondered over the sovereignty of the heavens and the earth and every thing that Allâh has created? And (have they not looked into the fact) that it may be that their (own) term (of destruction) has already drawn nigh? In what announcement other than this (Prophet and the Qur'ân) will they believe?
186
187
They ask you about the Hour, when it will come to pass. Say, `Surely, the knowledge thereof is with my Lord. He alone will reveal it at its proper time. It shall be heavy on the heavens and on the earth. It shall not come upon you but all of a sudden.' They ask you (about it) as if you were curiously solicitous about it (from Allâh). Say, `The knowledge of it is only with Allâh, but most people do not know (this fact).'
188
Say, `I have no power over (bringing) any gain or (avoiding) any harm to myself save to the extent that Allâh will. And had I known the unseen I would surely have secured a great deal of good (for myself) and no harm would ever have come to me. I am only a Warner (to the wicked) and a Bearer of good tidings (to the people who believe).
189
It is He Who has created you from one living entity, and from the same stock (that He created a human being) He brought into being his mate that he might find comfort in her. When he covers her (in conjugal relationship) she conceives a light burden and carries it about, then when she grows heavy (with the child), they both pray to Allâh, their Lord, (saying) `If You give us a good one (- a child with a sound mind in a sound body), we shall surely be of the grateful (to You).'
190
192
193
194
195
Have these (false gods) feet with which they walk, or have they hands with which they hold, or have they eyes with which they see, or have they ears with which they hear? Say, `Call upon your associate gods, then contrive you all against me and give me no respite, (yet you will see that I am triumphant because)
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
And when you do not bring to them a (fresh) revelation they say, `Why do you not forge a verse (and invent it as a revelation)?' Say, `I only follow what is revealed to me by my Lord. These (Qur'ânic verses) are enlightening (and) proofs from your Lord and source of guidance and mercy (of Allâh) for a people who would believe,
204
205