The Qur'an. Translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. Published by MobileReference (mobi).

by Ali, Abdullah Yusuf

  20.059 Moses said: "Your tryst is the Day of the Festival, and let the people be assembled when the sun is well up."

  20.060 So Pharaoh withdrew: He concerted his plan, and then came (back).

  20.061 Moses said to him: "Woe to you! Forge not ye a lie against Allah, lest He destroy you (at once) utterly by chastisement: the forger must suffer frustration!"

  20.062 So they disputed, one with another, over their affair, but they kept their talk secret.

  20.063 They said: "These two are certainly (expert) magicians: their object is to drive you out from your land with their magic, and to do away with your most cherished institutions".

  20.064 "Therefore concert your plan, and then assemble in (serried) ranks: He wins (all along) today who gains the upper hand."

  20.065 They said: "O Moses! whether wilt thou that thou throw (first) or that we be the first to throw?"

  20.066 He said, "Nay, throw ye first!" Then behold their ropes and their rods-so it seemed to him on account of their magic - began to be in lively motion!

  20.067 So Moses conceived in his mind a (sort of) fear.

  20.068 We said: "Fear not! for thou hast indeed the upper hand:"

  20.069 "Throw that which is in thy right hand: Quickly will it swallow up that which they have faked what they have faked is but a magician's trick: and the magician thrives not, (no matter) where he goes."

  20.070 So the magicians were thrown down to prostration: they said, "We believe in the Lord of Aaron and Moses".

  20.071 (Pharaoh) said: "Believe ye in Him before I give you permission? Surely this must be your leader, who has taught you magic! be sure I will cut off your hands and feet on opposite sides, and I will have you crucified on trunks of palm-trees: so shall ye know for certain, which of us can give the more severe and the more lasting punishment!"

  20.072 They said: "Never shall we regard thee as more than the Clear Signs that have come to us, or than Him Who created us! so decree whatever thou desirest to decree: for thou canst only decree (touching) the life of this world."

  20.073 "For us, we have believed in our Lord: may He forgive us our faults, and the magic to which thou didst compel us: for Allah is Best and Most Abiding."

  20.074 Verily he who comes to his Lord as a sinner (at Judgment),- for him is Hell: therein shall he neither die nor live.

  20.075 But such as come to Him as Believers who have worked righteous deeds,- for them are ranks exalted,-

  20.076 Gardens of Eternity, beneath which flow rivers: they will dwell therein for aye: such is the reward of those who purify themselves (from evil).

  20.077 We sent an inspiration to Moses: "Travel by night with My servants, and strike a dry path for them through the sea, without fear of being overtaken (by Pharaoh) and without (any other) fear."

  20.078 Then Pharaoh pursued them with his forces, but the waters completely overwhelmed them and covered them up.

  20.079 Pharaoh led his people astray instead of leading them aright.

  20.080 O ye Children of Israel! We delivered you from your enemy, and We made a Covenant with you on the right side of Mount (Sinai), and We sent down to you Manna and quails:

  20.081 (Saying): "Eat of the good things We have provided for your sustenance, but commit no excess therein, lest My Wrath should justly descend on you: and those on whom descends My Wrath do perish indeed!"

  20.082 "But, without doubt, I am (also) He that forgives again and again, to those who repent, believe, and do right, who,- in fine, are ready to receive true guidance."

  20.083 (When Moses was up on the Mount, Allah said:) "What made thee hasten in advance of thy people, O Moses?"

  20.084 He replied: "Behold, they are close on my footsteps: I hastened to thee, O my Lord, to please thee."

  20.085 (Allah) said: "We have tested thy people in thy absence: the Samiri has led them astray."

  20.086 So Moses returned to his people in a state of indignation and sorrow. He said: "O my people! did not your Lord make a handsome promise to you? Did then the promise seem to you long (in coming)? Or did ye desire that Wrath should descend from your Lord on you, and so ye broke your promise to me?"

  20.087 They said: "We broke not the promise to thee, as far as lay in our power: but we were made to carry the weight of the ornaments of the (whole) people, and we threw them (into the fire), and that was what the Samiri suggested."

  20.088 "Then he brought out (of the fire) before the (people) the image of a calf: It seemed to low: so they said: This is your god, and the god of Moses, but (Moses) has forgotten!"

  20.089 Could they not see that it could not return them a word (for answer), and that it had no power either to harm them or to do them good?

  20.090 Aaron had already, before this said to them: "O my people! ye are being tested in this: for verily your Lord is (Allah) Most Gracious; so follow me and obey my command."

  20.091 They had said: "We will not abandon this cult, but we will devote ourselves to it until Moses returns to us."

  20.092 (Moses) said: "O Aaron! what kept thee back, when thou sawest them going wrong,"

  20.093 "From following me? Didst thou then disobey my order?"

  20.094 (Aaron) replied: "O son of my mother! Seize (me) not by my beard nor by (the hair of) my head! Truly I feared lest thou shouldst say, 'Thou has caused a division among the children of Israel, and thou didst not respect my word!'"

  20.095 (Moses) said: "What then is thy case, O Samiri?"

  20.096 He replied: "I saw what they saw not: so I took a handful (of dust) from the footprint of the Messenger, and threw it (into the calf): thus did my soul suggest to me."

  20.097 (Moses) said: "Get thee gone! but thy (punishment) in this life will be that thou wilt say, 'touch me not'; and moreover (for a future penalty) thou hast a promise that will not fail: Now look at thy god, of whom thou hast become a devoted worshipper: We will certainly (melt) it in a blazing fire and scatter it broadcast in the sea!"

  20.098 But the god of you all is the One Allah: there is no god but He: all things He comprehends in His knowledge.

  20.099 Thus do We relate to thee some stories of what happened before: for We have sent thee a Message from Our own Presence.

  20.100 If any do turn away therefrom, verily they will bear a burden on the Day of judgment;

  20.101 They will abide in this (state): and grievous will the burden be to them on that Day,-

  20.102 The Day when the Trumpet will be sounded: that Day, We shall gather the sinful, blear-eyed (with terror).

  20.103 In whispers will they consult each other: "Yet tarried not longer than ten (Days);"

  20.104 We know best what they will say, when their leader most eminent in conduct will say: "Ye tarried not longer than a day!"

  20.105 They ask thee concerning the Mountains: say, "My Lord will uproot them and scatter them as dust;"

  20.106 "He will leave them as plains smooth and level;"

  20.107 "Nothing crooked or curved wilt thou see in their place."

  20.108 On that Day will they follow the Caller (straight): no crookedness (can they show) him: all sounds shall humble themselves in the Presence of (Allah) Most Gracious: nothing shalt thou hear but the tramp of their feet (as they march).

  20.109 On that Day shall no intercession avail except for those for whom permission has been granted by (Allah) Most Gracious and whose word is acceptable to Him.

  20.110 He knows what (appears to His creatures as) before or after or behind them: but they shall not compass it with their knowledge.

  20.111 (All) faces shall be humbled before (Him) - the Living, the Self-Subsisting, Eternal: hopeless indeed will be the man that carries iniquity (on his back).

  20.112 But he who works deeds of righteousness, and has faith, will have no fear of harm nor of any curtailment (of what is his due).

  20.113 Thus have We sent this down - an Arabic Qur'an - and explained therein in detail some of the warnings, in order that they may fear Allah, or that it may cause their remem
brance (of Him).

  20.114 High above all is Allah, the King, the Truth! Be not in haste with the Qur'an before its revelation to thee is completed, but say, "O my Lord! advance me in knowledge."

  20.115 We had already, beforehand, taken the covenant of Adam, but he forgot: and We found on his part no firm resolve.

  20.116 When We said to the angels, "Prostrate yourselves to Adam", they prostrated themselves, but not Iblis: he refused.

  20.117 Then We said: "O Adam! verily, this is an enemy to thee and thy wife: so let him not get you both out of the Garden, so that thou art landed in misery."

  20.118 "There is therein (enough provision) for thee not to go hungry nor to go naked,"

  20.119 "Nor to suffer from thirst, nor from the sun's heat."

  20.120 But Satan whispered evil to him: he said, "O Adam! shall I lead thee to the Tree of Eternity and to a kingdom that never decays?"

  20.121 In the result, they both ate of the tree, and so their nakedness appeared to them: they began to sew together, for their covering, leaves from the Garden: thus did Adam disobey his Lord, and allow himself to be seduced.

  20.122 But his Lord chose him (for His Grace): He turned to him, and gave him Guidance.

  20.123 He said: "Get ye down, both of you,- all together, from the Garden, with enmity one to another: but if, as is sure, there comes to you Guidance from Me, whosoever follows My Guidance, will not lose his way, nor fall into misery."

  20.124 "But whosoever turns away from My Message, verily for him is a life narrowed down, and We shall raise him up blind on the Day of Judgment."

  20.125 He will say: "O my Lord! why hast Thou raised me up blind, while I had sight (before)?"

  20.126 (Allah) will say: "Thus didst Thou, when Our Signs came unto thee, disregard them: so wilt thou, this day, be disregarded."

  20.127 And thus do We recompense him who transgresses beyond bounds and believes not in the Signs of his Lord: and the Penalty of the Hereafter is far more grievous and more enduring.

  20.128 Is it not a warning to such men (to call to mind) how many generations before them We destroyed, in whose haunts they (now) move? Verily, in this are Signs for men endued with understanding.

  20.129 Had it not been for a Word that went forth before from thy Lord, (their punishment) must necessarily have come; but there is a Term appointed (for respite).

  20.130 Therefore be patient with what they say, and celebrate (constantly) the praises of thy Lord, before the rising of the sun, and before its setting; yea, celebrate them for part of the hours of the night, and at the sides of the day: that thou mayest have (spiritual) joy.

  20.131 Nor strain thine eyes in longing for the things We have given for enjoyment to parties of them, the splendour of the life of this world, through which We test them: but the provision of thy Lord is better and more enduring.

  20.132 Enjoin prayer on thy people, and be constant therein. We ask thee not to provide sustenance: We provide it for thee. But the (fruit of) the Hereafter is for righteousness.

  20.133 They say: "Why does he not bring us a sign from his Lord?" Has not a Clear Sign come to them of all that was in the former Books of revelation?

  20.134 And if We had inflicted on them a penalty before this, they would have said: "Our Lord! If only Thou hadst sent us a messenger, we should certainly have followed Thy Signs before we were humbled and put to shame."

  20.135 Say: "Each one (of us) is waiting: wait ye, therefore, and soon shall ye know who it is that is on the straight and even way, and who it is that has received Guidance."

  Chapter 21:

  AL-ANBIYA (THE PROPHETS) Total Verses: 112 Revealed At: MAKKA

  In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.

  21.001 Closer and closer to mankind comes their Reckoning: yet they heed not and they turn away.

  21.002 Never comes (aught) to them of a renewed Message from their Lord, but they listen to it as in jest,-

  21.003 Their hearts toying as with trifles. The wrong-doers conceal their private counsels, (saying), "Is this (one) more than a man like yourselves? Will ye go to witchcraft with your eyes open?"

  21.004 Say: "My Lord knoweth (every) word (spoken) in the heavens and on earth: He is the One that heareth and knoweth (all things)."

  21.005 "Nay," they say, "(these are) medleys of dream! - Nay, He forged it! - Nay, He is (but) a poet! Let him then bring us a Sign like the ones that were sent to (Prophets) of old!"

  21.006 (As to those) before them, not one of the populations which We destroyed believed: will these believe?

  21.007 Before thee, also, the messengers We sent were but men, to whom We granted inspiration: If ye realise this not, ask of those who possess the Message.

  21.008 Nor did We give them bodies that ate no food, nor were they exempt from death.

  21.009 In the end We fulfilled to them Our Promise, and We saved them and those whom We pleased, but We destroyed those who transgressed beyond bounds.

  21.010 We have revealed for you (O men!) a book in which is a Message for you: will ye not then understand?

  21.011 How many were the populations We utterly destroyed because of their iniquities, setting up in their places other peoples?

  21.012 Yet, when they felt Our Punishment (coming), behold, they (tried to) flee from it.

  21.013 Flee not, but return to the good things of this life which were given you, and to your homes in order that ye may be called to account.

  21.014 They said: "Ah! woe to us! We were indeed wrong-doers!"

  21.015 And that cry of theirs ceased not, till We made them as a field that is mown, as ashes silent and quenched.

  21.016 Not for (idle) sport did We create the heavens and the earth and all that is between!

  21.017 If it had been Our wish to take (just) a pastime, We should surely have taken it from the things nearest to Us, if We would do (such a thing)!

  21.018 Nay, We hurl the Truth against falsehood, and it knocks out its brain, and behold, falsehood doth perish! Ah! woe be to you for the (false) things ye ascribe (to Us).

  21.019 To Him belong all (creatures) in the heavens and on earth: Even those who are in His (very) Presence are not too proud to serve Him, nor are they (ever) weary (of His service):

  21.020 They celebrate His praises night and day, nor do they ever flag or intermit.

  21.021 Or have they taken (for worship) gods from the earth who can raise (the dead)?

  21.022 If there were, in the heavens and the earth, other gods besides Allah, there would have been confusion in both! but glory to Allah, the Lord of the Throne: (High is He) above what they attribute to Him!

  21.023 He cannot be questioned for His acts, but they will be questioned (for theirs).

  21.024 Or have they taken for worship (other) gods besides him? Say, "Bring your convincing proof: this is the Message of those with me and the Message of those before me." But most of them know not the Truth, and so turn away.

  21.025 Not a messenger did We send before thee without this inspiration sent by Us to him: that there is no god but I; therefore worship and serve Me.

  21.026 And they say: "(Allah) Most Gracious has begotten offspring." Glory to Him! they are (but) servants raised to honour.

  21.027 They speak not before He speaks, and they act (in all things) by His Command.

  21.028 He knows what is before them, and what is behind them, and they offer no intercession except for those who are acceptable, and they stand in awe and reverence of His (Glory).

  21.029 If any of them should say, "I am a god besides Him", such a one We should reward with Hell: thus do We reward those who do wrong.

  21.030 Do not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together (as one unit of creation), before we clove them asunder? We made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe?

  21.031 And We have set on the earth mountains standing firm, lest it should shake with them, and We have made therein broad highways (between mountains)
for them to pass through: that they may receive Guidance.

  21.032 And We have made the heavens as a canopy well guarded: yet do they turn away from the Signs which these things (point to)!

  21.033 It is He Who created the Night and the Day, and the sun and the moon: all (the celestial bodies) swim along, each in its rounded course.

  21.034 We granted not to any man before thee permanent life (here): if then thou shouldst die, would they live permanently?

  21.035 Every soul shall have a taste of death: And We test you by evil and by good by way of trial: To Us must ye return.

  21.036 When the Unbelievers see thee, they treat thee not except with ridicule. "Is this," (they say), "the one who talks of your gods?" and they blaspheme at the mention of (Allah) Most Gracious!

  21.037 Man is a creature of haste: soon (enough) will I show you My Signs; then ye will not ask Me to hasten them!

  21.038 They say: "When will this promise come to pass, if ye are telling the truth?"

  21.039 If only the Unbelievers knew (the time) when they will not be able to ward off the fire from their faces, nor yet from their backs, and (when) no help can reach them!

  21.040 Nay, it may come to them all of a sudden and confound them: no power will they have then to avert it, nor will they (then) get respite.

  21.041 Mocked were (many) messenger before thee; But their scoffers were hemmed in by the thing that they mocked.

  21.042 Say: "Who can keep you safe by night and by day from (the Wrath of) (Allah) Most Gracious?" Yet they turn away from the mention of their Lord.

  21.043 Or have they gods that can guard them from Us? They have no power to aid themselves, nor can they be defended from Us.

  21.044 Nay, We gave the good things of this life to these men and their fathers until the period grew long for them; See they not that We gradually reduce the land (in their control) from its outlying borders? Is it then they who will win?

  21.045 Say, "I do but warn you according to revelation": But the deaf will not hear the call, (even) when they are warned!

  21.046 If but a breath of the Wrath of thy Lord do touch them, they will then say, "Woe to us! we did wrong indeed!"