10:1  Alif. Lām. Rā. These are verses of the divine book, full of wisdom.

10:2  Does it seem strange to people that We have inspired a man from their own midst: Warn all mankind, a nd give those who believe the glad tidings that they are on a sound footing with their Lord? The unbelievers say: 'This is plainly a skilled enchanter.'

10:3  Your Lord is God who created the heavens and the earth in six days, and established Himself on the Throne, regulating and governing all that exists. There is none who may intercede with Him unless He first grants leave for that. That is God, your Lord: so worship Him alone. Will you not then keep this in mind?

10:4  To Him you shall all return. This is, in truth, God's promise. He originates all His creation, and then brings them all back to life so that He may reward, with equity, those who have believed and done good deeds. As for the unbelievers, they shall have a scalding drink and a grievous suffering for their unbelief.

10:5  He it is who made the sun a source of radiant light and the moon a light [reflected], and determined her phases so that you may know how to compute the years and measure [time]. God has not created this otherwise than in accordance with the truth. He makes plain His revelations to people of knowledge.

10:6  Indeed in the alternating of night and day, and in all that God has created in the heavens and the earth, there are signs for people who are God-fearing.

10:7  Those who entertain no hope of meeting Us, but are content with the life of this world, and feel well at ease about it, and those who pay no heed to Our revelation,

10:8  shall have the Fire as their abode in requital for what they used to do.

10:9  Those who believe and do righteous deeds will be guided aright by their Lord by means of their faith. Running waters will flow at their feet in the gardens of bliss.

10:10  There they will call out: 'Limitless are You in Your glory, God,' and their greeting will be, 'Peace!' Their call will conclude with the words: All praise is due to God, the Lord of all the worlds!'

10:11  If God were to hasten for mankind the ill [they have earned] as they would hasten the good, their end would indeed come forthwith. But We leave those who have no hope of meeting Us in their overweening arrogance, blindly stumbling to and fro.

10:12  When affliction befalls man, he appeals to Us, whether he be lying on his side, sitting, or standing, but as soon as We relieve his affliction, he goes on as though he had never appealed to Us to save him from the affliction that befell him. Thus do their deeds seem fair to those who are given to excesses.

10:13  Indeed, We destroyed generations before your time when they persisted in their wrongdoing. The messengers sent to them brought them veritable evidence of the truth, but they would not believe. Thus do We reward the guilty.

10:14  Then We made you their successors on earth, so that We might see how you behave.

10:15  When Our revelations are recited to them in all their clarity, those who have no hope of meeting Us say: 'Bring us a discourse other than this Qur'ān, or else alter it.' Say: 'It is not for me to alter it of my own accord. I only follow what is revealed to me. I dread the torment of an awesome day if I should disobey my Lord!'

10:16  Say: 'Had God so willed, I would not have recited it to you, nor would He have brought it to your knowledge. I spent a whole lifetime among you before it [was revealed to me]. Will you not, then, use your reason?'

10:17  Who is more wicked than one who attributes his lying inventions to God or denies His revelations? Indeed those who are guilty shall not be successful.

10:18  They worship, side by side with God, what can neither harm nor benefit them, and say: 'These will intercede for us with God.' Say: 'Do you presume to inform God of something in the heavens or on earth that He does not know? Limitless is He in His glory, and exalted above whatever they may associate with Him.'

10:19  All mankind were once but one single community, and then they disagreed among themselves. Had it not been for a decree from your Lord that had already gone forth, all their differences would have been resolved.

10:20  They ask: 'Why has no sign been sent down to him by his Lord?' Say: 'God's alone is the knowledge of what is beyond the reach of human perception. Wait, then, if you will: I too am waiting.'

10:21  Whenever We let people taste grace after some hardship has afflicted them, they turn to scheme against Our revelations. Say: 'More swift is God's scheming. Our messengers are recording all that you may devise.'

10:22  He it is who enables you to travel on land and sea. Then when you are on board ships, and sailing along in a favourable wind, they feel happy with it, but then a stormy wind comes upon them and waves surge towards them from all sides, so that they believe they are encompassed [by death]. [At that point] they appeal to God, in complete sincerity of faith in Him alone: 'If You will save us from this, we shall certainly be most grateful.'

10:23  Yet when He has saved them, they transgress in the land, offending against all right. Mankind, it is against your own souls that your offences rebound. [You care only for] the enjoyment of this present life, but in the end you will return to Us when We will tell you the truth of what you were doing [in this life] .

10:24  This present life may be compared to rain which We send down from the sky, and which is then absorbed by the plants of the earth from which men and animals eat. Then, when the earth has been clad with its fine adornments and well embellished, and its people believe that they have full mastery over it, Our command comes down upon it, by night or by day, and We make it like a field that has been mowed down, as if it did not blossom but yesterday. Thus do We spell out Our revelations to people who think.

10:25  God calls to the abode of peace, and guides him that wills to a straight path.

10:26  For those who do good there is a good reward, and more besides. Neither darkness nor any disgrace will overcast their faces. These are destined for paradise, where they will abide.

10:27  As for those who have done evil, an evil deed is rewarded with its like. Ignominy will overshadow them — for they will have none to protect them from God — as if their faces have been covered with patches of the night's own darkness. Such are destined for the fire, where they will abide.

10:28  One day We shall gather them all together, and then We shall say to those who associated partners with God: 'Keep to your places, you and those you associated with God as partners.' We will then separate them from one another. Then those whom they associated as partners with God will say: 'It was not us that you worshipped.

10:29  God is sufficient as a witness between us and you. We were, for certain, unaware of your worshipping us.'

10:30  There and then every soul will realize what it had done in the past; and all will be brought back to God, their true Lord Supreme. All their invented falsehood will have forsaken them.

10:31  Say: 'Who is it that provides for you from heaven and earth? Or, who is it that has power over hearing and sight? Who brings forth the living out of that which is dead, and brings forth the dead out of that which is alive? Who regulates all affairs?' They will say: 'God.' Say, then: 'Will you not, then, fear Him?'

10:32  Such is God, your true Lord. Apart from the truth, what is left but error? How is it, then, that you turn away?

10:33  Thus is the word of your Lord proved true with regard to those who do evil: they will not believe.

10:34  Say: 'Does any of your partners [whom you associate with God] originate creation, and then bring it back [to life] again?' Say: 'It is God alone who originates creation and then brings it back [to life] again. How is it, then, that you are so misled?'

10:35  Say: 'Does any of your partners [whom you associate with God] guide to the truth?' Say: 'God alone guides to the truth. Who is more worthy to be followed: He that guides to the truth, or he who cannot find the right way unless he is guided? What is then amiss with you? How do you judge?'

10:36  Most of them follow nothing but mere conjecture. But conjecture can in no way be a substitute for truth. God has full knowledge of all that they do.

10:37  This Qur'ān could not have been devised by anyone other than God. It is a confirmation of [revelations] that went before it, and a full explanation of God's Book, about which there is no doubt. It certainly comes from the Lord of all the worlds.

10:38  If they say: 'He has invented it,' say: 'Produce, then, one sÅ«rah like it, and call for help on all you can other than God, if what you say is true.'

10:39  Indeed they disbelieve what they cannot grasp, particularly since its inner meaning has not become clear to them. Likewise did those who lived before them disbelieve. But see what happened in the end to those wrongdoers.

10:40  Some of them do believe in it, while others do not. But your Lord is fully aware of those who spread corruption.

10:41  If they disbelieve you, then say: '1 shall bear the consequences of my deeds, and you your deeds. You are not accountable for what I do and I am not accountable for your doings.'

10:42  Yet some of them [pretend to] listen to you; but can you make the deaf hear you, incapable as they are of using their reason?

10:43  And some of them [pretend to] look towards you; but can you show the way to the blind, bereft of sight as they are?

10:44  Indeed, God does not do the least wrong to mankind, but it is men who wrong themselves.

10:45  On the Day when He will gather them together, [it will seem to them] as though they had not sojourned in this world more than an hour of a day, getting to know one another. Lost indeed will be those who [in their lifetime] disbelieved in meeting God and did not follow the right guidance.

10:46  Whether We show you some of what We have promised them or We cause you to die, it is to Us that they shall return. God is witness of all that they do.

10:47  To every community was sent a messenger. It is when their messenger had come to them that judgement was passed on them in all fairness; and never are they wronged.

10:48  They say: 'When will this promise be fulfilled, if you are truthful?'

10:49  Say: 'I have no control over any harm or benefit to myself, except as God may please. For every community a term has been appointed. When their time arrives, they can neither delay it by a single moment, nor indeed hasten it.'

10:50  Say: 'Do but consider. Should His punishment befall you by night or by day, what could there be in it that the guilty ones should wish to hasten?

10:51  Is it, then, when it has come to pass that you will believe in it? Is it now, while so far you have been asking for it to come speedily?'

10:52  Then it will be said to the wrongdoers: 'Taste the long- lasting torment. Is this requital anything other than the just due for what you used to do?'

10:53  They will ask you: 'Is all this true?' Say: 'Yes, by my Lord. It is most certainly true, and you will never be beyond God's reach.'

10:54  Should every wrongdoer possess all that the earth contains, he will gladly offer it all as ransom. They will harbour feelings of remorse when they see the suffering. Judgement will be passed on them in all fairness; and they will not be wronged.

10:55  Indeed, to God belongs all that is in the heavens and earth. God's promise always comes true, but most of them do not know it.

10:56  He alone gives life and causes death, and to Him you shall all return.

10:57  Mankind, there has come to you an admonition from your Lord, a cure for all that may be in your hearts, and guidance and grace for all believers.

10:58  Say: 'In God's bounty and grace, in this let them rejoice; for this is better than all that they may amass.'

10:59  Say: 'Do but consider all the means of sustenance that God has bestowed on you! Some of it you then made unlawful, and some lawful.' Say: 'Has God given you leave to do so, or do you fabricate lies against God?'

10:60  But what will they think, those who invent lies against God, on the Day of Resurrection? God is truly bountiful to mankind, but most of them are ungrateful.

10:61  In whatever business you may be engaged, and whatever part you may recite of the Qur'ān, and whatever deed you [mankind] may do, We will be your witnesses from the moment you are engaged with it. Not even an atom's weight [of anything whatsoever] on earth or in heaven escapes your Lord, nor is there anything smaller or larger than that, but is recorded in a clear book.

10:62  For certain, those who are close to God have nothing to fear, nor shall they grieve;

10:63  for they do believe and remain God-fearing.

10:64  Theirs are the glad tidings in the life of this world and in the life to come: there is no changing the word of God. This is the supreme triumph.

10:65  Be not grieved by what they say. All might and glory belong to God alone. He alone hears all and knows all.

10:66  Indeed, to God belong all those who are in the heavens and earth. Those who invoke other beings beside God do not follow any real partners with Him. They follow mere conjecture, and they utter nothing but falsehood.

10:67  It is He who has made the night for you, so that you may have rest, and the day, so that you may see. In this there are certainly signs for those who listen.

10:68  They say: 'God has taken unto Himself a son.' Limitless is He in His glory. Self- sufficient is He. To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and earth. No evidence whatever have you for this. Would you say about God something which you do not know?

10:69  Say: 'Those who invent falsehood about God shall not be successful.

10:70  They may have a brief enjoyment in this world, but then to Us they must return, and We will then make them suffer severe torment for their unbelief.'

10:71  Relate to them the story of Noah. He said to his people: 'My people! If my presence among you and my reminders to you of God's revelations are repugnant to you — well, in God have I placed my trust. Decide, then, what you are going to do, and [seek the help of] those whom you associate as partners with God. Be clear about your course of action, leaving no room for uncertainty, then carry out against me whatever you may have decided and give me no respite.

10:72  But if you turn away, [remember that] I have asked of you no reward whatsoever. My reward rests with none but God. I have been commanded to be one of those who surrender themselves to Him.'

10:73  But they disbelieved him. So We saved him and all those who joined him in the ark, and made them inherit the earth. And We drowned the others who denied Our revelations. Reflect on the fate of those who were forewarned.

10:74  Then after him We sent forth other messengers to their respective peoples, and they brought them clear evidence of the truth, but they would not believe in what they had once denied. Thus it is that We seal the hearts of those who transgress.

10:75  Then after those [prophets] We sent Moses and Aaron with Our signs to Pharaoh and his nobles, but they persisted in their arrogance, for they were hardened offenders.

10:76  When the truth came to them from Us, they said: 'This is clearly nothing but sorcery.'

10:77  Moses replied: 'Do you say this to the truth when it has come to you? Can this be sorcery? But sorcerers will never be successful.'

10:78  They said: 'Have you come to turn us away from what we found our forefathers believing in, so that the two of you might become supreme in the land? We will never believe in you.'

10:79  Then Pharaoh commanded: 'Bring before me every learned sorcerer.'

10:80  And when the sorcerers came, Moses said to them: 'Throw whatever you may wish to throw.'

10:81  And when they had thrown, Moses said to them: 'What you have contrived is mere sorcery which God will certainly bring to nothing. God does not further the work of those who spread corruption.

10:82  By His words, God proves the truth to be true, much as the guilty may dislike it.'

10:83  None except a few of his people believed in Moses, for they feared Pharaoh and their nobles, lest they persecute them. Surely Pharaoh was mighty on earth and was indeed given to excesses.

10:84  Moses said: 'My people, if you believe in God, then place your trust in Him — if you have truly surrendered yourselves to Him.'

10:85  They replied: 'In God have we placed our trust. Our Lord, do not let us suffer at the hands of evil-doing people.

10:86  Save us, by Your grace, from the people who disbelieve.'

10:87  And thus did We inspire Moses and his brother: 'Take for your people some houses in Egypt, and make your houses places of worship, and be constant in prayer.' And give glad tidings to all believers.

10:88  Moses said, 'Our Lord! You have bestowed on Pharaoh and his nobles splendour and riches in this life, with the result that they have been leading people astray from Your path. Our Lord! Wipe out their riches and harden their hearts, so that they do not believe until they face the grievous suffering.'

10:89  He replied: 'Your prayer is accepted. Continue, both of you, steadfastly on the right path, and do not follow the path of those who are devoid of knowledge.'

10:90  And We brought the Children of Israel across the sea; but Pharaoh and his legions pursued them with tyranny and aggression. But as he was about to drown, Pharaoh said: 'I have come to believe that there is no deity other than Him in whom the Children of Israel believe, and to Him I surrender myself.'

10:91  [But God said:] 'Only now? But before this you were rebelling [against Us], and you spread corruption in the land.

10:92  But today We shall save only your body, so that you may become a sign to those who will come after you; for a great many people do not heed Our signs.'

10:93  We settled the Children of Israel in a most goodly abode and We provided for them sustenance out of the good things of life. It was not until knowledge was given. them that they began to disagree among themselves. Your Lord will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection regarding that on which they differed.

10:94  If you are in doubt concerning what We have bestowed on you from on high, ask those who read the Scriptures [revealed] before you. It is surely the truth that has come to you from your Lord. Do not, then, be among the doubters.

10:95  And do not be among those who deny God's revelations, for then you shall be among those who are lost.

10:96  Surely, those against whom your Lord's word [of judgement] has come true will not believe,

10:97  even though every sign should come to their knowledge, until they are faced with the grievous suffering.

10:98  Had it believed, every community would have profited by its faith. It was so only with Jonah's people. When they believed, We lifted from them the suffering of disgrace in this life, and allowed them to enjoy things for a while.

10:99  Had your Lord so willed, all people on earth, in their entirety, would have believed. Do you, then, try to compel people to believe?

10:100  No human being can believe, except by God's leave. It is He who lays abomination on those who will not use their reason.

10:101  Say: 'Consider all that there is in the heavens and the earth.' But of what benefit could all signs and warnings be to people who will not believe?

10:102  What are they waiting for except a repetition of the days [of calamity] experienced by those who have gone before them? Say: 'Wait, then, if you will. I am also waiting.'

10:103  Thereupon, We save Our messengers and those who believe. Thus have We willed it upon Ourselves: We save those who believe.

10:104  We shall not delay it beyond an appointed term.

10:105  When that day comes, not a soul will speak except by His leave. Some among them will be wretched, and some happy.

10:106  Those who will have brought wretchedness upon themselves, they will be in the fire where, moaning and sobbing,

10:107  they will abide as long as the heavens and the earth endure, unless your Lord wills it otherwise. Your Lord always does whatever He wills.

10:108  And those who are blessed with happiness will be in Paradise, abiding there as long as the heavens and the earth endure, unless your Lord wills it otherwise: an unceasing gift.

10:109  So be not in doubt about anything which these people worship. They worship only as their fathers worshipped before them. We shall most certainly give them their full due, Follow whatever is revealed to you, and be patient in adversity, until God shall give His judgement. He is the best of all judges.