21:1  Nigh unto men has drawn their reckoning, yet they turn away in heedlessness

21:2  There comes not to them any new admonition from their Lord, but they listen to it while they make sport of it

21:3  And their hearts are forgetful. And they - the wrongdoers - confer together in secret and say, `Is this man aught but a mortal like yourselves? Will you then yield to his sorcery with your eyes open?

21:4  In reply to this the Prophet said, ``My Lord knows what is said in the heavens and the earth. And HE is All-Hearing, the All-Knowing.

21:5  Nay, they say, `These are but confused dreams; nay, he has forged it himself: nay, he is but a poet. Let him then bring us a Sign just as the former Prophets were sent with Signs.

21:6  No township, before them, which WE destroyed, ever believed. Would they then believe

21:7  And WE sent none as Messengers before thee but men to whom WE sent revelations. So ask the people of the reminder, if you know not

21:8  Nor did WE give them bodies that ate not food, neither were they to live forever

21:9  Then WE fulfilled to them Our promise; and WE saved them and those whom WE pleased; and WE destroyed the transgressors

21:10  WE have now sent down to you a Book which makes provision for your eminence; will you not then understand

21:11  And how many a township that acted wrongfully have WE utterly destroyed, and raised up after it another people

21:12  And when they perceived OUR punishment, lo ! they began to flee from it

21:13  Thereupon WE said, `Flee not, but return to the luxuries in which you exulted, and to your dwellings that you might be questioned about your conduct.

21:14  They said, `Alas for us, we were indeed wrongdoers !

21:15  And this ceased not to be their cry till WE made them like a mown down field, extinct

21:16  And WE created not the heaven and the earth and all that is between the two in sport

21:17  Had WE wished to find a pastime, WE would, surely, have found it in what is with US, if at all WE were to do such a thing

21:18  Nay, WE hurl the truth at falsehood, and it breaks its head, and lo ! it perishes. And woe to you for that which you ascribe to ALLAH

21:19  To HIM belongs whosoever is in the heavens and the earth. And those who are in HIS presence do not disdain to worship HIM, nor do they weary of it

21:20  They glorify HIM night and day; and they flag not

21:21  Have they taken gods from the earth who raise the dead

21:22  If there had been in the heavens and the earth other gods beside ALLAH, then surely both would have gone to ruin. Glorified then be ALLAH, the Lord of the Throne, far above what they attribute to HIM

21:23  HE cannot be questioned as to what HE does, but they will be questioned

21:24  Have they taken gods besides HIM? Say, `Bring forth your proof. This Qur'an is a source of honour for those with me, and a source of honour for those before me.' Nay, most of them know not the truth, and so they turn away

21:25  And WE sent no Messenger before thee but WE revealed to him: `There is no god but I; so worship ME alone.

21:26  And they say, `The Gracious God has taken to Himself a son.' Holy is HE. Nay, those whom they so designate are only HIS honoured servants

21:27  They speak not before HE speaks, and they only carry out HIS commands

21:28  HE knows what is before them and what is behind them, and they intercede not except for him whom HE approves it and they tremble in awe of HIM

21:29  And whosoever of them should say, `I am a god beside HIM,' him shall WE requite with Hell. Thus do WE requite the wrongdoers

21:30  Do not the disbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were a closed up-mass, then WE opened them out? And WE made of water every living thing. Will they not then believe

21:31  And WE have placed in the earth firm mountains lest it should quake with them; and WE have made therein wide pathways, that they may be rightly guided

21:32  And WE have made the heaven a roof, well-protected, yet they turn away from its Signs

21:33  And HE it is Who created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon, each gliding along smoothly in its orbit

21:34  WE granted not everlasting life to any mortal before thee. If they shouldst die, shall they live here for ever

21:35  Every soul shall taste of death; and WE test you with evil and good by way of trial. And to US shall you be returned

21:36  And when the disbelievers see thee, thy only make a jest of thee, and say, `Is this the one who speaks ill of your gods?' Yet it is they themselves who deny all mention of the Gracious God

21:37  Man is created of haste. I will certainly show you MY Signs, but ask ME not to hasten

21:38  And they say, `When will this promise be fulfilled, if you are truthful?

21:39  If only the disbelievers knew the time when they will not be able to ward off the fire from their faces, nor from their backs, and they will not be helped

21:40  Nay, it will come upon them unawares so that it will utterly confound them; and they will not be able to repel it, nor will they be granted respite

21:41  And the Messengers have indeed been mocked at before thee, but whereat they mocked encompassed those of them who scoffed

21:42  Say, `Who can protect you by night and by day from the Gracious God?' Yet they turn away from the remembrance of their Lord

21:43  Have they any gods that can protect them against US? They cannot help themselves, nor can they be befriended by anyone against US

21:44  Nay, WE provided those and their fathers with the good things of this world till life grew long for them. Do they not see that WE are visiting the land, reducing it from its outlying borders? Can they even then be the victors

21:45  Say, `I warn you only according to Divine revelation.' But the deaf cannot hear the call when they are warned

21:46  And even if a breath of Thy Lord's punishment touch them, they will surely cry out, `Woe to us ! we were indeed wrongdoers.

21:47  And WE shall set up just balances on the Day of Resurrection, so that no soul will be wronged in the least. And even if it be the weight of a grain of mustard seed, WE would bring it forth. And sufficient are WE as reckoners

21:48  And WE gave Moses and Aaron the Discrimination and a Light and a Reminder for the righteous

21:49  Those who fear their Lord in secret, and who dread the Hour of judgment

21:50  And this Qur'an which WE have sent down is a blessed Reminder; will you then reject it

21:51  And before this WE gave Abraham his guidance and WE knew him well

21:52  When he said to his father and his people, `What are these images to which you are so devoted?

21:53  They replied, `We found our fathers worshiping them.

21:54  He said, `Then, you, as well as your fathers, have indeed been in manifest error.

21:55  They said, `Is it really the truth that thou hast brought us, or art thou jesting?

21:56  He replied, `Nay, your Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth Who created them; and I am of those who bear witness to this

21:57  `And, by ALLAH, I will certainly plan against your idols after you have gone away and turned your backs.

21:58  So he broke them into pieces, all except the chief of them, that they might return to it

21:59  They said, `Who has done this to our gods? Surely, he is a wrongdoer.

21:60  Some others said, `We heard a young man speak ill of them; he is called Abraham.

21:61  They said, `Then bring him before the eyes of the people, that they may bear witness against him.

21:62  Then they said to Abraham, `Is it thou who has done this to our gods, O Abraham?

21:63  He replied, `Well, someone has surely done this. Here is the chief of them. So ask them if they can speak.

21:64  Then they turned towards one another and said, `You yourselves are surely in the wrong.

21:65  And they were made to hang down their heads for shame and said to Abraham, `Certainly thou knowest well that these do not speak.

21:66  He said, `Do you then worship, instead of ALLAH, that which cannot profit you at all, nor harm you

21:67  `Fie on you and on that which you worship instead of ALLAH ! Can you not understand?

21:68  They said, `Burn him and help your gods if at all you mean to do something.

21:69  WE said, `O fire, be thou a means of coolness and safety for Abraham !

21:70  And they had intended an evil plan against him, but WE made them the worst losers

21:71  And WE delivered him and Lot and brought them to the Land which WE had blessed for the peoples

21:72  And WE bestowed upon him Isaac, and a grandson, Jacob, and WE made all of them righteous

21:73  And WE made them leaders who guided people by Our command, and WE sent revelation to them enjoining the doing of good works, and the observance of Prayer, and the giving of alms. And US alone they worshiped

21:74  And to Lot WE gave wisdom and knowledge. And WE saved him from the city which practised abominations. They were indeed a wicked and rebellious people

21:75  And WE admitted him to OUR mercy; surely he was one of the righteous

21:76  And remember Noah when he cried to US aforetime, and WE heard his prayer and delivered him and his family from the great distress

21:77  And WE helped him against the people who rejected OUR Signs. They were surely a wicked people; so WE drowned them all

21:78  And remember David and Solomon when they exercised their respective judgements concerning the crop, when the sheep of certain people strayed therein by night, and WE were bearers of witness to their judgment

21:79  WE gave Solomon the right understanding of the matter and to each of them WE gave wisdom and knowledge. And WE subjected the mountains and the birds to David to celebrate God's praises with him. And it was WE WHO did all these things

21:80  And WE taught him the making of coats of mail for you, that they might protect you from each other's violence in your battles. Will you then be grateful

21:81  And WE subjected to Solomon the violent wind. It blew, at his bidding, toward the land which WE had blessed. And WE have knowledge of all things

21:82  And WE subjected to him deep divers who dived for him, and did other works besides that; and it was WE Who guarded them

21:83  And call to mind Job when he cried to his Lord, `Distress has afflicted me, and Thou art the Most Merciful of all who show mercy.

21:84  So WE heard his prayer and removed the distress from which he suffered, and WE restored to him his family and the like thereof with them, as a mercy from US, and as an admonition to the worshippers

21:85  And call to mind Ishmael and Idris and Dhu'l-Kifl. All were men of patience

21:86  And WE admitted them to OUR mercy. Surely, they were of the righteous ones

21:87  And remember Dhu'l-Nhn, when he went away in anger, and he was sure in his mind that WE would not cause him distress and he cried out in the midst of his afflictions: `There is no god but Thou, Holy art Thou. I have indeed been of the wrongdoers.

21:88  So WE heard his prayer and delivered him from his distress. And thus do WE deliver true believers

21:89  And remember Zachariah also when he cried to his Lord: `My Lord, leave me not alone and Thou art the Best of inheritors.

21:90  So WE heard his prayer and bestowed upon him John and cured his wife of sterility for him. They used to vie with one another in good works and they called on US in hope and in fear, and they humbled themselves before US

21:91  And remember her who guarded her chastity, so WE breathed into her of Our Word and WE made her and her son a Sign for all peoples

21:92  Verily, this community of yours is one community and I am your Lord, so worship ME

21:93  And they split up their affair among themselves and all will return to US

21:94  So whoever does good works and is a believer, his endeavour will not be rejected and WE shall surely record it

21:95  And it is an inviolable law for a township which WE have destroyed that they shall not return

21:96  It shall be so even when Gog and Magog are let loose and they shall hasten forth from every height and from the top of every wave

21:97  And the fulfillment of God's promise draws nigh; then behold, the eyes of those who disbelieve will fixedly stare and they will exclaim `Alas for us ! we were indeed heedless of this; nay, we were wrongdoers.

21:98  It will be said to them, `Surely, you and that which you worship beside ALLAH are the fuel of Hell. To it you will all come

21:99  If these, as you allege, had been gods, they would not have entered it; and all will abide therein

21:100  Therein groaning will be their lot and they will not hear therein anything else

21:101  But as for those for whom the promise of a good reward has already gone forth from US, these will be removed far from it

21:102  They will not hear the slightest sound thereof, and they shall abide in the state which their souls desire

21:103  The Great Terror will not grieve them, and the angels will meet them, saying, `This is your day which you were promised

21:104  `The day when WE shall roll up the heavens like the rolling up of written scrolls by a scribe.' As WE began the first creation, So shall WE repeat it - a promise binding upon US; WE shall certainly fulfill it

21:105  And WE have already written in the Book of David, after the reminder, that MY righteous servants shall inherit the Land

21:106  Herein, surely, is a message for a people who worship God

21:107  And WE have not sent thee but as a mercy for all peoples

21:108  Say, `Surely it has been revealed to me that your god is but One God. Will you then submit?

21:109  But if they turn back, say, `I have warned you all alike and I know not whether that which you are promised is near or far

21:110  Verily, HE knows what is open in speech, and HE knows that which you hide

21:111  `And I know not but that it may be a trial for you, and only an enjoyment for a while.

21:112  And the Prophet said, `My Lord, judge thou with truth. Our Lord is the Gracious God Whose help is sought against that which you assert.