28:1  T. (Tah), S. (Seen), M. (Meem) the Sarah opens with these introductory letters from the Arabic Alphabet to draw attention to the miracle of the Quran which though written in the people's tongue, cannot be emulated

28:2  These are divinely discoursed verses flowing with the precision and grace symbolic of the Book -the Quran- which is the spirit of truth that guides into all truth

28:3  Here, We narrate to you O Muhammad in truth some information relative to Mussa and Pharaoh to relate it to the people whose hearts reflect the image of religious and spiritual virtues

28:4  Pharaoh installed himself in the land in the office of dignity and tyranny, and divided the people into parties and leaned heavily against one of them, brutally slaughtering their new born males and purposely sparing their females. He was indeed mischievous creating diversity and discord

28:5  And We decided to be kind and gracious to those who were suppressed and subdued in the land and to change their status and bring it into that of spiritual leadership intended to lead and inherit the land

28:6  We decided to confirm and establish them firmly in the land and confront Pharaoh and Haman and their troops with what they feared might happen to them at their hands, the hands of Mussa whom they reared and the Israelites who followed his law

28:7  We inspired Mussa's mother, thus: "Breast feed him until you feel that fear falls upon you for his life, then put him in a chest and cast him into the river and do not be afraid nor grieve at heart. We will restore him to you and confer on him the prerogative of Apostleship"

28:8  The waves swept him ashore and there, he was picked up by the family and the household of the Pharaoh who did not realize that he would be their avowed enemy who would cause them limitless misery and endless grief. Pharaoh, Haman and their troops were indeed transgressors against the principle of good and were sinful offenders against Allah

28:9  And there, Pharaoh's wife said to Pharaoh as she saw the child: "a comfort and joy to the eye, he will make my eyes and yours speak content". She gave orders to the guards: "do not kill him. He might be of some quality that brings about good or advantage and he might be helpful in effecting a purpose or we might adopt him as a son. She was totally unaware of what the future held

28:10  Meanwhile, Mussa's mother was left with an unsatisfied feeling and with a heart experiencing an aching void the world could not fill, she almost betrayed him had We not emboldened her heart to fall in line with those whose hearts reflect the image of religious and spiritual virtues

28:11  She -the mother- said to his sister: "Search for him and keep track" And his sister saw him at a distance and she controlled her emotions and kept a state of indifference so that Phraoh's people would not recognize the relationship

28:12  And We had already made him reject and refuse breast feeding from all the women who were available to suckle and nurse a strange child. So conditioned, his sister suggested to Pharaoh's household a solution, she said: "Shall I tell you of a family who would rear him and take good care of him for you!"

28:13  And there, did We restore him to his mother so that she would be delighted and her eyes speak content and she would take off the robe of grief and realize that the promise of Allah is an absolute certainty even though most people are indeed ignorant of this very fact

28:14  And when he -Mussa- reached maturity and was capable of fulfilling the obligation and the trust, We bestowed on him an exalted position. We imparted to him wisdom and divine knowledge. Thus do We requite those whose deeds are imprinted with wisdom and piety

28:15  He entered the city unnoted by its people (who might have retired for the siesta or the night) only to find two men fighting, one of the same law and the other of his foes-an Egyptian: His co-religionist sought his help against their enemy and there Mussa cuffed him with the fists and the man dropped dead. There and then said Mussa: "This is indeed a Satanic incitement, for this is the work of AL-Shaytan (Satan) who is an avowed enemy instigating deviation from the path of righteousness."

28:16  And he invoked Allah's mercy and forgiveness: "O Allah, my Creator, he prayed: "I have wronged my own soul. Forgive me O Allah and have mercy on me." Allah forgave him and extended to him His mercy; He is AL-Ghafur (the Forgiving), and AL-Rahim (The Merciful)

28:17  And he added: "O Allah, my Creator, since You have been gracious to me I promise I will never be a help to those who are disposed to the practice of evil

28:18  From then on he came to be apprehensive of impending danger expecting at any moment to be arrested and prosecuted and either tortured or killed. And in this state of anxiety and fear he met his same co-religionist whom he had helped the day before crying for his help today. Mussa said to Him: "You are indeed quarrelsome and alienated from Allah."

28:19  Nevertheless, he felt like attacking the man who was their enemy but in making the attempt the man said to him: "Do you wish O Mussa to kill me as you killed a man yesterday?" "You seem to be eager to exercise power and to play the tyrant in the land and not to brew reform."

28:20  Meantime there came a man from the far end of the city. He said to Mussa: "The chiefs are convening to deliberate upon killing you, therefore you had better leave the city. I hope you do realize that I am offering you a sincere advice"

28:21  Mussa took the man's advice and left the city in a state of anxiety and fear expecting to be seized with a calamity at any moment. Feeling helpless he invoked Allah for help, thus: "Protect me O Allah, my Creator. and save me from the people who are wrongful of actions."

28:22  Journeying toward Madyan he said to himself: "Perhaps Allah, my Creator will guide me out of this fearful country into the path of truth and safety"

28:23  And as he arrived at the spring waters of Madyan he found a large crowd of people watering their flocks. Among them he found two women trying to keep back their flocks. He asked them: "What is your trouble?"; "we cannot water our flocks", they said, "until the shepherds have driven off their flocks and our father is quite an old man"

28:24  Mussa watered for them their flocks then assumed a place in the shade and prayed: "O Allah, my Creator," "with all Your grace that abounds in me I am indigent and-lonely"

28:25  Unexpectedly, there came back one of the two women walking with a womanly propriety of behaviour, chastity of thought, speech and conduct. She said to him: "My father invites you to requite you for the service you rendered to us, watering our flocks". And when he went and met with the father and told him his story, the father said to him: "Do not be afraid, you have already gotten off safely and escaped from the people who are wrongful of actions"

28:26  And there, said one of the women to her father: "Would you hire him O father, for the best you can hire is the reliable man who is rather strong and worthy of trust"

28:27  The father said to Mussa: "I wish to offer you one of my daughters in matrimonial union on contrition that you serve me for eight years and should you like to add two more years to make them ten, it will be of your own accord". "I do not wish," he added, "to make things difficult for you and you will find me, Allah willing, one of these in whose hearts reigns piety"

28:28  "This", he added, "is an agreement between me and you, whichever of the two terms be fulfilled, there shall be no injustice or ill-will to me and Allah is a Witness to our binding agreement"

28:29  And when Mussa had fulfilled the term agreed upon and departed with his family he perceived a fire on the mountain side of Tur (Tor) He said to his family: "I have just perceived a fire, you stay here. Perhaps I might be able to get some information relative to the direction We pursue or fetch you a brand from the burning wood to kindle a fire to warm you up"

28:30  And when he reached the destined spot he was called to from the tree on the right side of the valley at the sacred ground, thus: "O Mussa", he was prompted, "It is I, Allah, Creator of the worlds, the visible and the invisible, past, present and those to come"

28:31  "Drop your staff", Allah said to him. When he -Mussa- saw it moving as though it were a serpent personified he withdrew in the face of danger and did not return. "Come back O Mussa", he was prompted "and do not be afraid. You are indeed one of those who enjoy safety"

28:32  "Put your hand", He was told, "into your bosom and it shall come out transfigured in a radiance of white divine light unharmed and all sound, and draw your hand to your side to put off the robe of fear". "These are two divine signs evincing both My Omnipotence and Authority to present to Pharaoh and his peers, for they have been a people who confirmed themselves in the horrid purpose and the ill-intention"

28:33  And there said Mussa: "O Allah, my Creator, I killed one of them and I fear they might kill me"

28:34  "My brother Harun (Aaron) expresses himself much better than I and he possesses the power of fluent, forcible and appropriate expression. Send him O Allah with me to be a support and to confirm my cause, for I fear they might accuse me of falsehood"

28:35  Allah said: "We will strengthen you by a main stay, your brother Harun, who will be your right arm and We will impart to you divine power and authority so that they shall not be able to apply themselves ever to that degree which is level with your delegated capacities. Victory shall sit on your helm, you and your brother, and the helm of all those who fall in line with you"

28:36  And when Mussa presented to them Our convincing divine signs with distinct apprehension of all that they involve, they said: "This is indeed nothing but witchcraft fabricated for deception. We never heard of such things discussed by our fathers"

28:37  " It is only Allah," said Mussa, "Who knows those whom He sent with the spirit of truth guiding into all truth and He knows those who are destined to win the bliss Hereafter when the wrongful of actions shall not find one single instance of physical or spiritual prosperity."

28:38  And here addressed Pharaoh his peers: "O you peers of the realm", he said, "I never knew an Ilah to whom you pay reverence and veneration but myself. Therefore, bake for me O Haman -his grand vizier- the moulded bricks of clay with fire and erect for me a lofty building soaring skyward, I might find the means of mounting to the Ilah of Mussa whom I deem a great liar."

28:39  And there did Pharaoh and his hosts turn indignant and unjustly displayed in the land inordinate self-esteem and extravagance in their accounts of themselves and had a notion in their minds that never shall they be brought back to Us

28:40  And by consequence We surrounded him and his troops and cast them into the sea and you can see the fatal consequence of the wrongful of actions

28:41  And We justly incited them to compete for superiority in iniquities and be the leaders thereof, an attribute that led them and those who fell in line with them directly to Hell and no help whatever shall they receive in Day of Judgement

28:42  And We glued them a curse here and with disgrace Hereafter when they shall be viewed with contempt

28:43  And after We had reduced the earlier generations to a useless form We gave Mussa the Book AL-Tawrah (the Torah) to serve as a divine evidence engaging the intellect and a spirit of truth guiding into all truth and a mercy extended by Allah so that they may hopefully lift to Him their inward sight and keep Him in mind

28:44  You Muhammad were not at the western side of Mount Tur at the time We imparted to Mussa the divine knowledge and entrusted him with the Book and empowered him to do the intended duty nor were you a witness of the event

28:45  Not only that, but since then We have raised up generations over the years and it is an age since then that people have forgotten the covenants they ratified. Nor did you live among the Madyanites -of Madyan- to narrate to your people their stories and events with such precision! But We sent you and We imparted to you the informative knowledge

28:46  Nor were you at the side of the Mount when We called to Mussa, but it is the mercy of Allah extended to you to serve as a spectacle and a warning to a people who never received a spectacle and a warning before you, that they may hopefully ponder

28:47  Had We not sent you O Muhammad to the people in general and to the Pagans in particular to serve as a spectacle and a warning they would have said when befallen with a misfortune as a reaction to what their wrongful and unclean hands have committed: "O Allah, our Creator, if only You had sent to us a Messenger to guide us to Your path in which Your divine signs shine like beacons inciting us to lift to You our inward sight"

28:48  And now when they have received Our spirit of truth guiding into all truth they say: "If only he -the Messenger- were given divine signs similar to those given to Mussa!" Did they not reject the signs We equipped Mussa with before! and did they not label both AL-Tawrah of Mussa and the Quran as presentations of falsehood and designated them two related subjects complementing one another on the work of magic and they said: "We simply deny and reject each and all!"

28:49  Say to them O Muhammad: "If indeed you are declaring the truth then try to bring down from the realm of heaven a better book that you consider to be the truth that guides into all truth and I will be happy to follow it."

28:50  And if such an undertaking they fail to fulfill (and fail they undoubtedly will) then you will realize O Muhammad that they simply follow their own wishes and that they act upon their own desires. And who is more perverse than him who yields to his own imagination not based upon reason nor upon divine guidance! Allah does not guide the wrongful of actions

28:51  We have already imparted to them the divine knowledge to guide then into all truth that they may hopefully lift to Allah their inward sight and keep Him in mind

28:52  And those to whom We gave the Book before this Book -the Jews and the Christians- do acknowledge the Quran and the truth of your divine mission.

28:53  When it is recited to them they express their thoughts in words. They say: "We do acknowledge Allah's divine discourse represented in the Quran for it reflects the divine truth notwithstanding that long before the Quran We conformed to Islam"

28:54  Such persons shall be requited in double, for their suffering and for enduring pain and hostilities, for their constancy in labour, exertion and effort and for their forbearance under provocation. They repel pride with prudence and evil with good and they spend in benevolence and benefaction of the provisions of life We provisioned them

28:55  These are they who do not pervert their senses. When they hear idle talk gossip or slander they refrain from listening and turn away and say to the profaners: "We are responsible for our deeds and you are response for yours; peace be upon you. We are not interested in the ignorant who have no shame of their sins"

28:56  You Muhammad shall not be able to guide to Allah's path whom you like or to whom you have special affection* but Allah guides to His path of righteousness whom He will and He knows best those who are willing to lift to Him their inward sight

28:57  And they -the infidels- say to you: " Should we fall in line with you and follow your exhortation we will be ousted from our land and be robbed of our rights and privileges!" Did We not confirm to them on a secure basis a safe and sacred Sanctuary secured by religious sentiments and reverence against violation, infringement or encroachment. We caused the flow of all kinds of fruits and the products of everything to its environ; a livelihood provided by Us albeit most of them are ignorant of this fac

28:58  How many towns did We reduce to a useless form after Our grace was made to abound in them and they met it with dissatisfaction and ingratitude! There you can see how their dwellings were left desolate thereafter and destitute of inhabitants but of a few and We were the inheritors

28:59  And never did Allah, your Creator, reduce the towns to a useless form until He had sent a Messenger to their capital to recite to the people Our divine revelations but they closed their hearts' ears. Therefore, never did We reduce the towns to a useless form except when the fundamental truth failed to govern their thoughts and they proved themselves wrongful of actions

28:60  You people had better realize that whatever you have been granted of material advantages is simply the evanescent enjoyments of life and its temporal and mundane things, whereas all that is in heaven's realm affords eternal beatitude and surpassing pleasure. Have you people no sense

28:61  You people just think and think but this: Does he whom We promised Our efficacious grace and who found that it has effected the end for which it was given compare with him whom We graced with the material advantages of life here and then he finds himself among those indicted Hereafter

28:62  There shall come the Day when they have much to answer for. There and then shall Allah ask them "Where are My partners whom you incorporated with Me, whom you assumed they shared My divine nature!"

28:63  And there, those whose destiny as losers has been fulfilled shall say: "O Allah, our Creator", "it is these whom we led astray and caused to deviate in mind" "We caused them to deviate in purpose as we deviated in mind. We repudiate them and denounce them in Your August presence. In fact it was not us they really worshipped!"

28:64  And they -the followers- shall be told: "Call to your predominant partners, and they will, but no answer shall they receive therefrom and they shall all wish they had pursued the path of righteousness, the path of Allah

28:65  This is the Day when Allah shall call them in question and call them to render an account, thus: "What kind of response did you give to the Messengers!"

28:66  But all information and news shall be eclipsed to them and their lack in intellectual and spiritual perception shall reduce them to silence and repress any expression of feeling, that they admit no discourse

28:67  However, he who in lowliest plight repentant stood and acknowledged Allah's Supremacy, Omnipotence and Authority and whose deeds were impressed with wisdom and piety might be among those who succeed in inviting Allah's mercy and forgiveness

28:68  And Allah, your Creator, creates what He will and chooses what He will and whom He will whereas they -the infidels- and people at large cannot impose on Allah their choice in any matter irrespective of its nature and consequently they have no choice. Glory be to Him and extolled are His glorious attributes. He is infinitely beyond all they incorporate with Him

28:69  And Allah, your Creator, is Omniscient indeed of all that is reposited in their bosoms of private thoughts and feelings and of all that they conceal and He is ALimun of all that they reveal

28:70  And He is Allah, there is no Ilah but Him. Praise be to Him and extolled are His glorious attributes here and Hereafter. To Him belong the rule, the government, the reign, the influence, the supreme authority, the decision and the indictment. Supremacy is His attribute and to Him shall all of you be brought back

28:71  Say to them O Muhammad: "What if Allah cancels -to your detriment- daylight and extends the night to the Day of Judgement!" "Who is the Ilah besides Him who will be able to restore for you daylight?" Will you people not deviate into sense and open your hearts' ears

28:72  Say to them: "What if Allah cancels the night and extends daylight to the Day of Judgement, who is the Allah besides Him who will be able to restore for you the night in which you repose! Will you not open your minds' eyes! "

28:73  But in mercy to you people He caused the night and the day to vary in duration and undergo constant alternation and successions* that you take your natural repose and recuperate** and be able to accomplish your objects sought after of His bounty to the end that your bosoms may hopefully surge forth and answer thanks

28:74  The Day shall come when He questions the infidels. He shall ask them: "Where are My partners whom you presumed they shared My divine nature and authority? "

28:75  And We will call to witness one from each nation (the Messenger) to give evidence in relation to the worldly matters and We will question the infidels- as to their proof of the validity of their gods whom they had incorporated with Allah! But they shall fail to advance any proof and they shall realize that Allah alone is and has always been the Truth personified. Here and now they are renounced and forsaken by those whom they presumed to share with Him His divine nature and supremacy; they have failed their expectations

28:76  Qarun was a Hebrew of the people of Mussa (possibly a cousin), one who exercised iniquity and injustice toward his people. We made all grace abound in him. We bestowed on him such immense treasures that the keys (of the chambers where the treasures were hidden) would have been an immense burden for a host of strong men to carry (were a burden for three hundred mules). His people said to him: "Do not rejoice boastingly, for Allah does not like those who boast` vaingloriously of what they are made to possess"

28:77  "And betake yourself", they added, "to Providence for the grace He made to abound in you seeking His satisfaction -to ensure spiritual relish- Hereafter, and do not neglect your share of worldly enjoyment of what is lawful, And be kindly disposed and benevolent to others as Allah has been to you and do not pursue mischief nor create discord on earth. Allah detests those who have ill- will and mischief is natural to them"

28:78  But -Qarun- said: "I have acquired what came into my possession by reason of the knowledge inherent in me and for my intellectual acquaintance with fact". Did he not know that Allah had reduced to a useless form before him people who were stronger and greater in affluence! However, there is no need to question those who had been steeped in crime

28:79  And so he came out before his people in a splendid procession conducting himself pompously, and there exclaimed those who were absorbed m the vanities of this wicked world: "we wish", they said, "we were given the like of the riches Qarun was made to possess. He is indeed fortunate"

28:80  Whereas those gifted with divine and spiritual knowledge exclaimed: "Woe betide you -people of vanities-","the reward conferred by Allah Hereafter is infinitely better for those whose hearts reflect the image of religious and spiritual virtues and their deeds wisdom and piety, a status attained only by the patient who exercise forbearance under provocation, bear with others their faults and limitations and sit like patience on a monument smiling at grief."

28:81  And to set him -Qarun- as a deterrent, We eclipsed him and his splendour, his wealth and his house in one swallow by the yawning earthly gulf We created by quaking the earth beneath him and his house and He had no supporters to defend him from Allah nor was he able to protect himself

28:82  And those who had desiderated his status the day before exclaimed then: "Goodness, it is evident that Allah gives livelihood generously and confers support gratuitously to whom He will of His servants and He gives with restraint and by measure to whom He will. Has He not been gracious and merciful to us". they added, "He would have made the earth take us into itself. Goodness, if is evident that those who challenge Allah do not really prosper"

28:83  That home, in the world to come where one's true affections and hopes centre and where one finds peace, rest, refuge, beatitude and bliss, we simply reserve for those who do not seek to attain a high status in the land in order to impose themselves on people and to play the tyrant nor do they play the mischief or create discord. A happy ending is an attribute to those in whose hearts reigns piety

28:84  He who crowns the deed with equity shall be rewarded with what is infinitely better than what is commensurate with his deed and those who commit themselves to an evil line of conduct, shall be requited only with what is commensurate with their deeds

28:85  He Who imposed on you the Quran O Muhammad -which brought on you persecution and led you to go hence- shall cause you to return. Say to them: "Indeed Allah, my Creator, knows best who proclaims the spirit of truth that guides into all truth and who deviates from sense and be lest in the maze of error"

28:86  You O Muhammad never expected the Book -the Quran- to be sent down and to be revealed to you but it was only Allah's mercy extended to you. Therefore, do not back up the infidels, who deny Allah, in a statement nor an opinion nor assist them physically or uphold them in any course of action

28:87  Nor let them succeed in obstructing your course of action nor cause you to deviate from Allah's system of faith and worship nor from His divine revelations after having been revealed to you. And exhort people by kind words to laudable conduct and invite their confidence and proceed to the path of righteousness, the path of Allah, and do not be attached to the infidels who incorporate with Allah other deities nor be Joined to them in sympathy or affection

28:88  Nor should you invoke with Allah other deities, there is no Ilah but Him. All created beings, the animate and the inanimate shall perish but not Him, the Creator of the whole and of all in all, Allah of countenance and Authority to whom belong the supremacy of the universe and to whom shall all of you be brought back