29:1  Alif. Lam. Mim

29:2  DO MEN THINK that on their [mere] saying, “We have attained to faith”, they will be left to themselves, and will not be put to a test

29:3  Yea, indeed, We did test those who lived before them; and so, [too, shall be tested the people now living: and] most certainly will God mark out those who prove themselves true, and most certainly will He mark out those who are lying

29:4  Or do they think - they who do evil deeds [while claiming to have attained to faith] - that they can escape Us? Bad, indeed, is their judgment

29:5  Whoever looks forward [with hope and awe] to meeting God [on Resurrection Day, let him be ready for it]: for, behold, the end set by God [for everyone’s life] is bound to come - and He alone is all-hearing, all-knowing

29:6  Hence, whoever strives hard [in God’s cause] does so only for his own good: for, verily, God does not stand in need of anything in all the worlds

29:7  And as for those who attain to faith and do righteous deeds, We shall most certainly efface their [previous] bad deeds, and shall most certainly reward them in accordance with the best that they ever did

29:8  Now [among the best of righteous deeds which] We have enjoined upon man [is] goodness towards his parents; yet [even so,] should they endeavour to make thee ascribe divinity, side by side with Me, to something which thy mind cannot accept [as divine], obey then, not: [for] it is unto Me that you all must return, whereupon I shall make you [truly] understand [the right and wrong of] all that you were doing [in life]

29:9  But as for those who have attained to faith and have done righteous deeds, We shall most certainly cause them to join the righteous [in the hereafter as well]

29:10  Now there is among men many a one who says [of himself and of others like him], “We do believe in God” - but whenever he is made to suffer in God’s cause, he thinks that persecution at the hands of man is as [much to be feared, or even more than,] God’s chastisement; whereas, if succour from thy Sustainer comes [to those who truly believe] he is sure to say. “Behold, we have always been with you!” Is not God fully aware of what is in the hearts of all creatures

29:11  [Yea-] and most certainly will God mark out those who have [truly] attained to faith, and most certainly will He mark out the hypocrites

29:12  And [He is aware, too, that] they who are bent on denying the truth speak [thus, as it were,] to those who have attained to faith: “Follow our way [of life], and we shall indeed take your sins upon ourselves!” But never could they take upon themselves aught of the sins of those [whom they would thus mislead]: behold, they are liars indeed

29:13  Yet most certainly will they have to bear their own burdens, and other burdens besides their own; and most certainly will they be called to account on Resurrection Day for all their false assertions

29:14  And, indeed, [in times long past] We sent forth Noah unto his people, and he dwelt among them a thousand years bar fifty; and then the floods overwhelmed them while they were still lost in evildoing

29:15  but We saved him, together with all who were in the ark, which We then set up as a symbol [of Our grace] for all people [to remember]

29:16  And Abraham, [too, was inspired by Us] when he said unto his people: “Worship God, and be conscious of Him: this is the best for you, if you but knew it

29:17  You worship only [lifeless] idols instead of God, and [thus] you give visible shape to a lie! Behold, those [things and beings] that you worship instead of God have it not in their power to provide sustenance for you: seek, then, all [your] sustenance from God, and worship Him [alone] and be grateful to Him: [for] unto Him you shall be brought back

29:18  “And if you give [me] the lie - well, [other] communities have given the lie [to God's prophets] before your time: but no more is an apostle bound to do than clearly deliver the message [entrusted to him].”

29:19  Are then they [who deny the truth] not aware of how God creates [life] in the first instance, and then brings it forth anew? This, verily, is easy for God

29:20  Say: “Go all over the earth and behold how [wondrously] He has created [man] in the first instance: and thus, too, will God bring into being your second life for, verily, God has the power to will anything

29:21  He causes to suffer whomever He wills, and bestows His mercy on whomever He wills; and unto Him you shall be made to return

29:22  and never - not on earth and not in the skies - can you [hope to] elude Him: and you have none to protect you from God, and none to bring you succour.”

29:23  And [thus it is:] they who are bent on denying the truth of God’s messages and of their [ultimate] meeting with Him - it is they who abandon all hope of My grace and mercy: and it is they whom grievous suffering awaits [in the life to come]

29:24  Now [as for Abraham,] his people’s only answer was, “Slay him, or burn him!” – but God saved him from the fire. Behold, in this [story] there are messages indeed for people who will believe

29:25  And [Abraham] said: “You have chosen to worship idols instead of God for no other reason than to have a bond of love in the life of this world, between yourselves [and your forebears]: but then, on Resurrection Day, you shall disown one another and curse one another - for the goal of you all will be the fire, and you will have none to succour you

29:26  Thereupon [his brother’s son] Lot came to believe in him and said: “Verily, I [too] shall forsake the domain of evil [and turn] to my Sustainer: for, verily, He alone is almighty, truly wise!”

29:27  And [as for Abraham,] We bestowed upon him Isaac and [Isaac’s son] Jacob, and caused prophethood and revelation to continue among his offspring. And We vouchsafed him his reward in this world; and, verily, in the life to come [too] he shall find himself among the righteous

29:28  And Lot, [too, was inspired by Us] when he said unto his people: “Verily, you commit abominations such as none in all the world has ever committed before you

29:29  Must you indeed approach men [with lust], and thus cut across the way [of nature]? and must you commit these shameful deeds in your open] assemblies?” But his people’s only answer was, “Bring down upon us God’s chastisement, if thou art a man of truth!”

29:30  [And] he prayed: “O my Sustainer! Succour Thou me against these people who spread corruption!”

29:31  And so, when Our [heavenly] messengers came to Abraham with the glad tiding [of the birth of Isaac], they [also] said, “Behold, we are about to destroy the people of that land, for its people are truly evildoers!”

29:32  [And when Abraham] exclaimed, “But Lot lives there!” - they answered: We know fully well who is there; most certainly we shall save him and his household - all but his wife: she will indeed be among those that stay behind.”

29:33  And when Our messengers came unto Lot, he was sorely grieved on their account, seeing that it was beyond his power to shield them; but they said: “Fear not, and grieve not! Behold, we shall save thee and thy household - all but thy wife: she will indeed be among those that stay behind

29:34  Verily, we shall bring down upon the people of this land a horror from heaven in requital of all their iniquitous doings!”

29:35  And [so it happened; and] thereof, indeed, We have left a clear sign for people who use their reason

29:36  AND UNTO [the people of] Madyan [We sent] their brother Shu’ayb who thereupon said: “O my people! Worship God [alone], and look forward to the Last Day, and do not act wickedly on earth by spreading corruption!”

29:37  But they gave him the lie. Thereupon an earthquake overtook them: and then they lay lifeless, in their very homes, on the ground

29:38  AND [the tribes of] Ad and Thamud [too, did We destroy -] as should have become obvious to you from [whatever there remains of] their dwellings. [They perished] because Satan had made their [sinful] doings seem goodly to them, and thus had barred them from the path [of God] despite their having been endowed with the ability to perceive the truth

29:39  And [thus, too, did We deal with] Qarun and Pharaoh, and Haman: to them had come Moses with all evidence of the truth, but they behaved arrogantly on earth [and rejected him]; and withal, they could not escape [Us]

29:40  For, every one of them, did We take to task for his sin: and so, upon some of them We let loose a deadly storm wind; and some of them were overtaken by a [sudden] blast; and some of them We caused to be swallowed by the earth: and some of them We caused to drown. And it was not God who wronged them, but it was they who had wronged themselves

29:41  The parable of those who take [beings or forces] other than God for their protectors is that of the spider which makes for itself a house: for, behold, the frailest of all houses is the spiders house. Could they but understand this

29:42  Verily, God knows whatever it is that men invoke instead of Him for He alone is almighty, truly wise

29:43  And so We propound these parables unto man: but none can grasp their innermost meaning save those who [of Us] are awar

29:44  [[and hence are certain that] God has created the heavens and the earth in accordance with [an inner] truth: for, behold, in this [very creation] there is a message indeed for all who believe [in Him]

29:45  CONVEY [unto others] whatever of this divine writ has been revealed unto thee, and be constant in prayer: for, behold, prayer restrains [man] from loathsome deeds and from all that runs counter to reason; and remembrance of God is indeed the greatest [good]. And God knows all that you do

29:46  And do not argue with the followers of earlier revelation otherwise than in a most kindly manner - unless it be such of them as are bent on evildoing and say: “We believe in that which has been bestowed from on high upon us, as well as that which has been bestowed upon you: or our God and your God is one and the same, and it is unto Him that We [all] surrender ourselves.”

29:47  For it is thus that We have bestowed this divine writ from on high upon thee [O Muhammad]. And they to whom we have vouchsafed this divine writ believe in it just as among those [followers of earlier revelation] there are some who believe in it. And none could knowingly reject Our messages unless it be such as would deny [an obvious] truth

29:48  for, [O Muhammad,] thou hast never been able to recite any divine writ ere this one [was revealed], nor didst thou ever transcribe one with your own hand or else, they who try to disprove the truth [of thy revelation] might indeed have had cause to doubt [it]

29:49  Nay, but this [divine writ] consists of messages clear to the hearts of all who are gifted with [innate] knowledge and none could knowingly reject Our messages unless it be such as would do wrong [to themselves]

29:50  And yet they say, “Why have no miraculous signs ever been bestowed upon him from on high by his Sustainer?” Say: “Miracles are in the power of God alone; and as for me - I am but a plain warner.”

29:51  Why - is it not enough for them that We have bestowed this divine writ on thee from on high, to be conveyed [by thee] to them? For, verily, in it is [manifested Our] grace, and a reminder to people who will believe

29:52  Say [unto those who will not believe]: “God is witness enough between me and you! He knows all that is in the heavens and on earth; and they who are bent on believing in what is false and vain, and thus on denying God - it is they, they who shall be the losers!”

29:53  Now they challenge thee to hasten the coming upon them of [God’s] chastisement: and indeed, had not a term been set [for it by God], that suffering would already have come upon them! But indeed, it will most certainly come upon them of a sudden, and they will be taken unawares

29:54  They challenge thee to hasten the coming upon them of [God’s] chastisement: but, verily, hell is bound to encompass all who deny the truth –

29:55  [encompass them] on the Day when suffering will overwhelm them from above them and from beneath their feet, whereupon He shall say: “Taste [now the fruit of] your own doings!”

29:56  O YOU servants of Mine who have attained to faith! Behold, wide is Mine earth: worship Me, then, Me alone

29:57  Every human being is bound to taste death, [and] in the end unto Us shall all be brought back

29:58  whereupon unto those who have attained to faith and wrought good works We shall most certainly assign mansions in that paradise through which running waters flow, therein to abide: how excellent a reward for those who labour –

29:59  those who are patient in adversity and in their Sustainer place their trust

29:60  And how many a living creature is there that takes no thought of its own sustenance; [the while] God provides for it as [He provides] for you - since He alone is all-hearing, all-knowing

29:61  And thus it is [with most people]: if thou ask them, “Who is it that has created the heavens and the earth, and made the sun and the moon subservient [to His laws]?” - they will surely answer, “God.” How perverted, then, are their minds

29:62  God grants abundant sustenance, or gives it in scant measure, to whichever He wills of His creatures: for, behold, God has full knowledge of everything

29:63  And thus it is: if thou ask them, “Who is it that sends down water from the skies, giving life thereby to the earth after it had been lifeless?” - they will surely answer, “God.” Say thou: “[Since this is so,] all praise is due to God [alone]!” But most of them will not use their reason

29:64  for, [if they did, they would know that] the life of this world is nothing but a passing delight and a play - whereas, behold, the life in the hereafter is indeed the only [true] life: if they but knew this

29:65  And so, when they embark on a ship [and find themselves in danger], they call unto God, [at that moment] sincere in their faith in Him alone; but as soon as He has brought them safe ashore, they [begin to] ascribe to imaginary powers a share in His divinity

29:66  and thus they show utter ingratitude for all that We have vouchsafed them, and go on [thoughtlessly] enjoying their worldly life

29:67  Are they, then, not aware that We have set up a sanctuary secure [for those who believe in Us], the while all around them men are being carried away [by fear and despair]? Will they, then, [continue to] believe in things false and vain, and thus deny God’s blessings

29:68  And who could be more wicked than he who attributes his own lying inventions to God, or gives the lie to the truth when it comes unto him [through revelation]? Is not hell the [proper] abode for all who [thus] deny the truth

29:69  But as for those who strive hard in Our cause -We shall most certainly guide them onto paths that lead unto Us: for, behold, God is indeed with the doers of good