| | Sayyid Qutb rendition of Surah The Believers(al-Mu`minun)
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| 23:1 | | Truly, successful shall be the believers, |
| 23:2 | | who humble themselves in their prayer, |
| 23:3 | | who turn away from all that is frivolous, |
| 23:4 | | who are active in deeds of charity, |
| 23:5 | | who refrain from sex |
| 23:6 | | except with those joined to them in marriage, or those whom they rightfully possess for then, they are free of all blame, |
| 23:7 | | whereas those who seek to go beyond that [limit] are indeed transgressors, |
| 23:8 | | who are faithful to their trusts and to their pledges, |
| 23:9 | | and who are diligent in their prayers. |
| 23:10 | | These shall be the heirs, |
| 23:11 | | who will inherit paradise; therein shall they abide. |
| 23:12 | | Indeed, We create man out of the essence of clay, |
| 23:13 | | then We place him, a gamete,13 in a safe place of rest. |
| 23:14 | | Then We create out of the gamete a clinging cell mass, and out of the clinging cell mass We create an embryo. Then We create within the embryo bones, then We clothe the bones with flesh. We then bring this into being as another creation. Exalted be God, the best of creators. |
| 23:15 | | And then, after all this, you are destined to die ; |
| 23:16 | | and then, you shall be restored to life on the Day of Resurrection. |
| 23:17 | | We have created above you seven [celestial] orbits; and never are We unmindful of [Our] creation. |
| 23:18 | | We send down water from the skies in accordance with a set measure, and We cause it to lodge in the earth; and We are most certainly able to take it all away. |
| 23:19 | | And by means of this water We bring forth for you gardens of date-palms and vines, yielding abundant fruit, and from which you eat, |
| 23:20 | | as well as a tree that grows on Mount Sinai yielding oil and relish for all to eat. |
| 23:21 | | In the cattle too there is a lesson for you: We give you to drink of that which is in their bellies, and you gain many other benefits from them, and you eat of their flesh. |
| 23:22 | | By them, as by the ships you are carried. |
| 23:23 | | We sent forth Noah to his people, and he said: 'My people! Worship God alone, for you have no deity other than Him. Will you not be God- fearing?' |
| 23:24 | | The unbelieving elders of his people said: 'This man is but a mortal like yourselves who wants to make himself superior to you. Had God willed, He would surely have sent down angels. We have never heard anything like this ever happening to our forefathers. |
| 23:25 | | He is but a madman; so bear with him for a while.' |
| 23:26 | | He said: 'My Lord, help me against their accusation of lying.' |
| 23:27 | | We revealed to him to 'build the ark, under Our eyes, and according to Our inspiration. When Our judgement comes to pass, and water gushes forth over the face of the earth, place on board this ark one pair of every species, as well as your family, except those on whom sentence has already been passed. Do not plead with Me for the wrongdoers; for they shall be drowned. |
| 23:28 | | When you and those who are with you are settled in the ark, say: All praise is due to God who has saved us from those wrongdoing folk.' |
| 23:29 | | And also say: 'My Lord! Let my landing be blessed. You are the best to bring us to safe landing.' |
| 23:30 | | Surely, in that there are signs. Indeed, We always put [people] to a test. |
| 23:31 | | Then after these people We raised a new generation. |
| 23:32 | | And We sent forth to them a messenger from among themselves, and he said: 'My people! Worship God alone, for you have no deity other than Him. Will you not be God-fearing?' |
| 23:33 | | The unbelieving elders of his people, who denied the life to come and to whom We granted ease and plenty in this worldly life, said: 'This man is but a mortal like yourselves, eating of what you eat and drinking of what you drink. |
| 23:34 | | Indeed, if you pay heed to a mortal like yourselves, you will certainly be the losers. |
| 23:35 | | Does he promise you that, after you have died and become dust and bones, you shall be brought forth to life? |
| 23:36 | | Improbable, improbable indeed is what you are promised! |
| 23:37 | | There is no life beyond this, our present life; we die and we live, and we shall never be restored to life. |
| 23:38 | | He is nothing but a man who attributes his lies to God. Never will we believe in him.' |
| 23:39 | | He said: 'My Lord, help me against their accusation of lying.' |
| 23:40 | | Said [God]: 'Before long they shall certainly come to rue it.' |
| 23:41 | | Then the blast overtook them in all justice, and We caused them to be like dead leaves. And so away with those wrongdoing folk! |
| 23:42 | | Then after them We raised new generations. |
| 23:43 | | No community can forestall the end of its term nor delay it. |
| 23:44 | | And We sent forth Our messengers, one after another. Every time their messenger came to a community, they accused him of lying. So, We caused them to follow one another, and let them become mere tales. And so away with the folk who would not believe. |
| 23:45 | | And then We sent forth Moses and his brother Aaron, with Our signs and with clear authority, |
| 23:46 | | to Pharaoh and his nobles; but these behaved with arrogance, for they were haughty people. |
| 23:47 | | And so they said: 'Are we to believe two mortals like ourselves, even though their people are our slaves?' |
| 23:48 | | Thus, they gave the lie to them, and earned their place among the doomed. |
| 23:49 | | We had indeed given Moses the Book, so that they might be guided. |
| 23:50 | | And We made the son of Mary and his mother a symbol, and provided them with an abode in a lofty place of lasting restfulness and a fresh spring. |
| 23:51 | | Messengers! Eat of that which is wholesome, and do good deeds: I certainly have full knowledge of all that you do. |
| 23:52 | | This community of yours is one single community, and I am your only Lord. Therefore, fear Me alone. |
| 23:53 | | But people have divided themselves into factions, each delighting in what they have. |
| 23:54 | | So, leave them alone, lost in ignorance, till a time appointed. |
| 23:55 | | Do they think that by all the wealth and offspring We provide for them |
| 23:56 | | We hasten to them all that is good? By no means! But they are devoid of perception. |
| 23:57 | | Truly, those who stand in reverent awe of their Lord, |
| 23:58 | | and who believe in their Lord's revelations, |
| 23:59 | | and who do not associate any partners with their Lord, |
| 23:60 | | and who give away whatever they have to give with their hearts filled with awe, knowing that to their Lord they shall certainly return: |
| 23:61 | | these vie with one another in doing good works, and they are the ones who are foremost in them. |
| 23:62 | | We do not charge a soul with more than it can bear. We have a record that speaks the truth. None shall be wronged. |
| 23:63 | | Nay, their hearts are blind to all this. But apart from all that, they have deeds which they will continue to commit. |
| 23:64 | | Then, when We shall have overwhelmed with suffering those of them that live in luxury, they cry out in belated supplication. |
| 23:65 | | [But they will he told:] Do not cry out this day, for from Us you shall receive no help. |
| 23:66 | | Time and again were My revelations recited to you, but every time you would turn about on your heels, |
| 23:67 | | revelling in your arrogance, and talking senselessly far into the night. |
| 23:68 | | Have they, then, never tried to understand this word [of God]? Or has there come to them something that never came to their forefathers of old? |
| 23:69 | | Or do they not recognize their Messenger, and so they deny him? |
| 23:70 | | Or do they say that there is in him a touch of madness? Nay, he has brought them the truth; and the truth do most of them detest. |
| 23:71 | | Had the truth been in accord with their desires, the heavens and the earth, together with all that lives in them, would surely have been in utter corruption. Nay, We have given them all that brings them glory. Yet from this their glory they turn away. |
| 23:72 | | Or do you ask of them any recompense? But the recompense given by your Lord is best, since He is the best of providers. |
| 23:73 | | Most certainly, you call them to a straight path. |
| 23:74 | | But those who will not believe in the life to come are bound to deviate from the right path. |
| 23:75 | | Even were We to show them mercy and remove whatever distress might afflict them, they would still persist in their overweening arrogance, blindly stumbling to and fro. |
| 23:76 | | Indeed, We took them to task, but they neither humbled themselves before their Lord, nor do they submissively entreat [Him]. |
| 23:77 | | Yet when We open before them a gate of truly severe suffering, they will plunge in despair. |
| 23:78 | | It is He who has endowed you with hearing, and sight, and minds. How seldom are you grateful. |
| 23:79 | | And He it is who caused you to multiply on earth; and to Him you shall be gathered. |
| 23:80 | | And He it is who grants life and causes death; and to Him is due the alternation of night and day. Will you not, then, use your reason? |
| 23:81 | | But they say like the people of old times used to say. |
| 23:82 | | They say: 'What! After we have died and become dust and bones, shall we be raised to life? |
| 23:83 | | This we have been promised before, we and our forefathers! This is nothing but fables of the ancients.' |
| 23:84 | | Say: 'To whom belongs the earth and all that lives therein? [Tell me] if you know.' |
| 23:85 | | They will reply: 'To God.' Say: 'Will you not, then, reflect?' |
| 23:86 | | Say: 'Who is the Lord of the seven heavens, and the Lord of the Supreme Throne?' |
| 23:87 | | They will reply: '[They all belong] to God.' Say: 'Will you not, then, fear Him?' |
| 23:88 | | Say: 'In whose hand rests the sovereignty of all things, protecting all, while against Him there is no protection? [Tell me] if you know.' |
| 23:89 | | They will reply: '[They all belong] to God.' Say: 'How, then, can you be so deluded?' |
| 23:90 | | Nay, We have revealed to them the truth; and yet, they are certainly lying. |
| 23:91 | | Never did God take to Himself any offspring, nor has there ever been any deity alongside Him. [Had there been any] each deity would surely have taken away his own creation, and they would surely have tried to establish superiority over one another. Limitless in His glory is God, far above all that which they attribute to Him. |
| 23:92 | | He knows all that is beyond the reach of human perception, and all that can be witnessed. Sublimely exalted is He above anything they associate as a partner with Him. |
| 23:93 | | Say: 'My Lord! If it be Your will to show me that which they are warned against, |
| 23:94 | | then, my Lord, do not let me be one of those wrongdoing folk.' |
| 23:95 | | We are most certainly able to show you that which We promise them. |
| 23:96 | | Repel evil with that which is best. We are fully aware of all that they say. |
| 23:97 | | And say: 'My Lord! I seek refuge with You from the promptings of the evil ones; |
| 23:98 | | and I seek refuge with You, my Lord, lest they come near me.' |
| 23:99 | | When death approaches any of them, he says: 'My Lord! Let me return [to life], |
| 23:100 | | so that I may act righteously in whatever I have failed to do.' By no means! It is but a word he says. Behind them there stands a barrier till the day when all will be raised from the dead. |
| 23:101 | | Then, when the trumpet is sounded, there will be no ties of kinship between them on that day, nor will they ask about one another. |
| 23:102 | | Those whose weight [of good deeds] is heavy in the scales will be successful; |
| 23:103 | | but those whose weight is light will have lost their souls and will abide in hell. |
| 23:104 | | The fire will scorch their faces, and therein they will look gloomy. |
| 23:105 | | 'Were not My revelations read out to you, and did you not consider them as lies?' |
| 23:106 | | They will reply: 'Our Lord! Our misfortune has overwhelmed us, and so we went astray. |
| 23:107 | | Our Lord! Bring us out of this [suffering]. If ever We relapse, then we shall be wrongdoers indeed.' |
| 23:108 | | He will say: Away with you into this ignominy! And do not plead with Me. |
| 23:109 | | Among My servants there were those who said: “Our Lord! We believe in You. Forgive us and have mercy on us; for You are the best of those who show mercy.†|
| 23:110 | | But you made them the target of your derision to the point where it made you forget all re- membrance of Me; and you went on laughing at them. |
| 23:111 | | Today I have rewarded them for their patience in adversity. Indeed it is they who have achieved triumph.' |
| 23:112 | | And He will ask: 'How many years have you spent on earth?' |
| 23:113 | | They will answer: 'We have spent there a day, or part of a day; but ask those who keep count.' |
| 23:114 | | He will say: 'Brief indeed was your sojourn, if you but knew it. |
| 23:115 | | Did you think that We created you in mere idle play, and that to Us you would not have to return?' |
| 23:116 | | Sublimely exalted is God, the Ultimate Sovereign, the Ultimate Truth. There is no deity other than Him, the Lord of the Glorious Throne. |
| 23:117 | | He that invokes besides God any other deity a deity for whose existence he has no evidence shall be brought to account before his Lord. Most certainly, the unbelievers shall never be successful. |
| 23:118 | | Say: 'My Lord! Forgive and have mercy. You are the best of those who show mercy.' |
