| | Ali Ünal rendition of Surah The Spider(al-`Ankabut)
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| 29:1 | | Alif. Lam. Mim |
| 29:2 | | Do people reckon that they will be left (to themselves at ease) on their mere saying, "We believe," and will not be put to a test |
| 29:3 | | We certainly tested those who preceded them. (This is Our unchanging way) so that God will certainly mark out those who prove true (in their profession of faith) and He will certainly mark out those who prove false |
| 29:4 | | Or do those who do evil deeds (and persecute the believers) reckon that they can frustrate Us and escape Our punishment? How evil is the judgment they have reached |
| 29:5 | | Whoever looks forward to meeting with God: the term set by God (for His meeting) will certainly come. He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing |
| 29:6 | | And whoever strives hard (against his carnal, evil-commanding soul and Satan to be a good Muslim and to resist all persecutions in God’s cause) strives for the good of his own soul only. Surely God is Self-Sufficient in absolute independence of all the worlds |
| 29:7 | | Those who believe and (in striving hard to be good Muslims) do good, righteous deeds, We will most certainly blot out from them their evil deeds, and will most certainly reward them in accordance with the best of what they used to do |
| 29:8 | | (As the requirement for being good Muslims) We have enjoined on human to be kind and good to his parents; but if they endeavor to make you associate with Me anything as partner, about whose being so you impossibly have no knowledge, do not obey them. To Me is your return, so I will make you understand what you were doing (and call you to account for it) |
| 29:9 | | Those who believe and do good, righteous deeds, We will most certainly include them among the righteous (who enter Paradise) |
| 29:10 | | Among the people are such as say, "We believe in God," but when (such a person) is subjected to persecution (for his confession of faith) in God, he construes persecution at the hands of people as God’s punishment (and rejects his faith); but if a victory comes from your Lord (to the believers), (such people) will most certainly say, "Surely we have always been with you." Or (do they think that) God is not fully aware of what is in the bosoms of all creatures (that He created) |
| 29:11 | | God will most certainly mark out those who truly believe and He will most certainly mark out the hypocritical ones |
| 29:12 | | Those who disbelieve say to those who believe: "If you follow our way (of religion and life), we will take your sins upon us, yet they cannot take upon them anything of their sins. They are liars indeed |
| 29:13 | | They will most certainly have to bear their own burdens, and other burdens together with their own; and most certainly they will be called to account on the Day of Resurrection for what they were busy fabricating (against God and other truths of faith) |
| 29:14 | | Indeed, We sent Noah to his people (as Messenger), and he remained among them a thousand years save fifty years, and in the end the Flood overtook them as they were wrongdoers (who persisted in associating partners with God and committing grave injustices) |
| 29:15 | | Yet We saved him and those who were together with him on the Ark, and We made this event as an exemplary sign (full of lessons) for all the people (to come after) |
| 29:16 | | And Abraham, too, (We sent as Messenger). He said to his people (in conveying this message): "Worship God alone and keep from disobedience to Him in reverence for Him and piety. Doing so is the best for you, if you would know (the truth of the matter) |
| 29:17 | | "You worship only idols instead of God, and thus you invent a mere falsehood (by deifying some things and beings such that it is impossible for them to be Deity). Surely those (beings whom you deify and make statutes of, and idols) that you worship instead of God do not have power to provide for you; so seek all your provision from God, and worship Him and be thankful to Him. To Him you are being brought back." |
| 29:18 | | If you deny Our Messenger, know that many communities before you denied (the Messengers sent to them, but their denial was of no avail to them). What rests with the Messenger is no more than to convey the Message fully and clearly |
| 29:19 | | Have they not considered how God originates creation in the first instance, and then reproduces it? This is indeed easy for God |
| 29:20 | | Say: "Go about on the earth and see how God originated creation. Then God will bring forth the other (second) creation (in the form of the Hereafter). Surely God has full power over everything |
| 29:21 | | (He will bring forth the Hereafter, where) He punishes whom He wills and has mercy on whom He wills. To Him you are being returned |
| 29:22 | | You cannot frustrate Him (in the execution of His Will even if you penetrate the depths) in the earth or in the heaven. And you have none to protect you, and none to help you, except God |
| 29:23 | | Those who disbelieve in the signs of God (in the universe and in themselves) and His Revelations, and in the meeting with Him (in the Hereafter), they have no hope and expectation of a share in My Mercy. (God has forbidden them Paradise.) And for them there is a painful punishment |
| 29:24 | | But the response of his (Abraham’s) people was only to say: "Kill him, or burn him," but God saved him from the fire (that they kindled to burn him). Surely in this are signs (important lessons) for people who will believe and who will deepen in faith |
| 29:25 | | He (Abraham) said to them: "You have taken to yourselves idols to worship instead of God, for no other reason than to have a bond of love and attachment between you only in the life of this world. But then, on the Day of Resurrection you will deny one another (disowning any relation between you), and curse one another. Your final refuge will be the Fire, and you will have no helpers |
| 29:26 | | Lot believed in him, and he (Abraham) said: "I am emigrating to my Lord (leaving my land and people for a place where I can practice my Religion). Surely, He is the All-Glorious with irresistible might (whomever He helps cannot be debased, and whomever He preserves does not fail), the All-Wise (in whatever He does and decrees there are many instances of wisdom) |
| 29:27 | | We bestowed upon him (a son) Isaac and (a grandson) Jacob, and caused Prophethood and the revelation of the Book to continue among his offspring, and We granted him his reward in this world also; and he surely is among the righteous in the Hereafter |
| 29:28 | | And Lot too (We sent as Messenger). He said (to his people in conveying this message): "Indeed you (the men of this whole community) commit an indecency such as none people in all the world has have ever done before you |
| 29:29 | | (After such severe warnings of God) will you continue to go come to men with lust, waylay (travelers) on the road (especially male travelers), and commit shameful deeds in your assemblies? The response of his people was only that they said (mocking and challenging him): "Bring down upon us the punishment of God with which you threaten us, if you are truthful!" |
| 29:30 | | He (Lot) said (in supplication): "My Lord, help me against these people given to spreading corruption." |
| 29:31 | | And so, when Our (heavenly) envoys came to Abraham with the glad tidings (of the birth of Isaac), they said to him: "We are going to destroy the people of that township. For its people are wrongdoers (who exceed all bounds in indecency)." |
| 29:32 | | He said: "But Lot is there." They said: "We know very well who is there. We will certainly save him and his family (by allowing them to leave the place), except his wife, who (as has been decreed) is among those who will stay behind (and be destroyed)." |
| 29:33 | | And when Our messengers came to Lot, he was troubled on their account and felt himself powerless to protect them. They said: "Do not be worried, nor be grieved. We are going to save you and your family except your wife who (as has been decreed) is among those who will stay behind (and be destroyed) |
| 29:34 | | "We are going to bring down on the people of this township a scourge from the sky because they have persistently been transgressing (all bounds of decency and equity)." |
| 29:35 | | Assuredly We have left behind a clear sign for a people who use theirwill reason and understand |
| 29:36 | | And to Midian We sent their brother Shu‘ayb (as Messenger), and he said (to them in conveying this message): "O my people! Worship God alone and be prepared for the Last Day (in certain expectation that you will be asked to account for all your deeds in the world), and do not go about acting wickedly in the land, causing disorder and corruption." |
| 29:37 | | But they denied him, and in consequence a shocking catastrophe seized them, so that they lay prostrate (and lifeless) in their dwellings |
| 29:38 | | And the Ad and Thamud – (their fate) is manifest to you from their dwellings (still lying in ruins). Satan decked out their (evil) deeds to be appealing to them, and so debarred them from the right way, though they were intelligent (enough to see the truth) |
| 29:39 | | And Korah, Pharaoh, and Haman – indeed Moses came to them with clear proofs of the truth, but they were arrogant and oppressive in the land. Yet they could not outrun (Our punishment) |
| 29:40 | | Each of them (of the communities mentioned) We seized in their sins. Of them are those upon whom We sent a hurricane (of stones), and of them are those whom the awful blast seized, and of them is him whom We caused to be swallowed by the earth, and of them those whom We caused to drown. God would never wrong them, but it was they who wronged themselves |
| 29:41 | | The parable of those who take to them other than God for guardians (to entrust their affairs to) is like a spider: it has made for itself a house, and surely the frailest of houses is the spider’s house. If only they knew this |
| 29:42 | | God surely knows what they deify and invoke apart from Him and that their doing so is not based on any truth. He is the All-Glorious with irresistible might (Who never accepts any partner in Divinity, Lordship and Sovereignty), the All-Wise (in Whose creation and rule there are many instances of wisdom) |
| 29:43 | | Those parables – We strike them for people (so that they may see the truth and mend their ways). But none reasons to understand (their true meaning and purpose) save the knowledgeable |
| 29:44 | | He has created the heavens and the earth with truth (meaningfully and for definite, wise purposes, and on solid foundations of truth). Surely in this is a sign for the believers |
| 29:45 | | Recite and convey to them what is revealed to you of the Book, and establish the Prayer in conformity with its conditions. Surely, the Prayer restrains from all that is indecent and shameful, and all that is evil. Surely God’s remembrance is the greatest (of all types of worship and not restricted to the Prayer). God knows all that you do |
| 29:46 | | Do not argue with those who were given the Book save in the best way, unless it be those of them who are given to wrongdoing (and therefore not accessible to courteous argument). Say (to them): "We believe in what has been sent down to us and what was sent down to you, and your God and our God is one and the same. We are Muslims wholly submitted to Him." |
| 29:47 | | It is in this way (upon the principle of submission to God and as a confirmation of all the previous Books and Prophets) that We have sent down the Book to you. So those who were given the Book before (and are sincere with respect to the Divine Revelation) believe in it, and among those (people of Makkah, also) there are some who believe in it. None could oppose and reject Our Revelations except unbelievers (those who knowingly cover them with falsehood) |
| 29:48 | | You did not (O Messenger) read of any book before it (the revelation of this Qur’an), nor did you write one with your right (or left) hand. For then those who have ever sought to disprove the truth might have a reason to doubt (it) |
| 29:49 | | It (the Qur’an) is indeed self-evident, enlightening Revelations (revealed by God and so able to impress themselves) in the hearts of those endowed with knowledge. None oppose and reject them except wrongdoers (those who cannot determine with justice and so act arrogantly in response to them) |
| 29:50 | | They say: "Why have no miraculous signs been sent down on him from his Lord?" Say: "The miraculous signs are but at the Will and in the Power of only God. I am but a plain warner (with no freedom and power to be able to do whatever I wish)." |
| 29:51 | | Is it not enough for them (as a miraculous sign) that We have sent down to you the Book which is recited to them? Surely in it there is great mercy and (instructive) reminder for a people who believe |
| 29:52 | | Say: "God suffices as a witness between me and you. He knows whatever is in the heavens and on the earth. As for those who believe in the falsehood and disbelieve in God (by rejecting His Revelation and Messenger), they are the losers (who have ruined themselves)." |
| 29:53 | | They challenge you to hasten the punishment (with which they are threatened by God). Had it not been for the term appointed by God, the punishment would have come upon them (already). And it will come upon them all of a sudden, when they are unaware |
| 29:54 | | They challenge you to hasten the punishment (with which they are threatened by God). Surely Hell will encompass the unbelievers (with the reasons for them to enter it, and is bound to have them in it) |
| 29:55 | | On that Day the suffering will overwhelm them from above them and from beneath their feet, and (God) will say to them: "Taste now what you used to do (in the world)!" |
| 29:56 | | O My servants who believe (but are prevented from living according to your belief)! My earth is vast, so worship Me alone |
| 29:57 | | Every soul is bound to taste death, and then to Us you will be brought back |
| 29:58 | | Those who believe and do good, righteous deeds, We will most certainly lodge them in high, lofty mansions in Paradise through which rivers flow, therein to abide. How excellent is the reward of those who always do good deeds |
| 29:59 | | They are patient (in the face of the adversities they suffer for the sake of worshipping God only), and in their Lord they put their trust (expecting no support from any other power or authority) |
| 29:60 | | How many a living creature there is that does not carry its own provision (in store), but God provides for them, and indeed for you. He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing |
| 29:61 | | If you ask them, "Who is it that has created the heavens and the earth, and made the sun and the moon subservient to His order (thereby sustaining life)?" they will most certainly say, "God." How then are they (who oppose this Revelation) turned away from the truth and make false claims |
| 29:62 | | God enlarges provision for whom He wills of His servants, and straitens it (for whom He wills). Surely God has full knowledge of everything |
| 29:63 | | If you ask them, "Who is it that sends down water from the sky, and revives with it the earth after its death?" they will most certainly say, "God." Say (you, also): "All praise and gratitude are for God." But most of them do not use their reason (to know the truth and distinguish it from falsehood) |
| 29:64 | | The present, worldly life is nothing but a pastime and play, but the abode of the Hereafter is truly alive. If they but knew |
| 29:65 | | When they embark on a ship (and find themselves in danger), they call upon God sincerely believing in Him alone (as the only Deity, Lord, and Sovereign). But when He brings them safe to land, see, they begin again to associate partners with God |
| 29:66 | | And so let them show ingratitude for all that We have granted them, and so let them give themselves up to the enjoyment of the worldly life; but they will come to know |
| 29:67 | | Do they not consider that We have established (them in) a secure sanctuary while people are ravaged all around them? (How then) do they believe in falsehood and (show such ingratitude as) to disbelieve in God’s greatest blessing (of the Qur’an and Islam) |
| 29:68 | | Who is more in the wrong than he who fabricates falsehood in attribution to God or denies the truth when it has come to him? Is there not a dwelling in Hell for the unbelievers? |
| 29:69 | | Those (on the other hand) who strive hard for Our sake, We will most certainly guide them to Our ways (that We have established to lead them to salvation). Most assuredly, God is with those devoted to doing good, aware that God is seeing them |
