| | Bijan Moeinian rendition of Surah The Forgiver, The Forgiving One(Ghafir)
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| 40:1 | | H.M |
| 40:2 | | It is Almighty, the most knowledgeable who has sent down this Qur’a |
| 40:3 | | God in one hand accepts repentance and forgives the sins and, on the other hand, severely punishes those who are too arrogant to ask for forgiveness and continue to oppose God’s orders. God is the only One worthy of worship; he showers the believers with favors and everyone eventually has to stand Him face to face |
| 40:4 | | None disputes the word of God except the disbelievers. Therefore, never mind them going from one place to another engaged in disinformation campaign |
| 40:5 | | [Denial of truth is not a new phenomenon.] People of Noah (as well as people of the prophets after him) denied their prophets and tried to destroy them physically and through disinformation campaign. I (God) punished them with the most severe punishment |
| 40:6 | | The words of your Lord is nothing but the truth. Those who oppose it will be sent to Hell to face the fire |
| 40:7 | | Those who serve His throne and those around the Lord glorify, worship, believe in Him and ask forgiveness for the sins of the believers saying: “O Lord you are the Most Knowledgeable in every domain; forgive those who submitted to you and follow your way and keep them away from the blazing Hell Fire.&rdquo |
| 40:8 | | “We implore you, Almighty and the Most Wise, to admit them (as well as their righteous parents, wives and children) in the Gardens of Paradise that you have promised them.&rdquo |
| 40:9 | | “Please do not let them fall in sins. Those whom you protected from falling in sins will be showered by your mercy in the Day of Judgment and, in fact, there is not better achievement than this.&rdquo |
| 40:10 | | On the Day of Judgment, the disbelievers will be told: “You are angry at yourself now but God is more angry in account of your refusal of His inviting you to the right path.&rdquo |
| 40:11 | | The disbelievers will implore: “You made us die twice and gave live twice too; we confess to our sins. Is there any way out [another chance]?&rdquo |
| 40:12 | | [It will be said to them:] “Your fate is due to the fact that you refused to accept the One and Only One God as your Lord; instead you challenged Him with your gods [you asked for it and you got it]. The Judgment now rests with God, the Most High, the Most Great&rdquo |
| 40:13 | | God is the One Who continuously reminds you of Himself [by exposing you to the interesting phenomena of His domain of creation] and sends down your provision from the sky above [without rain water no provision of man grows]; only those who contact God frequently appreciate His Kingdom |
| 40:14 | | Choose the religion which is sanctioned by God and worship him sincerely even though the disbelievers may not approve of you |
| 40:15 | | God is the Highest in Rank. He is Master of the throne of the Kingdom of the universe. He reveals His revelations through whoever He chooses to warn mankind of the Day that they have to meet their Lord |
| 40:16 | | On that Day everyone will be completely exposed and no one can hide nothing from the Lord. When it is asked: “To Who belongs the Kingdom of the realm of the creation?”, the whole universe will cry out: “To God, the One, the Most Powerful.&rdquo |
| 40:17 | | On the Day of Judgment every soul will be judged by what it has earned. None will be subject to injustice and the justice will be imposed quickly [no lawyers’ dragging the case to the higher courts.] |
| 40:18 | | Let them know that the Day is approaching very fast when the hearts will leap up to the throat and they will stay motionless at awe. Wrongdoers then will be so sorry; they will have no friend or a counselor to defend them |
| 40:19 | | God is fully aware of what the eyes cannot see and what the mind hides |
| 40:20 | | He will, therefore, judge with full Justice while the idols [in any form or shape] that the disbelievers worship cannot judge anything. God hears everything and watches over everything |
| 40:21 | | Have this disbelievers not left their towns to see what happened to the other disbelieving nations before them? They were much stronger and more productive but made God punish them for their misconducts. When God’s punishment came upon them, there was none to save them |
| 40:22 | | Their doom was due to the fact that they did not listen to their Prophets in spite of convincing miracles that they came with. Therefore God punished them. Indeed God is mighty and decisive in punishment |
| 40:23 | | I sent Moses with such miracles that left no doubt about his prophet hood to Pharaoh, [his chief advisor] Haman and Korah [the wealthiest man of the time]. &hellip |
| 40:24 | | Instead of submitting themselves, they denied [the undeniable] and called him a “sorcerer” and a “liar!&rdquo |
| 40:25 | | When Moses presented his Divine message, they said: “Kill Moses along with the sons of all believers and spare their daughters for our pleasure.” The most horrible scheme of the disbelievers, however, is too weak to cover the message of God [as their plan did not even reach to the level of execution] |
| 40:26 | | [At the height of desperation] Pharaoh said: “I am going to kill Moses; let me see how his God will save him. Enough is enough; he is taking you away from your religion and pretty soon he will cause a revolution.&rdquo |
| 40:27 | | Moses replied: “I seek refuge in my Creator, which is your Creator too, [and, therefore, do not have the least fear] from all you arrogant people who do not believe in the Day of the Judgment.&rdquo |
| 40:28 | | At this time a believing man among Pharaoh’s people (who had kept his faith hidden) spoke out and said: “How can you kill a man just for saying that there is only One God? If in spite of all his outstanding miracles you regard him as a liar, then leave him alone [you do not kill someone in account of his belief]. If, on the other hand, he is truthful, then take advantage of his guidance. Know that if you go beyond the boundaries of justice [and kill Moses], God will never guide you kind of people |
| 40:29 | | [The man then continued:] “O my people, today you possess the power and have the upper hand. Why do you challenge God to send his punishment upon us? Who is going to help us, if that happens? Pharaoh responded: “Don’t worry; I know right and wrong and I will guide you to the right path!&rdquo |
| 40:30 | | The believing man said: “O my people, I am afraid that you will have the same fate as the nations before you who provoked God’s anger:&hellip |
| 40:31 | | The fate of the people of Noah, Ad, Thamud and the other wrong doing nations and this in spite of the fact that God does not have any enmity with His creatures.&rdquo |
| 40:32 | | “O’ my people, I hate to see you [how shameful and sorry you are] on the Day that you will be summoned to meet your Lord.&rdquo |
| 40:33 | | “To see you running around, cry out to each other and find none [in your desperation] to protect you from God’s punishment. What a shame that there is none to guide the one who has made God disappointed from him up to a pint that He has let him to slip deeper and deeper into the darkness |
| 40:34 | | “Remember that, before Moses, God sent Joseph [to Egypt] with clear proofs of his prophet hood but you still doubted; and when he died you [my people] said: “God will never send another Prophet after him” [so that you close the doors of any opportunity to be challenged]. God indeed let the doubters slip into the darkness.&rdquo |
| 40:35 | | “These doubters and sinners are the ones who dispute the words of God with crooked arguments. This is a characteristic that is most resented by God and makes Him to put a seal on the heart of such arrogant people.&rdquo |
| 40:36 | | Pharaoh then [interrupted the man arrogantly and] said to Haman [his Prime Minister]: “Build for me a tall tower so that I may reach the heaven and look at this god of Moses&hellip |
| 40:37 | | I want to be sure that he is a liar.” Thus the idiotic attitude of Pharaoh seemed to him the most appropriate and I (God) let him slip, in return, into darkness. Thus Pharaoh’s evil plans fired back and led to his own ruin |
| 40:38 | | The man who had believed continued saying: “O my people, follow me and let me show you the right path.&rdquo |
| 40:39 | | “Know that the life in this world is temporary and will pass fast by; it is the life in our real home in Hereafter which is permanent.&rdquo |
| 40:40 | | “Any one who does a wrong thing will receive equal suffering for it. As to the good deeds of men and women, they will receive limitless rewards in the Paradise, if they choose to believe.&rdquo |
| 40:41 | | “O’ my people, what is wrong with you? I am inviting you to salvation and you are inviting me to the Fire!&rdquo |
| 40:42 | | “You are asking me to worship the unknown deities while I invite you to the Almighty, the Most Forgiving.&rdquo |
| 40:43 | | “The fact of the matter is: those, who you invite me to worship, have no power neither in this world nor in the Hereafter. Our final return is to God and the wrongdoers have only one destiny: the fire.&rdquo |
| 40:44 | | “[I know that I am going to loose my privileges in account of my speech but] Soon you will remember my words. I [am no afraid a bit as I] put my trust in God who is watching over His servants.&rdquo |
| 40:45 | | [Although the fate of the believing man was supposed to be terrible,] God saved him while the disbelievers of Pharaoh’s people received an awful punishment |
| 40:46 | | [While waiting for their Resurrection (in the grave),] The people of Pharaoh will continuously be exposed to the nightmare of their destiny, i.e., the Hell. On the Day of Resurrection, it will be ordered: “Now admit them to the worse place of Hell for the most horrible punishment.&rdquo |
| 40:47 | | While in the Fire, the lower rank ones will say to their superiors: “We followed your orders blindly; now can you use your “power” to at least reduce our punishment?&rdquo |
| 40:48 | | The “powerful” ones will say: “We are all in the same boat; God has already passed His [unchangeable] judgment.&rdquo |
| 40:49 | | [Disappointed from their “superiors’” inability,] They will turn then into the Hell Keepers saying: “We beg you to pray so that God may give us only one day break from the Fire.&rdquo |
| 40:50 | | The Hell Keepers will reply: “Did not your Prophets explain with undeniable proofs your choices?” They will say: “Yes.” The Hell Keepers then will reply with no compassion: “Pray yourself then.” There will be no response for the disbelievers’ prayers |
| 40:51 | | Be assured that I (God) will give the final victory to My Prophets and those who believed in this world as well as the Day that the witnesses will be summoned |
| 40:52 | | On the Day of Judgment the apologies of the wrongdoers will not be accepted as they have already earned the curse of God and have earned the worst place to live in |
| 40:53 | | I gave Moses the guidance and blessed the Jews with the Scriptures |
| 40:54 | | The scriptures were the beacon to light up their way and a source of reference for the seekers of wisdom |
| 40:55 | | [You (Mohammad) will be helped in the same manner too; therefore] Be patient as God delivers what He promises. Glorify your Lord in the morning and in the evening and ask forgiveness for your sins |
| 40:56 | | Those argumentative people who challenge the word of God without any knowledge are sick of arrogance (without even knowing it) and will fail. Seek refuge in God as He hears everything and sees everything |
| 40:57 | | Most people do not realize the awesome effort that God has put in the creation of the universe. It has been much more awesome than the creation of mankind [therefore, God can resurrect man easily anytime He wishes.] |
| 40:58 | | For the same token that a blind person and the one blessed with the faculty of seeing are not equal, the wrongdoers and the righteous ones are not equal either [ justice, therefore, requires the existence of the Hereafter so that people be rewarded accordingly.] Most people, however, care less |
| 40:59 | | The resurrection will surely take place but most people doubt it |
| 40:60 | | Your Lord says: “Call upon Me: I will answer your prayers. Those who resent worshipping Me in account of their arrogance will be humiliated and thrown into the Hell.&rdquo |
| 40:61 | | God has created the night so that you rest and the day bright [so that you find your provision]. The fact is that God is the most generous to the people yet most people are not grateful |
| 40:62 | | Such is God your Lord; the Creator of everything. There is only One God. How dare you to choose the wrong path |
| 40:63 | | Only those who do not respect God’s revelations will be mislead |
| 40:64 | | God is the One Who made the earth hospitable for you and put a canopy around it [the ozone layer], gave you the highest faculties [compared to the animals] and provided you the purest provisions [for a healthy life]. Such is God your Lord, Highest in rank and King of the universe |
| 40:65 | | God is alive. There is no god beside Him. Call upon Him and no one else for help and guidance. Choose a God pleasing way of life. Praise be to God, the Lord of the universe |
| 40:66 | | O’ Mohammad, tell the people: “I have been forbidden to worship anything but God. How can I do else after being exposed to His clear proofs? I [like everyone else] am commanded to submit to the Lord of all creation.&rdquo |
| 40:67 | | God is the one who created you originally from the earthly materials. He made the sperm change into a clot of blood and eventually turned it into a child. God then makes you to grow up to attain the full strength. He then lets you attain the old age and some are summoned before completing the whole cycle. Your whole life is a gift from God so that you discover and understand the reality |
| 40:68 | | God is the One Who Gives life and ordains death. Whatever He desires to be done, He simply says: “Be” and it shall be |
| 40:69 | | Have you noted why the argumentative disbelievers are in the wrong path |
| 40:70 | | That is because they disbelieved in the Scriptures and looked down upon My messages sent to them through My Prophets. Pretty soon they will find out the consequences of their denial |
| 40:71 | | Shackles around their necks and chains to drag them toward the Hell |
| 40:72 | | First thrown inside the boiling water and then the Fire |
| 40:73 | | They will be asked: “Where are what you were worshipping beside God?” They will say: “They have abandoned us…. |
| 40:74 | | Now we realize that we were worshipping nothing of real value” [after all, what is the “real value” of a piece of paper that people devote all their life to accumulate?] The |
| 40:75 | | deserve to be left alone by God to follow the wrong path |
| 40:76 | | It will be said to them: “Your fate is due to your following and promoting wrong doctrines. In consequence, enter through the gates of the Hell and stay there forever; what a miserable destiny has led your arrogance to.&rdquo |
| 40:77 | | God tells you the truth, so be patient Mohammad. whether I let you see the partial consequence of their disbelief or ordain the death upon you before that, they will be summoned to My court on the Day of Judgment |
| 40:78 | | I sent many Prophets before you. The life story of some of them are mentioned to you and the others you do not know about them. No Prophet may produce a miracle without God’s authorization. When God passes His Judgment, the falsehood will disappear and the truth will prevail |
| 40:79 | | God is the One Who has created the cattle for you; some you ride on and some you use as food |
| 40:80 | | You also get additional benefits from them. You use them, as well as the ships [and other man made vehicles], to go wherever you desire |
| 40:81 | | These are the simple proofs of the existence of God. How do you deny His signs scattered around you? [Could you ride on something without God’s power fueling it?] |
| 40:82 | | Have they not ever traveled to see the ruins of the other civilizations? The latter were more populated, mightier and left more traces behind. Yet all their materialistic achievements did not protect them [after all what kind of materialistic wealth one can take with him while leaving this world?] |
| 40:83 | | When I sent them My Prophets with clear signs and proofs, they stuck to their own style of life and social systems. The very things that they ridiculed, were the cause of their fall |
| 40:84 | | When they faced My punishment, they cried out: “We now believe in God, the one. We denounce all those gods whom we used to worship beside God.&rdquo |
| 40:85 | | But the belief or the repentance after the inevitable [death or punishment of God] is not acceptable. The fact of the matter is: “The disbelievers are always doomed.&rdquo |
