11:1  Alif Lam Ra. A Book whose ayats are perfectly constructed, and then demarcated, coming directly from One who is All-Wise, All-Aware.

11:2  ´Do not worship anyone but Allah! I am a warner and bringer of good news to you from Him

11:3  Ask your Lord for forgiveness and then make tawba to Him. He will let you enjoy a good life until a specified time, and will give His favour to all who merit it. But if you turn your backs, I fear for you the punishment of a Mighty Day.

11:4  You will return to Allah. He has power over all things.´

11:5  See how they wrap themselves round trying to conceal their feelings from Him! No, indeed! When they wrap their garments round themselves, He knows what they keep secret and what they make public. He knows what their hearts contain.

11:6  There is no creature on the earth which is not dependent upon Allah for its provision. He knows where it lives and where it dies. They are all in a Clear Book.

11:7  It is He who created the heavens and the earth in six days when His Throne was on the water, in order to test which of you has the best actions. If you say, ´You will be raised up after death,´ those who are kafir will say, ´This is nothing but downright magic.´

11:8  If We postpone the punishment for them for a limited time, they will say, ´What is holding it back?´ No, indeed! The day it reaches them it will not be averted from them and the things they mocked at will encompass them.

11:9  If We let man taste mercy from Us, and then take it away from him, he is despairing, ungrateful;

11:10  but if We let him taste blessings after hardship has afflicted him, he says, ´My troubles have gone away,´ and he is overjoyed, boastful —

11:11  except for those who are steadfast and do right actions. They will receive forgiveness and a large reward.

11:12  Perhaps you are leaving aside part of what has been revealed to you and your breast is constricted by this because they say, ´Why has treasure not been sent down to him or an angel not accompanied him?´ You are only a warner and Allah is Guardian over all things.

11:13  Or do they say, ´He has invented it?´ Say, ´Then produce ten invented suras like this, and call on anyone you can besides Allah if you are telling the truth.´

11:14  If they do not respond to you then know that it has been sent down with Allah´s knowledge and that there is no god but Him. So will you not become Muslims?

11:15  As for those who desire the life of the dunya and its finery, We will give them full payment in it for their actions. They will not be deprived here of their due.

11:16  But such people will have nothing in the akhira but the Fire. What they achieved here will come to nothing. What they did will prove to be null and void.

11:17  But as for those who have clear evidence from their Lord followed up by a witness from Him — and before it the Book of Musa came as a model and a mercy — such people have iman in it. Any faction which rejects it is promised the Fire. Be in no doubt about it. It is the Truth from your Lord. But most people have no iman.

11:18  Who could do greater wrong than those who invent lies against Allah? Such people will be arrayed before their Lord and the witnesses will say, ´Those are the ones who lied against their Lord.´ Yes indeed! Allah´s curse is on the wrongdoers,

11:19  those who bar access to the way of Allah desiring to make it crooked and reject the Next Woeld.

11:20  They were not able to thwart Allah on earth, and had no protectors besides Allah. The punishment will be doubled for them. They were unable to hear and could not see.

11:21  Those are the people who have lost their own selves. What they invented has abandoned them.

11:22  Without question they will be the greatest losers in the Next World.

11:23  As for those who have iman and do right actions and humble themselves before their Lord, they are the Companions of the Garden. remaining in it timelessly, for ever.

11:24  The likeness of the two groups is that of the blind and deaf and the seeing and hearing. Are they the same as one another? So will you not pay heed?

11:25  We sent Nuh to his people: ´I am a clear warner to you.

11:26  Worship none but Allah. I fear for you the punishment of a painful day.´

11:27  The ruling circle of those of his people who were kafir said, ´We do not see you as anything but a human being like ourselves. We do not see anyone following you but the lowest of us, unthinkingly. We do not see you as superior to us. On the contrary, we consider you to be liars.´

11:28  He said, ´My people! What do you think? If I were to have clear evidence from my Lord and He had given me a mercy direct from Him, but you were blind to it, could we force it on you if you were unwilling?

11:29  My people! I do not ask you for any wealth for it. My wage is the responsibility of Allah alone. I will not chase away those who have iman. They are surely going to meet their Lord. However, I see you as ignorant people.

11:30  My people! Who would help me against Allah if I did drive them away? So will you not pay heed?

11:31  I do not say to you that I possess the treasuries of Allah; nor do I know the Unseen; nor do I say that I am an angel; nor do I say to those who are vile in your eyes that Allah will not give them any good. Allah knows best what is in their hearts. If I did, I would certainly be one of the wrongdoers.´

11:32  They said, ´Nuh, you have argued with us and argued much so bring us what you have promised us if you are telling the truth.´

11:33  He said, ´Allah will bring it to you if He wills and you will not be able to prevent it.

11:34  My counsel will not benefit you, for all my desire to counsel you, if Allah desires to lead you into error. He is your Lord and you will return to Him.´

11:35  Or do they say, ´He has invented it´? Say: ´If I have invented it the crime will be laid at my door, but I am innocent of the crimes which you commit.´

11:36  It was revealed to Nuh: ´None of your people are going to have iman except for those who already have iman, so do not be distressed at what they do.

11:37  Build the Ark under Our supervision and as We reveal and do not address Me concerning the wrongdoers. They shall be drowned.´

11:38  He began to build the Ark and every time some nobles of his people passed him by, they ridiculed him. He said, ´Though you ridicule us now, we will certainly ridicule you as you do us.

11:39  You will soon know who will receive a punishment which disgraces him and find unleashed against himself an everlasting punishment.´

11:40  So when Our command came, and water bubbled up from the earth, We said, ´Load into it a pair of every species, and your family — except for those against whom the Word was preordained — and all who have iman.´ But those who had iman with him were only few.

11:41  He said, ´Embark in it. In the name of Allah be its voyage and its landing! Truly my Lord is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful.´

11:42  It sailed with them through mountainous waves, and Nuh called out to his son, who had kept himself apart, ´My son! Come on board with us. Do not stay with the kafirun!´

11:43  He said, ´I will take refuge on a mountain; It will protect me from the flood.´ He said, ´There is no protection from Allah´s command today except for those He has mercy on.´ The waves surged in between them and he was among the drowned.

11:44  It was said, ´Earth, swallow up your water!´ and, ´Heaven, hold back your rain!´ And the water subsided and the affair was concluded and the Ark came to land on al-Judi. And it was said, ´Away with the people of the wrongdoers!´

11:45  Nuh called out to his Lord and said, ´My Lord, my son is one of my family and Your promise is surely the truth and You are the Justest of Judges.´

11:46  He said, ´Nuh, he is definitely not of your family. He is someone whose action was not righteous. Do not, therefore, ask Me for something about which you have no knowledge. I admonish you lest you should be among the ignorant.´

11:47  He said, ´My Lord, I seek refuge with You from asking You for anything about which I have no knowledge. If You do not forgive me and have mercy on me, I will be among the lost.´

11:48  It was said, ´Nuh, descend with peace from Us and with blessings on you and on the nations which will issue from those who are with you. But there are nations to whom we will give enjoyment and then a painful punishment from Us will afflict them.´

11:49  That is some of the news of the Unseen which We reveal to you. Neither you nor your people knew it before this time. So be steadfast. The best end result is for those who have taqwa.

11:50  And to ´Ad We sent their brother Hud. He said, ´My people! worship Allah. You have no god apart from Him. You are merely fabricators.

11:51  My people! I do not ask you for any wage for it. My wage is the responsibility of Him who brought me into being. So will you not use your intellect?

11:52  My people! Ask forgiveness of your Lord and then make tawba to Him. He will send heaven down to you in abundant rain, and increase you with strength upon strength. Do not turn away as evildoers.´

11:53  They said, ´Hud, you have not brought us any clear sign. We will not forsake our gods for what you say. We do not believe you.

11:54  We only say that one of our gods has driven you mad.´ He said, ´I call on Allah to be my witness, and you also bear witness, that I am free of all the gods you have apart from Him.

11:55  So scheme against me, all of you together, and then grant me no respite.

11:56  I have put my trust in Allah, my Lord and your Lord. There is no creature He does not hold by the forelock. My Lord is on a Straight Path.

11:57  If you turn your backs, I have transmitted to you what I was sent to you with, and my Lord will replace you with another people, and you will not harm Him at all. My Lord is the Preserver of everything.´

11:58  When Our command came, We rescued Hud and those who had iman along with him by a mercy from Us. We rescued them from a harsh punishment.

11:59  That was ´Ad. They denied the Signs of their Lord and disobeyed His Messengers and followed the command of every obdurate tyrant.

11:60  They were pursued by a curse in this world and on the Day of Rising. Yes indeed! ´Ad rejected their Lord, so away with ´Ad, the people of Hud!

11:61  To Thamud We sent their brother Salih. He said, ´My people, worship Allah! You have no god apart from Him. He brought you into being from the earth and made you its inhabitants. So ask His forgiveness and then make tawba to Him. My Lord is Close and Quick to Respond.´

11:62  They said, ´Salih, we had great hopes in you before this happened. Do you forbid us to worship what our fathers worshipped? We have grave doubts about what you are calling us to.´

11:63  He said, ´My people! What do you think? If I were to possess a Clear Sign from my Lord and He had given me mercy from Him: who would help me against Allah if I disobeyed Him? You would not increase me in anything but loss.

11:64  My people! Here is the she-camel of Allah as a Sign for you. So leave her alone to eat on Allah´s earth and do not inflict any harm on her or you will be overcome by an imminent punishment.´

11:65  But they hamstrung her, so he said, ´Enjoy yourselves in your land for three more days. That is a promise which will not be belied.´

11:66  Then when Our command came We rescued Salih and those who had iman along with him by a mercy from Us from the disgrace of that day. Your Lord is the All-Strong, the Almighty.

11:67  The Great Blast seized hold of those who did wrong and morning found them lying flattened in their homes.

11:68  It was as if they had never lived there at all. Yes indeed! Thamud rejected their Lord. So away with Thamud!

11:69  Our messengers brought the good news to Ibrahim. They said, ´Peace!´ and he too said, ´Peace!´ and brought in a roasted calf without delay.

11:70  When he saw that their hands were not reaching for it, he suspected them and felt afraid of them. They said, ´Have no fear! We have been sent to the people of Lut.´

11:71  His wife was standing there and she laughed out loud. So We gave her the good news of Ishaq, and beyond Ishaq, Ya´qub.

11:72  She said, ´Woe is me! How can I give birth when I am an old woman and my husband here is an aged man? This is indeed an astonishing thing!´

11:73  They said, ´Are you astonished at Allah´s command? May Allah´s mercy and His blessings be upon you, People of the House! He is Praiseworthy, All-Glorious.´

11:74  When the feeling of fear left Ibrahim, and the good news reached him, he disputed with Us about the people of Lut.

11:75  Ibrahim was forbearing, compassionate, penitent.

11:76  ´Ibrahim, turn away from this! Your Lord´s command has come. A punishment is coming to them which cannot be repelled.´

11:77  When Our messengers came to Lut, he was distressed for them, and very concerned for them, and said, ´This is a dreadful day.´

11:78  His people came running to him excitedly — they were long used to committing evil acts. He said, ´My people, here are my daughters. They are purer for you. So have taqwa of Allah and do not shame me with my guests. Is there not one rightly-guided man among you?´

11:79  They said, ´You know we have no claim on your daughters. You know very well what it is we want.´

11:80  He said, ´If only I had the strength to combat you or could take refuge in some powerful support!´

11:81  They said, ´Lut, we are messengers from your Lord. They will not be able to get at you. Set out with your family — except for your wife — in the middle of the night and none of you should look back . What strikes them will strike her as well. Their promised appointment is the morning. Is the morning not close at hand?´

11:82  When Our command came, We turned their cities upside down and rained down on them stones of hard baked clay,

11:83  piled on top of one another in layers, each one earmarked by your Lord. And they are never far from the wrongdoers.

11:84  And to Madyan their brother Shu´ayb. He said, ´My people, worship Allah! You have no god apart from Him. Do not give short measure and short weight. I see you prospering and I fear for you the punishment of an all-encompassing Day.

11:85  My people! Give full measure and full weight with justice; do not diminish people´s goods; and do not go about the earth, corrupting it.

11:86  What endures with Allah is better for you if you are muminun. I am not set over you as your keeper.´

11:87  They said, ´Shu´ayb, do your prayers instruct you that we should abandon what our fathers worshipped or stop doing whatever we want to with our wealth? You are clearly the forbearing, the rightly-guided!´

11:88  He said, ´My people! What do you think? If I do possess a Clear Sign from my Lord and He has given me His good provision, I would clearly not want to go behind your backs and do something I have forbidden you to do. I only want to put things right as far as I can. My success is with Allah alone. I have put my trust in Him and I turn to Him.

11:89  My people! Do not let your breach with me provoke you into doing wrong so that the same thing happens to you as happened to the people of Nuh and the people of Hud and the people of Salih; and the people of Lut are not far distant from you.

11:90  Ask your Lord for forgiveness and then make tawba to Him. My Lord is Most Merciful, Most Loving.´

11:91  They said, ´Shu´ayb, We do not understand much of what you say and we see you are weak among us. Were it not for your clan, we would have stoned you. We do not hold you in high esteem!´

11:92  He said, ´My people! Do you esteem my clan more than you do Allah? You have made Him into something to cast disdainfully behind your backs! But my Lord encompasses everything that you do!

11:93  My people! Do as you think best. That is what I am doing. You will certainly come to know who will receive a punishment to disgrace him, and who is a liar. So look out. I will be on the lookout with you.´

11:94  When Our command came, We rescued Shu´ayb and those who had iman along with him by a mercy from Us. The Great Blast seized hold of those who did wrong and morning found them lying flattened in their homes

11:95  as if they had never lived there at all. Yes indeed! Away with Madyan just like Thamud!

11:96  We sent Musa with Our Signs and clear authority

11:97  to Pharaoh and his ruling circle. They followed Pharaoh´s command but Pharaoh´s command was not rightly guided.

11:98  He will go ahead of his people on the Day of Rising and lead them down into the Fire. What an evil watering-hole to be led to!

11:99  They are pursued by a curse in the dunya and on the Day of Rising. What an evil gift to be given!

11:100  That is some of the news of the cities which We relate to you. Some of them are still standing, while others are now just stubble.

11:101  We did not wrong them; rather they wronged themselves. The gods they called upon besides Allah did not help them at all when Allah´s command came upon them. They did nothing but increase their ruin.

11:102  Such is the iron grip of your Lord when He seizes the cities which do wrong. His grip is painful, violent.

11:103  There is certainly a Sign in that for anyone who fears the punishment of the Next World. That is a Day to which mankind will all be gathered. That is a Day which will be witnessed by everyone.

11:104  We will only postpone it until a predetermined time.

11:105  On the Day it comes, no self will speak except by His permission. Some of them will be wretched and others glad.

11:106  As for those who are wretched, they will be in the Fire, where they will sigh and gasp,

11:107  remaining in it timelessly, for ever, as long as the heavens and earth endure, except as your Lord wills. Your Lord is the Doer of what He wills.

11:108  As for those who are glad, they will be in the Garden, remaining in it timelessly, for ever, as long as the heavens and earth endure, except as your Lord wills: an uninterrupted gift.

11:109  So be in no doubt about what these people worship. They only worship as their forebears worshipped previously. We will pay them their portion in full, with no rebate!

11:110  We gave Musa the Book and people differed concerning it and had it not been for a prior Word from your Lord, it would already have been decided between them. They are indeed in grave doubt about it.

11:111  Your Lord will pay each one of them in full for his actions. He is aware of what they do.

11:112  Go straight as you have been commanded, and also those who turn with you to Allah, and do not exceed the bounds. He sees what you do.

11:113  Do not rely on those who do wrong thus causing the Fire to afflict you, for you have no protector besides Allah; then you will not be helped.

11:114  Establish salat at each end of the day and in the first part of the night. Good actions eradicate bad actions. This is a reminder for people who pay heed.

11:115  And be steadfast. Allah does not let the wage of good-doers go to waste.

11:116  Would that there had been more people with a vestige of good among the generations of those who came before you, who forbade corruption in the earth, other than the few among them whom We saved. Those who did wrong gladly pursued the life of luxury that they were given and were evildoers.

11:117  Your Lord would never have destroyed the cities wrongfully as long as their inhabitants were putting things right.

11:118  If your Lord had wanted to, He would have made mankind into one community but they persist in their differences,

11:119  except for those your Lord has mercy on. That is what He created them for — so that the Word of your Lord would be fulfilled: ´I will fill up Hell with the jinn and mankind all together.´

11:120  We have given you all this news about the Messengers so We can make your heart firm by means of it. The truth has come to you in this and an admonishment and reminder to the muminun.

11:121  Say to those who have no iman: ´Do as you think best. That is what we are doing.

11:122  And wait. We too are waiting.´

11:123  The Unseen of the heavens and the earth belongs to Allah and the whole affair is returned to Him. So worship Him and put your trust in Him. Your Lord is not unaware of what you do.