14:1  Alif Lam Ra’. This is a Book which We revealed so that you may lead humanity out of darkness into light, and on the road to the Almighty, as you have been authorised by Your Lord, the Praiseworthy,

14:2  Allah; everything in the Heavens and on Earth belongs to Him. And the misery of a severe punishment awaits the disbelievers,

14:3  who prefer the worldly life to the Hereafter, they block Allah’s path, wishing to obstruct others from it and to twist its meanings; such people are misled.

14:4  We never sent a messenger unless he spoke the language of his people, so he could explain the message to them; Allah lets anyone He wills to go off track and guides anyone who pleases Him. He is Almighty, the Wise

14:5  We sent Musa with Our signs, telling him: “Take your people out of the darkness into the light and remind them of the days of Allah.”bThere are signs in that for every grateful, patient person.

14:6  Musa said to his people, “Remember how Allah blessed you when He saved you from Pharaoh’s people; they gave you the worst punishment imaginable, slaughtering your sons and leaving your women to live; that was surely a most difficult test from your Lord.”

14:7  Remember when Your Lord declared, “If you are grateful, I will surely increase My favours to you, but if you are ungrateful, then My punishment is severe.”

14:8  Musa said, “Even if you and everyone on Earth were to be ungrateful, Allah is the Self-Sufficient, the Praiseworthy.

14:9  Hasn’t the story of past generations reached you: the people of Nuh, Ad, Thamud, and of those after them whom only Allah knows? When their messengers came with clear proofs, they put their hands on their mouths to silence them and said, “We reject what you have been sent with, and we seriously doubt what you are calling us to.”

14:10  Their messengers replied, “Is there any doubt about the existence of Allah, Creator of the Heavens and the Earth? He invites you, so He can forgive your sins and give you time to think till the appointed term.” They said, “You are a mortal like us, who wants to stop us from worshipping what our forefathers worshipped; so bring us a miracle.”

14:11  The messengers said to them, “We may be humans like you, but Allah favours anyone of His servants He pleases. It’s not for us to bring you a miracle except with Allah’s approval, and believers always put their trust in Allah.

14:12  So why would we not put our trust in Allah when He has guided us on our paths to His kindness. We shall patiently endure your persecution; so let all who trust in Him put their trust in Allah.”

14:13  The disbelievers said to their messengers, “We will expel you from our town unless you revert to our religion.” Then their Lord revealed to them: “We will destroy the evildoers,

14:14  and We will settle you in this town after them. This reward is for anyone who’s afraid of My punishment and of standing before Me on Judgement Day.

14:15  They prayed to win over their people, and the scheming of every stubborn tyrant failed.

14:16  Hell awaits them, where only scalding water will be served,

14:17  they will sip it but can’t swallow it, and death will loom all around them, but they will not die, and beyond that experience will be an even more severe punishment

14:18  An apt example of the disbeliever’s deeds is: ashes scattered by the winds on a stormy day. They will have no control over anything that they owned. That is the meaning of going far astray.

14:19  Have you not considered that in truth Allah is the One Who created the Heavens and the Earth? If He so willed, He could remove you all and produce a new creation to replace you;

14:20  nor would that be too difficult a challenge for Allah

14:21  They will all appear before Allah on Judgement Day, and the oppressed will say to their arrogant leaders, “We followed you, so will you rescue us from Allah’s punishment?” They will say, “If Allah had guided us, then we would have guided you. It’s all the same to us now whether we are anxious or patient; there’s no escape for us.”

14:22  Once the sentence has been passed, Satan will say, “Allah’s promise to you was true, whereas I made you a promise and broke it. I had no control over you, I called you and you accepted my call. So, don’t blame me blame yourselves. I can’t help you and you can’t help me. I have rejected whatever you previously associated with me. For evildoers, is a painful punishment.”

14:23  Meanwhile those who believed and performed righteous deeds will enter gardens beneath which rivers flow, living there by their Lord’s approval forever, in it their greeting will be: “Peace!

14:24  Have you not considered how Allah likened a good wordto a good tree, whose roots are fixed and whose branches reach to the sky;

14:25  every season, it bears fruit by the Lord’s favour. Allah gives people parables so they may reflect.

14:26  Similarly, He likened an evil word to a rotting tree, whose roots have been pulled out lying on the ground.

14:27  Allah will firmly ground the believers to stand firm in this worldly life and in the Hereafter by means of well-founded words, whereas He allows disbelievers to go astray. Allah does what He wills

14:28  Haven’t you seen those who exchanged Allah’s gift of belief for disbelief, and who push their people on towards the house of destruction:

14:29  Hell is where they’ll burn, what a bleak place to stay!

14:30  They made idols equal to Allah to mislead people from His path. Say to them: “Enjoy yourselves while you can, for the Fire shall be your journey’s end.

14:31  Tell My faithful servants; perform the prayer regularly, spend in charity openly and secretly from what We have provided, before that day comes when bargaining and friendship will serve no purpose.

14:32  Allah created the Heavens and the Earth and sent down rain from the sky, by which He produces fruits to provide for you, and made possible for you to sail by ship across the sea by His command, made rivers for your benefit,

14:33  made the sun and the moon orbit, for your benefit, He made night and day.

14:34  He has given you a portion of whatever you have asked Him for. If you were to count Allah’s gifts, you would not be able to count them. Humans are most ungrateful, unjust

14:35  Remember when Ibrahim prayed: “My Lord, make this town safe and secure, and keep me and my children away from idol worship.

14:36  My Lord, idols have misled many people. So, whoever follows me is one with me, and the one who disobeys me, well, You are Forgiving, Kind.

14:37  Our Lord, I have settled my children in a barren valley near Your Sacred House so they may perform the prayer, soften people’s hearts towards them and provide them with the fruits of the Earth so they may be grateful.

14:38  Our Lord, You know what we conceal and what we reveal. Nothing on Earth or in the sky is hidden from Allah.

14:39  Praise be to Allah Who granted Ismail and Ishaq to me in my old age. My Lord is the Hearer of prayers.

14:40  My Lord, make me and my children steadfast in prayer. Our Lord accept my prayer.

14:41  Our Lord, forgive me, my parents and all the believers on Judgement Day.

14:42  Don’t think Allah is unaware of what the wrongdoers do. He is giving them time to think till a day when eyes will stare in horror,

14:43  rushing to and fro, craning their necks, no one returning their gaze, and their hearts empty.

14:44  So warn people of a day when the punishment will come to them, and the evildoers will say, “Our Lord, give us more time so we may answer Your call and follow the messengers.” The reply, “Didn’t you swear an oath that your power would never diminish?

14:45  You lived in the homes of those who had wronged themselves, so you clearly knew what We had done with them, and We had made them examples for you.

14:46  They hatched a plot and Allah knew their plots, their plots could move the mountains, they couldn’t thwart Allah’s plan.

14:47  So don’t think Allah will break His promise with His messengers. Allah is Almighty, the Avenger.

14:48  One day the Earth will be exchanged for another Earth, and the Heavens likewise, and they will all appear before Allah, the One, the Supreme,

14:49  and on that day you will see the sinners bound together in chains,

14:50  their coats made of tar, and their faces ablaze.

14:51  This is so that Allah may repay every soul according to their labour. Allah is swift in accounting

14:52  This is to convey a message to people, to warn them so they realise He is the One God Who exists, and people of understanding may pay attention