38:1  Suad

38:2  And by the Qur’an which is full of admonition! Surely the unbelievers are in sheer arrogance and perverseness

38:3  How many generations have We destroyed before them? When their doom approached, they all cried out for mercy, but it was no longer the time to be saved

38:4  They wonder that a Warner has come to them from among themselves, and the disbelievers say: "He is a sorcerer telling lies

38:5  Does he claim that there is only One God in place of all other gods? Surely this is a strange thing."

38:6  Their leaders go about saying: "Pay no heed, stand firm in the service of your gods; this slogan of One God is designed against you

38:7  We have not heard such a thing from anyone of the people of latter days (Jews and Christians): it is nothing but a fabrication

38:8  Is he the only fit person among us to whom the admonition is revealed?" But in fact they doubt My admonition, for they have not yet tasted My punishment

38:9  Do they have the treasures of the mercy of your Lord, the All-Mighty, the Munificent One

38:10  Or do they have sovereignty over the heavens and the earth and all that lies between them? If so, let them ascend by any means to be in a position of dictating to Allah according to their wishes

38:11  Their faction is no more than an army who will be beaten right here

38:12  Before them the people of Noah, `Ad and Pharoah, the man of stakes, denied their Messengers

38:13  So did Thamud, the people of Lot and those of Aiykah (the people of Median) - all divided themselves into factions

38:14  all charged their Messengers liars, so just was my torment of annihilating them

38:15  These people also await nothing but a single mighty Blast - the one which none may retard

38:16  They say: "Our Lord, hasten our doom for us before the Day of Reckoning."

38:17  O Prophet, have patience at what they say, and remember Our servant David, the man of strength, who was frequent in turning to Allah for guidance

38:18  We made the mountains join him in Our praises at evening and the sunrise

38:19  And the birds, too, with all their flocks, join in singing with him

38:20  We strengthened his kingdom and gave him wisdom and sound judgment in speech and decision

38:21  Have you heard the story of the two litigants who made an entry into his private chamber through climbing over the wall

38:22  When they entered in upon David and he became terrified. They said: "Have no fear, we are two litigants, one of whom has wronged the other. Judge rightly between us and do not be unjust, and guide us to the Right Way

38:23  This man is my brother; he has ninety nine ewes while I have only one ewe. Yet he says: 'Turn her over to me' and he has the means to prevail against me in what he says."

38:24  David said: "He has certainly wronged you in seeking to add your ewe to his flock: in fact many partners are unjust to one another; except those who believe and do good deeds, and they are few indeed." While he said this, David realized that We had tested him ( David had shown desire to one of his officers to divorce his wife so that he could marry her even though he already had 99 wives). So he sought forgiveness of his Lord and fell down on his knees and turned to Allah in repentance

38:25  So We forgave his error. He will enjoy a place of nearness with Us and an excellent abode

38:26  We said: "O David! We have made you a vicegerent in the earth, so rule among the people with justice and do not follow your own desires lest they mislead you from the Way of Allah. As for those who go astray from the Way of Allah, they shall surely have a severe punishment because of forgetting the Day of Reckoning

38:27  We have not created the heaven and the earth and all that lies between them in vain. That is the fancy of the unbelievers. Such disbelievers should be aware of the hellfire

38:28  Should We treat those who believe and do good deeds like those who create mischief in the earth? Should We treat the righteous like the sinners

38:29  This Book (Al-Qur’an) which We have sent down to you (O Muhammad) is highly blessed, so that they may ponder upon its verses and the men of understanding may learn a lesson from it

38:30  To David We gave Solomon, an excellent devotee! Who was frequent in returning to Us

38:31  Worthy of mention is the incident when, one evening, excellent-bred steeds, were presented before him

38:32  and he said: "Surely I have adopted the love of these good things with a view to glorify my Lord." In a race of the steeds, when they disappeared from sight

38:33  he commanded: "Bring them back to me." Then he began to pass his hand over their legs and necks with affection

38:34  Behold, We also put Solomon to test and placed a mere body on his throne, then he turned to Us in repentance

38:35  and said "O Lord! Forgive me and grant me a kingdom similar of which may not be given to anyone after me. Surely You are the real Giver."

38:36  We accepted his prayer and subjected to him the wind, which blew gently in whichever direction he wanted

38:37  and the Satans (Jinns) including all kinds of builders, diver

38:38  and others fettered in chains

38:39  We said to him: "This is Our gift: you may give or withhold to whomever you want, without any accountability."

38:40  Surely he has a place of nearness to Us and will have an excellent place of final abode

38:41  Mention Our devotee Job, when he called upon his Lord saying: "Satan has afflicted me with distress and suffering,"

38:42  and We asked him: "Strike your foot on the ground. A cool spring will gush forth. Wash and drink to refresh yourself."

38:43  And We restored to him his family and many more with them as a grace from Ourselves and a reminder for the people of understanding

38:44  Then, to fulfill his oath of giving his wife one hundred strikes which he made during his sickness, We said: "Take a bunch of twigs and strike with it and do not break your oath." Certainly We found him full of patience. He was an excellent devotee, who turned to Us over and over again

38:45  And mention Our devotees Abraham, Isaac and Jacob: men of power and vision

38:46  Surely We chose them for their special quality of keeping in mind the abode of hereafter

38:47  Certainly they are with Us; among the best chosen

38:48  Also mention Isma‘il, Elisha and Zul-Kifl; all of them were among the best

38:49  This Qur’an is but a reminder. Surely the righteous shall return to an excellent resort

38:50  The Gardens of Eden, whose gates shall be wide open to receive them

38:51  They shall recline there, calling for abundant fruit and delicious drinks

38:52  and beside them there shall be bashful virgin companions of equal age

38:53  These are the things which you are being promised on the Day of Reckoning

38:54  this will be Our provision which will never finish

38:55  Such will be the reward for the righteous. But for the rebellious there will be an evil resor

38:56  - hell, that is! In which they will burn - the worst abode

38:57  Such will it be the reward for the wrongdoers. So they will taste scalding water, pus

38:58  and other things of the same sort

38:59  It will be said to the ringleaders: "Here are your troops being thrown headlong with you. They are not welcomed here; for they are going to burn in the hellfire

38:60  The followers shall say to their misguided leaders: "But you! There is no welcome for you either! It was you who have brought us to this end. Such an evil abode."

38:61  Then they will pray: "Our Lord, inflict on those who brought this fate upon us double punishment in the fire."

38:62  Then they will say to one another: "But why do we not see those whom we deemed wicke

38:63  and whom we use to ridicule? Or has our eyesight failed to notice them?"

38:64  Surely, this is the very truth: the people in the hellfire will argue just like that

38:65  O Prophet, tell them: "My mission is only as a Warner; there is no divinity except Allah, the One, the Irresistible

38:66  the Lord of the heavens and the earth and all that lies between them, the Almighty, the Forgiver."

38:67  Say: "This is a supreme message

38:68  yet you pay no heed to it."

38:69  Also say: "I have no knowledge of that time when the exalted chiefs disputed among themselves

38:70  I am informed about all this through a revelation because I am assigned the mission of a plain Warner."

38:71  Behold when your Lord said to the angels: "I am about to create a man from clay

38:72  then when I have fashioned him and breathed of My spirit into him, kneel down and prostrate yourselves before him."

38:73  Accordingly all the angels prostrated themselves

38:74  except Iblees; he acted arrogantly and became one of the disbelievers

38:75  Allah said: "O Iblees! What prevented you from prostrating yourself to the one whom I have created with My own hands? Are you too arrogant, or do you think that you are one of the exalted ones?"

38:76  Iblees said: "I am better than him: You created me from fire and created him from clay."

38:77  Allah said: "Get out of here: for you are accursed

38:78  and My curse shall be on you till the Day of Judgment."

38:79  Iblees said: "O Lord! Then give me respite till the Day of Resurrection."

38:80  Allah said: "Well, you are given respit

38:81  till the Day of Appointed Time."

38:82  Iblees said: "I swear by Your Honor, I will mislead them al

38:83  except your chosen sincere devotees among them."

38:84  Allah said: "Fair enough and now what I am going to say is also fair

38:85  that I will fill hell with you and all of those who follow you among them."

38:86  O Prophet, tell them: "I do not ask you any recompense for conveying this Message, nor do I pretend to be what I am not

38:87  This Qur'an is nothing but a Reminder to all the Worlds

38:88  and before long, you will certainly know its truth."