14:1  Alif Lām. Rā. This is a book which We have bestowed on you from on high so that you might bring forth all mankind, by their Lord's leave, from darkness into the light, to the path of the Almighty, the One to whom all praise is due,

14:2  to God, to whom all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth belongs. Woe to the unbelievers; for theirs will be a severe suffering.

14:3  These are the ones who love the life of this world preferring it to the life to come, and who turn others away from God's path and try to make it appear crooked. They have gone far astray.

14:4  Never have We sent a messenger otherwise than speaking the language of his own people, so that he might make [the truth] clear to them. But God lets go astray whomever He wills, and guides whomever He wills. He is Almighty, truly Wise.

14:5  We have sent forth Moses with Our revelations, saying, 'Lead your people out of darkness into the light, and remind them of the Days of God.' Surely in this there are signs for everyone who is patient in adversity and deeply grateful [to God].

14:6  Moses said to his people: 'Remember the blessings God bestowed on you when He saved you from Pharaoh's people who afflicted you with grievous torment, slaughtered your sons and spared [only] your women. That was indeed an awesome trial from your Lord.

14:7  For your Lord had declared: “If you are grateful, I shall certainly give you more; but if you are ungrateful, then My punishment shall be severe indeed.'”

14:8  And Moses said: 'If you and whoever lives on earth were to deny God, [know that] God is indeed Self-Sufficient, worthy of all praise.'

14:9  Have you not received accounts of what befell those who lived before you? The people of Noah, the `Ä€d, and ThamÅ«d, and those who came after them? None knows them all but God. Their messengers came to them with clear evidence of the truth, but they put their hands to their mouths, and said: 'We disbelieve in that with which you have been sent, and we are in grave doubt about that to which you call us.'

14:10  Said the messengers sent to them: 'Can there be any doubt about God, the Originator of the heavens and the earth? He calls you, so that He may forgive you your sins and grant you respite for an appointed term.' They replied: 'You are but mortals like ourselves. You want to turn us away from what our forefathers used to worship. Bring us, then, a clear proof.'

14:11  Their messengers replied: 'We are indeed but mortals like yourselves. But God bestows His grace on whomever He wills of His servants. It is not within our power to bring you any proof, except by God's leave. It is in God that all believers must place their trust.

14:12  And why should we not place our trust in God, when He has guided us on our paths? Hence we will bear with patience all your persecution. In God alone let all the faithful place their trust.'

14:13  The unbelievers said to their messengers: 'We shall most certainly expel you from our land, unless you return to our ways.' Their Lord revealed this to His messengers: 'Most certainly shall We destroy the wrongdoers,

14:14  and most certainly shall We cause you to dwell in the land long after they are gone. This [I promise] to all who stand in awe of My presence, and stand in awe of My warnings.'

14:15  And they prayed for God's help and victory [for the truth]. And every powerful, obstinate enemy of the truth shall come to grief.

14:16  Behind him stretches hell where he shall be made to drink putrefied water,

14:17  gulping it little by little, and yet hardly able to swallow it. Death will beset him from every side, yet he shall not die. More severe suffering still awaits him.

14:18  The works of those who disbelieve in their Lord are like ashes which the wind blows about fiercely on a stormy day. They cannot achieve any benefit from all that they might have earned. This [disbelief] is indeed going very far astray.

14:19  Do you not see that God has created the heavens and the earth in accordance with the truth. If He so wills, He can do away with you and bring into being a new creation.

14:20  This is no difficult thing for God.

14:21  They will all appear before God, and then the weak will say to those who acted with arrogance: 'We were your followers: can you relieve us of something of God's punishment?' [And the others] will reply: 'Had God given us guidance, we would have guided you. It is now all one for us whether we grieve impatiently or endure with patience. There is no escape for us now.'

14:22  And when everything will have been decided, Satan will say: 'God has made you a true promise. I, too, made promises to you, but I did not keep them. Yet I had no power at all over you, except that I called you and you responded to me. Hence, do not now blame me, but blame yourselves. It is not for me to respond to your cries, nor for you to respond to mine. I have already disclaimed your associating me with God.' Indeed, for all wrongdoers there is grievous suffering in store.

14:23  Those who believe and do righteous deeds will be admitted to gardens through which running waters flow, wherein they will abide, by their Lord's leave. Their greeting shall be: 'Peace'.

14:24  Do you not see how God compares a good word to a good tree? Its roots are firm and its branches reach to the sky.

14:25  It yields its fruits at all times by its Lord's leave. Thus does God set parables for people so that they may reflect.

14:26  And an evil word is like a corrupt tree, torn up onto the face of the earth. It cannot have a stable position.

14:27  God will strengthen the believers through the true, unshakeable word in both this life and the life to come; but the wrongdoers God lets go astray. God does whatever He wills.

14:28  Have you not seen those who have exchanged God's blessings for unbelief, and landed their people in the House of Perdition,

14:29  hell, which they will have to endure? How vile a place to settle in!

14:30  They set up false deities as equal to God, and so they lead people to stray from His path. Say: 'Enjoy yourselves [in this life], for you will surely end up in hell.'

14:31  Tell My servants who have attained to faith that they should attend regularly to their prayers and spend [in My way], secretly and openly, out of the sustenance We provide for them, before a day shall come when there will be no trading and no friendship.

14:32  It is God who has created the heavens and the earth, and who sends down water from the sky with which He brings forth fruits for your sustenance. He has placed under your service ships which by His leave sail through the sea, and He has made the rivers subservient to [His law] for your benefit.

14:33  And for your benefit He has made the sun and the moon, both diligently pursuing their courses, subservient to [His law]; and has made the night and the day subservient to [His law].

14:34  And He gives you of everything you ask of Him. Should you try to count God's blessings, you will never be able to compute them. Yet man is persistent in wrongdoing, stubbornly ungrateful.

14:35  Abraham said: 'My Lord! Make this land secure, and preserve me and my children from ever worshipping idols.

14:36  My Lord, they have indeed led many people astray. Hence, he who follows me belongs to me. As for him who disobeys me, well, You are truly Much- Forgiving, Merciful.

14:37  Our Lord, I have settled some of my offspring in a valley without cultivation, by Your Sacred House, so that they may establish regular prayers. So, cause You people's hearts to incline towards them, and provide them with fruits, so that they may give thanks.

14:38  Our Lord, You certainly know all that we conceal and all that we bring into the open: for nothing whatever, on earth or in heaven, can be hidden from God.

14:39  All praise is due to God who has given me, in my old age, Ishmael and Isaac. Surely my Lord hears all prayers.

14:40  My Lord, cause me and [some of] my offspring to establish regular prayers. My Lord, accept my prayer.

14:41  Our Lord, grant Your forgiveness to me and my parents, and all the believers on the Day when the reckoning will come to pass.'

14:42  Never think that God is unaware of what the wrongdoers are doing. He only grants them respite till the Day when eyes will stare fixedly in horror,

14:43  when they will be dashing in confusion, with their heads lifted up, unable to turn their eyes from what they behold, and their hearts an utter void.

14:44  Hence, warn mankind of the Day when suffering may befall them; when those who do wrong will say: 'Our Lord, grant us respite for a short while, so that we may respond to Your call and follow Your messengers.' 'Why? Did you not in time past swear that you would suffer no decline?

14:45  And you dwelt in the dwellings of those who wronged their own souls before you. Yet you knew for certain how We had dealt with them, and We placed many examples before you.'

14:46  They devised their plots, but their plots are all within God's grasp, even though their plots are so powerful as to move mountains.

14:47  Never think that God may ever fail to fulfil the promise which He has given to His messengers. Indeed God is Almighty, avenger of evil!

14:48  On the day when the earth shall be changed into another earth, as shall be the heavens, and when all people stand before God, the One who holds sway over all that exists.

14:49  On that day you will see the guilty chained together in fetters,

14:50  wearing garments of black pitch, and their faces covered with flames.

14:51  God will requite each soul according to what it has done. God is indeed swift in reckoning.

14:52  This is a message to all mankind. Let them be warned thereby, and let them know that He is the One and Only God. Let those who are endowed with insight take heed.