17:1  Glory be to Him Who carried His servant by night from the Holy Mosque (at Makkah) to the Distant Mosque (at Jerusalem), the precincts of which (too) We have blessed, that We might show him some of Our signs. Infact, He alone is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing

17:2  And (similarly) We gave Moses the Scripture and We made it a guidance for the Children of Israel, saying, `Take no (one as) disposer of affairs apart from Me

17:3  `O You the progeny of those whom We bore (in the Ark) with Noah (to protect them from the deluge)!' He was indeed a grateful servant (of Ours)

17:4  And in the Scripture We have conveyed to the Children of Israel with certainty (saying), `Twice you shall create disorder in the land and shall surely become exceedingly overbearing and arrogant.

17:5  So when (in 588 B.C. the time for) the first of the two warnings came, We roused against you, (O Children of Israel! some of) Our servants possessed of great valour and might in warfare, and they penetrated into the innermost recesses of your country and habitations. Indeed, it was a warning (about the punishment) of Allah bound to be carried out

17:6  Then We gave you back the power to prevail over these (enemies of yours through Cyrus and Zerubbabel), and We helped you with (various) possessions and sons and We increased your man-power (militarily)

17:7  (We said,) `If you did good, you did it for your ownselves, and if you did evil it was only to the same end.' So when (the time for carrying out) the latter warning came (We raised certain other people - Romans under Titus in 70 A.D., against you to destroy your glory), so that they might do evil to (you and) your leading men and invade and enter the Mosque (at Jerusalem) in the same way as others (of your enemies) had invaded and entered it the first time, and so that they might destroy utterly all that they had conquered

17:8  Still it is well-nigh that your Lord will again have mercy on you, (through Islam) but if you return (to mischief, We warn,) We too will return (to Our punishment), We have made Gehenna a prison-house for the ungrateful

17:9  This Qur'an, assuredly, guides to that which is most upright and gives to the believers, who do righteous deeds, the glad tidings that there awaits them a great reward

17:10  And (also warns) that We have grievous punishment in store for those who do not believe in the Hereafter

17:11  As it is (many a time) a human being prays and calls for evil to himself as he ought to pray and call for good. Human being is ever extremely hasty

17:12  And We have made the night and the day (such as they became) two signs, (in a way that) We obliterated the sign of the night (- darkness of ignorance and disbelief) and We displayed the sign of the day as sight - giving that you may seek the bounty of your Lord and that you may learn (from the alternation of night and day) the computation of years and (the science of) all sorts of counting and measuring. We have clearly explained every thing in detail

17:13  And every human being We have made his deeds cling to his neck and on the Day of Resurrection We shall bring out for him a book (recording all his deeds) which he will find wide open

17:14  (It will be said to him,) `Read your book. Sufficient is your own conscience this day as a reckoner against you.

17:15  He who follows the right way follows it to his own good and he who goes astray, surely, he goes astray to his own loss. And no soul that bears the burden shall bear the burden of another. And We never punish unless We have sent a Messenger

17:16  And when We intend to destroy a township, We (first) address Our command to its lawless people who lead lazy lives (to show obedience), but they revolt therein so that it stands condemned and We destroy it with an utter destruction

17:17  (In accordance with this rule of Ours) We have destroyed many a generation after Noah. And your Lord suffices as One Who is Aware and Beholder of the sins of His servants

17:18  For him who desires the present (transitory) life (only) We shall hasten an immediate reward for him in this very life (giving) what We will to whom We will. But We have prepared Gehenna for him, he shall enter it, condemned and rejected

17:19  As for those who choose the Hereafter and strive for it, the striving that is its due, and are believers, it is these whose striving shall find favour (with their Lord)

17:20  To all of them, these (who hanker after this world) as well as those (whose choice is the life to come) We render aid, (and this is) out of the bounty of your Lord; the bounty of your Lord is not confined (to any one section of the people)

17:21  Behold! how We have exalted some of them over others (in the present life), yet the Hereafter holds out greater degrees of rank and (confers) greater merits and excellence

17:22  Do not set up another god with Allah, lest you remain debased and forsaken

17:23  Your Lord has enjoined you to worship none but Him and to be good to parents. If either or both attain old age (while living) with you, never say to them, `Fie!' (- any word expressive of disgust or dislike), nor reproach them (by your action). Rather address them with kind and respectful words (always)

17:24  And lower to them the wings of submissiveness out of tenderness (treating them with humility and compassion). And say (praying for them), `My Lord! have mercy upon them just as they nourished and brought me up as a child.

17:25  Your Lord knows very well what is in your minds. If (He will find that) you are righteous, surely, He is a great Protector of those who turn to Him (for forgiveness) again and again

17:26  And give to the near of kin and the needy, and the wayfarer their dues, and do not squander (your wealth) wastefully

17:27  Certainly, the squanderers are like satans and satan is always ungrateful to his Lord

17:28  If you have to turn away from them seeking the mercy from your Lord that you hope for, even then speak to them a kind word

17:29  And do not keep your hand shackled to your neck (out of miserliness), nor stretch it out to an entire stretching (extravagantly), lest you sit down reproached (incurring blame) and exhausted (on becoming penniless)

17:30  Surely, your Lord multiplies His provisions and means of livelihood for such of His people as He will and He measures it out (justly), for He is Well-Aware and Seeing of (the true needs of) His people inside out

17:31  And do not kill your children for fear of want. It is We Who provide for them as well as for you. Indeed, the killing of them is a great sin

17:32  And Keep away from adultery and fornication; surely, it is an abominable act and an (extremely) evil practice

17:33  And do not kill anyone, the sanctity of which Allah has upheld (and has forbidden you to slay) except for a just cause. And We have given, of course, to the heir of the person who is killed unjustly the right (to demand retribution or to forgive). But let him not exceed the (prescribed) limits in killing (the murderer) because he is indeed helped (and protected by law)

17:34  And go not near (to utilize) the property of an orphan, except in the fairest manner and intention (in favour of the orphan) until he attains his (age of) full strength, (when the property is to be returned to him,) and fulfill (your) agreements, (for every) agreement is certainly questioned about and has to be accounted for

17:35  And give full measure when you measure out, and weigh with a right (and even) balance. That is best and most commendable in the long run

17:36  And do not follow and utter that of which you have no knowledge. Surely, the ear and eye and the heart, all of these, shall be called upon to account (for it)

17:37  And do not walk haughtily in the land, for you cannot (thus) rend the earth asunder, nor can you match the mountains in height

17:38  All these (doings) are such that the evil in them is simply hateful in the sight of your Lord

17:39  These (teachings) are a part of the wisdom which your Lord has revealed to you and (the basis of all these acts of righteousness is that you) set up no other god beside Allah, lest you be cast into Gehenna condemned, rejected

17:40  (Disbelievers!) has your Lord favoured you with sons and chosen for Himself daughters from among the angels? Surely, most grievous is the blasphemy you utter

17:41  And certainly, in this Qur'an, We have explained (for the people the truth) in a variety of forms that they may take heed and become great. But (their condition is such that) it increases them only in aversion

17:42  Say, `Had there been other gods as they allege beside Him (- the One God), in that case these (polytheists) would have certainly sought out (by their help) a way to the Lord of the Mighty throne

17:43  Glory be to Him! and far High indeed be He exalted above the things these (polytheists) say

17:44  The seven heavens, the earth and all those inhabiting them extol His glory. Infact, there is not even a single thing but glorifies Him with His true and perfect praise, but you do not understand their glorification. Verily, Most Forbearing is He, Great Protector

17:45  And when you recite the Qur'an, We place between you and those who do not believe in the Hereafter, an impregnable screen

17:46  And We cover their hearts with veils and plug their ears with something heavy, lest they should understand it. And when you mention the name of your Lord Who is the Only One, in the Qur'an, they turn their backs (on it) in aversion

17:47  We know very well the purpose of their listening when they listen to you (and the purpose with which they confer) when they confer in private (and) when the unjust say, `You follow none but a man who is defrauded and deprived of reason.

17:48  Behold! how they coin similitudes to depict you, as a result of which they have gone astray; so they will not be able to find a way (of their salvation)

17:49  And they (also) say, `What! when we are reduced to bones and (that too) broken particles (of dust) shall we then be really raised again to a new life?

17:50  Say, `Yes, even if you be reduced to stones or iron

17:51  `Or some other creation yet more hard (that you can possibly conceive) in your mind, (even then you shall be raised to a new life).' Thereupon they will say, `Who will restore us (to life)?' Say, `The same Who originated you the first time.' At this, then, they will shake their heads at you (expressing wonder and disbelief in being raised) and will say, `When will it come to pass?' Say, `May be it is near.

17:52  (This promise will be fulfilled) on the day when He will call you forth, then you will respond (to Him) saying His praises and you will think that you have tarried (in the world) only for a little while

17:53  And say to My servants that they should speak only what is gracious, for satan (is keen to) provoke discord among them. Satan indeed is an enemy to the people, disuniting (one another)

17:54  Your Lord knows you best. He will have mercy on you if He will or He will punish you if He will. And We have not sent you to be a disposer of their affairs (authorising you to punish them or reward them)

17:55  And your Lord knows best those that are in the heavens and on the earth. And most surely We have exalted some of the Prophets above others, and it is We Who gave David the Zabur (- the Psalms)

17:56  Say, `Call upon those whom you assert (to be gods) apart from Him, then (you will realize) they have no power to rid you of affliction nor to avert (it) or transfer it to others.

17:57  Those whom they call upon (apart from Him, thinking them to be a means of gaining nearness to God,) themselves seek nearness to their Lord and solicit His favour (even) those of them who are nearest (to God are still competing to be closer to Him) and hope for His mercy and fear His punishment. As a matter of fact the punishment of your Lord is a thing to beware of

17:58  And there is no township but We shall destroy it or We shall subject it to a severe chastisement before the Day of Resurrection. That is written down in the book (- in the knowledge of God)

17:59  And nothing could prevent Us from going on sending (Our) signs though the former people cried lies to them. And We gave to Thamud the she-camel as an enlightenment and an eye opener, but they dealt with her unjustly. And We do not send (Our) signs except to warn the people (against the evil consequences of disbelief and transgression)

17:60  And (Prophet! recall the time) when We said to you, `Surely, your Lord has encompassed all people (for destruction) and has power over them (still they remained indifferent).' We made the vision which We showed you (being carried to Jerusalem from Makkah by night) and also the tree (- evil word; see 14:26) disapproved of in the Qur'an, a means of distinction between the good and the bad for the people. (Despite the fact that) We have been warning them (by sending Our signs), this (warning from Us) only leads them to unrestrained inordinacy

17:61  And (recall the time) when We said to the angels, `Submit to Adam!' Then they all submitted. But Iblis (who too was told to do the same, did not), he said, `Shall I submit to one whom You have created out of clay?

17:62  And he added, `What do You think? This is he whom You have honoured and placed above me. If You grant me respite till the Day of Resurrection, I will most certainly bring his progeny under my sway, having overpowered them, I shall destroy them for sure, except a few.

17:63  `Be gone!' said He; `As for those of them who follow you, Gehenna is the recompense of you all, an ample recompense

17:64  `And beguile whomsoever of them you can with your speech and rally your horsemen against them, and your foot men (- fast riders and slow walkers in disobedience, with all your might) and share with them their wealth and children and hold out promises to them (what you like).' Indeed, satan promises them nothing but mere fraud

17:65  `As to My true servants, you shall have certainly no authority over them. And sufficient is your Lord as Disposer of affairs.

17:66  Your Lord is He Who drives the ships on the sea for you that you may seek of His bounty. He is certainly Ever Merciful to you

17:67  And when you encounter some distress on the sea, (at that time all) those (gods) whom you call upon are lost (to you), but not He. Yet when He brings you safe to the land, you turn away (from Him). Of course, such a person is very ungrateful

17:68  Do you then feel secure that He will not humiliate you in the side of the land and make you sink (in the earth on the side of) the shore, or send against you a violent squall of pebbles. For (if He does) you shall find none responsible to protect and help you

17:69  Or do you feel secure and have made sure that He will (not) send you back in it (- the sea) a second time (and) then send against you a fierce storm blast and drown you because of your ingratitude, for (if He does), you will find no helper in the matter for yourselves to protect you against Us

17:70  And most surely We have made the Children of Adam greatly honoured and have carried them over land and sea, and We have provided them with good and pure things and have distinctly exalted them far above most of Our creation

17:71  (Beware of) the day when We shall call all people along with their leaders. Now whoever is given his book (- recording his deeds) in his right hand, such will read their book (eagerly) and they will not be dealt with unjustly in the least

17:72  But whoever remained (spiritually) blind in this world shall also be blind in the Hereafter. Rather he will be even farther removed from the right path

17:73  And they had spared nothing in causing you (the severest) affliction with the purpose to turn you away from the revelations given to you, that you might forge in Our name something different from that which We have revealed to you. In that case they would surely have taken you for a special friend

17:74  And if We had not made you firm and steadfast, you might have inclined towards them a little

17:75  In that case (if you had been one to forge a lie against Us) We would have made you taste multiple sufferings in this life and multiple sufferings in death, (and) then you would have found for yourself no helper against Us. (But you remained steadfast)

17:76  They had spared nothing in unsettling you from the land (of Makkah), that they might drive you out from it. But in that case they (themselves) would not have stayed after you except for a little while

17:77  Such (has been Our) practice with those of Our Messengers whom We sent before you and you will find no change in Our practice

17:78  Observe Prayer at the declining and paling of the sun, on to the complete darkness (in diverse hours) of the night, and recite the Qur'an at dawn. Verily, the regular recital (of the Qur'an) at dawn is (specially) acceptable (to God) and witnessed (by the angels)

17:79  And remain awake for it (- the recitation of the Qur'an and Prayer) for a part of the night after having risen from sleep as a supererogatory service for you. Thus it may be that your Lord will raise you to a laudable exalted position

17:80  And say (in Prayer), `My Lord, grant that when I enter (wherever you take me to while migrating) I enter with truth (in every way) and when I depart, I depart with truth, and grant me by Your grace authoritative help (which should sustain me in my activities).

17:81  And say, `Truth has come and falsehood has vanished away.' Falsehood is indeed ever bound to vanish away

17:82  And We are gradually revealing of the Qur'an (that teaching) which is (the cause of) healing and mercy for the believers. But this (revelation) only leads the unjust persons from loss to loss

17:83  And when We bestow favours on a human being, he turns away and withdraws himself aside, but when evil overtakes him he is given to despair

17:84  Say, `Everyone acts after his own way and fashion and your Lord knows very well who is best guided in the right path.

17:85  And they question you about the revelation, and the human soul. say, `The revelation and the soul is by the command of my Lord, (because) little is the knowledge there of that you have been given.

17:86  Had We so willed We could surely take away that which We have revealed to you. If We did so you could find none to plead your cause (to restore it to you) against Our will

17:87  But (it is) the special mercy from your Lord (that He will not do so); His grace and favour upon you is very great infact

17:88  Say, `If there should join together all human beings and the jinn to produce the like of this Qur'an, they would never be able to produce anything like it, even though some of them might be the helpers of others.

17:89  And in this Qur'an We have explained in various ways and forms every kind of rare things of exquisite beauty to mankind but most people choose to reject everything except (following the way of) disbelief

17:90  And they say, `We will never believe unless you cause a spring to gush forth for us from the earth

17:91  `Or there be a garden of date-palms and vines for you, and you cause the streams to gush forth abundantly in its midst

17:92  `Or, as you assert (and claim that it shall happen), cause the heaven to fall down upon us in fragments, or bring Allah and the angels face to face with us

17:93  `Or, there be a house made of gold for you, or you ascend into the heaven; but we will not believe in your ascending till you bring down to us a book that we can read.' (Say), `Glory be to my Lord! I am not but a human being (sent as) a Messenger.

17:94  And nothing has prevented the people from believing when the guidance came to them except their sayings, `Has Allah raised a human being (like us) as a Messenger?

17:95  Say, `Had there been angels on the earth (in place of human beings) walking about secure and sound We (too) would have invariably sent down an angel from heaven as a Messenger to them.

17:96  Say, `Allah suffices as a witness between me and you. Surely, He is Ever Aware of and sees His servants full well.

17:97  He whom Allah guides (to the straight and right path) is the only one rightly guided, but those whom He abandons to perish, you will find no protecting friends for them apart from Him. And We shall gather them on the Day of Resurrection (dragging them) on their faces. They shall be blind, dumb and deaf. Gehenna is their resort. As often as it (- the flames of the Hell-fire) abate, We shall add (fuel) to the blaze for them

17:98  Such shall be their recompense because they rejected Our commandments and said, `Shall we really be raised up as a new creation when (after our death) we are reduced to mere bones and broken particles (of dust)

17:99  Have they not seen that Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth, has the power to create their like? And He has appointed for them a term, no doubt about it. Yet the unjust would reject everything except (following in the way of) disbelief

17:100  Say, `Even if you possessed all the treasures of the mercy and blessings of my Lord yet you would hold (them) back for fear of depleting, for a human being is very niggardly indeed.

17:101  And most certainly, We gave Moses nine clear signs. So ask the Children of Israel (about it). When he (- Moses) came to them, Pharaoh said to him, `Moses! I think you to be under a spell and a victim of deception.

17:102  He said, `You know fully well that none other but the Lord of the heavens and the earth has revealed these signs as (means of) enlightenment. Surely, I believe you, O Pharaoh! to be doomed to perish.

17:103  So he resolved to weaken them by humiliating them in and thus scare them out of the country; but We drowned him and those with him, one and all

17:104  And We said after (it was all over with Pharaoh), to the Children of Israel, `Settle down occupying the (promised) land (of Palestine). When the time of fulfillment of the second Prophecy comes, We shall bring you back gathering you (from various lands).

17:105  We revealed it (- the Qur'an) to suit all the requirement of truth and wisdom and it has come down (to you) with truth and wisdom. (Prophet!) We have sent you (on one hand) as a Bearer of good tidings and as a Warner (on the other)

17:106  We have divided this Qur'an into distinct chapters and have revealed it in stages that you may recite it to mankind at intervals and (that is why) We have revealed it piece by piece, and in stages

17:107  Say, `You may believe in it (- the Qur'an) or you may not believe, those who have been given the (spiritual) knowledge before it (- its revelation) fall down on their faces prostrating submissively (before their Lord) when it is recited to them.

17:108  And they say, `Glory be to Our Lord! The promise of our Lord is really bound to be fulfilled.

17:109  They fall down on their faces weeping and (as they listen to the divine words) it adds to their humility. [Prostration]

17:110  Say, `Call upon (Him by the name of) Allah or call upon (Him by the name of) Al-Rahman (the Most Gracious). (In short) call upon Him by whichsoever name you like, all beautiful names belong to Him (- the One God). And utter not your prayer in a loud voice nor utter it in too low tones (completely concealing it) but seek a middle course.

17:111  And say, `All true and perfect praise belongs to Allah Who has not taken to Himself a son, and Who has no associate-partner in His kingdom, nor has He any helper because of any weakness. And extol His glory with repeated glorification.