19:1  Kaf. Ha. Ya. ?Ayn. ?ad

19:2  A reminder of the Mercy of thy Lord unto His servant, Zachariah

19:3  when he cried out to his Lord with a secret cry

19:4  He said, “My Lord! Verily my bones have grown feeble, and my head glistens with white hair. And in calling upon Thee, my Lord, I have never been wretched

19:5  Truly I fear my relatives after me, and my wife is barren. So grant me from Thy Presence an hei

19:6  who will inherit from me and inherit from the House of Jacob. And make him, my Lord, well-pleasing.

19:7  “O Zachariah! Truly We bring thee glad tidings of a boy whose name is John; We have not given this as a name to any before him.

19:8  He said, “My Lord! How shall I have a boy, when my wife is barren, and I have grown decrepit with old age?

19:9  He said, “Thus shall it be. Thy Lord says, ‘It is easy for Me! I had created thee before, when thou wast nothing!’

19:10  He said, “My Lord! Appoint for me a sign.” He said, “Thy sign shall be that thou shalt not speak with men for three nights, [while thou art] sound.

19:11  So he came forth from the sanctuary unto his people, and signaled to them that they should glorify morning and evening

19:12  “O John! Take the Book with strength!” And We gave him judgment as a child

19:13  and a tenderness from Our Presence, and purity; and he was reverent

19:14  and dutiful toward his parents. He was not domineering, rebellious

19:15  Peace be upon him the day he was born, and the day he dies, and the day he is raised alive

19:16  And remember Mary in the Book, when she withdrew from her family to an eastern place

19:17  And she veiled herself from them. Then We sent unto her Our Spirit, and it assumed for her the likeness of a perfect man

19:18  She said, “I seek refuge from thee in the Compassionate, if you are reverent!

19:19  He said, “I am but a messenger of thy Lord, to bestow upon thee a pure boy.

19:20  She said, “How shall I have a boy when no man has touched me, nor have I been unchaste?

19:21  He said, “Thus shall it be. Thy Lord says, ‘It is easy for Me.’” And [it is thus] that We might make him a sign unto mankind, and a mercy from Us. And it is a matter decreed

19:22  So she conceived him and withdrew with him to a place far off

19:23  And the pangs of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a date palm. She said, “Would that I had died before this and was a thing forgotten, utterly forgotten!

19:24  So he called out to her from below her, “Grieve not! Thy Lord has placed a rivulet beneath thee

19:25  And shake toward thyself the trunk of the date palm; fresh, ripe dates shall fall upon thee

19:26  So eat and drink and cool thine eye. And if thou seest any human being, say, ‘Verily I have vowed a fast unto the Compassionate, so I shall not speak this day to any man.’

19:27  Then she came with him unto her people, carrying him. They said, “O Mary! Thou hast brought an amazing thing

19:28  O sister of Aaron! Thy father was not an evil man, nor was thy mother unchaste.

19:29  Then she pointed to him. They said, “How shall we speak to one who is yet a child in the cradle?

19:30  He said, “Truly I am a servant of God. He has given me the Book and made me a prophet

19:31  He has made me blessed wheresoever I may be, and has enjoined upon me prayer and almsgiving so long as I live

19:32  and [has made me] dutiful toward my mother. And He has not made me domineering, wretched

19:33  Peace be upon me the day I was born, the day I die, and the day I am raised alive!

19:34  That is Jesus son of Mary—a statement of the truth, which they doubt

19:35  It is not for God to take a child. Glory be to Him! When He decrees a thing, He only says to it, “Be!” and it is

19:36  “Truly God is my Lord and your Lord; so worship Him. This is a straight path.

19:37  Yet the parties differed among themselves, and woe unto those who disbelieve for the witnessing of a tremendous day

19:38  How well they will hear and how well they will see on the Day they come unto Us. But the wrongdoers, today, are in manifest error

19:39  And warn them of the Day of Regret, when the matter will have been decreed, while they are in a state of heedlessness and believe not

19:40  Surely We shall inherit the earth and whatsoever is upon it, and unto Us shall they be returned

19:41  And remember Abraham in the Book—verily he was truthful, a prophet

19:42  when he said unto his father, “O my father! Why do you worship that which neither hears nor sees, nor can avail you in any way

19:43  O my father! Verily knowledge has come unto me that has not come unto you. So follow me, and I shall guide you upon a sound path

19:44  O my father! Worship not Satan; surely Satan is disobedient toward the Compassionate

19:45  O my father! Truly I fear that a punishment from the Compassionate will befall you, such that you will become a friend of Satan.

19:46  He said, “Do you reject my gods, O Abraham? If you cease not, I shall surely stone you. Take leave of me for a long while!

19:47  He said, “Peace be upon you! I shall seek forgiveness for you from my Lord. Verily He has been gracious unto me

19:48  And I withdraw myself from you and that which you call upon apart from God. And I call upon my Lord; it may be that in calling upon my Lord, I will not be wretched.

19:49  So when he had withdrawn from them and that which they called upon apart from God, We bestowed upon him Isaac and Jacob, and each We made a prophet

19:50  And We bestowed upon them something of Our Mercy, and ordained for them a sublime, faithful renown

19:51  And remember Moses in the Book. Verily he was devoted, and he was a messenger, a prophet

19:52  We called out to him from the right side of the Mount, and drew him nigh in intimate discourse

19:53  And We bestowed upon him, from Our Mercy, his brother, Aaron, a prophet

19:54  And remember Ishmael in the Book. Verily he was true to the promise, and he was a messenger, a prophet

19:55  He used to bid his people to prayer and almsgiving, and he was pleasing unto his Lord

19:56  And remember Idris in the Book. Verily he was truthful, a prophet

19:57  And We raised him to a sublime station

19:58  They are those whom God has blessed among the prophets of the progeny of Adam, and of those whom We carried with Noah, and of the progeny of Abraham and Israel, and of those whom We guided and chose. When the signs of the Compassionate were recited unto them, they would fall down, prostrate and weeping

19:59  Then they were succeeded by a generation who neglected prayer and followed base desires. So they shall meet [the reward of] error

19:60  save for those who repent and believe and work righteousness. It is they who shall enter the Garden, and they shall not be wronged in the least

19:61  Gardens of Eden, those which the Compassionate promised His servants in the Unseen. Verily His Promise shall come to pass

19:62  They shall hear no idle talk therein, but only “Peace!” And therein they shall have their provision, morning and evening

19:63  This is the Garden We shall bequeath unto those among Our servants who were reverent

19:64  “We descend not, save by the Command of thy Lord. Unto Him belongs that which is before us and that which is behind us, and whatsoever lies between that, and thy Lord is not forgetful

19:65  the Lord of the heavens and the earth and whatsoever is between them. So worship Him and be steadfast in His worship. Dost thou know any who can be named alongside Him?

19:66  Man says, “When I am dead, shall I be brought forth alive?

19:67  Does man not remember that We created him before, when he was naught

19:68  And by thy Lord, We shall surely gather them and the satans, and We shall surely bring them around Hell on their knees

19:69  Then indeed We shall pluck out from every group whosoever among them was most insolent toward the Compassionate

19:70  Then We shall surely know those who most deserve to burn therein

19:71  And there is not one of you, but that he will approach it. It is, with thy Lord, a decree determined

19:72  Then We shall save those who are reverent and leave the wrongdoers therein, on their knees

19:73  And when Our signs are recited unto them as clear proofs, those who disbelieve say unto those who believe, “Which of the two groups is better in station or fairer in company?

19:74  How many a generation We destroyed before them who were fairer in [their] furnishings and in outward appearance

19:75  Say, “Whosoever is in error, the Compassionate will extend his term till, when they see that which they have been promised, be it the punishment or the Hour, they will know whose position is worse, and whose host is weaker.

19:76  God increases in guidance those who are rightly guided. And that which endures—righteous deeds—are better in reward with thy Lord, and better in return

19:77  Hast thou not considered the one who disbelieves in Our signs, and says, “I shall be given wealth and children.

19:78  Has he penetrated the Unseen, or made a pact with the Compassionate

19:79  Nay, but We shall record that which he says, and We shall prolong for him the punishment

19:80  And We shall inherit from him that which he claims, and he will come unto Us alone

19:81  And they have taken gods apart from God, that they might be a strength for them

19:82  Nay, but they will disavow their worship, and they will become an opponent unto them

19:83  Hast thou not considered how We unleash the satans on the disbelievers, to incite them cunningly

19:84  So hasten not against them; verily We are counting for them a number

19:85  On the Day We shall gather the reverent to the Compassionate as an honored delegation

19:86  and We shall drive the guilty into Hell as a thirsty herd

19:87  They have no power of intercession, save the one who has made a pact with the Compassionate

19:88  And they say, “The Compassionate has taken a child.

19:89  You have indeed asserted a terrible thing

19:90  The heavens are well-nigh rent thereby, and the earth split asunder, and the mountains made to fall down in ruins

19:91  that they should claim for the Compassionate a child

19:92  It is not fitting for the Compassionate to take a child

19:93  There is none in the heavens and on the earth, but that it comes unto the Compassionate as a servant

19:94  He has taken account of them, and numbered them exactly

19:95  And each of them shall come unto Him on the Day of Resurrection, alone

19:96  Surely those who believe and perform righteous deeds, for them shall the Compassionate ordain love

19:97  We have only made this easy upon thy tongue that thou mayest give glad tidings unto the reverent thereby, and that thereby thou mayest warn a contentious people

19:98  How many a generation before them have We destroyed? Dost thou perceive even one of them, or hear from them a murmur