21:1  CLOSER DRAWS unto men their reckoning: and yet they remain stubbornly heedless [of its approach]

21:2  Whenever there comes unto them any new reminder from their Sustainer, they but listen to it with playful amusement

21:3  their hearts set on passing delights; yet they who are [thus] bent on wrongdoing conceal their innermost thoughts [when they say to one another], “Is this [Muhammad] anything but a mortal like yourselves? Will you, then, yield to [his] spellbinding eloquence with your eyes open?”

21:4  Say: “My Sustainer knows whatever is spoken in heaven and on earth; and He alone is all-hearing, all-knowing.”

21:5  “Nay,” they say, “[Muhammad propounds] the most involved and confusing of dreams!” “Nay, but he has invented [all] this!” - “Nay, but he is [only] a poet!” - [and,] “Let him, then, come unto us with a miracle, just as those [prophets] of old were sent [with miracles]?”

21:6  Not one of the communities that We destroyed in bygone times would ever believe [their prophets]: will these, then, [be more willing to] believe

21:7  For [even] before thy time, [O Muhammad,] We never sent [as Our apostles] any but [mortal] men, whom We inspired - hence, [tell the deniers of the truth,] “If you do not know this, ask the followers of earlier revelation”

21:8  and neither did We endow them with bodies that could dispense with food nor were they immortal

21:9  In the end, We made good unto them Our promise, and We saved them and all whom We willed [to save], and We destroyed those who had wasted their own selves

21:10  [O MEN!] We have now bestowed upon you from on high a divine writ containing all that you ought to bear in mind will you not, then, use your reason

21:11  For, how many a community that persisted in evildoing have We dashed into fragments, and raised another people in its stead

21:12  And [every time,] as soon as they began to feel Our punishing might, lo! they tried to flee from i

21:13  [and at the same time they seemed to hear a scornful voice]: “Do not try to flee, but return to all that [once] gave you pleasure and corrupted your whole being. and [return] to your homes, so that you might be called to account [for what you have done]!”

21:14  And they could only cry: “Oh, woe unto us! Verily, we were wrongdoers!”

21:15  And that cry of theirs did not cease until We caused them to become [like] a field mown down, still and silent as ashes

21:16  AND [know that] We have not created the heavens and the earth and all that is between them in mere idle play

21:17  [for,] had We willed to indulge in a pastime, We would indeed have produced it from within Ourselves - if such had been Our will at all

21:18  Nay, but [by the very act of creation] We hurl the truth against falsehood, and it crushes the latter: and lo! it withers away. But woe unto you for all your [attempts at] defining [God] –

21:19  for, unto Him belong all [beings] that are in the heavens and on earth; and those that are with Him are never too proud to worship Him and never grow weary [thereof]

21:20  they extol His limitless glory by night and by day, never flagging [therein]

21:21  And yet some people choose to worship certain earthly things or beings as deities that [are supposed to] resurrect [the dead; and they fail to realize that]

21:22  had there been in heaven or on earth any deities other than God, both [those realms would surely have fallen into ruin! But limitless in His glory is God, enthroned in His awesome almightiness far] above anything that men may devise by way of definition

21:23  He cannot be called to account for whatever He does, whereas they will be called to account

21:24  and yet, they choose to worship [imaginary] deities instead of Him! Say [O Prophet]: “Produce an evidence for what you are claiming: this is a reminder [unceasingly voiced] by those who are with me, just as it was a reminder [voiced] by those who came before me.” But nay, most of them do not know the truth, and so they stubbornly turn away [from it]

21:25  and [this despite the fact that even] before thy time We never sent any apostle without having revealed to him that there is no deity save Me, - [and that,] therefore, you shall worship Me [alone]

21:26  And [yet,] some say, “The Most Gracious has taken unto Himself a son”! Limitless is He in His glory! Nay, [those whom they regard as God’s “offspring” are but His] honoured servants

21:27  they speak not until He has spoken unto them, and [whenever they act,] they act at His behest

21:28  He knows all that lies open before them and all that is hidden from them: hence, they cannot intercede for any but those whom He has [already] graced with His goodly acceptance, since they themselves stand in reverent awe of Him

21:29  And if any of them were to say, “Behold, I am deity beside Him” - that one We should requite with hell: thus do We requite all [such] evildoers

21:30  ARE, THEN, they who are bent on denying the truth not aware that the heavens and the earth were [once] one single entity, which We then parted asunder? – and [that] We made out of water every living thing? Will they not, then, [begin to] believe

21:31  And [are they not aware that] We have set up firm mountains on earth, lest it sway with them, and [that] We have appointed thereon broad paths, so that they might find their way

21:32  and [that] We have set up the sky as a canopy well-secured? And yet, they stubbornly turn away from [all] the signs of this [creation]

21:33  and [fail to see that] it is He who has created the night and the day and the sun and the moon - all of them floating through space

21:34  AND [remind those who deny thee, O Prophet, that] never have We granted life everlasting to any mortal before thee: but do they, perchance, hope that although thou must die, they will live forever?”

21:35  Every human being is bound to taste death; and We test you [all] through the bad and the good [things of life] by way of trial: and unto Us you all must return

21:36  But [thus it is:] whenever they who are bent on denying the truth consider thee, they make thee but a target of their mockery, [saying to one another,] “Is this the one who speaks [so contemptuously] of your gods?” and yet, it is they themselves who, at [every] mention of the Most Gracious, are wont to deny the truth

21:37  Man is a creature of haste; [but in time] I shall make obvious to you [the truth of] My messages: do not, then, ask Me to hasten [it]

21:38  But they [who reject My messages are wont to] ask, “When is that promise [of God’s judgment] to be fulfilled? [Answer this, O you who believe in it,] if you are men of truth!”

21:39  If they but knew - they who are bent on denying the truth - [that there will come] a time when they will not be able to ward off the fire from their faces, nor from their backs, and will not find any succour

21:40  Nay, but [the Last Hour] will come upon them of a sudden, and will stupefy them: and they will be unable to avert it, and neither wilt they be allowed any respite

21:41  And, indeed, [O Muhammad, even] before thy time have [God’s] apostles been derided - but those who scoffed at them were [in the end] overwhelmed by the very thing which they had been wont to deride

21:42  Say: “Who could protect you, by night or by day, from the Most Gracious?” And yet, from a remembrance of their Sustainer do they stubbornly turn away

21:43  Do they [really think that they] have deities that could shield them from Us? Those [alleged deities] are not [even] able to succour themselves: hence, neither can they [who worship them hope to] be aided [by them] against Us

21:44  Nay, We have allowed these [sinners] – as [We allowed] their forebears – to enjoy the good things of life for a great length of time: but then – have they never yet seen how We visit the earth [with Our punishment], gradually depriving it of all that is best thereon? Can they, then, [hope to] be the winners

21:45  SAY [unto all men]: “I but warn you on the strength of divine revelation!” But the deaf [of heart] will not hearken to this call, however often they are warned

21:46  And yet, if but a breath of thy Sustainer’s chastisement touches them, they are sure to cry, “Oh, woe unto us! Verily, we were evildoers!”

21:47  But We shall set up just balance-scales on Resurrection Day, and no human being shall be wronged in the least: for though there be [in him but] the weight of a mustard-seed [of good or evil], We shall bring it forth; and none can take count as We do

21:48  AND, INDEED, We vouchsafed unto Moses and Aaron [Our revelation as] the standard by which to discern the true from the false, and as a [guiding] light and a reminder for the God-consciou

21:49  who stand in awe of their Sustainer although He is beyond the reach of human perception, and who tremble at the thought of the Last Hour

21:50  And [like those earlier revelations,] this one, too, is a blessed reminder which We have bestowed from on high: will you, then, disavow it

21:51  AND, INDEED, long before [the time of Moses] We vouchsafed unto Abraham his consciousness of what is right; and We were aware of [what moved] him

21:52  when he said unto his father and his people, “What are these images to which you are so intensely devoted?”

21:53  They answered: “We found our forefathers worshipping them.”

21:54  Said he: “Indeed, you and your forefathers have obviously gone astray!”

21:55  They asked: “Hast thou come unto us [with this claim] in all earnest - or art thou one of those jesters?”

21:56  He answered: “Nay, but your [true] Sustainer is the Sustainer of the heavens and the earth - He who has brought them into being: and I am one of those who bear witness to this [truth]!”

21:57  And [he added to himself.] “By God, I shall most certainly bring about the downfall of your idols as soon as you have turned your backs and gone away!”

21:58  And then he broke those [idols] to pieces, [all] save the biggest of them, so that they might [be able to] turn to it

21:59  [When they saw what had happened,] they said: “Who has done this to our gods? Verily, one of the worst wrongdoers is he!”

21:60  Said some [of them]: “We heard a youth speak of these [gods with scorn]: he is called Abraham.”

21:61  [The others] said: “Then bring him before the peoples eyes, so that they might bear witness [against him]!”

21:62  [And when he came.] they asked: “Hast thou done this to our gods, O Abraham?”

21:63  He answered: “Nay, it was this one, the biggest of them, that did it: but ask them [yourselves] - provided they can speak!”

21:64  And so they turned upon one another, saying, “Behold, it is you who are doing wrong.”

21:65  But then they relapsed into their former way of thinking and said: “Thou knowest very well that these [idols] cannot speak!”

21:66  Said [Abraham]: “Do you then worship, instead of God, something that cannot benefit you in any way, nor harm you

21:67  Fie upon you and upon all that you worship instead of God! Will you not, then, use your reason?”

21:68  They exclaimed: “Burn him, and [thereby] succour your gods, if you are going to do [anything]!”

21:69  [But] We said: O fire! Be thou cool, and [a source of] inner peace for Abraham!”

21:70  and whereas they sought to do evil unto him, We caused them to suffer the greatest loss

21:71  for We saved him and Lot, [his brother’s son, by guiding them] to the land which We have blessed for all times to come

21:72  And We bestowed upon him Isaac and [Isaacs son] Jacob as an additional gift and caused all of them to be righteous men

21:73  and made them leaders who would guide [others] in accordance with Our behest: for We inspired them [with a will] to do good works, and to be constant in prayer, and to dispense charity: and Us [alone] did they worship

21:74  AND UNTO Lot, too, We vouchsafed sound judgment and knowledge [of right and wrong], and saved him from that community which was given to deeds of abomination. [We destroyed those people - forr,] verily, they were people lost in evil, depraved –

21:75  whereas him We admitted unto Our grace: for, behold, he was among the righteous

21:76  AND [remember] Noah - [how,] when He called out [unto Us], long before [the time of Abraham and Lot], We responded to him and saved him and his household from that awesome calamity

21:77  and [how] We succoured him against the people who had given the lie to Our messages: verily, they were people lost in evil - and [so] We caused them all to drown

21:78  AND [remember] David and Solomon - [how it was] when both of them gave judgment concerning the field into which some people’s sheep had strayed by night and pastured therein, and [how] We bore witness to their judgment

21:79  for, [though] We made Solomon understand the case [more profoundly] yet We vouchsafed unto both of them sound judgment and knowledge [of right and wrong]. And We caused the mountains to join David in extolling Our limitless glory, and likewise the birds: for We are able to do [all things]

21:80  And We taught him how to make garments [of God- consciousness] for you, [O men,] so that they might fortify you against all that may cause you fear: but are you grateful [for this boon]

21:81  And unto Solomon [We made subservient] the stormy wind, so that it sped at his behest towards the land which We had blessed: for it is We who have knowledge of everything

21:82  And among the rebellious forces [which We made subservient to him] there were some that dived for him [into the sea] and performed other works, besides: but it was We who kept watch over them

21:83  AND [remember] Job, when he cried out to his Sustainer, “Affliction has befallen me: but Thou art the most merciful of the merciful!”

21:84  whereupon We responded unto him and removed all the affliction from which he suffered; and We gave him new offspring, doubling their number as an act of grace from Us, and as a reminder unto all who worship Us

21:85  AND [remember] Ishmael and Idris and every one who [like them] has pledged himself [unto God]: they all were among those who are patient in adversity

21:86  and so We admitted them unto Our grace: behold, they were among the righteous

21:87  AND [remember] him of the great fish when he went off in wrath, thinking that We had no power over him! But then heeded out in the deep darkness [of his distress]: “There is no deity save Thee! Limitless art Thou in Thy glory! Verily, I have done wrong!”

21:88  And so We responded unto him and delivered him from [his] distress: for thus do We deliver all who have faith

21:89  AND [thus did We deliver] Zachariah when he cried out unto his Sustainer: “O my Sustainer! Leave me not childless! But [even if Thou grant me no bodily heir, I know that] Thou wilt remain when all else has ceased to be!”

21:90  And so We responded unto him, and bestowed upon him the gift of John, having made his wife fit to bear him a child: [and,] verily, these [three] would vie with one another in doing good works, and would call unto Us in yearning and awe; and they were always humble before Us

21:91  AND [remember] her who guarded her chastity, whereupon We breathed into her of Our spirit and caused her, together with her son, to become a symbol [of Our grace] unto all people

21:92  VERILY, [O you who believe in Me,] this community of yours is one single community, since I am the Sustainer of you all: worship, then, Me [alone]

21:93  But men have torn their unity wide asunder, [forgetting that] unto Us they all are bound to return

21:94  And yet, whoever does [the least] of righteous deeds and is a believer withal, his endeavour shall not be disowned: for, behold, We shall record it in his favour

21:95  Hence, it has been unfailingly true of any community whom We have ever destroyed that they [were people who] would never turn back [from their sinful ways]

21:96  until such a time as Gog and Magog are let loose [upon the world] and swarm down from every corner [of the earth]

21:97  the while the true promise [of resurrection] draws close [to its fulfillment]. But then, lo! the eyes of those who [in their lifetime] were bent on denying the truth will stare in horror, [and they will exclaim:] “Oh, woe unto us! We were indeed heedless of this [promise of resurrection]! - nay, we were [bent on] doing evil!”

21:98  [Then they will be told:] “Verily, you and all that you [were wont to] worship instead of God are but the fuel of hell: that is what you are destined for

21:99  If those [false objects of your worship] had truly been divine, they would not have been destined for it: but [as it is, you] all shall abide therein!”

21:100  Moaning will be their lot therein, and nothing [else] will they hear therein

21:101  [But,] behold, as for those for whom [the decree of] ultimate good has already gone forth from Us these will be kept far away from that [hell]

21:102  no sound thereof will they hear; and they will abide in all that their souls have ever desired

21:103  The supreme awesomeness [of the Day of Resurrection] will cause them no grief, since the angels will receive them with the greeting. “This is your Day [of triumph - the Day] which you were promised!”

21:104  On that Day We shall roll up the skies as written scrolls are rolled up; [and] as We brought into being the first creation, so We shall bring it forth anew a promise which We have willed upon Ourselves: for, behold, We are able to do [all things]

21:105  AND, INDEED, after having exhorted [man], We laid it down in all the books of divine wisdom that My righteous servants shall inherit the earth

21:106  herein, behold, there is a message for people who [truly] worship God

21:107  And [thus, O Prophet,] We have sent thee as [an evidence of Our] grace towards all the worlds

21:108  Say: “It has but been revealed unto me that your God is the One and Only God: will you, then, surrender yourselves unto Him?”

21:109  But if they turn away, say: “I have proclaimed this in equity unto all of you alike; but I do not know whether that [judgment] which you are promised [by God] is near or far [in time]

21:110  “Verily, He knows all that is said openly, just as He [alone] knows all that you would conceal

21:111  But [as for me,] I do not know whether, perchance, this [delay in God’s judgment] is but a trial for you, and a [merciful] respite for a while.”

21:112  Say: “O my Sustainer! Judge Thou in truth!” - and [say]: “Our Sustainer is the Most Gracious, the One whose aid is ever to be sought against all your [attempts at] defining [Him]!”