21:1  Mankind’s reckoning has drawn near to them, yet they are disregardful in [their] obliviousness

21:2  There does not come to them any new reminder from their Lord but they listen to it as they play around

21:3  their hearts set on diversions. The wrongdoers secretly whisper together, [saying], ‘Is not this [man] just a human being like yourselves? Will you give in to magic with open eyes?’

21:4  He said, ‘My Lord knows every word [spoken] in the sky and the earth, and He is the All-hearing, the All-knowing.’

21:5  Rather they said, ‘[They are] confused nightmares!’ ‘Rather he has fabricated it!’ ‘Rather he is a poet!’ ‘Let him bring us a sign, like those sent to the ancients.’

21:6  No town that We destroyed before them believed. Will these then have faith [if they are sent signs]

21:7  We did not send [any apostles] before you except as men, to whom We revealed. Ask the People of the Reminder if you do not know

21:8  We did not make them bodies that did not eat food, and they were not immortal

21:9  Then We fulfilled Our promise to them, and We delivered them and whomever We wished, and We destroyed the profligates

21:10  Certainly We have sent down to you a Book in which there is an admonition for you. Do you not apply reason

21:11  How many a town We have smashed that had been wrongdoing, and We brought forth another people after it

21:12  So when they sighted Our punishment, behold, they ran away from it

21:13  ‘Do not run away! Return to the opulence you were given to enjoy and to your dwellings so that you may be questioned!’

21:14  They said, ‘Woe to us! We have indeed been wrongdoers!’

21:15  That remained their cry until We turned them into a mown field, stilled [like burnt ashes]

21:16  We did not create the sky and the earth and whatever is between them for play

21:17  Had We desired to take up some diversion We would have surely taken it up with Ourselves, were We to do [so]

21:18  Rather We hurl the truth against falsehood, and it crushes its head, and behold, falsehood vanishes! And woe to you for what you allege [about Allah]

21:19  To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and the earth, and those who are near Him do not disdain to worship Him, nor do they become weary

21:20  They glorify [Him] night and day, and they do not flag

21:21  Have they taken gods from the earth who raise [the dead]

21:22  Had there been gods in them other than Allah, they would surely have fallen apart. Clear is Allah, the Lord of the Throne, of what they allege [concerning Him]

21:23  He is not questioned concerning what He does, but they are questioned

21:24  Have they taken gods besides Him? Say, ‘Produce your evidence! This is a precept of those who are with me, and a precept of those [who went] before me.’ Rather most of them do not know the truth, and so they are disregardful

21:25  We did not send any apostle before you but We revealed to him that ‘There is no god except Me; so worship Me.’

21:26  They say, ‘The All-beneficent has taken offsprings.’ Immaculate is He! Rather they are [His] honoured servants

21:27  They do not venture to speak ahead of Him, and they act by His command

21:28  He knows that which is before them and that which is behind them, and they do not intercede except for someone He approves of, and they are apprehensive for the fear of Him

21:29  Should any of them say, ‘I am a god besides Him,’ We will requite him with hell. Thus do We requite the wrongdoers

21:30  Have the faithless not regarded that the heavens and the earth were interwoven and We unravelled them, and We made every living thing out of water? Will they not then have faith

21:31  We set firm mountains in the earth lest it should shake with them, and We made broad ways in them so that they may be guided [to their destinations]

21:32  We made the sky a preserved roof and yet they are disregardful of its signs

21:33  It is He who created the night and the day, the sun and the moon, each swimming in an orbit

21:34  We did not give immortality to any human before you. If you are fated to die, will they live on forever

21:35  Every soul shall taste death, and We will test you with good and ill by way of test, and to Us you will be brought back

21:36  Whenever the faithless see you they only take you in derision: ‘Is this the one who speaks ill of your gods?’ And they defy the remembrance of the All-beneficent

21:37  Man is a creature of haste. Soon I will show you My signs. So do not ask Me to hasten

21:38  And they say, ‘When will this promise be fulfilled, should you be truthful?’

21:39  If only the faithless knew of the time when they will not be able to keep the Fire off their faces and their backs, nor will they be helped

21:40  Rather it will overtake them suddenly, dumbfounding them. So neither will they be able to avert it, nor will they be granted any respite

21:41  Apostles were certainly derided before you; but those who ridiculed them were besieged by what they had been deriding

21:42  Say, ‘Who can guard you, day and night, from [the punishment of] the All-beneficent?’ Rather they are disregardful of their Lord’s remembrance

21:43  Do they have gods besides Us to defend them? Neither can they help themselves, nor can they provide them with an escort against Us

21:44  Rather We have provided for them and their fathers until they lived on for long years. Do they not see how We visit the land diminishing it at its edges? Are they the ones who will prevail

21:45  Say, ‘I indeed warn you by the means of revelation.’ But the deaf do not hear the call when they are warned

21:46  Should a whiff of your Lord’s punishment touch them, they will surely say, ‘Woe to us! We have indeed been wrongdoers!’

21:47  We shall set up the scales of justice on the Day of Resurrection, and no soul will be wronged in the least. Even if it be the weight of a mustard seed We shall produce it and We suffice as reckoners

21:48  Certainly We gave Moses and Aaron the Criterion, a light and reminder for the Godwary

21:49  Those who fear their Lord in secret, and who are apprehensive of the Hour

21:50  This is a blessed reminder which We have sent down. Will you then deny it

21:51  Certainly We had given Abraham his rectitude before, and We knew hi

21:52  when he said to his father and his people, ‘What are these images to which you keep on clinging?’

21:53  They said, ‘We found our fathers worshipping them.’

21:54  He said, ‘Certainly you and your fathers have been in manifest error.’

21:55  They said, ‘Are you telling the truth, or are you [just] kidding?’

21:56  He said, ‘Rather your Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth, who originated them, and I am a witness to this

21:57  By Allah, I will devise a stratagem against your idols after you have gone away.’

21:58  So he broke them into pieces, —all except the biggest of them— so that they might come back to it

21:59  They said, ‘Whoever has done this to Our gods?! He is indeed a wrongdoer!’

21:60  They said, ‘We heard a young man speaking ill of them. He is called ‘‘Abraham.’’ ’

21:61  They said, ‘Bring him before the people’s eyes so that they may bear witness [against him].’

21:62  They said, ‘Was it you who did this to our gods, O Abraham?’

21:63  He said, ‘Rather it was this biggest of them who did it! Ask them, if they can speak.’

21:64  Thereat they came to themselves and said [to one another], ‘Indeed it is you who are the wrongdoers!’

21:65  Then they hung their heads. [They said], ‘You certainly know that they cannot speak.’

21:66  He said, ‘Do you then worship, besides Allah, that which cannot cause you any benefit or harm

21:67  Fie on you and what you worship besides Allah! Do you not apply reason?’

21:68  They said, ‘Burn him, and help your gods, if you are to do anything!’

21:69  We said, ‘O fire! Be cool and safe for Abraham!’

21:70  They sought to outmaneuver him, but We made them the biggest losers

21:71  We delivered him and Lot toward the land which We have blessed for all nations

21:72  And We gave him Isaac, and Jacob as well for a grandson, and each of them We made righteous

21:73  We made them imams, guiding by Our command, and We revealed to them the performance of good deeds, the maintenance of prayers, and the giving of zakat, and they used to worship Us

21:74  We gave judgement and knowledge to Lot, and We delivered him from the town which used to commit vicious acts. Indeed they were an evil and profligate lot

21:75  And We admitted him into Our mercy. Indeed he was one of the righteous

21:76  And before that Noah, when he called out, We responded to him and delivered him and his family from the great agony

21:77  And We helped him against the people who denied Our signs. They were indeed an evil lot; so We drowned them all

21:78  And David and Solomon when they gave judgement concerning the tillage when the sheep of some people strayed into it by night, and We were witness to their judgement

21:79  We gave its understanding to Solomon, and to each We gave judgement and knowledge. And We disposed the mountains and the birds to glorify [Us] with David, and We have been the doer [of such things]

21:80  We taught him the making of coats of mail for you, to protect you from your [own] violence. Will you then be grateful

21:81  And for Solomon [We disposed] the tempestuous wind which blew by his command toward the land which We have blessed, and We have knowledge of all things

21:82  Among the devils were some who dived for him and performed tasks other than that, and We were watchful over them

21:83  And Job, when he called out to his Lord, ‘Indeed distress has befallen me, and You are the most merciful of the merciful.’

21:84  So We answered his prayer and removed his distress, and We gave him [back] his family along with others like them, as a mercy from Us, and an admonition for the devout

21:85  And Ishmael, Idris, and Dhul-Kifl —each of them was among the patient

21:86  We admitted them into Our mercy. Indeed they were among the righteous

21:87  And the Man of the Fish, when he left in a rage, thinking that We would not put him to hardship. Then he cried out in the darkness, ‘There is no god except You! You are immaculate! I have indeed been among the wrongdoers!’

21:88  So We answered his prayer and delivered him from the agony; and thus do We deliver the faithful

21:89  And Zechariah, when he cried out to his Lord, ‘My Lord! Do not leave me without an heir, and You are the best of inheritors.’

21:90  So We answered his prayer, and gave him John, and remedied his wife[’s infertility] for him. Indeed they were active in [performing] good works, and they would supplicate Us with eagerness and awe and were humble before Us

21:91  And her who guarded her chastity, so We breathed into her Our spirit, and made her and her son a sign for all the nations

21:92  Indeed this community of yours is one community, and I am your Lord. So worship Me

21:93  They have fragmented their religion among themselves. Everyone of them will return to Us

21:94  Whoever does righteous deeds, should he be faithful, his endeavour shall not go unappreciated, and We will indeed write it for him

21:95  It is forbidden for [the people of] any town that We have destroyed [to return to the world]: they shall not return

21:96  When Gog and Magog are let loose, and they race down from every slope

21:97  and the true promise draws near [to its fulfillment], behold, the faithless will look on with a fixed gaze: ‘Woe to us! We have certainly been oblivious of this! Rather we have been wrongdoers!’

21:98  Indeed you and what you worship besides Allah shall be fuel for hell, and you will come to i

21:99  —had they been gods, they would not have come to it— and they will all remain in it [forever]

21:100  Their lot therein will be groaning, and they will not hear anything in it

21:101  Indeed those to whom there has gone beforehand [the promise of] the best reward from Us will be kept away from it

21:102  They will not hear even its faint sound and they will remain [forever] in what their souls desire

21:103  The Great Terror will not upset them, and the angels will receive them [saying]: ‘This is your day which you were promised.’

21:104  The day We shall roll up the sky, like the rolling of the scrolls for writings. We will bring it back as We began the first creation —a promise [binding] on Us. [That] indeed We will do

21:105  Certainly We wrote in the Psalms, after the Torah: ‘Indeed My righteous servants shall inherit the earth.’

21:106  There is indeed in this a proclamation for a devout people

21:107  We did not send you but as a mercy to all the nations

21:108  Say, ‘It has been revealed to me that your God is the One God. So will you submit?’

21:109  But if they turn away, say, ‘I have proclaimed to you all alike, and I do not know whether what you have been promised is far or near

21:110  Indeed He knows whatever is spoken aloud, and He knows whatever you conceal

21:111  I do not know —maybe it is a trial for you and an enjoyment for a while.’

21:112  He said, ‘My Lord! Judge with justice.’ ‘Our Lord is the All-beneficent; [He is our] resort against what you allege.’