23:1  Believers will succeed!

23:2  [This means] those who are reverent in their prayer,

23:3  who refrain from idle talk,

23:4  who are active in [paying] Zakat (public welfare tax)

23:5  and who guard their private parts

23:6  except with their spouses and whomever their right hands may control (slaves), since then they are free from blame.

23:7  Those who hanker after anything beyond that are going too far!

23:8  And those who preserve their trusts and their pledge,

23:9  and who keep up their prayers,

23:10  will be the heirs

23:11  who shall inherit Paradise to live there forever.

23:12  We created man from an extract of clay;

23:13  then We placed him as a drop of semen in a secure resting-place.

23:14  Then We turned the semen into a clot; next We turned the clot into tissue; and then We turned the tissue into bones and clothed the bones with flesh. Then We reproduced him as a fresh creation. Blessed be Allah (God), the Best of Creators!

23:15  Then later on you shall die.

23:16  Next you will be raised up again on Resurrection Day.

23:17  We have created seven orbits above you; We have not been heedless about [Our] creation.

23:18  We send down water from the sky in due measure, and let it trickle into the earth. We are even Able to make it disappear.

23:19  We have produced date groves and vineyards on it for you; from which you have much fruit to eat,

23:20  as well as a tree growing on Mount Sinai (Olive Tree) which produces oil and seasoning for those who [want to] eat.

23:21  You have [still another] lesson in livestock: We let you drink what is in their bellies, and you have many [other] uses in them; some of them you eat,

23:22  while on them and on shipboard you are transported.

23:23  We sent Noah to his folk, and he said: "My people, worship Allah (God); you have no other deity except Him. Will you not do your duty?"

23:24  The elders among his folk who disbelieved said: "This is only a human being like yourselves who wants to attain some superiority over you. If Allah (God) had wished, He would have sent down angels [instead]. We never heard about this from our early forefathers.

23:25  He is only an insane man, so wait sometime [until he recovers or dies]."

23:26  He said; "My Lord, support me in view of how they have rejected me!"

23:27  So We inspired him: "Build the ship under Our eyes and through Our inspiration. When Our command comes and the reservoir bursts open, send two out of every species on board as well as your own family, except for any of them against whom the Sentence has already been pronounced. Do not ask Me about those who have done wrong: they will be drowned.

23:28  When you and anyone else who is with you have boarded the ship, then SAY: "Praise be to Allah (God), Who has saved us from such wicked folk!"

23:29  And (also) SAY: "My Lord, land me through a blessed landing; You are the best Harbormaster!"

23:30  In that there were signs: We are always Testing (people).

23:31  Then We produced a generation of others after them;

23:32  We sent a messenger around from among themselves: "Serve Allah (God); you have no other deity except Him! Will you not do your duty?")

23:33  The elders among his people who disbelieved and denied there would be any meeting in the Hereafter, even though We had granted them every luxury during worldly life, said: "This is only a human being like yourselves; he eats what you eat, and drinks what you drink.

23:34  If you obey a human being just like yourselves, you will then turn out to be losers.

23:35  Does he promise you that when you die and have become dust and bones, that you will be brought forth again?

23:36  Away, off with whatever you are threatened with!

23:37  There exists only our present life; we die even as we live, and shall not be raised up again.

23:38  He is only a man who has invented some lie about Allah (God), and we do not believe in him."

23:39  He said: "My Lord, support me because they have rejected me!"

23:40  He said: "Some morning soon they will feel regretful."

23:41  The Blast really caught them and We turned them into rubbish. Away with such wicked folk!

23:42  Then We raised up other generations after them.

23:43  No nation may anticipate its deadline nor will they ever postpone it.

23:44  Then We sent Our messengers one after another. Each time its messenger came to some nation, they rejected him, so We followed some of them up with others and turned them into conversation pieces. Away with any folk who will not believe!

23:45  Next We sent Moses and his brother Aaron with Our signs and clear authority

23:46  to Pharaoh and his courtiers, and they acted too arrogantly and were such haughty folk.

23:47  So they said: "Are we to believe in two human beings like ourselves while their people are slaving for us?"

23:48  They rejected them both, and so eventually were wiped out.

23:49  Yet We had given Moses the Book (the Torah) so that they might be guided.

23:50  We set up the son of Mary and his mother as a sign, and sheltered them both on a hilltop where there was both lodging and a spring.

23:51  O messengers, eat wholesome things and act honorably; I am Aware of anything you do.

23:52  This nation of yours [forms] one community while I am your Lord, so heed me!

23:53  Yet they carve up it into cartels among themselves, each faction happy with whatever lies before them.

23:54  Leave them in their excitement for a while.

23:55  Do they think that We have only gave them wealth and children because of it?

23:56  We hurry good things up for them [as a trial], yet they do not even notice it!

23:57  Those who feel anxious out of awe for their Lord,

23:58  and those who believe in their Lord's signs,

23:59  and those who do not associate anything with their Lord,

23:60  and those who give away anything they may give while their hearts feel wary [because] they will return to their Lord;

23:61  [all] those compete in doing good deeds and they will soon attain them.

23:62  We only assign a soul something it can cope with. Before Us lies a Record which speaks up for Truth; they will not be dealt with unjustly.

23:63  Instead their hearts are full of excitement because of this. They have other deeds besides those which they are committing,

23:64  so that whenever We seize their high-livers with torment, just imagine how they bellow!

23:65  "Do not roar [so loud] today; you will not be supported by Us.

23:66  My verses[of Quran] have already been recited to you while you proudly turned on your heels

23:67  away from it, sitting up nights to chatter on and on about it."

23:68  Have they not reflected on the Sentence, whether something that never reached their earliest forefathers may not have come to them?

23:69  Or do they not recognize their Messenger and are rejecting him?

23:70  Or do they say: "Some [mad] sprite possesses him!"? Rather he has brought them the Truth, while most of them hate the Truth.

23:71  If Truth had followed their whims, Heaven and Earth would have collapsed in chaos, along with anyone who is in them. Rather We have brought them their Reminder (the Quran), yet they keep avoiding their Reminder.

23:72  Or are you asking them [to make] some outlay'? Your Lord's tribute is best, for He is the Best Provider!

23:73  You are calling them to [follow] a Straight Road

23:74  while those who do not believe in the Hereafter go swerving off the Road.

23:75  Even if We showed them mercy and removed any trouble that worries them, they would still blindly persist in their arrogance.

23:76  We had already seized them with torment yet they did not surrender to their Lord nor beseech [Him]

23:77  until just as We opened up a gate for them leading to severe torment, they were despair of it!

23:78  He is the One Who has furnished you with hearing, eyesight and vital organs; yet how seldom are you grateful!

23:79  He is the One Who has scattered you over the earth, and to him shall you be summoned.

23:80  He is the One Who gives life and brings death; He controls the alternation between night and daylight. Will you not reason?

23:81  Instead they say the same thing as the first men said;

23:82  they say: "When we have died and become dust and bones, will we be raised UP again?"

23:83  This was promised us and our forefathers long ago. These are only legends (made up] by primitive people!"

23:84  SAY: "Who owns the earth and anyone on it, if you know [anything]?"

23:85  They will say : "It is Allah (God)'s." SAY: "Will you not bear it in mind?"

23:86  SAY: "Who is Lord of the Seven Heavens and Lord of the splendid Throne?"

23:87  They will say: "They are Allah (God)'s." SAY: "Will you do not your duty [by Him]?"

23:88  SAY: "In Whose hand lies sovereignty over everything? He protects, while against Him there is no protection, if you but realized it."

23:89  They will say: "It is in Allah (God)'s." SAY: "How is it you act so bewildered?"'

23:90  Rather We have brought them the Truth while they are liars

23:91  Allah (God) has not adopted any son, nor is there any [other] deity alongside Him, otherwise each god would carry off whatever it has created, and some of them would gain the upper hand over others. beyond what they describe!

23:92  Knower of the Unseen and the Visible: Exalted is He over anything they may associate [with Him)? (VI)

23:93  SAY: "My Lord, will you show me what they are threatened with?

23:94  My Lord, do not place me among such wrongdoing folk!"

23:95  We are Able indeed to show you whatever We are threatening them with!.

23:96  Repay evil with something that is finer; We are quite Aware of anything they describe [Us with].

23:97  SAY: "My Lord, I seek refuge with You from the devils promptings.

23:98  I seek refuge with you, my Lord, lest they come [near me],

23:99  since whenever death comes to any one of them, he says: "My Lord, send me back

23:100  so I may act honorably with anything I may have left behind"' Indeed not! It is merely a remark he is making. Beyond them there lies a barrier till the day when they will be raised up again.

23:101  Once the Trumpet is blown, no ties of kinship will exist between them on that day, nor may they question one another.

23:102  Those whose scales are heavy will be prosperous;

23:103  while those whose scales are light will be the ones who have lost their souls; they will remain in Hell.

23:104  The fire will scorch their faces while they will glower away in it.

23:105  "Were My verses not recited to you as you (all) were rejecting them?"

23:106  They will say: "Our Lord, our misery has overwhelmed us and we were errant folk.

23:107  Our Lord, get us out of here! If we ever should return [to disobedience], then we would indeed be wrongdoers."

23:108  He will say: "Sink down into it, and never speak to Me!

23:109  A group of My servants used to say: 'Our Lord, we believe, so forgive us and have mercy on us; You are the Best One to show mercy!'

23:110  You took them for a laughingstock until they made you forget to remember Me since you had been laughing so hard at them.

23:111  I have rewarded them today for how patient they have been; they are triumphant."

23:112  He will say [further]: "How many years did you stay on earth?"

23:113  They will say: "We stayed a day or part of a day. Ask the timekeepers."

23:114  He will say: "You only lasted a little while, if you only realized it.

23:115  Did you think We have created you just for fun and that you would never be returned to Us?"

23:116  Exalted is Allah (God), the true King! There is no deity except Him, Lord of the Noble Throne!

23:117  Anyone who appeals to any other deity along with Allah (God) (Himself), has no proof for it. His reckoning rests only with his Lord. Disbelievers will not succeed.

23:118  SAY: "My Lord, forgive and show mercy! You are the Best One to show mercy!"