31:1  ALIF lām mīm

31:2  These are the revelations of the Wise Book

31:3  a guide and a blessing to the righteous

31:4  who attend to their prayers, render the alms levy, and firmly believe in the life to come

31:5  These are rightly guided by their Lord, and will surely succeed

31:6  Some there are who would indulge in frivolous talk, so that they may without knowledge lead men away from the path of God and hold it up to ridicule. For these there shall be shameful punishment

31:7  When Our revelations are recited to them, they turn their backs in scorn, as though they never heard them: as though their ears were sealed. To these proclaim a woeful punishment

31:8  But those that believe and do good works shall enter the Gardens of Delight

31:9  wherein shall they abide for ever. God‘s promise shall be fulfilled: He is the Almighty, the Wise One

31:10  He raised the heavens with no visible pillars, and set firm mountains on the earth lest it should shake with you. He dispersed upon it all manner of beasts; and We sent down water from the sky with which We caused all kinds of goodly plants to grow

31:11  Such is God‘s Creation: now show Me what your other gods created. Surely the unbelievers are in evident error

31:12  We bestowed wisdom on Luqmān,¹ saying: ‘Give thanks to God. He that gives thanks has much to gain for his own soul, but if anyone is thankless, God is self-sufficient and worthy of praise.‘

31:13  Tell of Luqman, who admonished his son, saying: ‘My son, serve no other deity besides God, for idolatry is an abominable sin.‘

31:14  We enjoined man to show kindness to his parents, for with much pain his mother bears him, and he is not weaned before he is two years of age. We said: ‘Give thanks to Me and to your parents. To Me shall all return

31:15  But if they press you to serve besides Me deities you know nothing of, do not obey them. Be kind to them in this world, and follow the path of those who turn to Me. To Me shall you return, and I will declare to you what you have done.‘

31:16  My son, if it be as small as a grain of mustard seed, be it hidden inside a rock or in the heavens or in the earth, God will bring it to light. Surely gracious is God and all-knowing

31:17  My son, be steadfast in prayer, enjoin justice, and forbid the reprehensible. Endure with fortitude whatever befalls you. That is a duty incumbent on all

31:18  Do not treat people with scorn, nor walk exultant on the earth: surely God does not love the arrogant and the vainglorious

31:19  Rather let your stride be modest and your voice low: the most hideous of voices is the braying of the ass.‘

31:20  Do you not see how God has subjected to you all that the heavens and the earth contain, and lavished on you His bounty, visible and unseen? Yet some among people still argue about God, without knowledge or guidance or illuminating scriptures

31:21  And when they are told: ‘Follow what God has revealed,‘ they say: ‘We will follow the faith our fathers practised.‘ Yes, even though Satan invites them to the torment of the Conflagration

31:22  He that submits his face to God and leads a righteous life stands on the firmest ground.¹ To God shall all return

31:23  As for those that disbelieve, let not their disbelief grieve you. To Us shall they return and We will declare to them what they have done. God has knowledge of their innermost thoughts

31:24  We suffer them to take their ease awhile, and will then subject them to a grievous scourge

31:25  If you say to them: ‘Who has created the heavens and the earth?‘ they will surely say: ‘God.‘ Say: ‘Praise, then, be to God!‘ But the greater part of them have no knowledge

31:26  His is what the heavens and the earth contain. Surely God alone is self-sufficient and worthy of praise

31:27  If all the trees of the earth were pens, and the sea, replenished by seven other seas, were ink, the words of God could not be finished still. Almighty is God, and wise

31:28  You were created but as one soul, and as one soul you shall be raised to life. God hears all and observes all

31:29  Do you not see how God causes the night to pass into the day and the day to pass into the night? And He has pressed the sun and the moon into His service, each running for an appointed term

31:30  God is cognizant of what you do. Because God is the Truth, and false are the idols they invoke besides Him. And surely God is the Most High, the Supreme One

31:31  Do you not see how the ships speed upon the ocean by God‘s grace, so that He may reveal to you some of His wonders? Surely in this there are signs for every steadfast, thankful person

31:32  When the waves, like a giant shadow, envelop them, they pray to God consecrating their religion to Him. But no sooner does He bring them safe to land than some among them falter between faith and unbelief. None denies Our revelations except the treacherous and the ungrateful

31:33  You people! Fear your Lord, and fear the day when no parent shall avail his child nor any child his parent. God‘s promise is surely true. Let the life of this world never deceive you, nor let the Dissembler trick you about God

31:34  God alone has knowledge of the Hour. He sends down the abundant rain and knows what every womb contains. No mortal knows what he will earn tomorrow; no mortal knows on which ground he will breathe his last. God alone is omniscient and well aware