34:1  All praise is for Allah! To Him belongs everything in the heavens and on the earth. In the hereafter, too, all praise belongs to Him. He is the Wisest and the most Aware

34:2  He knows everything that sinks into the earth, and everything that emerges from it, that which descends from the sky, and that which ascends into it. He is the most Merciful and the most Forgiving

34:3  The unbelievers say, "(We have rejected it flat out, yet the punishment of) the hour (of Judgment) does not strike us." Say, "Of course it will! It will most certainly come upon you. I swear by my Lord Who knows the unseen intimately." Nothing worth even a (single) grain of sand in the heavens or on earth _ nor anything smaller or larger than that _ ever escapes His attention. Everything is (recorded) in a clear register

34:4  (That hour will come) so that He may reward the believers _ those who perform the righteous deeds. Such are the ones, for whom there is forgiveness and a plentiful provision

34:5  And there are those who strive to refute and repudiate Our signs. Such are the ones, for whom there exists a severely painful punishment

34:6  Those given the knowledge understand that the revelation sent to you by your Lord is the truth. It leads on to the path of the Almighty, the most Praise worthy

34:7  The unbelievers (ridicule and) say, "May we show you a man who claims that after you (die and) disintegrate thoroughly into dust, you will be raised in a renewed existence?"

34:8  "He either lies about Allah or suffers from psychosis." Indeed not! Rather, those who deny the afterlife are (themselves) in a torment. They have strayed far away

34:9  Do they not look at the sky and the earth in front of and behind them? If We want We can make the earth cave in on them, or We can drop a piece of the sky (an asteroid?) upon them. In that, is surely a sign for every repentant believer

34:10  Indeed, We had awarded Da´ood precedence (a special gift) from Me. "Oh you Mountains, act in harmony with him!" (We said the same to) the birds. We made the steel malleable for him

34:11  (We instructed him), "Make the coat of armor from the steel, and fix its links (solidly). Perform the righteous deeds! Indeed, I observe everything you do!"

34:12  And to Sulaiman (We granted control over) the wind. (Harnessing that control) he could cover the distance of a month´s journey during the run of the wind in just one morning; and come back during the course of the wind in the evening. We caused a stream of copper to gush forth for him. By the will of Allah, the jinn worked under his supervision. Whenever a jinn ignored the command and turned away from his job, We made that jinn taste the torment of the blazing fire

34:13  The jinn worked for him and did whatever he wanted them to do. They built towering buildings (to house homeless people), carved images and icons (on the buildings), constructed large basins as reservoirs (to store water), and built huge immovable cooking pots (to feed people). Offer thanks, oh you the descendants of Da´ood! Very few of My servants express gratitude

34:14  When We sent death upon Sulaiman, nothing could tell the jinn about his demise except the little termites gnawing away at his staff (which supported his corpse). Finally, when (the staff crumbled, and) his body fell down, the jinn came to know that they had no knowledge of the future. Else, they would not have stayed in that humiliating torment

34:15  For the residents of ´Saba´ there was surely a proof in their (very) houses. Each house had two gardens: the one on the right and the other on the left. (We said), "Eat the food provided by your Lord, and thank Him! (Your) land is fertile and (your) Lord is Forgiving!"

34:16  But they turned away. So We (broke the dam and) flooded their land with the dam water. We converted their gardens into uncultivated plots (growing wild trees) with bitter fruits and a few scattered trees of Tamarisk and Lotus

34:17  In this manner, We punished them for their ingratitude (and their disbelief). Do We not inflict such punishment only upon the ungrateful ones

34:18  Along the highway connecting their towns and the town We blessed (Jerusalem), We raised many prominent communities, each not far from the other. (We said), "Travel in the land in complete safety during the day and the night."

34:19  But they said, "Oh our Lord, lengthen our traveling distance between our towns. They subjected themselves to unjust practices (i.e. adopted means to reverse population growth). Therefore, We turned them into tales (of people long gone). We completely disintegrated (their empire) and scattered them all around. In that, is surely a sign for every steadfast and grateful person

34:20  In their case, ´Iblees´ certainly found his assumptions to be correct. They all followed him _ except a (small) band of believers

34:21  He did not have any control (or authority) over them. (We let ´Iblees´ tempt people) so We may distinguish the one who believes in the afterlife from the one who remained in doubt about its existence. Your Lord is Watchful over every single thing

34:22  Say, "Call all those you have set up as gods besides Allah. They neither own, nor share the ownership of even an atom´s worth of anything in the heavens or the earth. Nor are any of them associates of Allah."

34:23  Mediation with Allah will benefit only those for whom He (graciously) permits mediation. When their panic eases, they will ask their mediator, "What did your Lord say?" The mediators will answer, "The just verdict! He is the most Eminent, the Greatest!"

34:24  Say, "Who sends you provisions from the heavens and the earth?" (And if they fail to answer) say, "Allah! And only one of us is upon the true guidance. The other has clearly gone astray."

34:25  Say, "You will not be asked about the wrongs we commit and we will not be held responsible for what you do."

34:26  Say, "(On the Day of Judgment) our Lord will bring us together. Then He will settle all matters between us fairly and equitably. He is the all-Knowing Judge!"

34:27  Say, "Let me look at those you have installed as His partners. Not at all! Indeed, Allah (by His own right) is the most Powerful and the Wisest!"

34:28  (Oh messenger) We have, in fact, appointed you as the bearer of good news, and as a warner for the entire humanity. But most people do not comprehend

34:29  They just keep saying, "When will that promise come about, if you are telling the truth?"

34:30  Say, "You have an appointment (with Allah) on that Day. You cannot hasten it, nor put it off _ not even for an hour."

34:31  The unbelievers said, "We will never believe in this Qur´an, nor in the scriptures that came before it." (Oh Prophet), if only you could see such cruel and unjust ones standing in front of their Lord! They will hurl charges against each other. The weak and the meek will accuse those who are arrogant. "Had it not been for you, we would be the believers!"

34:32  In response, the arrogant ones will say to the weak, "Did we hold you back from the guidance, after it had come to you? In fact, you really were guilty yourselves."

34:33  The weak will retaliate and say to the arrogant, "No, but you played your tricks day and night. You asked us to reject Allah and appoint others as His equal." Both of them will try to conceal their remorse when they see the punishment right in front of them. We will place shackles on the necks of the unbelievers. They would be dealt with precisely in accordance with what their actions deserve

34:34  Whenever We appointed a warner to a town, its affluent class said, "We reject the message you have brought!"

34:35  They said, "We are wealthier and have more offspring than you. We are not going to face punishment!"

34:36  Say, "Of course my Lord expands _ or restricts _ His provisions for whomever He wants. But most people do not understand!"

34:37  It is not your wealth or your children that confers upon you a status of honor with Us. Rather, those who believe and perform good deeds are closer to Allah. They shall have twice the reward for their deeds and they shall live in peace in the lofty mansions (of paradise)

34:38  While those who strive to put down Our signs will be brought to face the (ultimate) torment

34:39  Say, "My Lord expands the provisions _ or restricts them _ for any of His servants He pleases. It is He Who compensates and replaces whatever you spend (or consume). He is absolutely the very Best of Providers."

34:40  On the day He brings them all together (in His presence), He will say to the angels, "Was it really you they used to worship?"

34:41  They will say, "Exalted are You! You are our Patron and not they." In fact, they used to worship the jinn (i.e. the devil and not Us). Most of them believed (and followed) the jinn

34:42  "Today, none of you will have any power to benefit _ or harm _ anyone else." To those who were unjust, We shall say, "Here, taste the torment by fire. This is what you used to refuse to believe."

34:43  When Our clear lucid verses (of the Qur´an) are recited, they say, "He is just a man; he wants to distract you away from worshipping what your forefathers used to worship." They say, "This is nothing but fantasy, a lie!" When the (absolute) truth came to them, the unbelievers responded to it by saying, "This is evidently nothing but magic."

34:44  Although, prior to you We did not give them a book they could study, nor did We send a warner towards them

34:45  Those (earlier nations) long gone had also disbelieved. The present unbelievers do not possess even a tenth of (the strength, stability and the riches of) what We had given to the earlier nations. But they rejected My messengers. So, (observe) how (devastating) was My disapproval

34:46  Say, "I have this piece of advice for you. For the sake of Allah, give it some thought. Ponder (calmly) about this matter _ alone or with someone. There is no insanity afflicting your friend, (the messenger). In fact, he is only a warner who alerts you of a severe torment ahead of time."

34:47  Say, "If I ever claimed a reward for myself, you may have it! My reward, in fact, is with Allah! He is the Witness over all things."

34:48  Say, "Indeed my Lord rams the Truth (against falsehood). He knows everything there is to know about the unseen."

34:49  Say, "The truth has arrived. So the falsehood has absolutely nothing to declare or display."

34:50  Say, "If I err, I alone would bear its consequences. But if I am on the right path, it is because my Lord sends me the revelation. Indeed, He hears all, and He is really close at hand."

34:51  Alas, if you could only see! Stricken with panic, they will find no escape. They would be nabbed from a nearby place

34:52  They will say, "We do believe it (now)!" How can they bring back (the chance for) salvation. The matter has gone too far out of hand

34:53  Earlier on, (when they were alive) they had rejected it. They used to suppose and surmise about the unseen. (They relied on human perceptions); they were so far away

34:54  They shall be barred from (receiving) what they like and eagerly desire _ exactly as their kind before them. They lived their lives lost in doubt and disbelief