34:1  Praise to Allah to whom belongs what is of Heaven and Earth! To Him be praise in the hereafter. He is the Perfectly Wise, the Fully Aware.

34:2  He knows all that enters the earth and all that comes from it, all that descends from the sky and all that ascends to it. He is the Most Merciful, the Most Forgiving.

34:3  The unbelievers claim, “Never will the hour [of doom] come upon us!” Say, “Nonsense! Most surely, by my Lord, it will come upon you. Consider He who knows the unseen, from whom is not hidden the smallest particle in Heaven or Earth. There is nothing less than that or greater that isn’t in an obvious record.

34:4  [This is] for the purpose of rewarding those who believe and work deeds of righteousness; for such is forgiveness and a most generous sustenance.

34:5  For those who strive against Our signs, to frustrate them, will be a penalty of painful wrath.

34:6  Those blessed with knowledge can see what has been bestowed upon you [Prophet Muhammed] from your Lord is the truth. [They can see] that it guides to the way of the Victorious, the Praised One.

34:7  The unbelievers say, “Shall we show you a man who will tell you that, when you have fallen apart into lots of pieces [after death], you will become a new creation?

34:8  “Has he invented a lie against Allah or is he crazy?” Nonsense! Those who do not believe in the hereafter are in torment and grievous error.

34:9  Do they not see what is before them and behind them of the sky and the earth? If We wanted, We could cause the earth to swallow them, or cause pieces from the sky to fall upon them. Truly, in this is a sign for every servant who turns to Allah.

34:10  We bestowed grace aforetime on David from Us. O mountains, sing praises with him! Also, you birds! We made iron pliable for him.

34:11  Make coats of mail, carefully measuring the links, and work righteousness, for be sure that I see all that you do.

34:12  For Solomon, We gave [the speed of] wind. Its early morning was a month, and its evening was a month. We made a fount of molten metal to flow for him, and spirit-beings worked for him, by the will of his Lord. If any of them neglected Our command, We made him taste the penalty of the blazing fire.

34:13  They worked for him as he desired –arches, [artistic] images, basins as large as reservoirs, and cauldrons built in place. Work, O Family of David, with gratitude! But few of my servants are grateful.

34:14  When we decreed death [for Solomon], they could not perceive his death except for a little worm of the earth. It kept gnawing at his staff until he fell. The spirit-beings plainly realized that, if they had known the unseen, they would not have continued at their demeaning task.

34:15  For Sheba [Yemen], a sign was in the land –two gardens, one on the right and one on the left. “Eat of the sustenance provided by your Lord, and be grateful to Him for a fair and happy territory and a Lord Most Forgiving.”

34:16  They disregarded, however, and We sent a flood from the dams against them. We changed their two plots into gardens producing bitter fruit and tamarisks and a few lote trees.

34:17  That was the repayment We gave them because they disbelieved. We never give such repayment to any except the ungrateful.

34:18  Between (Sheba) and the cities that We blessed, We placed cities in strategic locations, and among them We appointed fair mileage. “Travel therein, safely, by night and by day.”

34:19  But they said, “Our Lord, place longer distances for our journeys,” but they wronged themselves. Eventually, We made them as a fable, and We dispersed them all in scattered fragments. Truly, in this are signs for every patient and grateful person.

34:20  To them, Iblis [Satan] proved true his idea, and they followed him –all except a few that believed.

34:21  He had no authority over them except to recognize the person who believes in the hereafter from he/she who is in doubt concerning it. Your Lord watches over everything.

34:22  Say, “Call upon that which you adore above Allah. They have no possession –even to equal the weight of an atom— in the skies or on Earth. They possess no share thereof, and none of them assists Allah.

34:23  “No intercession can avail in His presence except for those to whom He has granted permission. When terror [of His presence] is removed from their hearts, they will be asked, ‘What did your Lord command?’ They will answer, ‘Truth, and He is the Highest, the Almighty.’”

34:24  Say, “Who provides for you from the skies and the earth?” Say, “Allah! Truly, you [unbelievers] or we [believers] are on right guidance or in obvious error.”

34:25  Say, “You shall not be questioned about our sins, and we shall not be questioned about yours.”

34:26  Say, “Our Lord will assemble us together, and then He will judge between us [two groups] with truth. He is the Judge, the All-knowing.”

34:27  Say, “Show me those that you have joined with Him as partners. Nonsense! He is Allah, the Victorious, the Perfectly Wise.”

34:28  We have sent you [Prophet Muhammed] as no less than globally to people to give them good news and to warn them. Most people, however, do not understand.

34:29  They say, “When will this promise happen, if you are telling the truth?”

34:30  Say, “Your appointment is for a day for which you cannot delay an hour or advance an hour.”

34:31  The unbelievers say, “We will neither believe in this Qur’an nor that [Bible] which came before it.” If only you could see when the offenders are made to stand before their Lord, trying to blame one another! The weak ones will say to the arrogant ones, “If it weren’t for you, we would have believed.”

34:32  The arrogant ones will say to the weak ones, “Did we keep you from following guidance once it had been presented to you? No, you are the ones who transgressed.”

34:33  The weak ones will say to the arrogant ones, “No, it was a conspiracy, day and night, when you instructed us in unbelief in Allah and to attribute equals to Him.” They will have concealed regrets when they see the penalty. We shall put yokes around the necks of the unbelievers. Won’t that be fitting for their deeds?

34:34  We never sent a warner to a population without pampered ones among them saying, “We do not believe in that which you bring.”

34:35  They said, “We excel in wealth and children and can suffer no punishment.”

34:36  Say, “Truly, my Lord increases or diminishes provisions as He pleases, but most people simply do not understand.”

34:37  It is not your wealth or children that will bring you closer to Us. Only those who believe and live righteously are those for whom is a doubled reward for their deeds. They will be safe in houses on high.

34:38  Those who strive against Our signs, to foil them, will be dismissed into punishment.

34:39  Say, “Truly, my Lord enlarges or restricts sustenance to any of His servants as He pleases. Whatever you invest [in charity], He will replace. He is the best of providers.”

34:40  One day He will assemble them and say to the angels, “Did these people used to worship you?”

34:41  They will answer, “Glory to You! You are our Guardian –not them. No, but they worshiped the spirit-beings; most (people) believed in them.”

34:42  On that day, you will have no power over each other, to help or to harm. We will say to the sinners, “Taste the penalty of the fire, which you denied.”

34:43  When Our signs are recited to them, they say, “This (prophet) is only a man who wishes to hinder you from the worship practices of your fathers.” They also say, “This is only an invented tale!” The unbelievers say of the truth when they hear it, “This is nothing but obvious magic.”

34:44  We never gave (the Arabs contemporary to Muhammed) books to study or messengers before (Prophet Muhammed) as warners.

34:45  Their ancestors, who were in denial, did not receive even a tenth of what We granted to (the contemporary Arabs). Yet, when they rejected My messenger, consider My rejection of them!

34:46  [Prophet Muhammed,] say, “I advise you on one point –that you appear before Allah in couples or individually and reflect. Your companion [Prophet Muhammed] is not possessed; he is no less than a warner to you in the face of a terrible penalty.”

34:47  Say, “No reward do I ask of you. It is within your interest. My reward is due only from Allah, and He is witness to all things.”

34:48  Say, “Truly, my Lord casts truth –He who has full knowledge of the unseen.”

34:49  Say, “Truth has arrived, and deceit neither creates nor restores.”

34:50  Say, “If I go astray, I only stray to my own loss. If I receive guidance, it is because of the inspiration of my Lord to me. It is He who hears all things and is near.”

34:51  If you could only see when they will quake with terror! But then there will be no escape, and they will be seized from a near position.

34:52  They will say, “Now we believe in it,” but how could they receive [truth] from a place distant [from the Prophet’s ministry]?

34:53  [How could they believe then,] seeing that they rejected faith from (that time) and that they cast slander about the unseen from a place distant [from the eternal life]?

34:54  A barrier will be placed between them and what they desire. This was also done in the past with others like them. Indeed, they were in suspicious doubt.