34:1  All praise belongs to Allah to whom belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth. To Him belongs all praise in the Hereafter, and He is the All-wise, the All-aware

34:2  He knows whatever enters into the earth and whatever emerges from it, and whatever descends from the sky and whatever ascends into it, and He is the All-merciful, the All-forgiving

34:3  The faithless say, ‘The Hour will not overtake us.’ Say, ‘Yes indeed, by my Lord, it will surely come to you.’ —The Knower of the Unseen, not [even] an atom’s weight escapes Him in the heavens or in the earth, nor [is there] anything smaller than that nor bigger, but it is in a manifest Book

34:4  that He may reward those who have faith and do righteous deeds. For such there will be forgiveness and a noble provision

34:5  But those who contend with Our signs seeking to thwart [their purpose], for such is a painful punishment due to defilement

34:6  Those who have been given knowledge see that what has been sent down to you from your Lord is the truth and [that] it guides to the path of the All-mighty, the All-laudable

34:7  The faithless say, ‘Shall we show you a man who will inform you [that] when you have been totally rent to pieces you will indeed have a new creation

34:8  Has he fabricated a lie against Allah, or is there a madness in him?’ Rather those who do not believe in the Hereafter languish in punishment and extreme error

34:9  Have they not regarded that which is before them and that which is behind them of the sky and the earth? If We like, We can make the earth swallow them, or let fall on them a fragment from the sky. There is indeed a sign in that for every penitent servant

34:10  Certainly We gave David a grace from Us: ‘O mountains and birds, chime in with him!’ And We made iron soft for him

34:11  saying, ‘Make easy coats of mail, and keep the measure in arranging [the links], and act righteously. Indeed I see best what you do.’

34:12  And for Solomon [We subjected] the wind: its morning course was a month’s journey and its evening course was a month’s journey. We made a fount of [molten] copper flow for him, and [We placed at his service] some of the jinn who would work for him by the permission of his Lord, and if any of them swerved from Our command, We would make him taste the punishment of the Blaze

34:13  They built for him as many temples as he wished, and figures, basins like cisterns, and caldrons fixed [in the ground]. ‘O House of David, observe thanksgiving, and few of My servants are grateful.’

34:14  And when We decreed death for him, nothing apprised them of his death except a worm which gnawed away at his staff. And when he fell down the jinn realized that had they known the Unseen, they would not have remained in a humiliating torment

34:15  There was certainly a sign for Sheba in their habitation: two gardens, to the right and to the left. ‘Eat of the provision of your Lord and give Him thanks: a good land and an all-forgiving Lord!’

34:16  But they disregarded [the path of Allah], so We unleashed upon them a violent flood and replaced their two gardens with two gardens bearing bitter fruit, tamarisk, and sparse lote trees

34:17  We requited them with that for their ingratitude. Do We requite [so] anyone except ingrates

34:18  We had placed between them and the towns which We had blessed hamlets prominent [from the main route], and We had ordained the course through them: ‘Travel through them in safety, night and day.’

34:19  But they said, ‘Our Lord! Make the stages between our journeys far apart,’ and they wronged themselves. So We turned them into folktales and caused them to disintegrate totally. There are indeed signs in that for every patient and grateful [servant]

34:20  Certainly Iblis had his conjecture come true about them. So they followed him —all except a part of the faithful

34:21  He had no authority over them, but that We may ascertain those who believe in the Hereafter from those who are in doubt about it, and your Lord is watchful over all things

34:22  Say, ‘Invoke them whom you claim [to be gods] besides Allah! They do not control [even] an atom’s weight in the heavens or the earth, nor have they any share in [either of] them, nor is any of them His supporter.’

34:23  Intercession is of no avail with Him except for those whom He permits. When fear is lifted from their hearts, they say, ‘What did your Lord say?’ They say, ‘The truth, and He is the All-exalted, the All-great.’

34:24  Say, ‘Who provides for you from the heavens and the earth?’ Say, ‘Allah! Indeed either we or you are rightly guided or in manifest error.’

34:25  Say, ‘You will not be questioned about our guilt, nor shall we be questioned about what you do.’

34:26  Say, ‘Our Lord will bring us together, then He will judge between us with justice, and He is the All-knowing Judge.’

34:27  Say, ‘Show me those whom you associate with Him as partners.’ No indeed! [They can never show any such partner]. Rather He is Allah, the All-mighty, the All-wise

34:28  We did not send you except as a bearer of good news and warner to all mankind, but most people do not know

34:29  And they say, ‘When will this promise be fulfilled, should you be truthful?’

34:30  Say, ‘Your promised hour is a day that you shall neither defer nor advance by an hour.’

34:31  The faithless say, ‘We will never believe in this Qur’an, nor in what was [revealed] before it.’ But if you were to see when the wrongdoers are made to stop before their Lord casting the blame on one another. Those who were abased will say to those who were arrogant, ‘Had it not been for you, we would surely have been faithful.’

34:32  Those who were arrogant will say to those who were abased, ‘Did we keep you from guidance after it had come to you? No, you were guilty [yourselves].’

34:33  Those who were abased will say to those who were arrogant, ‘Rather [it was your] night and day plotting, when you prompted us to forswear Allah and to set up equals to Him.’ They will hide their remorse when they sight the punishment, and We will put iron collars around the necks of the faithless. Shall they be requited except for what they used to do

34:34  We did not send a warner to any town without its affluent ones saying, ‘We indeed disbelieve in what you have been sent with.’

34:35  And they say, ‘We have greater wealth and more children, and we will not be punished!’

34:36  Say, ‘Indeed my Lord expands the provision for whomever He wishes and He tightens it, but most people do not know.’

34:37  It is not your wealth, nor your children, that will bring you close to Us in nearness, except those who have faith and act righteously. It is they for whom there will be a twofold reward for what they did, and they will be secure in lofty abodes

34:38  As for those who contend with Our signs seeking to thwart [their purpose], they will be brought to the punishment

34:39  Say, ‘Indeed my Lord expands the provision for whomever of His servants that He wishes and tightens it, and He will repay whatever you may spend, and He is the best of providers.’

34:40  On the day He will muster them all together, then He will say to the angels, ‘Was it you that these used to worship?’

34:41  They will say, ‘Immaculate are You! You are our intimate, not they! Rather they used to worship the jinn; most of them had faith in them.’

34:42  ‘Today you have no power to benefit or harm one another,’ and We shall say to those who did wrong, ‘Taste the punishment of the Fire which you used to deny.’

34:43  When Our manifest signs are recited to them, they say, ‘This is just a man who desires to keep you from what your fathers used to worship.’ And they say, ‘This is nothing but a fabricated lie.’ The faithless say of the truth when it comes to them: ‘This is nothing but plain magic.’

34:44  We did not give them any scriptures that they might have studied, nor did We send them any warner before you

34:45  Those who were before them denied [the apostles], and these have not received one-tenth of what We had given them. But they denied My apostles, so how was My rebuttal

34:46  Say, ‘I give you just a single advice: that you rise up for Allah’s sake, in twos, or individually, and then reflect: there is no madness in your companion: he is just a warner to you before [the befalling of] a severe punishment.’

34:47  Say, ‘Whatever reward I may have asked you is for your own good. My [true] reward lies only with Allah, and He is witness to all things.’

34:48  Say, ‘Indeed my Lord hurls the truth. [He is] the knower of all that is Unseen.’

34:49  Say, ‘The truth has come, and falsehood neither originates [anything] not does it restore [anything].’

34:50  Say, ‘If I go astray, my going astray is only to my own harm, and if I am rightly guided that is because of what my Lord has revealed to me. Indeed He is all-hearing, nearmost.’

34:51  Were you to see when they are stricken with terror, [and left] without an escape, and are seized from a close quarter

34:52  They will say, ‘We believe in it [now].’ But how can they reach it from a far-off place

34:53  when they have already disbelieved it earlier? They shoot at the invisible from a far-off place

34:54  A barrier will be set up between them and what they long for, just as was done formerly with their counterparts. Indeed they used to be in grave doubt