1. The revelation of the Book (the Qur’an) is from Allah, the Almighty in His kingdom, the All-Wise in what He does.

2. We have sent down the Book to you, Mu˛ammad, with truth. So worship Allah, making your dın sincerely His – free from shirk; so proclaim His Unity.

3. Indeed is the sincere dın not Allah’s alone? None but Him deserve it. If people take protectors (idols) besides Him, saying: ‘We only worship them so that they may bring us nearer to Allah’, Allah will judge between them and the Muslims regarding the things about which they differed concerning the dın; and the believers will enter Paradise and the unbelievers Hell. Allah does not guide anyone who is an ungrateful liar – lying by ascribing a son to Him, and ungrateful by worshipping gods other than Allah.

4. If Allah had desired to have a son – as they maintain in saying, “The All-Merciful has a son” (19:88) – He would have chosen whatever He wished from what He has created – and would have had a son rather than what they say about the angels being the daughters of Allah, ‘Uzayr being the son of Allah or the Messiah being the son of Allah. Glory be to Him! He is far exalted above having a child. He is Allah, the One, the All-Conquering.

5. He created the heavens and the earth with truth. He wraps the night around the day – and it increases – and wraps the day around the night – and it increases, and has made the sun and moon subservient, each one running in their orbit for a specified term – until the Day of Resurrection. Is He not indeed the Almighty, with absolute power who takes revenge on His enemies, the Endlessly Forgiving to His friends.

6. He created you from a single self (Adam), then produced its mate (Hawwa’) from it, and sent down live stock – comprising camels, cattle, sheep and goats, a male and female of each, as is explained in Surat al-An’am – to you – eight kinds in pairs. He creates you stage by stage in your mothers’ wombs – first as a drop, then a clot, then a piece of flesh – in a threefold darkness – the darkness of the belly, the darkness of the womb and the darkness of the placenta. That is Allah, your Lord. Sovereignty is His. There is no god but Him. So what has made you deviate from worshipping Him to the worship of something else?

7. If you are ungrateful, Allah is rich beyond need of any of you and He is not pleased with ingratitude in His slaves. Even if He has willed that some people worship other than Him, He is nevertheless not pleased with that. But if you are grateful to Allah and believe – He is pleased with you for that gratitude. No burden-bearer (soul) can bear another’s burden. Then you will return to your Lord and He will inform you of what you did. He knows what the heart contains.

8. When harm touches an unbelieving man he calls upon his Lord, entreating and turning to him – repenting to Him. Then when He grants him a blessing from Him, he forgets what he was calling for before from Allah and, stops doing that – and ascribes rivals (partners) to Allah, so as to misguide (read as yudilla and ya∂illa) others from His Way – Islam. Say: ‘Enjoy your unbelief for a little while – the rest of your lifespan. You are among the Companions of the Fire.’

9. What of him who spends the night hours in prayer prostrating and standing up, mindful of the Next World – fearing the punishment of the Next World, hoping for the mercy of his Lord in Paradise? Say: ‘Are they the same, those who know and those who do not know?’ Is such a person like someone who disobeys as an unbeliever? They are not equal, in the same way that a person with knowledge and an ignorant person are not equal. It is only people of intelligence who pay heed and are warned.

10. Say: ‘Slaves of Mine who believe, be fearful of your Lord – and demonstrate your fear of His punishment by obeying Him. For those who do good in this wo r l d by obeying Allah there is good – the Garden; and Allah’s earth is spacious – so that it is possible to emigrate, leaving the unbelievers and the sight of objectionable things. The steadfast – in obedience and in the face of the tests they undergo – will be paid their wages in full without any reckoning by measure or weight.’

11. Say: ‘I am commanded to worship Allah, making my din sincerely His – free of any shirk,

12. …and I am commanded to be the first of the Muslims of this community.’

13. Say: ‘I fear, were I to disobey my Lord, the punishment of a Terrible Day.’

14. Say: ‘It is Allah I worship, making my dın sincerely His – free of any shirk –

15. … so worship anything you will apart from Him!’ This is a threat to them and an announcement that they do not worship Allah Almighty. Allah says: Say: ‘The real losers are those who lose themselves and their families on the Day of Rising.’ This is because their souls will be in the Fire for ever and will not reach the houris that would have been made ready for them in the Garden if they had believed. Is not that a clear loss?

16. They will have awnings made of Fire above them and awnings below them. By that Allah strikes fear into His slaves – the believers who fear Him – ‘So be fearful, My slaves, of Me!’

17. Those who shun the worship of false gods (idols) and turn towards Allah will have good news of Paradise, so give good news to My slaves.

18. Those who listen well to what is said and follow the best of it, that in which their best interest lies, they are the ones whom Allah has guided; they are the people of intelligence.

19. But as for those against whom the decree of Punishment – which is found in the words: “I will fill Hellfire…” (7:18) – is justly carried out, can you rescue and bring out those who are in the Fire? You cannot guide such people and save them from the Fire.

20. But those who are fearful of their Lord and obey Him will have high-ceilinged Halls, and more such Halls built one above the other, and rivers flowing under them. That is Allah’s promise. Allah does not break His promise.

21. Do you not see and know that Allah sends down water from the sky which penetrates the earth, and threads it through the earth to emerge as springs and then by it brings forth crops of varying colours, which then dry and wither; and you see them turning yellow after having been green, and then He makes them into broken stubble? There is a reminder in that for people of intelligence – who are reminded by that of the evidence it provides of the oneness and power of Allah Almighty.

22. Is he whose breast is opened to Islam – and thus is guided – and who is therefore illuminated by his Lord like one whose heart is sealed …? Woe – in other words they will be punished – to those whose hearts are hardened against the remembrance of Allah, preventing them from accepting the Qur’an! Such people are clearly misguided.

23. Allah has sent down the Supreme Discourse (the Qur’an) a Book consistent – the word used means that its parts resemble one another in organisation – in its frequent repetitions – the word used means that threats, promises, and other things are repeated in it. The skins of those who fear their Lord tremble at it – when they hear His threat mentioned – and then their skins and hearts yield softly to the remembrance of Allah when His promise is mentioned. That is Allah’s guidance by which He guides whoever He wills. And no one can guide those whom Allah misguides.

24. Is someone who tries to shield himself with his face from the worst of the torment on the Day of Rising…? He tries to protect his face from the intensity of the heat when he is cast into the Fire with his hands chained to his neck. Is he like the one who is made safe from that by entering Paradise? The wrongdoers will be told, ‘Taste what you have earned.’

25. Those before them also denied the truth – by denying their Messenger’s warnings about Divine punishment – and the punishment came upon them from where they did not expect – in a manner which had not occurred to them.

26. So Allah made them taste disgrace – humiliation and abasement – in the life of this world – in the form of transmogrification, being killed and other things – and the punishment of the Next World is far worse if they (the deniers) only knew it.

27. We have given all kinds of examples to people in this Qur’an, so that perhaps they will may heed –

28. …an Arabic Qur’an with no distortion in it – no confusion or disagreement – so that perhaps they will be godfearing and beware of unbelief.

29. Allah has made a comparison for them of idolaters and those who affirm Allah’s unity: of a man owned by several partners in dispute with one another – whose evil qualities contend with one another – and another man wholly owned by a single man – who is wholehearted. Are they the same? A slave with several owners is not the same as a slave with one master. If the owners of the first all demand his service at the same time, he is bewildered about which of them to serve. This is like the idolater. The second is like the true believer. Praise be to Allah alone! The fact is that most of them (the people of Makka) do not know the punishment which will befall them, and so they attribute partners to Allah.

30. This ayat is addressed to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. You will die and they too will die. You will die just as they will die, and so the fact of dying cannot be a source of insult. This was revealed because they thought he was taking a long time to die, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

31. Then on the Day of Rising you – mankind – will argue about the differences between you in the presence of your Lord.

32. Who could do greater wrong than those who lie about Allah – and ascribe a partner and a child to Him – and deny the truth (the Qur’an) when it comes to them? No one could do a greater wrong than this. Do the unbelievers not have a dwelling place in Hell? Indeed they do.

33. He who brings the truth – meaning the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace – and those who confirm it – meaning the believers – those (although the singular form, alladhi, is used here, the meaning is the plural alladhina) are the people who are god - fearing and wary of shirk.

34. They shall have anything they wish for from their Lord. That is the recompense of the good-doers for their faith –

35. … so that Allah may erase from their records the worst of what they did and pay them their wages for the best of what they did. This means their good and bad actions.

36. Is Allah not enough for His slave (the Prophet)? Yet they try to scare you (addressed to him) with others (idols) apart from Him. They tried to scare him with idols, saying that they would kill him.

37. If Allah misguides anyone, he has no guide; and if Allah guides anyone, he cannot be misguided. Is Allah not Almighty, Exactor of Revenge against His enemies?

38. If you ask them, ‘Who created the heavens and the earth?’ they will say, ‘Allah.’ Say: ‘So what do you think? If Allah desires harm for me, can those (the idols) you call upon and worship besides Allah remove His harm (read as durrihi and durrahu)? Or if He desires mercy for me, can they withhold His mercy (read as rahmatihi and rahmatahu)?’ They cannot. Say: ‘Allah is enough for me. All those who truly trust put their trust in Him.’

39. Say: ‘My people, do as you think best; that is what I am doing. This is my state and your state. You will soon know…

40. …who will receive a punishment which disgraces him and will unleash against himself an everlasting punishment’ – the punishment of the Fire. Allah disgraced the idolaters at the Battle of Badr.

41. We have sent down to you the Book for mankind with truth. So whoever is guided is guided to his own good and whoever is misguided, it is to his detriment. You are not set over them as a guardian – to compel them to follow guidance.

42. Allah takes back people’s souls when their death arrives; and those who have not yet died, He takes their souls while they are asleep. He keeps hold of those whose death has been decreed and sends the others back for a specified term – until the time of their death. Releasing the soul means that the body remains alive, which is not the case when Allah keeps hold of the soul. There are certainly Signs in that for people who reflect and therefore know that the One who has the power to do that has the power to resurrect. Quraysh did not deny that.

43. Or have they adopted intercessors besides Allah – idols as gods, claiming that they will intercede for them with Allah? Say to them: ‘Will they intercede even though they do not control a thing by way of intercession or anything else, and have no awareness that they worship them or any anything else? They will not.

44. Say: ‘Intercession is entirely Allah’s affair. He alone has power of intercession and no one is allowed to intercede except with His permission. The kingdom of the heavens and earth is His. Then you will be returned to Him.’

45. When Allah is mentioned on His own – rather than with their other gods – the hearts of those who do not believe in the Next World shrink back shuddering – exhibiting great aversion and contraction – but when others (idols) apart from Him are mentioned, they jump for joy.

46. Say: ‘O Allah, Originator of the heavens and the earth, Knower of the Unseen and the Visible, You will judge between Your slaves regarding what they differed about in respect of the dın, so guide me to the truth in that on which there is disagreement.’

47. If those who did wrong owned everything on earth, and the same again with it, they would offer it as a ransom to save themselves from the evil of the punishment on the Day of Rising. What confronts them from Allah will be something they did not reckon with – which they did not think would happen.

48. What confronts them will be the evil actions which they earned, and what they used to mock at will engulf them – in other words, the punishment they had been warned about.

49. When harm touches man – mankind in general – he calls on Us. Then when We grant him a blessing from Us he says, ‘I have only been given this because of my knowledge – which I have been given by Allah; so I am entitled to it and deserve it.’ In fact it – referring to the statement or the blessing – is a trial – a test to which the slave is subjected – but most of them do not know it – how they are tried and led on.

50. Those who came before them – referring to past nations like Quran and his people who thought like that – also said that, but what they earned did not avail them.

51. The repayment for the evil deeds they earned caught up with them. And the evil deeds which the wrongdoers among these people (Quraysh) earn will also catch up with them, and they can do nothing to prevent it. They suffered a drought for seven years and then they were given relief.

52. Do they not know that Allah expands the provision of anyone He wills and restricts it – as a test? There are certainly Signs in that for people who believe in it.

53. Say: ‘My slaves, you who have transgressed against yourselves, do not despair (read as taqnatuand taqnitu) of the mercy of Allah. Truly Allah forgives all wrong actions – provided there is repentance of any shirk. He is the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.’

54. Turn in repentance to your Lord and submit to Him – acting sincerely for Him alone – before punishment comes upon you, for then you cannot be helped. You cannot prevent the punishment if you have not repented.

55. Follow the best that has been sent down to you from your Lord (the Qur’an) before the punishment comes upon you suddenly when you are not expecting it – and unaware of its time of arrival;

56. Make haste lest anyone should say, ‘Alas for me and what regret I feel for neglecting what Allah was due – failing to obey Him – and being one of the scoffers who scoffed at His din and His Book’ –

57. …or lest they should say, ‘If only Allah had guided me – to obedience, I would have been guided and I would have been godfearing, and had fear of His punishment’

58. …or lest he should say, when he sees the punishment, ‘If only I could have another chance to return to the world so that I could be a good-doer – one of the believers.’

59. Allah then tells them: ‘No, the fact is that My Signs (the Qur’an) – which are the means to guidance – came to you, but you denied them and were too arrogant – to believe in it, and were one of the unbelievers.’

60. On the Day of Resurrection you will see those who lied against Allah – by saying that He has a partner and a child – with their faces blackened. Do not the arrogant – who were too arrogant to believe – have a dwelling place in Hell?

61. Allah will give security from Hellfire to those who were godfearing and wary of shirk – in their victorious Safe Haven – the place where they achieve success in Paradise. No evil will touch them and they will know no sorrow.

62. Allah is the Creator of everything and He is Guardian over everything – and does whatever He wishes with all things.

63. The keys of the heavens and earth – the keys of their treasures in the form of of rain, plants and other things – belong to Him. It is those who reject Allah’s Signs (the Qur’an) who are the losers. “It is those who reject Allah’s Signs who are the losers” continues on from “Allah will give security to those who were godfearing…” and what is in between is an interpolation.

64. Say: ‘Do you order me to worship something other than Allah, you ignorant people?’

65. It has been revealed to you and those before you: ‘If you associate others with Allah, your actions will come to nothing and you will be among the losers.’

66. No! Worship Allah only and be among the thankful – who thank Him for the blessings He has given them.

67. They do not measure Allah with His true measure. They do not recognise Allah as He should be recognised or respect Him as He should be respected, because they associate another with Him. The whole earth will be a mere handful for Him – under His dominion and at His disposal – on the Day of Rising, the heavens folded up in His right hand. Glory be to Him! He is exalted above the partners they ascribe!

68. The Trumpet will be blown – with the first Blast – and those in the heavens and those in the earth will all lose consciousness – and die – except those Allah wills – of the houris, youths and other things. Then it will be blown a second time, and at once they – all the dead creatures – will be standing upright, looking on – waiting to see what will be done to them.

69. And the earth will shine with the Pure Light of its Lord when Allah manifests Himself in order to carry out the Final Judgement. The Book of actions will be set up for the reckoning and will be put in place; the Prophets and witnesses will be brought – Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and his community will be brought to testify on behalf of the Messengers, saying that they conveyed the Message. It will be decided between them with the truth and justice and they will not be wronged to the slightest extent.

70. Every self will be repaid in full for what it did. He knows best what they are doing – and has no need of witnesses to know that.

71. Those who disbelieve will be driven to Hell harshly in companies; and when they arrive there and its gates are opened its custodians will say to them, ‘Did Messengers from yourselves not come to you, reciting your Lord’s Signs – including the Qur’an and other things – to you and warning you of the meeting on this Day of yours?’ They will say, ‘Indeed they did, but the decree of punishment is justly carried out against the unbelievers.’

72. They will be told, ‘Enter the gates of Hell and stay there timelessly, for ever. How evil is Jahannam, the abode of the arrogant!’

73. And those who are fearful of their Lord will be driven gently to Pardise in companies; and when they arrive there, finding its gates open, its custodians will say to them, ‘Peace be upon you! You have done well so enter it timelessly, forever.’ The greeting they are given is to honour them. When the unbelievers are driven to Hell, the gates will be opened when they reach it so that its heat is kept for them to humiliate them.

74. They will say, ‘Praise be to Allah Who has fulfilled His promise (Paradise) to us and made us the inheritors of this land, in Paradise, letting us settle in Paradise wherever we want . No part rather than another is chosen in it. How excellent is the wage of those who work – which is the Garden!’

75. You will see the angels circling round the Throne on all sides, – glorifying their Lord with praise – saying, “Glory be to Allah and with His praise”. It will be decided between them (all creatures) with truth and justice, and the believers will enter the Garden and the unbelievers will enter the Fire. And it will be said: ‘Praise be to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds.’ Both groups end with the affirmation of praise spoken by the angels.