1. The All-Merciful (Allah)

2. …taught the Qur’an to whomever He wished.

3. He created man (generically meant)

4. …and taught him clear expression.

5. The sun and the moon both run with precision.

6. The stars and the trees all bow down in prostration. It is said that “stars” can also mean plants without stalks or trunks. They all submit to whatever Allah desires.

7. He erected heaven and established the balance of justice …

8. …so that you would not transgress the balance and not be unjust in respect of what you weigh out.

9. Give just weight – do not skimp in the balance, giving short weight.

10. He laid out the earth for all living creatures and made it firm for men, jinn and others.

11. In it are fruits and date-palms with covered spathes,

12. …and grains on leafy stems, and fragrant herbs. Grains are crops like wheat and barley, but this is also said to include things like figs. The herbs are either basil or all sweet-smelling herbs.

13. So which of your Lord’s blessings do you both, mankind and jinn, then deny? The question is for confirmation, according to what al-Hakim related that Jabir said: “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, recited Surat ar-Rahman to us right to the end and then said, ‘Why do I see you silent? The jinn had a better reply than you. Once I recited to them this ayat, ‘So which of your Lord’s blessings do you both then deny?’ They said, ‘We do not deny any of Your blessings, our Lord. All praise is Yours.’”

14. He created man (Adam) from dry earth like baked clay – dry clay which makes a sound when it is hollow –

15. …and He created the father of the jinn, Iblıs, from a fusion of fire – flames free of smoke.

16. So which of your Lord’s blessings do you both then deny?

17. The Lord of the two Easts and the Lord of the two Wests, meaning the east and west of the summer and the east and west of the winter.

18. So which of your Lord’s blessings do you both then deny?

19. He has let loose the two seas – the sweet and the salty, which the eye sees as converging together…

20. …with a barrier of the power of Allah Almighty between them they do not break through. Neither of them encroaches on the other and mixes with it.

21. So which of your Lord’s blessings do you both then deny?

22. From out of them come glistening pearls and coral – actually from one of the them, the salt sea.

23. So which of your Lord’s blessings do you both then deny?

24. His, too, are the ships sailing like mountain peaks on the sea – like mountains because of their size and height.

25. So which of your Lord’s blessings do you both then deny?

26. Everyone on it will pass away – all living creatures on the earth will die. The use of the pronoun for intelligent beings predominates,

27. … but the Face of your Lord (His Immense Essence) will remain, Master of Majesty and Generosity. He is generous to the believers by blessing them.

28. So which of your Lord’s blessings do you both then deny?

29. Everyone in the heavens and earth requests His aid. The asking is by words or state for the strength they need to worship Allah, provision, forgiveness and other things. Every day He is engaged in some affair. At every moment Allah manifests something according to what He has decreed before time, in terms of giving life, taking life, exalting, abasing, enriching, impoverishing, answering the supplication, giving to the one who asks, and other similar things.

30. So which of your Lord’s blessings do you both then deny?

31. Soon We will settle your affairs, you two weighty throngs. We will deal with Your Reckoning, mankind and jinn!

32. So which of your Lord’s blessings do you both then deny?

33. Company of jinn and men, if you are able to pierce through the confines of the heavens and earth, pierce through them. Can you go beyond the confines of heaven and earth? You will not pierce through except with a clear authority. That is impossible except with a strength which you do not possess.

34. So which of your Lord’s blessings do you both then deny?

35. He will pursue you with a piercing flame – a smokeless flame – and fiery smoke – hot flameless smoke – and you will not be helped against that. They will be driven to the Gathering.

36. So which of your Lord’s blessings do you both then deny?

37. When heaven is split apart – the gates of heaven are opened and the angels descend – and goes red like dregs of oil. It will be a chestnut red like red leather which is not its normal colour. There will be a great terror.

38. So which of your Lord’s blessings do you both then deny?

39. That Day no man or jinn will be asked about his sin. They will be asked about it at another time. “By your Lord, We will question them all, every one of them.” (15:92) Here the word for “jinn”, aljinn, is generic term for all the jinn as the word, ins, is generic for all mankind.

40. So which of your Lord’s blessings do you both then deny?

41. The evildoers will be recognised by their mark – the darkness of their faces and blueness of their eyes – and seized by their forelocks and their feet.

42. So which of your Lord’s blessings do you both then deny? They will be told, when the evildoers are seized by their forelocks and feet and flung into Hell:

43. This is Hell which the evildoers deny.

44. They will go back and forth between fire and scalding water. They will drink scalding water when they seek help from the heat of the Fire.

45. So which of your Lord’s blessings do you both then deny?

46. For those who fear the Station of their Lord – the time when they will stand before Him for the Reckoning and so do not disobey Him – there are two Gardens.

47. So which of your Lord’s blessings do you both then deny?

48. Shaded by spreading branches.

49. So which of your Lord’s blessings do you both then deny?

50. In them are two clear flowing springs.

51. So which of your Lord’s blessings do you both then deny?

52. In them are two kinds of every fruit of this world, or simply two kinds of any sort of fruit. There are fresh and dry, and the kind which is bitter in this world, like colocynth, will be sweet there.

53. So which of your Lord’s blessings do you both then deny?

54. They will be reclining on couches lined with rich brocade, experiencing delight, the fruits of the Gardens hanging close to hand – they are brought right up to everyone there, whether they are standing, sitting or lying down.

55. So which of your Lord’s blessings do you both then deny?

56. In them (both Gardens) – as well as in the high buildings and palaces which are there – are maidens with eyes for them alone – only looking at their reclining husbands, whether human or jinn – untouched before them by either man or jinn. These are some of the houris and some women from this world.

57. So which of your Lord’s blessings do you both then deny?

58. Like precious gems of pure ruby and white pearl.

59. So which of your Lord’s blessings do you both then deny?

60. Will the reward for doing good and acts of obedience be anything other than good – meaning the bliss of the Garden?

61. So which of your Lord’s blessings do you both then deny?

62. As well as those two Gardens there will be two other Gardens for those who fear the time when they will stand before their Lord.

63. So which of your Lord’s blessings do you both then deny?

64. Of deep viridian green. They appear black from the intensity of their greenness.

65. So which of your Lord’s blessings do you both then deny?

66. In them are two gushing springs.

67. So which of your Lord’s blessings do you both then deny?

68. In them are fruits and date-palms and pomegranates. These are said to be the same as those in this world, but are also said to be quite different.

69. So which of your Lord’s blessings do you both then deny?

70. In them are sweet, lovely maidens of good character and with beautiful faces.

71. So which of your Lord’s blessings do you both then deny?

72. Dark-eyed, secluded in cool pavilions. The black and white of their eyes is very intense and they are veiled in pavilions made of hollowed-out pearls beside the palaces.

73. So which of your Lord’s blessings do you both then deny?

74. Untouched before them by either man or jinn.

75. So which of your Lord’s blessings do you both then deny?

76. Their wives and their companions are – reclining on green quilts – the word used here, rafraf, can mean carpets or cushions – and exquisite rugs.

77. So which of your Lord’s blessings do you both then deny?

78. Blessed be the name of your Lord, Master of Majesty and Generosity! This is a repetition of an ayat in Surat al-Furqan.