Surah 21
الأنبياء
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
iq'taraba lilnnāsi ḥisābuhum wahum fī ghaflatin muʿ'riḍūna
[The time of] their account has approached for the people, while they are in heedlessness turning away.
mā yatīhim min dhik'rin min rabbihim muḥ'dathin illā is'tamaʿūhu wahum yalʿabūna
No mention [i.e., revelation] comes to them anew from their Lord except that they listen to it while they are at play
lāhiyatan qulūbuhum wa-asarrū l-najwā alladhīna ẓalamū hal hādhā illā basharun mith'lukum afatatūna l-siḥ'ra wa-antum tub'ṣirūna
With their hearts distracted. And those who do wrong conceal their private conversation, [saying], "Is this [Prophet] except a human being like you? So would you approach magic while you are aware [of it]?"
qāla rabbī yaʿlamu l-qawla fī l-samāi wal-arḍi wahuwa l-samīʿu l-ʿalīmu
He [the Prophet (ﷺ)] said, "My Lord knows whatever is said throughout the heaven and earth, and He is the Hearing, the Knowing."
bal qālū aḍghāthu aḥlāmin bali if'tarāhu bal huwa shāʿirun falyatinā biāyatin kamā ur'sila l-awalūna
But they say, "[The revelation is but] a mixture of false dreams; rather, he has invented it; rather, he is a poet. So let him bring us a sign just as the previous [messengers] were sent [with miracles]."
mā āmanat qablahum min qaryatin ahlaknāhā afahum yu'minūna
Not a [single] city which We destroyed believed before them, so will they believe?
wamā arsalnā qablaka illā rijālan nūḥī ilayhim fasalū ahla l-dhik'ri in kuntum lā taʿlamūna
And We sent not before you, [O Muḥammad], except men to whom We revealed [the message], so ask the people of the message [i.e., former scriptures] if you do not know.
wamā jaʿalnāhum jasadan lā yakulūna l-ṭaʿāma wamā kānū khālidīna
And We did not make them [i.e., the prophets] forms not eating food, nor were they immortal [on earth].
thumma ṣadaqnāhumu l-waʿda fa-anjaynāhum waman nashāu wa-ahlaknā l-mus'rifīna
Then We fulfilled for them the promise, and We saved them and whom We willed and destroyed the transgressors.
laqad anzalnā ilaykum kitāban fīhi dhik'rukum afalā taʿqilūna
We have certainly sent down to you a Book [i.e., the Qur’ān] in which is your mention. Then will you not reason?
wakam qaṣamnā min qaryatin kānat ẓālimatan wa-anshanā baʿdahā qawman ākharīna
And how many a city which was unjust have We shattered and produced after it another people.
falammā aḥassū basanā idhā hum min'hā yarkuḍūna
And when they [i.e., its inhabitants] perceived Our punishment, at once they fled from it.
lā tarkuḍū wa-ir'jiʿū ilā mā ut'rif'tum fīhi wamasākinikum laʿallakum tus'alūna
[Some angels said], "Do not flee but return to where you were given luxury and to your homes - perhaps you will be questioned."
qālū yāwaylanā innā kunnā ẓālimīna
They said, "O woe to us! Indeed, we were wrongdoers."
famā zālat til'ka daʿwāhum ḥattā jaʿalnāhum ḥaṣīdan khāmidīna
And that declaration of theirs did not cease until We made them [as] a harvest [mowed down], extinguished [like a fire].
wamā khalaqnā l-samāa wal-arḍa wamā baynahumā lāʿibīna
And We did not create the heaven and earth and that between them in play.
law aradnā an nattakhidha lahwan la-ittakhadhnāhu min ladunnā in kunnā fāʿilīna
Had We intended to take a diversion, We could have taken it from [what is] with Us - if [indeed] We were to do so.
bal naqdhifu bil-ḥaqi ʿalā l-bāṭili fayadmaghuhu fa-idhā huwa zāhiqun walakumu l-waylu mimmā taṣifūna
Rather, We dash the truth upon falsehood, and it destroys it, and thereupon it departs. And for you is destruction from that which you describe.
walahu man fī l-samāwāti wal-arḍi waman ʿindahu lā yastakbirūna ʿan ʿibādatihi walā yastaḥsirūna
To Him belongs whoever is in the heavens and the earth. And those near Him [i.e., the angels] are not prevented by arrogance from His worship, nor do they tire.
yusabbiḥūna al-layla wal-nahāra lā yafturūna
They exalt [Him] night and day [and] do not slacken.
ami ittakhadhū ālihatan mina l-arḍi hum yunshirūna
Or have they [i.e., men] taken for themselves gods from the earth who resurrect [the dead]?
law kāna fīhimā ālihatun illā l-lahu lafasadatā fasub'ḥāna l-lahi rabbi l-ʿarshi ʿammā yaṣifūna
Had there been within them [i.e., the heavens and earth] gods besides Allāh, they both would have been ruined. So exalted is Allāh, Lord of the Throne, above what they describe.
lā yus'alu ʿammā yafʿalu wahum yus'alūna
He is not questioned about what He does, but they will be questioned.
ami ittakhadhū min dūnihi ālihatan qul hātū bur'hānakum hādhā dhik'ru man maʿiya wadhik'ru man qablī bal aktharuhum lā yaʿlamūna l-ḥaqa fahum muʿ'riḍūna
Or have they taken gods besides Him? Say, [O Muḥammad], "Produce your proof. This [Qur’ān] is the message for those with me and the message of those before me." But most of them do not know the truth, so they are turning away.
wamā arsalnā min qablika min rasūlin illā nūḥī ilayhi annahu lā ilāha illā anā fa-uʿ'budūni
And We sent not before you any messenger except We revealed to him that, "There is no deity except Me, so worship Me."
waqālū ittakhadha l-raḥmānu waladan sub'ḥānahu bal ʿibādun muk'ramūna
And they say, "The Most Merciful has taken a son." Exalted is He! Rather, they are [but] honored servants.
lā yasbiqūnahu bil-qawli wahum bi-amrihi yaʿmalūna
They cannot precede Him in word, and they act by His command.
yaʿlamu mā bayna aydīhim wamā khalfahum walā yashfaʿūna illā limani ir'taḍā wahum min khashyatihi mush'fiqūna
He knows what is [presently] before them and what will be after them, and they cannot intercede except on behalf of one whom He approves. And they, from fear of Him, are apprehensive.
waman yaqul min'hum innī ilāhun min dūnihi fadhālika najzīhi jahannama kadhālika najzī l-ẓālimīna
And whoever of them should say, "Indeed, I am a god besides Him" - that one We would recompense with Hell. Thus do We recompense the wrongdoers.
awalam yara alladhīna kafarū anna l-samāwāti wal-arḍa kānatā ratqan fafataqnāhumā wajaʿalnā mina l-māi kulla shayin ḥayyin afalā yu'minūna
Have those who disbelieved not considered that the heavens and the earth were a joined entity, and then We separated them and made from water every living thing? Then will they not believe?
wajaʿalnā fī l-arḍi rawāsiya an tamīda bihim wajaʿalnā fīhā fijājan subulan laʿallahum yahtadūna
And We placed within the earth firmly set mountains, lest it should shift with them, and We made therein [mountain] passes [as] roads that they might be guided.
wajaʿalnā l-samāa saqfan maḥfūẓan wahum ʿan āyātihā muʿ'riḍūna
And We made the sky a protected ceiling, but they, from its signs, are turning away.
wahuwa alladhī khalaqa al-layla wal-nahāra wal-shamsa wal-qamara kullun fī falakin yasbaḥūna
And it is He who created the night and the day and the sun and the moon; all [heavenly bodies] in an orbit are swimming.
wamā jaʿalnā libasharin min qablika l-khul'da afa-in mitta fahumu l-khālidūna
And We did not grant to any man before you eternity [on earth]; so if you die - would they be eternal?
kullu nafsin dhāiqatu l-mawti wanablūkum bil-shari wal-khayri fit'natan wa-ilaynā tur'jaʿūna
Every soul will taste death. And We test you with evil and with good as trial; and to Us you will be returned.
wa-idhā raāka alladhīna kafarū in yattakhidhūnaka illā huzuwan ahādhā alladhī yadhkuru ālihatakum wahum bidhik'ri l-raḥmāni hum kāfirūna
And when those who disbelieve see you, [O Muḥammad], they take you not except in ridicule, [saying], "Is this the one who mentions [i.e., insults] your gods?" And they are, at the mention of the Most Merciful, disbelievers.
khuliqa l-insānu min ʿajalin sa-urīkum āyātī falā tastaʿjilūni
Man was created of haste [i.e., impatience]. I will show you My signs [i.e., vengeance], so do not impatiently urge Me.
wayaqūlūna matā hādhā l-waʿdu in kuntum ṣādiqīna
And they say, "When is this promise, if you should be truthful?"
law yaʿlamu alladhīna kafarū ḥīna lā yakuffūna ʿan wujūhihimu l-nāra walā ʿan ẓuhūrihim walā hum yunṣarūna
If those who disbelieved but knew the time when they will not avert the Fire from their faces or from their backs and they will not be aided...
bal tatīhim baghtatan fatabhatuhum falā yastaṭīʿūna raddahā walā hum yunẓarūna
Rather, it will come to them unexpectedly and bewilder them, and they will not be able to repel it, nor will they be reprieved.
walaqadi us'tuh'zi-a birusulin min qablika faḥāqa bi-alladhīna sakhirū min'hum mā kānū bihi yastahziūna
And already were messengers ridiculed before you, but those who mocked them were enveloped by what they used to ridicule.
qul man yakla-ukum bi-al-layli wal-nahāri mina l-raḥmāni bal hum ʿan dhik'ri rabbihim muʿ'riḍūna
Say, "Who can protect you at night or by day from the Most Merciful?" But they are, from the remembrance of their Lord, turning away.
am lahum ālihatun tamnaʿuhum min dūninā lā yastaṭīʿūna naṣra anfusihim walā hum minnā yuṣ'ḥabūna
Or do they have gods to defend them other than Us? They are unable [even] to help themselves, nor can they be protected from Us.
bal mattaʿnā hāulāi waābāahum ḥattā ṭāla ʿalayhimu l-ʿumuru afalā yarawna annā natī l-arḍa nanquṣuhā min aṭrāfihā afahumu l-ghālibūna
But, [on the contrary], We have provided good things for these [disbelievers] and their fathers until life was prolonged for them. Then do they not see that We set upon the land, reducing it from its borders? Is it they who will overcome?
qul innamā undhirukum bil-waḥyi walā yasmaʿu l-ṣumu l-duʿāa idhā mā yundharūna
Say, "I only warn you by revelation." But the deaf do not hear the call when they are warned.
wala-in massathum nafḥatun min ʿadhābi rabbika layaqūlunna yāwaylanā innā kunnā ẓālimīna
And if [as much as] a whiff of the punishment of your Lord should touch them, they would surely say, "O woe to us! Indeed, we have been wrongdoers."
wanaḍaʿu l-mawāzīna l-qis'ṭa liyawmi l-qiyāmati falā tuẓ'lamu nafsun shayan wa-in kāna mith'qāla ḥabbatin min khardalin ataynā bihā wakafā binā ḥāsibīna
And We place the scales of justice for the Day of Resurrection, so no soul will be treated unjustly at all. And if there is [even] the weight of a mustard seed, We will bring it forth. And sufficient are We as accountant.
walaqad ātaynā mūsā wahārūna l-fur'qāna waḍiyāan wadhik'ran lil'muttaqīna
And We had already given Moses and Aaron the criterion and a light and a reminder for the righteous
alladhīna yakhshawna rabbahum bil-ghaybi wahum mina l-sāʿati mush'fiqūna
Who fear their Lord unseen, while they are of the Hour apprehensive.
