Glory to Him who made His servant travel by night from the sacred place of worship to the furthest place of worship, whose surroundings We have blessed, to show him some of Our signs: He alone is the All Hearing, the All Seeing

We also gave Moses the Scripture, and made it a guide for the Children of Israel. ‘Entrust yourselves to no one but Me

you descendants of those We carried with Noah: he was truly a thankful servant.’

We declared to the Children of Israel in the Scripture, ‘Twice you will spread corruption in the land and become highly arrogant.’

When the first of these warnings was fulfilled, We sent against you servants of Ours with great force, and they ravaged your homes. That warning was fulfilled

but then We allowed you to prevail against your enemy. We increased your wealth and offspring and made you more numerous––

whether you do good or evil it is to your own souls––and when the second warning was fulfilled [We sent them] to shame your faces and enter the place of worship as they did the first time, and utterly destroy whatever fell into their power

Your Lord may yet have mercy on you, but if you do the same again, so shall We: We have made Hell a prison for those who defy [Our warning]

This Quran does indeed show the straightest way. It gives the faithful who do right the good news that they will have a great reward and

warns that We have prepared an agonizing punishment for those who do not believe in the world to come

Yet man prays for harm, just as he prays for good: man is ever hasty

We made the night and the day as two signs, then darkened the night and made the daylight for seeing, for you to seek your Lord’s bounty and to know how to count the years and calculate. We have explained everything in detail

We have bound each human being’s destiny to his neck. On the Day of Resurrection, We shall bring out a record for each of them, which they will find spread wide open

‘Read your record. Today your own soul is enough to calculate your account.’

Whoever accepts guidance does so for his own good; whoever strays does so at his own peril. No soul will bear another’s burden, nor do We punish until We have sent a messenger

When We decide to destroy a town, We command those corrupted by wealth [to reform], but they [persist in their] disobedience; Our sentence is passed, and We destroy them utterly

How many generations We have destroyed since Noah! Your Lord knows and observes the sins of His servants well enough

If anyone desires [only] the fleeting life, We speed up whatever We will in it, for whoever We wish; in the end We have prepared Hell for him in which to burn, disgraced and rejected

But if anyone desires the life to come and strives after it as he should, as a true believer, his striving will be thanked

To both the latter and the former, We give some of your Lord’s bounty. [Prophet], your Lord’s bounty is not restricted

see how We have given some more than others- but the Hereafter holds greater ranks and greater favours

Set up no other god beside God, or you will end up disgraced and forsaken

Your Lord has commanded that you should worship none but Him, and that you be kind to your parents. If either or both of them reach old age with you, say no word that shows impatience with them, and do not be harsh with them, but speak to them respectfully

and lower your wing in humility towards them in kindness and say, ‘Lord, have mercy on them, just as they cared for me when I was little.’

Your Lord knows best what is in your heart. If you are good, He is most forgiving to those who return to Him

Give relatives their due, and the needy, and travellers- do not squander your wealth wastefully

those who squander are the brothers of Satan, and Satan is most ungrateful to his Lord

but if, while seeking some bounty that you expect from your Lord, you turn them down, then at least speak some word of comfort to them

Do not be tight-fisted, nor so open-handed that you end up blamed and overwhelmed with regret

Your Lord gives abundantly to whoever He will, and sparingly to whoever He will: He knows and observes His servants thoroughly

Do not kill your children for fear of poverty––We shall provide for them and for you––killing them is a great sin

And do not go anywhere near adultery: it is an outrage, and an evil path

Do not take life, which God has made sacred, except by right: if anyone is killed wrongfully, We have given authority to the defender of his rights, but he should not be excessive in taking life, for he is already aided [by God]

Do not go near the orphan’s property, except with the best [intentions], until he reaches the age of maturity. Honour your pledges: you will be questioned about your pledges

Give full measure when you measure, and weigh with accurate scales: that is better and fairer in the end

Do not follow blindly what you do not know to be true: ears, eyes, and heart, you will be questioned about all these

Do not strut arrogantly about the earth: you cannot break it open, nor match the mountains in height

The evil of all these actions is hateful to your Lord

[Prophet], this is some of the wisdom your Lord has revealed to you: do not set up another god beside God, or you will be thrown into Hell, blamed and rejected

What? Has your Lord favoured you people with sons and taken daughters for Himself from the angels?What a monstrous thing for you to say

We have explained things in various ways in this Quran, so that such people might take notice, but it has only turned them further away

Say, ‘If there were other gods along with Him, as they say there are, then they would have tried to find a way to the Lord of the Throne.’

Glory to Him! He is far above what they say

The seven heavens and the earth and everyone in them glorify Him. There is not a single thing that does not celebrate His praise, though you do not understand their praise: He is most forbearing, most forgiving

[Prophet], when you recite the Quran, We put an invisible barrier between you and those who do not believe in the life to come

We have put covers on their hearts that prevent them from understanding it, and heaviness in their ears. When you mention your Lord in the Quran, and Him alone, they turn their backs and run away

We know best the way they listen, when they listen to you and when they confer in secret, and these wrongdoers say, ‘You are only following a man who is bewitched.’

See what they think you are like! But they are lost and cannot find the right way

They also say, ‘What? When we are turned to bones and dust, shall we really be raised up in a new act of creation?’

Say, ‘[Yes] even if you were [as hard as] stone, or iron

or any other substance you think hard to bring to life.’ Then they will say, ‘Who will bring us back?’ Say, ‘The One who created you the first time.’ Then they will shake their heads at you and say, ‘When will that be?’ Say, ‘It may well be very soon

it will be the Day when He calls you, and you answer by praising Him, and you think you have stayed [on earth] only a little while.’

[Prophet], tell My servants to say what is best. Satan sows discord among them: Satan is a sworn enemy of man

Your Lord has the most knowledge about all of you: if He pleases He will have mercy on you, and if He pleases He will punish you. [Prophet], We did not send you to take charge of them

Your Lord knows best about everyone in the heavens and the earth. We gave some prophets more than others: We gave David a book [of Psalms]

Say, ‘Call upon those you claim to be deities beside God: they have no power to remove or avert any harm from you.’

Those [angels] they pray to are themselves seeking a way to their Lord, even those who are closest to Him. They hope for His mercy and fear His punishment. The punishment of your Lord is much to be feared

there is no community We shall not destroy, or punish severely, before the Day of Resurrection- this is written in the Book

Nothing prevents Us from sending miraculous signs, except the fact that previous peoples denied them. We gave the people of Thamud the she-camel as a clear sign, yet they maltreated it. We send signs only to give warning

[Prophet], We have told you that your Lord knows all about human beings. The vision We showed you was only a test for people, as was the cursed tree [mentioned] in the Quran. We warn them, but this only increases their insolence

When We said to the angels, ‘Bow down before Adam,’ they all bowed down, but not Iblis. He retorted, ‘Why should I bow down to someone You have created out of clay?’

and [then] said, ‘You see this being You have honoured above me? If You reprieve me until the Day of Resurrection, I will lead all but a few of his descendants by the nose.’

God said, ‘Go away! Hell will be your reward, and the reward of any of them who follow you- an ample reward

Rouse whichever of them you can with your voice, muster your cavalry and infantry against them, share their wealth and their children with them, and make promises to them- Satan promises them nothing but delusion

but you will have no authority over My [true] servants: Your Lord can take care of them well enough.’

[People], it is your Lord who makes ships go smoothly for you on the sea so that you can seek His bounty: He is most merciful towards you

When you get into distress at sea, those you pray to besides Him desert you, but when He brings you back safe to land you turn away: man is ever ungrateful

Can you be sure that God will not have you swallowed up into the earth when you are back on land, or that He will not send a sandstorm against you? Then you will find no one to protect you

Or can you be sure that He will not send you back out to sea, and send a violent storm against you to drown you for being so ungrateful? You will find no helper against Us there

We have honoured the children of Adam and carried them by land and sea; We have provided good sustenance for them and favoured them specially above many of those We have created

On the Day when We summon each community, along with its leader, those who are given their record in their right hand will read it [with pleasure]. But no one will be wronged in the least

those who were blind in this life will be blind in the Hereafter, and even further off the path

[Prophet], the disbelievers tried to tempt you away from what We revealed to you, so that you would invent some other revelation and attribute it to Us and then they would have taken you as a friend

If We had not made you stand firm, you would almost have inclined a little towards them

In that case, We would have made you taste a double punishment in this life, and a double punishment after death and then you would have found no one to help you against Us

They planned to scare you off the land, but they would not have lasted for more than a little while after you

Such was Our way with the messengers We sent before you, and you will find no change in Our ways

So perform the regular prayers in the period from the time the sun is past its zenith till the darkness of the night, and [recite] the Quran at dawn- dawn recitation is always witnessed––

and dur-ing the night wake up and pray, as an extra offering of your own, so that your Lord may raise you to a [highly] praised status

Say, ‘My Lord, make me go in truthfully, and come out truthfully, and grant me supporting authority from You.’

And say, ‘The truth has come, and falsehood has passed away: falsehood is bound to pass away.’

We send down the Quran as healing and mercy to those who believe; as for those who disbelieve, it only increases their loss

When We favour man he turns arrogantly to one side, but when harm touches him, he falls into despair

Say, ‘Everyone does things their own way, but your Lord is fully aware of who follows the best-guided path.’

[Prophet], they ask you about the Spirit. Say, ‘The Spirit is part of my Lord’s domain. You have only been given a little knowledge.’

If We pleased, We could take away what We have revealed to you- then you would find no one to plead for you against Us

if it were not for your Lord’s mercy: His favour to you has been truly great

Say, ‘Even if all mankind and jinn came together to produce something like this Quran, they could not produce anything like it, however much they helped each other.’

In this Quran, We have set out all kinds of examples for people, yet most of them persist in disbelieving

They say, ‘We will not believe for you [Muhammad] until you make a spring gush out of the ground for us

or until you have a garden of date palms and vines, and make rivers pour through them

or make the sky fall on us in pieces, as you claimed will happen; or bring God and the angels before us face to face

or have a house made of gold; or ascend into the sky- even then, we will not believe in your ascension until you send a real book down for us to read.’ Say, ‘Glory be to my Lord! Am I anything but a mortal, a messenger?’

The only thing that kept these people from believing, when guidance came to them, was that they said, ‘How could God have sent a human being as a messenger?’

Say, ‘If there were angels walking about on earth, feeling at home, We would have sent them an angel from Heaven as a messenger.’

Say, ‘God is witness enough between me and you. He knows and observes His servants well.’

[Prophet], anyone God guides is truly guided, and you will find no protector other than Him for anyone He leaves astray. On the Day of Resurrection We shall gather them, lying on their faces, blind, dumb, and deaf. Hell will be their Home. Whenever the Fire goes down, We shall make it blaze more fiercely for them

This is what they will get for rejecting Our signs and saying, ‘What? When we are turned to bones and dust, how can we be raised in a new act of creation?’

Do they not see that God, who created the heavens and earth, can create the likes of them [anew]? He has ordained a time for them- there is no doubt about that- but the evildoers refuse everything except disbelief

Say, ‘If you possessed the very stores of my Lord’s bounty, you would hold them back in your fear of spending: man is ever grudging.’

In the past, We gave Moses nine clear signs- ask the Children of Israel. When Moses came to [the Egyptians], Pharaoh said to him, ‘Moses, I think you are bewitched.’

He said, ‘You know very well that only the Lord of the heavens and earth could have sent these signs as clear proof. I think that you, Pharaoh, are doomed.’

So he wanted to wipe them off the [face of the] earth, but We drowned him and those with him

After his death, We told the Children of Israel, ‘Live in the land, and when the promise of the Hereafter is fulfilled, We shall bring you to the assembly of all people.’

We sent down the Quran with the truth, and with the truth it has come down- [Prophet], We sent you only to give good news and warning

it is a recitation that We have revealed in parts, so that you can recite it to people at intervals; We have sent it down little by little

Say, ‘Whether you believe it or not, those who were given knowledge earlier fall down on their faces when it is recited to them

and say, “Glory to our Lord! Our Lord’s promise has been fulfilled.”

They fall down on their faces, weeping, and [the Quran] increases their humility.’

Say [to them], ‘Call on God, or on the Lord of Mercy- whatever names you call Him, the best names belong to Him.’ [Prophet], do not be too loud in your prayer, or too quiet, but seek a middle way

and say, ‘Praise belongs to God, who has no child nor partner in His rule. He is not so weak as to need a protector. Proclaim His limitless greatness!’

Praise be to God, who sent down the Scripture to His servant and made it unerringly straight

warning of severe punishment from Him, and [giving] glad news to the believers who do good deeds––an excellent reward

that they will always enjoy

It warns those people who assert, ‘God has offspring.’

They have no knowledge about this, nor did their forefathers––it is a monstrous assertion that comes out of their mouths: what they say is nothing but lies

But [Prophet] are you going to worry yourself to death over them if they do not believe in this message

We have adorned the earth with attractive things so that We may test people to find out which of them do best

but We shall reduce all this to barren dust

[Prophet], do you find the Companions in the Cave and al-Raqim so wondrous, among all Our other signs

When the young men sought refuge in the cave and said, ‘Our Lord, grant us Your mercy, and find us a good way out of our ordeal,’

We sealed their ears [with sleep] in the cave for years

Then We woke them so that We could make clear which of the two parties was better able to work out how long they had been there

[Prophet], We shall tell you their story as it really was. They were young men who believed in their Lord, and We gave them more and more guidance

We gave strength to their hearts when they stood up and said, ‘Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and earth. We shall never call upon any god other than Him, for that would be an outrageous thing to do

These people of ours have taken gods other than Him. Why do they not produce clear evidence about them? Who could be more unjust than someone who makes up lies about God

Now that you have left such people, and what they worshipped instead of God, take refuge in the cave. God will shower His mercy on you and make you an easy way out of your ordeal.’

You could have seen the [light of the] sun as it rose, moving away to the right of their cave, and when it set, moving away to the left of them, while they lay in the wide space inside the cave. (This is one of God’s signs: those people God guides are rightly guided, but you will find no protector to lead to the right path those He leaves to stray)

You would have thought they were awake, though they lay asleep. We turned them over, to the right and the left, with their dog stretching out its forelegs at the entrance. If you had seen them, you would have turned and run away, filled with fear of them

In time We woke them, and they began to question one another. One of them asked, ‘How long have you been here?’ and [some] answered, ‘A day or part of a day,’ but then [others] said, ‘Your Lord knows best how long you have been here. One of you go to the city with your silver coins, find out where the best food is there, and bring some back. But be careful not to let anyone know about you

if they found you out, they would stone you or force you to return to their religion, where you would never come to any good.’

In this way We brought them to people’s attention so that they might know that God’s promise [of resurrection] is true and that there is no doubt about the Last Hour, [though] people argue among themselves. [Some] said, ‘Construct a building over them: their Lord knows best about them.’ Those who prevailed said, ‘We shall build a place of worship over them.’

[Some] say, ‘The sleepers were three, and their dog made four,’ others say, ‘They were five, and the dog made six’- guessing in the dark- and some say, ‘They were seven, and their dog made eight.’ Say [Prophet], ‘My Lord knows best how many they were.’ Only a few have real knowledge about them, so do not argue, but stick to what is clear, and do not ask any of these people about them

do not say of anything, ‘I will do that tomorrow,’

without adding, ‘God willing,’ and, whenever you forget, remember your Lord and say, ‘May my Lord guide me closer to what is right.’

[Some say], ‘The sleepers stayed in their cave for three hundred years,’ some added nine more

Say [Prophet], ‘God knows best how long they stayed.’ His is the knowledge of all that is hidden in the heavens and earth- How well He sees! How well He hears!- and they have no one to protect them other than Him; He does not allow anyone to share His rule

[Prophet], follow what has been revealed to you of your Lord’s Scripture: there is no changing His words, nor can you find any refuge except with Him

Content yourself with those who pray to their Lord morning and evening, seeking His approval, and do not let your eyes turn away from them out of desire for the attractions of this worldly life: do not yield to those whose hearts We have made heedless of Our Quran, those who follow their own low desires, those whose ways are unbridled

Say, ‘Now the truth has come from your Lord: let those who wish to believe in it do so, and let those who wish to reject it do so.’ We have prepared a Fire for the wrongdoers that will envelop them from all sides. If they call for relief, they will be relieved with water like molten metal, scalding their faces. What a terrible drink! What a painful resting place

As for those who believe and do good deeds- We do not let the reward of anyone who does a good deed go to waste

they will have Gardens of lasting bliss graced with flowing streams. There they will be adorned with bracelets of gold. There they will wear green garments of fine silk and brocade. There they will be comfortably seated on soft chairs. What a blessed reward! What a pleasant resting place

Tell them the parable of two men: for one of them We made two gardens of grape vines, surrounded them with date palms, and put corn fields in between

both gardens yielded fruit and did not fail in any way; We made a stream flow through them

and so he had abundant fruit. One day, while talking to his friend, he said, ‘I have more wealth and a larger following than you.’

He went into his garden and wronged himself by saying, ‘I do not think this will ever perish

or that the Last Hour will ever come- even if I were to be taken back to my Lord, I would certainly find something even better there.’

His companion retorted, ‘Have you no faith in Him who created you from dust, from a small drop of fluid, then shaped you into a man

But, for me, He is God, my Lord, and I will never set up any partner with Him

If only, when you entered your garden, you had said, “This is God’s will. There is no power not [given] by God.” Although you see I have less wealth and offspring than you

my Lord may well give me something better than your garden, and send thunderbolts on your garden from the sky, so that it becomes a heap of barren dust

or its water may sink so deep into the ground that you will never be able to reach it again.’

And so it was: his fruit was completely destroyed, and there he was, wringing his hands over what he had invested in it, as it drooped on its trellises, and saying, ‘I wish I had not set up any partner to my Lord.’

He had no forces to help him other than God- he could not even help himself

In that situation, the only protection is that of God, the True God: He gives the best rewards and the best outcome

Tell them, too, what the life of this world is like: We send water down from the skies and the earth’s vegetation absorbs it, but soon the plants turn to dry stubble scattered about by the wind: God has power over everything

Wealth and children are the attractions of this worldly life, but lasting good works have a better reward with your Lord and give better grounds for hope

One day We shall make the mountains move, and you will see the earth as an open plain. We shall gather all people together, leaving no one

They will be lined up before your Lord: ‘Now you have come to Us as We first created you, although you claimed We had not made any such appointment for you.’

The record of their deeds will be laid open and you will see the guilty, dismayed at what they contain, saying, ‘Woe to us! What a record this is! It does not leave any deed, small or large, unaccounted for!’ They will find everything they ever did laid in front of them: your Lord will not be unjust to anyone

We said to the angels, ‘Bow down before Adam,’ and they all bowed down, but not Iblis: he was one of the jinn and he disobeyed his Lord’s command. Are you [people] going to take him and his offspring as your masters instead of Me, even though they are your enemies? What a bad bargain for the evildoers

I did not make them witnesses to the creation of the heavens and earth, nor to their own creation; I do not take as My supporters those who lead others astray

On the Day God will say, ‘Call on those you claimed were My partners,’ they will call them but they will not answer; We shall set a deadly gulf between them

The evildoers will see the Fire and they will realize that they are about to fall into it: they will find no escape from it

In this Quran We have presented every kind of description for people but man is more contentious than any other creature

Now that guidance has come to them, what stops these people believing and asking forgiveness from their Lord before the fate of earlier peoples annihilates them or their torment confronts them

We only send messengers to bring good news and to deliver warning, yet the disbelievers seek to refute the truth with false arguments and make fun of My messages and warnings

Who could be more wrong than the person who is reminded of his Lord’s messages and turns his back on them, ignoring what his hands are storing up for him [in the Hereafter]? We have put covers over their hearts, so they cannot understand the Quran, and We put heaviness in their ears: although you call them to guidance [Prophet] they will never accept it

Your Lord is the Most Forgiving, and full of mercy: if He took them to task for the wrongs they have done, He would hasten their punishment on. They have an appointed time from which they will have no escape

[just like] the former communities We destroyed for doing wrong: We set an appointed time for their destruction

Moses said to his servant, ‘I will not rest until I reach the place where the two seas meet, even if it takes me years!’

but when they reached the place where the two seas meet, they had forgotten all about their fish, which made its way into the sea and swam away

They journeyed on, and then Moses said to his servant, ‘Give us our lunch! This journey of ours is very tiring,’

and [the servant] said, ‘Remember when we were resting by the rock? I forgot the fish- Satan made me forget to pay attention to it- and it [must have] made its way into the sea.’ ‘How strange!’

Moses said, ‘Then that was the place we were looking for.’ So the two turned back, retraced their footsteps

and found one of Our servants- a man to whom We had granted Our mercy and whom We had given knowledge of Our own

Moses said to him, ‘May I follow you so that you can teach me some of the right guidance you have been taught?’

The man said, ‘You will not be able to bear with me patiently

How could you be patient in matters beyond your knowledge?’

Moses said, ‘God willing, you will find me patient. I will not disobey you in any way.’

The man said, ‘If you follow me then, do not query anything I do before I mention it to you myself.’

They travelled on. Later, when they got into a boat, and the man made a hole in it, Moses said, ‘How could you make a hole in it? Do you want to drown its passengers? What a strange thing to do!’

He replied, ‘Did I not tell you that you would never be able to bear with me patiently?’

Moses said, ‘Forgive me for forgetting. Do not make it too hard for me to follow you.’

And so they travelled on. Then, when they met a young boy and the man killed him, Moses said, ‘How could you kill an innocent person? He has not killed anyone! What a terrible thing to do!’