Kingship (Al-Mulk)
In the name of God, The Most Gracious, The Dispenser of Grace
۞ BLESSED BE HE who holds the (reins of) Kingship in His hand, who has power over everything, 1 He who has created death as well as life, so that He might put you to a test [and thus show] which of you is best in conduct, and [make you realize that] He alone is almighty, truly forgiving. 2 who created the seven heavens, one above the other. You cannot see any inconsistency in the creation of the Merciful. Return your gaze, do you see any crack! 3 Then return thy gaze again, and again, and thy gaze comes back to thee dazzled, aweary. 4 We have adorned the lower heaven with lamps, and We made them a stoning for the satans, We have prepared the punishment of the Blaze for them. 5 For those who believe not in their Lord there is the punishment of Hell; and what a wretched destination 6 When they are cast therein, they will hear the (terrible) drawing in of its breath even as it blazes forth, 7 Almost bursting for fury. Whenever a group is cast into it, its keeper shall ask them: Did there not come to you a warner? 8 They will reply: "Yea, a warner did indeed come unto us, but we gave him the lie and said, 'Never has God sent down anything [by way of revelation]! You [self-styled warners] are but lost in a great delusion!"' 9 They will say, "If we had only listened or understood, we should not now be among the inmates of Hell," 10 and thus they will confess their sin; far from God's mercy are the inmates of Hell. 11 Verily! Those who fear their Lord unseen (i.e. they do not see Him, nor His Punishment in the Hereafter, etc.), theirs will be forgiveness and a great reward (i.e. Paradise). 12 AND [know, O men, that] whether you keep your beliefs secret or state them openly, He has full knowledge indeed of all that is in [your] hearts. 13 How could it be that He who has created [all] should not know [all]? Yea, He alone is unfathomable [in His wisdom,] aware! 14