The Throngs (Al-Zumer)
Allah - beginning with the name of - the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
The revelation of this Book (the Quran) is from Allah, the All-Mighty, the All-Wise. 1 for, behold, it is We who have bestowed this revelation upon thee from on high, setting forth the truth: so worship Him, sincere in thy faith in Him alone! 2 Pay heed! Worship is for Allah only; and those who have taken others as their supporters beside Him say; “We worship* them only so that they get us closer to Allah”; Allah will surely judge between them regarding the matter in which they dispute; indeed Allah does not guide one who is a big liar, extremely ungrateful. (*The pagans regarded their idols as smaller Gods and worshipped them. So did the Christians. This does not apply to Muslims who only respect their elders, and ask for their blessings.) 3 Were Allah to create a son* for Himself, He would have chosen any one from His creation! Purity is to Him! He is Allah, the One, the All Dominant. (*Which is impossible.) 4 He created the heavens and the earth in truth, wrapping night about the day, and wrapping the day about the night; and He has subjected the sun and the moon, each of them running to a stated term. Is not He the All-mighty, the All-forgiving? 5 It is He Who created you from a single being, and then from the same being created its spouse, and sent down for you eight pairs of animals; He creates you in your mothers’ wombs, from one sort to another, in a triple darkness; such is Allah, your Lord – for Him only is the kingship; there is no God except Him; so where are you being turned away? 6 If you become ungrateful, then (know that) indeed Allah is Independent of you; and He does not like the ungratefulness of His bondmen; and if you give thanks, He is pleased with it for you; and no burdened soul will bear another soul’s burden; you have then to return towards your Lord – He will therefore inform you of what you used to do; undoubtedly, He knows what lies within the hearts. 7 ۞ When man suffers some affliction, he prays to his Lord and turns to Him in penitence, but once he has been granted a favour from God, he forgets the One he had been praying to and sets up rivals to God, to make others stray from His path. Say, "Enjoy your unbelief for a little while: you will be one of the inmates of the Fire." 8 Will he, whose night hours pass in obedience while prostrating and standing, fearing the Hereafter and hoping for the mercy of his Lord, ever be equal to the disobedient? Proclaim, “Are the knowledgeable and the ignorant equal?” It is only the men of intellect who heed advice. 9