The Throngs (Al-Zumer)
In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Most Merciful
The revelation of this Book is from Allah, the Mighty, the Wise. 1 (O Prophet), it is We Who have revealed this Book to you with Truth. So serve only Allah, consecrating your devotion to Him. 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 Had God wanted to have a son, He would have chosen one from His creatures according to His will. God is too Exalted to have a son. He is One and Almighty. 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 He created you (all) from a single person: then created, of like nature, his mate; and he sent down for you eight head of cattle in pairs: He makes you, in the wombs of your mothers, in stages, one after another, in three veils of darkness. such is Allah, your Lord and Cherisher: to Him belongs (all) dominion. There is no god but He: then how are ye turned away (from your true Centre)? 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 Or, is he who is obedient that prostrates himself and stands during parts of the night, being afraid of the Everlasting Life but hoping for the Mercy of the Lord (to be compared to the unbeliever)' Say: 'Are they equal, those who know and those who do not know' Only those with minds remember. 9