The Throngs (Al-Zumer)
In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
This Book is a revelation from God, the Majestic and All-Wise. 1 We have revealed to you the Scripture with exactitude; so worship God with devotion all exclusive for Him. 2 Is it not to God alone that all sincere faith is due? And yet, they who take for their protectors aught beside Him [are wont to say,] "We worship them for no other reason than that they bring us nearer to God." Behold, God will judge between them [on Resurrection Day] with regard to all wherein they differ [from the truth]: for, verily, God does not grace with His guidance anyone who is bent on lying [to himself and is] stubbornly ingrate! 3 Had God willed to take unto Himself a son, He could have chosen anyone that He wanted out of whatever He has created - [but] limitless is He in His glory! He is the One God, the One who holds absolute sway over all that exists! 4 He created the heavens and the earth in truth, wrapping the night about the day and wrapping the day about the night, He has subjected the sun and the moon each to run for a stated term. Is He not the Almighty, the Forgiving? 5 He created you from a single soul, then produced its spouse from it, and He has provided for you eight heads of cattle in pairs. He creates you stage by stage in your mothers' wombs in a threefold darkness. Such is God, your Lord. Sovereignty is His. There is no god but Him. So what has made you turn away? 6 If you disbelieve, Allah is Rich, independent of you. Yet He does not approve of disbelief to His worshipers, but if you believe He will approve it in you. No laden soul shall bear another's load. Then, to Allah you shall return and He will tell to you what you have done. He knows the innermost of your chests. 7 ۞ When man is afflicted with adversity he turns to his Lord, and prays to Him. But when He bestows His favour on him, he forgets what he prayed for before, and sets up others as compeers of God to mislead (people) from His way. Say: "Take advantage of your denying for a while: You will be among the inmates of Hell." 8 Is he who is devout, in the watches of the night prostrating himself and standing, bewaring of the Hereafter and hoping for the mercy of his Lord to be dealt with like a wicked infidel? Say thou: shall they who know and those who know not be held equal? It is only men of understanding who receive admonition. 9