34. Saba

  1. Praise be to Allah, to Whom belong allthings in the heavens and on earth: to Him be Praise in the Hereafter: andHe is Full of Wisdom, acquainted with all things.

  2. He knows all that goes into the earth,and all that comes out thereof; all that comes down from the sky and allthat ascends thereto and He is the Most Merciful, the Oft-Forgiving.

  3. The Unbelievers say, “Never to us willcome the Hour”: Say, “Nay! but most surely, by my Lord, it will come uponyou;- by Him Who knows the unseen,- from Whom is not hidden the least littleatom in the heavens or on earth: Nor is there anything less than that, orgreater, but is in the Record Perspicuous:

  4. That He may reward those who believe andwork deeds of righteousness: for such is Forgiveness and a Sustenance MostGenerous.”

  5. But those who strive against Our Signs,to frustrate them,- for such will be a Penalty,- a Punishment mosthumiliating.

  6. And those to whom knowledge has come seethat the (Revelation) sent down to thee from thy Lord – that is the Truth,and that it guides to the Path of the Exalted (in might), Worthy of allpraise.

  7. The Unbelievers say (in ridicule):”Shall we point out to you a man that will tell you, when ye are allscattered to pieces in disintegration, that ye shall (then be raised) in aNew Creation?

  8. “Has he invented a falsehood againstAllah, or has a spirit (seized) him?”- Nay, it is those who believe not inthe Hereafter, that are in (real) Penalty, and in farthest error.

  9. See they not what is before them andbehind them, of the sky and the earth? If We wished, We could cause theearth to swallow them up, or cause a piece of the sky to fall upon them.Verily in this is a Sign for every devotee that turns to Allah (inrepentance).

  10. We bestowed Grace aforetime on Davidfrom ourselves: “O ye Mountains! Sing ye back the Praises of Allah with him!and ye birds (also)! And We made the iron soft for him;-

  11. (Commanding), “Make thou coast of mail,balancing well the rings of chain armour, and work ye righteousness; for besure I see (clearly) all that ye do.”

  12. And to Solomon (We made) the Wind(obedient): Its early morning (stride) was a month’s (journey), and itsevening (stride) was a month’s (journey); and We made a Font of molten brassto flow for him; and there were Jinns that worked in front of him, by theleave of his Lord, and if any of them turned aside from our command, We madehim taste of the Penalty of the Blazing Fire.

  13. They worked for him as he desired,(making) arches, images, basons as large as reservoirs, and (cooking)cauldrons fixed (in their places): “Work ye, sons of David, with thanks! butfew of My servants are grateful!”

  14. Then, when We decreed (Solomon’s) death,nothing showed them his death except a little worm of the earth, which kept(slowly) gnawing away at his staff: so when he fell down, the Jinns sawplainly that if they had known the unseen, they would not have tarried inthe humiliating Penalty (of their Task).

  15. There was, for Saba, aforetime, a Signin their home-land – two Gardens to the right and to the left. “Eat of theSustenance (provided) by your Lord, and be grateful to Him: a territory fairand happy, and a Lord Oft-Forgiving!

  16. But they turned away (from Allah., andWe sent against them the Flood (released) from the dams, and We convertedtheir two garden (rows) into “gardens” producing bitter fruit, andtamarisks, and some few (stunted) Lote-trees.

  17. That was the Requital We gave thembecause they ungratefully rejected Faith: and never do We give (such)requital except to such as are ungrateful rejecters.

  18. Between them and the Cities on which Wehad poured our blessings, We had placed Cities in prominent positions, andbetween them We had appointed stages of journey in due proportion: “Traveltherein, secure, by night and by day.”

  19. But they said: “Our Lord! Place longerdistances between our journey- stages”: but they wronged themselves(therein). At length We made them as a tale (that is told), and We dispersedthem all in scattered fragments. Verily in this are Signs for every (soulthat is) patiently constant and grateful.

  20. And on them did Satan prove true hisidea, and they followed him, all but a party that believed.

  21. But he had no authority over them,-except that We might test the man who believes in the Hereafter from him whois in doubt concerning it: and thy Lord doth watch over all things.

  22. Say: “Call upon other (gods) whom yefancy, besides Allah. They have no power,- not the weight of an atom,- inthe heavens or on earth: No (sort of) share have they therein, nor is any ofthem a helper to Allah.

  23. “No intercession can avail in HisPresence, except for those for whom He has granted permission. So far (isthis the case) that, when terror is removed from their hearts (at the Day ofJudgment, then) will they say, ‘what is it that your Lord commanded?’ theywill say, ‘That which is true and just; and He is the Most High MostGreat’.”

  24. Say: “Who gives you sustenance, from theheavens and the earth?” Say: “It is Allah. and certain it is that either weor ye are on right guidance or in manifest error!”

  25. Say: “Ye shall not be questioned as toour sins, nor shall we be questioned as to what ye do.”

  26. Say: “Our Lord will gather us togetherand will in the end decide the matter between us (and you) in truth andjustice: and He is the one to decide, the One Who knows all.”

  27. Say: “Show me those whom ye have joinedwith Him as partners: by no means (can ye). Nay, He is Allah, the Exalted inPower, the Wise.”

  28. We have not sent thee but as a universal(Messenger) to men, giving them glad tidings, and warning them (againstsin), but most men understand not.

  29. They say: “When will this promise (cometo pass) if ye are telling the truth?”

  30. Say: “The appointment to you is for aDay, which ye cannot put back for an hour nor put forward.”

  31. The Unbelievers say: “We shall neitherbelieve in this scripture nor in (any) that (came) before it.” Couldst thoubut see when the wrong-doers will be made to stand before their Lord,throwing back the word (of blame) on one another! Those who had beendespised will say to the arrogant ones: “Had it not been for you, we shouldcertainly have been believers!”

  32. The arrogant ones will say to those whohad been despised: “Was it we who kept you back from Guidance after itreached you? Nay, rather, it was ye who transgressed.

  33. Those who had been despised will say tothe arrogant ones: “Nay! it was a plot (of yours) by day and by night:Behold! Ye (constantly) ordered us to be ungrateful to Allah and toattribute equals to Him!” They will declare (their) repentance when they seethe Penalty: We shall put yokes on the necks of the Unbelievers: It wouldonly be a requital for their (ill) Deeds.

  34. Never did We send a warner to apopulation, but the wealthy ones among them said: “We believe not in the(Message) with which ye have been sent.”

  35. They said: “We have more in wealth andin sons, and we cannot be punished.”

  36. Say: “Verily my Lord enlarges andrestricts the Provision to whom He pleases, but most men understand not.”

  37. It is not your wealth nor your sons,that will bring you nearer to Us in degree: but only those who believe andwork righteousness – these are the ones for whom there is a multipliedReward for their deeds, while secure they (reside) in the dwellings on high!

  38. Those who strive against Our Signs, tofrustrate them, will be given over into Punishment.

  39. Say: “Verily my Lord enlarges andrestricts the Sustenance to such of his servants as He pleases: and nothingdo ye spend in the least (in His cause) but He replaces it: for He is theBest of those who grant Sustenance.

  40. One Day He will gather them alltogether, and say to the angels, “Was it you that these men used toworship?”

  41. They will say, “Glory to Thee! our (tie)is with Thee – as Protector – not with them. Nay, but they worshipped theJinns: most of them believed in them.”

  42. So on that Day no power shall they haveover each other, for profit or harm: and We shall say to the wrong-doers,”Taste ye the Penalty of the Fire,- the which ye were wont to deny!”

  43. When Our Clear Signs are rehearsed tothem, they say, “This is only a man who wishes to hinder you from the(worship) which your fathers practised.” And they say, “This is only afalsehood invented!” and the Unbelievers say of the Truth when it comes tothem, “This is nothing but evident magic!”

  44. But We had not given them Books whichthey could study, nor sent apostles to them before thee as Warners.

  45. And their predecessors rejected (theTruth); these have not received a tenth of what We had granted to those: yetwhen they rejected My apostles, how (terrible) was My rejection (of them)!

  46. Say: “I do admonish you on one point:that ye do stand up before Allah,- (It may be) in pairs, or (it may be)singly,- and reflect (within yourselves): your Companion is not possessed:he is no less than a warner to you, in face of a terrible Penalty.”

  47. Say: “No reward do I ask of you: it is(all) in your interest: my reward is only due from Allah. And He is witnessto all things.”

  48. Say: “Verily my Lord doth cast the(mantle of) Truth (over His servants),- He that has full knowledge of (all)that is hidden.”

  49. Say: “The Truth has arrived, andFalsehood neither creates anything new, nor restores anything.”

  50. Say: “If I am astray, I only stray tothe loss of my own soul: but if I receive guidance, it is because of theinspiration of my Lord to me: it is He Who hears all things, and is (ever)near.”

  51. If thou couldst but see when they willquake with terror; but then there will be no escape (for them), and theywill be seized from a position (quite) near.

  52. And they will say, “We do believe (now)in the (Truth)”; but how could they receive (Faith) from a position (so faroff,-

  53. Seeing that they did reject Faith(entirely) before, and that they (continually) cast (slanders) on the unseenfrom a position far off?

  54. And between them and their desires, isplaced a barrier, as was done in the past with their partisans: for theywere indeed in suspicious (disquieting) doubt.