Alif Lam Mim

The Byzantines have been defeated

in a nearby land. They will reverse their defeat with a victory

in a few years’ time––God is in command, first and last. On that day, the believers will rejoice

at God’s help. He helps whoever He pleases: He is the Mighty, the Merciful.

This is God’s promise: God never breaks His promise, but most people do not know;

they only know the outer surface of this present life and are heedless of the life to come.

Have they not thought about their own selves? God did not create the heavens and earth and everything between them without a serious purpose and an appointed time, yet many people deny that they will meet their Lord.

Have they not travelled through the land and seen how their predecessors met their end? They were mightier than them: they cultivated the earth more and built more upon it. Their own mes-sengers also came to them with clear signs: God did not wrong them; they wronged themselves.

Later the evildoers met a terrible end for rejecting and [repeatedly] mocking God’s revelations.

الٓمٓ

غُلِبَتِ ٱلرُّومُ

فِيٓ أَدْنَى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَهُم مِّنۢ بَعْدِ غَلَبِهِمْ سَيَغْلِبُونَ

فِي بِضْعِ سِنِينَۗ لِلَّهِ ٱلْأَمْرُ مِن قَبْلُ وَمِنۢ بَعْدُۚ وَيَوْمَئِذࣲ يَفْرَحُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ

بِنَصْرِ ٱللَّهِۚ يَنصُرُ مَن يَشَآءُۖ وَهُوَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ

وَعْدَ ٱللَّهِۖ لَا يُخْلِفُ ٱللَّهُ وَعْدَهُۥ وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ ٱلنَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ

يَعْلَمُونَ ظَٰهِرࣰا مِّنَ ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا وَهُمْ عَنِ ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ هُمْ غَٰفِلُونَ

أَوَلَمْ يَتَفَكَّرُوا۟ فِيٓ أَنفُسِهِمۗ مَّا خَلَقَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَآ إِلَّا بِٱلْحَقِّ وَأَجَلࣲ مُّسَمࣰّىۗ وَإِنَّ كَثِيرࣰا مِّنَ ٱلنَّاسِ بِلِقَآئِ رَبِّهِمْ لَكَٰفِرُونَ

أَوَلَمْ يَسِيرُوا۟ فِي ٱلْأَرْضِ فَيَنظُرُوا۟ كَيْفَ كَانَ عَٰقِبَةُ ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْۚ كَانُوٓا۟ أَشَدَّ مِنْهُمْ قُوَّةࣰ وَأَثَارُوا۟ ٱلْأَرْضَ وَعَمَرُوهَآ أَكْثَرَ مِمَّا عَمَرُوهَا وَجَآءَتْهُمْ رُسُلُهُم بِٱلْبَيِّنَٰتِۖ فَمَا كَانَ ٱللَّهُ لِيَظْلِمَهُمْ وَلَٰكِن كَانُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ

ثُمَّ كَانَ عَٰقِبَةَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَسَٰٓـُٔوا۟ ٱلسُّوٓأَىٰٓ أَن كَذَّبُوا۟ بِـَٔايَٰتِ ٱللَّهِ وَكَانُوا۟ بِهَا يَسْتَهْزِءُونَ

God brings creation into being; in the end He will reproduce it and it is to Him you will be recalled.

On the Day the Hour arrives, the guilty will despair

and they will have no intercessors among those partners they ascribed to God- they will deny these partners.

When the Hour arrives, on that Day people will be separated:

those who believed and did good deeds will delight in a Garden,

while those who disbelieved and denied Our messages and the meeting of the Hereafter will be brought for punishment.

So celebrate God’s glory in the evening, in the morning-

praise is due to Him in the heavens and the earth- in the late afternoon, and at midday.

He brings the living out of the dead and the dead out of the living. He gives life to the earth after death, and you will be brought out in the same way.

ٱللَّهُ يَبْدَؤُا۟ ٱلْخَلْقَ ثُمَّ يُعِيدُهُۥ ثُمَّ إِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ

وَيَوْمَ تَقُومُ ٱلسَّاعَةُ يُبْلِسُ ٱلْمُجْرِمُونَ

وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُم مِّن شُرَكَآئِهِمْ شُفَعَٰٓؤُا۟ وَكَانُوا۟ بِشُرَكَآئِهِمْ كَٰفِرِينَ

وَيَوْمَ تَقُومُ ٱلسَّاعَةُ يَوْمَئِذࣲ يَتَفَرَّقُونَ

فَأَمَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّٰلِحَٰتِ فَهُمْ فِي رَوْضَةࣲ يُحْبَرُونَ

وَأَمَّا ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ وَكَذَّبُوا۟ بِـَٔايَٰتِنَا وَلِقَآئِ ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ فَأُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ فِي ٱلْعَذَابِ مُحْضَرُونَ

فَسُبْحَٰنَ ٱللَّهِ حِينَ تُمْسُونَ وَحِينَ تُصْبِحُونَ

وَلَهُ ٱلْحَمْدُ فِي ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَعَشِيࣰّا وَحِينَ تُظْهِرُونَ

يُخْرِجُ ٱلْحَيَّ مِنَ ٱلْمَيِّتِ وَيُخْرِجُ ٱلْمَيِّتَ مِنَ ٱلْحَيِّ وَيُحْيِ ٱلْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَاۚ وَكَذَٰلِكَ تُخْرَجُونَ

One of His signs is that He created you from dust and- lo and behold!- you became human and scattered far and wide.

Another of His signs is that He created spouses from among yourselves for you to live with in tranquillity: He ordained love and kindness between you. There truly are signs in this for those who reflect.

Another of His signs is the creation of the heavens and earth, and the diversity of your languages and colours. There truly are signs in this for those who know.

Among His signs are your sleep, by night and by day, and your seeking His bounty. There truly are signs in this for those who can hear.

Among His signs, too, are that He shows you the lightning that terrifies and inspires hope; that He sends water down from the sky to restore the earth to life after death. There truly are signs in this for those who use their reason.

Among His signs, too, is the fact that the heavens and the earth stand firm by His command. In the end, you will all emerge when He calls you from the earth.

Everyone in the heavens and earth belongs to Him, and all are obedient to Him.

He is the One who originates creation and will do it again- this is even easier for Him. He is above all comparison in the heavens and earth; He is the Almighty, the All Wise.

وَمِنْ ءَايَٰتِهِۦٓ أَنْ خَلَقَكُم مِّن تُرَابࣲ ثُمَّ إِذَآ أَنتُم بَشَرࣱ تَنتَشِرُونَ

وَمِنْ ءَايَٰتِهِۦٓ أَنْ خَلَقَ لَكُم مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ أَزْوَٰجࣰا لِّتَسْكُنُوٓا۟ إِلَيْهَا وَجَعَلَ بَيْنَكُم مَّوَدَّةࣰ وَرَحْمَةًۚ إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَـَٔايَٰتࣲ لِّقَوْمࣲ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ

وَمِنْ ءَايَٰتِهِۦ خَلْقُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَٱخْتِلَٰفُ أَلْسِنَتِكُمْ وَأَلْوَٰنِكُمْۚ إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَـَٔايَٰتࣲ لِّلْعَٰلِمِينَ

وَمِنْ ءَايَٰتِهِۦ مَنَامُكُم بِٱلَّيْلِ وَٱلنَّهَارِ وَٱبْتِغَآؤُكُم مِّن فَضْلِهِۦٓۚ إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَـَٔايَٰتࣲ لِّقَوْمࣲ يَسْمَعُونَ

وَمِنْ ءَايَٰتِهِۦ يُرِيكُمُ ٱلْبَرْقَ خَوْفࣰا وَطَمَعࣰا وَيُنَزِّلُ مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ مَآءࣰ فَيُحْيِۦ بِهِ ٱلْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَآۚ إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَـَٔايَٰتࣲ لِّقَوْمࣲ يَعْقِلُونَ

وَمِنْ ءَايَٰتِهِۦٓ أَن تَقُومَ ٱلسَّمَآءُ وَٱلْأَرْضُ بِأَمْرِهِۦۚ ثُمَّ إِذَا دَعَاكُمْ دَعْوَةࣰ مِّنَ ٱلْأَرْضِ إِذَآ أَنتُمْ تَخْرُجُونَ

وَلَهُۥ مَن فِي ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِۖ كُلࣱّ لَّهُۥ قَٰنِتُونَ

وَهُوَ ٱلَّذِي يَبْدَؤُا۟ ٱلْخَلْقَ ثُمَّ يُعِيدُهُۥ وَهُوَ أَهْوَنُ عَلَيْهِۚ وَلَهُ ٱلْمَثَلُ ٱلْأَعْلَىٰ فِي ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِۚ وَهُوَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ

He gives you this example, drawn from your own lives: do you make your slaves full partners with an equal share in what We have given you? Do you fear them as you fear each other? This is how We make Our messages clear to those who use their reason.

And still the idolaters follow their own desires without any knowledge. Who can guide those God leaves to stray, who have no one to help them?

So [Prophet] as a man of pure faith, stand firm and true in your devotion to the religion. This is the natural disposition God instilled in mankind- there is no altering God’s creation- and this is the right religion, though most people do not realize it.

Turn to Him alone, all of you. Be mindful of Him; keep up the prayer; do not join those who ascribe partners to God,

those who divide their religion into sects, with each party rejoicing in their own.

ضَرَبَ لَكُم مَّثَلࣰا مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْۖ هَل لَّكُم مِّن مَّا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَٰنُكُم مِّن شُرَكَآءَ فِي مَا رَزَقْنَٰكُمْ فَأَنتُمْ فِيهِ سَوَآءࣱ تَخَافُونَهُمْ كَخِيفَتِكُمْ أَنفُسَكُمْۚ كَذَٰلِكَ نُفَصِّلُ ٱلْـَٔايَٰتِ لِقَوْمࣲ يَعْقِلُونَ

بَلِ ٱتَّبَعَ ٱلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوٓا۟ أَهْوَآءَهُم بِغَيْرِ عِلْمࣲۖ فَمَن يَهْدِي مَنْ أَضَلَّ ٱللَّهُۖ وَمَا لَهُم مِّن نَّٰصِرِينَ

فَأَقِمْ وَجْهَكَ لِلدِّينِ حَنِيفࣰاۚ فِطْرَتَ ٱللَّهِ ٱلَّتِي فَطَرَ ٱلنَّاسَ عَلَيْهَاۚ لَا تَبْدِيلَ لِخَلْقِ ٱللَّهِۚ ذَٰلِكَ ٱلدِّينُ ٱلْقَيِّمُ وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ ٱلنَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ

۞ مُنِيبِينَ إِلَيْهِ وَٱتَّقُوهُ وَأَقِيمُوا۟ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَلَا تَكُونُوا۟ مِنَ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ

مِنَ ٱلَّذِينَ فَرَّقُوا۟ دِينَهُمْ وَكَانُوا۟ شِيَعࣰاۖ كُلُّ حِزْبِۭ بِمَا لَدَيْهِمْ فَرِحُونَ