Surah The Forgiver [Ghafir] in English

Ha-Meem. (Alphabets of the Arabic Language – Allah, and to whomever he reveals, know their precise meanings.)

The revelation of the Book is from Allah, the Most Honourable, the All Knowing.

The Forgiver of sin, and the Most Acceptor of Repentance, the Severe in Punishing, the Greatly Rewarding; there is no God except Him; towards Him only is the return.

None except the disbelievers dispute the signs of Allah, therefore do not let their free movements in the land deceive you.

Before them, the people of Nooh and the groups after them had denied; and every nation intended to apprehend its Noble Messenger, and they fought along with falsehood to avert the truth, so I seized them; so how did My punishment turn out?

And this is how the Word of your Lord has proved true upon the disbelievers that they are people of the hell.

Those* who bear the Throne, and those who are around it, say the Purity of their Lord while praising Him, and they believe in Him and seek forgiveness for the believers; “O Our Lord! Your mercy and knowledge encompass all things, therefore forgive those who repented and followed Your path, and save them from the punishment of hell.” (* The angels.)

“O Our Lord! And admit them into the Gardens of everlasting stay which you have promised them, and those who are virtuous among their forefathers and their wives and their offspring; indeed You only are the Most Honourable, the Wise.”

“And save them from the evil consequences of sins; and whomever You save from the evil consequences of sins on that Day – so You have indeed had mercy upon him; and this only is the greatest success.”

The disbelievers will indeed be called out to – “Indeed Allah’s disgust with you is greater than your own abhorrence of yourselves, whereas you used to deny when you were called towards the faith!”

They will say, “O Our Lord! Twice You have given us death and twice You have given us life* – we now confess to our sins – so is there a way out of the fire?” (From nothingness to life in this world, to death and then Resurrection.)

“This has occurred because when Allah the One was prayed to, you used to disbelieve; and when a partner was ascribed with Him, you used to believe; so the command is only for Allah, the Supreme, the Great.”

It is He Who shows you His signs, and sends down sustenance from the sky for you; and none accept guidance except those who incline (towards Him).

Therefore worship Allah, as His sincere bondmen even if the disbelievers get annoyed.

Bestower of High Ranks, Owner of the Throne; it is He Who instils the spirit of faith into the one He wills among His bondmen, in order that he may warn of the Day of Meeting. –

A day when they will be fully exposed; nothing from their affairs will be hidden from Allah; “For whom is the kingship this day? For Allah, the One, the All Dominant.”

This day each soul will be repaid for what it has earned; no one will be wronged this day; indeed Allah is Swift At Taking Account.

And warn them of the day of impending calamity, when hearts will rise up to the throats filled with grief; and the disbelievers will have neither any friend nor any intercessor who will be obeyed. (Intercession will be accepted only for the Muslims, not for the disbelievers)

Allah well knows the covert glance and all what lies hidden in the hearts.

And Allah renders the true judgement; and those whom they worship instead of Him do not judge at all; indeed Allah only, is the All Hearing, the All Seeing.

So did they not travel in the land in order to see what sort of fate befell those before them? Their strength and the signs they left behind in the earth, exceeded them – so Allah seized them on account of their sins, and they had no one to save them from Allah.

This occurred because their Noble Messengers came to them with clear signs, thereupon they used to disbelieve, so Allah seized them; indeed Allah is All Powerful, Severe in Punishment.

And indeed We sent Moosa with Our signs and a clear proof.

Towards Firaun and Haman and Qaroon – in response they said, “(He is) a magician, a big liar!”

So when he brought the truth from Our presence to them, they said, “Kill the sons of those who believe in him, and keep their women alive”; and the evil scheme of the disbelievers only keeps wandering astray.

And said Firaun, “Allow me to kill Moosa and let him pray to his Lord; I fear that he will change your religion or cause chaos in the land!”

Said Moosa, “I seek the refuge of mine and your Lord, from every haughty person who does not believe in the Day of Reckoning.”

And said a Muslim man from the people of Firaun, who used to hide his faith, “What! You want to kill a man just because he says, ‘Allah is my Lord’ whereas he has indeed brought clear signs to you from your Lord? And supposedly if he is speaking wrongly, then the calamity of wrongful speech is upon him; and if he is truthful, then part of what he promises you will reach you; indeed Allah does not guide any transgressor, excessive liar.”

“O my people! You now rule the earth, dominant; so who will save us from Allah’s punishment if it comes upon us?” Said Firaun, “I only explain to you what I think is correct, and I show you only the right path.”

And the believer said, “O my people! I fear for you a day similar to that of the earlier groups!”

“Like the tradition of the people of Nooh, and Aad, and Thamud and others after them; and Allah does not will injustice upon bondmen.”

“O my people! I fear for you a day on which will be a great outcry!”

“A day when you will turn back fleeing; none can save you from Allah; and whomever Allah sends astray, there is no guide for him.”

“And indeed Yusuf came to you with clear signs before this, thereupon you remained doubtful concerning what he had brought; to the extent that when he died, you said, ‘Allah will surely not send any Noble Messenger after him’”; this is how Allah sends astray whoever transgresses, is doubtful. –

Those who dispute regarding the signs of Allah without any proof having come to them; how very disgusting this is, in the sight of Allah and in the sight of the believers! This is how Allah seals the entire heart of every haughty, rebellious person.

And said Firaun, “O Haman! Build a high palace for me, in order that I may reach the routes.” –

“The routes of the heavens, in order to glance at the God of Moosa – and indeed I think he is a liar”; this is how the evil deeds of Firaun were made seeming good to him, and he was stopped from the path; and the evil scheme of Firaun was destined to be ruined.

And the believer said, “O my people! Follow me, I shall show you the way of righteousness.”

“O my people! The life of this world is just a brief usage, and indeed the next abode is one of everlasting stay.”

“Whoever commits an evil deed will not be repaid except to the same extent; and whoever does good deeds, whether a man or a woman, and is a Muslim, will be admitted into Paradise, in which they will receive sustenance without account.”

“And O my people! What is the matter with me that I call you towards salvation whereas you call me towards hell?”

“You call me to disbelieve in Allah and ascribe such as partners to Him, regarding whom I do not have any knowledge – whereas I call you towards the Most Honourable, the Oft Forgiving!”

“So it is self evident that what you call me towards has no benefit being prayed to, either in this world or in the Hereafter, and that our return is towards Allah, and that the transgressors only are the people of the fire.”

“And soon the time will come when you will remember what I now say to you; and I entrust my tasks to Allah; indeed Allah sees the bondmen.”

Therefore Allah saved him from the evils of their scheming, and an evil punishment enveloped the people of Firaun. –

The fire – upon which they are presented morning and evening; and when the Last Day is established – “Put the people of Firaun into the most severe punishment.” (Punishment in the grave is proven by this verse.)

And when they will quarrel amongst themselves in the fire, those who were weak will say to those who sought greatness, “We were your followers, so will you reduce from us some of the punishment of the fire?”

Those who were proud will say, “We are all in the fire – indeed Allah has already passed the judgement among the bondmen.”

And those who are in the fire said to its guards, “Pray to your Lord to decrease the punishment upon us for one day.”

They said, “Is it not that your Noble Messengers used to come to you with clear signs?” They said, “Why not, surely yes!” They said, “Then you yourselves pray”; and the prayer of the disbelievers is nothing but astray.

Indeed We will surely help Our Noble Messengers, and the believers, in the life of this world and on the day when the witnesses will be standing.

The day on which the unjust will not gain any benefit from their excuses, and for them is the curse, and for them is the wretched home.

And indeed We gave Moosa the guidance, and bequeathed the Book to the Descendants of Israel.

A guidance and an advice for the people of intellect.

Therefore be patient (O dear Prophet Mohammed – peace and blessings be upon him), undoubtedly Allah’s promise is true, and seek forgiveness for the sins of your own people, and praising your Lord, proclaim His Purity morning and evening.

Those who dispute concerning the signs of Allah without any proof having come to them – in their hearts is nothing but a craving for greatness which they shall never achieve; therefore seek the refuge of Allah; indeed He only is the All Hearing, the All Seeing.

Certainly the creation of the heavens and the earth is far greater than the creation of men, but most people do not know.

And the blind and the sighted are not equal – and neither are the believers who perform good deeds and the wicked equal; how very little do you ponder!

Indeed the Last Day will surely come, there is no doubt in it – but most people do not accept faith.

And your Lord proclaimed, “Pray to Me, I will accept; indeed those who stay conceited towards worshipping Me, will enter hell in disgrace.\"

It is Allah Who created night for you so that you may gain rest in it, and the day giving sight; indeed Allah is Most Munificent towards mankind, but most people do not give thanks.

Such is Allah, your Lord, the Creator of all things; there is no God except Him; so where are you reverting?

This is how those who deny the signs of Allah go reverting.

It is Allah Who made for you the earth your resting place and the sky a canopy, and moulded you so gave you the best shape, and gave you pure things for sustenance; such is Allah, your Lord; so Most Auspicious is Allah, the Lord Of The Creation.

It is He, the Alive – there is no God except Him; therefore worship Him as His sincere bondmen; all praise is to Allah, the Lord Of The Creation.

Proclaim (O dear Prophet Mohammed – peace and blessings be upon him), “I have been forbidden to worship those whom you worship besides Allah whilst clear proofs have come to me from my Lord; and I have been commanded to submit to the Lord Of The Creation.”

It is He Who created you from clay, then from a drop of liquid, then from a clot of blood, and then brings you forth as a child, then keeps you alive for you to reach adulthood and then to become old; and some among you pass away earlier, and for you to reach an appointed term, and so that you may understand.

It is He Who gives life and death; so whenever He wills a thing, He only says to it “Be” – it thereupon happens!

Did you not see those who dispute concerning the signs of Allah? Where are they being diverted?

Those who denied the Book and what We sent with Our Noble Messengers; so they will soon come to know. –

When around their necks will be shackles and chains; they will be dragged. –

In boiling water; they will then be ignited* in the fire. (Like fuel – see verse 2:24)

It will then be said to them, “Where are the partners you used to appoint?” –

“As rivals to Allah?”; they will say, “We have lost them – in fact we never used to worship anything before!”; this is how Allah sends the disbelievers astray.

“This is the recompense of your being happy upon falsehood in the earth, and the recompense of your conceit.”

“Enter the gates of hell, to remain in it forever”; so what a wretched destination for the haughty!

Therefore be patient (O dear Prophet Mohammed – peace and blessings be upon him), undoubtedly Allah’s promise is true; and whether We show some of what We promise them, or cause you to pass away before it – in any case they will return to Us.

Indeed We sent many Noble Messengers before you, so We have related to you the affairs of some among them, and not related the affairs of some; and no Noble Messenger has the right to bring any sign except with the command of Allah; so the time when the command of Allah comes, the true judgement will be delivered and there will the people of falsehood be ruined.

It is Allah Who created the animals for you, in order for you to ride some of them, and some to eat.

And in them are numerous benefits for you, and for you to reach your hearts’ desires while riding them – and you ride upon them and upon the ships.

And He shows you His signs; so which sign of Allah will you deny?

Did they not travel in the land to see what sort of fate befell those before them? They were more than these in number, and they exceeded them in strength and the signs they left behind in the earth – so what benefit did they get from what they earned?

So when their Noble Messengers came to them with clear signs, they remained happy over the worldly knowledge they possessed, and upon them only reverted what they used to mock at!

So when they saw Our punishment, they said, “We accept faith in the One Allah, and reject those whom we ascribed with Him.”