Surah The Poets [Ash-Shuara] in English

Ta Sin Mim

Those are the signs of the Manifest Book.

Perchance thou consumest thyself that they are not believers.

If We will, We shall send down on them out of heaven a sign, so their necks will stay humbled to it.

But never fresh remembrance comes to them from the All-merciful, except they turn away from it.

So they have cried lies; therefore assuredly tidings will come to them of that they mocked at.

What, have they not regarded the earth, how many therein We have caused to grow of every generous kind?

Surely in that is a sign, yet most of them are not believers.

Surely thy Lord, He is the All-mighty, the All-compassionate.

And when thy Lord called to Moses, 'Go to the people of the evildoers,

the people of Pharaoh; will they not be godfearing?'

He said, 'My Lord, I fear they will cry me lies,

and my breast will be straitened, and my tongue will not be loosed; so send to Aaron.

They also have a sin against me, and I fear they will slay me.'

Said He, 'No indeed; but go, both of you, with Our signs, and We assuredly shall be with you, listening.

So go you to Pharaoh, and say, \"Verily, I am the Messenger of the Lord of all Being;

so send forth with us the Children of Israel.\"

He said, 'Did we not raise thee amongst us as a child? Didst thou not tarry among us years of thy life?

And thou didst the deed thou didst, being one of the ungrateful!'

Said he, 'Indeed I did it then, being one of those that stray;

so I fled from you, fearing you. But my Lord gave me Judgment and made me one of the Envoys.

That is a blessing thou reproachest me with, having enslaved the Children of Israel.'

Pharaoh said, 'And what is the Lord of all Being?'

He said, 'The Lord of the heavens and earth, and what between them is, if you have faith.'

Said he to those about him, 'Do you not hear?'

He said, 'Your Lord and the Lord of your fathers, the ancients.'

Said he, 'Surely your Messenger who was sent to you is possessed!'

He said, 'The Lord of the East and West, and what between them is, if you have understanding,'

Said he, 'If thou takest a god other than me, I shall surely make thee one of the imprisoned.'

He said, 'What, even though I brought thee something so manifest?'

Said he, 'Bring it then, if thou art of the truthful.'

So he cast his staff, and behold, it was a serpent manifest.

And he drew forth his hand, and lo, it was white to the beholders.

Said he to the Council about him, 'Surely this man is a cunning sorcerer

who desires to expel you from your land by his sorcery; what do you command?'

They said, 'Put him and his brother off a while, and send among the cities musterers,

to bring thee every cunning sorcerer.

So the sorcerers were assembled for the appointed time of a fixed day.

The people were asked, 'Will you assemble?

Haply we shall follow the sorcerers if it should be they are the victors.'

Then, when the sorcerers came, they said to Pharaoh, 'Shall we indeed have a wage, if we should be the victors?'

He said, 'Yes indeed; and you shall then be among the near-stationed.'

Moses said to them, 'Cast you down what you will cast.'

So they cast their ropes and their staffs, and said, 'By the might of Pharaoh we shall be the victors.'

Then Moses cast his staff and lo, it forthwith swallowed up their lying invention;

so the sorcerers were cast down, bowing themselves.

They said, 'We believe in the Lord of all Being,

the Lord of Moses and Aaron.'

Said Pharaoh, 'You have believed him before I gave you leave. Why, he is the chief of you, the same that taught you sorcery; now you shall know! I shall assuredly cut off alternately your hands and feet, then I shall crucify you all together.'

They said, 'There is no harm; surely unto our Lord we are turning.

We are eager that our Lord should forgive us our offences, for that we are the first of the believers.'

Also We revealed unto Moses, 'Go with My servants by night; surely you will be followed.'

Then Pharaoh sent among the cities musterers:

'Behold, these are a small troop,

and indeed they are enraging us;

and we are a host on our guard.'

So We expelled them from gardens and fountains,

and treasures and a noble station;

even so, and We bequeathed them upon the Children of Israel.

Then they followed them at the sunrise;

and, when the two hosts sighted each other, the companions of Moses said, 'We are overtaken!'

Said he, 'No indeed; surely my Lord is with me; He will guide me.'

Then We revealed to Moses, 'Strike with thy staff the sea'; and it clave, and each part was as a mighty mount.

And there We brought the others on,

and We delivered Moses and those with him all together;

then We drowned the others.

Surely in that is a sign, yet most of them are not believers.

Surely thy Lord, He is the All-mighty, the All-compassionate.

And recite to them the tiding of Abraham

when he said to his father and his people, 'What do you serve?'

They said, 'We serve idols, and continue cleaving to them.

He said, 'Do they hear you when you call,

or do they profit you, or harm?'

They said, 'Nay, but we found our fathers so doing.'

He said, 'And have you considered what you have been serving,

you and your fathers, the elders?

They are an enemy to me, except the Lord of all Being

who created me, and Himself guides me,

and Himself gives me to eat and drink,

and, whenever I am sick, heals me,

who makes me to die, then gives me life,

and who I am eager shall forgive me my offence on the Day of Doom.

My Lord, give me Judgment, and join me with the righteous,

and appoint me a tongue of truthfulness among the others.

Make me one of the inheritors of the Garden of Bliss

and forgive my father, for he is one of those astray.

Degrade me not upon the day when they are raised up,

the day when neither wealth nor sons shall profit

except for him who comes to God with a pure heart.

And Paradise shall be brought forward for the godfearing,

and Hell advanced for the perverse.

It shall be said to them, 'Where is that you were serving

apart from God? Do they help you or help themselves?'

Then they shall be pitched into it, they and the perverse

and the hosts of Iblis, all together.

They shall say, as they dispute there one with another,

'By God, we were certainly in manifest error

when we made you equal with the Lord of all Being.

It was naught but the sinners that led us astray;

so now we have no intercessors,

no loyal friend.

O that we might return again, and be among the believers!'

Surely in that is a sign, yet most of them are not believers.

Surely thy Lord, He is the All-mighty, the All-compassionate.

The people of Noah cried lies to the Envoys

when their brother Noah said to them, 'Will you not be godfearing?

I am for you a faithful Messenger,

so serve you God, and obey you me.

I ask of you no wage for this; my wage falls only upon the Lord of all Being;

so fear you God, and obey you me.'

They said, 'Shall we believe thee, whom the vilest follow?'

He said, 'What knowledge have I of that they have been doing?

Their account falls only upon my Lord, were you but aware.

I would not drive away the believers;

'I am naught but a plain warner.'

They said, 'If thou givest not over, Noah, thou shalt assuredly be one of the stoned.'

He said, 'My Lord, my people have cried me lies,

so give true deliverance between me and them, and deliver me and the believers that are with me.

So We delivered him, and those with him, in the laden ship,

then afterwards We drowned the rest.

Surely in that is a sign, yet most of them are not believers.

Surely thy Lord, He is the All-mighty, the All-compassionate.

Ad cried lies to the Envoys

when their brother Hood said to them, 'Will you not be godfearing?

I am for you a faithful Messenger,

so fear you God, and obey you me.

I ask of you no wage for this; my wage falls only upon the Lord of all Being.

What, do you build on every prominence a sign, sporting,

and do you take to you castles, haply to dwell forever?

When you assault, you assault like tyrants!

So fear you God, and obey you me;

and fear Him who has succoured you with what you know,

succoured you with flocks and sons,

gardens and fountains.

'Indeed, I fear for you the chastisement of a dreadful day.'

They said, 'Alike it is to us, whether thou admonishest, or art not one of the admonishers;

this is nothing but the habit of the ancients,

and we shall not be chastised.'

So they cried him lies; then We destroyed them. Surely in that is a sign, yet most of them are not believers.

Surely thy Lord, He is the All-mighty, the All-compassionate.

Thamood cried lies to the Envoys

when their brother Salih said to them, 'Will you not be godfearing?

I am for you a faithful Messenger,

so fear you God, and obey you me.'

'I ask of you no wage for this; my wage falls only upon the Lord of all Being.

Will you be left secure in this here,

among gardens and fountains,

sown fields, and palms with slender spathes?

Will you still skilfully hew houses out of the mountains?

So fear you God, and obey you me;

and obey not the commandment of the prodigal

who do corruption in the earth, and set not things aright.'

They said, 'Thou art merely one of those that are bewitched;

thou art naught but a mortal, like us; then produce a sign, if thou art one of the truthful.'

He said, 'This is a she-camel; to her a draught and to you a draught, on a day appointed,

and do not touch her with malice so that there seize you the chastisement of a dreadful day.'

But they hamstrung her, and in the morning they were remorseful,

and the chastisement seized them. Surely in that is a sign, yet most of them are not believers.

Surely thy Lord, He is the All-mighty, the All-compassionate.

The people of Lot cried lies to the Envoys

when their brother Lot said to them, 'Will you not be godfearing?

I am for you a faithful Messenger,

so fear you God, and obey you me.

I ask of you no wage for this; my wage falls only upon the Lord of all Being.

What, do you come to male beings,

leaving your wives that your Lord created for you? Nay, but you are a people of transgressors.

They said, 'If thou givest not over, Lot, thou shalt assuredly be one of the expelled.'

He said, 'Truly I am a detester of what you do.

My Lord, deliver me and my people from that they do.'

So We delivered him and his people all together,

save an old woman among those that tarried;

then We destroyed the others,

and We rained on them a rain; and evil is the rain of them that are warned.

Surely in that is a sign, yet most of them are not believers.

Surely thy Lord, He is the All-mighty, the All-compassionate.

The men of the Thicket cried lies to the Envoys

when Shuaib said to them, 'Will you not be godfearing?

I am for you a faithful Messenger, so fear you God, and obey you me.

I ask of you no wage for this;

my wage falls only upon the Lord of all Being.

Fill up the measure, and be not cheaters,

and weigh with the straight balance,

and diminish not the goods of the people, and do not mischief in the earth, working corruption.

Fear Him who created you, and the generations of the ancients.'

They said, 'Thou art merely one of those that are bewitched;

thou art naught but a mortal, like us; indeed, we think that thou art one of the liars.

Then drop down on us lumps from heaven, if thou art one of the truthful.'

He said, 'My Lord knows very well what you are doing.'

But they cried him lies; then there seized them the chastisement of the Day of Shadow; assuredly it was the chastisement of a dreadful day.

Surely in that is a sign, yet most of them are not believers.

Surely thy Lord, He is the All-mighty, the All-compassionate.

Truly it is the revelation of the Lord of all Being,

brought down by the Faithful Spirit

upon thy heart, that thou mayest be one of the warners,

in a clear, Arabic tongue.

Truly it is in the Scriptures of the ancients.

Was it not a sign for them, that it is known to the learned of the Children of Israel?

If We had sent it down on a barbarian

and he had recited it to them, they would not have believed in it.

Even so We have caused it to enter into the hearts of the sinners,

who will not believe in it, until they see the painful chastisement

so that it will come upon them suddenly, while they are not aware,

and they will say, 'Shall we be respited?'

What, do they seek to hasten Our chastisement?

What thinkest thou? If We give them enjoyment of days for many years,

then there comes on them that they were promised,

what will it then avail them, the enjoyment of days they were given?

Never a city We destroyed, but it had warners

for a reminder; and never did We wrong.

Not by the Satans has it been brought down;

it behoves them not, neither are they able.

Truly, they are expelled from hearing.

So call thou not upon another god with God, lest thou shouldst be one of those that are chastised.

And warn thy clan, thy nearest kin.

Lower thy wing to those who follow thee, being believers;

then, if they disobey thee, say, 'I am quit of that you do.'

Put thy trust in the All-mighty, the All-compassionate

who sees thee when thou standest

and when thou turnest about among those who bow.

Surely He is the All-hearing, the All-knowing.

Shall I tell you on whom the Satans come down?

They come down on every guilty impostor.

They give ear, but most of them are liars.

And the poets -- the perverse follow them;

hast thou not seen how they wander in every valley

and how they say that which they do not?