Surah The heights [Al-Araf] in English

Alif Lam Mim Sad.

This Book has been sent down to you, let there be no heaviness in your heart about it, so that you may warn by means of it and it is a reminder to the believers.

Follow what has been sent down to you by your Lord and do not follow any protector other than Him. How seldom you take heed.

How many towns We have destroyed. Our scourge fell upon them by night or at midday when they were resting:

and when Our scourge fell upon them, their only cry was, \"We were indeed wrongdoers!\"

Then shall We question those to whom Our message was sent and those through whom We sent it

with full knowledge, We shall tell them what they did, for We have never been away from them.

Truth alone will be of weight that Day. Those whose scales are heavy shall be successful,

and those whose good deeds are light [in the balance] will be the ones who have lost themselves because they wrongfully rejected Our signs.

We established you in the land and provided you with a means of livelihood there: yet you are seldom thankful.

We created you, then We shaped you and then We said to the angels, \"Prostrate yourselves before Adam,\" and they all prostrated themselves, except Satan. He was not among those who prostrated themselves.

God asked, \"What prevented you from prostrating yourself when I commanded you to?\" He replied, \"I am better than he is; You created me from fire, while You created him from clay.\"

God said, \"Get down from here! This is no place for your arrogance. Get out! You are contemptible!\"

Satan said, \"Give me respite until the Day of Resurrection,\"

and God replied, \"You are granted respite.\"

Then Satan said, \"Because You have put me in the wrong, I will lie in ambush for them on Your straight path:

then I will surely come upon them from before them and from behind them and from their right and from their left, and then You will find most of them ungrateful.\"

He said, \"Get out of here, despised, and rejected! I shall fill Hell with all of those who follow you.\"

To Adam He said, \"You and your wife, dwell in the Garden and eat and drink there from wherever you wish, but do not approach this tree, lest you become wrongdoers.\"

But Satan tempted them so that he might reveal to them their nakedness which had been hidden from them. He said, \"Your Lord has forbidden you to approach this tree lest you should become angels or become of the immortals,\"

and he swore to them, \"Surely, I am your well-wisher.\"

Thus he cunningly seduced them. When they tasted the tree's fruit, their nakedness became exposed to them and they started covering themselves with the leaves of the garden. Their Lord called out to them, \"Did I not forbid you to approach that tree, and did I not say to you that Satan was surely your open enemy?\"

They replied, \"Our Lord, we have wronged our souls: if You do not forgive us and have mercy on us, we shall be among the lost.\"

He said, \"Go down from here as enemies to each other. For a while, there is an abode for you and a provision on earth.

There you will live; there you will die; from there you will be raised up again.\"

O children of Adam! We have sent down to you clothes to cover your nakedness, and to be pleasing to the eye; but the raiment of righteousness is the best. That is one of the signs of God. So that people may take heed.

Children of Adam, do not let Satan seduce you, just as he turned your parents out of the Garden: he deprived them of their garment in order to make them aware of their nakedness. He and his forces watch you from where you do not see them! We have made the devils friends of those who do not believe.

And when they commit an indecency, they say, \"This is what our fathers used to do and God has enjoined it on us.\" Say, \"God does not enjoin what is indecent. Would you attribute to God something of which you have no knowledge?\"

Say, \"My Lord has commanded you to act justly. Turn your faces up toward Him at every time and place of worship, and call upon Him, making yourselves sincere towards Him in religion. As He brought you into being, so shall you return.\"

Some He has guided and some have earned misguidance: they have taken devils rather than God as their patrons, thinking that they are rightly guided.

O Children of Adam, dress yourself properly whenever you are at worship: and eat and drink but do not be wasteful: God does not like wasteful people.

Say, \"Who has forbidden the adornment of God, which He has brought forth for His servants and good things, clean and pure, which God has provided for His servants?\" Say, \"They are [lawful] for the believers in the present life but they shall be exclusively for them on the Day of Resurrection.\" Thus We explain Our signs for a people who understand.

Say,\"My Lord has forbidden indecency, both open and hidden, sin and wrongful oppression and that, without His sanction, you associate things with Him, and that you say things about Him without knowledge.

For all people a term has been set: and when [the end of] their term approaches, they can neither delay it by a single moment, nor can they advance it.

Children of Adam! If messengers come to you from among yourselves, reciting My revelations to you, then those that take warning and mend their ways, on such shall come no fear nor shall they grieve.

But those who deny and scorn Our revelations shall be the inmates of Hell, where they shall remain forever.

Who does a greater wrong than he who invents lies against God or rejects His revelations? Such people will have what has been decreed for them. And when Our messengers come to them to take away their souls, they shall ask them, \"Where are those you used to call upon besides God?\" They will answer, \"They have deserted us;\" and they will bear witness against themselves that they were disbelievers?

God will say, \"Enter the Fire and join the bands of jinn and men that have gone before you.\" Every time a host enters [the fire], it will curse its fellow-host, then, when they are all gathered there, the last of them will say of the first, \"Our Lord, it was they who led us astray: give them double punishment in the Fire,\" -- God will say, \"Every one of you will have double punishment, though you do not know it\" --

then the preceding one will say to the succeeding one: you are no better than us: so taste the punishment you have earned.\"

The gates of Heaven shall not be opened for those who rejected Our signs and arrogantly spurned them; nor shall they enter Paradise until a camel shall pass through the eye of a needle. That is how We repay the evil-doers,

Hell shall be their bed, and over them will be coverings of fire, thus shall We reward the wrongdoers.

But those who believed and did good deeds, and We do not burden any soul with more than it can bear, such are the heirs of the Garden and there they will remain forever.

And We shall remove whatever rancour may be in their hearts. At their feet shall flow rivers. And they shall say, \"All praise belongs to God who has guided us to this. Had God not guided us, we would never have found the way. The messengers of our Lord brought the Truth.\" A voice will call out to them, \"This is the Garden which you have inherited by your labours.\"

The people of the Garden will call out to the people of the Fire, \"We have found that what our Lord promised us is true. Have you, too, found that what your Lord promised you is true?\" They will say, \"Yes, we have!\" Then a crier shall call out among them saying, \"The curse of God is upon the wrongdoers --

who turned people away from the path of God and sought to make it appear crooked, and who denied the Hereafter.\"

A barrier will divide the two groups, and on the heights there will be men who recognize each group by their marks. They will call out to the people of the Garden, \"Peace be with you.\" They will not have yet entered, but they will be hoping [to do so],

and when they turn their eyes towards the inmates of the Fire, they will say, \"Our Lord, do not include us among the wrongdoers!\"

And the people of the heights will call out to men they recognize by their marks, \"What use have your great numbers and your false pride been?

See! are these not the people you swore would never earn God's mercy? 'Enter the Garden! No fear shall come upon you nor shall you grieve.'\"

The people of the Fire shall call out to the people of heaven, \"Pour out some water on us, or give us something out of that which God has bestowed upon you.\" But the blessed will reply, \"God has forbidden all that to those who denied the truth.

Who treated religion as a pastime and an idle sport and whom the life of the world had beguiled.\" On that Day We shall forget them, as they forgot their meeting of that Day with Us, for they denied Our revelations.

And surely We have brought them a Book which We have expounded with knowledge, a guide and a mercy for those who believe.

Do they wait for the fulfillment of that of which it warns? On the Day when that fulfillment comes, those who had neglected it before will say, \"The messengers of our Lord did indeed bring the truth. Have we then any intercessors who would intercede for us? Or, could we be sent back so that we might act differently from the way we used to?\" They have indeed ruined their souls and what they invented has forsaken them.

Your Lord is God, who created the heavens and the earth in six Days [periods] and then settled Himself firmly on the throne. He throws the veil of night over the day, each seeking the other in rapid succession. It was He who created the sun, the moon and the stars, and made them subservient to His will. His is the creation, His the command. Blessed be God, Lord of the universe!

Call on your Lord with humility and in secret, He does not love the transgressors:

do not spread corruption on the earth after it has been set in order, pray to Him with fear and hope, God's mercy is close to those who do good.

It is God who sends forth the winds as harbingers of His mercy, and when they have gathered up the heavy clouds, We drive them on to a dead land where We cause rain to fall, bringing out all kinds of fruit, just as We will raise the dead to life. Perhaps you will take heed.

Vegetation comes out of good land in abundance by the will of its Lord, but out of bad land only scantily. Thus We explain Our signs in diverse ways for those who give thanks.

We sent Noah to his people. He said, \"O my people, worship God; you have no other god but He. I fear for you the punishment of a dreadful Day,\"

but the leading men of his people said, \"Truly, we see that you are obviously lost in error!\"

Said [Noah], \"O my people! I am not in error. Indeed, I am a messenger from the Lord of the Worlds,

I am conveying my Lord's messages to you and giving you sincere advice. I know things from God that you do not.

Do you find it so strange that a message should come from your Lord through a man from among yourselves, so that he may warn you and so that you may fear God and be shown mercy?\"

But they denied him, so We saved him and those with him in the Ark, and We drowned those who rejected Our signs. They were indeed a blind people.

To the people of 'Ad We sent their brother, Hud. He said, \"O my people, worship God, you have no other god but He. Then will you not be God-fearing?\"

The leading men of his people who refused to acknowledge the truth, said, \"We can see you are a foolish man, and we think you are lying.\"

He said, \"My people, I am by no means a fool, but rather am a messenger from the Lord of the Universe,

I am conveying my Lord's messages to you and I am your sincere and honest adviser.

Do you find it strange that a Message should come from your Lord, through one of your own men, to warn you? Remember how He made you successors of Noah's people, and increased you greatly in stature. Remember the favours of God, so that you may prosper.\"

They said, \"Have you come to tell us to serve God alone and to forsake the gods our forefathers served? Bring us then what you threaten us with, if you are truthful.\"

He said, \"Your Lord's wrath and indignation have already fallen upon you. Would you dispute with me about mere names, which you and your fathers have invented, and for which God has revealed no authority? Wait then if you will: I am waiting alongside you.\"

Then We saved him and those who were with him, by Our mercy; We annihilated those who denied Our signs and would not believe.

To the Thamud We sent their brother Salih. He said, \"O my people, worship God; you have no other god but Him. A veritable proof has come to you from your Lord: this is God's she-camel, a sign for you, so let her feed in God's land and do not harm her in any way, or you will be overwhelmed by a painful punishment.

Remember when He made you successors to the 'Ad and settled you in the land. You built palaces on its plains and carved houses out of the mountains. Remember God's blessings and do not spread corruption in the land,\"

but the arrogant leaders of his people said to the believers who were deemed weak, \"Do you know for certain that Salih is one sent from his Lord?\" They replied, \"We believe in the message which has been sent through him.\"

The arrogant leaders said, \"We reject what you believe in.\"

So they hamstrung the she-camel, and insolently defied the commandment of their Lord, saying, \"O Salih! Bring upon us what you threaten us with if you are indeed a messenger.\"

So the earthquake overwhelmed them, and morning found them prostrate in their dwelling places.

He left them, saying, \"My people, I delivered my Lord's messages to you and counselled you sincerely, but you do not like sincere advisors.\"

We sent Lot, who said to his people, \"How can you commit an abomination such as no one in the world has ever done before you?

You lust after men rather than women! You transgress all bounds!\"

The only answer given by his people was, \"Turn them out of your town. They are people who regard themselves to be pure.\"

So We saved him and his family -- except for his wife. She was one of those who stayed behind.

We rained down on them a shower [of brimstone]. Then see what was the end of the evil-doers.

To Midian We sent their brother Shu'ayb. He said, \"O my people, worship God; you have no other god but Him. A clear Sign has indeed come to you from your Lord. So give full measure and full weight, and do not deliver short. Do not corrupt the land after it has been set in order. This is for your own good, if you are true believers.

Do not lie in ambush on every pathway, threatening people, barring those who believe from the Way of God, seeking to make it appear crooked. Remember when you were few in number and He multiplied you. Consider the fate of those who used to spread corruption.

And if there is a group of you which believes in My message and others who disbelieve it, be patient until God shall judge between us. He is the best of judges.\"

The arrogant leaders of his people said, \"Shu'ayb, we will expel you and your fellow believers from our town unless you return to our faith.\" He said, \"Even though we detest it?

We would be inventing lies against God if we returned to your faith after God has delivered us from it. It is not for us to return to it unless God our Lord so willed. Our Lord encompasses all things in His knowledge. We have put our trust in God. Our Lord, expose the truth [and judge] between us and our people, You are the best judge.\"

The leading men of his people who were bent on denying the truth, said, \"If you follow Shu'ayb, you will certainly be the losers.\"

Thereupon an earthquake overtook them and morning found them lying flattened in their homes;

those who had denied Shu'ayb became as though they had never lived there. Those who denied Shu'ayb, were themselves the losers.

So he turned away from them, saying, \"My people, I delivered my Lord's messages to you and gave you sincere advice, so why should I grieve for people who refused to believe?\"

Whenever We sent a prophet to a town, We afflicted its people with suffering and adversity, so that they might humble themselves [before God],

and then We changed their hardship into ease until they grew affluent and said, \"Our fathers had also experienced adversity and prosperity,\" then We seized them suddenly, unawares.

Had the people of those towns believed in and feared God, We would have showered upon them blessings from heaven and earth, but they rejected the truth. So We seized them on account of their misdeeds.

Do the people of these towns now feel secure against the coming of Our punishment upon them by night while they are asleep?

Or, do they feel secure against the coming of Our punishment upon them in the forenoon while they are at play?

Do they feel secure against God's devising? No one feels secure against God's devising except for those doomed to ruin.

Does it not guide the people who inherit the land from former people that We can punish them for their sins if We will? And seal up their hearts so that they would not be able to lend an ear to words of guidance?

We have told you the stories of those towns: their messengers came to them with clear signs, but they were never going to believe in something they had already rejected. Thus God seals up the hearts of those who deny the truth.

We found most of them untrue to their covenants, indeed We found most of them to be defiant.

After them We sent Moses with Our signs to Pharaoh and his chiefs. But they willfully rejected them. Consider the end of the evil-doers.

Moses said, \"Pharaoh, I am a messenger from the Lord of the Universe,

duty-bound to say nothing about God but the truth, and I have brought you a clear sign from your Lord. Let the Children of Israel go with me.\"

[Pharaoh] said, \"If you come with a sign, then produce it, if you are telling the truth.\"

Then Moses threw down his staff and suddenly, unmistakably, it appeared as a serpent,

and he drew forth his hand, and it appeared [shining] white to the beholders.

The chiefs of Pharaoh's people said, \"This is most surely a skillful magician,

who seeks to drive you from your land!\" Pharaoh said, \"What then do you advise?\"

They said, \"Let him and his brother wait awhile, and send into the cities summoners,

who should bring to you every skillful magician.\"

And the magicians came to Pharaoh and asked, \"Shall we have a reward, if we should prevail?\"

Pharaoh replied, \"Certainly, and you shall also become my courtiers.\"

They said, \"Moses, will you first throw, or shall we?\"

He said, \"You throw [first]!\" When they made their cast, they bewitched the eyes of the people and struck them with awe, for they showed a great [feat of] magic.

Then We inspired Moses, saying, \"Throw down your staff.\" And it immediately swallowed up their false devices.

Thus the truth prevailed and what they had produced came to nothing:

Pharaoh and his men were defeated and utterly humiliated.

And the sorcerers prostrated themselves

and said, \"We believe in the Lord of the Universe,

the Lord of Moses and Aaron!\"

Pharaoh said, \"You dare believe in Him before I have given you permission? Behold, this is indeed a plot which you have devised in this city in order to drive its people out. But you shall soon know the consequences,

I will cut off your hands and feet on alternate sides and then crucify you all!\"

They replied, \"We shall surely return to our Lord.

You would punish us only because we believed in the signs of our Lord when they were shown to us. Our Lord, pour patience upon us, and cause us to die in a state of submission to You.\"

The chiefs of Pharaoh's people said, \"Will you allow Moses and his people to spread corruption in the land, and to forsake you and your gods?\" He replied, \"We shall kill their male children and spare only the females. We have complete power over them.\"

Moses said to his people, \"Turn to God for help and be patient. The earth belongs to God. He gives it to those of His servants whom He chooses, and the future belongs to the God-fearing.\"

They replied, \"We were being persecuted before you came to us, and we are still being persecuted.\" He said, \"Your Lord may well destroy your enemy and make you successors to the land. Then He will see how you conduct yourselves.\"

We afflicted Pharaoh's people with shortages of food and famine so that they might take heed,

then when something good came to them, they said, \"It is our due!\" -- but when something bad came, they ascribed it as an ill-omen to Moses and those with him. Surely their [evil] fortune had been decreed by God, but most of them did not know this.

They said, \"Whatever miracles you work to bewitch us, we will not believe in you.\"

Then We afflicted them with storms, and locusts, and lice, and frogs, and blood: so many clear signs. But they were steeped in arrogance, for they were a people given to sin.

Whenever a plague struck them, they would say, \"Moses, pray to your Lord for us by virtue of the promise He has made to you: if you remove this plague from us, we will surely believe in you and let the Children of Israel go with you,\"

but whenever We removed the plague from them, giving them time to make good their promise, they would break their word.

So We exacted retribution from them and drowned them in the sea, because they rejected Our signs and paid no heed to them;

We made the people who were considered weak inheritors of the eastern parts and western parts of the land which We had blessed. Thus your Lord's good promise to the Children of Israel was fulfilled, because of their patience, and We destroyed all that Pharaoh and his people had built and all that they had raised high.

We brought the children of Israel across the sea and they came upon a people who were devoted to their idols. They said, \"Moses, give us a god just like the gods these people have.\" He said, \"You are indeed an ignorant people:

what they are engaged in is doomed to destruction and all their works are in vain.\"

He said, \"Shall I seek a deity for you other than God, while it is He who has exalted you above all peoples?

We delivered you from Pharaoh's people, who afflicted you with dreadful torment, slaying your male children and sparing only your daughters. That was surely a great trial for you by your Lord.\"

We appointed thirty nights for Moses, then added ten more: the term set by his Lord was fulfilled in forty nights. Moses said to his brother Aaron, \"Take my place among my people: act rightly and do not follow the way of those who spread corruption.\"

And when Moses came at Our appointed time and his Lord spoke to him, he said, \"My Lord, show Yourself to me so that I may look at You.\" He replied, \"You cannot see Me, but look at the mountain; if it remains firmly in its place, then only will you see Me.\" And when his Lord manifested Himself on the mountain, He broke it into pieces and Moses fell down unconscious. And when he recovered, he said, \"Glory be to You, I turn towards You, and I am the first to believe.\"

He replied, \"Moses, I have chosen you of all mankind for My messages and My Words. Hold fast to what I have given you, and be among the grateful!\"

And We wrote for him upon the Tablets an admonition and details of all things, then [bade him], \"Hold fast to them; and command your people to follow them in their best sense. Soon I shall show you the home of the wicked.

I will turn away from My signs all those who are arrogant in the land without any right, so that even if they see all the signs they will not believe in them. If they see the right path, they shall not walk upon it: but if they see the path of error, they shall choose it for their path, because they have given the lie to Our signs and paid no heed to them.

The actions of those who denied Our signs and the Meeting of the Hereafter will come to nothing -- they shall be requited only, according to their deeds.\"

In his absence, the people of Moses made a calf from their ornaments, an image which made a lowing sound. Could they not see that it did not speak to them or guide them in any way? Yet they took to worshipping it: they were evil-doers.

When they were afflicted with remorse, and realized that they had indeed gone astray, they said, \"If our Lord does not have mercy on us and forgive us, we shall be among the lost.\"

When Moses returned to his people in anger and great sorrow, he said, \"What an awful sin you have committed in my absence. Did you want to hasten your Lord's command?\" He threw down the Tablets and seized his brother by the head, pulling him towards himself. Aaron said, \"Son of my mother, the people oppressed me and almost killed me. Do not give my enemies cause to gloat over me. Do not number me among the wrongdoers.\"

He said, \"My Lord, forgive me and my brother and admit us to Your mercy. You are the Most Merciful of the merciful.\"

Those who took to worshipping the calf will be afflicted by their Lord's wrath, and be disgraced in the life of this world. This is the way We requite those who invent falsehoods.

As for those who committed evils, and thereafter repented and believed, they shall find your Lord forgiving and merciful.

When his anger had subsided, Moses took up the Tablets upon which was inscribed a pledge of guidance and mercy for those who fear their Lord.

And Moses chose from his people seventy men for Our appointment. When they were seized with violent quaking, he prayed, \"O my Lord! If it had been Your will, You could have destroyed both them and me long ago. But would You destroy us for the deeds of the foolish ones among us? This is no more than Your trial: by it You cause whom You will to stray, and You lead whom You will to the right path. You are our Protector. Forgive us, therefore, and have mercy on us, for You are the best of those who forgive.

Grant us good things, both in this life and in the hereafter. To You alone we turn.\" He replied, \"As for My punishment, I smite with it anyone I will. But My mercy encompasses all things. I shall prescribe it for those who do their duty, pay the zakat and who believe in Our signs.

Also for those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered prophet they find described in the Torah that is with them, and in the Gospel, who commands them to do right and forbids them to do wrong, who makes good things lawful to them and bad things unlawful, who will relieve them of their burdens and of the shackles that weigh upon them. Those that believe in him and honour him, those that aid him and follow the light sent down with him, shall surely triumph.\"

Say, \"People, I am God's Messenger to you all, He has sovereignty over the heavens and the earth. There is no god but Him. He ordains life and death, so believe in God and His Messenger, the unlettered prophet who believes in God and His words. Follow him so that you may be rightly guided.\"

Yet there is a group among the people of Moses who guide with truth and act justly in accordance with it.

We divided them up into twelve tribes, each a whole community, and We revealed Our will to Moses, when his people asked for water, saying, \"Strike the rock with your staff.\" Twelve springs gushed from it and each tribe knew its drinking place. We caused the clouds to draw their shadow over them and sent down for them manna and quails, saying, \"Eat the good things We have given you.\" They did not wrong Us; rather it was themselves they wronged.

When they were told, \"Settle down in the town and eat wherever you wish in it, and pray for forgiveness and enter the gate in humility: We shall forgive you your sins and shall bestow further favours upon those who do good,\"

the transgressors among them substituted something else for the word they had been given. So We sent them a punishment from heaven for their wrongdoing.

Ask them about the town which was by the sea and what befell its people when they broke the Sabbath. On their Sabbath the fish came to them near the surface, but on week-days they never came near them -- thus We tried them because of their disobedience.

When some of them asked, \"Why do you admonish a people whom God is going to destroy or to afflict with a severe punishment?\" They answered, \"In order to be free from blame before your Lord, and that they may perhaps fear Him.\"

Therefore when they forgot what they had been reminded of, We saved those who had tried to prevent the doing of evil. And We meted out a severe punishment to the transgressors because they were rebellious.

And then, when they disdainfully persisted in doing what they had been forbidden to do, We said to them, \"Be as apes, despised!\"

Then your Lord declared that, until the Day of Resurrection, He would send others against them to inflict terrible suffering on them. Your Lord is swift in retribution; yet surely He is most forgiving and merciful.

We split them up into sections on the earth. Some of them are righteous while some of them are otherwise, and We tested them with blessings and misfortunes, so that they might return to the right path.

They were succeeded by generations who inherited the Scripture and took to the fleeting gains of this world, saying, \"We shall certainly be forgiven.\" If there came to them similar fleeting gains again, they would take them. Was a pledge not taken from them, written in the Scripture, that they would not say anything but the truth about God? And they have studied whatever is in it. Surely the Home of the Hereafter is better for those who fear Him. Will you not understand?

As for those who hold fast to the Book and are steadfast in prayer, We shall not deny the righteous their reward.

When We suspended the mountain over them as if it were a canopy, and they thought it was going to fall down on them, We said, \"Hold on firmly to what We have given you and remember what is in it, so that you may remain conscious of God.\"

When your Lord brought forth offspring from the loins of the Children of Adam and made them bear witness about themselves, He said, \"Am I not your Lord?\" They replied, \"We bear witness that You are.\" This He did, lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection, \"We had no knowledge of that.\"

Or lest you say, \"Our forefathers associated others with God before our time, and we are only the descendants who came after them. So are You going to destroy us for what those inventors of falsehood did?\"

We explain Our signs in detail thus, so that perhaps they may return to Us.

Recite to them the tale of the man to whom We gave Our signs, but who then cast them to one side and Satan overtook him. And he became one of those who went astray,

if it had been Our will, We could have used these signs to exalt him, but instead he clung to the earth and followed his own desires, he was like a dog that pants whether you chase it away or leave it alone. Such are those who reject Our signs. Tell them this story so that they may reflect.

How evil is the case of those who deny Our signs. They only wrong themselves:

anyone whom God guides has been rightly guided; while those He lets go astray will surely be the losers.

We created many of the jinn and mankind for hell. They have hearts they do not understand with; they have eyes they do not see with; and they have ears they do not hear with. Such people are like cattle -- no, they are even more misguided. Such are the heedless.

God has the Most Excellent Names. Call on Him by His Names and keep away from those who distort them. They shall be requited for what they do.

Of those We have created there are some who give true guidance and act justly.

We shall gradually seize those who reject Our signs from a place they do not recognize.

For though I give them rein for a while, My strategy is sure.

Have they not reflected that their companion is not mad? He is only a plain warner.

Have they not looked into the realms of the heavens and the earth and all that God created, and seen that the end of their time might be near? What will they believe in if they do not believe in this?

No one can guide those whom God lets go astray: He leaves them blundering about in their arrogance.

They ask you [Prophet] about the Last Hour, \"When will it come?\" Say, \"Knowledge about it rests only with my Lord; He alone will reveal when its time will come, it lies heavy on the heavens and the earth: it will suddenly overtake you.\" They will put questions to you as though you had full knowledge of it. Say, \"Knowledge about it rests only with God, though most people do not realize it.\"

Say, \"I myself have no power to benefit or do harm, save as God pleases. If I had knowledge of the unseen, I would have availed myself of an abundance of good, and no harm would have touched me. I am but a warner and a bearer of good tidings for those who will believe.\"

It was He who created you from a single soul, and from it made its mate so that he may find comfort in her. Once he has covered her, she conceives and goes about with a light burden. When it grows heavy, they both call to God, their Lord, \"If You bestow on us a healthy child, we will surely be grateful,\"

yet when He grants them a healthy child, they begin to ascribe to others a share in the gift they have received. But God is far above what they associate with Him!

Do they associate with Him those who create nothing and are themselves created?

They can give them no help, nor can they help themselves.

It makes no difference whether you call on them or remain silent. If you call them to the right path, they will not follow you.

Those whom you call on besides God are but creatures like yourselves. Call upon them, then, and let them respond to you, if what you say is true.

Have they feet to walk with? Have they hands to hold with? Have they eyes to see with? Have they ears to hear with? Say, \"Call upon those you associate with God as partners, then all of you contrive against me and give me no respite.

My protector is God who sent down the Book, for it is He who protects the righteous.

Those whom you call on besides Him have no power to help you, nor can they help themselves.\"

If you call them to the right path, they will not hear you. You find them looking towards you, but they do not see you.

Be tolerant; enjoin what is right; and avoid the ignorant.

If an evil impulse from Satan provokes you, seek refuge with God; He is all hearing, and all knowing.

When any evil suggestion from Satan touches those who fear God, they are instantly alerted and become watchful;

but the followers of devils are led relentlessly into error by them. They never desist.

When you do not bring them a sign, they say, \"Why do you not invent one?\" Say, \"I follow only what is revealed to me by my Lord. This Book is an enlightenment from your Lord and a guide and mercy to true believers.

When the Quran is read, listen to it with attention, and hold your peace, so that you may receive mercy.

Remember your Lord deep in your very soul, in all humility and awe, without raising your voice, morning and evening, do not be one of the heedless,