The Noble Qur'an Encyclopedia

By the star when it sets,

Your companion [i.e., the Prophet] has neither strayed nor is he deluded.

Nor does he speak out of his own desire.

It is but a revelation sent down [to him].

He was taught by [an angel of] mighty power[1],

and of great perfection[2], who manifested himself [in his true form][3]

when he was on the higher horizon[4].

Then he approached [the Prophet] and descended,

until he was only two bow-lengths away or even closer.

Then he revealed to His slave[5] what he had to reveal.

The [Prophet’s] heart[6] did not deny what he saw.

Do you dispute with him concerning what he saw?

He certainly saw him a second time[7]

at the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary [in the seventh heaven]

near which is the Garden of Abode,

when the Lote Tree was overwhelmed with [divine] splendors.

His gaze did not wander, nor did it look beyond the limit.

He certainly saw some of the greatest signs of his Lord.

Have you [O disbelievers] thought about [the idols of] Lāt and ‘Uzzā,

and Manāt, the third one as well[8]?

Do you choose for yourselves males and for Him females?

That is then an unfair division!

These [idols] are no more than names you and your forefathers have made up[9], for which Allah has not sent down any authority. They follow nothing but conjecture and what their souls desire, although there has come to them guidance from their Lord.

Is it that man can get whatever he wishes for[10]?

Rather, to Allah belongs the Hereafter and this world.

How many angels there are in the heavens whose intercession will be of no avail except after Allah’s permission to whom He wills and pleases.

Indeed, those who do not believe in the Hereafter give the angels female names.

They have no knowledge about it. They only follow conjecture, but conjecture is of no avail against the truth.

So pay no heed to those who turn away from Our message[11] and who only seek the life of this world.

That is the limit of their knowledge. Indeed, your Lord knows best who has strayed from His Way, and He knows best who is guided.

To Allah belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth, so that He may recompense the evildoers for what they did, and reward those who do good with the best reward[12],

those who avoid major sins and shameful acts, except for minor lapses. Indeed, your Lord is ample in forgiveness. He knows you best, as He created you from the earth[13] and when you were fetuses in the wombs of your mothers[14]. So do not claim purity for yourselves, for He knows best who is truly righteous.

Have you seen the one who turned away [from Islam],

who gave a little, and then stopped?

Does he have knowledge of the unseen, so he has insight[15]?

Or has he not been informed of what is in the Scriptures of Moses,

and of Abraham, who fulfilled his duty?

That no bearer of burden will bear the burden of another,

and that man will not receive except what he strives for,

and that his efforts will be examined,

then he will be recompensed in full,

and that to your Lord is the final return,

and that He is the One Who makes people laugh and weep[16],

and that He is the One Who causes death and gives life,

and that He created the pairs, male and female,

from a drop of sperm when it is emitted,

and it is upon Him to bring about the second creation.

And He is the One Who enriches and bestows wealth,

and that He is the Lord of Sirius[17].

And that He destroyed the earlier ‘Ād[18],

and Thamūd[19], sparing none,

and [He destroyed] the people of Noah before them; they were indeed more wicked and more rebellious.

And He toppled the cities[20] upside down,

and they were utterly covered [by stones][21].

Then which of the favors of your Lord do you doubt?

This [Prophet] is a warner like the earlier warners.

The imminent Hour has drawn near,

none but Allah can disclose it.

Do you find this discourse astonishing,

and you laugh [at it] and not weep,

while heedlessly lost in amusement?

So prostrate to Allah and worship [Him].