Surah 21- Surah al Anbiya
Bismillah ir Rahman ir Raheem
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
- The reckoning for humankind is near,
Yet, they turn away, unaware. - When a fresh warning comes to them
from their Rabb,
They but hear it as if it is a joke. - Their hearts are confused.
Lo! The transgressors whisper in secret:
“Is he not a man just like you?
Then, will you go near sorcery,
Even though you realize it is so?” - Said he: “My Rabb knows
What is said in the heavens and the earth,
And He is the Hearer, the Knower.” - They said: “These are either confused dreams,
Or, he has made them up,
Or, he is a poet;
So, let him bring us some Sign
Such as was given to the earlier Messengers.” - Before their time
No settlement (civilization) that we destroyed
Had believed—
Will these then believe? - And We did not send before you but men
Upon whom We bestowed Our Revelation;
So ask those who remember
If you are not in the know. - We did not make for them bodies
That did not eat food,
And they were not immortal. - Then, We made our promise come true,
And We saved those whom We will,
And We destroyed those who exceeded their limits. - Behold! We have sent you a Book,
In which there is remembrance for you,
Will you not reason? - And how many settlements (civilizations) have We scattered (like dust)
Which had become oppressive?
And after them
We brought forth other people. - Then, as they sensed Our punishment,
They started to run from it. - (It was said to them) “Do not flee
But return to the comforts you had therein
And your homes,
So that you may be interrogated
(about what you did).” - They said: “Woe is to us!
We had indeed become transgressors.” - This remained their cry
Until We made them like ashes (scattered)
In a field mowed (to the ground). - Lo! We created not the heavens and the earth
And what is in between, for amusement. - Had We willed
To make a plaything,
We would have made it so by Our Grace,
If We were (disposed) to do so. - Nay! We throw the Truth upon falsehood,
And it crushes it,
Then lo! It dissipates!
So, there is a calamity (lurking) for you
In what you fabricate (in place of Allah). - And to Him belongs
Whatever is in the heavens and the earth;
And those who are near Him
Are not proud to worship (and serve) Him;
Neither do they tire (in their worship and service). - They glorify Him night and day,
And they are not weary (of their praise). - What! Have they made gods from the earth
Who will raise them up after death? - If there were gods besides Allah in the two of them (heaven and earth),
There would certainly be turmoil in both of them.
No! Glorified is Allah,
the Creator, Sustainer and Cherisher of the Throne,
High above what they ascribe to Him! - They shall not question Him about what He does,
(Instead) it is they who shall be questioned. - What! Have they taken others besides Him as their gods?
Say: “Bring your evidence!
This is the reminder for those with me,
As it was the reminder for those that came before me.”
But most of them do not know the truth,
Therefore, they excuse themselves from it. - We did not send a Messenger before you
Except with the Revelation with him:
“Verily, there is no god but Me—
Therefore, worship (and serve) Me!” - And they say:
“The Most Compassionate has taken sons.”
Glorified is He!
No! They are His most honored servants! - They do not move ahead of (His) Word,
And they implement His commands. - He knows what is in between
That which is ahead of them,
And that which is behind them;
And they cannot intercede
Except for such as those who are accepted,
And are steadfast in their fear (awe) of Him. - And whoever among them says:
“I am indeed a god besides Him”,
Then, for such a person, Hell is the recompense—
That is how We recompense the transgressors. - Do the disbelievers not see
That the heavens and the earth were indeed bound together,
Then We broke them asunder.
And We made all living things out of water,
Do they then not believe? - And We erected the mountains on earth,
So that it does not shake with them;
And We made therein paths wide and easy,
So that they receive guidance. - And We made the sky a canopy established,
Yet they turn away from the Signs therein. - And He it is who created the night and the day,
And the sun and the moon—
All floating in predictable orbits. - And We did not make any human before you immortal—
So, if you die, will they live forever? - Every soul shall have a taste of death,
And We shall try you with evil and good,
And to Us you shall return. - And when the disbelievers see you,
They but take you as a jest,
(Saying) “Is this the one
Who admonishes you about your gods?”
Lo! They hide from the remembrance of the Most Compassionate. - Humankind has been created into haste.
Soon I shall show you My Signs—
Therefore, do not be in a hurry. - And they say:
“When will this promise (come to pass),
If you are truthful?” - Alas! If the disbelievers knew the moment
When they cannot hide their existence from the Fire,
Nor turn their backs on it—
And they cannot be helped. - No! It shall overtake them with suddenness,
And it shall bewilder them—
They shall not have the power to stop it,
Nor shall they be given respite. - And behold!
The Messengers before you were laughed at;
Then, what they mocked
Overwhelmed those who mocked. - Say: “Who will guard you from the Most Compassionate
By night and by day?”
Even so, they excuse themselves from remembering their Rabb! - Are there any gods who can protect them except Us?
They do not even have the power to help themselves,
Nor can they be protected against Us. - Nay! We gave them–and their forefathers—wealth
Until they were of advanced age;
Then, do they not see
That we constrict the earth (space) from around them;
How can they then triumph? - Say: “I do remind you with the revelation.”
But the deaf do not hear the reminder,
Even when they are reminded. - And if a whiff of punishment from their Rabb were to touch them,
They will indeed say: “Woe is to us!
Indeed, we were transgressors.” - Lo! We shall set up the scale of justice
On the Judgment Day,
And no excess shall be committed on any soul;
And, if there is any (deed)
That is like the weight of a grain of a mustard seed,
We shall bring it forth,
And We are sufficient to take account. - And behold! We gave Moses and Aaron,
The Criterion and the Light,
And a reminder for those
Who are conscious of Allah. - Those who fear their Rabb in secret,
And are fearful of the Moment (of Judgment). - And this is a blessed reminder that We have revealed to you,
Will you then be among those who reject it? - And indeed We bestowed on Abraham before this
An understanding of what is right,
And We had complete knowledge of it
(We had the knowledge and the source of this knowledge). - When he said to his father and to his people:
“What are these idols that you are attached to?” - They said: “We found our forefathers worshiping them.”
- He said: “Indeed you and your forefathers
Were in obvious error.” - They said: “Have you brought us the Truth,
Or, are you among those who are (merely) jesting?” - He said: “No! Your Rabb
Is the Creator, Sustainer and Cherisher of the heavens and the earth,
It is He who originated them,
And I am among the witnesses for this. - By Allah! I will play a ruse with your deities
After you have turned your backs and are gone.” - And he broke them into pieces
Except the biggest one among them,
So that they may turn to him. - They said: “Who did this to our deities?
Indeed, he is among the transgressors!” - They said: “We have heard a young man talk about them—
They call him Abraham.” - They said: “In that case, expose him to the public eye,
So that they may bear witness.” - They said: “O Abraham!
Were you the one who did this to our gods?” - He said: “But he did it!He is the biggest one of them all.
So ask them if they can speak.” - So they turned to their own souls (for soul searching),
Then they said (to themselves): “Indeed, you are the transgressors!” - Then they flipped their heads (changed their minds),
(And said to Abraham): “Indeed, you know they do not speak.” - He said: “Do you then worship other than Allah
That which can neither benefit you nor hurt you? - Shame on you and on those you worship besides Allah;
Do you not reason?” - They said: “Burn him!
And help your gods—
If you are among those who act.” - We said: “Be cool, O fire!
And bring peace and tranquility to Abraham.” - They planned an evil plot against him,
So We made them the losers. - And We rescued him and Lot,
Towards a place that was blessed in all the worlds. - And We granted him Isaac,
And Jacob, as an addition,
And We made all of them righteous. - And We made them Imams ( leaders),
They provided guidance by Our command,
And We inspired them to engage in good deeds,
And establish prayer,
And give the poor due,
And they were Our servants. - And to Lot
We gave the criterion and the knowledge,
And rescued him from the town
that was engaged in abominable acts;
Indeed, they were a people, evil, exceeding limits. - And We admitted him to Our grace—
He was indeed among the righteous. - And when Noah called out aforetime,
We heard his prayer,
And We delivered him and his family,
From a great calamity. - And We helped him against a people,
Who gave the lie to our Signs;
They were indeed an evil people,
So We drowned them all. - And David and Solomon were making a decision
About a matter related to a field
Into which had strayed by night
The sheep belonging to some people,
And had grazed it,
Lo! We were witnesses to their decision. - Then, We provided insight to Solomon.
And to all of them We gave the criterion and the knowledge,
And We made the mountains—and the birds—
Glorify His name in unison with David;
Lo! We were the Ones doing it! - And We taught him how to make armor for you,
So that you are protected during warfare,
Are you then thankful? - And to Solomon (we gave the power),
To command raging winds towards a land
Upon which We endowed many blessings;
Lo! We are the Knower of all affairs! - And of the Satans (Jinns) who dived for him,
And did other work besides that—
Lo! We were indeed watchful over them. - And Job—When he called his Rabb:
“Indeed, a calamity has befallen me,
And You are the Most Merciful of the Merciful.” - So We accepted his plea,
And lifted from him that which anguished him;
And restored to him his household,
And similar (loving) ones with them,
As a Mercy from Our presence,
And a reminder for those who serve Us. - And Ishmael and Idris and Dhul Kifl—
They were all among the steadfast. - Lo! We admitted them to Our Grace—
They were indeed among the righteous. - And the man of the fish (Jonah)—
When he walked out in anger,
And imagined that We had no power over him;
Then he cried out in the darkness:
“That there is none worthy of worship but You!
Gloried are You!
I am indeed among the transgressors!” - So We accepted his supplication,
And relieved him of his suffering,
Lo! That is how We provide relief to those
Who have certainty of faith. - And Zachariah—When he cried out to his Rabb:
“O my Rabb!
Do not leave me alone (without an inheritor)!
Indeed, You are the best of inheritors.” - Then We accepted his prayers,
And granted him John,
And We made this easy for his wife.
They did indeed hasten to do good deeds,
And call upon Us with hope and fear,
And they were humble before Us. - And the lady (Mary) who guarded her honor,
And We breathed into her Our Spirit,
And made her and her son a Sign for all the worlds. - Indeed, this spiritual community is one community,
And I am your Rabb;
So, worship (and serve) Me! - But they broke up the Command among them—
Unto Us shall they all return! - Then, whoever engages in righteous deeds,
And is a believer with conviction,
Then his struggles shall not be covered up (overlooked),
Lo! We (ensure) that these are recorded! - And a settlement (civilization) that We have destroyed
Shall not return— - Until the doors are open to Gog and Magog,
And they swoop down from all higher positions (of strength). - And the promised Justice shall draw near,
Lo! When the eyes of the disbelievers are opened wide,
(They will say:) ”Woe unto us! Truly we were neglectful of this!
Nay! We were among the transgressors.” - Indeed you, and those you worshiped besides Allah,
Shall be fodder for Hell—
You shall (certainty) enter it! - Lo! If these were gods,
They would not have entered it;
But all of them shall dwell therein forever. - Therein shall there be (overwhelming noise and) painful groans for them,
And they shall hear nothing (else) therein. - Lo! Those for whom Our Grace preceded them,
They shall be kept away from it. - They shall not hear even a faint sound from it;
And they shall dwell forever with what their souls desire. - No distress shall reach them from the Great Convulsion,
And the angels shall bring them (the tidings):
This is the Day that you were promised! - The Day the heavens shall be folded up,
As a scroll rolled up,
We shall return it (to the state)
As We created it in the first place—
This is Our Word—
Lo! We shall indeed fulfill it! - And behold! We wrote in the Zabbur (Psalms) after the Admonishing
That indeed the earth shall be inherited by Our righteous servants. - Indeed, in this is a message for a people who are devout.
- And We sent you not except as a mercy for all the worlds.
- Say: “The revelation has come to me(to convey)
That your God is but One God,
Are you then among those who surrender (to Him)? - And if they turn away, then say:
“I have warned you all with the same message;
And what has been promised to you
Is near or far, I do not know. - It is He who knows what is said in the open,
And He knows what you conceal. - And I do not know if this (respite) is a trial for you
And an allowance for a passing time.” - Say: “O our Rabb,
(You) judge in Truth!
And Our Rabb, the Most Compassionate
Is worthy of seeking refuge
Against what you ascribe to Him.”