Surat Al-Anbiyā

In the Name of Allah,
The Most Merciful,
The Most Beneficent
The reckoning of the people has drawn near to them
While they are in negligence, turning away. 21:1
Whatever new reminder comes to them from their Lord,
They only listen to it jokingly, 21:2
With their hearts totally distracted.
The evildoers would converse secretly,
Saying, "Is this one not human like yourselves?
Would you fall for this witchcraft,
Even though you can clearly see?" 21:3
The Prophet responded,
"My Lord knows every word spoken in the heavens and the earth
For He is the All-Hearing, All-Knowing." 21:4
Yet they say, "This Quran is a set of confused dreams!
No, he has fabricated it!
No, he must be a poet! So let him bring us a tangible sign
So let him bring us a tangible sign
Like those prophets sent before." 21:5
Not a single society We destroyed before them
Ever believed after receiving the signs.
Will they then believe? 21:6
We did not send messengers before you O Prophet except
Except mere men inspired by Us.
If you do not know,
Then ask those who have knowledge of the Scriptures. 21:7
We did not give those messengers supernatural bodies
That did not need food,
Nor were they immortal. 21:8
Then We fulfilled Our promise to them,
Saving them
Along with whoever We willed
And destroying the transgressors. 21:9
We have surely revealed to you a Book,
In which is your mention
Will you not then understand? 21:10
Imagine how many societies of wrongdoers we have destroyed,
Raising up other people after them! 21:11
When the wrongdoers sensed the arrival of Our torment
They started to run away from their cities. 21:12
They were told, "Do not run away!
"Do not run away!
Return to your luxuries and your homes,
So you may be questioned." 21:13
They cried, "Woe to us! We have surely been wrongdoers." 21:14
They kept repeating their cry until We mowed them down,
Leaving them lifeless. 21:15
We did not
Create the heavens and the earth and that between for sport. 21:16
Had We intended to take some amusement,
We could have found it in Our presence,
If that had been Our Will. 21:17
In fact, We hurl the truth against falsehood,
Leaving it crushed,
And it quickly vanishes.
And woe be to you for what you claim! 21:18
To Him belong all those in the heavens and the earth.
And those nearest to Him
Are not too proud to worship Him,
Nor do they tire. 21:19
They glorify Him day and night,
Never wavering. 21:20
Or have they taken gods from the earth,
Who can raise the dead? 21:21
Had there been in the heavens or the earth
Other gods besides Allah
Both realms would have surely been corrupted.
So Glorified is Allah,
Lord of the Throne,
Far above what they claim. 21:22
He cannot be questioned about what He does,
But they will all be questioned. 21:23
Or have they taken other gods besides Him?
Say, O Prophet, "Show me your proof.
Here is the Quran,
The Reminder for those with me;
Along with earlier Scriptures,
But most of them do not know the truth, so they turn away. 21:24
We never sent a messenger before you without revealing to him:
"There is no god worthy of worship except Me,
So worship Me alone." 21:25
And they say, "The Most Compassionate has offspring!"
Glory be to Him!
In fact, those angels are only His honoured servants, 21:26
Who do not speak until He has spoken,
Only acting at His command. 21:27
He fully knows what is ahead of them
And what is behind them.
They do not intercede except for whom He approves,
And they tremble in awe of Him. 21:28
Whoever of them were to say,
"I am a god besides Him,"
They would be rewarded with Hell by Us.
This is how We reward the wrongdoers. 21:29
Do the disbelievers not realize
That the heavens and earth
Were once one mass
Then We split them apart?
And We created from water every living thing.
Will they not then believe? 21:30
And We have placed firm mountains upon the earth
So it does not shake with them,
And made in it broad pathways
So they may find their way. 21:31
And We have made the sky a well-protected canopy,
Still they turn away from its signs. 21:32
And He is the One Who created the day and the night,
And the sun and the moon—
Each travelling in an orbit. 21:33
We have not granted immortality
To any human before you ˹O Prophet˺
So if you die, will they live forever? 21:34
Every soul will taste death.
Every soul will taste death.
And We test you with good and evil as a trial
Then to Us you will all be returned. 21:35
When the disbelievers see you ˹O Prophet˺,
They only make fun of you, saying
"Is this the one who speaks ˹ill˺ of your gods?"
While they disbelieve at the mention of the Most Compassionate. 21:36
Humankind is made of haste.
I will soon show you My signs, so do not ask Me to hasten them. 21:37
They ask,
"When will this threat come to pass if what you say is true?" 21:38
If only the disbelievers knew that a time will come
When they will not be able to keep the Fire off their faces or backs,
Nor will they be helped. 21:39
In fact,
The Hour will take them by surprise,
Leaving them stunned.
So they will not be able to avert it-
So they will not be able to avert it,
Nor will it be delayed from them. 21:40
Other messengers had already been ridiculed before you O Prophet,
But those who mocked them were overtaken
By what they used to ridicule. 21:41
Ask them, O Prophet,
"Who can defend you by day or by night
Against the Most Compassionate?"
Still they turn away from the remembrance of their Lord. 21:42
Or do they have gods—other than Us—that can protect them?
They cannot even protect themselves,
Nor will they be aided against Us. 21:43
In fact, We have allowed enjoyment
For these ˹Meccans˺ and their forefathers
Until life grew long for them
Do they not see that We gradually
Reduce their land from its borders?
Is it they who will then prevail? 21:44
Say, O Prophet, "I warn you only by revelation."
But the deaf cannot hear the call when they are warned! 21:45
If they were touched by even a breath of your Lord's torment,
They would certainly cry-
They would certainly cry,
"Woe to us! We have really been wrongdoers." 21:46
We will set up the scales of justice on the Day of Judgment,
So no soul will be wronged in the least
And ˹even˺ if a deed is the weight of a mustard seed,
We will bring it forth.
We are enough to take account 21:47
Indeed, We granted Moses and Aaron
The Scripture to distinguish between right and wrong
—a light and a reminder for the righteous, 21:48
Who are in awe of their Lord without seeing Him
And are fearful of the Hour. 21:49
And this ˹Quran˺ is a blessed reminder which We have revealed.
Will you then deny it? 21:50
And indeed,
We had granted Abraham sound judgment early on,
For We knew him well to be worthy of it. 21:51
When he questioned his father and his people,
"What are these statues to which you are so devoted?" 21:52
They replied,
"We found our forefathers worshipping them." 21:53
He responded,
"Indeed, you and your forefathers have been clearly astray." 21:54
They asked,
"Have you come to us with the truth, or is this a joke?" 21:55
He replied,
"In fact, your Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth,
Who created them both!
And to that I bear witness." 21:56
Then he said to himself,
"By Allah!
I will surely plot against your idols
After you have turned your backs and gone away." 21:57
So he smashed them into pieces,
Except the biggest of them,
So they might turn to it ˹for answers˺. 21:58
They protested,
"Who dared do this to our gods?
It must be an evildoer!" 21:59
Some said,
"We heard a young man,
Called Abraham, speaking ˹ill˺ of them." 21:60
They demanded,
"Bring him before the eyes of the people,
So that they may witness his trial." 21:61
They asked,
"Was it you who did this to our gods,
O Abraham?" 21:62
He replied sarcastically,
"No, this one—the biggest of them—did it,
So ask them"
"So ask them, if they can talk!" 21:63
So they came back to their senses, saying to one another,
"You yourselves are truly the wrongdoers!" 21:64
Then they quickly regressed to their original mind-set,
Arguing,
"You already know that those idols cannot talk!" 21:65
He rebuked them,
"Do you then worship—instead of Allah—
What can neither benefit nor harm you in any way? 21:66
Shame on you and whatever you worship instead of Allah!
Do you not have any sense?" 21:67
They concluded, "Burn him"
They concluded,
"Burn him up to avenge your gods, if you must act." 21:68
We ordered,
"O fire!"
"O fire! Be cool and safe for Abraham!" 21:69
They had sought to harm him,
But We made them the worst losers. 21:70
Then We delivered him, along with Lot,
To the land We had showered with blessings for all people. 21:71
And We blessed him with Isaac as a son
And Jacob as a grandson,
As an additional favour—
Making all of them righteous. 21:72
We also made them leaders,
Guiding by Our command,
And inspired them to do good deeds,
And establish prayer,
And pay alms-tax.
And they were devoted to Our worship. 21:73
And to Lot We gave wisdom and knowledge,
And delivered him from
The society engrossed in shameful practices.
They were certainly an evil, rebellious people. 21:74
And We admitted him into Our mercy,
For he was truly one of the righteous. 21:75
And remember when Noah had cried out to Us earlier
So We responded to him
So We responded to him
And delivered him and his family from the great distress. 21:76
And We made him prevail over those who had rejected Our signs.
They were truly an evil people, so We drowned them all. 21:77
And remember when David and Solomon passed judgment
Regarding the crops ruined ˹at night˺ by someone's sheep
And We were witness to their judgments. 21:78
We guided young Solomon to a fairer settlement,
And granted each of them wisdom and knowledge.
We subjected the mountains
As well as the birds to hymn Our praises along with David.
It is We Who did it all. 21:79
We taught him the art of making body armour
To protect you in battle.
Will you then be grateful? 21:80
And to Solomon
We subjected the raging winds,
Blowing by his command
To the land we had showered with blessings.
It is We Who know everything. 21:81
And We subjected some jinn that dived for him,
And performed other duties.
It is We Who kept them in check. 21:82
And remember when Job cried out to his Lord,
"I have been touched with adversity,
And You are the Most Merciful of the merciful." 21:83
So We answered his prayer and removed his adversity,
And gave him back his family,
Twice as many,
As a mercy from Us
And a lesson for the devoted worshippers. 21:84
And remember Ishmael, Enoch, and Ⱬul-Kifl.
They were all steadfast. 21:85
We admitted them into Our mercy,
For they were truly of the righteous. 21:86
And ˹remember˺
When the Man of the Whale stormed off from his city in a rage,
Thinking We would not restrain him.
Then in the veils of darkness he cried out,
"There is no god except You. Glory be to You!
Glory be to You! I have certainly done wrong." 21:87
So We answered his prayer and rescued him from anguish.
And so do We save the true believers. 21:88
And remember when Zachariah cried out to his Lord,
"My Lord! Do not leave me childless,
Though You are the Best of Successors." 21:89
So We answered his prayer,
Granted him John,
And made his wife fertile.
Indeed, they used to race in doing good,
And call upon Us with hope and fear,
Totally humbling themselves before Us. 21:90
And ˹remember˺ the one who guarded her chastity ˹Mary,˺
So We breathed into her through Our angel, ˹Gabriel,˺
Making her and her son a sign for all peoples. 21:91
Indeed, this religion of yours is only one,
And I am your Lord,
So worship Me. 21:92
Yet the people have divided it into sects.
But to Us they will all return. 21:93
So whoever does good
And is a believer
They will never be denied ˹the reward for˺ their striving,
For We are recording it all. 21:94
It is impossible for a society which We have destroyed
To ever rise again. 21:95
Until after Gog and Magog have broken loose from the barrier,
Swarming down from every hill, 21:96
And the True Promise draws near.
Then—behold!—the disbelievers will stare in horror, crying,
"Oh, woe to us!
"Oh, woe to us!
We have truly been heedless of this.
In fact, we have been wrongdoers." 21:97
Certainly you disbelievers
And whatever you worship instead of Allah
Will be the fuel of Hell.
You are all bound to enter it. 21:98
Had those idols been true gods,
They would not have entered it.
And they will be there forever. 21:99
In it they will groan, and will not be able to hear. 21:100
Verily, for those whom the good has preceded from Us
Will be kept far away from Hell, 21:101
Not even hearing the slightest hissing from it.
And they will delight forever in what their souls desire. 21:102
The Supreme Horror of that Day will not disturb them,
And the angels will greet them, saying,
"This is your Day,
"This is your Day, Which you have been promised." 21:103
On that Day We will roll up the heavens like a scroll of writings.
Just as We produced the first creation,
So We shall reproduce it.
That is a promise binding on Us.
We truly uphold Our promises! 21:104
We wrote in the Psalms,
After the [earlier] Scripture:
'My righteous servants will inherit the earth.'
Surely this Quran is sufficient as a reminder
For those devoted to worship. 21:106
We have sent you O Prophet
Only as a mercy for the whole world. 21:107
Say, "What has been revealed to me is this:
Your God is only One God.
Will you then submit?" 21:108
If they turn away, then say,
"I have warned you all equally.
I do not know-
If what you are promised is near or far away!" 21:109
Allah surely knows what you say openly
And whatever you hide. 21:110
I do not know
If this delay is possibly a test for you
And an enjoyment for a while." 21:111
In the end, the Prophet said,
"My Lord! Judge between us in truth.
And our Lord is the Most Compassionate,
Whose help is sought against what you claim." 21:112