Sūra XL. Mū-min, or The Believer

The Holy Quran, tr. by Yusuf Ali, [1934], at sacred-texts.com

p. 1262

Sūra XL.

Mū-min, or The Believer.

In the name of God, Most Gracious,
Most Merciful.

1. Hā-Mīm.

2. The revelation
Of this Book
Is from God,
Exalted in Power,
Full of Knowledge,—

3. Who forgiveth Sin,
Accepteth Repentance,
Is Strict in Punishment,
And hath a Long Reach
(In all things).
There is no god
But He: to Him
Is the Final Goal.

4. None can dispute
About the Signs of God
But the Unbelievers.
Let not, then,
Their strutting about
Through the land
Deceive thee!

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5. But (there were people) before them,
Who denied (the Signs),—
The People of Noah,
And the Confederates
(Of Evil) after them;
And every People plotted
Against their prophet,
To seize him, and disputed
By means of vanities,
Therewith to condemn
The Truth: but it was I
That seized them!
And how (terrible)
Was My Requital!

6. Thus was the Decree
Of thy Lord proved true
Against the Unbelievers
That truly they are
Companions of the Fire!

7. Those who sustain
The Throne (of God)
And those around it
Sing Glory and Praise
To their Lord; believe
In Him; and implore Forgiveness
For those who believe:
"Our Lord! Thy Reach

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Is over all things,
In Mercy and Knowledge.
Forgive, then, those who
Turn in Repentance, and follow
Thy Path; and preserve them
From the Penalty
Of the Blazing Fire!

8. "And grant, our Lord!
That they enter
The Gardens of Eternity,
Which Thou hast promised
To them, and to the righteous
Among their fathers,
Their wives, and their posterity!
For Thou art (He),
The Exalted in Might,
Full of Wisdom.

9. "And preserve them
From (all) ills;
And any whom Thou
Dost preserve from ills
That Day,—on them
Wilt Thou have bestowed
Mercy indeed: and that
Will be truly (for them)
The highest Achievement".

SECTION 2.

10. The Unbelievers will be
Addressed: "Greater was
The aversion of God to you
Than (is), your aversion

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To yourselves, seeing that ye
Were called to the Faith
And ye used to refuse."

11. They will say: "Our Lord!
Twice hast Thou made us
Without life, and twice
Hast Thou given us Life!
Now have we recognised
Our sins: is there
Any way out (of this)?"

12. (The answer will be:)
"This is because, when
God was invoked as
The Only (object of worship),
Ye did reject Faith,
But when partners were
Joined to Him, ye believed!
The Command is with God,
Most High, Most Great!"

13. He it is Who showeth
You His Signs, and sendeth
Down Sustenance for you
From the sky: but only
Those receive admonition
Who turn (to God).

14. Call ye, then, upon God
With sincere devotion to Him,

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Even though the Unbelievers
May detest it.

15. Raised high above ranks
(Or degrees),
(He is) the Lord
Of the Throne (of authority):
By His Command doth He
Send the spirit (of inspiration)
To any of His servants
He pleases, that it may
Warn (men) of the Day
Of Mutual Meeting,—

16. The Day whereon
They will (all) come forth:
Not a single thing
Concerning them is hidden
From God. Whose will be
The Dominion that Day?
That of God, the One,
The Irresistible!

17. That Day will every soul
Be requited for what
It earned; no injustice
Will there be that Day,
For God is Swift
In taking account.

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18. Warn them of the Day
That is (ever) drawing near,
When the Hearts will
(Come) right up to the Throats
To choke (them);
No intimate friend
Nor intercessor will the
wrong-doers
Have, who could be
Listened to.

19. (God) knows of (the tricks)
That deceive with the eyes,
And all that the hearts
(Of men) conceal.

20. And God will judge
With (Justice and) Truth:
But those whom (men)
Invoke besides Him, will
Not (be in a position)
To judge at all.
Verily it is God (alone)
Who hears and sees
(All things).

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SECTION 3.

21. Do they not travel
Through the earth and see
What was the End
Of those before them
They were even superior
To them in strength,
And in the traces (they
Have left) in the land:
But God did call them
To account for their sins,
And none had they
To defend them against God.

22. That was because there came
To them their apostles
With Clear (Signs),
But they rejected them:
So God called them
To account: for He is
Full of Strength,
Strict in Punishment.

23. Of old We sent Moses,
With Our Signs
And an Authority manifest,

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24. To Pharaoh, Hāmān,
And Qārūn; but they
Called (him) "a sorcerer
Telling lies!"…

25. Now, when he came to them
In Truth, from Us,
They said, "Slay the sons
Of those who believe a
With him, and keep alive
Their females," but the plots
Of Unbelievers (end) in nothing
But errors (and delusions)!…

26. Said Pharaoh: "Leave me
To slay Moses; and let him
Call on his Lord!
What I fear is lest
He should change your religion,
Or lest he should cause
Mischief to appear
In the land!"

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27. Moses said: "I have indeed
Called upon my Lord
And your Lord
(For protection) from every
Arrogant one who believes not
In the Day of Account!"

SECTION 4.

28. A Believer, a man
From among the people
Of Pharaoh, who had concealed
His faith, said: "Will ye
Slay a man because he
Says, "My Lord is God"?—
When he has indeed come
To you with Clear (Signs)
From your Lord? And if
He be a liar, on him
Is (the sin of) his lie;
But, if he is telling
The Truth, then will
Fall on you something
Of the (calamity) of which
He warns you: truly
God guides not one
Who transgresses and lies!

29. "O my People! yours
Is the dominion this day:

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Ye have the upper hand
In the land: but who
Will help us from
The Punishment of God,
Should it befall us?"
Pharaoh said: "I but
Point out to you that
Which I see (myself);
Nor do I guide you
But to the Path of Right!"

30. Then said the man
Who believed: "O my People!
Truly I do fear
For you something like
The Day (of disaster)
Of the Confederates (in sin)!—

31. "Something like the fate
Of the People of Noah,
The ‘Ād, and the Thamūd,
And those who came
After them: but God
Never wishes injustice
To His Servants.

32. "And O my People!
I fear for you a Day
When there will be
Mutual calling (and wailing),—

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33. "A Day when ye
Shall turn your backs
And flee: no defender
Shall ye have from God:
Any whom God leaves
To stray, there is none
To guide…

34. "And to you there came
Joseph in times gone by,
With Clear Signs, but
Ye ceased not to doubt
Of the (mission) for which
He had come: at length,
When he died, ye said:
"No apostle will God send
After him." Thus doth God
Leave to stray such as
Transgress and live in doubt,—

35. "(Such) as dispute about
The Signs of God,
Without any authority
That hath reached them.
Grievous and odious
(Is such conduct)
In the sight of God
And of the Believers.
Thus doth God seal up
Every heart—of arrogant
And obstinate transgressors."

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36. Pharaoh said: "O Hāmān!
Build me a lofty palace,
That I may attain
The ways and means—

37. "The ways and means
Of (reaching) the heavens,
And that I may mount up
To the God of Moses:
But as far as I am concerned,
I think (Moses) is a liar!"
Thus was made alluring,
In Pharaoh's eyes,
The evil of his deeds,
And he was hindered
From the Path; and the plot
Of Pharaoh led to nothing
But perdition (for him).

SECTION 5.

38. The man who believed said
Further: "O my People!
Follow me: I will lead
You to the Path of Right.

39. "O my People! This life
Of the present is nothing
But (temporary) convenience:
It is the Hereafter

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That is the Home
That will last.

40. "He that works evil
Will not be requited
But by the like thereof:
And he that works
A righteous deed—whether
Man or woman—and is
A Believer—such will enter
The Garden (of Bliss): therein
Will they have abundance
Without measure.

41. "And O my People!
How (strange) it is
For me to call you
To Salvation while ye
Call me to the Fire!

42. "Ye do call upon me
To blaspheme against God,
And to join with Him
Partners of whom I have
No knowledge; and I
Call you to the Exalted
In Power, Who forgives
Again and again!"

43. "Without doubt ye do call
Me to one who is not
Fit to be called to,
Whether in this world,

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Or in the Hereafter;
Our Return will be
To God; and the Transgressors
Will be Companions
Of the Fire!

44. "Soon will ye remember
What I say to you (now).
My (own) affair I commit
To God: for God (ever)
Watches over His Servants."

45. Then God saved him
From (every) ill that they
Plotted (against him),
But the brunt of the Penalty
Encompassed on all sides
The People of Pharaoh.

46. In front of the Fire
Will they be brought,
Morning and evening:
And (the Sentence will be)
On the Day that
Judgment will be established:
"Cast ye the People
Of Pharaoh into
The severest Penalty!"

47. Behold, they will dispute
With each other in the Fire!
The weak ones (who followed)
Will say to those who
Had been arrogant, "We but
Followed you: can ye then

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Take (on yourselves) from us
Some share of the Fire?"

48. Those who had been arrogant
Will say: "We are all
In this (Fire)! Truly,
God has judged
Between (His) Servants!"

49. Those in the Fire will say
To the Keepers of Hell:
"Pray to your Lord
To lighten us the Penalty
For a Day (at least)!"

50. They will say: "Did there
Not come to you
Your apostles with Clear Signs?"
They will say, "Yes".
They will reply, "Then
Pray (as ye like)! But
The Prayer of those
Without Faith is nothing
But (futile wandering)
In (mazes of) error!"

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SECTION 6.

51. We will, without doubt,
Help Our apostles and those
Who believe, (both)
In this world's life
And on the Day
When the Witnesses
Will stand forth,—

52. The Day when no profit
Will it be to Wrong-doers
To present their excuses,
But they will (only) have
The Curse and the Home
Of Misery.

53. We did aforetime give Moses
The (Book of) Guidance,
And We gave the Book
In inheritance to the Children
Of Israel,—

54. A Guide and a Message
To men of understanding.

55. Patiently, then, persevere:
For the Promise of God
Is true: and ask forgiveness
For thy fault, and celebrate

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The Praises of thy Lord
In the evening
And in the morning.

56. Those who dispute
About the Signs of God
Without any authority
Bestowed on them,—there is
Nothing in their breasts
But (the quest of) greatness,
Which they shall never
Attain to: seek refuge,
Then, in God: it is He
Who hears and sees (all things).

57. Assuredly the creation
Of the heavens
And the earth
Is a greater (matter)
Than the creation of men:
Yet most men understand not.

58. Not equal are the blind
And those who (clearly) see:
Nor are (equal) those
Who believe and work
Deeds of righteousness, and
Those who do evil.
Little do ye learn
By admonition!

59. The Hour will certainly come:
Therein is no doubt:
Yet most men believe not.

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60. And your Lord says:
"Call on Me; I
Will answer your (Prayer):
But those who are
Too arrogant to serve Me
Will surely find themselves
In Hell—in humiliation!"

SECTION 7.

61. It is God Who has
Made the Night for you,
That ye may rest therein,
And the Day, as that
Which helps (you) to see.
Verily God is Full of
Grace and Bounty to men:
Yet most men give
No thanks.

62. Such is God, your Lord,
The Creator of all things.
There is no god but He:
Then how ye are delude
Away from the Truth!

63. Thus are deluded those
Who are wont to reject
The Signs of God.

64. It is God Who has
Made for you the earth

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As a resting place,
And the sky as a canopy,
And has given you shape—
And made your shapes
Beautiful,—and has provided
For you Sustenance,
Of things pure and good;—
Such is God your Lord.
So Glory to God,
The Lord of the Worlds!

65. He is the Living (One):
There is no god but He:
Call upon Him, giving Him
Sincere devotion. Praise he
To God, Lord of the Worlds!

66. Say: "I have been forbidden
To invoke those whom ye
Invoke besides God,—seeing that
The Clear Signs have come
To me from my Lord;
And I have been commanded
To bow (in Islām)
To the Lord of the Worlds."

67. It is He Who has
Created you from dust,

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Then from a sperm-drop,
Then from a leech-like clot;
Then does He get you
Out (into the light)
As a child: then lets you
(Grow and) reach your age
Of full strength; then
Lets you become old,—
Though of you there are
Some who die before;—
And lets you reach
A Term appointed;
In order that ye
May learn wisdom.

68. It is He Who gives Life
And Death; and when He
Decides upon an affair,
He says to it, "Be",
And it is.

SECTION 8.

69. Seest thou not those
That dispute concerning
The Signs of God?
How are they turned away
(From Reality)?—

70. Those who reject the Book
And the (revelations) with which
We sent Our apostles:
But soon shall they know,—

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71. When the yokes (shall be)
Round their necks,
And the chains;
They shall be dragged along—

72. In the boiling fetid fluid
Then in the Fire
Shall they be burned;

73. Then shall it be said
To them: "Where are
The (deities) to which
Ye gave part-worship—

74. "In derogation of God?"
They will reply: "They have
Left us in the lurch:
Nay, we invoked not,
Of old, anything (that had
Real existence)." Thus
Does God leave
The Unbelievers to stray.

75. "That was because
Ye were wont to rejoice
On the earth in things
Other than the Truth,
And that ye were wont
To be insolent.

76. "Enter ye the gates
Of Hell, to dwell therein:
And evil is (this) abode
Of the arrogant!"

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77. So persevere in patience;
For the Promise of God
Is true: and whether
We show thee (in this life)
Some part of what We
Promise them,—or We
Take thy soul (to Our Mercy)
(Before that),—(in any case)
It is to Us that
They shall (all) return.

78. We did aforetime send
Apostles before thee: of them
There are some whose story
We have related to thee,
And some whose story
We have not related
To thee. It was not
(Possible) for any apostle
To bring a Sign except
By the leave of God:
But when the Command
Of God issued,
The matter was decided
In truth and justice,
And there perished,
There and then, those
Who stood on Falsehoods.

SECTION 9.

79. It is God who made
Cattle for you, that ye

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May use some for riding
And some for food;

80. And there are (other) advantages
In them for you (besides);
That ye may through them
Attain to any need
(There may be) in your hearts;
And on them and on ships
Ye are carried.

81. And He shows you (always)
His Signs: then which
Of the Signs of God
Will ye deny?

82. Do they not travel through
The earth and see what
Was the End of those
Before them? They were
More numerous than these
And superior in strength
And in the traces
(They have left) in the land:
Yet all that they accomplished
Was of no profit to them.

83. For when their apostles
Came to them
With Clear Signs, they exulted
In such knowledge (and skill)

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As they had; but
That very (Wrath) at which
They were wont to scoff
Hemmed them in.

84. But when they saw
Our Punishment, they said:
"We believe in God,—
The One God—and we
Reject the partners we used
To join with Him."

85. But their professing the Faith
When they (actually) saw
Our Punishment was not going
To profit them.
(Such has been) God's way
Of dealing with His servants
(From the most ancient times).
And even thus did
The rejecters of God
Perish (utterly)!

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