Zu<u>kh</u>ruf, or Gold Adornments.

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

p. 1324

Sūra XLIII.

Zukhruf, or Gold Adornments.

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

1. Ha-Mīm

2. By the Book that
Makes things clear,—

3. We have made it
A Qur-ān in: Arabic,
That ye may be able
To understand (and learn wisdom).

4. And verily, it is
In the Mother of the Book,
In Our Presence, high
(In dignity), full of wisdom.

5. Shall We then
Take away the Message
From you and repel (you),
For that ye are a people
Transgressing beyond bounds?

6. But how many were
The prophets We sent
Amongst the peoples of old?

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7. And never came there
A prophet to them
But they mocked him.

8. So We destroyed (them)—
Stronger in power than these;—
And (thus) has passed on
The Parable of the peoples
Of old.

9. If thou wert
To question them, "Who created
The heavens and the earth?''
They would be sure to reply,
"They were created by (Him),
The Exalted in Power,
Full of Knowledge";—

10. (Yea, the same that)
Has made for you
The earth (like a carpet)
Spread out, and has made
For you roads (and channels)
Therein, in order that ye
May find guidance (on the way);

11. That sends down
(From time to time)

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Rain from the sky
In due measure;—
And We raise to life
Therewith a land that is
Dead; even so will ye
Be raised (from the dead);—

12. That has created pairs
In all things, and has made
For you ships and cattle
On which ye ride,

13. In order that ye may
Sit firm and square
On their backs, and when
So seated, ye may
Celebrate the (kind) favour
Of your Lord, and say,
"Glory to Him Who
Has subjected these
To our (use), for we
Could never have accomplished
This (by ourselves),

14. "And to our Lord, surely,
Must we turn back!"

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15. Yet they attribute
To some of His servants
A share with Him
(In His godhead)!
Truly is man a blasphemous
Ingrate avowed!

SECTION 2.

16. What! Has He taken
Daughters out of what He
Himself creates, and granted
To you sons for choice?

17. When news is brought
To one of them of (the birth
Of) what he sets up
As a likeness to (God)
Most Gracious, his face
Darkens, and he is filled
With inward grief!

18. Is then one brought up
Among trinkets, and unable
To give a clear account
In a dispute (to be
Associated with God)?

19. And they make into females
Angels who themselves serve

p. 1328

God. Did they witness
Their creation? Their evidence
Will be recorded, and they
Will be called to account!

20. ("Ah!") they say, "If
It had been the Will
Of (God) Most Gracious,
We should not have
Worshipped such (deities)!"
Of that they have
No knowledge! They
Do nothing but lie!

21. What! have We given them
A Book before this,
To which they are
Holding fast?

22. Nay! they say: "We found
Our fathers following
A certain religion,
And we do guide ourselves
By their footsteps."

23. Just in the same way,
Whenever We sent a Warner
Before thee to any people,
The wealthy ones among them
Said: "We found our fathers
Following a certain religion,
And we will certainly
Follow in their footsteps."

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24. He said: "What!
Even if I brought you
Better guidance than that
Which ye found
Your fathers following?"
They said: "For us,
We deny that ye (prophets)
Are sent (on a mission
At all)."

25. So We exacted retribution
From them: now see
What was the end
Of those who rejected (Truth)!

SECTION 3.

26. Behold! Abraham said
To his father and his people:
"I do indeed clear myself
Of what ye worship:

27. "(I worship) only Him
Who made me, and He
Will certainly guide me."

p. 1330

28. And he left it
As a Word
To endure among those
Who came after him,
That they may turn back
(To God).

29. Yea, I have given
The good things of this life
To these (men) and
Their fathers, until the Truth
Has come to them,
And an Apostle
Making things clear.

30. But when the Truth came
To them, they said:
"This is sorcery, and we
Do reject it."

31. Also, they say: "Why
Is not this Qur-ān sent
Down to some leading man
In either of the two
(Chief) cities?"

32. Is it they who would portion out
The Mercy of thy Lord?
It is We Who portion out
Between them their livelihood

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In the life of this world:
And We raise some of them
Above others in ranks,
So that some may command
Work from others.
But the Mercy of thy Lord
Is better than the (wealth)
Which they amass.

33. And were it not that
(All) men might become
Of one (evil) way of life,
We would provide,
For everyone that blasphemes
Against (God) Most Gracious,
Silver roofs for their houses,
And (silver) stair-ways
On which to go up,

34. And (silver) doors
To their houses, and thrones
(Of silver) on which
They could recline,

35. And also adornments
Of gold. But all this
Were nothing but conveniences
Of the present life:
The Hereafter, in the sight
Of thy Lord, is
For the Righteous.

SECTION 4.

36. If anyone withdraws himself
From remembrance

p. 1332

Of (God) Most Gracious,
We appoint for him
An evil one, to be
An intimate companion to him.

37. Such (evil ones) really
Hinder them from the Path,
But they think that they
Are being guided aright!

38. At length, when (such a one)
Comes to Us, he says
(To his evil companion):
"Would that between me
And thee were the distance
Of East and West!" Ah!
Evil is the companion (indeed)!

39. When ye have done wrong,
It will avail you nothing,
That day, that ye shall be
Partners in punishment!

40. Canst thou then make
The deaf to hear, or give
Direction to the blind
Or to such as (wander)
In manifest error?

p. 1333

41. Even if We take thee
Away, We shall be sure
To exact retribution from them,

42. Or We shall show thee
That (accomplished) which We
Have promised them:
For verily We shall
Prevail over them.

43. So hold thou fast
To the Revelation sent down
To thee: verily thou
Art on a Straight Way.

44. The (Qur-ān) is indeed
The Message, for thee
And for thy people;
And soon shall ye
(All) be brought to account.

45. And question thou our apostles
Whom We sent before thee;
Did We appoint any deities
Other than (God) Most Gracious,
To be worshipped?

SECTION 5.

46. We did send Moses
Aforetime, with Our Signs,

p. 1334

To Pharaoh and his Chiefs:
He said, "I am an apostle
Of the Lord of the Worlds."

47. But when he came to them
With Our Signs, behold,
They ridiculed them.

48. We showed them Sign
After Sign, each greater
Than, its fellow, and We
Seized them with Punishment,
In order that they
Might turn (to Us).

49. And they said, "O thou
Sorcerer! Invoke thy Lord
For us according to
His covenant with thee;
For we shall truly
Accept guidance."

50. But when We removed
The Penalty from them,
Behold, they broke their word.

51. And Pharaoh proclaimed
Among his people, saying:
"O my people! Does not
The dominion of Egypt
Belong to me, (witness)
These streams flowing
Underneath my (palace)? What!
See ye not then?

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52. "Am I not better
Than this (Moses), who
Is a contemptible wretch
And can scarcely
Express himself clearly?

53. "Then why are not
Gold bracelets bestowed
On him, or (why)
Come (not) with him
Angels accompanying him
In procession?"

54. Thus did he make
Fools of his people,
And they obeyed him:
Truly were they a people
Rebellious (against God).

55. When at length they
Provoked Us, We exacted
Retribution from them, and
We drowned them all.

56. And We made them
(A people) of the Past
And an Example
To later ages.

p. 1336

SECTION 6.

57. When (Jesus) the son
Of Mary is held up
As an example, behold,
Thy people raise a clamour
Thereat (in ridicule)!

58. And they say, "Are
Our gods best, or he?"
This they set forth
To thee, only by way
Of disputation: yea, they
Are a contentious people.

59. He was no more than
A servant: We granted
Our favour to him,
And We made him
An example to the Children
Of Israel.

p. 1337

60. And if it were Our Will,
We could make angels
From amongst you, succeeding
Each other on the earth.

61. And (Jesus) shall be
A Sign (for the coming
Of) the Hour (of Judgment):
Therefore have no doubt
About the (Hour), but
Follow ye Me: this
Is a Straight Way.

62. Let not the Evil One
Hinder you: for he is
To you an enemy avowed.

63. When Jesus came
With Clear Signs, he said:
"Now have I come
To you with Wisdom,
And in order to make
Clear to you some
Of the (points) on which
Ye dispute: therefore fear God
And obey me.

64. "For God, He is my Lord
And your Lord: so worship
Ye Him: this is
A Straight Way."

p. 1338

65. But sects from among
Themselves fell into disagreement:
Then woe to the wrong-doers,
From the Penalty
Of a Grievous Day!

66. Do they only wait
For the Hour—that it
Should come on them
All of a sudden,
While they perceive not?

67. Friends on that Day
Will be foes, one
To another,—except
The Righteous.

SECTION 7.

68. My devotees
No fear shall be
On you that Day,
Nor shall ye grieve,—

69. (Being) those who have believed
In Our Signs and bowed
(Their wills to Ours) in Islam.

70. Enter ye the Garden,
Ye and your wives,
In (beauty and) rejoicing.

p. 1339

71. To them will be passed
Round, dishes and goblets
Of gold: there will be
There all that the souls
Could desire, all that
The eyes could delight in:
And ye shall abide
Therein (for aye).

72. Such will be the Garden
Of which ye are made
Heirs for your (good) deeds
(In life).

73. Ye shall have therein
Abundance of fruit, from which
Ye shall have satisfaction.

74. The Sinners will be
In the Punishment of Hell,
To dwell therein (for aye):

75. Nowise will the (punishment)
Be lightened for them,
And in despair will they
Be there overwhelmed.

76. Nowise shall We
Be unjust to them:

p. 1340

But it is they who
Have been unjust themselves.

77. They will cry: "O Mālik!
Would that thy Lord
Put an end to us!"
He will say, "Nay, but
Ye shall abide!"

78. Verily We have brought
The Truth to you:
But most of you
Have a hatred for Truth.

79. What! Have they settled
Some Plan (among themselves)?
But it is We Who
Settle things.

80. Or do they think
That We hear not
Their secrets and their
Private counsels? Indeed
(We do), and Our Messengers
Are by them, to record.

81. Say: If (God) Most Gracious
Had a son, I would
Be the first to worship."

82. Glory to the Lord
Of the heavens and the earth,

p. 1341

The Lord of the Throne
(Of Authority)! (He is
Free) from the things
They attribute (to Him)!

83. So leave them to babble
And play (with vanities)
Until they meet that Day,
Of theirs, which they
Have been promised.

84. It is He Who is God
In heaven and God on earth;
And He is Full
Of Wisdom and Knowledge.

85. And blessed is He
To Whom belongs the dominion
Of the heavens and the earth,
And all between them:
With Him is the knowledge
Of the Hour (of Judgment):
And to Him shall ye
Be brought back.

86. And those whom they invoke
Besides God have no power
Of intercession;—only he
Who bears witness to the Truth,
And they know (him).

p. 1342

87. If thou ask them, Who
Created them, they will
Certainly say, God: how
Then are they deluded
Away (from the Truth)?

88. (God has knowledge)
Of the (Prophet's) cry,
"O my Lord! Truly
These are a people
Who will not believe!"

89. But turn away from them,
And say "Peace!"
But soon shall they know!

p. 1343