Sūra LVII. Ḥadīd, or Iron.

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

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Sūra LVII.

Ḥadīd, or Iron.

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

1. Whatever is in
The heavens and on earth,—
Let it declare
The Praises and Glory of God:
For He is the Exalted
In Might, the Wise.

2. To Him belongs the dominion
Of the heavens and the earth:
It is He Who gives
Life and Death; and He
Has Power over all things.

3. He is the First
And the Last,
The Evident
And the Immanent:
And He has full knowledge
Of all things.

4. He it is Who created
The heavens and the earth
In six Days, and is moreover
Firmly established on the Throne
(Of authority). He knows
What enters within the earth

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And what comes forth out
Of it, what comes down
From heaven and what mounts
Up to it. And He is
With you wheresoever ye
May be. And God sees
Well all that ye do.

5. To Him belongs the dominion
Of the heavens and the earth:
And all affairs are
Referred back to God.

6. He merges Night into Day,
And He merges Day into Night;
And He has full knowledge
Of the secrets of (all) hearts.

7. Believe in God
And His Apostle,
And spend (in charity)
Out of the (substance)
Whereof He has made you
Heirs. For, those of you
Who believe and spend
(In charity),—for them
Is a great Reward.

8. What cause have ye
Why ye should not believe
In God?—And the Apostle
Invites you to believe

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In your Lord, and has
Indeed taken your Covenant,
If ye are men of faith.

9. He is the One Who
Sends to His Servant
Manifest Signs, that He
May lead you from
The depths of Darkness
Into the Light And verily,
God is to you
Most kind and Merciful.

10. And what cause have ye
Why ye should not spend
In the cause of God?—
For to God belongs
The heritage of the heavens
And the earth.
Not equal among you
Are those who spent (freely)
And fought, before the Victory,
(With those who did so later).
Those are higher in rank
Than those who spent (freely)
And fought afterwards.
But to all has God promised
A goodly (reward). And God
Is well acquainted
With all that ye do.

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SECTION 2.

11. Who is he that will
Loan to God a beautiful
Loan? For (God) will
Increase it manifold
To his credit,
And he will have (besides)
A liberal reward.

12. One Day shalt thou see
The believing men and
The believing women—
How their Light runs
Forward before them
And by their right hands:
(Their greeting will be):
"Good News for you this Day!
Gardens beneath which How rivers!
To dwell therein for aye!
This is indeed
The highest Achievement!

13. One Day will the Hypocrites
Men and women—say
To the Believers: "Wait
For us! Let us borrow
(A light) from your Light!"
It will be said: "Turn
Ye back to your rear!
Then seek a light (where
Ye can)!" So a wall
Will be put up betwixt them,

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With a gate therein.
Within it will be Mercy
Throughout, and without it,
All alongside, will be
(Wrath and) Punishment!

14. (Those without) will call out,
"Were we not with you?
(The others) will reply, "True!
But ye led yourselves
Into temptation; ye looked forward
(To our ruin); ye doubted
(God's Promise); and (your false)
Desires deceived you; until
There issued the Command
Of God. And the Deceiver
Deceived you in respect of God.

15. "This Day shall no ransom
Be accepted of you, nor
Of those who rejected God.
Your abode is the Fire:
That is the proper place .
To claim you: and an evil
Refuge it is!"

16. Has not the time arrived
For the Believers that
Their hearts in all humility
Should engage in the remembrance

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Of God and of the Truth
Which has been revealed (to them),
And that they should not
Become like those to whom
Was given Revelation aforetime,
But long ages passed over them
And their hearts grew hard?
For many among them
Are rebellious transgressors.

17. Know ye (all) that
God giveth life
To the earth after its death
Already have We shown
The Signs plainly to you,
That ye may learn wisdom.

18. For those who give
In Charity, men and women,
And loan to God
A Beautiful Loan,
It shall be increased manifold
(To their credit),
And they shall have (besides)
A liberal reward.

19. And those who believe
In God and His apostles—
They are the Sincere
(Lovers of Truth), and

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The Witnesses (who testify),
In the eyes of their Lord:
They shall have their Reward
And their Light,
But those who reject God
And deny Our Signs,—
They are the Companions
Of Hell-Fire.

SECTION 3.

20. Know ye (all), that
The life of this world
Is but play and amusement,
Pomp and mutual boasting
And multiplying, (in rivalry)
Among yourselves, riches
And children.
Here is a similitude:
How rain and the growth
Which it brings forth, delight
(The hearts of) the tillers;
Soon it withers; thou
Wilt see it grow yellow;
Then it becomes dry
And crumbles away.
But in the Hereafter
Is a Penalty severe
(For the devotees of wrong).
And Forgiveness from God
And (His) Good Pleasure

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(For the devotees of God).
And what is the life
Of this world, but
Goods and chattels
Of deception?

21. Be ye foremost (in seeking)
Forgiveness from your Lord,
And a Garden (of Bliss),
The width whereof is
As the width of
Heaven and earth,
Prepared for those who believe
In God and His apostles:
That is the Grace of God,
Which He bestows on whom
He pleases: and God is
The Lord of Grace abounding.

22. No misfortune can happen
On earth or in your souls
But is recorded in
A decree before We bring
It into existence:
That is truly easy for God:

23. In order that ye may
Not despair over matters
That pass you by,
Nor exult over favours
Bestowed upon you.
For God loveth not

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Any vainglorious boaster,—

24. Such persons as are
Covetous and commend
Covetousness to men.
And if any turn back
(From God's Way), verily
God is free of all needs,
Worthy of all praise.

25. We sent aforetime
Our apostles with Clear Signs
And sent down with them
The Book and the Balance
(Of Right and Wrong), that men
May stand forth in justice;
And We sent down Iron
In which is (material for)
Mighty war, as well as
Many benefits for mankind,
That God may test who
It is that will help,

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Unseen, Him and His apostles:
For God is Full of Strength,
Exalted in Might
(And able to enforce His Will).

SECTION 4.

26. And We sent Noah
And Abraham, and established
In their line Prophethood
And Revelation: and some of them!
Were on right guidance,
But many of them
Became rebellious transgressors.

27. Then, in their wake,
We followed them up
With (others of) Our apostles:
We sent after them
Jesus the son of Mary,
And bestowed on him
The Gospel; and We ordained
In the hearts of those
Who followed him
Compassion and Mercy.

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But the Monasticism
Which they invented
For themselves, We did not
Prescribe for them:
(We commanded) only
The seeking for the Good
Pleasure of God; but that
They did not foster
As they should have done.
Yet We bestowed, on those
Among them who believed,
Their (due) reward, but
Many of them are
Rebellious transgressors.

28. O ye that believe!
Fear God, and believe
In His Apostle, and He will
Bestow on you a double
Portion of His Mercy:
He will provide for you

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A Light by which ye
Shall walk (straight
In your path), and He
Will forgive you (your past):
For God is Oft-Forgiving,
Most Merciful:

29. That the People of
The Book may know
That they have no power
Whatever over the Grace
Of God, that (His) Grace
Is (entirely) in his hand,
To bestow it on
Whomsoever He wills.
For God is the Lord.
Of Grace abounding.

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