Sūrah al-Zumar

This Book has been revealed from God, in a very thorough manner, Who is Powerful, very Wise. We have revealed this Book to you [O Prophet] with the decisive truth. So, worship God alone while sincerely obeying Him only. Listen! Pure obedience is for God alone. People who have made other guardians besides God and say: “We only worship them so that they can bring us closer to God,” God shall definitely decide between them in what they are differing. Indeed, God does not guide those who are liars and ingrates.

[These foolish do not think that] had God wanted children, He would have selected anyone from among His creatures [for His own self. However,] He is exalted from this. He is the One God, dominant over all.

He has created the heavens and the earth for a purpose. He covers the day with the night and the night with the day, and it is He Who has subdued the sun and the moon. Each is moving until an appointed time. Listen! He alone is Powerful, very Forgiving.

It is He Who has created you from a single soul; then created a spouse for it from its species and sent down eight types of cattle for you, male and female [so that you can fulfil your economic needs from them]. He creates you in the wombs of your mothers in one stage of creation after the other in three layers of darkness. Such is God your Lord. Sovereignty is His. There is no deity except Him. Then where are you being led astray.

If you show ingratitude, you shall not the slightest harm God because God does not need you. True, He does not like ingratitude for His servants. And if you are grateful, He will like it for you. [Remember! On the Day of Judgement,] no bearer of burden shall bear anyone’s burden. Then your return shall be towards your Lord alone; so, whatever you have been doing, He will let you know. In reality, He even knows the secrets of the hearts.

[Strange is the case of human beings.] When some calamity strikes a person, he calls God while turning towards Him. Then when his Lord grants Him some favour from Himself, he forgets that for which he was pleading earlier and starts associating partners with God in order to lead people away from His path. Tell him [O Prophet]: Make hay for some days with this disbelief of yours; there is no doubt that one day you shall ultimately be among the companions of Hell.

[People!] Will those who during the night prostrate at times and at times stand humbly [before their Lord], fear the Hereafter and hope for their Lord’s mercy and those who have forgotten Him while relying on their associates ever become equal? Ask them: Can those who know and those who do not ever be the same? In reality, only people of intellect receive a reminder [from all these things].

[Leave them to themselves O Prophet and] tell [My servants]: My servants who have embraced faith! Fear your Lord [and remember that] those who adopt goodness in this world, for them is goodness in the Hereafter too. [If you are persecuted in your land, do not lose hope;] vast is God’s earth; [He will open its ways for you and] those [of His servants] who remain steadfast in their trials, for them their reward shall be granted immeasurably.

Say: I have been directed that I should worship God alone by reserving my obedience for Him only, and directed that I should be the first Muslim. Say: If I disobey my Lord, I fear the torment of a horrific day.

Say: I worship God alone by reserving my obedience for Him only. As for you, you can worship anyone besides Him; [I acquit myself of it.] Say: In reality, only those people are in a loss who have put themselves and their family in loss on the Day of Judgement. Listen: This is plain loss. For them, there shall be canopies of fire from above them and also from below them. It is precisely this from which God warns His servants: “My Servants! For this reason, fear Me.”

On the other hand, those who abstained from Satan’s worship and directed their attention to God, for them are glad tidings. So, give glad tidings to these servants of Mine; they who listen intently to what is said; then follow what is the better of it. It is these who are blessed with guidance from God and it is these who are endowed with intellect.

Then, he upon whom the word of torment has been fulfilled and Hell only is his abode now, will you save him who is in Hell? However, those who kept fearing their Lord, for them shall be tall mansions and decorated tall mansions above tall mansions. Streams shall be flowing below them. This is a certain promise of God. God shall not go back on His promise.

[They think that their political authority will never decline?] Have you not seen [O Prophet that] God sent down water from the heavens and made its streams flow in the land. Then He makes plantation of different colours grow from it. Then when it is about to whither, you see it turning yellow. Then He crushes it to bits. Surely, there is a great reminder in this for those endowed with intellect.

[Alas! Their hearts have hardened.] Then will they whose hearts God has opened for Islam and they are on a light from their Lord become equal to those whose hearts have hardened? So, devastation is for those whose hearts have hardened with regard to God’s reminder. It is they who are in open error.

[People!] God has revealed the best word in the form of a Book every part of which is in harmony with the other and whose sūrahs occur in pairs. Because of it, the hairs of those who fear their Lord rise on ends. Then their bodies and their hearts soften and bend before God’s remembrance. This is God’s guidance. Through it, He guides whomsoever He desires [according to His law and also leads astray according to that law] and he who is led astray by God, none can guide him.

Then will he who fends off with his face the torment on the Day of Judgement become equal to those who are guided? To such wrongdoers, it shall be said: “Taste now the flavour of what you used to do.”

Those before them had also similarly denied. So, Our torment visited them from where they could not even imagine. Then God made them taste humiliation in the life of this world too and the torment of the Hereafter is far greater. Would that these people understood this!

We have cited in this Qur’ān parables of all sorts so that they pay heed. In the form of a Qur’ān that is in Arabic in which there is no flaw so that they can be secure from God’s torment. [If they want to understand the essence of polytheism and monotheism,] God mentions the parable of a slave [for them] who has many masters simultaneously who are in conflict with one another and of another slave who is under the complete ownership of a single person. Will the two be alike? [Certainly not! In reality,] God alone is worthy of gratitude but most of them do not know.

[Do not be aggrieved at their stubbornness O Prophet!] You certainly have to die also and they too have to die. Then it is destined that all of you will present your dispute before your Lord on the Day of Judgement. So, on that day, who will be more unjust to his soul who imputed a lie to God and denied the truth when it came to them! Will not Hell be the abode of such disbelievers?

Indeed, he who came with the truth and those who whole-heartedly accepted it as the truth, it is they who shall be saved from the torment. For them shall be whatever they desire before God. This is the reward of those who are thorough in their deeds. So that the deeds they had done, God delivers them of their evil consequences and blesses them with their reward, the best reward of their deeds.

[Why should you fear them, O Prophet?] Is not God sufficient for His servant? They threaten you with those they have made besides Him. [Ignore them. God has led them astray] and those who are led astray by God [according to His law], none can then guide them and those who are guided by God, none can lead them astray. [So, why should you be scared?] Is God not powerful and one who avenges?

If you ask them: “Who has created the heavens and the earth?” they shall definitely say: “God.” Say: Then have you thought that if God wants to inflict some harm on me, then those [female idols] which you call upon besides God, can they ward off the harm inflicted by Him? Or if God wants to grant me a favour, can they be ones who impede that favour? Say: God is sufficient for me. Those who trust, trust Him.

Say: People of My Nation! Do according to your way; I shall do according to mine. Then soon you will know who is visited by the torment that humiliates and on whom descends that torment which stays on.

[Your responsibility is to only make them understand,O Prophet!] There is no doubt that We have revealed this book to you with truth for the guidance of people. Thus, he who is guided, is guided for himself and he who goes astray, then he alone will bear its evil consequences. You have not been made responsible over them.

In reality, it is God Who claims souls when their time of death arrives and those whose time of death has not come, He claims them similarly in the state of sleep. Then those for whom He has decreed death, He holds them back and those who remain, He releases them for an appointed time. There certainly are signs in this for those who reflect.

[In spite of this,] have they made others as intercessors besides God? Tell them: Even if they do not have any authority and intellect? Say: Intercession is solely in the hands of God. The sovereignty of the heavens and the earth belongs to Him. Then you will be returned to Him alone. [It is a result of this foolishness that] when God is mentioned alone, they who do not believe in the Hereafter [where the unbiased justice of God shall be delivered], their hearts fret and when others except God are mentioned, they become immediately happy. [Consign now their matter to God and] say: O God! Creator of the heavens and the earth, Who has knowledge of the seen and the unseen! Only You will decide among Your servants in what they are differing.

[They are not prepared to believe at this time, but] if these unjust people have everything which is in the earth and as much besides, then to be secure from a woeful doom they would [without any hesitation] want to give it as ransom on the Day of Judgement. But they will be faced from God something they never could have imagined. The evil consequences of their deeds shall come before them and the very thing they had been making fun of shall surround them.

Thus, [strange is the matter of a] human being. When some calamity strikes [him], he calls Us. Then when We show favour to him from Ourselves, he says: “I have attained this because of my knowledge.” Certainly not! In fact, this is a trial, but most of them do not know. Those before them had also said the same thing; so whatever they used to earn was of no avail to them and the evil consequences of their deeds came before them. From these people also who have been unjust to their souls, the evil consequences of their deeds will soon come before them and they will not be able to defeat God. Do they not know that God gives abundantly to whomsoever He desires and sparingly to whomsoever He desires? In reality, there are many signs in this for those who want to accept faith.

Tell them: My servants, who have been unjust to their souls [by associating partners with Me,] do not lose hope in God’s mercy. God shall forgive all the sins. Undoubtedly, He is very Forgiving, Ever-Merciful. Turn to your Lord and be obedient to Him before His torment arrives. Then you will not be helped.

Follow the best thing that has been revealed to you from your Lord before the torment suddenly visits you and you are not even aware of it. Lest someone should say [afterwards]: “I pity my mistake which emanated from me regarding God, and in reality I only continued to make fun.” Or say: “Had God guided me, I too would have been among those who fear him.” Or seeing the torment, say: “Would that I be given the chance to go into the world again so that I could be included among those who are thorough in their deeds!” Why not! [I did send guidance to you. Thus] My revelations had come to you; but you denied them and showed arrogance and remained among the disbelievers.

[People!] On the Day of Judgement, you will see that their faces are black who [by ascribing partners to Him] have imputed falsehood to God. Will not Hell be the abode of these arrogant people? [On that Day,] God shall deliver those people in their peaceful abode who kept fearing Him. Neither will they be harmed there nor will they be sorrowful. [In reality,] only God is the creator of everything and He alone is the guardian of everything. Only He has the keys of the heavens and the earth. [No one can hand over anything to anyone from His treasures. Hence,] those who have denied God’s revelations, it is they who have incurred loss.

Tell them: O Foolish People! [These are evident facts.] In spite of this, you ask me to worship others besides God? Even though [O Messenger] this revelation has been sent to you as well and to those also who were before you: “If you adhere to polytheism, your deeds shall not bear fruit and you shall definitely end up in loss. Hence never take to polytheism; in fact, worship God alone and be among only His grateful servants.”

These people did not give due importance to God [and set up His partners; yet so powerful is He that] on the Day of Judgement, it will be [as if] the entire earth will be in His grasp and the heavens will be folded up in His right hand. He is pure and exalted from what they associate to Him. [On that day, such will be the matter with all the world that] when the trumpet will be blown, all that are in the heavens and the earth will fall down unconscious except those whom God wants. Then it will be blown again; so, all of a sudden they will get up and look about, and the earth will shine with the light of its Lord and the register of accounts will be placed and the messengers will be brought to presence to bear witness and they also who were given the responsibility to bear witness, and judgement shall be passed with fairness among people; they shall not suffer any injustice. And each person shall be given fully what he had done. God very well knows what they have been doing.

[After this,] those who had rejected [the call to monotheism] will be driven to Hell in groups. When they will ultimately reach it, its gates will be opened [for them] and its guards will ask them: “Did not messengers come to you from among yourselves who would recite out the revelations of God to you and warn you of that meeting of that day of yours?” They will reply: “Yes, they did come but the word of torment was undoubtedly fulfilled regarding the disbelievers.” It will be said: “Enter the gates of Hell to live in it forever.” So, what an evil abode it is for the arrogant.

On the other hand, people who kept fearing their Lord shall be driven to Paradise group after group. Finally, when they will reach it and its gates will be opened [for them] and their guards will say to them: “Peace be to you; rejoice and enter it forever,” and they will reply to them: “Gratitude be to God Who fulfilled what He promised us and made us the inheritors of the land; now we shall stay wherever we like in Paradise,” then this will be their reward. So, what a befitting reward for those who labour.

[On the day when the earth will shine with the light of its Lord] and you will see angels extolling and glorifying their Lord while sitting around His throne. On that day, judgement shall be passed with fairness and [from every where] it shall be proclaimed: “Worthy of praise is God, Lord of the worlds.”