Sūrah al-Shūrā

This is Sūrah Ḥā Mīm ‘Ayn Sīn Qāf. God, the Dominant and the Wise, sends revelations to you in this manner and to those before you also He has been sending revelations in the same manner [with the same content and in the same way]. Whatever is in the heavens and in the earth belongs to Him and He is Exalted and Great. It is as if the heavens will almost split apart from above them [because of His awe] and angels, they [because of fear for their] Lord glorify Him while extolling Him and pray for the forgiveness of the inhabitants of the earth. Listen! In reality, only God is Forgiving and Merciful. In spite of this, those who have set up other guardians besides Him, God watches over them and [O Prophet!] You have not been made accountable for them.

In the same manner [as stated], We have revealed to you an Arabic Qur’ān so that you can warn the dwellers of Makkah and those who live in its whereabouts, warning them especially of the day which is a day in which all will be gathered in the advent of which there is no doubt. On that day, one group shall be in Paradise and one in Hell.

[You do not have any responsibility beyond this.] Had God wanted, He would have made all of them as one community [but He has given people the freedom to exercise their will; so, now] He admits into His mercy whomsoever He wishes [according to His law] and as for those who are unjust to their souls, they will neither have any guardian nor any helper. Have these people set up other guardians besides God? So, they should keep in mind that only God is the guardian; it is only He Who will bring the dead back to life and [this is not the slightest difficult for Him;] He has power over all things. In whichever things you have any differences [whether it is monotheism or the hereafter], its decision rests with God. He only is my Lord. I have put my trust in Him alone and I turn to Him only.¹

It is He Who is the creator of the heavens and the earth. It is He Who has created your spouses for you from your species and also made pairs among beasts from their species. He cultivates you in this land. Nothing is like Him and He alone hears and sees. Only He has the keys of the heavens and the earth. He gives abundantly to whomsoever he wants and sparingly to whomsoever He wants. Indeed, He is aware of everything.

He has prescribed the same religion for you to which He guided Noah and whose revelation [O Prophet] We have sent to you and whose directive We gave to Abraham, Moses, Jesus: “Adhere to this religion [in your lives] and do not create difference in it.” What you are calling these Idolaters to [that they should believe in one God] is weighing down heavily on them. God chooses whomsoever He intends to come towards Him but He shows the way that leads towards Him to only those who turn to Him.

[And these people who believe in these messengers,] became divided after true knowledge had come to them merely because of malice and enmity among themselves. And had a prescribed time of respite already not been fixed from your Lord, a verdict would have been passed between them at that very instant. [Then not only they,] those after them who [from God] were made inheritors of that Book, are afflicted with such doubt from that book that is very perplexing.

So, [O Prophet!] Invite towards the very religion [which is the religion of all prophets] and the way in which you have been directed, firmly adhere to it and do not follow their desires and declare: Whichever Book God has revealed I believe in it, and I have been directed to judge fairly between you [about truth and falsehood. Bear in mind that] God alone is our Lord and yours also. [If you do not believe,] our deeds are for us and yours for you. There is no further need of any discussion between you and us. God shall gather all of us [on the Day of Judgement] and towards Him everyone has to go.

Those who are arguing about God [in order to prove that He has associates] after He has been believed [by them], their argument is going to fail totally before their Lord and for them is wrath and a severe torment.

It is God Who has revealed this Book of His with the decisive truth and [in this way in order to distinguish good and evil] sent down His scale. [If they want, they can benefit from it; otherwise,] what may you know that the Hour may be near. Only those people are asking to hasten it who do not believe in it. The believers dread it and know that it certainly is the truth. Listen! Those who are disputing about [an established fact like] the Day of Judgement, there is no doubt that they have gone far astray.

[They are getting this respite because] God is very affectionate to His servants. [In spite of their disobedience,] He gives sustenance to whomsoever He wants and [these people should not feel secure because of this respite. This is because] He is very Powerful and Mighty. [People! Our law is that] he who wants the harvest of the Hereafter, We bless His harvest and also give him his share in the world, and he who desires the harvest of this world, We give to him [whatever We want to] from it, but [after this] he has no share in the Hereafter.

[The religion of God is the same which He has given through His prophets. Then] have these people set up some partners with God who have prescribed for them a religion which God has never allowed? [Such is this audacity that] had a decisive word not already been pronounced, a verdict would have been passed between them at that very instant. There is no doubt that for such unjust people there is a painful torment. You will see these unjust people [on that Day] that they would be fearing the consequences of their earning and they are destined to be inflicted by them. On the other hand, those who professed faith and would have done righteous deeds, they will be in orchards of Paradise. Whatever they desire will be available for them before their Lord. Supreme favour is in fact this. This is the thing whose glad tidings God is giving to His servants who accepted faith and did righteous deeds. Tell them [O Prophet]: I am not asking any reward from you for this. I am only fulfilling the obligation I owe to my affection for the kindred. And say: A person who does a virtue, We shall increase His goodness for him in his virtue. There is no doubt that God is very Forgiving, one Who values.

Do they say that he has imputed falsehood to God? [Certainly not! It is entirely Our favour.] So, if God desires, He can seal your hearts [and if He wants He can continue this favour of His], whereas God is obliterating evil through His words and affirming the truth. Undoubtedly, God knows the secrets of hearts. [They should reach out to Him as] it is He Who accepts repentance of His servants and pardons their sins and knows whatever you do.

Believers and those who do righteous deeds accept [His call] and [as its reward] He will increase His favour upon them. As for these disbelievers, for them is a stern torment.

[Whatever God has given them has become a trial for them.] Had God provided His sustenance in abundance to people, they would have wreaked havoc on the earth. But He sends down in a certain measure what He wants to because He is aware of His servants; He is watching over their affairs. In fact, it is He Who pours down rain on them after they lose hope and spreads His mercy [everywhere] and it is He Who is the guardian [of everyone] and has praiseworthy attributes.

[They should not regard His warning to be a joke.] The creation of the heavens and the earth is from among His signs and these living beings also which He has dispersed in both of them and He also has full power of gathering them when He will want to gather them.

[People! When you rebel against God,] whatever calamity strikes you [in this world] strikes you because of your misdeeds and He also forgoes many of your wrongdoings. [The reason for this is that you receive a reminder for it,] otherwise you cannot escape from His grasp anywhere on the face of this earth and there is neither any guardian for you against God nor any helper.

And ships as [tall] mountains that sail in the sea are also among His signs. If He wants, He can halt the wind; then they will remain stationed on the surface of the sea – in this, certainly are signs for everyone who is patient and grateful – Or He destroy their ships in retribution of their deeds and forgive many. Destroy them in order to take revenge from them and in order that those who are indulging in baseless arguments with Our revelations know that they have no place to escape.

So, whatever you have been given [people] is a trivial provision of the life of this world and whatever is with God is far better and lasting for those who have accepted faith and trust their Lord.

And those who abstain from major sins and open vulgarities, and when they are overcome by anger such are these people that they forgive. And those who have responded to the invitation of their Lord and are diligent in the prayer, and their system is based on their mutual consultation and spend [for Our cause] from the sustenance We have blessed them with.

And those who take revenge only when they are oppressed; because the recompense of evil is the same evil. Then he who forgave and reformed matters, his reward rests with God. Indeed, God does not like the unjust. And take note that those who have been oppressed and they took revenge after it, then it is they who have no blame on them. Blame is on those only who are unjust and show rebelliousness in the land without any justification. It is these people for whom there is a painful torment.

However, those who show patience and forgive, then these indeed are the works that have been emphasized.

[These unjust people have now gone far astray, O Prophet] and those whom God leads astray [according to His law], there is none after this who can remain their protector. You will see that when these unjust face the torment, they will [longingly] say: “Is there also a way to go back [to the world]?” And you will see that they will be brought before Hell in a manner that they will be bending down in humiliation, looking around furtively. At that time, the believers will say: “In real loss are those who have inflicted their own selves and their people with loss on the Day of Judgement.” Listen! These unjust shall certainly be inflicted with an eternal torment and there they shall have no supporters who can help them against God. In reality, he who is led astray by God has no way [towards salvation].

[People! There is still time;] respond to the call of your Lord before a day comes from God that cannot be put away. On that day, neither will there be any refuge for you nor will you be able to reject anything.

Even then if they show indifference [O Prophet], We have not deputed you as a keeper on them. Your responsibility is only to communicate. Such is a human being that when We bestow a blessing on Him, he becomes boastful and if people are struck by a calamity because of their deeds that they have sent forward, at that time, a person becomes very ungrateful.

[Let them say whatever they have to; in reality,] to God belongs the sovereignty of the heavens and the earth. He creates whatever He likes. He gives daughters to whomsoever He desires and sons to whomsoever He desires. Or blesses them with both sons and daughters and whomsoever he wishes, He leaves childless. Undoubtedly, He knows everything; He has power over everything.

[They insist: “Why does not God directly talk to us.” Tell them:] It is not the status of any human being that he talk to God face to face except if it is through divine revelation or from behind a veil or that He send an angel so that he through His permission and what He desires send revelation. He is certainly lofty in status, very wise. To you too [O Prophet] We have similarly sent the rūḥ of Our directive. You did not know what the sharī‘ah is nor what is meant by faith but We made it a light through which We show the path to whomsoever of Our servants We intend. Certainly [it is because of the immense benefit of this rūḥ] that you are guiding towards a straight path. To the path of the God to whom belongs whatever is in the heavens and the earth. Listen! All matters are to return to Him alone.