Ash-Shu'ara

Ta Sin Mim

These are the verses of the Scripture that makes things clear

[Prophet], are you going to worry yourself to death because they will not believe

If We had wished, We could have sent them down a sign from heaven, at which their necks would stay bowed in utter humility

Whenever they are brought a new revelation from the Lord of Mercy, they turn away

they deny it, but the truth of what they scorned will soon hit them

Do they not see the earth, and what noble kinds of thing We grow in it

There truly is a sign in this, though most of them do not believe

your Lord alone is the Almighty, the Merciful

Your Lord called to Moses: ‘Go to those wrongdoers

the people of Pharaoh. Will they not take heed?’

Moses said, ‘My Lord, I fear they will call me a liar

and I will feel stressed and tongue-tied, so send Aaron too

besides, they have a chargeagainst me, and I fear they may kill me.’

God said, ‘No [they will not]. Go, both of you, with Our signs––We shall be with you, listen-ing

Go, both of you, to Pharaoh and say, “We bring a message from the Lord of the Worlds

let the Children of Israel leave with us.” ’

Pharaoh said, ‘Did we not bring you up as a child among us? Did you not stay with us for many years

And then you committed that crime of yours: you were so ungrateful.’

Moses replied, ‘I was misguided when I did it

and I fled from you in fear; later my Lord gave me wisdom and made me one of His messengers

And is this- that you have enslaved the Children of Israel- the favour with which you reproach me?’

Pharaoh asked, ‘What is this “Lord of the Worlds”?’

Moses replied, ‘He is the Lord of the heavens and earth and everything between them. If you would only have faith!’

Pharaoh said to those present, ‘Do you hear what he says?’

Moses said, ‘He is your Lord and the Lord of your forefathers.’

Pharaoh said, ‘This messenger who has been sent to you is truly possessed.’

Moses continued, ‘Lord of the East and West and everything between them. If you would only use your reason!’

But Pharaoh said [to him], ‘If you take any god other than me, I will throw you into prison,’

and Moses asked, ‘Even if I show you something convincing?’

‘Show it then,’ said Pharaoh, ‘if you are telling the truth.’

So Moses threw down his staff and- lo and behold!- it became a snake for everyone to see

Then he drew out his hand and- lo and behold!- it was white for the onlookers to see

Pharaoh said to the counsellors around him, ‘This man is a learned sorcerer

He means to use his sorcery to drive you out of your land! What do you suggest?’

They answered, ‘Delay him and his brother for a while, and send messengers to all the cities

to bring every accomplished sorcerer to you.’

The sorcerers were [to be] assembled at the appointed time on a certain day

and the people were asked

‘Are you all coming? We may follow the sorcerers if they win!’

When the sorcerers came, they said to Pharaoh, ‘Shall we be rewarded if we win?’

and he said, ‘Yes, and you will join my inner court.’

Moses said to them, ‘Throw down whatever you will.’

They threw their ropes and staffs, saying, ‘By Pharaoh’s might, we shall be victorious.’

But Moses threw his staff and- lo and behold!- it swallowed up their trickery

and the sorcerers fell down on their knees

exclaiming, ‘We believe in the Lord of the Worlds

the Lord of Moses and Aaron.’

Pharaoh said, ‘How dare you believe in him before I have given you permission? He must be the master who taught you sorcery! Soon you will see: I will cut off your alternate hands and feet and then crucify the lot of you!’

‘That will do us no harm,’ they said, ‘for we are sure to return to our Lord

We hope that our Lord will forgive us our sins, as we were the first to believe.’

Then We revealed Our will to Moses, ‘Leave with My servants by night, for you will be pursued!’

Pharaoh sent messengers into the cities, proclaiming

‘These people are a puny band––

they have enraged us

and we are a large army, on the alert.’

So it was that We made them leave their gardens and their springs

their treasures and their noble dwellings

We gave [such] things [later]to the Children of Israel

Pharaoh and his people pursued them at sunrise

and as soon as the two sides came within sight of one another, Moses’ followers said, ‘We shall definitely be caught.’

Moses said, ‘No, my Lord is with me: He will guide me,’

and We revealed to Moses: ‘Strike the sea with your staff.’ It parted- each side like a mighty mountain

and We brought the others to that place

We saved Moses and all his companions

and drowned the rest

There truly is a sign in this, though most of them do not believe

your Lord alone is the Almighty, the Merciful

Tell them the story of Abraham

when he asked his father and his people, ‘What do you worship?’

They said, ‘We worship idols, and are constantly in attendance on them.’

He asked, ‘Do they hear you when you call

Do they help or harm you?’

They replied, ‘No, but this is what we saw our fathers doing.’

Abraham said, ‘Those idols you have worshipped

you and your forefathers

are my enemies; not so the Lord of the Worlds

who created me. It is He who guides me

He who gives me food and drink

He who cures me when I am ill

He who will make me die and then give me life again

and He who will, I hope, forgive my faults on the Day of Judgement

My Lord, grant me wisdom; join me with the righteous

give me a good name among later generations

make me one of those given the Garden of Bliss

forgive my father, for he is one of those who have gone astray

and do not disgrace me on the Day when all people are resurrected

the Day when neither wealth nor children can help

when the only one who will be saved is the one who comes before God with a heart devoted to Him.’

When the Garden is brought near to the righteous

and the Fire is placed in full view of the misguided

it will be said to them, ‘Where are those you worshipped

beside God? Can they help you now, or even help themselves?’

and then they will all be hurled into Hell, together with those that misled them

and all Iblis’s supporters

There they will say to their gods, as they bicker among themselves

‘We were clearly misguided

when we made you equal with the Lord of the Worlds

It was the evildoers who led us astray

and now we have no intercessor

and no true friend

If only we could live our lives again, we would be true believers!’

There truly is a sign in this, though most of them do not believe

your Lord alone is the Almighty, the Merciful

The people of Noah, too, called the messengers liars

Their brother Noah said to them, ‘Will you not be mindful of God

I am a faithful messenger sent to you

be mindful of God and obey me

I ask no reward of you, for my only reward is with the Lord of the Worlds

be mindful of God and obey me.’

They answered, ‘Why should we believe you when the worst sort of people follow you?’

He said, ‘What knowledge do I have of what they used to do

It is for my Lord alone to bring them to account- if only you could see

I will not drive believers away

I am here only to give people a clear warning.’

So they said, ‘Noah, if you do not stop this, you will be stoned.’

He said, ‘My Lord, my people have rejected me

so make a firm judgement between me and them, and save me and my believing followers.’

So We saved him and his followers in the fully laden ship

and drowned the rest

There truly is a sign in this, though most of them do not believe

your Lord alone is the Almighty, the Merciful

The people of Ad, too, called the messengers liars

Their brother Hud said to them, ‘Will you not be mindful of God

I am a faithful messenger sent to you

be mindful of God and obey me

I ask no reward of you, for my only reward is with the Lord of the Worlds

How can you be so vain that you set up monuments on every high place

Do you build fortresses because you hope to be immortal

Why do you act like tyrants whenever you attack someone

Be mindful of God and obey me

be mindful of Him who has provided you with everything you know

He has given you livestock, sons

gardens, springs

for I truly fear that the torment of a grievous day will overtake you.’

They replied, ‘It makes no difference to us whether you warn us or not

for we only do what our forefathers used to do

we shall not be punished.’

They denounced him as a liar, and so We destroyed them. There truly is a sign in this, though most of them do not believe

your Lord alone is the Almighty, the Merciful

The people of Thamud, too, called the messengers liars

Their brother Salih said to them, ‘Will you not be mindful of God

I am a faithful messenger to you

be mindful of God and obey me

I ask no reward from you, for my only reward is with the Lord of the Worlds

[Do you think] you will be left secure for ever in what you have here

gardens, springs

fields, palm trees laden with fruit

carving your fine houses from the mountains

Be mindful of God and obey me

do not obey those who are given to excess

and who spread corruption in the land instead of doing what is right.’

They said, ‘You are bewitched

You are nothing but a man like us. Show us a sign, if you are telling the truth.’

He said, ‘Here is a camel. She should have her turn to drink and so should you, each on a specified day

so do not harm her, or the punishment of a terrible day will befall you.’

But they hamstrung her. In the morning they had cause to regret it

the punishment fell upon them. There truly is a sign in this, though most of them will not believe

your Lord alone is the Almighty, the Merciful

The people of Lot, too, called the messengers liars

Their brother Lot said to them, ‘Will you not be mindful of God

I am a faithful messenger to you

be mindful of God and obey me

I ask no reward from you, for my only reward is with the Lord of the Worlds

Must you, unlike [other] people, lust after males

and abandon the wives that God has created for you? You are exceeding all bounds,’

but they replied, ‘Lot! If you do not stop this, you will be driven away.’

So he said, ‘I loathe what you do

Lord, save me and my family from what they are doing.’

We saved him and all his family

except for an old woman who stayed behind

then We destroyed the others

and poured a rain of destruction down upon them. How dreadful that rain was for those who had been forewarned

There truly is a sign in this, though most of them will not believe

your Lord alone is the Almighty, the Merciful

The forest-dwellers, too, called the messengers liars

Shuayb said to them, ‘Will you not be mindful of God

I am a faithful messenger to you

be mindful of God and obey me

I ask no reward of you, for my only reward is with the Lord of the Worlds

Give full measure: do not sell others short

Weigh with correct scales

do not deprive people of what is theirs. Do not spread corruption on earth

Be mindful of God who created you and former generations,’

but they replied, ‘You are bewitched

You are nothing but a man like us. In fact we think you are a liar

Make bits of the heavens fall down on us, if you are telling the truth.’

He said, ‘My Lord knows best what you do.’

They called him a liar, and so the torment of the Day of Shadow came upon them- it was the torment of a terrible day

There truly is a sign in this, though most of them will not believe

your Lord alone is the Almighty, the Merciful

Truly, this Quran has been sent down by the Lord of the Worlds

the Trustworthy Spirit brought it down

to your heart [Prophet], so that you could bring warning

in a clear Arabic tongue

This was foretold in the scriptures of earlier religions

Is it not proof enough for them that the learned men of the Children of Israel have recognized it

If We had sent it down to someone who was not an Arab

and he had recited it to them, they still would not have believed in it

So We make it pass straight through the hearts of the guilty

they will not believe in it until they see the grievous torment

which will suddenly hit them when they are not expecting it

and then they will say, ‘Can we have more time?’

How can they ask that Our punishment be brought to them sooner

Think, if we let them enjoy this life for some years

and then the promised torment came upon them

what good would their past enjoyment be to them

Never have We destroyed a town without sending down messengers to warn it

as a reminder from Us: We are never unjust

It was not the jinn who brought down this Quran

it is neither in their interests nor in their power

indeed they are prevented from overhearing it

So [Prophet] do not invoke any gods beside God, or you will incur punishment

Warn your nearest kinsfolk

and lower your wing tenderly over the believers who follow you

If they disobey you, say, ‘I bear no responsibility for your actions.’

Put your trust in the Almighty, the Merciful

who sees you when you stand up [for prayer]

and sees your movements among the worshippers

He is the All Hearing, the All Knowing

Shall I tell you who the jinn come down to

They come down to every lying sinner

who readily lends an ear to them, and most of them are liars

only those who are lost in error follow the poets

Do you not see how they rove aimlessly in every valley

how they say what they do not do

Not so those [poets] who believe, do good deeds, remember God often, and defend themselves after they have been wronged. The evildoers will find out what they will return to