15:1  Alif. Lam. Ra. THESE ARE MESSAGES of revelation -of a discourse clear in itself and clearly showing the truth

15:2  And it will come to pass that those who are [now] bent on denying this truth will wish that they had surrendered themselves to God [in their life time]

15:3  Leave them alone; let them eat and enjoy themselves the while the hope [of vain delights] be guiles them: for in time they will come to know [the truth]

15:4  And never have We destroyed any community [for its wrongdoing] unless a divine writ had (previously] been made known to it

15:5  [but remember that] no community can ever forestall [the end of] its term - and neither can they delay [it]

15:6  And yet, they [who deny the truth] say: "O thou unto whom this reminder has [allegedly] been bestowed from on high: verily, thou art mad

15:7  Why dost thou not bring before us angels, if thou art a man of truth

15:8  [Yet] We never send down angels otherwise than in accordance with the [demands of] truth; and [were the angels to appear now,] lo! they [who reject this divine writ] would have no further respite

15:9  Behold, it is We Ourselves who have bestowed from on high, step by step, this reminder? and, behold, it is We who shall truly guard it [from all corruption]

15:10  AND, INDEED, [O Prophet,] even before thy time did We send [Our apostles] unto communities of old

15:11  and never yet came an apostle to them without their deriding him

15:12  Even so do We [now] cause this [scorn of Our message] to pervade the hearts of those who are lost in sin

15:13  who do not believe in it, although the way which those [evildoers] of olden times had to go has long been within their ken

15:14  Yet even had We opened to them a gateway to heaven and they had ascended, on and on, up to it

15:15  they would surely have said, "It is only our eyes that are spellbound! Nay, we have been bewitched!

15:16  AND, INDEED, We have set up in the heavens great constellations, and endowed them with beauty for all to behold

15:17  and We have made them secure against every satanic force accursed

15:18  so that anyone who seeks to learn [the unknowable] by stealth is pursued by a flame clear to see

15:19  And the earth -We have spread it out wide, and placed on it mountains firm, and caused [life] of every kind to grow on it in a balanced manner

15:20  and provided thereon means of livelihood for you [O men] as well as for all [living beings] whose sustenance does not depend on you

15:21  For, no single thing exists that does not have its source with Us; and nought do We bestow from on high unless it be in accordance with a measure well-defined

15:22  And We let loose the winds to fertilize [plants] and We send down water from the skies and let you drink thereof: and it is not you who dispose of its source

15:23  for, behold, it is We-We alone -who grant life and deal death, and it is We alone who shall remain after all else will have passed away

15:24  And well do We know [the hearts and deeds of all human beings - both] those who lived before you and those who will come after you

15:25  and, behold, it is thy Sustainer who will gather them all together [on Judgment Day]: verily, He is wise, all-knowing

15:26  AND, INDEED, We have created man out of sounding clay, out of dark-slime transmute

15:27  whereas the invisible beings We had created, [long] before that, out of the fire of scorching winds

15:28  And lo! Thy Sustainer said unto the angels: "Behold, I am about to create mortal man out of sounding clay, out of dark slime transmuted

15:29  and when I have formed him fully and breathed into him of My spirit, fall down before him in prostration

15:30  Thereupon the angels prostrated themselves, all of them together

15:31  save Iblis: he refused to be among those who prostrated themselves

15:32  Said He: "O Iblis! What is thy reason for not being among those who have prostrated themselves?"

15:33  [Iblis] replied: "It is not for me to prostrate myself before mortal man whom Thou hast created out of sounding clay, out of dark slime transmuted!"

15:34  Said He: "Go forth, then, from this [angelic state]: for, behold, thou art [henceforth] accursed

15:35  and [My] rejection shall be thy due until the Day of Judgment!"

15:36  Said [Iblis]: "Then, O my Sustainer, grant me a respite till the Day when all shall be raised from the dead!"

15:37  Answered He: "Verily, so be it: thou shalt be among those who are granted respit

15:38  till the Day the time whereof is known [to Me alone]."

15:39  [Whereupon Iblis] said: "O my Sustainer! Since Thou hast thwarted me, I shall indeed make [all that is evil] on earth seem goodly to them, and shall most certainly beguile them-into grievous error

15:40  [all] save such of them as are truly Thy servants!"

15:41  Said He: "This is, with Me. a straight way

15:42  verily, thou shalt have no power over My creatures- unless it be such as are [already] lost in grievous error and follow thee [of their own will]

15:43  and for all such, behold, hell is the promised goal

15:44  with seven gates leading into it, each gate receiving its allotted share of sinners.

15:45  VERILY, those who are conscious of God [shall find themselves in the hereafter] amidst gardens and springs

15:46  [having been received with the greeting,] "Enter here in peace, secure!"

15:47  And [by then] We shall have removed whatever unworthy thoughts or feelings may have been [lingering] in their breasts, [and they shall rest] as brethren, facing one another [in love] upon thrones of happiness

15:48  No weariness shall ever touch them in this [state of bliss], and never shall they have to forgo it

15:49  Tell My servants that I - I alone - am truly forgiving, a true dispenser of grace

15:50  and [also,] that the suffering which I shall impose [on sinners] will indeed be a suffering most grievous

15:51  AND TELL THEM [once again] about Abraham's guests

15:52  [how,] when they presented themselves before him and bade him peace, he answered: "Behold, we are afraid of you!"

15:53  Said they: "Fear not! Behold, we bring thee the glad tiding of [the birth of] a son who will be endowed with deep knowledge."

15:54  Said he: "Do you give me this glad tiding despite the fact that old age has overtaken me? Of what [strange thing], then, are you giving me a tiding!"

15:55  They answered: "We have given thee the glad tiding of something that is bound to come true. - so be not of those who abandon hope!"

15:56  [Abraham] exclaimed: "And who-other than those who have utterly lost their way-could ever abandon the hope of his Sustainer's grace?"

15:57  He added: "And what [else] may you have in view, O you [heavenly] messengers?"

15:58  They answered: "We are sent to people lost in sin [who are to be destroyed]

15:59  barring Lot's household, all of whom, behold, we shall save

15:60  excepting only his wife, [of whom God says,] `We have ordained [that], behold, she should be among those who stay behind!

15:61  AND WHEN the messengers [of God] came to the house of Lot

15:62  he said: "Behold, you are people unknown [here]!"

15:63  They answered: "Nay, but we have come unto thee with [the announcement of] something that they [who are given to evil] have always been wont to call in question

15:64  and we are bringing thee the certainty [of its fulfilment]: for, behold, we are speaking the truth indeed

15:65  Go, then., with thy household while it is yet night, with thyself following them in the rear; and let none of you look back, but proceed whither you are bidden."

15:66  And [through Our messengers] We revealed unto him this decree: "The last remnant of those [sinners] shall be wiped out" in the morn."

15:67  And the people of the city came [unto Lot], rejoicing at the glad tiding

15:68  Exclaimed [Lot]: "Behold, these are my guests: so put me not to shame

15:69  but be conscious of God and disgrace me not!"

15:70  They answered: "Have we not forbidden thee [to offer protection] to any kind of people?"

15:71  [Lot] said: "[Take instead] these daughters of mine, if you must do [whatever you intend to do]!"

15:72  [But the angels spoke thus:] "As thou livest, [O Lot, they will not listen to thee:] behold, in their delirium [of lust] they are but blindly stumbling to and fro!"

15:73  And thereupon the blast [of Our punishment] overtook them at the time of sunrise

15:74  and We turned those [sinful towns} upside down, and rained down upon them stone-hard blows of chastisement pre-ordained

15:75  Verily, in all this there are messages indeed for those who can read the signs

15:76  for, behold, those [towns] stood by a road that still exists

15:77  Verily, herein lies a message indeed for all who believe [in God]

15:78  AND THE DWELLERS of the wooded dales [of Madyan, too,] were inveterate evildoers

15:79  and so We inflicted Our retribution on them. And, behold, both these [sinful communities] lived by a highway, [to this day] plain to se

15:80  AND, [likewise,] indeed, the people of Al-Hijr gave the lie to [Our] message-bearers

15:81  for We did vouchsafe them Our messages, but they obstinately turned their backs upon them

15:82  notwithstanding that they had been wont [to enjoy Our blessings and] to hew out dwellings from the mountains, [wherein they could live] in securit

15:83  and so the blast [of Our punishment] overtook them at early morn

15:84  and of no avail to them was all [the power] that they had acquired

15:85  AND [remember:] We have not created the heavens and the earth and all that is between them without [an inner] truth; but, behold, the Hour [when this will become clear to all] is indeed yet to come. Hence, forgive [men's failings] with fair forbearance

15:86  verily, thy Sustainer is the all-knowing Creator of all things

15:87  AND, INDEED, We have bestowed upon thee seven of the oft repeated [verses], and [have, thus, laid open before thee] this sublime Qur'an

15:88  [so] turn, not thine eyes [longingly] towards the worldly benefits which We have granted unto some of those [that deny the truth]. And neither grieve over those [who refuse to heed thee], but spread the wings of thy tenderness over the believers

15:89  and say: "Behold, I am indeed the plain warner [promised by God]

15:90  [For, thou art the bearer of a divine writ] such as We have bestowed from on high upon those who [afterwards] broke it up into parts

15:91  [and] who [now] declare this Qur'an to be [a tissue of] falsehoods

15:92  But, by thy Sustainer! [On the Day of Judgment] We shall indeed call them to account, one and all

15:93  for whatever they have done

15:94  Hence, proclaim openly all that thou hast been bidden [to say], and leave alone all those who ascribe divinity to aught beside God

15:95  verily, We shall suffice thee against all who [now] deride [this message - all]

15:96  who assert that there are, side by side with God, other divine powers as well: for in time they will come to know [the truth]

15:97  And well do We know that thy bosom is constricted by the [blasphemous] things that they say

15:98  but extol thou thy Sustainer's limitless glory and praise Him, and be of those who prostrate themselves [before Him] in adoration

15:99  and worship thy Sustainer till death comes to thee