43:1  Ha. Mim

43:2  By the Book clear in itself and clearly showing the truth

43:3  We have made it a Recitation (a Qur’an) in Arabic so that you may reason (and understand it and the wisdom in its revelation)

43:4  Surely it is in the Mother Book with Us, exalted, firm and decisive

43:5  Shall We take away this Reminder from you (and leave you to your own devices), because you are a people wasteful (of your God-given faculties and committing excesses)

43:6  How many a Prophet have We sent to convey Our Message among the former peoples

43:7  And there never came to them a Prophet but they mocked him

43:8  So We destroyed peoples mightier than these in prowess, and the illustrative histories of those (destroyed peoples) have already have been related

43:9  If you ask them who has created the heavens and the earth, they most certainly say (in answer), "The One All-Glorious with irresistible might, the All-Knowing, has created them;"

43:10  He Who has made the earth a cradle for you, and has set on it roads for you so that you may find your way

43:11  And Who sends down water from the sky in a measure, and We raise a dead land to life with it. Even so will you be (raised from the dead and) brought forth (from your graves)

43:12  And Who has created all the pairs (of all things), and has enabled for you ships and cattle on which you ride

43:13  So that you sit secure on their backs, then remember and reflect on the favor of your Lord, and when you settle securely on them, say: "All-Glorified is He Who has subjugated this to our use. We were never capable (of accomplishing this by ourselves)

43:14  "And surely, to our Lord we are indeed bound to return."

43:15  Yet they attribute to Him (fatherhood of) some among His servants. Human is indeed ungrateful, obviously

43:16  What! has He taken to Himself daughters out of all that He creates, and "honored" you with sons

43:17  When any of them is given the news of the birth of what he accepts as appropriate for the All-Merciful, his face darkens, choking with anger

43:18  "What! (Am I to have a daughter –) one who is brought up in adornments, and unable to be clear in disputation?"

43:19  And yet they have judged the angels, who are themselves the servants of the All-Merciful, to be females (whom they judge to be of little value, and yet regard as His daughters). Did they witness their creation? This testimony of theirs will be recorded, and they will be called to account (for this falsehood in the Hereafter)

43:20  They also say: "If the All-Merciful had so willed, we would not have worshipped them (our deities, including angels)." They have no knowledge whatever of that (the relationship of Divine Will and human will and actions). Indeed, they only judge and speak according to their own fancies and interests

43:21  Or did We give them a Book before this (Qur’an) and so they are holding fast to it (and worshipping their false deities by its authority)

43:22  Not at all! (Indeed, their only argument is that) they say: "We have found our forefathers following a certain religion, and we are led in their footsteps."

43:23  In just that way, We never sent a warner to a township before you but those of its people who had been lost in the pursuit of pleasures without scruples reacted, saying: "We have found our forefathers following a religion, and we certainly follow in their footsteps."

43:24  He (who was sent to warn them) said: "What! even though I have come to you with better guidance than what you have found your forefathers following?" They said: "Surely we are unbelievers in that with which you have been sent."

43:25  So then We took Our retribution on them. So look: how was the outcome for those who denied (God’s Messengers)

43:26  And (remember) when Abraham (who rejected following the way of his forefathers blindly) said to his father and his people: "I am indeed free of all that you worship

43:27  "I worship only Him Who has originated me with a particular nature, and He will guide me (to the truth and to eternal happiness)."

43:28  And He left it as a Word to endure among those who would come after him, so that they may return (from worshipping false deities to the worship of One God)

43:29  Indeed I have allowed these (people of Makkah), as I had allowed their forefathers, to enjoy their lives until when the truth and a Messenger came to them, making the truth clear, (and embodying it in every element of his life and character)

43:30  But now the truth has come to them, they say: "This is sorcery and we are unbelievers in it."

43:31  They also say: "If only this Qur’an had been sent down on a man of leading position of the two (chief) cities!"

43:32  Is it they who distribute the mercy of your Lord (so that they may appoint whom they wish as Messenger to receive the Book)? (Moreover, how do they presume to value some above others only because of their wealth or status, when) it is also We Who distribute their means of livelihood among them in the life of this world, and raise some of them above others in degree, so that they may avail themselves of one another’s help? But your Lord’s mercy (in particular Prophethood) is better than what they amass (in this life)

43:33  And were it not that all people would become one community (around unbelief), We might well have provided for everyone who disbelieves in the All-Merciful roofs of silver for their houses, and (silver) stairways on which to go up

43:34  And (silver) doors for their houses, and (silver) couches on which to recline

43:35  And also adornments of gold (and other jewelry). Yet all this is nothing but a (fleeting) enjoyment of the present, worldly life. And the Hereafter with your Lord is only for the God-revering, pious

43:36  Whoever willfully ignores the remembrance of the All-Merciful (and lives as if He did not exist always watching him), We assign to him a devil, who becomes his closest comrade

43:37  Such devils certainly bar them from the way (of truth). Yet they think (in themselves) that they are rightly guided

43:38  But in the end, when such a one comes to Us (on Judgment Day), he says (to his comrade): "Ah, would that between me and you were the distance of the two easts. How evil a comrade!"

43:39  "It is of no avail to you at all today (this remorse after death). For you did wrong (in the world), and you will suffer the punishment together."

43:40  (Although this is the truth and clear to you, O Messenger,) can you make the deaf hear or guide the blind and him who is lost in obvious error

43:41  And whether We take you away from among them, and then We take retribution on them

43:42  Or We let you see (in your lifetime) the fulfillment of what We have promised them: (either way) We have full power over them

43:43  So hold fast to what is revealed to you. Surely you are on a straight path (in all matters)

43:44  Indeed, it (the Qur’an) is a Reminder for you and for your people, in which lie your honor and happiness (in both worlds). And you (all people) will be questioned (about how it was understood, and how lived)

43:45  And ask (their true followers about) those of Our Messengers whom We sent before you: Did We ever enable deities to be worshipped apart from the All-Merciful

43:46  Assuredly We sent Moses to the Pharaoh and his chiefs with Our clear signs (miracles demonstrating Our being the sole Deity and Lord to be worshipped), and he said: "I am a Messenger of the Lord of the worlds."

43:47  But when he came to them with Our clear signs (miracles), they then ridiculed them

43:48  We displayed to them sign after sign, each greater than the other, and We seized them with (diverse forms of) punishment so that they might turn back (from the way they followed)

43:49  (Whenever We seized them with a punishment) they would say (to Moses): "O Sorcerer! Pray for us to your Lord by the covenant He has made with you (that He will remove affliction from us if we believe); for we will surely accept the right guidance."

43:50  But when We removed the punishment from them, they then broke their promise

43:51  The Pharaoh made this proclamation among his people: "O my people! Does not the dominion of Egypt belong to me, as well as these rivers flowing beneath me? Will you not see the truth

43:52  "And, am I not better than this man, who is despicable and can scarcely express himself clearly

43:53  "(If he is true in his claim) why are bracelets of gold not dropped upon him (from the sky), or why do there not come with him angels (to support him in his cause)?"

43:54  Thus did he make fools of his people and demeaned them, and they obeyed him. Assuredly they were a people given to transgression

43:55  So finally when they incurred Our condemnation, We took retribution on them, and We caused them to drown all together

43:56  So We made them a thing of the past, and a precedent (in entering the Fire), and an example to later generations

43:57  And when (Jesus) the son of Mary has been presented as an example (of God’s Power and Oneness and to refute his being deified by many Christians), your people turn from it in disdain

43:58  And they say, "Are our deities better or is he?" They put it to you only for disputation. Indeed, they are a people addicted to contentiousness

43:59  Surely he (Jesus) was not other than a servant (worshipping God), whom We favored (with Messengership), and We made him a miraculous example for the Children of Israel (to follow and mend their ways)

43:60  If We had so willed, We could have made some from among you angels, succeeding each other on the earth

43:61  Surely he (Jesus) (brought into the world without a father, and granted such miracles as reviving the dead) is a means to knowledge of the Last Hour, so do not feel any doubt concerning it and follow Me (to attain eternal happiness in the other life). This is a straight path

43:62  And never let Satan debar you (from the Straight Path). Surely he is a manifest enemy

43:63  When Jesus came with manifest truths (and miracles), he said: "I have come to you with the Wisdom (the truths and essentials of faith and good life), and so that I may make clear to you some of what you differ on (matters that require clarification for your good in both worlds). So keep from disobedience to God in reverence for Him and piety, and obey me

43:64  "Surely God is He Who is my Lord as well as your Lord, so worship Him (alone). This is a straight path."

43:65  However, parties (that arose and held differing views concerning him and his teachings) fell into disagreement among themselves. Then woe to those who do the greatest wrong (by corrupting his teachings) because of the punishment of a painful Day

43:66  Do they (who persist in unbelief and evil deeds) wait but for the Last Hour – (waiting) that it come upon them all of a sudden, being unaware and indifferent toward it

43:67  Those who are intimate friends (in the world) will be enemies one to another on that Day, except the God-revering, pious. (They will hear:

43:68  "O My servants! You will have no fear today, nor will you grieve

43:69  "(You) who have believed in My signs and Revelations, and have submitted to Me wholly (as Muslims)

43:70  "Enter Paradise, you and your (believing) spouses, made contented."

43:71  Trays of gold and goblets will be passed round them; and there will be therein all that souls desire, and eyes delight in, "and you will abide therein

43:72  "That is the Paradise which is made your inheritance in return for what you used to do (in the world)

43:73  "In it there is for you fruit (of all kinds) in abundance, to eat therefrom."

43:74  But the disbelieving criminals will abide in the punishment of Hell

43:75  It will not be abated for them, and therein they are in despair (of any mercy and hope of escape)

43:76  We have not wronged them, but they are the wrongdoers (who ever wronged themselves)

43:77  They will call out (to the chief keeper of Hell): "O Malik! Let your Lord make an end of us!" He says: "You are bound to remain (therein)!"

43:78  We have brought you the truth, assuredly, but most of you are averse to the truth

43:79  Or are they settling on some plan (against you, O Messenger)? But We have already settled a "plan" (against them)

43:80  Or do they think that We do not hear their secrets (that they whisper only to themselves,) and their private counsels? Indeed We do, and Our messengers (angels) are by them, recording

43:81  Say: "If the All-Merciful had a child, I would be the first to worship."

43:82  All-Glorified is the Lord of the heavens and the earth, the Lord of the Supreme Throne, (exalted) above all that they attribute (to Him in ignorance and falsehood)

43:83  So leave them plunging about in play and amusement until the Day which they have been promised

43:84  And He it is Who is God in the heaven (exclusively deserving of worship), and God on the earth (exclusively deserving of worship). He is the All-Wise, the All-Knowing

43:85  Blessed and Supreme is He to Whom belongs the sovereignty of the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them; and with Him is the knowledge of the Last Hour. And to Him you are on the way to return

43:86  Those whom they (deify and then) invoke apart from God have no power and permission to intercede (with God in either world); only those who bear witness to the truth (of God’s absolute Oneness in Divinity, Lordship, and Sovereignty), and who have knowledge (of the truth, will have it)

43:87  If you ask them who has created them, they will certainly say, "God." How then are they turned away from the truth and make false claims

43:88  (God certainly hears His Messenger when) he says: "O my Lord! Surely those are a people who do not believe."

43:89  Yet forbear and pardon them, and (when you go your way,) say, "Peace (be upon you)!" In time, they will come to know