17:1  Most glorified is the One Who took His servant for a journey by night from the ‘Sacred Mosque’ (in ‘Mecca’) to the ‘Farthest Mosque’ (‘Aqsa Mosque’), whose surroundings we have blessed, so that we may show him some of our signs (of power & glory). Indeed, He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer.

17:2  We gave to ‘Moses’ the ‘Scripture’ and made it a source of spiritual insight to the ‘Children of Israel’, (saying): "Take not other than Me (as your) guardian.”

17:3  (You are) the progeny of those whom We carried (in the ark) with ‘Noah’. Indeed he was very grateful and devoted servant.

17:4  We notified the ‘Children of Israel’ in the ‘Scripture’: “You will certainly spread corruption on the earth twice, and you will certainly reach the highest peak of tyranny.

17:5  So when the time for the first promise of the two came to pass, We sent against you servants of Ours who possess great strength (& sturdiness). Thus, they invaded your homes. It was a promise perfectly fulfilled.

17:6  Afterwards, We gave you back the turn to gain victory over them. We strengthened you with wealth and made you more numerous.

17:7  If it happens that you do good, you will do it for your own selves. If you do evil, then you will do it against your own selves. Then, when the promise of the second came to pass, (we would definitely allow your enemies) to cause you to feel sorrow and to enter the mosque as they had entered it before, and to demolish completely all that fell in their powers.

17:8  It may be that your Lord will show mercy to you; but if you return (to corruption) , We too will return (to punishment). And We have made ‘Gehenna’ a prison for those who lack Faith in Allâh..

17:9  Verily, this ‘Qur’ān’ guides to that which the most morally right and fair way and gives the joyful news to the ‘Monotheistic Believers’ who do righteous acts ( in this ‘worldly life’) so that they may receive a great reward.

17:10  On the other hand, those who refuse to acknowledge the truth of the ‘Hereafter’, We have definitely prepared for them an extremely painful punishment.

17:11  Yet man prays for evil as much as he prays for good; for man is ever overhasty.

17:12  We have appointed the night and the day as two signs (of Allâh’s glory & power). Then We have caused the sign of the night to pass away, and the sign of day to be apparent, so that you may seek bounty from your Lord, and that you may know the computation of the years, and the reckoning. Thus, We elucidate (& classify) everything with clear clarification.

17:13  We have made the fate of every human being to cling to his neck. On the ‘Day of Resurrection’, We shall bring out for him a book, which he will find spread wide open.

17:14  (it will be said unto him): "Read your book! Sufficient is your own self this day to make out an account against you.”

17:15  Whosoever goes right; then he goes right only for the benefit of his own self. Whosoever errs; then he errs only against his own self. No bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another. Never will We chastise until We send forth a ‘Messenger’ (giving you sufficient warnings).

17:16  When We intend to destroy a town, We command its affluent ones (to pursue righteousness), but they are not inclined to obey. Thus, the Word (of the divine retribution) is rightly justified against them. Then We devastate it with utter devastation.

17:17  How many generations have We utterly destroyed after ‘Noah’! Your Lord suffices as One who knows and sees the sins of His servants.

17:18  Whosoever desires this fleeting life, We will rush to him therein what We please for whom We intend. Then, afterwards, We have assigned to him ‘Gehenna’ wherein he will burn, condemned and expelled (from the divine clemency).

17:19  Whosoever desires the ‘Hereafter’ and strives (hard) for it in the way he should strive for it while he is a ‘monotheistic believer’ , then such are the ones whose endeavor will be highly appreciated (by Allâh).

17:20  To each We give assistance, to both these and those, from the endowment of your Lord. The endowment of your Lord can never be restricted.

17:21  See how We have given preference to some of them over others. And truly the ‘Hereafter’ is greater in degrees and greater in preferment.

17:22  Associate not any other ‘god’ with Allâh, lest you will end up disgraced, forsaken.

17:23  Your Lord has ordained that you should not worship none except Him, and (that you should show) compassion to parents. If one of them or both of them attained old age with you, say not: "Fie" unto them nor rebuke them, but speak to them a gracious word,

17:24  And lower to them the wing of demureness out of mercy and say: “My Lord, deliver them from the consequences of all their sins, as they raised me up when I was little.”

17:25  Your Lord knows perfectly well what is in your inner being. If you are righteous, (then you’ll need to know that) He is definitely All-forgiving to those who turn frequently unto Him in repentance.

17:26  Give to the kindred his due, (and also) to the needy and to the hopeless wayfarer, and squander not ( your wealth) in a reckless and foolish manner.

17:27  Verily the prodigals are brothers of the devils. Lo! The devil is ever impious towards his Lord.

17:28  But if you turn away from them, seeking mercy from you Lord, for which you hope, then speak to them a gentle word.

17:29  Let not your hand be chained to your neck, neither do you stretch it forth completely, lest you end up disgraced, insolvent.

17:30  Verily, Allâh outspreads the means of subsistence for whom He wills and He straitens (it for whom He wills). Indeed, He is Ever All-Knowing, All-Seer of His servants.

17:31  Slay not your children for fear of destitution. We shall provide sustenance for them , and for you too. Indeed, slaying them is a tremendous sin.

17:32  Come not near adultery! Indeed it is lecherousness and evil way.

17:33  Kill not anyone which Allâh has forbidden except for a just reason. Whosoever is slain unjustly, We have certainly given to his heir authority (to demand justice). But let him not exceed the limit in slaying. Certainly he will be supported.

17:34  Come not near the wealth of the orphan except to improve it, until he attained his maturity. Fulfill (every) covenant; you will be questioned about it (on the ‘Day of Judgment’).

17:35  Give full measure when you measure, and weigh with a right balance! This is equitable deal and better in the end.

17:36  Follow not that of which you have no knowledge. Indeed, the hearing, the sight, and the heart, of each of those you will be interrogated (by Allâh on the ‘Day of Judgment’).

17:37  Walk not arrogantly on the earth. Indeed, you can neither rupture the earth, nor can you reach the mountains in height.

17:38  The evil of all that, in the sight of your Lord, is repugnant.

17:39  This is (part) of the wisdom which your Lord has inspired you. Associate not any other god with Allâh lest you will be cast into ‘Gehenna’, blameworthy and expelled (from the divine clemency).

17:40  Has then your Lord made you distinguished by giving you sons, and chosen (for Himself) daughters from among the angels? Indeed, you utter an extremely distasteful saying.

17:41  We have set forth (all kinds of parables) in this ‘Qur'ân’ so that they may receive admonition, but it adds naught except to their reluctance.

17:42  Say: “If there had been gods with Him, as they allege, then they would definitely have sought out a way to the Lord of the Throne."

17:43  Glorified is He! And He is highly exalted above what they say!

17:44  The seven heavens and the earth, and all those in them do celebrate His praise and declare His glory. There is not a thing but celebrates His praise and declares His glory, but you understand not their glorification (and idolization). Indeed, He is Ever Clement, Oft-Forgiving.

17:45  When you recite the ‘Qur’ān’, We place between you and those who believe not in the ‘Hereafter’ a hidden barrier.

17:46  We have placed coverings on their hearts, lest they understand it, and deafness in their ears (lest they hear it). When you make mention of your Lord Alone in the ‘Qur'ân’, they turn back, becoming extremely reluctant.

17:47  We are fully aware of what they listen, when they listen to you, and when they speak in private to each other, behold, those who are grossly unfair and morally wrong say: "You follow none other than a bewitched man."

17:48  Look how they strike parables for you! Thus, they have gone astray and are unable to find the (right) way.

17:49  They say: "What! when we are bones, being completely disintegrated, shall we then be raised up again as a new creation?"

17:50  Say: “Be stones or iron,

17:51  Or some other creature of those which are extremely hard ( to be given a new lease of life) in your thoughts! Then they will say: "Who will bring us back (to life)?" Say: "The One Who created you in the first time." Then will they shake their heads at you, and say: "When will it be?" Say: “It might be happening very soon,

17:52  On the day when he will call you forth, then you will respond with His Praise, and you will think that you have tarried for only a little while."

17:53  Inform My servants that they should only say words that are the best. Certainly, the devil seeks to sow schism among them. The devil is absolutely an open enemy to man.

17:54  Your Lord knows you best, if He wills, He will deliver you from the consequences of your sins, or if He wills, He will chastise you. We have not sent you , (O’ Muhammad), as a guardian over them.

17:55  Your Lord is fully aware of all who are in the heavens and on the earth. Verily, We preferred some of the Prophets above others, and We gave to ‘David’ the ‘Psalms’.

17:56  Say : "Call on those (mythological gods) whom you allege besides Him. They have no power to remove the misfortune from you or to transfer it.

17:57  Those whom they call upon do seek the means of access to their Lord (Allâh), as to which of them will be nearer. They do hope for His Mercy, and do fear His Retribution. Verily , the retribution of your Lord must be avoided by all means.

17:58  There is not a township (i.e its inhabitants) but We will devastate it before the day of Resurrection, or chastise its (inhabitants) with extremely severe punishment. That has been inscribed in the ‘Book’ , (the ‘Preserved Table: the heavenly preserved record of all that has happened and will happen).

17:59  Nothing prevented Us from sending (Our) Signs , but that the people of old refused to acknowledge the truth of them. We gave to ( the people of) Thamūd the she-camel, as an apparent sign, but they wronged it. And We do not send (Our) signs except for deterrence.

17:60  And, recall, when We said to you, "Indeed, your Lord encompasses the people in knowledge and power (over them)” We made not the vision which We showed you but a trial for the people, as also the accursed tree ( Zaqqum, mentioned) in the ‘Qur'ân’. We frighten them, but it only increases their inordinate transgression.

17:61  (Recall) when We said unto the ‘Angels’: "Prostrate to ‘Adam’." They all prostrated except for ‘Iblīs’ (‘Satan’). He said: “Shall I prostrate to the one whom You created from mud?"

17:62  He added: “Do you see this one whom you have honored above me? If it happens that you give me respite until the ‘Day of Judgment’, I will definitely cause his offspring to perish except a few.”

17:63  (Allâh) said: "Go, and whosoever of them follows you, definitely ‘Gehenna’ will be the recompense of you, an ample recompense.

17:64  Incite whomsoever you can among them with your voice, make assaults on them with your cavalrymen and your infantrymen, and be a partner in their wealth and children, and make promises to them." But ‘Satan’ promises them nothing but deliberate deception.

17:65  Indeed, over My (pious) servants, you have no power (or right to enforce obedience). All-Sufficient is your Lord as a Guardian.

17:66  Your Lord is the One Who causes the ship to move on the surface of the sea, so that you may seek of His Bounty. Indeed, He is Ever Most Merciful towards you.

17:67  When misfortune touches you in the middle of the sea, all except He of those whom you invoke will abandon you. But when He brings you safely to land, you turn away. Lo! Man is ever impious.

17:68  Do you then feel secure that He will not allow part of the land to swallow you or send against you a fierce sandstorm? Then you will find no guardian.

17:69  Or do you feel secure that He will not send you back to the sea another time, then sends against you a cyclone with destructive wind and drown you because of your disbelief? Then you will find therein no avenger for you against Our retribution.

17:70  We have definitely honored the children of ‘Adam’, carried them on land and sea, provided them with wholesome good things and preferred them above many of those whom We created with a marked preference.

17:71  (Mention) the day when We shall call forth all the human beings with their record (of deeds). They will not be dealt unfairly, (not even as much a) hair on a date-seed.

17:72  Whosoever is (spiritually) blind in (this ‘worldly life’) will be (spiritually) blind in the ‘Hereafter’, and more astray from the way.

17:73  Verily, they were about to beckon you away from that which We have revealed unto you, so that you might invent about Us something else; and then they would definitely have taken you for a friend.

17:74  Had We not invigorated your faith, you would almost have inclined to them a little.

17:75  Then We would have made you taste a double (punishment) in life and a double (punishment) after death, and then you would not have found for yourself a helper against Our retribution .

17:76  Indeed, they were about to scare you so that they may drive you out from the land. In that case they would not remain behind you but a little.

17:77  (This was Our) Mode with the ‘Messengers’ whom We sent before you, and you will not find any alteration in Our Mode.

17:78  Establish prayer from the declining of the sun until the darkness of the night, and recite the ‘Qur'ân’ in the early morning. Indeed, the recitation of the ‘Qur'ân’ in the early morning is ever witnessed.

17:79  As for the night, stay vigil a part of it, and pray as an additional prayer for you. Maybe your Lord will raise you to a position of great glory.

17:80  Say: “My Lord, grant me safe entry that leads into the truth, and an exit route that leads into the truth. And grant me from Yourself an authority to help me."

17:81  Say: “The truth has come, and falsehood has vanished away. Absolutely falsehood is ever bound to vanish.”

17:82  And We send down of the ‘Qur'ân’ that which is a healing and a mercy for the ‘Monotheistic Believers’. Yet it adds nothing to those who are grossly unfair and morally wrong but ruin (over ruin ).

17:83  Yet when We bestow Our graces upon man, he turns away and acts with excessive pride. But when evil touches him, he falls into despair.

17:84  Say: “Let everyone act according to his own moral conduct. Your Lord is fully aware of who is best guided in way."

17:85  They ask you about the Spirit say: “The Spirit is one of the commands of my Lord. And of knowledge you are not given aught but a little.”

17:86  If it happens that We intend to take away that which We have revealed unto you, then you will find no guardian for you against Our retribution in that respect.

17:87  Except for mercy from your Lord. Definitely, His grace upon you is ever great.

17:88  Say: “If it should happen that all the people and the jinn were to come together to produce the like of this ‘Qur'ân’, they could not produce the like thereof, even if they all were to help each other.

17:89  We have set forth all kinds of parables in this ‘Qur'ân’ for the people, but most of the them refuse aught other than impiety.

17:90  They said: “We will not believe you unless you cause a spring to gush forth from the earth for us,

17:91  Or (until we see that) you have a garden of palms and grapes, and you are capable of causing rivers to gush forth abundantly all among it,

17:92  Or you let the sky fall into pieces upon us, as you have claimed openly, or bring Allâh and the ‘Angels’ before our eyes.

17:93  Or you have a house embellished with gold and silver, or you ascend into the sky, and even then we will not believe your ascension until you bring down for us a book that we are able to read it." Say: “Glory be to my Lord! Am I more than a mortal ‘Messenger’?"

17:94  Nothing prevented people from attaining faith when the spiritual insight came to them, except that they said: “Has Allâh raised up a human being to be a ‘Messenger’?”

17:95  Say (unto them): “If there were ‘Angels’ walking secure, we would definitely have sent down for them an angelic messenger from the sky.”

17:96  Say, "Sufficient is Allâh as a Witness between you and me. Indeed, He is the All-Knowing, the All-Seer of His slaves."

17:97  Whomsoever Allâh guides, he is the rightly guided ; and whomsoever He leaves in error, for such you will find no guardians besides Him. We shall gather them together on the ‘Day of Resurrection’ on their faces, blind, dumb and deaf. Their abode will be ‘Gehenna’. Whenever it subsides, We shall increase from them the ferocity of the Fire.

17:98  That is their requital, because they refuse to acknowledge the truth of Our ‘Revelation’ and said: "When we are bones, being completely disintegrated, shall we then be raised up again as a new creation?"

17:99  Do they not see that Allâh, who created the heavens and earth, is capable of creating the like of them? He has appointed for them a term, whereof there is no doubt. But those who are grossly unfair and morally wrong refuse aught other than impiety.

17:100  Say (unto them): If it happens that you possess the treasures of mercy of my Lord, then you will definitely withhold out of fear of spending. Man is ever parsimonious."

17:101  And verily We gave to ‘Moses’ nine manifest signs ( of Allâh's supremacy) . Do ask then the ‘Children of Israel’: when he came to them, ‘Pharaoh’ said unto him: "O Moses, I think you are absolutely bewitched."

17:102  ‘Moses’ said: “Verily, you know pretty well that these (signs) have been sent down by none but by the Lord of the heavens and earth as evident proofs (of His power & glory). O’ ‘Pharaoh’, I think you are absolutely doomed to eternal perdition.

17:103  As ‘Pharaoh’ sought to expel them from the land, We drowned him and all those who were with him.

17:104  We said thereafter unto the ‘Children of Israel’: “Dwell in the land! But when the promise of the second warnings comes to pass, We will bring you forth in an intermingled crowd (of various nations).

17:105  With truth, We have sent the ‘Qur’ān’ down, and with truth It has come down. We have sent you, (O’ Muhammad) but as a herald ( to give people the glad tidings of how to attain eternal salvation), and a warner (to give the people sufficient warnings about how to avoid Hellfire).

17:106  It is the ‘Qur'ân’ We have separated into parts, so that you may recite it to the people at intervals. We have revealed it (unto you) gradually.

17:107  Say:"Believe in it or believe not. Definitely those who who have spiritual gift of knowledge before it fall down on their faces in humble prostration when it is recited to them.”

17:108  They say: “"Glory be to our Lord. Absolutely, the promise of our Lord has become effective."

17:109  They fall down on their faces weeping, and it increases them in humility.

17:110  Say, (O’ Muhammad), “Implore and pray to Allâh, or implore and pray to the Most Beneficent (God). By whatever name you implore and pray to Him, (it is all the same) as unto Him belong the Most Honorable (& Glorious) Names. Utter not your prayer loudly or soundless, but rather seek a way between these.

17:111  Say: “All the praises and gratitude belong to Allâh, Who has not taken to Himself a son, Who has no partner in (His Divine) Sovereignty, and Who has no (need of a) guardian out of weakness. Magnify Him with all the magnificence.