19:1  Kaf.Ha.Ya.'Ayn.Sad.

19:2  A mention of your Lord's mercy to His servant Zachariah,

19:3  When he called on his Lord with a secret calling.

19:4  He said, 'Indeed, I - the bones of me are weak, and the head has flared with grey hair; - and I have not been unfortunate in prayers to you, my Lord!

19:5  And indeed, I fear my heirs after me, and my wife is barren; then grant me from you a patron,

19:6  To be my heir and the heir of the family of Jacob, and make him, my Lord! Pleasing.'

19:7  'O Zachariah! Indeed, We give you glad tidings of a son, whose name shall be John. We never made a namesake of his before.'

19:8  He said, 'My Lord! How can I have a son, when my wife is barren, and indeed, I have reached infirm old age?'

19:9  He said, 'Thus says your Lord, "It is easy for Me, and certainly I created you before, and you were nothing."'

19:10  He said, 'My Lord! Make for me a sign.' He said, 'Your sign is that you shall not speak unto mankind for three nights, with no bodily defect.'

19:11  Then he went out to his people from the chamber, and he made signs to them: 'Glorify morning and evening.'

19:12  'O John! Take the Book with strength;' And We gave him judgment when a boy,

19:13  And grace from Us, and purity; and he was pious

19:14  And dutiful to his parents, and not a rebellious tyrant.

19:15  And peace upon him the day he was born, and the day he died, and the day he shall be raised up alive.

19:16  And mention, in the Book, Mary; when she withdrew from her family to an eastern place;

19:17  And she took a veil from them; and We sent unto her Our spirit; and he took for her the semblance of a well-made mortal.

19:18  She said, 'Indeed, I take refuge in the Merciful from you, if you are pious.'

19:19  He said, 'I am only a messenger of your Lord to bestow on you a pure boy.'

19:20  She said, 'How can I have a boy when no mortal has touched me, and when I am no harlot?'

19:21  He said, 'Thus says your Lord, "It is easy for Me! And We will make him a sign unto men, and a mercy from Us; for it is a decided matter."'

19:22  So she conceived him, and she withdrew with him to a remote place.

19:23  And the labour pains came upon her at the trunk of a palm tree. She said, 'O would that I had died before this, and was forgotten out of mind.'

19:24  And he called to her from beneath her, 'Do not grieve, for your Lord has placed a stream beneath you;

19:25  And shake towards you the trunk of the palm tree, it will drop upon you fresh dates fit to gather;

19:26  So eat, and drink, and cool eye; and if you see any mortal say, "Indeed, I have vowed to the Merciful a fast, and I will not speak today with a human being."'

19:27  Then she brought him to her people, carrying him; they said, 'O Mary! Certainly, you have done an extraordinary thing.

19:28  O sister of Aaron! Your father was not a bad man, nor was your mother a harlot.'

19:29  And she pointed to him, and they said, 'How are we to speak with one who is in the cradle a child?'

19:30  He said, 'Indeed, I am a servant of God; He has given me the Book, and He has made me a prophet,

19:31  And He has made me blessed wherever I am; and He has instructed me with the prayer and the alms so long as I live,

19:32  And piety towards my mother, and has not made me a miserable tyrant;

19:33  And peace upon me the day I was born, and the day I die, and the day I shall be raised up alive.'

19:34  That is, Jesus, son of Mary, - the word of truth about which they are in dispute.

19:35  It is not for God to take a child. Glory be to Him. When He decrees a matter He only says to it, 'Be,' and it is;

19:36  And indeed, God is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him; this is the straight way.

19:37  And the parties have disagreed amongst themselves, but woe to those who disbelieve, from the witnessing of the great day.

19:38  Hear with them and see on the day they come to Us; but the evildoers are today in clear error.

19:39  And warn them of the Day of Regret, when the matter is decreed while they are heedless, and while they do not believe.

19:40  Indeed We, We will inherit the earth and all who are upon it, and unto us shall they return.

19:41  And mention, in the Book, Abraham; indeed, he was truthful, a prophet.

19:42  When he said to his father, 'O my father! Why do you worship what can neither hear nor see nor avail you anything?

19:43  O my father! Indeed me, certainly there has come to me of the knowledge, what has not come to you; so follow me, I will guide you to a level way.

19:44  O my father! Do not serve the devil; indeed the devil is ever a rebel against the Merciful.

19:45  O my father! Indeed, I fear that there may touch you a punishment from the Merciful, and that you may be a patron of the devil.'

19:46  He said, 'Are you averse to my gods, O Abraham? Indeed, if you do not desist I will certainly stone you; but depart from me for a time!'

19:47  He said, 'Peace be upon you, soon I will ask for forgiveness for you from my Lord; indeed, He is very gracious to me:

19:48  But I will part from you and what you call on besides God, and I will call upon my Lord, and perhaps I shall not be, in calling upon my Lord, unprosperous.'

19:49  And when he had parted from them and what they served besides God, and We granted him Isaac and Jacob, and each of them We made a prophet;

19:50  And We gave them of Our mercy, and We made for them a tongue of high truth.

19:51  And mention, in the Book, Moses; indeed, he was sincere, and was a messenger, a prophet.

19:52  We called him from the right side of the mountain; and We brought him near in secret discourse,

19:53  And We granted him of Our mercy, his brother Aaron as a prophet.

19:54  And mention, in the Book, Ishmael; indeed, he was truthful of the promise, and was a messenger, a prophet;

19:55  And he used to bid his people prayers and almsgiving, and was pleasing in the sight of his Lord.

19:56  And mention, in the Book, Idris; Indeed, he was truthful, a prophet;

19:57  And We raised him to a lofty place.

19:58  Those are the ones whom God has favoured among the prophets of the offspring of Adam, and of those whom We bore with Noah, and of the offspring of Abraham and Israel, and of those We guided and We elected; when the signs of the Merciful are read to them, they fall down prostrating and weeping.

19:59  And successors succeeded them who lost sight of prayer and followed lusts, but they shall encounter error,

19:60  Except one who repented and believed and did good works; then those shall enter the Garden, and they shall not be wronged a thing, -

19:61  Gardens of Eden, which the Merciful has promised to His servants in the unseen; indeed, His promise ever comes to pass.

19:62  They shall hear no idle speech therein, but only 'Peace;' and they shall have their provision therein, morning and evening;

19:63  That is the Garden which We will give for an inheritance to those of Our servants who are pious.

19:64  We do not descend except at the bidding of your Lord; His is what is before us, and what is behind us, and what is between that; and your Lord is not forgetful, -

19:65  Lord of the heavens and the earth, and of what is between both of them; then serve Him and be patient in His service. Do you know a namesake of His?

19:66  And man will say, 'When I have died shall I then come forth alive?'

19:67  Does not man then remember that We created him before when he was nothing?

19:68  And by your Lord, surely We will definitely gather them together, and the devils too; then surely We will definitely bring them forward around Hell, on their knees.

19:69  Then surely We will definitely drag off from every sect whichever of them has been most bold against the Merciful.

19:70  Then surely We know best which of them deserves most to be broiled therein.

19:71  There is not one of you who will not go down to it, - that is settled and decided by your Lord.

19:72  Then We will save those who fear us; but We will leave the evildoers therein on their knees.

19:73  And when Our signs are recited to them, clear proofs, those who disbelieve say to those who believe, 'Which of the two parties is best placed and in the best company?'

19:74  And how many generations before them have We destroyed who were better off in property and appearance?

19:75  Say, 'Whosoever is in error, let the Merciful extend to him length of days. Until when they see what they are threatened with, whether the punishment or whether the Hour, then they shall know who is worse placed and weakest in forces.'

19:76  And those who are guided, God will increase in guidance. And enduring good works are best with your Lord for a reward, and best in yielding returns.

19:77  Have you seen him who disbelieves in Our signs, and says, 'I shall surely be given wealth and children?'

19:78  Has he become acquainted with the unseen, or has he taken a covenant with the Merciful?

19:79  Nay, We will write down what he says, and We will extend to him a length of punishment,

19:80  And We will make him inherit what he says, and he shall come to Us alone.

19:81  And they take other gods besides God that they may be a power for them.

19:82  Nay, they shall deny their worship and shall be opponents of theirs.

19:83  Do you not see that We have sent the devils upon the disbelievers, to drive them on to sin?

19:84  So make no haste against them. Indeed, We will count for them a number,

19:85  The day we will gather the pious to the Merciful as ambassadors,

19:86  And We will drive the sinners to Hell like to water.

19:87  They shall not possess intercession, except he who has taken a covenant with the Merciful.

19:88  And they say, 'The Merciful has taken a son.'

19:89  Verily, you have brought a grievous thing.

19:90  The heavens are almost rent from it, and the earth split asunder, and the mountains fall down broken,

19:91  That they attribute to the Merciful a son.

19:92  But it is not appropriate for the Merciful to take a son.

19:93  There is none in the heavens and the earth but comes to the Merciful as a servant;

19:94  Verily He counts them and numbers them by number,

19:95  And they are all coming to Him on the Day of Resurrection singly.

19:96  Indeed, those who believed and did good works, soon the Merciful will make for them love.

19:97  We have only made it easy for your tongue that you may with it give glad tidings to the pious, and warn with it a contentious people.

19:98  How many a generation before them have We destroyed? Can you find any one of them, or hear a whisper of them?