53.The Star

  1. By the star when it sets
  2. Your companion has not strayed; he is not deluded
  3. he does not speak from his own desire
  4. The Quran is nothing less than a revelation that is sent to him
  5. It was taught to him by [an angel] with mighty powers
  6. and great strength, who stood
  7. on the highest horizon
  8. and then approached––coming down
  9. until he was two bow-lengths away or even closer––
  10. and revealed to God’s servant what He revealed
  11. [The Prophet’s] own heart did not distort what he saw
  12. Are you going to dispute with him what he saw with his own eyes
  13. A second time he saw him
  14. by the lote tree beyond which none may pass
  15. near the Garden of Restfulness
  16. when the tree was covered in nameless [splendour]
  17. His sight never wavered, nor was it too bold
  18. and he saw some of the greatest signs of his Lord
  19. [Disbelievers], consider al-Lat and al-Uzza
  20. and the third one, Manat––
  21. are you to have the male and He the female
  22. That would be a most unjust distribution!––
  23. these are nothing but names you have invented yourselves, you and your forefathers. God has sent no authority for them. These people merely follow guesswork and the whims of their souls, even though guidance has come to them from their Lord
  24. Is man to have everything he wishes for
  25. when the present life and the life to come belong only to God
  26. There are many angels in heaven whose intercession will be of no use until God gives permission to those He will, whose words He will accept
  27. Those who deny the life to come give the angels female names
  28. They have no knowledge to base this on: they merely follow guesswork. Guesswork is of no value against the Truth
  29. So [Prophet] ignore those who turn away from Our revelation, who want only the life of this world
  30. Their knowledge does not go beyond that. Your Lord knows best who strays from His path and who follows guidance
  31. Everything in the heavens and earth belongs to God. He will repay those who do evil according to their deeds, and reward, with what is best, those who do good
  32. As for those who avoid grave sins and foul acts, though they may commit small sins, your Lord is ample in forgiveness. He has been aware of you from the time He produced you from the earth and from your hiding places in your mothers’ wombs, so do not assert your own goodness:He knows best who is mindful of Him
  33. [Prophet], consider that man who turned away
  34. he only gave a little and then he stopped
  35. Does he have knowledge of the Unseen? Can he see [the Hereafter]
  36. Has he not been told what was written in the Scriptures of Moses
  37. and of Abraham, who fulfilled his duty
  38. that no soul shall bear the burden of another
  39. that man will only have what he has worked towards
  40. that his labour will be seen
  41. and that in the end he will be repaid in full for it
  42. that the final goal is your Lord
  43. that it is He who makes people laugh and weep
  44. that it is He who gives death and life
  45. that He Himself created the two sexes, male and female
  46. from an ejected drop of sperm
  47. that He will undertake the second Creation
  48. that it is He who gives wealth and possessions
  49. that He is the Lord of Sirius
  50. that it was He who destroyed, in their entirety, ancient 'Ad
  51. and Thamud
  52. and before them the people of Noah who were even more unjust and insolent
  53. that it was He who brought down the ruined cities
  54. and enveloped them in the punishment He ordained for them
  55. Which then of your Lord’s blessings do you deny
  56. This is a warning just like the warnings sent in former times
  57. The imminent Hour draws near
  58. and only God can disclose it
  59. Do you [people] marvel at this
  60. Why do you laugh instead of weeping
  61. Why do you pay no heed
  62. Bow down before God and worship