(16:1) Allah's judgement has (all but) come; do
not, then, call for its speedy advent. Holy is
He, and far above their associating others with
Him in His divinity.
(16:2) He sends down this spirit [of prophecy]
by His command through His angels on any of His
servants whom He wills, [directing them:] 'Warn
people that there is no deity but Me; so hold Me
alone in fear.'
(16:3) He created the heavens and the earth with
truth. Exalted is He above whatever they
associate with Allah in His divinity.
(16:4) He created man out of a mere drop of
fluid, and Lo! He turned into an open wrangler.
(16:5) He created the cattle. They are sources
of clothing and food and also a variety of other
benefits for you.
(16:6) And you find beauty in them as you drive
them to pasture in the morning and us you drive
them back home in the evening;
(16:7) And they carry your loads to many a
place, which you would be unable to reach
without much hardship. Surely your Lord is much
hardship. Surely your Lord is Much-Living,
Most-Merciful.
(16:8) And He created horses and mules and asses
for you to ride, and also for your adornment.
And He creates many things (for you) that you do
not even know about.
(16:9) It rests with Allah alone to show you the
right way, even when there are many crooked
ways. Had He so willed, He would have [perforce]
guided you all aright.
(16:10) He it is Who sends down water for you
from the sky out of which you drink out of which
grow the plants on which you pasture your
cattle,
(16:11) And by virtue of which He causes crops
and olives and date-palms and grapes and all
kinds of fruit to grow for you. Surely in this
there is a great sign for those who reflect.
(16:12) He has subjected for you the night and
the day and the sun and the moon for you, and
the stars have also been made subservient by His
command. Surely there are signs in this for
those who use their reason.
(16:13) And there also signs for those who take
heed in the numerous things of various colours
that He has created for you on earth.
(16:14) And He it is Who has subjected the sea
that you may eat fresh fish from it and brings
forth ornaments from it that you can wear. And
you see ships ploughing their course through it
so that you may go forth seeking His bounty and
be grateful to Him.
(16:15) And He has placed firm mountains on the
earth lest it should move away from you, and has
made rivers and tracks that you may find your
way,
(16:16) And He has set other landmarks in the
earth. And by the stars too do people find their
way.
(16:17) Is then the One Who creates like the one
who does not create? Will you not, then, take
heed?
(16:18) For, were you to compute the favours of
Allah, you will not be able to compute them.
Surely Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most-Merciful.
(16:19) Allah know Allah that you conceal and
all that you disclose.
(16:20) Those whom they call upon beside Allah
have created nothing; rather, they themselves
were created;
(16:21) They are dead, not living. They do not
even know when they will be resurrected.
(16:22) Your God is the One God. But the hearts
of those who do not believe in the Hereafter are
steeped in rejection of the truth; and they are
given to arrogance.
(16:23) Surely Allah know all that they conceal
and all that they disclose. He certainly does
not love those who are steeped in arrogance.
(16:24) When they are asked: 'What is it that
your Lord has revealed?' They answer: 'They are
merely tales of olden times!'
(16:25) [They say so] that they may bear the
full weight of their burdens on the Day of
Resurrection and also of the burdens of those
whom they misled on account of their ignorance.
What a heavy burden do they bear!
(16:26) Surely many people before them had
plotted in a similar manner to [vanquish the
truth], but Allah uprooted the whole structure
of their plot from its foundations so that the
roof fell in upon them, and the chastisement [of
Allah] visited them from unknown directions.
(16:27) And again, on the Day of Resurrection,
He will bring them to disgrace, and say: 'Tell
Me, now, where are those to whom you ascribed
share in My Divinity, and for whose sake you
disputed [with the upholders of the truth]?'
Those who were endowed with knowledge [in the
world] will say: 'Surely today humiliation and
misery shall be the lot of the unbelievers';
(16:28) The same believers who, when the angels
seize them and cause them to die while they are
engaged in wronging, they will proffer their
submission saying: 'We were engaged in no evil.
[The angels answer them:]. 'Surely Allah knows
well all that you did.
(16:29) Go now, and enter the gate of Hell, and
abide in it forever.' Evil indeed is the abode
of the arrogant.
(16:30) And when the God-fearing are asked:
'What has your Lord revealed?' – they answer:
'Something excellent!' Thus good fortune in this
world awaits those who do good; and certainly
the abode of the Hereafter is even better for
them. How excellent is the abode of the
God-fearing:
(16:31) Everlasting gardens that they shall
enter; the gardens beneath which rivers shall
flow, and where everything shall be as they
desire. Thus does Allah reward the God-fearing;
(16:32) Those whose souls the angels seize while
they are in a state of purity, saying: 'Peace be
upon you. Enter Paradise as a reward for your
deeds.'
(16:33) (O Muhammad!) Are they waiting for
anything else than that the angels should appear
before them, or that your Lord's judgement
should come. Many before them acted with similar
temerity. And then what happened with them was
not Allah's wrong-doing; they rather wronged
themselves.
(16:34) The evil consequences of their misdeeds
over took them and what they mocked at
overwhelmed them.
(16:35) Those who associate other with Allah in
His divinity say: 'Were Allah to will so,
neither we nor our forefathers would have
worshipped any other than Him, nor would we have
prohibited anything without His command.' Their
predecessors proffered similar excuses. Do the
Messengers have any other duty but to plainly
convey the Message?
(16:36) We raised Messenger in every community
(to tell them): 'Serve Allah and shun the Evil
One.' Thereafter Allah guided some of them while
others were overtaken by error. Go about the
earth, then, and observe what was the end of
those who rejected the Messengers, calling them
liars.
(16:37) (O Muhammad!) Howsoever eager you may be
to show them the right way, Allah does not
bestow His guidance on those whom He lets go
astray; and in fact none will be able to help
them.
(16:38) They swear most solemnly in the name of
Allah and say: 'Allah shall not raise to life
any who dies.' [He will certainly raise men to
life for] that is a promise by which He is
bound, even though most men do not know that.
(16:39) [That is bound to happen in order that]
He may make clear to them the reality regarding
the matters on which they differ and that the
unbelievers may realize that they were liars.
(16:40) [As for the possibility of resurrection
bear in mind that] whenever We do will
something, We have to do no more than say: 'Be',
and it is.
(16:41) As for those who have forsaken their
homes for the sake of Allah after enduring
persecution, We shall certainly grant them a
good abode in this world; and surely the reward
of the Hereafter is much greater. If they could
but know [what an excellent end awaits]
(16:42) Those who remain steadfast and put their
trust in their Lord.
(16:43) (O Muhammad!) Whenever We raised any
Messengers before you, they were no more than
human beings; [except that] to them We sent
revelation. So ask those who possess knowledge
if you do not know.
(16:44) We raised earlier Messengers with clear
signs and Divine Books, and We have now sent
down this Reminder upon you that you may
elucidate to people the teaching that has been
sent down for them, and that the people may
themselves reflect.
(16:45) Do those who have been devising evil
plans [against the mission of the Messenger]
feel secure that Allah will not cause the earth
to swallow them up or that chastisement will not
come upon them from a direction that they will
not even be able to imagine;
(16:46) Or that He will not suddenly seize them
while they are going about to and fro and they
will be unable to frustrate His design,
(16:47) Or that He will not seize them when they
are apprehensive of the impending calamity?
Surely your Lord is Most-Compassionate,
Most-Merciful.
(16:48) Do the people not see how the objects
Allah has created cast their shadows right and
left prostration themselves in utter submission
to Allah?
(16:49) All living creatures and all angels in
the heavens and on the earth are in prostration
before Allah; and never do they behave in
arrogant defiance.
(16:50) They hold their Lord, Who is above them,
in fear, and do as they are bidden.
(16:51) Allah has commanded: 'Do not take two
gods; for He is but One God. So fear Me alone.'
(16:52) His is whatever is in the heavens and on
the earth, and obedience to Him inevitably
pervades the whole universe. Will you, then,
hold in awe any other than Allah.
(16:53) Every bounty that you enjoy is from
Allah; and whenever any misfortune strikes you,
it is to Him that you cry for the removal of
your distress.
(16:54) But as soon as He removes the distress
from you, some of you associate others with
their Lord in giving thanks,
(16:55) That they may show ingratitude for the
bounties We bestowed upon them. So enjoy
yourselves for a while, soon you will come to
know (the truth).
(16:56) They set apart for those, whose reality
they do not even know, a portion of the
sustenance We have provided them. By Allah, you
will surely be called to account for the lies
that you have invented!
(16:57) They assign daughter to Allah – glort6y
Him- whereas they assign to themselves what they
truly desire!
(16:58) When any of them is told about the birth
of a female his face turns dark, and he is
filled wit suppressed anger,
(16:59) And hides himself from people because of
the bad news, thinking: should he keep the child
despite disgrace, or should he bury it in dust?
How evil is their estimate of Allah.
(16:60) Those who do not believe in the
Hereafter deserve to be characterized with evil
attributes whereas Allah's are the most
excellent attributes. He is the Most-Mighty, the
Most-Wise.
(16:61) Were Allah to take people to task for
their wrong-doing, He would not have spared even
a single living creature on the face of the
earth. But He grants them respite until an
appointed term. And when that term arrives, they
have no power to delay it by a single moment,
nor to hasten it.
(16:62) They assign to Allah what they dislike
for themselves and their tongues utter a sheer
lie in stating that a happy state awaits them.
Without doubt the Fire awaits them and it is to
it that they shall be hastened.
(16:63) By Allah (O Muhammad!) We sent
Messengers to other communities before you but
Satan made their evil deeds attractive to them
(so they paid no heed to the call of the
Messengers). The same Satan is their patron
today and they are heading towards a painful
chastisement.
(16:64) We have sent down the Book that you may
explain to them the truth concerning what they
are disputing and that the Book may serve ad a
guidance and mercy for those who believe in it.
(16:65) Allah sends down water from the heaven,
and thereby He instantly revives the earth after
it lay dead. Verily in it there is a sign for
those who have ears.
(16:66) Surely there is a lesson for you in the
cattle: We provide you to drink out of that
which is in their bellies between the faeces and
the blood -pure milk – which is a palatable
drink for those who take it.
(16:67) And out of the fruits of date palms and
grapes you derive intoxicants as well as
wholesome sustenance. Surely there is a sign for
those who use reason.
(16:68) Your Lord inspired the bee saying: 'Set
up hives in the mountains and in the trees and
in the trellises that people put up;
(16:69) Then suck the juice of every kind of
fruit and keep treading the ways of your Lord,
which have been made easy. There comes forth
from their bellies a drink varied in colours,
wherein there is healing for men. Verily there
is a sing in this for those who reflect.
(16:70) Allah has created you, and then He
causes you to die. Some of you have your lives
prolonged to an object old age, when one loses
all knowledge after having acquired it. Allah is
All-Knowing, All-Powerful.
(16:71) Allah has favoured some of you with more
worldly provisions than others. Then those who
are more favoured do not give away their
provisions to their slave so that they become
equal sharers in it. Do they, then, deny the
favour of Allah?
(16:72) And Allah has given you spouses from
your kind, and has granted you through your
spouses, sons and grandsons, and has provided
you wholesome things as sustenance. [After
knowing all this] do they still believe in
falsehood and deny Allah's bounty.
(16:73) And instead of Allah, worship those
helpless beings who have no control over
providing them any sustenance from the heavens
and the earth; do you worship those who have no
power to do anything of this sort?
(16:74) So do not strike any similitudes to
Allah, Allah knows whereas you do not know.
(16:75) Allah sets forth a parable: There is one
who is a slave and is owned by another, and has
no power over anything; and there is one whom We
have granted good provision Ourselves, of which
he spends both secretly and openly. Can they be
equal? All praise be to Allah. But most of them
do not even know (this simple fact).
(16:76) Allah sets fort another parable: There
are tow men, one of whom is dumb and has no
power over anything; he is a burden to his
master, and wheresoever his master directs him,
he fails to bring forth any good. Can such
person be the equal of one who enjoins justice
and himself follows the right way?
(16:77) Allah has full knowledge of the truths
beyond the reach of human perception both in the
heavens and the earth; and the coming of the
Hour will take no more than the twinkling of an
eye; it may take even less. Indeed Allah has
power over everything.
(16:78) Allah has brought you forth from your
mothers' wombs when you knew nothing, and then
gave you hearing, and sight and thinking hearts
so that you may give thanks.
(16:79) Have they never noticed the birds how
they are held under control in the middle of the
sky, where none holds them [from falling] except
Allah? Surely there are signs in this for those
who believe.
(16:80) Allah has made your houses a repose, and
has provided you with the skins of the cattle
for your habitation which are light to handle
both when you travel and when you camp; and out
of their wool, and their fur and their hair He
has given you furnishings and goods for use over
a period of time.
(16:81) And allah has provided shade for you out
of some of the things He has created; and has
provided you with shelters in the mountains, and
has given you coats that protect you from heat
as well as coats that protect you in battle.
Thus does He complete His favour upon you that
you may submit to Him.
(16:82) But if they turn away, your only duty is
to clearly deliver the message of the truth.
(16:83) They are aware of the favours of Allah,
and yet refuse to acknowledge them. Most of them
are determined not to accept the truth.
(16:84) (They are heedless of) the Day when We
shall raise a witness from each community and
then the unbelievers will neither be allowed to
plead nor will they asked to repent and seek
pardon.
(16:85) And once the wrong-doers have beheld the
chastisement, neither will it be lightened for
them nor will they be granted any respite.
(16:86) And when those who associated others
with Allah in His Divinity will see those to
whom they ascribed this share, they will say:
'Our Lord! These are the beings to whom we
ascribed a share in Your Divinity and whom we
called upon instead of You', whereupon those
beings will fling at them the words: 'You are
liars.'
(16:87) As for that Day they will offer their
submission and all that they had fabricated will
have vanished.
(16:88) As for those who disbelieved and barred
others from the way of Allah, We shall add
chastisement to their chastisement for all the
mischief they did.
(16:89) (O Muhammad!) Wan them of the coming of
a Day when We shall bring forth a witness
against them from each community and We shall
bring you forth as a witness against them all;
(and it is for that purpose that) We sent down
the Book to you which makes everything clear;
and serves as a guidance and mercy and glad
tidings to those who have submitted to Allah.
(16:90) Surely Allah enjoins justice, kindness
and the doing of good, to kith and kin, and
forbids all that is shameful, evil and
oppressive. He exhorts you so that you may be
mindful.
(16:91) And fulfil the covenant, which you have
made with Allah and do not break your oaths
after having firmly made them, and after having
made Allah your witness. Surely Allah knows all
that you do.
(16:92) And do not become like the woman who,
after having painstakingly spun her yarn, caused
it to disintegrate into pieces. You resort to
oaths as instruments of mutual deceit so that
one people might take greater advantage than
another although Allah puts you to the best
through this. Surely on the Day of Resurrection
he will make clear the truth concerning the
matters over which you differed.
(16:93) Had Allah so willed, He would have made
you all one single community. However, He lets
go astray whomsoever He wills and shows the
right way to whomsoever He wills. Surely you
shall be called to account regarding what you
did.
(16:93) Do not make your oaths a means of
deceiving one another or else your foot may slip
after having been firm and you may suffer evil
consequences because of hindering people from
the way of Allah. A mighty chastisement awaits
you.
(16:94) Do not barter away the covenant of Allah
for a paltry gain. Verily that which is with
Allah is for better for you, if you only knew.
(16:95) Whatever you have is bound to pass away
and whatever is with Allah will last. And We
shall surely grant those who have been patient
their reward according to he best of what they
did.
(16:96) Whosoever acts righteously – whether a
man or a woman and embraces belief, We will
surely grant him a good life; and will surely
grant such persons their reward according to the
best of their deeds.
(16:97) Whenever you read the Qur'an seek refuge
with Allah from Satan, the accursed.
(16:98) Surely he has no power over those who
have faith and who place their trust in their
Lord.
(16:99) He has power only over those who take
him as their patron and who, under his
influence, associate other with Allah in His
Divinity.
(16:100) Whenever We replace one verse by
another verse – and Allah knows what He should
reveal – they are wont to say: 'Your are nothing
but a fabricator [who has invented the Qur'an].'
The fact is that most of them are ignorant of
the truth.
(16:101) Tell them: 'It is the spirit of
holiness that has brought it down, by stages,
from your Lord, that it might bring firmness to
those who believe, and guidance to the right
way, and give glad tidings of felicity and
success to those who submit to allah.'
(16:103) Surely We know well that they say about
you: 'It is only a human being who teaches him,'
[notwithstanding] that he whom they maliciously
hint at is of foreign tongue, while this
[Qur'an] is plain Arabic speech
(16:104) Surely Allah will not enable those who
do not believe in the signs of Allah to be
directed to the right way, and a painful
chastisement awaits them.
(16:105) [It is not the Prophet who invents
lies], it is rather those who do not believe in
the signs of Allah who invent lies. They are
liars.
(16:106) Anyone who disbelieves in Allah after
having had faith – except he who does so under
duress while his heart remains content with
faith – and as for one who opens his heart to
disbelief – they shall incur Allah's wrath. A
mighty chastisement awaits them.
(16:107) That is because they love the life of
this world more than the Hereafter; and Allah
does not guide those who are ungrateful to Allah
for His favours.
(16:108) They are the ones upon whose hearts and
hearing and eyes Allah has set a seal. They are
utterly steeped in heedlessness.
(16:109) No doubt they shall be losers in the
Hereafter.
(16:110) And surly your Lord will be
Ever-Forgiving and Most-Merciful towards those
who left their homes after they were persecuted,
and who thereafter struggled hard and remained
constant.
(16:111) [Allah's judgement will come about them
all] on the Day when every one shall come
pleading in his defence, and every one shall be
fully requited for his deeds and none shall be
wronged in the least.
(16:112) Allah sets forth the parable of [the
people of] a town who were secure and content
and whose sustenance came in abundance from
every quarter. But then the people of the town
showed ingratitude towards Allah for His
bounties, so Allah afflicted them with hunger
and fear in punishment for their evil deeds.
(16:113) Most certainly a Messenger came to them
from among them; but they rejected him, calling
him a liar. Therefor chastisement seized them
while they engaged in wrong doing.
(16:114) So eat out of the lawful and good
sustenance that Allah has bestowed upon you, and
thank Allah for His bounty, if it is Him that
you serve.
(16:115) Allah has forbidden you only Carrion,
and blood, and the flesh of swine; also any
animal over which the name of any other than
Allah has been invoked. But whoever eats of them
under compelling necessity – neither desiring it
nor exceeding the limit of absolute necessity –
surely for such action Allah is Ever-Forgiving,
Most-Merciful.
(16:116) And do not utter falsehoods by letting
your tongues declare: 'This is lawful' and 'That
is unlawful', thus fabricating lies against
Allah. Surely those who fabricate lies against
Allah never prosper.
(16:117) Brief is their enjoyment of the world,
and thereafter they shall suffer a painful
chastisement.
(16:118) We have already recounted to you what
We prohibited to the Jews. In so doing We did
not wrong them; it is they who wronged
themselves.
(16:119) But to those who commit evil out of
ignorance and then repent ant amend their ways,
thereafter your Lord will be Much-Forgiving,
Most-Merciful.
(16:120) Indeed Abraham was a whole community by
himself, obedient to Allah, exclusively dovoted
to Him. And he was never one of those who
associated other with Allah in His Divinity.
(16:121) He rendered thanks to Allah for His
bounties so that Allah chose him [for His
favours] and directed him to the right way.
(16:122) We bestowed good upon him in this
world, and in the Hereafter he shall certainly
be among the righteous.
(16:123) Then We revealed to you: 'Follow the
way of Abraham with exclusive devotion to Allah.
He was not one of those who associated others
with Allah in His Divinity.'
(16:124) As for the Sabbath, it was made
incumbent only on those who differed about its
laws. Certainly your Lord will judge on the Day
of Resurrection between them regarding the
matters they disputed.
(16:125) (O Prophet!) Call men to the way of
your Lord with wisdom and goodly exhortation,
and reason with them in the best manner
possible. Surely your Lord knows best who has
strayed away from His path and He also knows
well those who are guided to the right way.
(16:126) If you take retribution, then do so in
proportion to the wrong done to you. But if you
can bear such conduct with patience, indeed that
is best for the steadfast.
(16:127) (O Muhammad!) So bear with patience –
and your patience is only because of the help of
Allah- and do not grieve over them, nor feel
distressed by their evil plans.
(16:128) For surely Allah is with those who hold
Him in fear and do good.
