Kaf, Ha, Ya, ‘Ayn, á¹¢ad
[This is] an account of your Lord’s mercy on His servant, Zechariah
when he called out to his Lord with a secret cry
He said, ‘My Lord! Indeed my bones have become feeble, and my head has turned white with age, yet never have I, my Lord, been disappointed in supplicating You
Indeed I fear my kinsmen, after me, and my wife is barren. So grant me from Yourself an hei
who may inherit from me and inherit from the House of Jacob, and make him, my Lord, pleasing [to You]!’
‘O Zechariah! Indeed We give you the good news of a son, whose name is ‘‘John.’’ Never before have We made anyone his namesake.’
He said, ‘My Lord! How shall I have a son, when my wife is barren, and I am already advanced in age?’
He said, ‘So shall it be. Your Lord has said, ‘‘It is simple for Me.’’ Certainly I created you before when you were nothing.’
He said, ‘My Lord! Appoint a sign for me.’ He said, ‘Your sign is that you will not speak to the people for three complete nights.’
So he emerged before his people from the Temple, and signaled to them that they should glorify [Allah] morning and evening
‘O John!’ [We said,] ‘Hold on with power to the Book!’ And We gave him judgement while still a child
and a compassion and purity from Us. He was Godwary
and good to his parents, and was not self-willed or disobedient
Peace be to him, the day he was born, and the day he dies, and the day he is raised alive
And mention in the Book Mary, when she withdrew from her family to an easterly place
Thus did she seclude herself from them, whereupon We sent to her Our Spirit and he became incarnate for her as a well-proportioned human
She said, ‘I seek the protection of the All-beneficent from you, should you be Godwary!’
He said, ‘I am only a messenger of your Lord that I may give you a pure son.’
She said, ‘How shall I have a child seeing that no human being has ever touched me, nor have I been unchaste?’
He said, ‘So shall it be. Your Lord says, ‘‘It is simple for Me.’’ And so that We may make him a sign for mankind and a mercy from Us, and it is a matter [already] decided.’
Thus she conceived him, then withdrew with him to a distant place
The birth pangs brought her to the trunk of a date palm. She said, ‘I wish I had died before this and become a forgotten thing, beyond recall.’
Thereupon he called her from below her [saying,] ‘Do not grieve! Your Lord has made a spring to flow at your feet
Shake the trunk of the palm tree, freshly picked dates will drop upon you
Eat, drink, and be comforted. Then if you see any human, say, ‘‘Indeed I have vowed a fast to the All-beneficent, so I will not speak to any human today.’’ ’
Then carrying him she brought him to her people. They said, ‘O Mary, you have certainly come up with an odd thing
O sister of Aaron[’s lineage]! Your father was not an evil man, nor was your mother unchaste.’
Thereat she pointed to him. They said, ‘How can we speak to one who is yet a baby in the cradle?’
He said, ‘Indeed I am a servant of Allah! He has given me the Book and made me a prophet
He has made me blessed, wherever I may be, and He has enjoined me to [maintain] the prayer and to [pay] the zakat as long as I live
and to be good to my mother, and He has not made me self-willed and wretched
Peace is to me the day I was born, and the day I die, and the day I am raised alive.’
That is Jesus, son of Mary, a Word of the Real concerning whom they are in doubt
It is not for Allah to take a son. Immaculate is He! When He decides on a matter, He just says to it, ‘Be!’ and it is
‘Indeed Allah is my Lord and your Lord. So worship Him. This is a straight path.’
But the factions differed among themselves. So woe to the faithless at the scene of a tremendous day
How well they will hear and how well they will see on the day when they come to Us! But today the wrongdoers are in manifest error
Warn them of the Day of Regret, when the matter will be decided, while they are [yet] heedless and do not have faith
Indeed We shall inherit the earth and whoever there is on it, and to Us they shall be brought back
And mention in the Book Abraham. Indeed he was a truthful one, a prophet
When he said to his father, ‘Father! Why do you worship that which neither hears nor sees, and is of no avail to you in any way
Father! Indeed a knowledge has already come to me which has not come to you. So follow me that I may guide you to a right path
Father! Do not worship Satan. Indeed Satan is disobedient to the All-beneficent
Father! I am indeed afraid that a punishment from the All-beneficent will befall you, and you will become Satan’s accomplice.’
He said, ‘Abraham! Are you renouncing my gods? If you do not relinquish, I will stone you. Keep away from me for a long while.’
He said, ‘Peace be to you! I shall plead with my Lord to forgive you. Indeed He is gracious to me
I dissociate myself from you and whatever you invoke besides Allah. I will supplicate my Lord. Hopefully, I will not be disappointed in supplicating my Lord.’
So when he had left them and what they worshipped besides Allah, We gave him Isaac and Jacob, and each We made a prophet
And We gave them out of Our mercy, and conferred on them a worthy and lofty repute
And mention in the Book Moses. Indeed he was exclusively dedicated [to Allah], and an apostle and a prophet
We called him from the right side of the Mount and We drew him near for confidential discourse
And We gave him out of Our mercy his brother Aaron, a prophet
And mention in the Book Ishmael. Indeed he was true to his promise, and an apostle and a prophet
He used to bid his family to [maintain] the prayer and to [pay] the zakat, and was pleasing to his Lord
And mention in the Book Idra«s. Indeed he was a truthful one, a prophet
and We raised him to a station exalted
They are the ones whom Allah has blessed from among the prophets of Adam’s progeny, and from [the progeny of] those We carried with Noah, and from among the progeny of Abraham and Israel, and from among those We guided and chose. When the signs of the All-beneficent were recited to them, they would fall down weeping in prostration
But they were succeeded by an evil posterity who neglected the prayer, and followed [their base] appetites. So they will soon encounter [the reward of] perversity
barring those who repent, believe, and act righteously. Such will enter paradise, and they will not be wronged in the least
Gardens of Eden promised by the All-beneficent to His servants, [while they were still] unseen. Indeed His promise is bound to come to pass
Therein they will not hear vain talk, but only ‘Peace!’ And therein they will have their provision morning and evening
This is the paradise We will give as inheritance to those of Our servants who are Godwary
‘We do not descend except by the command of your Lord. To Him belongs whatever is before us and whatever is behind us and whatever is in between that, and your Lord is not forgetful
The Lord of the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them. So worship Him and be steadfast in His worship. Do you know anyone who could be His namesake?’
Man says, ‘Shall I, when I have died, be brought forth alive?’
Does not man remember that We created him before when he was nothing
By your Lord, We will surely gather them and the devils; then We will surely bring them up around hell [scrambling] on their knees
Then from every group We shall draw whichever of them was more defiant to the All-beneficent
Then surely We will know best those who deserve most to enter it
There is none of you but will come to it: a [matter that is a] decided certainty with your Lord
Then We will deliver those who are Godwary, and leave the wrongdoers in it, fallen on their knees
When Our manifest signs are recited to them, the faithless say to the faithful, ‘Which of the two sides is superior in station and better with respect to company?’
How many a generation We have destroyed before them, who were superior in furnishings and appearance
Say, ‘Whoever abides in error, the All-beneficent shall prolong his respite until they sight what they have been promised: either punishment, or the Hour.’ Then they will know whose position is worse, and whose host is weaker
Allah enhances in guidance those who are [rightly] guided, and lasting righteous deeds are better with your Lord in reward, and better at the return [to Allah]
Have you not regarded him who defies Our signs, and says, ‘I will surely be given wealth and children’
Has he come to know the Unseen, or taken a promise from the All-beneficent
No indeed! We will write down what he says, and We will prolong his punishment endlessly
We shall take over from him what he talks about, and he will come to Us alone
They have taken gods besides Allah that they may be a [source of] might to them
No Indeed! Soon they will disown their worship, and they will be their opponents
Have you not regarded that We unleash the devils upon the faithless to urge them impetuously
So do not make haste against them; indeed We are counting for them, a counting [down]
The day We shall gather the Godwary toward the All-beneficent, on mounts
and drive the guilty as a thirsty herd towards hell
No one will have the power to intercede [with Allah], except for him who has taken a covenant with the All-beneficent
They say, ‘The All-beneficent has taken a son!’
You have certainly advanced something hideous
The heavens are about to be rent apart at it, the earth to split open, and the mountains to collapse into bits
that they should ascribe a son to the All-beneficent
It does not behoove the All-beneficent to take a son
There is none in the heavens and the earth but he comes to the All-beneficent as a servant
Certainly He has counted them [all] and numbered them precisely
and each of them will come to Him alone on the Day of Resurrection
Indeed those who have faith and do righteous deeds —the All-beneficent will endear them [to His creation]
Indeed We have made it simple in your language so that you may give good news thereby to the Godwary and warn with it a disputatious lot
How many a generation We have destroyed before them! Can you descry any one of them, or hear from them so much as a murmur