Surah “Ya Sin, Ya-Seen”

as rendered by Arthur John Arberry — 83 verses

Ya Si
By the Wise Koran
thou art truly among the Envoy
on a straight path
the sending down of the All-mighty, the All-wise
that thou mayest warn a people whose fathers were never warned, so they are heedless
The Word has been realised against most of them, yet they do not believe
Surely We have put on their necks fetters up to the chin, so their heads are raised
and We have put before them a barrier and behind them a barrier; and We have covered them, so they do not see
Alike it is to them whether thou hast warned them or thou hast not warned them, they do not believe
Thou only warnest him who follows the Remembrance and who fears the All-merciful in the Unseen; so give him the good tidings of forgiveness and a generous wage
Surely it is We who bring the dead to life and write down what they have forwarded and what they have left behind; everything We have numbered in a clear register
Strike for them a similitude -- the inhabitants of the city, when the Envoys came to it
when We sent unto them two men, but they cried them lies, so We sent a third as reinforcement. They said, 'We are assuredly Envoys unto you
They said, 'You are naught but mortals like us; the All-merciful has not sent down anything. You are speaking only lies.
They said, 'Our Lord knows we are Envoys unto you
and it is only for us to deliver the Manifest Message.
They said, 'We augur ill of you. If you give not over, we will stone you and there shall visit you from us a painful chastisement.
They said, 'Your augury is with you; if you are reminded? But you are a prodigal people.
Then came a man from the furthest part of the city, running; he said, 'My people, follow the Envoys
Follow such as ask no wage of you, that are right-guided
And why should I not serve Him who originated me, and unto whom you shall be returned
What, shall I take, apart from Him, gods whose intercession, if the All-merciful desires affliction for me, shall not avail me anything, and who will never deliver me
Surely in that case I should be in manifest error
Behold, I believe in your Lord; therefore hear me!
It was said, 'Enter Paradise!' He said, 'Ah, would that my people had knowledg
that my Lord has forgiven me and that He has placed me among the honoured.
And We sent not down upon his people, after him, any host out of heaven; neither would We send any down
It was only one Cry and lo, they were silent and still
Ah, woe for those servants! Never comes unto them a Messenger, but they mock at him
What, have they not seen how many generations We have destroyed before them, and that it is not unto them that they return
They shall every one of them be arraigned before Us
And a sign for them is the dead land, that We quickened and brought forth from it grain, whereof they eat
and We made therein gardens of palms and vines, and therein We caused fountains to gush forth
that they might eat of its fruits and their hands' labour. What, will they not be thankful
Glory be to Him, who created all the pairs of what the earth produces, and of themselves, and of what they know not
And a sign for them is the night; We strip it of the day and lo, they are in darkness
And the sun -- it runs to a fixed resting-place; that is the ordaining of the All-mighty, the All-knowing
And the moon -- We have determined it by stations, till it returns like an aged palm-bough
It behoves not the sun to overtake the moon, neither does the night outstrip the day, each swimming in a sky
And a sign for them is that We carried their seed in the laden ship
and We have created for them the like of it whereon they ride
and if We will, We drown them, then none have they to cry to, neither are they delivered
save as a mercy from Us, and enjoyment for a while
And when it is said to them, 'Fear what is before you and what is behind you; haply you will find mercy' -
yet never any sign of the signs of their Lord comes to them, but they are turning away from it
And when it is said to them, 'Expend of that God has provided you,' the unbelievers say to the believers, 'What, shall we feed such a one whom, if God willed, He would feed? You are only in manifest error!
They also say, 'When shall this promise come to pass, if you speak truly?
They are awaiting only for one Cry to seize them while they are yet disputing
then they will not be able to make any testament, nor will they return to their people
And the Trumpet shall be blown; then behold, they are sliding down from their tombs unto their Lord
They say, 'Alas for us! Who roused us out of our sleeping place? This is what the All-merciful promised, and the Envoys spoke truly.
'It was only one Cry; then behold, they are all arraigned before Us
So today no soul shall be wronged anything, and you shall not be recompensed, except according to what you have been doing
See, the inhabitants of Paradise today are busy in their rejoicing
they and their spouses, reclining upon couches in the shade
therein they have fruits, and they have all that they call for
'Peace!' -- such is the greeting, from a Lord All-compassionate
'Now keep yourselves apart, you sinners, upon this day
Made I not covenant with you, Children of Adam, that you should not serve Satan -- surely he is a manifest foe to you -
and that you should serve Me? This is a straight path
He led astray many a throng of you; did you not understand
This is Gehenna, then, the same that you were promised
roast well in it today, for that you were unbelievers!
Today We set a seal on their mouths, and their hands speak to Us, and their feet bear witness as to what they have been earning
Did We will, We would have obliterated their eyes, then they would race to the path, but how would they see
Did We will, We would have changed them where they were, then they could not go on, nor could they return
And to whomsoever We give long life, We bend him over in His constitution; what, do they not understand
We have not taught him poetry; it is not seemly for him. It is only a Remembrance and a Clear Koran
that he may warn whosoever is living, and that the Word may be realized against the unbelievers
Have they not seen how that We have created for them of that Our hands wrought cattle that they own
We have subdued them to them, and some of them they ride, and some they eat
other uses also they have in them, and beverages. What, will they not be thankful
Yet they have taken, apart from God, gods; haply they might be helped
They cannot help them, though they be hosts made ready for them
So do not let their saying grieve thee; assuredly We know what they keep secret and what they publish
Has not man regarded how that We created him of a sperm-drop? Then lo, he is a manifest adversary
And he has struck for Us a similitude and forgotten his creation; he says, 'Who shall quicken the bones when they are decayed?
Say: 'He shall quicken them, who originated them the first time; He knows all creation
who has made for you out of the green tree fire and lo, from it you kindle.
Is not He, who created the heavens and earth, able to create the like of them? Yes indeed; He is the All-creator, the All-knowing
His command, when He desires a thing, is to say to it 'Be,' and it is
So glory be to Him, in whose hand is the dominion of everything, and unto whom you shall be returned