Tā‘ sīn mīm
These are the revelations of the veritable Book
you will perhaps fret yourself to death on account of their unbelief
If We will, We can reveal to them a sign from heaven before which they will bow their necks in utter humility
They turn their backs on each fresh Admonition they received from the Merciful
they disbelieved, but the truth of that which they have laughed to scorn will dawn upon them
Do they not see the earth, how We have planted on it all kinds of beneficial plants?
Surely in this there is a sign; yet most of them do not believe
And surely your Lord is the Mighty One, the Compassionate
Your Lord called out to Moses, saying: ‘Go to those wicked people
the people of Pharaoh. Will they not take heed?‘
Lord,‘ he said, ‘I fear they will deny me
I may become impatient and stammer in my speech. Send for Aaron
They accuse me of a crime,¹ and I fear that they may put me to death.‘
Never fear,‘ said He. ‘Go both of you with Our signs; We shall be with you and shall hear all
Go to Pharaoh and say to him: "We are messengers from the Lord of the Universe
Let the Israelites depart with us."‘
Pharaoh said: ‘Did we not bring you up when you were an infant? And did you not stay in our midst several years of your life
Yet you have done the deed you did; surely you are ungrateful.‘
He said: ‘I did that when I had gone astray
I fled from you because I feared you. But my Lord has given me wisdom and made me an apostle
And this is the favour with which you taunt me: you have made the Israelites your bondsmen.‘
Who is the Lord of the Universe?‘ said Pharaoh
He said: ‘The Lord of the heavens and the earth and all that lies between them. If only you believed!‘
Do you hear?‘ said he to those around him
Your Lord,‘ he went on, ‘and the Lord of your forefathers.‘
He said: ‘The apostle who has been sent to you is surely possessed!‘
The Lord of the East and of the West,‘ said Moses, ‘and all that lies between them. If only you could understand!‘
If you serve any other god but myself,‘ he said, ‘I shall have you thrown into prison.‘
Even if I showed you a convincing sign?‘ he said
He replied: ‘Show it to us, if what you say be true.‘
He threw down his staff and thereupon it changed to a veritable serpent
Then he drew out his hand, and it was white to all who saw it
This man,‘ he said to the nobles around him, ‘is a skilful sorcere
who seeks to drive you from your land by his sorcery. What is your counsel?‘
They said: ‘Put them off awhile, him and his brother, and send forth criers to the cities to brin
every skilled enchanter to your presence.‘
The sorcerers were gathered on an appointed day
and the people were asked: ‘Are you all assembled
We may follow the sorcerers if they win the day.‘
And when the sorcerers came they said to Pharaoh: ‘Shall we be rewarded if we win?‘
‘Yes,‘ he answered, ‘and you shall become my favoured friends.‘
Moses said to them: ‘Throw down all that you wish to throw.‘
They threw down their ropes and staffs, saying: ‘By Pharaoh‘s glory, we shall surely win!‘
Then Moses threw down his staff, and it swallowed up their false devices
The sorcerers prostrated themselves
saying: ‘We now believe in the Lord of the Universe
the Lord of Moses and Aaron.‘
He said: ‘Do you dare believe in him before I give you leave? He must surely be your master, who has taught you witchcraft. But you shall see. I will cut off your hands and feet on alternate sides and crucify you all.‘
That cannot harm us,‘ they replied, ‘for to our Lord we shall return
We hope our Lord will forgive us our sins, since we are the first who have believed.‘
Then We revealed Our will to Moses, saying: ‘Set forth with My servants in the night, for you will be pursued.‘
Pharaoh sent forth criers to the cities
These,‘ they said, ‘are but a puny band
who have provoked us much
But we are a numerous army, well-prepared.‘
Thus did We make them leave their gardens and their fountains
their treasures and their sumptuous dwellings
Even thus; and to the Israelites We gave those
At sunrise the Egyptians followed them
And when the two multitudes came within sight of each other, Moses‘ companions said: ‘We are surely undone!‘
No,‘ he said, ‘my Lord is with me, and He will guide me.‘
We bade Moses strike the sea with his staff, and the sea was cleft asunder, each part as high as a massive mountain
In between We made the others follow
We delivered Moses and all who were with him
and the others We drowned
Surely in that there was a sign; yet most of them did not believe
Surely, your Lord is the Mighty One, the Compassionate
Recount to them the story of Abraham
He said to his father and to his people: ‘What is that which you worship?‘
They said: ‘We worship idols and pray to them with all fervour.‘
Do they hear you when you pray?‘ he asked
‘Can they help you or do you harm?‘
They said: ‘This was what our fathers did before us.‘
He said: ‘Do you see those you have worshipped
you and your forefathers of old
They are my enemies. Not so the Lord of the Universe
who has created me; who gives me guidance
food and drink
who, when I am sick, restores me
who will cause me to die and bring me back to life hereafter
who, I hope, will forgive me my sins on the Day of Judgement
Lord, bestow wisdom upon me, and admit me among the righteous
Endow me with a tongue of truthfulness among posterit
and count me among the heirs of the Blissful Garden
Forgive my father, for he has gone astray
Do not hold me up to shame on the Day of Resurrection
the day when wealth and offspring will be of no avail
and when none shall be saved but him who comes before his Lord with a pure heart
when Paradise shall be brought within sight of the righteou
and Hell be revealed to the erring
They will be asked: "Where are the idols which you worshipped besides God
Can they help you or help themselves?
And into Hell they shall be hurled, they and those who misled them
and Satan‘s legions all
"By the Lord," they will say, as they contend with them
"we clearly erred
when we made you equals with the Lord of the Universe
It was but the transgressors who led us astray
We have no intercessors now
no loving friend
Could we but live our lives again we would be true believers."‘
Surely in that there was a sign, yet most of them did not believe
Surely your Lord is the Mighty One, the Compassionate
The people of Noah disbelieved the emissaries
Will you not fear God?‘ said Noah, their kin, to them
I am indeed your truthful apostle
Fear God, then, and follow me
For this I demand of you no recompense, for none can reward me except the Lord of the Universe
Fear God, and follow me.‘
They said: ‘Are we to believe in you when your followers are but the lowest of the low?‘
I have no knowledge of what they did,‘ he said
‘My Lord alone can bring them to account. Would that you understood
Nor will I drive away the true believers
I am sent forth only to give plain warning.‘
Noah,‘ they said, ‘desist, or you shall be stoned to death.‘
He said: ‘Lord, my people disbelieve me
Judge rightly between us. Save me and the believers who are with me.‘
So We delivered him and those who were with him in the laden ark
and drowned the others thereafter
Surely in that there was a sign; yet most of them did not believe
Surely your Lord is the Mighty One, the Compassionate
Ad disbelieved the apostles
Their kin Hūd had said to them: ‘Will you not fear God
I am indeed your truthful apostle
Fear God, then, and follow me
For this I demand of you no recompense; none can reward me except the Lord of the Universe. ‘
Will you erect a monument on every hill
Vain is your work. You build strong fortresses, hoping that you may last for ever
When you exercise your power, you act like cruel tyrants
Fear God, and follow me
Fear Him who has given you all the things you know
He has given you flocks and children
gardens and fountains
Beware the torment of a fateful day.‘
They said: ‘We care nothing whether or not you preach to us
This is but a myth of the ancients
Surely we shall not be punished.‘
They denied him, and thus We utterly destroyed them. Surely in that there was a sign; yet most of them did not believe
Surely your Lord is the Mighty One, the Compassionate
Thamūd disbelieved the apostles
Their kin Ṣālih had said to them: ‘Will you not fear God
I am indeed your truthful apostle
Fear God and follow me
For this I demand of you no recompense; none can reward me except the Lord of the Universe
Are you to be left secure in this land
amid gardens and fountains
cornfields and palm-trees laden with fine fruit
hewing your dwellings out of the mountains and leading a wanton life
Have fear of God and follow me
Do not obey the bidding of transgressor
who perpetrate corruption in the land and do no good at all.‘
They said: ‘Surely you are bewitched
You are but a mortal like ourselves. Show us a sign, if what you say be true.‘
‘Here,‘ he said, ‘is this she-camel. She shall have her share of water as you have yours, each drinking on an appointed day
Do not harm her, or the scourge of a fateful day shall take you.‘
Yet they hamstrung her, and in the morning were repentant
The scourge took them. Surely in that there was a sign. Yet most of them did not believe
Surely your Lord is the Mighty One, the Compassionate
Lot‘s people disbelieved the apostles
Their kin Lot had said to them: ‘Will you not fear God
I am indeed your truthful apostle
Fear God and follow me
For this I demand of you no recompense; none can reward me except the Lord of the Universe
Will you fornicate with the males of human
and eschew the wives whom God has created for you? Surely you are a sinful people
Lot,‘ they said, ‘desist or you shall be banished.‘
He said: ‘I abhor your ways
Lord, deliver me and my kin from their practices.‘
We delivered him and his kindred all
save for one old woman who stayed behind,
and the others We utterly destroyed
We pelted them with rain, and evil was the rain which fell on those who were forewarned
Surely in that there was a sign. Yet most of them did not believe
Your Lord is the Mighty One, the Compassionate
The dwellers of the Forest¹ disbelieved the apostles
Shu‘aib had said to them: ‘Will you not fear God
I am indeed your truthful apostle
Fear God and follow me
For this I demand of you no recompense: none can reward me except the Lord of the Universe
Give just measure and defraud none
Weigh with even scale
and do not cheat the people of what is rightly theirs; nor shall you corrupt the land with evil
And fear Him who created you and the earlier generation.‘
They said: ‘You are surely bewitched
You are but a mortal like ourselves. Indeed, we believe that you are lying
Bring down upon us a fragment of the sky if what you say be true.‘
He said: ‘My Lord has better knowledge of what you do.‘
They disbelieved him, and thus the scourge of the Day of Darkness smote them; it was surely the scourge of a fateful day
Surely in that there was a sign; yet most of them did not believe
Your Lord is the Mighty One, the Compassionate
This is surely revealed by the Lord of the Universe
The Faithful Spirit has brought it down
into your heart, that you may give warning
in eloquent Arabic speech
It was surely foretold in the Scriptures of the ancients
Is it not sufficient proof for them that the doctors of the Israelites recognize it
If We had revealed it to a foreign man
and he had recited it to them, they still would not have believed
Thus do We put unbelief in the hearts of the guilty
they shall not believe in it until they see the woeful scourge
which shall suddenly smite them when they are heedless
And then they will say: ‘Shall we ever be reprieved?‘
Is it their wish to hurry on Our scourge
Think! If We let them live in ease for many years
and then the promised scourge does fall upon them
of what avail will their past enjoyments be to them
Never have We destroyed a city We did not war
and admonish beforehand. We are never unjust
It was not the demons who brought this down
it is neither in their interest nor in their power
Indeed, they are too far away to overhear it
Therefore call on no other god besides God, lest you suffer torment
Admonish your nearest ki
and show kindness to those of the believers who follow you
If they disobey you, say: ‘I am not accountable for what you do.‘
Put your trust in the Mighty One, the Compassionate
who observes you when you stand upright
and when you walk among the worshippers
He it is who hears all and knows all
Shall I tell you on whom the demons descend
They descend on every lying sinner
They eagerly listen, but most of them are liars
Poets are followed by erring men
Behold how aimlessly they rove in every valley
preaching what they never practise
Not so the true believers, who do good works and remember God with fervour and defend themselves only when wronged. The wrongdoers will then learn to what end they will be overturned