25. Surah Al-Furqan, English Translation

˹Allah is˺ the One to Whom belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, Who has never had ˹any˺ offspring, nor does He have a partner in ˹governing˺ the kingdom. He has created everything, ordaining it precisely.

Yet they have taken besides Him gods who cannot create anything but are themselves created. Nor can they protect or benefit themselves. Nor can they control life, death, or resurrection.

The disbelievers say, “This ˹Quran˺ is nothing but a fabrication which he¹ made up with the help of others.” Their claim is totally unjustified and untrue!

And they say, “˹These revelations are only˺ ancient fables which he has had written down, and they are rehearsed to him morning and evening.”¹

Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “This ˹Quran˺ has been revealed by the One Who knows the secrets of the heavens and the earth. Surely He is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”¹ 

And they say ˹mockingly˺, “What kind of messenger is this who eats food and goes about in market-places ˹for a living˺? If only an angel had been sent down with him to be his co-warner,

or a treasure had been cast down to him, or he had had a garden from which he may eat!” And the wrongdoers say ˹to the believers˺, “You are only following a bewitched man.”

See ˹O Prophet˺ how they call you names!¹ So they have gone so ˹far˺ astray that they cannot find the ˹Right˺ Way.

Blessed is the One Who—if He wills—can give you far better than ˹all˺ that: gardens under which rivers flow, and palaces as well.

In fact, they deny the Hour.¹ And for the deniers of the Hour, We have prepared a blazing Fire.

Once it sees them from a distance, they will hear it fuming and growling.

And when they are tossed into a narrow place inside ˹Hell˺, chained together, then and there they will cry out for ˹instant˺ destruction.

˹They will be told,˺ “Do not cry only once for destruction Today, but cry many times over!”

Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “Is this better or the Garden of Eternity which the righteous have been promised, as a reward and ˹an ultimate˺ destination?

There they will have whatever they wish for, forever. That is a promise ˹to be sought after˺, binding on your Lord.”

˹Watch for˺ the Day He will gather them along with what they used to worship besides Allah, and ask ˹the objects of worship˺,¹ “Was it you who misled these servants of Mine, or did they stray from the Way ˹on their own˺?”

They will say, “Glory be to You! It was not right for ˹others like˺ us to take any lords besides You,¹ but You allowed enjoyment for them and their forefathers ˹for so long˺ that they forgot ˹Your˺ remembrance and became a doomed people.”

˹The doomed will be told˺, “Your gods have clearly denied your claims. So now you can neither ward off ˹the punishment˺ nor get any help.” And whoever of you does wrong, We will make them taste a horrible punishment.

We never sent any messenger before you ˹O Prophet˺, who did not eat food and go about in market-places. We have made some of you a trial for others. Will you ˹not then˺ be patient? And your Lord is All-Seeing.

Those who do not expect to meet Us say, “If only the angels were sent down to us, or we could see our Lord!” They have certainly been carried away by their arrogance and have entirely exceeded all limits.

˹But˺ on the Day they will see the angels, there will be no good news for the wicked, who will cry, “Keep away! Away ˹from us˺!”¹

Then We will turn to whatever ˹good˺ deeds they did, reducing them to scattered dust.¹

˹But˺ on that Day the residents of Paradise will have the best settlement and the finest place to rest.

˹Watch for˺ the Day the heavens will burst with clouds, and the angels will be sent down in successive ranks.

True authority on that Day will belong ˹only˺ to the Most Compassionate.¹ And it will be a hard day for the disbelievers.

And ˹beware of˺ the Day the wrongdoer will bite his nails ˹in regret˺ and say, “Oh! I wish I had followed the Way along with the Messenger!

Woe to me! I wish I had never taken so-and-so as a close friend.

It was he who truly made me stray from the Reminder after it had reached me.” And Satan has always betrayed humanity.

The Messenger has cried, “O my Lord! My people have indeed received this Quran with neglect.”

Similarly, We made enemies for every prophet from among the wicked, but sufficient is your Lord as a Guide and Helper.

The disbelievers say, “If only the Quran had been sent down to him all at once!” ˹We have sent it˺ as such ˹in stages˺ so We may reassure your heart with it. And We have revealed it at a deliberate pace.

Whenever they bring you an argument, We come to you with the right refutation and the best explanation.

Those who will be dragged into Hell on their faces will be in the worst place, and are ˹now˺ farthest from the ˹Right˺ Way.

We certainly gave Moses the Book and appointed his brother Aaron as his helper.

We had ordered ˹them˺, “Go to the people who would deny Our signs.” Then We annihilated the deniers entirely.

And when the people of Noah rejected the messengers,¹ We drowned them, making them an example to humanity. And We have prepared a painful punishment for the wrongdoers.

Also ˹We destroyed˺ ’Ȃd, Thamûd, and the people of the Water-pit,¹ as well as many peoples in between.

For each We set forth ˹various˺ lessons, and We ultimately destroyed each.

They have certainly passed by the city ˹of Sodom˺, which had been showered with a dreadful rain ˹of stones˺. Have they not seen its ruins? But they do not expect to be resurrected.

When they see you ˹O Prophet˺, they only make fun of you, ˹saying,˺ “Is this the one that Allah has sent as a messenger?

He would have almost tricked us away from our gods, had we not been so devoted to them.” ˹But˺ soon they will know, when they face the punishment, who is far astray from the ˹Right˺ Way.

Have you seen ˹O Prophet˺ the one who has taken their own desires as their god? Will you then be a keeper over them?