39. Surah Az-Zumar, English Translation

Indeed, We have sent down the Book to you ˹O Prophet˺ in truth, so worship Allah ˹alone˺, being sincerely devoted to Him.

Indeed, sincere devotion is due ˹only˺ to Allah. As for those who take other lords besides Him, ˹saying,˺ “We worship them only so they may bring us closer to Allah,” surely Allah will judge between all¹ regarding what they differed about. Allah certainly does not guide whoever persists in lying and disbelief.

Had it been Allah’s Will to have offspring, He could have chosen whatever He willed of His creation. Glory be to Him! He is Allah—the One, the Supreme.

He created the heavens and the earth for a purpose. He wraps the night around the day, and wraps the day around the night. And He has subjected the sun and the moon, each orbiting for an appointed term. He is truly the Almighty, Most Forgiving.

He created you ˹all˺ from a single soul,¹ then from it He made its mate.² And He produced for you four pairs of cattle.³ He creates you in the wombs of your mothers ˹in stages˺, one development after another, in three layers of darkness.⁴ That is Allah—your Lord! All authority belongs to Him. There is no god ˹worthy of worship˺ except Him. How can you then be turned away?

If you disbelieve, then ˹know that˺ Allah is truly not in need of you, nor does He approve of disbelief from His servants. But if you become grateful ˹through faith˺, He will appreciate that from you. No soul burdened with sin will bear the burden of another. Then to your Lord is your return, and He will inform you of what you used to do. He certainly knows best what is ˹hidden˺ in the heart.

When one is touched with hardship, they cry out to their Lord, turning to Him ˹alone˺. But as soon as He showers them with blessings from Him, they ˹totally˺ forget the One they had cried to earlier, and set up equals to Allah to mislead ˹others˺ from His Way. Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “Enjoy your disbelief for a little while! You will certainly be one of the inmates of the Fire.”

˹Are they better˺ or those who worship ˹their Lord˺ devoutly in the hours of the night, prostrating and standing, fearing the Hereafter and hoping for the mercy of their Lord? Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “Are those who know equal to those who do not know?” None will be mindful ˹of this˺ except people of reason.

Say ˹O Prophet, that Allah says˺, “O My servants who believe! Be mindful of your Lord. Those who do good in this world will have a good reward. And Allah’s earth is spacious. Only those who endure patiently will be given their reward without limit.”

Say, “I am commanded to worship Allah, being sincerely devoted to Him ˹alone˺.

And I am commanded to be the first of those who submit ˹to His Will˺.”

Say, “I truly fear—if I were to disobey my Lord—the torment of a tremendous Day.”

Say, “It is ˹only˺ Allah that I worship, being sincere in my devotion to Him.

Worship then whatever ˹gods˺ you want instead of Him.” Say, “The ˹true˺ losers are those who will lose themselves and their families on Judgment Day. That is indeed the clearest loss.”

They will have layers of fire above and below them. That is what Allah warns His servants with. So fear Me, O  My servants!

And those who shun the worship of false gods, turning to Allah ˹alone˺, will have good news. So give good news to My servants ˹O Prophet˺—

those who listen to what is said and follow the best of it.¹ These are the ones ˹rightly˺ guided by Allah, and these are ˹truly˺ the people of reason.

What about those against whom the decree of torment has been justified? Is it you ˹O Prophet˺ who will then save those bound for the Fire?

But those mindful of their Lord will have ˹elevated˺ mansions, built one above the other, under which rivers flow. ˹That is˺ the promise of Allah. ˹And˺ Allah never fails in ˹His˺ promise.

Do you not see that Allah sends down rain from the sky—channelling it through streams in the earth—then produces with it crops of various colours, then they dry up and you see them wither, and then He reduces them to chaff? Surely in this is a reminder for people of reason.

Can ˹the misguided be like˺ those whose hearts Allah has opened to Islam, so they are enlightened by their Lord? So woe to those whose hearts are hardened at the remembrance of Allah! It is they who are clearly astray.

˹It is˺ Allah ˹Who˺ has sent down the best message—a Book of perfect consistency and repeated lessons—which causes the skin ˹and hearts˺ of those who fear their Lord to tremble, then their skin and hearts soften at the mention of ˹the mercy of˺ Allah. That is the guidance of Allah, through which He guides whoever He wills. But whoever Allah leaves to stray will be left with no guide.

Are those who will only have their ˹bare˺ faces to shield themselves from the awful torment on Judgment Day ˹better than those in Paradise˺? It will ˹then˺ be said to the wrongdoers: “Reap what you sowed!”

Those before them ˹also˺ rejected ˹the truth˺, then the torment came upon them from where they least expected.

So Allah made them taste humiliation in this worldly life, but far worse is the punishment of the Hereafter, if only they knew.

We have certainly set forth every ˹kind of˺ lesson for people in this Quran, so perhaps they will be mindful.

˹It is˺ a Quran ˹revealed˺ in Arabic without any crookedness, so perhaps they will be conscious ˹of Allah˺.

Allah sets forth the parable of a slave owned by several quarrelsome masters, and a slave owned by only one master. Are they equal in condition?¹ Praise be to Allah! In fact, most of them do not know.

You ˹O Prophet˺ will certainly die, and they will die too.

Then on the Day of Judgment you will ˹all settle your˺ dispute before your Lord.

Who then does more wrong than those who lie about Allah and reject the truth after it has reached them? Is Hell not a ˹fitting˺ home for the disbelievers?

And the one who has brought the truth and those who embrace it—it is they who are the righteous.

They will have whatever they desire with their Lord. That is the reward of the good-doers.

As such, Allah will absolve them of ˹even˺ the worst of what they did and reward them according to the best of what they used to do.

Is Allah not sufficient for His servant? Yet they threaten you with other ˹powerless˺ gods besides Him! Whoever Allah leaves to stray will be left with no guide.

And whoever Allah guides, none can lead astray. Is Allah not Almighty, capable of punishment?

If you ask them ˹O Prophet˺ who created the heavens and the earth, they will certainly say, “Allah!” Ask ˹them˺, “Consider then whatever ˹idols˺ you invoke besides Allah: if it was Allah’s Will to harm me, could they undo that harm? Or if He willed ˹some˺ mercy for me, could they withhold His mercy?” Say, “Allah is sufficient for me. In Him ˹alone˺ the faithful put their trust.”