36. Surah Ya-Sin, English Translation

By the Quran, rich in wisdom!

You ˹O Prophet˺ are truly one of the messengers

upon the Straight Path.

˹This is˺ a revelation from the Almighty, Most Merciful,

so that you may warn a people whose forefathers were not warned, and so are heedless.

The decree ˹of torment˺ has already been justified against most of them, for they will never believe.

˹It is as if˺ We have put shackles around their necks up to their chins, so their heads are forced up,

and have placed a barrier before them and a barrier behind them and covered them ˹all˺ up, so they fail to see ˹the truth˺.

It is the same whether you warn them or not—they will never believe.

You can only warn those who follow the Reminder¹ and are in awe of the Most Compassionate without seeing Him.² So give them good news of forgiveness and an honourable reward.

It is certainly We Who resurrect the dead, and write what they send forth and what they leave behind. Everything is listed by Us in a perfect Record.¹ 

Give them an example ˹O Prophet˺ of the residents of a town, when the messengers came to them.

We sent them two messengers, but they rejected both. So We reinforced ˹the two˺ with a third, and they declared, “We have indeed been sent to you ˹as messengers˺.”

The people replied, “You are only humans like us, and the Most Compassionate has not revealed anything. You are simply lying!”

The messengers responded, “Our Lord knows that we have truly been sent to you.

And our duty is only to deliver ˹the message˺ clearly.”

The people replied, “We definitely see you as a bad omen for us. If you do not desist, we will certainly stone you ˹to death˺ and you will be touched with a painful punishment from us.”

The messengers said, “Your bad omen lies within yourselves. Are you saying this because you are reminded ˹of the truth˺? In fact, you are a transgressing people.”

Then from the farthest end of the city a man came, rushing. He advised, “O my people! Follow the messengers.

Follow those who ask no reward of you, and are ˹rightly˺ guided.

And why should I not worship the One Who has originated me, and to Whom you will be returned.

How could I take besides Him other gods whose intercession would not be of any benefit to me, nor could they save me if the Most Compassionate intended to harm me?

Indeed, I would then be clearly astray.

I do believe in your Lord, so listen to me.”

˹But they killed him, then˺ he was told ˹by the angels˺, “Enter Paradise!” He said, “If only my people knew

of how my Lord has forgiven me, and made me one of the honourable.”

We did not send any soldiers from the heavens against his people after his death, nor did We need to.

All it took was one ˹mighty˺ blast, and they were extinguished at once.

Oh pity, such beings! No messenger ever came to them without being mocked.

Have the deniers not considered how many peoples We destroyed before them who never came back to life again?

Yet they will all be brought before Us.

There is a sign for them in the dead earth: We give it life, producing grain from it for them to eat.

And We have placed in it gardens of palm trees and grapevines, and caused springs to gush forth in it,

so that they may eat from its fruit, which they had no hand in making. Will they not then give thanks?

Glory be to the One Who created all ˹things in˺ pairs—˹be it˺ what the earth produces, their genders, or what they do not know!

There is also a sign for them in the night: We strip from it daylight, then—behold!—they are in darkness.

The sun travels for its fixed term. That is the design of the Almighty, All-Knowing.

As for the moon, We have ordained ˹precise˺ phases for it, until it ends up ˹looking˺ like an old, curved palm stalk.

It is not for the sun to catch up with the moon,¹ nor does the night outrun the day. Each is travelling in an orbit of their own.

Another sign for them is that We carried their ancestors ˹with Noah˺ in the fully loaded Ark,

and created for them similar things to ride in.

If We willed, We could drown them: then no one would respond to their cries, nor would they be rescued—

except by mercy from Us, allowing them enjoyment for a ˹little˺ while.

˹Still they turn away˺ when it is said to them, “Beware of what is ahead of you ˹in the Hereafter˺ and what is behind you ˹of destroyed nations˺ so you may be shown mercy.”

Whenever a sign comes to them from their Lord, they turn away from it.

And when it is said to them, “Donate from what Allah has provided for you,” the disbelievers say to the believers, “Why should we feed those whom Allah could have fed if He wanted to? You are clearly astray!”