24 [Prophet], do you not see how God makes comparisons? A good word is like a good tree whose root is firm and whose branches are high in the sky, 25 yielding constant fruit by its Lord’s leave– God makes such comparisons for people so that they may reflect– 26 but an evil word is like a rotten tree, uprooted from the surface of the earth, with no power to endure. 27 God will give firmness to those who believe in the firmly rooted word, [a] both in this world and the Hereafter, but the evildoers He leaves to stray: God does whatever He will.
28 [Prophet], do you not see those who, in exchange for God’s favor, offer only ingratitude and make their people end up in the home of ruin, Hell, 29 where they burn? What an evil place to stay! 30They set up [false deities] as God’s equals to lead people astray from His path. Say, ‘Take your pleasure now, for your destination is the Fire.’ 31 Tell My servants who have believed to keep up the prayer and give, secretly and in public, out of what We have provided them, before a Day comes when there will be no trading or friendship.
32 It is God who created the heavens and earth, who has sent down water from the sky and with it brought forth produce to nourish you; He has made ships useful to you, sailing the sea by His command, and the rivers too; 33 He has made the sun and the moon useful to you, steady on their paths; He has made the night and day useful to you 34 and given you some of everything you asked Him for. If you tried to count God’s favors you could never calculate them: man is truly unjust and ungrateful.
Prophet Abraham
35 Remember when Abraham said, ‘Lord, make this town safe! Preserve me and my offspring from idolatry, 36 Lord, the [idols] have led many people astray! Anyone who follows me is with me, but as for anyone who disobeys me– You are surely forgiving and merciful. 37 Our Lord, I have established some of my offspring in an uncultivated valley, close to Your Sacred House, Lord, so that they may keep up the prayer. Make people’s hearts turn to them, and provide them with produce, so that they may be thankful. 38 Our Lord, You know well what we conceal and what we reveal: nothing at all is hidden from God, on earth or in heaven. 39 Praise be to God, who has granted me Ishmael and Isaac in my old age: my Lord hears all requests! 40 Lord, grant that I and my offspring may keep up the prayer. Our Lord, accept my request. 41 Our Lord, forgive me, my parents, and the believers on the Day of Reckoning.’
A Warning and a Message
42 Do not think [Prophet] that God is unaware of what the disbelievers [b] do: He only gives them respite until a Day when their eyes will stare in terror. 43 They will rush forward, craning their necks, unable to divert their eyes, a gaping void in their hearts. 44 So warn people of the Day when punishment will come to them, and when the disbelievers will say, ‘Our Lord, give us a little more time: we shall answer Your call and follow the messengers.’ Did you [disbelievers] not swear in the past that your power would have no end? 45 You lived in the same places as others who wronged themselves before, and you were clearly shown how We dealt with them– We gave you many examples. 46 They made their plots, but, even if their plots had been able to move mountains, God had the answer.
47 So do not think [Prophet] that God will break His promise to His messengers: He is mighty, and capable of retribution. 48 One Day– when the earth is turned into another earth, the heavens into another heaven, and people all appear before God, the One, the Overpowering– 49 you [Prophet] will see the guilty on that Day, bound together in fetters, 50 in garments of pitch, faces covered in fire. 51 [All will be judged] so that God may reward each soul as it deserves: God is swift in His reckoning.
52 This is a message to all people, so that they may be warned by it, and know that He is the only God, and so that those who have minds may take heed.
Footnotes
a. Possibly the Scripture, firmly rooted in knowledge from God.
b. This is an instance where dhalimun means ‘disbelievers’, see verse 44 and 31: 11, 13.
The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics)
The Qur'an / a new translation by M. A. S. Abdel Haleem, copyright © 2004 Oxford World's Classics (Oxford University Press). Used by permission. All rights reserved.