The Meccan sura takes its name from a reference to poets in verse 224. It talks about the disbelievers who belittle the Quran, and gives examples of God’s power and grace in nature. It recounts several stories of earlier prophets, the reactions of their people, and punishments that afflicted them, ending by confirming the divine origin of the Quran. It is not something brought down by the jinn, nor is it poetry.
In the name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy
Clear Revelations
1 Ta Sin Mim
2 These are the verses of the Scripture that makes things clear: 3 [Prophet], are you going to worry yourself to death because they will not believe? 4 If We had wished, We could have sent them down a sign from heaven, at which their necks would stay bowed in utter humility. 5 Whenever they are brought a new revelation from the Lord of Mercy, they turn away: 6 they deny it, but the truth of what they scorned will soon hit them. 7 Do they not see the earth, and what noble kinds of thing We grow in it? 8 There truly is a sign in this, though most of them do not believe: 9 your Lord alone is the Almighty, the Merciful.
Moses and Pharaoh
10 Your Lord called to Moses: ‘Go to those wrongdoers, 11the people of Pharaoh. Will they not take heed?’ 12 Moses said, ‘My Lord, I fear they will call me a liar, 13 and I will feel stressed and tongue-tied, so send Aaron too; 14 besides, they have a charge [a] against me, and I fear they may kill me.’ 15 God said, ‘No [they will not]. Go, both of you, with Our signs––We shall be with you, listening. 16 Go, both of you, to Pharaoh and say, “We bring a message from the Lord of the Worlds: 17 let the Children of Israel leave with us.” ’ misguided when I did it 21 and I fled from you in fear; later my Lord gave me wisdom and made me one of His messengers. 22 And is this– that you have enslaved the Children of Israel– the favor with which you reproach me?’
23 Pharaoh asked, ‘What is this “Lord of the Worlds”?’ 24 Moses replied, ‘He is the Lord of the heavens and earth and everything between them. If you would only have faith!’ 25 Pharaoh said to those present, ‘Do you hear what he says?’ 26 Moses said, ‘He is your Lord and the Lord of your forefathers.’ 27 Pharaoh said, ‘This messenger who has been sent to you is truly possessed.’ 28 Moses continued, ‘Lord of the East and West and everything between them. If you would only use your reason!’ 29 But Pharaoh said [to him], ‘If you take any god other than me, I will throw you into prison,’ 30 and Moses asked, ‘Even if I show you something convincing?’ 31 ‘Show it then,’ said Pharaoh, ‘if you are telling the truth.’ 32 So Moses threw down his staff and– lo and behold!– it became a snake for everyone to see. 33 Then he drew out his hand and– lo and behold!– it was white for the onlookers to see. 34 Pharaoh said to the counsellors around him, ‘This man is a learned sorcerer! 35 He means to use his sorcery to drive you out of your land! What do you suggest?’ 36 They answered, ‘Delay him and his brother for a while, and send messengers to all the cities 37 to bring every accomplished sorcerer to you.’ 38 The sorcerers were [to be] assembled at the appointed time on a certain day 39 and the people were asked, 40 ‘Are you all coming? We may follow the sorcerers if they win!’
41 When the sorcerers came, they said to Pharaoh, ‘Shall we be rewarded if we win?’ 42 and he said, ‘Yes, and you will join my inner court.’ 43 Moses said to them, ‘Throw down whatever you will.’ 44 They threw their ropes and staffs, saying, ‘By Pharaoh’s might, we shall be victorious.’ 45 But Moses threw his staff and– lo and behold!– it swallowed up their trickery 46 and the sorcerers fell down on their knees, 47 exclaiming, ‘We believe in the Lord of the Worlds, 48 the Lord of Moses and Aaron.’ 49 Pharaoh said, ‘How dare you believe in him before I have given you permission? He must be the master who taught you sorcery! Soon you will see: I will cut off your alternate hands and feet [b] and then crucify the lot of you!’ 50 ‘That will do us no harm,’ they said, ‘for we are sure to return to our Lord. 51 We hope that our Lord will forgive us our sins, as we were the first to believe.’
52 Then We revealed Our will to Moses, ‘Leave with My servants by night, for you will be pursued!’ 53 Pharaoh sent messengers into the cities, proclaiming, 54 ‘These people are a puny band–– 55 they have enraged us– 56 and we are a large army, on the alert.’ 57 So it was that We made them leave their gardens and their springs, 58 their treasures and their noble dwellings– 59 We gave [such] things [later] [c] to the Children of Israel. 60 Pharaoh and his people pursued them at sunrise, 61 and as soon as the two sides came within sight of one another, Moses’ followers said, ‘We shall definitely be caught.’ 62 Moses said, ‘No, my Lord is with me: He will guide me,’ 63 and We revealed to Moses: ‘Strike the sea with your staff.’ It parted– each side like a mighty mountain– 64 and We brought the others to that place: 65 We saved Moses and all his companions, 66 and drowned the rest. 67 There truly is a sign in this, though most of them do not believe: 68 your Lord alone is the Almighty, the Merciful.
Prophet Abraham
69 Tell them the story of Abraham, 70 when he asked his father and his people, ‘What do you worship?’ 71 They said, ‘We worship idols, and are constantly in attendance on them.’ 72 He asked, ‘Do they hear you when you call? 73 Do they help or harm you?’ 74 They replied, ‘No, but this is what we saw our fathers doing.’ 75 Abraham said, ‘Those idols you have worshipped, 76 you and your forefathers, 77 are my enemies; not so the Lord of the Worlds, 78 who created me. It is He who guides me; 79 He who gives me food and drink; 80 He who cures me when I am ill; 81 He who will make me die and then give me life again; 82 and He who will, I hope, forgive my faults on the Day of Judgement. 83 My Lord, grant me wisdom; join me with the righteous; 84 give me a good name among later generations; 85 make me one of those given the Garden of Bliss– 86 forgive my father, for he is one of those who have gone astray– 87 and do not disgrace me on the Day when all people are resurrected: 88 the Day when neither wealth nor children can help, 89 when the only one who will be saved is the one who comes before God with a heart devoted to Him.’
90 When the Garden is brought near to the righteous 91 and the Fire is placed in full view of the misguided, 92 it will be said to them, ‘Where are those you worshipped 93 beside God? Can they help you now, or even help themselves?’ 94 and then they will all be hurled into Hell, together with those that misled them, 95 and all Iblis’s supporters. [d] 96 There they will say to their gods, as they bicker among themselves, 97 ‘We were clearly misguided 98 when we made you equal with the Lord of the Worlds. 99 It was the evildoers who led us astray, 100 and now we have no intercessor 101 and no true friend. 102 If only we could live our lives again, we would be true believers!’ 103 There truly is a sign in this, though most of them do not believe: 104 your Lord alone is the Almighty, the Merciful.
Footnotes
a. Cf. 28: 15–20.
b. See note to 5: 33.
c. Cf. 7: 137.
d. See note to 37: 173.
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.