The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics)

a
to pray, and pray
steadfastly yourself. We are not asking you to give Us provision;
b
We provide for you, and the rewards of the Hereafter belong to the
devout.
133The disbelievers say, ‘Why does he not bring us a sign from his
Lord?’ Have they not been given clear proof con
firming what was
in the earlier scriptures? 
134If We had destroyed them through
punishment before this Messenger came, they would have said,
‘Lord, if only You had sent us a messenger, we could have followed
Your revelations before we su
ffered humiliation and disgrace!’
135[Prophet], say, ‘We are all waiting, so you carry on waiting: you
will come to learn who has followed the even path, and been rightly
guided.’
a
Or ‘your family’.
b
Cf. 
51: 57.
20: 128
202
The Qur
an

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21. THE PROPHETS
A Meccan sura which takes its name from the list of prophets mentioned from verse
48 to verse 91. It stresses that fact that Muhammad is a man like earlier prophets,
and has been given the same message to declare the unity of God. It warns the
disbelievers of the approaching Judgement from which there is no escape.
In the name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy
1Ever closer to people draws their reckoning, while they turn away,
heedless. 
2Whenever any fresh revelation comes to them from their
Lord, they listen to it playfully 
3with frivolous hearts. The evildoers
conferred in secret: ‘Is this man anything but a mortal like your-
selves? Are you going to fall under his spell with your eyes wide
open?’
4He said,
a
‘My Lord knows everything that is said in the
heavens and the earth: He is the All Hearing, the All Knowing.’
5Some say, ‘Muddled dreams’; others, ‘He made it up’; yet others,
‘He is just a poet, let him show us a sign as previous messengers
did.’
6But of the communities We destroyed before them not a single
one believed. Will these now believe? 
7And even before your time
[Prophet], all the messengers We sent were only men We inspired ––
if you [disbelievers] do not know, ask people who know the Scrip-
ture ––
8We did not give them bodies that ate no food, nor were they
immortal. 
9We fulfilled Our promise to them in the end: We saved
them and those We wished to save, and We destroyed those who
exceeded all bounds.
10And now We have sent down to you [people] a Scripture to
remind you. Will you not use your reason? 
11How many com-
munities of evildoers We have destroyed! How many others We
have raised up in their places! 
12When they felt Our might coming
upon them, see how they tried to escape it! 
13‘Do not try to escape.
Go back to your homes and the pleasure you revelled in: you
may be questioned.’ 
14They said, ‘Woe to us! We were wrong!’
15and that cry of theirs did not cease until We made them burnt-off
stubble.
a
Here and in verse 
112 an alternative reading is the imperative, qul (‘say’).

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16We did not create the heavens and the earth and everything
between them playfully. 
17If We had wished for a pastime, We could
have found it within Us –
– if We had wished for any such thing. 
18No!
We hurl the truth against falsehood, and truth obliterates it –
– see
how falsehood vanishes away! Woe to you [people] for the way you
describe God! 
19Everyone in the heavens and earth belongs to Him,
and those that are with Him are never too proud to worship Him,
nor do they grow weary; 
20they glorify Him tirelessly night and day.
21Have they chosen any gods from the earth who can give life to
the dead? 
22If there had been in the heavens or earth any gods but
Him, both heavens and earth would be in ruins: God, Lord of the
Throne, is far above the things they say: 
23He cannot be called to
account for anything He does, whereas they will be called to account.
24Have they chosen to worship other gods instead of Him? Say,
‘Bring your proof. This is the Scripture for those who are with me
and the Scripture for those who went before me.’ But most of them
do not recognize the truth, so they pay no heed. 
25We never sent any
messenger before you [Muhammad] without revealing to him:
‘There is no god but Me, so serve Me.’
26And they say, ‘The Lord of
Mercy has taken o
ffspring for Himself.’
a
May He be exalted! No!
They are only His honoured servants: 
27they do not speak before He
speaks and they act by His command. 
28He knows what is before
them and what is behind them, and they cannot intercede without
His permission
b
–– indeed they themselves stand in awe of Him. 
29If
any of them were to claim, ‘I am a god beside Him,’ We would
reward them with Hell: this is how We reward evildoers.
30Are the disbelievers not aware that the heavens and the earth
used to be joined together and that We ripped them apart, that We
made every living thing from water? Will they not believe? 
31And
We put 
firm mountains on the earth, lest it should sway under them,
and set broad paths on it, so that they might follow the right direc-
tion, 
32and We made the sky a well-secured canopy–– yet from its
wonders they turn away. 
33It is He who created night and day,
the sun and the moon, each 
floating in its orbit. 34We have not
granted everlasting life to any other human being before you either
[Muhammad] –
– if you die, will [the disbelievers] live for ever?