The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics)

a
Cf. 
2: 131–3.
The Feast
79
5: 120

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6. LIVESTOCK
A Meccan sura which takes its title from verses 
136–9. The false claims the
polytheists made about livestock are thoroughly addressed: the sura in its
entirety makes plain that it is God who creates, controls, and sees everything,
and that it is to Him that we turn in times of need. Thus it gives a lengthy
refutation of the idolaters’ claims.
In the name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy
1Praise belongs to God who created the heavens and the earth and
made darkness and light; yet the disbelievers set up equals to their
Lord! 
2He is the one who created you from clay and specified a term
[for you] and another 
fixed time,
a
known only to Him; yet still you
doubt!
3He is God in the heavens and on earth, He knows your
secrets and what you reveal, and He knows what you do; 
4but every
time revelation comes to them from their Lord, they turn their backs
on it. 
5So they denied the truth when it came to them, but the very
thing they laughed at will be brought home to them.
6Do they not realize how many generations We destroyed before
them? We established them in the earth more 
firmly than you, sent
down abundant rain on them from the sky and made running rivers
flow at their feet, yet We destroyed them for their misdeeds and
raised other generations after them. 
7Even if We had sent down to
you [Prophet] a book inscribed on parchment, and they had touched
it with their own hands, the disbelievers would still say, ‘This is
nothing but blatant sorcery.’ 
8They say, ‘Why was no angel sent
down to [support] him?’
b
But had We sent down an angel, their
judgement would have come at once with no respite given. 
9Indeed,
if We had sent an angel as messenger, We would still have sent him in
the form of a man, so increasing their confusion.
10Messengers have been mocked before you [Muhammad], and
those who mocked them were engulfed by the very punishment they
had mocked. 
11Say, ‘Travel throughout the earth and see what fate
a
These refer to the speci
fied lifetime of individuals and the Day of Judgement.
b
They always argued against the Prophet that he was only a man, and asked him to
produce an angel to support him. Cf. 
25: 7.

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befell those who rejected the truth.’
12Say, ‘To whom belongs all that
is in the heavens and earth?’ Say, ‘To God. He has taken it upon
Himself to be merciful. He will certainly gather you on the Day of
Resurrection, which is beyond all doubt. Those who deceive them-
selves will not believe. 
13All that rests by night or by day belongs to
Him. He is the All Hearing, the All Knowing.’
14Say, ‘Shall I take for
myself a protector other than God, the Creator of the heavens and
the earth, who feeds but is not fed?’ Say, ‘I am commanded to be the
first [of you] to devote myself [to Him].’ Do not be one of the
idolaters. 
15Say, ‘I fear the punishment of a dreadful Day if I
disobey my Lord. 
16God will have been truly merciful to whoever is
spared on that Day: that is the clearest triumph.’
17If God touches you [Prophet] with affliction, no one can remove
it except Him, and if He touches you with good, He has power over
all things: 
18He is the Supreme Master over His creatures, the All
Wise, the All Aware. 
19Say, ‘What counts most as a witness?’ Say,
‘God is witness between you and me. This Qur
an was revealed for
me to warn you [people] and everyone it reaches. Do you really bear
witness that there are other gods beside God?’ Say, ‘I myself do not
bear witness [to any such thing].’ Say, ‘He is only one God, and I
disown whatever you join with Him.’
20Those to whom We have
given the Scripture know this as well as they know their own sons.
Those who have lost their souls will not believe. 
21Who does greater
wrong than someone who fabricates a lie against God or denies His
revelation? Those who do such wrong will not prosper. 
22When We
gather them all together and say to the polytheists, ‘Where are those
you claimed were partners with God?’ in their utter dismay 
23they
will only say, ‘By God, our Lord, we have not set up partners beside
Him!’
24See how they lie against themselves and how those they
invented have deserted them.
25Among them are some who [appear to] listen to you, but we have
placed covers over their hearts –
– so they do not understand the
Qur
an–– and deafness in their ears. Even if they saw every sign they
would not believe in them. So, when they come to you, they argue
with you: the disbelievers say, ‘These are nothing but ancient fables,’
26and tell others not to listen [to the Quran], while they themselves
keep away from it. But they ruin no one but themselves, though
they fail to realize this. 
27If you could only see, when they are made
to stand before the Fire, how they will say, ‘If only we could be