The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics)

a
and then established Himself on
the throne –
– He is the Lord of Mercy; He is the Best Informed.
b
60Yet when they are told, ‘Bow down before the Lord of Mercy,’ they
say, ‘What is the Lord of Mercy? Should we bow down before any-
thing you command?’ and they turn even further away. 
61Exalted
is He who put constellations in the heavens, a radiant light, and
an illuminating moon –
–
62it is He who made the night and day
follow each other –
– so anyone who wishes may be mindful or show
gratitude.
63The servants of the Lord of Mercy are those who walk humbly
on the earth, and who, when the foolish address them, reply, ‘Peace’;
64those who spend the night bowed down or standing, worshipping
their Lord, 
65who plead, ‘Our Lord, turn away from us the suffering
of Hell, for it is a dreadful torment to su
ffer! 66It is an evil home, a
foul resting place!’
67They are those who are neither wasteful nor
niggardly when they spend, but keep to a just balance; 
68those who
never invoke any other deity beside God, nor take a life, which God
has made sacred, except in the pursuit of justice, nor commit adul-
tery. (Whoever does these things will face the penalties: 
69their tor-
ment will be doubled on the Day of Resurrection, and they will
remain in torment, disgraced, 
70except those who repent, believe,
a
Cf. 
41: 9–12.
b
Other readings of this phrase include ‘ask someone who knows’ or ‘ask anyone
how well informed He is’, but the expression fas
al, ‘ask someone’, at the beginning of
the phrase is a rhetorical device suggesting the truth of the statement and need not
be translated literally.
25: 52
230
The Qur
an

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and do good deeds: God will change the evil deeds of such people
into good ones. He is most forgiving, most merciful. 
71People who
repent and do good deeds truly return to God.)
72[The servants of the Lord of Mercy are] those who do not give
false testimony, and who, when they see some frivolity, pass by with
dignity;
73who, when reminded of their Lord’s signs, do not turn a
deaf ear and a blind eye to them; 
74those who pray, ‘Our Lord, give
us joy in our spouses and o
ffspring. Make us good examples to those
who are aware of You’.
75These servants will be rewarded with the
highest place in Paradise for their steadfastness. There they will be
met with greetings and peace. 
76There they will stay–– a happy home
and resting place! 
77[Prophet, tell the disbelievers], ‘What are you to
my Lord without your supplication? But since you have written o
ff
the truth as lies, the inevitable will happen.’
a
a
The punishment (cf. 
4: 147).
231
25: 77
The Di
fferentiator

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26. THE POETS
A Meccan sura which takes its name from the reference to poets in verse 
224. It
talks about the disbelievers who belittle the Qur
an, 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 a
fflicted them, ending by
con
firming 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
1Ta Sin Mim
2These 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? 
4If We had wished, We could have sent them down a
sign from heaven, at which their necks would stay bowed in utter
humility. 
5Whenever they are brought a new revelation from the
Lord of Mercy, they turn away: 
6they deny it, but the truth of what
they scorned will soon hit them. 
7Do they not see the earth, and
what noble kinds of thing We grow in it? 
8There truly is a sign in
this, though most of them do not believe: 
9your Lord alone is the
Almighty, the Merciful.
10Your Lord called to Moses: ‘Go to those wrongdoers, 11the
people of Pharaoh. Will they not take heed?’ 
12Moses said, ‘My
Lord, I fear they will call me a liar, 
13and I will feel stressed and
tongue-tied, so send Aaron too; 
14besides, they have a charge
a
against me, and I fear they may kill me.’ 
15God said, ‘No [they will
not]. Go, both of you, with Our signs –– We shall be with you, listen-
ing. 
16Go, both of you, to Pharaoh and say, “We bring a message
from the Lord of the Worlds: 
17let the Children of Israel leave
with us.” ’
18Pharaoh said, ‘Did we not bring you up as a child among us?
Did you not stay with us for many years? 
19And then you committed
that crime of yours: you were so ungrateful.’ 
20Moses replied, ‘I was
a
Cf. 
28: 15–20.

---

misguided when I did it 
21and I fled from you in fear; later my Lord
gave me wisdom and made me one of His messengers. 
22And is
this –
– that you have enslaved the Children of Israel –
– the favour with
which you reproach me?’
23Pharaoh asked, ‘What is this “Lord of the Worlds”?’ 24Moses
replied, ‘He is the Lord of the heavens and earth and everything
between them. If you would only have faith!’
25Pharaoh said to those
present, ‘Do you hear what he says?’
26Moses said, ‘He is your Lord
and the Lord of your forefathers.’
27Pharaoh said, ‘This messenger
who has been sent to you is truly possessed.’
28Moses continued,
‘Lord of the East and West and everything between them. If you
would only use your reason!’
29But Pharaoh said [to him], ‘If you
take any god other than me, I will throw you into prison,’
30and
Moses asked, ‘Even if I show you something convincing?’
31‘Show it
then,’ said Pharaoh, ‘if you are telling the truth.’
32So Moses threw
down his sta
ff and–– lo and behold!–– it became a snake for everyone
to see. 
33Then he drew out his hand and–– lo and behold!–– it was
white for the onlookers to see. 
34Pharaoh said to the counsellors
around him, ‘This man is a learned sorcerer! 
35He means to use his
sorcery to drive you out of your land! What do you suggest?’
36They
answered, ‘Delay him and his brother for a while, and send messen-
gers to all the cities 
37to bring every accomplished sorcerer to you.’
38The sorcerers were [to be] assembled at the appointed time on a
certain day 
39and the people were asked, 40‘Are you all coming? We
may follow the sorcerers if they win!’
41When the sorcerers came, they said to Pharaoh, ‘Shall we be
rewarded if we win?’
42and he said, ‘Yes, and you will join my inner
court.’
43Moses said to them, ‘Throw down whatever you will.’
44They threw their ropes and staffs, saying, ‘By Pharaoh’s might, we
shall be victorious.’
45But Moses threw his staff and–– lo and
behold! –
– it swallowed up their trickery 
46and the sorcerers fell down
on their knees, 
47exclaiming, ‘We believe in the Lord of the Worlds,
48the Lord of Moses and Aaron.’ 49Pharaoh 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 o
ff your
alternate hands and feet