The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics)

The Qur
an
42: 37
314

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made it
a
a light, guiding with it whoever We will of Our servants. You
give guidance to the straight path, 
53the path of God, to whom
belongs all that is in the heavens and earth: truly everything will
return to God.
a
The Scripture or the Qur
an.
Consultation
315
42: 53

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43. ORNAMENTS OF GOLD
A Meccan sura named after the gold ornaments mentioned in verse 
35, and
alluded to again in verse 
53: in both instances God is refuting the claim of the
disbelievers that a true prophet would be rich. The fact that the angels are
not God’s daughters but His obedient servants is emphasized again and again
(cf. verses 
15–20, 60). Similarly, the idea that Jesus could be the son of God
is clearly denied (verses 
57–9).
In the name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy
1Ha Mim
2By the Scripture that makes things clear, 3We have made it a Quran
in Arabic so that you [people] may understand. 
4It is truly exalted in
the Source of Scripture
a
kept with Us, and full of wisdom.
5Should We ignore you and turn this revelation away from you
because you are insolent people? 
6We have sent many a prophet to
earlier people 
7and they mocked every one of them, 8so We have
destroyed mightier people than [the disbelievers of Mecca] and their
example has gone down in history. 
9If you [Prophet] ask them, ‘Who
created the heavens and earth?’ they are sure to say, ‘They were
created by the Almighty, the All Knowing.’ 
10It is He who smoothed
out the earth for you and traced out routes on it for you to 
find your
way, 
11who sends water down from the sky in due measure––We
resurrect dead land with it, and likewise you will be resurrected from
the grave ––
12who created every kind of thing, who gave you ships
and animals to ride on 
13so that you may remember your Lord’s
grace when you are seated on them and say, ‘Glory be to Him who
has given us control over this; we could not have done it by ourselves.
14Truly it is to our Lord that we are returning.’
15Yet they assign some of His own servants to Him as offspring!
b
Man is clearly ungrateful! 
16Has He taken daughters for Himself and
favoured you with sons? 
17When one of them is given news of the
a
Literally ‘mother of Scripture’, identi
fied with the ‘Preserved Tablet’. Cf. 13: 39;
85: 22.
b
The Meccan pagans considered the angels to be daughters of God, yet they were
dismissive of their own daughters.

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birth of a daughter, such as he so readily ascribes to the Lord of
Mercy, his face grows dark and he is 
filled with gloom––
18‘Someone who is brought up amongst trinkets, who cannot put
together a clear argument?’
a
19They consider the angels–– God’s
servants –
– to be female. Did they witness their creation? Their claim
will be put on record and they will be questioned about it.
20They say, ‘If the Lord of Mercy had willed it, we would not have
worshipped them,’ but they do not know that –
– they are only guess-
ing –
–
21or have We perhaps given them a book before this one, to
which they hold fast? 
22No indeed! They say, ‘We saw our fathers
following this tradition; we are guided by their footsteps.’
23When-
ever We sent a messenger before you to warn a township, those
corrupted by wealth said, in the same way, ‘We saw our fathers
following this tradition; we are only following in their footsteps.’
24The messenger said, ‘Even though I bring you a truer religion than
what you saw your fathers following?’ and they replied, ‘But we do
not believe the message you bring.’
25We punished them: think about
how those who rejected the Truth met their end. 
26Abraham said to
his father and his people, ‘I renounce what you worship. 
27I worship
only Him who created me, and it is He who will guide me,’
28and he
bequeathed these words to his descendants so that they might return
[to God].
29I have let these people and their fathers enjoy long lives, and
now I have given them the Truth and a messenger to make things
clear –
–
30yet when the Truth came to them, they said, ‘This is sorcery.
We do not believe in it,’
31and they said, ‘Why was this Quran not
sent down to a distinguished man, from either of the two cities?’
b
32Are they the ones who share out your Lord’s grace? We are the
ones who give them their share of livelihood in this world and We
have raised some of them above others in rank, so that some may take
others into service: your Lord’s grace is better than anything they
accumulate. 
33If it were not that all mankind might have become a
single nation [of disbelievers], We could have given all those who
disbelieve in the Lord of Mercy houses with roofs of silver, sweeping
staircases to ascend, 
34massive gates, couches to sit on, 35and golden
ornaments. All of these are mere enjoyments of this life; your Lord