The Criterion · Surah 25

Blessed is He Who hath revealed unto His slave the Criterion (of right and wrong), that he may be a warner to the peoples

He unto Whom belongeth the Sovereignty of the heavens and the earth, He hath chosen no son nor hath He any partner in the Sovereignty. He hath created everything and hath meted out for it a measure

Yet they choose beside Him other gods who create naught but are themselves created, and possess not hurt nor profit for themselves, and possess not death nor life, nor power to raise the dead

Those who disbelieve say: This is naught but a lie that he hath invented, and other folk have helped him with it, so that they have produced a slander and a lie

And they say: Fables of the men of old which he hath had written down so that they are dictated to him morn and evening

Say (unto them, O Muhammad): He who knoweth the secret of the heavens and the earth hath revealed it. Lo! He ever is Forgiving, Merciful

And they say: What aileth this messenger (of Allah) that he eateth food and walketh in the markets? Why is not an angel sent down unto him, to be a warner with him

Or (why is not) treasure thrown down unto him, or why hath he not a paradise from whence to eat? And the evil-doers say: Ye are but following a man bewitched

See how they coin similitudes for thee, so that they are all astray and cannot find a road

Blessed is He Who, if He will, will assign thee better than (all) that - Gardens underneath which rivers flow - and will assign thee mansions

Nay, but they deny (the coming of) the Hour, and for those who deny (the coming of) the Hour We have prepared a flame

When it seeth them from afar, they hear the crackling and the roar thereof

And when they are flung into a narrow place thereof, chained together, they pray for destruction there

Pray not that day for one destruction, but pray for many destructions

Say: Is that (doom) better or the Garden of Immortality which is promised unto those who ward off (evil)? It will be their reward and journey's end

Therein abiding, they have all that they desire. It is for thy Lord a promise that must be fulfilled

And on the day when He will assemble them and that which they worship instead of Allah and will say: Was it ye who misled these my slaves or did they (themselves) wander from the way

They will say: Be Thou Glorified! it was not for us to choose any protecting friends beside thee; but Thou didst give them and their fathers ease till they forgot the warning and became lost folk

Thus they will give you the lie regarding what ye say, then ye can neither avert (the doom) nor obtain help. And whoso among you doeth wrong, We shall make him taste great torment

We never sent before thee any messengers but lo! they verily ate food and walked in the markets. And We have appointed some of you a test for others: Will ye be steadfast? And thy Lord is ever Seer

And those who look not for a meeting with Us say: Why are angels not sent down unto us and (Why) do we not see our Lord! Assuredly they think too highly of themselves and are scornful with great pride

On the day when they behold the angels, on that day there will be no good tidings for the guilty; and they will cry: A forbidding ban

And We shall turn unto the work they did and make it scattered motes

Those who have earned the Garden on that day will be better in their home and happier in their place of noonday rest

A day when the heaven with the clouds will be rent asunder and the angels will be sent down, a grand descent

The Sovereignty on that day will be the True (Sovereignty) belonging to the Beneficent One, and it will be a hard day for disbelievers

On the day when the wrong-doer gnaweth his hands, he will say: Ah, would that I had chosen a way together with the messenger (of Allah)

Alas for me! Ah, would that I had never taken such an one for friend

He verily led me astray from the Reminder after it had reached me. Satan was ever man's deserter in the hour of need

And the messenger saith: O my Lord! Lo! mine own folk make this Qur'an of no account

Even so have We appointed unto every prophet an opponent from among the guilty; but Allah sufficeth for a Guide and Helper

And those who disbelieve say: Why is the Qur'an not revealed unto him all at once? (It is revealed) thus that We may strengthen thy heart therewith; and We have arranged it in right order

And they bring thee no similitude but We bring thee the Truth (as against it), and better (than their similitude) as argument

Those who will be gathered on their faces unto hell: such are worse in plight and further from the right road

We verily gave Moses the Scripture and placed with him his brother Aaron as henchman

Then We said: Go together unto the folk who have denied Our revelations. Then We destroyed them, a complete destruction

And Noah's folk, when they denied the messengers, We drowned them and made of them a portent for mankind. We have prepared a painful doom for evil-doers

And (the tribes of) A'ad and Thamud, and the dwellers in Ar-Rass, and many generations in between

Each (of them) We warned by examples, and each (of them) We brought to utter ruin

And indeed they have passed by the township whereon was rained the fatal rain. Can it be that they have not seen it? Nay, but they hope for no resurrection