In the name of God, the Almighty,¹ the Merciful.

¹ alif lām rā¹ Those² are the proofs³ of the Writ⁴ and of a clear recitation.⁵

² Perchance those who ignore warning¹ will wish they were submitting;²

³ Leave thou them to eat and enjoy themselves while hope diverts them;¹ and they will come to know.

⁴ And We destroyed no city save it had a known¹ writ;²

⁵ No community outstrips its term, nor will they defer.

⁶ And they say: “O thou upon whom the remembrance¹ has been sent down: thou art possessed.

⁷ “Why bringest thou not the angels to us, if thou be of the truthful?”

⁸ We send down the angels only with justice,¹ and then are they not granted respite.

⁹ We sent down the remembrance,¹ and We are its custodian.²

¹⁰ And We sent before thee, among the sects of the former peoples,

¹¹ And there came not to them any messenger but they mocked him;

¹² Thus do We insert it¹ in the hearts of the lawbreakers:

¹³ They believe not in¹ it; and the practice² of the former peoples has passed away.³

¹⁴ And had We opened above them a gate of the sky and they continued ascending therein,

¹⁵ They would say: “Our sight is but intoxicated;¹ nay,² we are a people taken by sorcery.”³

¹⁶ And We have set in the sky constellations, and made them fair for the beholders,

¹⁷ And guarded them from every accursed satan¹

¹⁸ Save such as steals a hearing; and a clear flame follows¹ him.²

¹⁹ And the earth, We spread it out and cast therein firm mountains, and caused to grow therein every¹ balanced thing,

²⁰ And We made therein livelihoods, for you and those for whom you are not providers.

²¹ And of any thing, with Us only are the treasuries thereof; and We send it down only in known¹ measure.

²² And We sent the fecundating winds, and sent down water from the sky, and gave it to you to drink; and it is not you who are its treasurers.

²³ And We give life, and We give death; and We are the inheritor.¹

²⁴ And We know those who press forward among you; and We know those who lag behind.¹

²⁵ And thy Lord, He will gather them; He is wise and knowing.

²⁶ And We created man from sounding clay, from dark slime transmuted.¹

²⁷ And the demon dominus¹ created We before of the fire of scorching wind.

²⁹ “And when I have formed him and breathed into him of My Spirit, then fall down,¹ to him in submission,”²

³⁰ Then the angels submitted,¹ all of them together.

³¹ Not so¹ Iblīs; he refused to be with those who submit.²

³² He said: “O Iblīs: what ails thee that thou art not with those who submit?”¹

³³ Said he: “I am not one to submit¹ to a mortal whom Thou hast created from sounding clay, from dark slime transmuted.”

³⁴ He said: “Then go thou forth from it,¹ for thou art accursed.²

³⁵ “And the curse is upon thee until the Day of Judgment.”¹

³⁶ Said he: “My Lord: grant Thou me respite until the day they are raised.”

³⁷ He said: “Thou art of those granted respite

³⁸ “Until the day of the known¹ time.”

³⁹ Said he: “My Lord: because Thou hast caused me to err, I will make it fair to them in the earth;¹ and I will cause them to err all together,

⁴⁰ “Save Thy sincere servants among them.”

⁴¹ He said: “This is a straight path to¹ Me:²

⁴² “My servants — thou hast no authority over them save those who follow thee among those who err,

⁴³ “And Gehenna is their promised place¹ all together.

⁴⁴ “It has seven gates; and for each gate is a portion assigned.”

⁴⁵ Those who are in prudent fear¹ will be among gardens and springs:

⁴⁶ “Enter therein in peace, secure!”

⁴⁷ And We will remove what is in their hearts of rancour — as brethren, upon couches¹ facing one another;

⁴⁸ Weariness will not touch them therein, nor will they be removed therefrom.

⁴⁹ Inform thou My servants that I am the Forgiving, the Merciful,