Sura XI
Houd (11)
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In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Elif.
Lam. Ra. A book whose verses are stablished in wisdom and then set forth with
clearness -- from the Wise, the All-informed --
That
you worship none other than God -- Verily I come to you from Him charged with
warnings, announcements;
And
that you seek pardon of your Lord, and then be turned unto Him! Goodly
enjoyments will He give you to enjoy until a destined time, and His favours
will He bestow on every one who deserves his favours. But if you turn away,
then verily I fear for you the chastisement of the great day.
Unto
God shall you return, and over all things is he Potent.
Do
they not doubly fold up their breasts, that they may hide themselves from Him?
But
when they enshroud themselves in their garments, doth He not know alike what
they conceal and what they shew?
For He
knoweth the very inmost of their breast.
There
is no moving thing on earth whose nourishment dependeth not on god; he knoweth
its haunts and final resting place: all is in
the clear Book.
And He
it is who hath made the Heavens and the Earth in six days: His throne had stood ere this upon the waters,
that He might make proof which of you would excel in works.
11:10 And if thou say, "After death you
shall surely be raised again," the infidels will certainly explain,
"This is nothing but pure sorcery."
And if
we defer their chastisement to some definite time, they will exclaim,
"What keepeth it back?" What! will it not come upon them on a day
when there shall be none to avert it from them? And that at which they scoffed
shall enclose them in on every side.
And if
we cause man to taste our mercy, and then deprive him of it, verily, he is
despairing, ungrateful.
And if
after trouble hath befallen him we cause him to taste our favour, he will
surely exclaim, "The evils are passed away from me." Verily, he is joyous,
boastful.
Except
those who endure with patience and do the things that are right: these doth pardon await and a great reward.
Perhaps
thou wilt suppress a part of what hath been revealed to thee, and wilt be
distressed at heart lest they say, "If a treasure be not sent down to him,
or an angel come with him...." But thou art only a warner, and God hath
all things in his charge.
If
they shall say, "The Koran is his own device," Say: Then bring ten Suras like it of your devising, and
call whom you can to your aid beside God, if you are men of truth.
But if
they answer you not, then know that it hath been sent down to you in the wisdom
of God only, and that there is no God but He. Are you then Muslims?
Those
who choose this present life and its braveries, we will recompense for their
works therein: they shall having nothing less
therein than their deserts.
These
are they for whom there is nothing in the next world but the Fire: all that they have wrought in this life shall come
to nought, and vain shall be all their doings.
11:20 With such can they be compared who
rest upon clear proofs from their Lord? to whom a witness from him reciteth the
Koran, and who is preceded by the Book of Moses, a guide and mercy? These have
faith in it: but the partisans of idolatry,
who believe not in it, are menaced with the fire! Have thou no doubts about
that Book, for it is the very truth from thy Lord. But most men will not
believe.
Who is
guilty of a greater injustice than he who inventeth a lie concerning God? They
shall be set before their Lord, and the witnesses shall say, "These are
they who made their Lord a liar." Shall not the malison of God be on these
unjust doers,
Who
pervert others from the way of God, and seek to make it crooked, and believe
not in a life to come? God's power on earth they shall not weaken; and beside
God they have no protector! Doubled shall be their punishment! They were not
able to hearken, and they could not see.
These
are they who have lost their own souls, and the deities of their own devising
have vanished form them:
There
is no doubt but that in the next world they shall be the lost one.
But
they who shall have believed and done the things that are right, and humbled
them before their Lord, shall be the inmates of
These
two sorts of persons resemble the blind and deaf, and the seeing and the
hearing: shall these be compared as alike? Ah!
do you not comprehend?
We
sent Noah of old unto his people: --
"Verily I come to you a plain admonisher,
That
you worship none but God. Verily I fear for you the punishment of a grievous
day."
Then
said the chiefs of his people who believed not, "We see in thee but a man
like ourselves; and we see not who have followed thee except our meanest ones
of hasty judgment, nor see we any excellence in you above ourselves: nay, we deem you liars."
11:30 He said:
"O my people! how think you? If I am upon a clear revelation from my Lord,
who hath bestowed on me mercy from Himself to which you are blind, can we force
it on you, if you are averse from it?
And, O
my people! I ask you not for riches: my reward
is of God alone: and I will not drive away
those who believe that they shall meet their Lord:
-- but I see that you are an ignorant people.
And, O
my people! were I to drive them away, who shall help me against God? Will you
not therefore consider?
And I
tell you not that with me are the treasurers of God:
nor do I say, 'I know the things unseen;' nor do I say, 'I am an angel;' nor do
I say of those whom you eye with scorn, No good thing will God bestow on them: -- God best knoweth what is in their minds -- for
then should I be one of those who act unjustly."
They
said, "O Noah! already hast thou disputed with us, and multiplied disputes
with us: Bring then upon us what thou hast
threatened, if thou be of those who speak truth."
He
said, "God will bring it on you at His sole pleasure, and it is not you
who can weaken him;
Nor,
if God desire to mislead you, shall my counsel profit you, though I fain would
counsel you aright. He is your Lord, and unto Him shall you be brought back.
Do
they say, "This Koran is of his own devising?" Say: On me be my own guilt, if I have devised it, but I
am clear of that whereof you are guilty.
And it
was revealed unto Noah. Verily, none of thy people shall believed, save they
who have believed already; therefore be not thou grieved at their doings.
But
build the
11:40 So he built the
On
whom a punishment shall come that shall shame him, and on whom shall light a
lasting punishment."
Thus
was it until our sentence came to pass, and the earth's surface boiled up. We
said, "Carry into it one pair of every kind, and thy family, except him on
whom sentence hath before been passed, and those who have believed." But
there believed not with him except a few.
And he
said, "Embark you therein. In the name of God be its course and its riding
at anchor! Truly my Lord is right Gracious, Merciful."
And
the
He
said, "I will betake me to a mountain that shall secure me from the
water." He said, "None shall be secure this day from the decree of
God, save him on whom He shall have mercy." And a wave passed between
them, and he was among the drowned.
And it
was said, "O Earth! swallow up thy water;" and "cease, O
Heaven!" And the water abated, and the decree was fulfilled, and the
And
Noah called on his Lord and said, "O Lord! verily my son is of my family: and thy promise is true, and thou art the most
just of judges."
He
said, "O Noah! verily, he is not of thy family:
in this thou actest not aright. Ask not of me that whereof thou knowest nought: I warn thee that thou become not of the ignorant.
He
said, "To thee verily, O my Lord, do I repair lest I ask that of thee
wherein I have no knowledge: unless thou
forgive me and be merciful to me I shall be one of the lost.
11:50 It was said to him, "O Noah!
debark with peace from Us, and with blessings on thee and on peoples to be born
from those who are with thee; but as for other and unbelieving peoples, we will
give them their good things in this world, but hereafter shall a grievous
punishment light on them from us.
This
is one of the secret Histories: we reveal it
unto thee: neither thou nor thy people knew it
ere this: be patient thou: verily, there is a prosperous issue to the
God-fearing.
And
unto Ad we sent their Brother Houd. He said, "O my people, worship God.
You have no God beside Him. You only devise a lie.
O my
people! I ask of you no recompense for this:
my recompense is with Him only who hath made me. Will you not then understand?
O my
people! ask pardon of your Lord; then be turned unto Him: He will send down the heavens upon you with copious rains;
And
with strength on strength will He increase you:L
only turn not back with deeds of evil."
They
said, "O Houd, thou hast not brought us proofs of thy mission: we will not abandon our gods at thy word, and we
believe thee not.
We can
only say that some of our gods have smitten thee with evil." Said he,
"Now take I God to witness, do you also witness, that I am clear of your
joining other gods
To
God. Conspire then against me all of you, and delay me not.
For I
trust in God, my Lord and yours. No single beast is there which he holdeth not
by its forelock. Right, truly, is the way in which my Lord goeth.
11:60 But if you turn back, I have already
declared to you my message. And my Lord will put another people in your place,
nor shall you at all hurt Him; verily, my Lord keepeth watch over all
things."
And
when our doom came to be inflicted, we rescued Houd and those who had like
faith with Him, by our special mercy: we
rescued them from the rigorous chastisement.
These
men of Ad gainsaid the signs of their Lord, and rebelled against his
messengers, and followed the bidding of every proud contumacious person.
Followed
therefore were they in this world by a curse; and in the day of Resurrection it
shall be said to them, "What! Did not Ad disbelieve their Lord?" Was
not Ad, the people of Houd, cast far away?
And
unto Themoud we sent their Brother Saleh: --
"O my people! said he, worship God: you
have no other god then Him. He hath raised you up out of the earth, and hath
given you to dwell therein. Ask pardon of him then, and be turned unto him; for
thy Lord is nigh, ready to answer."
They
said, "O Saleh! our hopes were fixed on thee till now: forbiddest thou us to worship what our fathers
worshipped/ Truly we misdoubt the faith to which thou callest us, as
suspicious."
He
said, "O my people! what think you? If I have a revelation from my Lord to
support me, and if He hath shewed his mercy on me, who could protect me from
God if I rebel against him? You would only confer on me increase of ruin.
O my
people! this is the she-Camel of God, and sign unto you. Let her go at large
and feed in God's earth, and do her no harm, lest a speedy punishment overtake
you."
Yet
they hamstrung her: then said he, "Yet
three days more enjoy yourselves in your dwellings:
this menace will not prove untrue."
And
when our sentence came to pass, we rescued Saleh and those who had a like faith
with him, by our mercy, from ignominy on that day. Verily, thy Lord is the
Strong, the Mighty!
11:70 And a violent tempest overtook the
wicked, and they were found in the morning prostrate in their dwellings,
As though
they had never abode in them. What! Did not Themoud disbelieve his Lord? Was
not Themoud utterly cast off?
And
our messengers came formerly to Abraham with glad tidings. "Peace,"
said they. He said, "Peace," and he tarried not, but brought a
roasted calf.
And
when he saw that their hands touched it not, he misliked them, and grew fearful
of them. They said, "Fear not," for we are sent to the people of
His
wife was standing by and laughed; and we announced Isaac to her; and after
Isaac, Jacob.
She
said, "Ah, woe is me! shall I bear a son when I am old, and when this my
husband is an old man? This truly would be a marvellous thing."
They
said, "Marvellest thou at the command of God? God's mercy and blessing be
upon you, O people of this house; praise and glory are His due!"
And
when Abraham's fear had passed away, and these glad tidings had reached him, he
pleaded with us for the people of
"O
Abraham! desist from this; for already hath the command of thy God gone forth;
as for them, a punishment not to be averted is coming on them."
And
when our messengers came to
11:80 And his people came rushing on towards
him, for aforetime had they wrought this wickedness. He said, "O my
people! these my daughters will be purer for you:
fear God, and put me not to shame in my guests. Is there no rightminded man
among you?"
They
said, "Thou knowest now that we need not thy daughters; and thou well
knowest what we require."
He
said, "Would that I had strength to resist you, or that I could find
refuge with some powerful chieftain."
The
Angels said, "O
And
when our decree came to be executed we turned those cities upside down, and we
rained down upon them blocks of claystone one after another, marked by thy Lord
himself. Nor are they far distant from the wicked Meccans.
And we
sent to Madian their brother Shoaib. He said, "O my people! worship God: no other God have you than He: give not short weight and measure: I see indeed that you revel in good things; but I
fear for you the punishment of the all-encompassing day.
O my
people! give weight and measure with fairness; purloin not other men's goods;
and perpetrate not injustice on the earth with corrupt practices:
A
residue, the gift of God, will be best for you if you are believers:
But I
am not a guardian over you."
They
said to him, "O Shoaib! is it thy prayers which enjoin that we should
leave what our fathers worshipped, or that we should not do with our substance
as pleaseth us? Thou forsooth art the mild, the right director!"
11:90 He said, "O my people! How think
you? If I have a clear revelation from my Lord, and if from Himself He hath
supplied me with goodly supplies, and if I will not follow you in that which I
myself forbid you, do I seek aught but your amendment so far as in me lieth? My
sole help is in God. In Him do I trust, and to Him do I turn me.
O my
people! let not your opposition to me draw down upon you the like of that which
befel the people of Noah, or the people of Houd, or the people of Saleh: and the abodes of the people of
Seek pardon
of your Lord and be turned unto Him: verily,
my Lord is Merciful, Loving.
They
said, "O Shoaib! we understand not much of what thou sayest, and we
clearly see that thou art powerless among us:L
were it not for thy family we would have surely stoned thee, nor couldest thou
have prevailed against us."
He
said, "O my people! think you more highly of my family than of God? Cast
you Him behind your back, with neglect? Verily, my Lord is round about your
actions.
And, O
my people! act with what power you can for my hurt:
I verily will act: and you shall know
On
whom shall light a punishment that shall disgrace him, and who is the liar.
Await you; verily I will await with you."
And
when our decree came to pass, we delivered Shoaib and his companions in faith,
by our mercy: And a violent tempest overtook
the wicked, and in the morning they were found prostrate in their houses
As if
they had never dwelt in them. Was not Madian swept off even as Themoud had been
swept off?
Of old
sent we Moses, with our signs and with incontestable power to Pharaoh, and to
his nobles -- who followed the behests of Pharaoh, and, unrighteous were
Pharaoh's bests.
11:100 He shall head his people on the day of
the Resurrection and cause them to descend into the fire: and wretched the descent by which they shall descend!
They
were followed by a curse in this world; and in the day of the Resurrection,
wretched the gift that shall be given them!
Such,
the histories of the cities which we relate to thee. Some of them are standing,
others mown down:
We
dealt not unfairly by them, but they dealt not fairly by themselves: and their gods on whom they called beside God
availed them not at all when thy Lord's behest came to pass. They did not
increase their ruin.
Such
was thy Lord's grasp when he laid that grasp on the cities that had been
wicked. Verily his grasp is afflictive, terrible!
Herein
truly is a sign for him who feareth the punishment of the latter day. That
shall be a day unto which mankind shall be gathered together; that shall be a
day witnessed by all creatures.
No do
we delay it, but until a time appointed.
When
that day shall come no one shall speak a word but by His leave, and some shall
be miserable and others blessed.
And as
for those who shall be consigned to misery -- their place the Fire! therein
shall they sigh and bemoan them --
Therein
shall they abide while the Heavens and the Earth shall last, unless thy Lord
shall will it otherwise; verily thy Lord doth what He chooseth.
11:110 And as for the blessed ones -- their
place the Garden! therein shall they abide while the Heavens and the Earth
endure, with whatever imperishable boon thy Lord my please to add.
Have
thou no doubts therefore concerning that which they worship: they worship but what their fathers worshipped
before them: we will surely assign them their
portion with nothing lacking.
Of old
gave we Moses the Book, and they fell to variance about it. If a decree of
respite had not gone forth from thy Lord, there had surely been a decision
between them. Thy people also are in suspicious doubts about the Koran.
And
truly thy Lord will repay every one according to their works! for He is well
aware of what they do.
Go
straight on then as thou hast been commanded, and he also who hath turned to
God with thee, and let him transgress no more. He beholdeth what you do.
Lean
not on the evil doers lest the Fire lay hold on you. You have no protector,
save God, and you shall not be helped against Him.
And
observe prayer at early morning, at the close of the day, and at the approach
of night; for the good deeds drive away the evil deeds. This is a warning for
those who reflect:
And
persevere steadfastly, for verily God will not suffer the reward of the
righteous to perish.
Were
the generations before you, endued with virtue, and who forbad corrupt doings
on the earth, more than a few of those whom we delivered? but the evil doers
followed their selfish pleasures, and became transgressors.
And
thy Lord was not one who would destroy those cities unjustly, when its
inhabitants were righteous.
11:120 Had thy Lord pleased he would have
made mankind of one religion:L but those only
to whom thy Lord hath granted his mercy will cease to differ. And unto this
hath He created them; for the word of thy Lord shall be fulfilled, "I will
wholly fill hell with Djinn and men."
And
all that we have related to thee of the histories of these Apostles, is to
confirm thy heart thereby. By these hath the truth reached thee, and a monition
and warning to those who believe.
But say
to those who believe not, "Act as you may and can:
we will act our part: and wait you; we verily
will wait."
To God
belong the secret things of the Heavens and of the Earth: all things return to him:
worship him then and put thy trust in Him: thy
Lord is not regardless of your doings!