AL KAHFI
In the name of God, Most Gracious,
Most Merciful.
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Praise be to God, Who hath sent to His Servant the Book, and
hath allowed therein no Crookedness:
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(He hath made it) Straight (and Clear) in order that He may warn
(the godless) of a terrible Punishment from Him, and that He may give Glad
Tidings to the Believers who work righteous deeds, that they shall have a
goodly Reward,
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Wherein they shall remain for ever:
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Further, that He may warn those (also) who say, "God
hath begotten a son":
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No knowledge have they of such a thing, nor had their
fathers. It is a grievous thing that issues from their mouths as a saying what
they say is nothing but falsehood!
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Thou wouldst only, perchance, fret thyself to death,
following after them, in grief, if they believe not in this Message.
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That which is on earth we have made but as a glittering show
for the earth, in order that We may test them - as to which of them are best in
conduct.
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Verily what is on earth we shall make but as dust and dry
soil (without growth or herbage).
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Or dost thou reflect that the Companions of the Cave and of
the Inscription were wonders among Our Sign?
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Behold, the youths betook themselves to the Cave: they said,
"Our Lord! bestow on us Mercy from Thyself, and dispose of our affair for
us in the right way!"
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Then We draw (a veil) over their ears, for a number of
years, in the Cave, (so that they heard not):
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Then We roused them, in order to test which of the two
parties was best at calculating the term of years they had tarried!
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We relate to thee their story in truth: they were youths who
believed in their Lord, and We advanced them in guidance:
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We gave strength to their hearts: Behold, they stood up and
said: "Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and of the earth: never shall
we call upon any god other than Him: if we did, we should indeed have uttered
an enormity!
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"These our people have taken for worship gods other
than Him: why do they not bring forward an authority clear (and convincing) for
what they do? Who doth more wrong than such as invent a falsehood against God?
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"When ye turn away from them and the things they
worship other than God, betake yourselves to the Cave: Your Lord will shower
His mercies on you and disposes of your affair towards comfort and ease."
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Thou wouldst have seen the sun, when it rose, declining to
the right from their Cave, and when it set, turning away from them to the left,
while they lay in the open space in the midst of the Cave. Such are among the
Signs of God: He whom God, guides is rightly guided; but he whom God leaves to
stray,- for him wilt thou find no protector to lead him to the
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Thou wouldst have deemed them awake, whilst they were
asleep, and We turned them on their right and on their left sides: their dog
stretching forth his two fore-legs on the threshold: if thou hadst come up on
to them, thou wouldst have certainly turned back from them in flight, and
wouldst certainly have been filled with terror of them.
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Such (being their state), we raised them up (from sleep),
that they might question each other. Said one of them, "How long have ye
stayed (here)?" They said, "We have stayed (perhaps) a day, or part
of a day." (At length) they (all) said, "God (alone) knows best how
long ye have stayed here.... Now send ye then one of you with this money of
yours to the town: let him find out which is the best food (to be had) and
bring some to you, that (ye may) satisfy your hunger therewith: And let him
behave with care and courtesy, and let him not inform any one about you.
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"For if they should come upon you, they would stone you
or force you to return to their cult, and in that case ye would never attain
prosperity."
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Thus did We make their case known to the people, that they
might know that the promise of God is true, and that there can be no doubt
about the Hour of Judgment. Behold, they dispute among themselves as to their
affair. (Some) said, "Construct a building over them": Their Lord
knows best about them: those who prevailed over their affair said, "Let us
surely build a place of worship over them."
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(Some) say they were three, the dog being the fourth among
them; (others) say they were five, the dog being the sixth,- doubtfully
guessing at the unknown; (yet others) say they were seven, the dog being the
eighth. Say thou: "My Lord knoweth best their number; It is but few that
know their (real case)." Enter not, therefore, into controversies
concerning them, except on a matter that is clear, nor consult any of them
about (the affair of) the Sleepers.
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Nor say of anything, "I shall be sure to do so and so
tomorrow"-
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Without adding, "So please God!" and call thy Lord
to mind when thou forgettest, and say, "I hope that my Lord will guide me
ever closer (even) than this to the right road."
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So they stayed in their Cave three hundred years, and (some)
add nine (more)
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Say: "God knows best how long they stayed: with Him is
(the knowledge of) the secrets of the heavens and the earth: how clearly He
sees, how finely He hears (everything)! They have no protector other than Him;
nor does He share His Command with any person whatsoever.
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And recite (and teach) what has been revealed to thee of the
Book of thy Lord: none can change His Words, and none wilt thou find as a
refuge other than Him.
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And keep thy soul content with those who call on their Lord
morning and evening, seeking His Face; and let not thine eyes pass beyond them,
seeking the pomp and glitter of this Life; no obey any whose heart We have
permitted to neglect the remembrance of Us, one who follows his own desires,
whose case has gone beyond all bounds.
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Say, "The truth is from your Lord": Let him who
will believe, and let him who will, reject (it): for the wrong-doers We have
prepared a Fire whose (smoke and flames), like the walls and roof of a tent,
will hem them in: if they implore relief they will be granted water like melted
brass, that will scald their faces, how dreadful the drink! How uncomfortable a
couch to recline on!
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As to those who believe and work righteousness, verily We
shall not suffer to perish the reward of any who do a (single) righteous deed.
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For them will be Gardens of Eternity; beneath them rivers
will flow; they will be adorned therein with bracelets of gold, and they will
wear green garments of fine silk and heavy brocade: They will recline therein
on raised thrones. How good the recompense! How beautiful a couch to recline
on!
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Set forth to them the parable of two men: for one of them We
provided two gardens of grape-vines and surrounded them with date palms; in
between the two We placed corn-fields.
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Each of those gardens brought forth its produce, and failed
not in the least therein: in the midst of them We caused a river to flow.
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(Abundant) was the produce this man had : he said to his
companion, in the course of a mutual argument: "more wealth have I than
you, and more honour and power in (my following of) men."
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He went into his garden in a state (of mind) unjust to his
soul: He said, "I deem not that this will ever perish,
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"Nor do I deem that the Hour (of Judgment) will (ever)
come: Even if I am brought back to my Lord, I shall surely find (there)
something better in exchange."
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His companion said to him, in the course of the argument
with him: "Dost thou deny Him Who created thee out of dust, then out of a
sperm-drop, then fashioned thee into a man?
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"But (I think) for my part that He is God, My Lord, and
none shall I associate with my Lord.
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"Why didst thou not, as thou wentest into thy garden, say:
'God's will (be done)! There is no power but with God!' If thou dost see me
less than thee in wealth and sons,
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"It may be that my Lord will give me something better
than thy garden, and that He will send on thy garden thunderbolts (by way of reckoning)
from heaven, making it (but) slippery sand!-
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"Or the water of the garden will run off underground so
that thou wilt never be able to find it."
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So his fruits (and enjoyment) were encompassed (with ruin),
and he remained twisting and turning his hands over what he had spent on his
property, which had (now) tumbled to pieces to its very foundations, and he
could only say, "Woe is me! Would I had never ascribed partners to my Lord
and Cherisher!"
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Nor had he numbers to help him against God, nor was he able
to deliver himself.
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There, the (only) protection comes from God, the True One.
He is the Best to reward, and the Best to give success.
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Set forth to them the similitude of the life of this world:
It is like the rain which we send down from the skies: the earth's vegetation
absorbs it, but soon it becomes dry stubble, which the winds do scatter: it is
(only) God who prevails over all things.
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Wealth and sons are allurements of the life of this world:
But the things that endure, good deeds, are best in the sight of thy Lord, as
rewards, and best as (the foundation for) hopes.
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One Day We shall remove the mountains, and thou wilt see the
earth as a level stretch, and We shall gather them, all together, nor shall We
leave out any one of them.
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And they will be marshalled before thy Lord in ranks, (with
the announcement), "Now have ye come to Us (bare) as We created you first:
aye, ye thought We shall not fulfil the appointment made to you to meet
(Us)!":
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And the Book (of Deeds) will be placed (before you); and
thou wilt see the sinful in great terror because of what is (recorded) therein;
they will say, "Ah! woe to us! what a Book is this! It leaves out nothing
small or great, but takes account thereof!" They will find all that they
did, placed before them: And not one will thy Lord treat with injustice.
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Behold! We said to the angels, "Bow down to Adam":
They bowed down except Iblis. He was one of the Jinns, and he broke the Command
of his Lord. Will ye then take him and his progeny as protectors rather than
Me? And they are enemies to you! Evil would be the exchange for the
wrong-doers!
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I called them not to witness the creation of the heavens and
the earth, nor (even) their own creation: nor is it for helpers such as Me to
take as lead (men) astray!
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One Day He will say, "Call on those whom ye thought to
be My partners," and they will call on them, but they will not listen to
them; and We shall make for them a place of common perdition.
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And the Sinful shall see the fire and apprehend that they
have to fall therein: no means will they find to turn away therefrom.
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We have explained in detail in this Qur'an, for the benefit of
mankind, every kind of similitude: but man is, in most things, contentious.
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And what is there to keep back men from believing, now that
Guidance has come to them, nor from praying for forgiveness from their Lord,
but that (they ask that) the ways of the ancients be repeated with them, or the
Wrath be brought to them face to face?
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We only send the apostles to give Glad Tidings and to give
warnings: But the unbelievers dispute with vain argument, in order therewith to
weaken the truth, and they treat My Signs as a jest, as also the fact that they
are warned!
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And who doth more wrong than one who is reminded of the
Signs of his Lord, but turns away from them, forgetting the (deeds) which his
hands have sent forth? Verily We have set veils over their hearts lest they
should understand this, and over their ears, deafness, if thou callest them to
guidance, even then will they never accept guidance.
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But your Lord is Most forgiving, full of Mercy. If He were
to call them (at once) to account for what they have earned, then surely He
would have earned, then surely He would have hastened their punishment: but
they have their appointed time, beyond which they will find no refuge.
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Such were the populations we destroyed when they committed
iniquities; but we fixed an appointed time for their destruction.
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Behold, Moses said to his attendant, "I will not give
up until I reach the junction of the two seas or (until) I spend years and
years in travel."
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But when they reached the Junction, they forgot (about)
their Fish, which took its course through the sea (straight) as in a tunnel.
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When they had passed on (some distance), Moses said to his
attendant: "Bring us our early meal; truly we have suffered much fatigue
at this (stage of) our journey."
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He replied: "Sawest thou (what happened) when we betook
ourselves to the rock? I did indeed forget (about) the Fish: none but Satan
made me forget to tell (you) about it: it took its course through the sea in a
marvellous way!"
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Moses said: "That was what we were seeking after:"
So they went back on their footsteps, following (the path they had come).
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So they found one of Our servants, on whom We had bestowed
Mercy from Ourselves and whom We had taught knowledge from Our own Presence.
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Moses said to him: "May I follow thee, on the footing
that thou teach me something of the (Higher) Truth which thou hast been
taught?"
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(The other) said: "Verily thou wilt not be able to have
patience with me!"
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"And how canst thou have patience about things about
which thy understanding is not complete?"
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Moses said: "Thou wilt find me, if God so will, (truly)
patient: nor shall I disobey thee in aught."
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The other said: "If then thou wouldst follow me, ask me
no questions about anything until I myself speak to thee concerning it."
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So they both proceeded: until, when they were in the boat,
he scuttled it. Said Moses: "Hast thou scuttled it in order to drown those
in it? Truly a strange thing hast thou done!"
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He answered: "Did I not tell thee that thou canst have
no patience with me?"
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Moses said: "Rebuke me not for forgetting, nor grieve
me by raising difficulties in my case."
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Then they proceeded: until, when they met a young man, he
slew him. Moses said: "Hast thou slain an innocent person who had slain
none? Truly a foul (unheard of) thing hast thou done!"
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He answered: "Did I not tell thee that thou canst have
no patience with me?"
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(Moses) said: "If ever I ask thee about anything after
this, keep me not in thy company: then wouldst thou have received (full) excuse
from my side."
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Then they proceeded: until, when they came to the
inhabitants of a town, they asked them for food, but they refused them
hospitality. They found there a wall on the point of falling down, but he set
it up straight. (Moses) said: "If thou hadst wished, surely thou couldst
have exacted some recompense for it!"
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He answered: "This is the parting between me and thee:
now will I tell thee the interpretation of (those things) over which thou wast
unable to hold patience.
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"As for the boat, it belonged to certain men in dire
want: they plied on the water: I but wished to render it unserviceable, for there
was after them a certain king who seized on every boat by force.
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"As for the youth, his parents were people of Faith,
and we feared that he would grieve them by obstinate rebellion and ingratitude
(to God and man).
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"So we desired that their Lord would give them in
exchange (a son) better in purity (of conduct) and closer in affection.
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"As for the wall, it belonged to two youths, orphans,
in the Town; there was, beneath it, a buried treasure, to which they were
entitled: their father had been a righteous man: So thy Lord desired that they
should attain their age of full strength and get out their treasure - a mercy
(and favour) from thy Lord. I did it not of my own accord. Such is the
interpretation of (those things) over which thou wast unable to hold
patience."
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They ask thee concerning Zul-qarnain. Say, "I will
rehearse to you something of his story."
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Verily We established his power on earth, and We gave him
the ways and the means to all ends.
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One (such) way he followed,
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Until, when he reached the setting of the sun, he found it
set in a spring of murky water: Near it he found a People: We said: "O
Zul-qarnain! (thou hast authority,) either to punish them, or to treat them
with kindness."
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He said: "Whoever doth wrong, him shall we punish; then
shall he be sent back to his Lord; and He will punish him with a punishment
unheard-of (before).
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"But whoever believes, and works righteousness,- he
shall have a goodly reward, and easy will be his task as We order it by our
Command."
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Then followed he (another) way,
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Until, when he came to the rising of the sun, he found it
rising on a people for whom We had provided no covering protection against the
sun.
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(He left them) as they were: We completely understood what
was before him.
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Then followed he (another) way,
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Until, when he reached (a tract) between two mountains, he
found, beneath them, a people who scarcely understood a word.
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They said: "O Zul-qarnain! the Gog and Magog (People)
do great mischief on earth: shall we then render thee tribute in order that
thou mightest erect a barrier between us and them?
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He said: "(The power) in which my Lord has established
me is better (than tribute): Help me therefore with strength (and labour): I
will erect a strong barrier between you and them:
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"Bring me blocks of iron." At length, when he had
filled up the space between the two steep mountain-sides, He said, "Blow
(with your bellows)" Then, when he had made it (red) as fire, he said:
"Bring me, that I may pour over it, molten lead."
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Thus were they made powerless to scale it or to dig through
it.
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He said: "This is a mercy from my Lord: But when the promise
of my Lord comes to pass, He will make it into dust; and the promise of my Lord
is true."
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On that day We shall leave them to surge like waves on one
another: the trumpet will be blown, and We shall collect them all together.
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And We shall present Hell that day for Unbelievers to see,
all spread out,-
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(Unbelievers) whose eyes had been under a veil from
remembrance of Me, and who had been unable even to hear.
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Do the Unbelievers think that they can take My servants as
protectors besides Me? Verily We have prepared Hell for the Unbelievers for
(their) entertainment.
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Say: "Shall we tell you of those who lose most in
respect of their deeds?-
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"Those whose efforts have been wasted in this life,
while they thought that they were acquiring good by their works?"
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They are those who deny the Signs of their Lord and the fact
of their having to meet Him (in the Hereafter): vain will be their works, nor
shall We, on the Day of Judgment, give them any weight.
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That is their reward, Hell, because they rejected Faith, and
took My Signs and My Messengers by way of jest.
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As to those who believe and work righteous deeds, they have,
for their entertainment, the Gardens of
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Wherein they shall dwell (for aye): no change will they wish
for from them.
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Say: "If the ocean were ink (wherewith to write out)
the words of my Lord, sooner would the ocean be exhausted than would the words
of my Lord, even if we added another ocean like it, for its aid."
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Say: "I am but a man like yourselves, (but) the
inspiration has come to me, that your God is one God: whoever expects to meet
his Lord, let him work righteousness, and, in the worship of his Lord, admit no
one as partner.