The Poets

1Ta-Sin-Mim. 2These are the verses of the clear Book. 3Are you ˹O Prophet˺ going to stress yourself to death if they refuse to believe? 4If We wanted, We could send down upon them a "power-ful' sign from the heavens, forcing their necks to fully submit. 5Every time a new reminder comes to them from the Most Kind, they just keep turning away from it. 6They have already denied 'the truth', so they will soon face the consequences of their mocking, 7Have they failed to look at the earth 'to see' how many types of fine plants We have caused to grow there? 8Surely in this is a sign. Yet most of them would not believe. 9And your Lord is truly the Almighty, Most Merciful.

10'Remember' when your Lord called out to Musa, "Go to those doing wrong- 11the people of Pharaoh. Will they not fear 'Me?" 12He replied, "My Lord! I am afraid they will reject me 13my heart will be broken and my tongue will be tied. So send Harun along 'as a messenger'. 14Also, they have a charge against me,' so I am afraid they will kill me." 15Allah responded, "Certainly not! So go, both of you, with Our signs. We will be with you, listening. 16Go to Pharaoh and say, 'We are messengers from the Lord of the universe, 17'ordered to say:' 'Let the Children of Isra'il go with us.'"

18Pharaoh shouted, "Did we not raise you among us as a child, and you stayed several years of your life in our care? 19Then you did what you did,¹⁵ being to-tally ungrateful!" 20Musa replied, "I did it then, when I had no guidance. 21So I ran away from you when I feared you. Then my Lord gave me wisdom and made me one of the messengers. 22How can you count that as a favour tO me when you treated the Children of Isra'il like slaves?" 23Pharaoh asked, "And what is the Lord of the universe'?" 24Musa replied, "'He is' the Lord of the heavens and the earth and everything in between, if only you had sure faith." 25Pharaoh said to those around him, 'Did you just hear that?' 26Musa added, "'He is' your Lord and the Lord of your ancestors." 27Pharaoh said mockingly', 'This messenger who has been sent to you must be insane.' 28Musa responded: "'He is' the Lord of he east and west, and everything in be-tween, if only you had any sense."

29Pharaoh threatened, "If you take any other god besides me, I will have vou thrown in jail." 30Musa responded, "Even if I bring you some clear proof?" 31Pharaoh demanded, "Bring it then, if what you say is true." 32So he threw down his staff and-belhold!-it became a real snake. 33Then he took his hand out of his collar' and it was 'glowing' white for all to see. 34Pharaoh said to the chiefs around him, "He is really a skilled ma-gician, 35Who wants to drive you out of your land by his magic. So what do you suggest?" 36They replied, "Let him and his brother wait and send agents to all cities 37to bring you every professional magician." 38So the magicians were gathered for the set date. 39And the peo-ple were asked, "Are you going to join the gathering, 40to follow the magicians if they win?"

41When the magicians came, they asked Pharaoh, "Are we going to get a 'suit-able' prize if we win?" 42He replied, "Yes, and you will even be very close to me." 43Musa said to them, "Throw whatever you want to throw!" 44So they threw their ropes and staffs, saying, "By Pharaoh's might, we will definitely win." 45Then Musa threw his staff, and-behold!-it swallowed the objects of their illusion! 46So the magicians fell on their knees. 47They declared, "We 'now' believe in the Lord of the universe 48the Lord of Musa and Harun." 49Pharaoh threat-ened, "How dare you believe in him be-fore I give you permission? He must be your master who taught you magic, but soon you will see. I will definitely cut off your hands and feet on opposite sides, then crucify you all." 50They responded, "It doesn't matter; we will be returning to our Lord. 51We really hope that our Lord will forgive our sins, as we are the first to believe.”

52And We inspired Musa, 'saying,' "Leave with My servants at night, be-cause you will definitely be chased." 53Then Pharaoh sent agents to all cities, 54'and said,' "These 'nobodies' are just a handful of people, 55who have really angered us, 56but we are all on guard." 57So We made the abusers come out of their' gardens, springs, 58treasures, and lovely homes. 59So it was. And We awarded similar things to the Children of Isra'il. 60And so the army chased them at sunrise. 61When the two groups came face-to-face, those with Musa cried out, "We will be caught for sure." 62Musa replied, "Absolutely not! My Lord is tru-ly with me; He will guide me." 63So We inspired Musa: "Strike the sea with your staff," and the sea was split, each side was like a huge mountain. 64We brought the chasers to that place, 65and saved Musa and those with him all together. 66Then We drowned the others. 67Surely in this is a sign. Yet most of them would not believe. 68And your Lord is truly the Almighty, Most Merciful.

69And tell them ˹O Prophet˺ the sto-ry of Ibrahim, 70when he questioned his father and his people, "What do you Worship?" 71They replied, "We worship idols, to which we are very dedicated.'" 72Ibrahim asked, "Can they hear you when you call upon them? 73Or can they benefit or harm you?" 74They replied, "No! But we found our fathers doing the same." 75Ibrahim responded, "Have you really thought about what you worship- 76you and your ancestors? 77They are all enemies to me, except the Lord of the universe. 78'He is' the One Who created me, and He 'alone' guides me. 79'He is' the One Who provides me with food and drink. 80And 'He alone' heals me when I am sick. 81And He will cause me to die, and then bring me back to life. 82And I hope He will forgive my faults on Judg-ment Day. 83My Lord! Give me wisdom, and join me with the faithful. 84Bless me with honourable mention among later generations. 85Make me one of those awarded the Garden of Enjoyment. 86Forgive my father; he is truly one of the misguided. 87And do not put me to shame on the Day all will be raised back to life 88the Day when no wealth or children can help. 89None will be saved' except those who come to Allah with a pure heart³

90On that Day 'Paradise' will be brought close to the faithful, 91and Hell will be displayed to the misguided. 92They will then be told, "Where are those idols you used to worship 93besides Allah? Can they help you or even help them-selves?" 94Then the idols will be dumped into Hell, along with the misguided 95and the soldiers of Iblis, all together.⁴ 96There the misguided will cry while yelling at their idols, 97"By Allah! We were clearly mistaken, 98when we made you equal to the Lord of the universe. 99And none made us stray except the wicked. 100Now we do not have any-one to speak in our defence, 101Or even a close friend. 102If only we could have a second chance, we would be believ-ers." 103Surely in this is a sign. Yet most of them would not believe. 104And your Lord is truly the Almighty, Most Merciful.

105The people of Nuh rejected the mes-sengers 106when their brother Nuh said to them, "Will you not fear Allah? 107I am truly a trusted messenger to you. 108So fear Allah and obey me. 109I am not asking you for any fees for 'deliver-ing' this 'message'. My reward is only from the Lord of the universe. 110So fear Allah and obey me. 111They ar-gued, "How can we believe in you, when you are followed 'only' by the lowest of the low?"⁶ 112He responded, "And how do I know what they really mean to do? 113Their judgment is with my Lord, if you had any sense! 114I am not going to ex-pel the believers. 115I am only sent with a Clear warning.'" 116They threatened, "If you do not stop, O Nuh, you will definite-ly be stoned 'to death'" 117Nuh prayed, "My Lord! My people just keep rejecting me. 118So judge between us once and for all, and save me and the believers with me." 119So We saved him and those with him in the fully-loaded Ark. 120Then We drowned the rest. 121Surely in this is a sign. Yet most of them would not believe. 122And your Lord is truly the Almighty, Most Merciful.

123The people of Ad rejected the mes-sengers 124When their brother Hud said to them, "Will you not fear Allah? 125I am truly a trusted messenger to you. 126So fear Allah and obey me. 127I am not asking you for any fees for 'deliver-ing' this 'message'. My reward is only from the Lord of the universe. 128Why do you build a landmark on every high ground just for fun, 129and make 'huge' castles, as if you are going to live forever, 130and act so brutally when you attack others? 131So fear Allah and obey me. 132Fear the One Who has provided you with 'all the good' things you know: 133He provided you with cattle, and children, 134and gardens, and springs. 135I really fear for you the punishment of a horrible day." 136They responded, "It does not matter to us whether you warn uS or not. 137We are just doing what others did in the past. 138And we will nev-er be punished." 139They kept rejecting him, so We destroyed them. Surely in this is a sign. Yet most of them would not be-lieve. 140And your Lord is truly the Almighty, Most Merciful.

141The people of Thamud rejected the messengers 142When their brother Salih said to them, "Will you not fear Allah? 143I am truly a trusted messenger to you. 144So fear Allah and obey me. 145I am not asking you for any fees for 'delivering' this 'message'. My reward is only from the Lord of the universe. 146Do you think you will always be left secure in all the things you have here: 147among gardens and springs, 148and 'different' crops, and date trees 'loaded' with ripe fruit; 149to carve fancy homes in the mountains? 150So fear Allah and obey me. 151And do not follow the command of the wicked, 152who cause trouble throughout the land, never doing what is right." 153They replied, "You are simply affected by mag-ic!' 154You are just a human being like us, so bring a sign if what you say is true." 155Salih said, "Here is a camel. She will have her turn to drink and you will have yours every other day. 156And do not harm her, or you will be hit by the pun-ishment of a horrible day." 157But they killed her and soon regretted it. 158So the punishment hit them. Surely in this is a sign. Yet most of them would not be-lieve. 159And your Lord is truly the Almighty, Most Merciful.

160The people of Lut rejected the messengers 161When their brother Lut said to them, "Will you not fear Allah? 162I am truly a trusted messenger to you. 163So fear Allah and obey me. 164I am not asking you for any fees for 'deliver-ing' this 'message'. My reward is only from the Lord of the universe. 165Why do you satisfy your desire with other men, 166leaving the wives that your Lord has created for you? In fact, you have crossed all limits." 167They threatened, "If you do not stop, O Lut, you will definitely be kicked out." 168Lut responded, "I am tru-ly one of those who hate your 'shameful' practice. 169My Lord! Save me and my family from the evil of what they do." 170So We saved him and all of his family, 171eXcept an old woman, who was one of the doomed. 172Then We complete-ly destroyed the rest. 173raining down punishment upon them. How evil was the rain of those who had been warned! 174Surely in this is a sign. Yet most of them would not believe. 175And your Lord is truly the Almighty, Most Merciful.

176The people of the Forest rejected the messengers 177when Shu'aib said to them, "Will you not fear Allah? 178I am truly a trusted messenger to you. 179So fear Allah and obey me. 180I am not asking you for any fees for 'delivering' this 'message'. My reward is only from the Lord of the universe. 181Give full measure, and do not cause loss to others.⁸ 182Weigh with accurate scales, 183and do not cheat people out of their things. Do not go about spreading corruption in the land. 184And fear the One Who created you and all people of the past." 185They replied, "You are simply affected by magic!' 186You are just a human being like us, and we think you are definitely lying. 187So cause 'deadly' chunks from the sky to fall upon us, if what you say is true."⁹ 188Shu'aib responded, "My Lord knows best whatever you do." 189They kept rejecting him, so they were hit by the punishment of the day of the 'deadly' cloud. That was really a punishment of a horrible day.¹⁰ 190Surely in this is a sign. Yet most of them would not believe. 191And your Lord is truly the Almighty, Most Merciful.

192This Quran' is truly a revelation from the Lord of the universe, 193which the trusted spirit Jibril' brought down 194into your heart 'O Prophet'-to be one of the warners 195in a clear Ar-abic language. 196And it has definitely been 'announced' in the Books of those before. 197Is 'it' not proof enough for them that it has 'already been recognized by the scholars among the Children of ls-ra'il?'¹¹ 198Even if We had revealed it to a non-Arab, 199Who would then recite it to the deniers 'in perfect Arabic', still they would not have believed in it! 200This is how We allow denial 'to creep' into the hearts of the wicked. 201They will not believe in it until they see the painful punishment, 202which will take them by surprise when they do not expect it 'at all.' 203Then they will cry, "Oh no, can we have more time?"

204Do they 'really' want to speed up 'Our' punishment? 205Imagine 'O Prophet' if We let them enjoy themselves for years, 206then the punishment they were promised 'actually' came upon them: 207would all that past enjoyment help them 'at all? 208We have never de-stroyed a Society without 'sending' warners 209to remind 'its people' first; We are never unjust.

210It was not the devils who came down with this 'Quran', 211It is not possible for them, and they simply cannot. 212They are strictly banned from even listening to it secretly.¹²

213So never call upon any other god besides Allah, or you will be one of the punished. 214And warn 'everyone, starting with' your closest relatives, 215and be gentle with the believers who follow you. 216But if they disobey you, say, 'I have nothing to do with your misdeeds.' 217Put your trust in the Almighty, Most Merciful, 218Who sees you when you rise 'for worship at night', 219as well as your movements in 'salah' along with 'other' worshippers. 220He truly hears and knows 'everything'.

221Shall I tell you who the devils 'actual-ly' come down to? 222They come down to every sinful liar, 223who listen 'to half-truths, mostly passing on lies.¹³

224As for poets, they are followed 'only' by the misguided. 225Do you not see how they chatter about everything, 226only Saying things they never do? 227But this is not the case with those who believe, do good, remember Allah often, and reply to unfair attacks. Those doing wrong will see where they will end up.