The Forgiver

1Ha-Mim. 2The revelation of this Book is from Allah—the Almighty, full of knowledge, 3the Forgiver of sin and Accepter of repentance, the Severe in punishment, and Infinite in blessing. There is no god 'that deserves worship' except Him. To Him 'alone' is the final return.

4No one questions the signs of Allah except the disbelievers, so do not be deceived by their comfortable living throughout the land. 5Before them, the people of Nuh rejected 'the truth', as did other enemy forces after them. Every community made evil plans against its prophet to harm him and argued with falsehood, 'hoping' to damage the truth with it. So I took them. And how 'horrible' was My punishment! 6And so your Lord's decision has come true against the disbelievers—that they will be the people of the Fire.

7Those 'angels' who carry the Throne and those around it praise the glory of their Lord, have faith in Him, and ask forgiveness for the believers, 'saying': "Our Lord! You cover everything with Your mercy and knowledge. So forgive those who repent and follow Your Way, and protect them from the punishment of Hell. 8Our Lord! Enter them into the Gardens of Eternity which You have promised them, along with the faithful among their parents, spouses, and children. You 'alone' are truly the Almighty and Wise. 9And protect them from the consequences of 'their' evil deeds. Whoever You protect from the evil of their deeds on that Day will have certainly received Your mercy. That is 'truly' the biggest success."

10Surely it will be announced to the disbelievers, "Allah hated it more when you disbelieved than how much you hate each other 'Today'." 11They will cry, "Our Lord! You made us lifeless twice, and gave us life twice. Now we confess our sins. So is there any way out?" 12'They will be told', "No! This is because when Allah alone was called, you 'strongly' disbelieved. But when other gods were made equal to Him, you 'happily' believed. So 'Today' judgment belongs to Allah 'alone'—the Most High, Most Great."

13He is the One Who shows you His signs and sends down resources for you from the sky. 'But' no one will keep this in mind except those who turn 'to Him'. 14So call upon Allah, being sincere in faith to Him, no matter how much the disbelievers are against 'it'. 15'He is the' highest in status, Lord of the Throne. He sends down the revelation by His orders to whoever He wants of His servants to warn 'all' of the Day of Meeting— 16the Day everyone will appear in front of Allah'. Nothing about them will be hidden from Him. He will ask, "Who does all authority belong to this Day? To Allah—the One, the Supreme!" 17Today every soul will be paid back for what it has done. No injustice Today! Surely Allah is quick in judgment."

18Warn them 'O Prophet' of the Day coming fast, when the hearts will jump into the throats, choking with panic. Those who did wrong will have no close friend or defender to be heard. 19Allah 'even' knows the secret looks of the eyes and whatever the hearts hide. 20And Allah judges with truth, while those 'idols' they call instead of Him cannot judge at all. Surely Allah 'alone' hears and sees 'everything'.

21Have they not travelled throughout the land to see what was the fate of those 'destroyed' before them? They were definitely much stronger and 'left more' landmarks in the land. But Allah took them for their sins, and they had no protector against Allah. 22That was because their messengers used to come to them with clear proofs, but they continued disbelieving. So Allah took them. He is really Powerful and severe in punishment.

23Surely We sent Musa with Our signs and clear proof 24to Pharaoh, Haman, and Qaroon. But they responded: "Magician! Total liar!" 25Then, when he came to them with the truth from Us, they said, "Kill the sons of those who believe with him and keep their women." But the disbelievers' evil planning was doomed to fail. 26And Pharaoh said, "Allow me to kill Musa, and let him call upon his Lord! I really fear that he will change your faith or cause corruption in the land." 27Musa replied, "I seek protection in my Lord and your Lord from every arrogant person who does not believe in Judgment Day."

28A believing man from Pharaoh's people who was hiding his faith argued, "Will you kill a man' just for saying: 'My Lord is Allah,' while he has in fact come to you with clear proofs from your Lord? If he is a liar, he will suffer the consequences. But if he is truthful, then you will be overwhelmed by some of what he is threatening you with. Surely Allah does not guide whoever goes too far in sin and lying. 29O my people! Authority belongs to you today, ruling supreme in the land. But who would help us against the punishment of Allah, if it came upon us?" Pharaoh said 'to his people', "I am telling you only what I believe, and I am guiding you to the right way."

30And the man who believed warned, "O my people! I truly fear for you the same fate of 'earlier' enemy forces 31like the fate of the people of Nuh, 'Ad, Thamud, and those after them. Allah is never unfair to 'His' creation. 32O my people! I truly fear for you the Day 'all will be crying out to each other'— 33the Day you will 'try to' turn your backs and run away, with no one to protect you from Allah. And whoever Allah leaves to stray will be left with no guide. 34'Prophet' Yusuf already came to you' long ago with clear proofs, but you never stopped doubting what he came to you with. When he died, you said, 'Allah will never send any messenger after him.' This is how Allah leaves whoever goes too far in evil and doubt to stray 35those who question Allah's signs with no proof given to them. How despicable is that for Allah and the believers! This is how Allah seals the heart of every arrogant abuser."

36Pharaoh ordered, "O Haman! Build me a big tower so I may reach the mighty ways— 37the ways leading up to the heavens and look for the God of Musa, even though I am sure he is lying." And so Pharaoh's evil deeds looked so good to him that he was prevented from the 'Right' Way. But the evil planning of Pharaoh was doomed to fail.

38And the man who believed said, "O my people! Follow me, 'and' I will lead you to the Right Way. 39O my people! This life 'just a short' enjoyment, but the Next Life is truly the home of eternal stay. 40Whoever does an evil deed will just be paid back for that one deed. And whoever, male or female, does good and is a believer—those will enter Jannah, where they will be provided for without limit. 41O my people! How is it that I invite you to safety, while you invite me to the Fire? 42You invite me to disbelieve in Allah and make idols equal to Him, which I know are fake, while I invite you to the Almighty, Most Forgiving. 43Without a doubt, whatever 'gods' you invite me to 'worship' do not deserve to be called upon in this world or the Next Life. Surely our return is to Allah, and those who went too far in evil will be the people of the Fire. 44You will remember what I am telling you now, and I put my trust in Allah. Surely Allah sees 'His' creation."

45So Allah protected him from their evil plans. And Pharaoh's people were overwhelmed by a horrible punishment: 46they are exposed to the Fire 'in their graves' morning and evening. And on the Day the Hour 'of Judgment' will arrive 'the angels will be told', "Enter Pharaoh's people into the harshest punishment 'in Hell'."

47'Watch for the Day' when they will argue in the Fire, and the weak 'followers' will beg the arrogant 'leaders', "We were your 'faithful' followers, will you then shield us from some of this Fire?" 48The arrogant will reply, "We are all in it! Allah has already passed judgment over 'His' creation."

49And those in the Fire will cry out to the keepers of Jahannam, "Pray to your Lord to reduce the punishment for us for just one day!" 50The keepers will say, "Did your messengers not 'always' come to you with clear proofs?" They will say, "Yes they did." The keepers will say, "Then pray 'all you want!' The prayer of the disbelievers is just useless."

51We certainly help Our messengers and the believers, 'both' in this life and on the Day the witnesses will come forward 'to testify'— 52the Day the excuses of those who did wrong will not benefit them 'at all'. They will be doomed and will have the worst end.'

53And surely We gave Musa 'true' guidance and passed on the Book to the Children of Isra'il 54as a guide and a reminder to those who truly understand. 55So be patient 'O Prophet'—Allah's promise is certainly true. Seek forgiveness for your shortcomings. And praise the glory of your Lord morning and evening. 56Certainly those who question Allah's signs—with no proof given to them—have nothing in their hearts except greed for authority, which they will never achieve. So seek protection in Allah. Surely He alone hears and sees 'everything'.

57Most definitely, the creation of the heavens and the earth is far greater than the re-creation of human beings, but most people do not know.

58Those blind 'to the truth' and those who can see are not equal, and those who believe and do good are not 'equal' to those who do evil. Yet you hardly learn any lesson. 59The Hour 'of Judgment' is certainly coming, there is no doubt about it. But most people do not believe.

60Your Lord has declared, "Call upon Me, I will respond to you. Surely those who are too proud to worship Me will enter Jahannam, fully covered in shame."

61Allah is the One Who has made the night for you to rest in and the day bright. Surely Allah is always generous to humanity, but most people are ungrateful. 62That is Allah, your Lord, the Creator of all things. There is no god 'that deserves worship' except Him. How can you then be distracted 'from the truth'? 63This is how those who rejected Allah's signs were also distracted.

64Allah is the One Who made the earth as your home and the sky as a ceiling. He shaped you 'in the womb', perfecting your form. And He has provided you with what is good and lawful. That is Allah—your Lord. So Blessed is Allah, Lord of the universe. 65He is the Living. There is no god 'that deserves worship' except Him. So call upon Him 'alone', being sincere in faith to Him, 'saying,' "All praise is for Allah—Lord of the universe."

66Say, 'O Prophet.' "I am forbidden to worship those 'idols' you call upon instead of Allah, since clear proofs have come to me from my Lord. And I have been ordered to 'fully' submit to the Lord of the universe." 67He is the One Who created you' from dust, then from a human seed, then developed you into' a tiny thing hanging 'in the womb', then He brings you out as babies so that you may mature, then become old—even though some of you may die sooner—so each of you reaches their set time, and so maybe you will understand 'Allah's power'. 68He is the One Who gives life and causes death. When He decides something, He simply tells it, "Be!" And it is!

69Have you not seen how those who question Allah's signs are turned away? 70'They are' the ones who reject this Book and whatever We sent Our messengers with. So they will see 'the consequences' 71When leashes will be around their necks and chains 'on their legs'. They will be dragged 72through boiling water, then burned in the Fire. 73Then they will be asked, "Where are those 'idols' you used to make equal 74to Allah?" They will cry, "They have 'all' failed us. In fact, we did not call anything real before." This is how Allah leaves the disbelievers to stray. 75'They will be told,' "This punishment' is for being arrogant on earth unjustly and for acting proudly. 76Enter the gates of Jahannam, to stay there forever. What an evil home for the arrogant!”

77So be patient 'O Prophet.' Surely Allah's promise is true. Whether We show you some of what We threaten them with, or 'cause you to die before that', eventually, they will 'all' be returned to Us. 78We already sent messengers before you—We have already told you the stories of some of them, while others We have not. It was not possible for any messenger to bring a sign without Allah's permission. But when Allah's decision came, judgment was passed with fairness. Then and there, the people of falsehood were in 'total' loss.

79Allah is the One Who made animals for you so that you may ride some and eat others. 80You also find other benefits in them. And with them you can reach any destination you want. And you are carried upon 'some of them and upon ships. 81And He shows you His signs. Now, which of Allah's signs will you deny?

82Have they not travelled throughout the land to see what was the fate of those who were 'destroyed' before them? They were far greater in numbers, much stronger, and 'left more' landmarks in the land, but their 'useless' gains did not benefit them 'at all'. 83When their messengers came to them with clear proofs, they became arrogant because of whatever knowledge they had, and were 'finally' shocked by what they used to mock. 84When they saw Our punishment, they cried, "'Oh! Now' we believe in Allah alone and reject whatever 'gods' we have made equal to Him!" 85But their 'sudden' faith did not benefit them when they saw Our punishment. This has 'always' been Allah's way 'of dealing' with 'the wicked among' His creation. Then and there, the disbelievers were in 'total' loss.