QuranIslamAccepted ScriptureArabicShareQuran 17George Sale - EnglishMoreVersion - 3 availableGeorge SaleRodwellTanzil Uthmani ArabicGeorge SaleRodwellArabicLanguageEnglishEspañol‹Quran 1Quran 2Quran 3Quran 4Quran 5Quran 6Quran 7Quran 8Quran 9Quran 10Quran 11Quran 12Quran 13Quran 14Quran 15Quran 16Quran 17Quran 18Quran 19Quran 20Quran 21Quran 22Quran 23Quran 24Quran 25Quran 26Quran 27Quran 28Quran 29Quran 30Quran 31Quran 32Quran 33Quran 34Quran 35Quran 36Quran 37Quran 38Quran 39Quran 40Quran 41Quran 42Quran 43Quran 44Quran 45Quran 46Quran 47Quran 48Quran 49Quran 50Quran 51Quran 52Quran 53Quran 54Quran 55Quran 56Quran 57Quran 58Quran 59Quran 60Quran 61Quran 62Quran 63Quran 64Quran 65Quran 66Quran 67Quran 68Quran 69Quran 70Quran 71Quran 72Quran 73Quran 74Quran 75Quran 76Quran 77Quran 78Quran 79Quran 80Quran 81Quran 82Quran 83Quran 84Quran 85Quran 86Quran 87Quran 88Quran 89Quran 90Quran 91Quran 92Quran 93Quran 94Quran 95Quran 96Quran 97Quran 98Quran 99Quran 100Quran 101Quran 102Quran 103Quran 104Quran 105Quran 106Quran 107Quran 108Quran 109Quran 110Quran 111Quran 112Quran 113Quran 114›Quran 17Quran 17ListenPlay this chapter in spoken English.Save chapterListen to chapter1PRAISE be unto him who transported his servant by night, from the sacred temple of Mecca to the farther temple of Jerusalem,p the circuit of which we have blessed, that we might show some of our signs; for God is he who heareth, and seeth. 2And we gave unto Moses the book of the law, and appointed the same to be a direction unto the children of Israel, commanding them, saying, Beware that ye take not any other patron besides me. O posterity of those whom we carried in the ark with Noah:q verily he was a grateful servant. And we expressly declared unto the children of Israel in the book of the law, saying, Ye will surely commit evil in the earth twice,r and ye will be elated with great insolence. And when the punishment threatened for the first of those transgressions came to be executed, we sent against you our servants,s endued with exceeding strength in war, and they searched the inner apartments of your houses; and the prediction became accomplished. Afterwards we gave you the victory over them,t in your turn, and we granted you increase of wealth and children, and we made you a more numerous people, saying, If ye do well, ye will do well to your own souls; and if ye do evil, ye will do it unto the same. 3And when the punishment threatened for your latter transgression came to be executed, we sent enemies against you to afflict you,u and to enter the temple, as they entered it the first time, and utterly to destroy that which they had conquered. 4Peradventure your LORD will have mercy on you hereafter: but if ye return to transgress a third time, we also will return to chastise you;x and we have appointed hell to be the prison of the unbelievers. Verily this Koran directeth unto the way which is most right, and declareth unto the faithful, who do good works, that they shall receive a great reward; and that for those who believe not in the life to come, we have prepared a grievous punishment. Man prayeth for evil, as he prayeth for good;y for man is hasty.z We have ordained the night and the day for two signs of our power: afterwards we blot out the sign of the night, and we cause the sign of the day to shine forth, that ye may endeavor to obtain plenty from your LORD by doing your business therein, and that ye may know the number of years, and the computation of time; and everything necessary have we explained by a perspicuous explication. The fatea of every man have we bound about his neck;b and we will produce unto him, on the day of resurrection, a book wherein his actions shall be recorded: it shall be offered him open, and the angels shall say unto him, Read thy book; 5thine own soul will be a sufficient accountant against thee, this day.c He who shall be rightly directed, shall be directed to the advantage only of his own soul; and he who shall err shall err only against the same: neither shall any laden soul be charged with the burden of another. We did not punish any people, until we had first sent an apostle to warn them. And when we resolved to destroy a city, we commanded the inhabitants thereof, who lived in affluence, to obey our apostle; but they acted corruptly therein: wherefore the sentence was justly pronounced against that city; and we destroyed it with an utter destruction. And how many generations have we consumed since Noah? for thy LORD sufficiently knoweth and seeth the sins of his servants. Whosoever chooseth this transitory life, we will bestow on him therein beforehand that which we please; on him, namely, whom we please: afterwards will we appoint him hell for his abode; he shall be thrown into the same to be scorched, covered with ignominy, and utterly rejected from mercy. 6But whosoever chooseth the life to come, and directeth his endeavor towards the same, being also a true believer; the endeavor of these shall be acceptable unto God. On all will we bestow the blessings of this life, both on these and on those, of the gift of thy LORD; for the gift of thy LORD shall not be denied unto any. Behold, how we have caused some of them to surpass others in wealth and dignity: but the next life shall be more considerable in degrees of honour, and greater in excellence. Set not up another god with the true GOD, lest thou sit down in disgrace, and destitute. Thy LORD hath commanded that ye worship none besides him; and that ye show kindness unto your parents, whether the one of them, or both of them attain to old age with thee.d Wherefore, say not unto them, Fie on you!e neither reproach them, but speak respectfully unto them and submit to behave humblye towards them, out of tender affection and say, O LORD, have mercy on them both, as they nursed me when I was little. Your LORD well knoweth that which is in your souls; whether ye be men of integrity: and he will be gracious unto those who sincerely return unto him. 7And give unto him who is of kin to you his due,f and also unto the poor, and the traveller. And waste not thy substance profusely: for the profuse are brethren of the devils:g and the devil was ungrateful unto his LORD. But if thou turn from them, in expectation of the mercy which thou hopest from thy LORD;h at least, speak kindly unto them. And let not thy hand be tied up to thy neck; neither open it with an unbounded expansion,i lest thou become worthy of reprehension, and be reduced to poverty. Verily thy LORD will enlarge the store of whom he pleaseth, and will be sparing unto whom he pleaseth; for he knoweth and regardeth his servants. Kill not your children for fear of being brought to want; we will provide for them and for you; verily the killing them is a great sin. Draw not near unto fornication; for it is wickedness, and an evil way. 8Neither slay the soul which GOD hath forbidden you to slay, unless for a just cause;k and whosoever shall be slain unjustly, we have given his heir power to demand satisfaction;l but let him not exceed the bounds of moderation in putting to death the murderer in too cruel a manner, or by revenging his friend's blood on any other than the person who killed him; since he is assisted by this law.m 9And meddle not with the substance of the orphan, unless it be to improve it, until he attain his age of strength:n and perform your covenant; for the performance of your covenant shall be inquired into hereafter. And give full measure, when you measure aught; and weigh with a just balance. This will be better, and more easy for determining every man's due.o And follow not that whereof thou hast no knowledge;p for the hearing, and the sight, and the heart, every of these shall be examined at the last day. Walk not proudly in the land, for thou canst not cleave the earth, neither shalt thou equal the mountains in stature. All this is evil, and abominable in the sight of thy LORD. These precepts are a part of the wisdom which they LORD hath revealed unto thee. Set not up any other god as equal unto GOD, lest thou be cast into hell, reproved and rejected. Hath your LORD preferably granted unto you sons, and taken for himself daughters from among the angels?q Verily in asserting this ye utter a grievous saying. And now have we used various arguments and repetitions in this Koran, that they may be warned: yet it only rendereth them more disposed to fly from the truth. 10Say unto the idolaters, If there were other gods with him, as ye say, they would surely seek an occasion of making some attempt against the possessor of the throne:r GOD forbid! and far, very far, be that from him which they utter! The seven heavens praise him, and the earth, and all who are therein: neither is there anything which doth not celebrate his praise; but ye understand not their celebration thereof: he is gracious and merciful. When thou readest the Koran, we place between thee and those who believe not in the life to come a dark veil; and we put coverings over their hearts, lest they should understand it, and in their ears thickness of hearing. And when thou makest mention, in repeating the Koran, of thy LORD only,s they turn their backs, flying the doctrine of his unity. We well know with what design they hearken, when they hearken unto thee, and when they privately discourse together: when the ungodly say, Ye follow no other than a madman. Behold! what epithets they bestow on thee. But they are deceived; neither can they find any just occasion to reproach thee. They also say, After we shall have become bones and dust, shall we surely be raised a new creature? 11Answer, Be ye stones, or iron, or some creature more improbable in your opinions to be raised to life. But they will say, Who shall restore us to life? Answer, He who created you the first time: and they will wag their heads at thee, saying, When shall this be? Answer, Peradventure it is nigh. On that day shall GOD call you forth from your sepulchres, and ye shall obey, with celebration of his praise;t and ye shall think that ye tarriedu but a little while. Speak unto my servants, that they speak mildly unto the unbelievers, lest ye exasperate them; for Satan soweth discord among them, and Satan is a declared enemy unto man. your LORD well knoweth you; if he pleaseth, he will have mercy on you, or, if he pleaseth, he will punish you:x and we have not sent thee to be a steward over them. Thy LORD well knoweth all persons in heaven and on earth.y We have bestowed peculiar favors on some of the prophets, preferably to others; and we gave unto David the psalms.z Say, Call upon those whom ye imagine to be gods besides him; yet they will not be able to free you from harm, or to turn it on others. 12Those whom ye invoke,a do themselves desire to be admitted to a near conjunction with their LORD; striving which of them shall approach nearest unto him: they also hope for his mercy, and dread his punishment; for the punishment of thy LORD is terrible. There is no city but we will destroy the same before the day of resurrection, or we will punish it with a grievous punishment. This is written in the book of our eternal decrees. Nothing hindered us from sending thee with miracles, except that the former nations have charged them with imposture. We gave unto the tribe of Thamud, at their demand, the she-camel visible to their sight: yet they dealt unjustly with her:b and we send not a prophet with miracles, but to strike terror. Remember when we said unto thee, Verily thy LORD encompasseth men by his knowledge and power. We have appointed the vision which we showed thee,c and also the treed cursed in the Koran, only for an occasion of dispute unto men, and to strike them with terror; but it shall cause them to transgress only the more enormously. 13And remember when we said unto the angels, Worship Adam; and they all worshipped him except Eblis, who said, Shall I worship him whom thou hast created of clay? And he said, What thinkest thou, as to this man whom thou hast honoured above me? verily, if thou grant me respite until the day of resurrection, I will extirpate his offspring, except a few. God answered, Begone, I grant thee respite: but whosoever of them shall follow thee, hell shall surely be your reward; an ample reward for your demerits!e And entice to vanity such of them as thou canst, by thy voice; and assault them on all sides with thy horsemen and thy footmen;f and partake with them in their riches, and their children;g and make them promises; (but the devil shall make them no other than deceitful promises:) as to my servants, thou shalt have no power over them; for thy LORD is a sufficient protector of those who trust in him. It is your LORD who driveth forward the ships for you in the sea, that ye may seek to enrich yourselves of his abundance by commerce; for he is merciful towards you. When a misfortune befalleth you at sea, the false deities whom ye invoke are forgotten by you, except him alone: 14yet when he bringeth you safe to dry land, ye retire afar off from him, and return to your idols; for man is ungrateful.h Are ye therefore secure that he will not cause the dry land to swallow you up, or that he will not send against you a whirlwind driving the sands to overwhelm you? Then shall ye find none to protect you. Or are ye secure that he will not cause you again to commit yourselves to the sea another time, and send against you a tempestuous wind, and drown you; for that ye have been ungrateful? then shall ye find none to defend you against us, in that distress. And now have we honoured the children of Adam by sundry peculiar privileges and endowments; and we have given them conveniences of carriage by land and by sea, and have provided food for them of good things; and we have preferred them before many of our creatures which we have created, by granting them great prerogatives. On a certain day we will call all men to judgment with their respective leader:i and whosoever shall have his book given him into his right hand, they shall read their book with joy and satisfaction;j and they shall not be wronged a hair.k 15And whoever hath been blind in this life shall be also blind in the next, and shall wander more widely from the path of salvation. It wanted little but the unbelievers had tempted thee to swerve from the instructions which we had revealed unto thee, that thou shouldest devise concerning us a different thing;l and then would they have taken thee for their friend: and unless we had confirmed thee, thou hadst certainly been very near inclining unto them a little. Then would we surely have caused thee to taste the punishment of life, and the punishment of death;m and thou shouldest not have found any to protect thee against us. The unbelievers had likewise almost caused thee to depart the land, that they might have expelled thee thence:n but then should they not have tarried therein after thee, except a little while.o This is the method of dealing which we have prescribed ourselves in respect to our apostles, whom we have already sent before thee: and thou shalt not find any change in our prescribed method. 16Regularly perform thy prayer at the declension of the sun, at the first darkness of the night,q and the prayer of daybreak;r for the prayer of daybreak is borne witness unto by the angels.s 17And watch some part of the night in the same exercise, as a work of supererogation for thee: peradventure thy LORD will raise thee to an honourable station.t And say, O LORD, cause me to enter with a favorable entry, and cause me to come forthu with a favorable coming forth; and grant me from thee an assisting power. And say, Truth is come, and falsehood is vanished: for falsehood is of short continuance.x We send down of the Koran that which is a medicine and mercy unto the true believers; but it shall only increase the perdition of the unjust. When we bestow favors on man, he retireth and withdraweth himself ungratefully from us: but when evil toucheth him, he despaireth of our mercy. Say, Every one acteth after his own manner:y but your LORD best knoweth who is most truly directed in his way. They will ask thee concerning the spirit:z answer, The spirit was created at the command of my LORD:a but ye have no knowledge given unto you, except a little.b If we pleased, we should certainly take away that which we have revealed unto thee;c in such case thou couldst not find any to assist thee therein against us, unless through mercy from thy LORD; 18for his favor towards thee hath been great. Say, Verily if men and genii were purposely assembled, that they might produce a book like this Koran, they could not produce one like unto it, although the one of them assisted the other. And we have variously propounded unto men in this Koran every kind of figurative argument; but the greater part of men refuse to receive it, merely out of infidelity. 19And they say, We will by no means believe on thee, until thou cause a spring of water to gush forth for us out of the earth;d or thou have a garden of palm-trees and vines, and thou cause rivers to spring forth from the midst thereof in abundance; or thou cause the heaven to fall down upon us, as thou hast given out, in pieces; or thou bring down GOD and the angels to vouch for thee; or thou have a house of gold; or thou ascend by a ladder to heaven: neither will we believe thy ascending thither alone,e until thou cause a book to descend unto us, bearing witness of thee, which we may read. Answer My LORD be praised! Am I other than a man, sent as an apostle? And nothing hindereth men from believing, when a direction is come unto them, except that they say, Hath GOD sent a man for his apostle? Answer, If the angels had walked on earth as familiar inhabitants thereof, we had surely sent down unto them from heaven an angel for our apostle. Say, GOD is a sufficient witness between me and you: for he knoweth and regardeth his servants. Whom GOD shall direct, he shall be the rightly directed; and whom he shall cause to err, thou shalt find none to assist, besides him. 20And we will gather them together on the day of resurrection, creeping on their faces, blind, and dumb, and deaf:f their abode shall be hell; so often as the fire thereof shall be extinguished, we will rekindle a burning flame to torment them.g This shall be their reward, because they disbelieve in our signs, and say, When we shall have been reduced to bones and dust, shall we surely be raised new creatures? Do they not perceive that GOD, who created the heavens and the earth, is able to create other bodies, like their present? And he hath appointed them a limited term;h there is no doubt thereof: but the ungodly reject the truth, merely out of unbelief. Say, If ye possessed the treasures of the mercy of my LORD, ye would surely refrain from using them, for fear of spending them;i for man is covetous. We heretofore gave unto Moses the power of working nine evident signs.j And do thou ask the children of Israel, as to the story of Moses;k when he came unto them, and Pharaoh said unto him, Verily I esteemed thee, O Moses, to be deluded by sorcery. 21Moses answered, Thou well knowest that none hath sent down these evident signs except the LORD of heaven and earth; and I surely esteem thee, O Pharaoh, a lost man. Wherefore Pharaoh sought to drive them out of the land; but we drowned him and all those who were with him. And we said unto the children of Israel, after his destruction, Dwell ye in the land: and when the promise of the next life shall come to be fulfilled, we will bring you both promiscuously to judgment. We have sent down the Koran with truth, and it hath descended with truth: and we have not sent thee otherwise than to be a bearer of good tidings, and a denouncer of threats. And we have divided the Koran, revealing it by parcels, that thou mightest read it unto men with deliberation: and we have sent it down, causing it to descend as occasion required.l Say, Whether ye believe therein, or do not believe, verily those who have been favored with the knowledge of the scriptures which were revealed before it, when the same is rehearsed unto them, fall down on their faces,m worshipping, and say, Our LORD be praised, for that the promise of our LORD is surely fulfilled! and they fall down on their faces, weeping; 22and the hearing thereof increaseth their humility. Say, call upon GOD, or call on the Merciful: by whichsoever of the two names ye invoke him, it is equal; for he hath most excellent names.n Pronounce not thy prayer aloud, neither pronounce it with too low a voice,o but follow a middle way between these: and say, Praise be unto GOD, who hath not begotten any child; who hath no partner in the kingdom, nor hath any to protect him from contempt: and magnify him by proclaiming his greatness. ‹Previous chapterQuran 16Next chapterQuran 18›Similar passagesBy tradition and source labelFind similarCompare selectedCompare with similarAsk Deep ThoughtSelect passages to search for parallels.VersionsQuran 17 across 3 versionsShow all 3George Sale - George SaleRodwell - RodwellArabic - Tanzil Uthmani ArabicTap any verse to select it, then compare selected passages or ask Deep Thought. Public domain in the United States via Project Gutenberg