Sura 26 of the Qur'an

https://www.humanreligions.info/sura_26.html

By Vexen Crabtree 2013

Title: Ash-Shuara
English: The Poets
Location: Makkah

Traditional Order:
< Sura 25 (Al-Furqan - The Standard)
> Sura 27 (An-Naml - The Ant)

Chronological Order:
< Sura 56 (Al-Waqia - The Event, The Inevitable)
> Sura 27 (An-Naml - The Ant)

Verses: 227

¹	Ta Sin Mim	Some comments on Sura 26:161 are on Lot and the Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah: In Genesis 18 and 19: 4. Lot in the Qur'an. Sura 26:161 is discussed on The Battle Between Monotheism and Homosexuality: Religious Prejudice Versus Equality: 3.4. Islam.
²	Those are the signs of the Manifest Book.
³	Perchance thou consumest thyself that they are not believers.
⁴	If We will, We shall send down on them out of heaven a sign, so their necks will stay humbled to it.
⁵	But never fresh remembrance comes to them from the All-merciful, except they turn away from it.
⁶	So they have cried lies; therefore assuredly tidings will come to them of that they mocked at.
⁷	What, have they not regarded the earth, how many therein We have caused to grow of every generous kind?
⁸	Surely in that is a sign, yet most of them are not believers.
⁹	Surely thy Lord, He is the All-mighty, the All-compassionate.
¹⁰	And when thy Lord called to Moses, 'Go to the people of the evildoers,
¹¹	the people of Pharaoh; will they not be godfearing?'
¹²	He said, 'My Lord, I fear they will cry me lies,
¹³	and my breast will be straitened, and my tongue will not be loosed; so send to Aaron.
¹⁴	They also have a sin against me, and I fear they will slay me.'
¹⁵	Said He, 'No indeed; but go, both of you, with Our signs, and We assuredly shall be with you, listening.
¹⁶	So go you to Pharaoh, and say, "Verily, I am the Messenger of the Lord of all Being;
¹⁷	so send forth with us the Children of Israel."
¹⁸	He said, 'Did we not raise thee amongst us as a child? Didst thou not tarry among us years of thy life?
¹⁹	And thou didst the deed thou didst, being one of the ungrateful!'
²⁰	Said he, 'Indeed I did it then, being one of those that stray;
²¹	so I fled from you, fearing you. But my Lord gave me Judgment and made me one of the Envoys.
²²	That is a blessing thou reproachest me with, having enslaved the Children of Israel.'
²³	Pharaoh said, 'And what is the Lord of all Being?'
²⁴	He said, 'The Lord of the heavens and earth, and what between them is, if you have faith.'
²⁵	Said he to those about him, 'Do you not hear?'
²⁶	He said, 'Your Lord and the Lord of your fathers, the ancients.'
²⁷	Said he, 'Surely your Messenger who was sent to you is possessed!'
²⁸	He said, 'The Lord of the East and West, and what between them is, if you have understanding, '
²⁹	Said he, 'If thou takest a god other than me, I shall surely make thee one of the imprisoned.'
³⁰	He said, 'What, even though I brought thee something so manifest?'
³¹	Said he, 'Bring it then, if thou art of the truthful.'
³²	So he cast his staff, and behold, it was a serpent manifest.
³³	And he drew forth his hand, and lo, it was white to the beholders.
³⁴	Said he to the Council about him, 'Surely this man is a cunning sorcerer
³⁵	who desires to expel you from your land by his sorcery; what do you command?'
³⁶	They said, 'Put him and his brother off a while, and send among the cities musterers,
³⁷	to bring thee every cunning sorcerer.
³⁸	So the sorcerers were assembled for the appointed time of a fixed day.
³⁹	The people were asked, 'Will you assemble?
⁴⁰	Haply we shall follow the sorcerers if it should be they are the victors.'
⁴¹	Then, when the sorcerers came, they said to Pharaoh, 'Shall we indeed have a wage, if we should be the victors?'
⁴²	He said, 'Yes indeed; and you shall then be among the near-stationed.'
⁴³	Moses said to them, 'Cast you down what you will cast.'
⁴⁴	So they cast their ropes and their staffs, and said, 'By the might of Pharaoh we shall be the victors.'
⁴⁵	Then Moses cast his staff and lo, it forthwith swallowed up their lying invention;
⁴⁶	so the sorcerers were cast down, bowing themselves.
⁴⁷	They said, 'We believe in the Lord of all Being,
⁴⁸	the Lord of Moses and Aaron.'
⁴⁹	Said Pharaoh, 'You have believed him before I gave you leave. Why, he is the chief of you, the same that taught you sorcery; now you shall know! I shall assuredly cut off alternately your hands and feet, then I shall crucify you all together.'
⁵⁰	They said, 'There is no harm; surely unto our Lord we are turning.
⁵¹	We are eager that our Lord should forgive us our offences, for that we are the first of the believers.'
⁵²	Also We revealed unto Moses, 'Go with My servants by night; surely you will be followed.'
⁵³	Then Pharaoh sent among the cities musterers:
⁵⁴	'Behold, these are a small troop,
⁵⁵	and indeed they are enraging us;
⁵⁶	and we are a host on our guard.'
⁵⁷	So We expelled them from gardens and fountains,
⁵⁸	and treasures and a noble station;
⁵⁹	even so, and We bequeathed them upon the Children of Israel.
⁶⁰	Then they followed them at the sunrise;
⁶¹	and, when the two hosts sighted each other, the companions of Moses said, 'We are overtaken!'
⁶²	Said he, 'No indeed; surely my Lord is with me; He will guide me.'
⁶³	Then We revealed to Moses, 'Strike with thy staff the sea'; and it clave, and each part was as a mighty mount.
⁶⁴	And there We brought the others on,
⁶⁵	and We delivered Moses and those with him all together;
⁶⁶	then We drowned the others.
⁶⁷	Surely in that is a sign, yet most of them are not believers.
⁶⁸	Surely thy Lord, He is the All-mighty, the All-compassionate.
⁶⁹	And recite to them the tiding of Abraham
⁷⁰	when he said to his father and his people, 'What do you serve?'
⁷¹	They said, 'We serve idols, and continue cleaving to them.
⁷²	He said, 'Do they hear you when you call,
⁷³	or do they profit you, or harm?'
⁷⁴	They said, 'Nay, but we found our fathers so doing.'
⁷⁵	He said, 'And have you considered what you have been serving,
⁷⁶	you and your fathers, the elders?
⁷⁷	They are an enemy to me, except the Lord of all Being
⁷⁸	who created me, and Himself guides me,
⁷⁹	and Himself gives me to eat and drink,
⁸⁰	and, whenever I am sick, heals me,
⁸¹	who makes me to die, then gives me life,
⁸²	and who I am eager shall forgive me my offence on the Day of Doom.
⁸³	My Lord, give me Judgment, and join me with the righteous,
⁸⁴	and appoint me a tongue of truthfulness among the others.
⁸⁵	Make me one of the inheritors of the Garden of Bliss
⁸⁶	and forgive my father, for he is one of those astray.
⁸⁷	Degrade me not upon the day when they are raised up,
⁸⁸	the day when neither wealth nor sons shall profit
⁸⁹	except for him who comes to God with a pure heart.
⁹⁰	And Paradise shall be brought forward for the godfearing,
⁹¹	and Hell advanced for the perverse.
⁹²	It shall be said to them, 'Where is that you were serving
⁹³	apart from God? Do they help you or help themselves?'
⁹⁴	Then they shall be pitched into it, they and the perverse
⁹⁵	and the hosts of Iblis, all together.
⁹⁶	They shall say, as they dispute there one with another,
⁹⁷	'By God, we were certainly in manifest error
⁹⁸	when we made you equal with the Lord of all Being.
⁹⁹	It was naught but the sinners that led us astray;
¹⁰⁰	so now we have no intercessors,
¹⁰¹	no loyal friend.
¹⁰²	O that we might return again, and be among the believers!'
¹⁰³	Surely in that is a sign, yet most of them are not believers.
¹⁰⁴	Surely thy Lord, He is the All-mighty, the All-compassionate.
¹⁰⁵	The people of Noah cried lies to the Envoys
¹⁰⁶	when their brother Noah said to them, 'Will you not be godfearing?
¹⁰⁷	I am for you a faithful Messenger,
¹⁰⁸	so serve you God, and obey you me.
¹⁰⁹	I ask of you no wage for this; my wage falls only upon the Lord of all Being;
¹¹⁰	so fear you God, and obey you me.'
¹¹¹	They said, 'Shall we believe thee, whom the vilest follow?'
¹¹²	He said, 'What knowledge have I of that they have been doing?
¹¹³	Their account falls only upon my Lord, were you but aware.
¹¹⁴	I would not drive away the believers;
¹¹⁵	'I am naught but a plain warner.'
¹¹⁶	They said, 'If thou givest not over, Noah, thou shalt assuredly be one of the stoned.'
¹¹⁷	He said, 'My Lord, my people have cried me lies,
¹¹⁸	so give true deliverance between me and them, and deliver me and the believers that are with me.
¹¹⁹	So We delivered him, and those with him, in the laden ship,
¹²⁰	then afterwards We drowned the rest.
¹²¹	Surely in that is a sign, yet most of them are not believers.
¹²²	Surely thy Lord, He is the All-mighty, the All-compassionate.
¹²³	Ad cried lies to the Envoys
¹²⁴	when their brother Hood said to them, 'Will you not be godfearing?
¹²⁵	I am for you a faithful Messenger,
¹²⁶	so fear you God, and obey you me.
¹²⁷	I ask of you no wage for this; my wage falls only upon the Lord of all Being.
¹²⁸	What, do you build on every prominence a sign, sporting,
¹²⁹	and do you take to you castles, haply to dwell forever?
¹³⁰	When you assault, you assault like tyrants!
¹³¹	So fear you God, and obey you me;
¹³²	and fear Him who has succoured you with what you know,
¹³³	succoured you with flocks and sons,
¹³⁴	gardens and fountains.
¹³⁵	'Indeed, I fear for you the chastisement of a dreadful day.'
¹³⁶	They said, 'Alike it is to us, whether thou admonishest, or art not one of the admonishers;
¹³⁷	this is nothing but the habit of the ancients,
¹³⁸	and we shall not be chastised.'
¹³⁹	So they cried him lies; then We destroyed them. Surely in that is a sign, yet most of them are not believers.
¹⁴⁰	Surely thy Lord, He is the All-mighty, the All-compassionate.
¹⁴¹	Thamood cried lies to the Envoys
¹⁴²	when their brother Salih said to them, 'Will you not be godfearing?
¹⁴³	I am for you a faithful Messenger,
¹⁴⁴	so fear you God, and obey you me.'
¹⁴⁵	'I ask of you no wage for this; my wage falls only upon the Lord of all Being.
¹⁴⁶	Will you be left secure in this here,
¹⁴⁷	among gardens and fountains,
¹⁴⁸	sown fields, and palms with slender spathes?
¹⁴⁹	Will you still skilfully hew houses out of the mountains?
¹⁵⁰	So fear you God, and obey you me;
¹⁵¹	and obey not the commandment of the prodigal
¹⁵²	who do corruption in the earth, and set not things aright.'
¹⁵³	They said, 'Thou art merely one of those that are bewitched;
¹⁵⁴	thou art naught but a mortal, like us; then produce a sign, if thou art one of the truthful.'
¹⁵⁵	He said, 'This is a she-camel; to her a draught and to you a draught, on a day appointed,
¹⁵⁶	and do not touch her with malice so that there seize you the chastisement of a dreadful day.'
¹⁵⁷	But they hamstrung her, and in the morning they were remorseful,
¹⁵⁸	and the chastisement seized them. Surely in that is a sign, yet most of them are not believers.
¹⁵⁹	Surely thy Lord, He is the All-mighty, the All-compassionate.
¹⁶⁰	The people of Lot cried lies to the Envoys
¹⁶¹	when their brother Lot said to them, 'Will you not be godfearing?
¹⁶²	I am for you a faithful Messenger,
¹⁶³	so fear you God, and obey you me.
¹⁶⁴	I ask of you no wage for this; my wage falls only upon the Lord of all Being.
¹⁶⁵	What, do you come to male beings,
¹⁶⁶	leaving your wives that your Lord created for you? Nay, but you are a people of transgressors.
¹⁶⁷	They said, 'If thou givest not over, Lot, thou shalt assuredly be one of the expelled.'
¹⁶⁸	He said, 'Truly I am a detester of what you do.
¹⁶⁹	My Lord, deliver me and my people from that they do.'
¹⁷⁰	So We delivered him and his people all together,
¹⁷¹	save an old woman among those that tarried;
¹⁷²	then We destroyed the others,
¹⁷³	and We rained on them a rain; and evil is the rain of them that are warned.
¹⁷⁴	Surely in that is a sign, yet most of them are not believers.
¹⁷⁵	Surely thy Lord, He is the All-mighty, the All-compassionate.
¹⁷⁶	The men of the Thicket cried lies to the Envoys
¹⁷⁷	when Shuaib said to them, 'Will you not be godfearing?
¹⁷⁸	I am for you a faithful Messenger, so fear you God, and obey you me.
¹⁷⁹	I ask of you no wage for this;
¹⁸⁰	my wage falls only upon the Lord of all Being.
¹⁸¹	Fill up the measure, and be not cheaters,
¹⁸²	and weigh with the straight balance,
¹⁸³	and diminish not the goods of the people, and do not mischief in the earth, working corruption.
¹⁸⁴	Fear Him who created you, and the generations of the ancients.'
¹⁸⁵	They said, 'Thou art merely one of those that are bewitched;
¹⁸⁶	thou art naught but a mortal, like us; indeed, we think that thou art one of the liars.
¹⁸⁷	Then drop down on us lumps from heaven, if thou art one of the truthful.'
¹⁸⁸	He said, 'My Lord knows very well what you are doing.'
¹⁸⁹	But they cried him lies; then there seized them the chastisement of the Day of Shadow; assuredly it was the chastisement of a dreadful day.
¹⁹⁰	Surely in that is a sign, yet most of them are not believers.
¹⁹¹	Surely thy Lord, He is the All-mighty, the All-compassionate.
¹⁹²	Truly it is the revelation of the Lord of all Being,
¹⁹³	brought down by the Faithful Spirit
¹⁹⁴	upon thy heart, that thou mayest be one of the warners,
¹⁹⁵	in a clear, Arabic tongue.
¹⁹⁶	Truly it is in the Scriptures of the ancients.
¹⁹⁷	Was it not a sign for them, that it is known to the learned of the Children of Israel?
¹⁹⁸	If We had sent it down on a barbarian
¹⁹⁹	and he had recited it to them, they would not have believed in it.
²⁰⁰	Even so We have caused it to enter into the hearts of the sinners,
²⁰¹	who will not believe in it, until they see the painful chastisement
²⁰²	so that it will come upon them suddenly, while they are not aware,
²⁰³	and they will say, 'Shall we be respited?'
²⁰⁴	What, do they seek to hasten Our chastisement?
²⁰⁵	What thinkest thou? If We give them enjoyment of days for many years,
²⁰⁶	then there comes on them that they were promised,
²⁰⁷	what will it then avail them, the enjoyment of days they were given?
²⁰⁸	Never a city We destroyed, but it had warners
²⁰⁹	for a reminder; and never did We wrong.
²¹⁰	Not by the Satans has it been brought down;
²¹¹	it behoves them not, neither are they able.
²¹²	Truly, they are expelled from hearing.
²¹³	So call thou not upon another god with God, lest thou shouldst be one of those that are chastised.
²¹⁴	And warn thy clan, thy nearest kin.
²¹⁵	Lower thy wing to those who follow thee, being believers;
²¹⁶	then, if they disobey thee, say, 'I am quit of that you do.'
²¹⁷	Put thy trust in the All-mighty, the All-compassionate
²¹⁸	who sees thee when thou standest
²¹⁹	and when thou turnest about among those who bow.
²²⁰	Surely He is the All-hearing, the All-knowing.
²²¹	Shall I tell you on whom the Satans come down?
²²²	They come down on every guilty impostor.
²²³	They give ear, but most of them are liars.
²²⁴	And the poets -- the perverse follow them;
²²⁵	hast thou not seen how they wander in every valley
²²⁶	and how they say that which they do not?
²²⁷	Save those that believe, and do righteous deeds, and remember God oft, and help themselves after being wronged; and those who do wrong shall surely know by what overturning they will he overturned.