بِسۡمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Verses
Alif. Lam. Ra. A DIVINE WRIT [is this], with messages that have been made clear in and by themselves, and have been distinctly spelled out as well - [bestowed upon you] out of the grace of One who is wise, all-aware,
so that you may worship none but God. [Say, O Prophet:] "Behold, I come unto you from Him [as] a warner and a bearer of glad tidings:
Ask your Sustainer to forgive you your sins, and then turn towards Him in repentance - [whereupon] He will grant you a goodly enjoyment of life [in this world] until a term set [by Him is fulfilled]; and [in the life to come] He will bestow upon everyone possessed of merit [a full reward for] his merit. But if you turn away, then, verily, I dread for you the suffering [which is bound to befall you] on that awesome Day
Unto God you all must return: and He has the power to will anything."
Oh, verily, they [who are bent on denying the truth of this divine writ] are enshrouding their hearts in order to hide from Him. Oh, verily, [even] when they cover themselves with their garments [in order not to see or hear], He knows all that they keep secret as well as all that they bring into the open - for, behold, He has full knowledge of what is in the hearts [of men].
And there is no living creature on earth but depends for its sustenance on God; and He knows its time-limit [on earth] and its resting-place [after death]: all [this] is laid down in [His] clear decree.
And He it is who has created the heavens and the earth in six aeons; and [ever since He has willed to create life,] the throne of His almightiness has rested upon water. [God reminds you of your dependence on Him] in order to test you [and thus to make manifest] which of you is best in conduct. For thus it is: if thou sayest [unto men], "Behold, you shall be raised again after death!" - they who are bent on denying the truth are sure to answer, "This is clearly nothing but an enchanting delusion"
And thus it is: if We defer their suffering until a time-limit set [by Us], they are sure to say, "What is preventing it [from coming now]?" Oh, verily, on the Day when it befalls them there will be nothing to avert it from them; and they shall be overwhelmed by the very thing which they were wont to deride.
And thus it is: if We let man taste some of Our grace, and then take it away from him -behold, he abandons all hope, forgetting all gratitude [for Our past favours].
And thus it is: if We let him taste ease and plenty after hardship has visited him, he is sure to say, "Gone is all affliction from me!"-for, behold, he is given to vain exultation, and glories only in himself.
[And thus it is with most men-] save those who are patient in adversity and do righteous deeds: it is they whom forgiveness of sins awaits, and a great reward.
IS IT, then, conceivable [O Prophet] that thou couldst omit any part of what is being revealed unto thee [because the deniers of the truth dislike it,-and] because thy heart is distressed at their saying, "Why has not a treasure been bestowed upon him from on high?" -or, "[Why has not] an angel come [visibly:: with him?" [They fail to understand that] thou art only a warner, whereas God has everything in His care;
and so they assert, "[Muhammad himself] has invented this [Qur'an)!" Say [unto them]: "Produce, then, ten surahs of similar merit, invented [by yourselves], and [to this end] call to your aid whomever you can, other than, God, if what you say is true!
And if they [whom you have called to your aid] are not able to help you, then know that [this Qur'an] has been bestowed from on high out of God's wisdom alone, and that there is no deity save Him. Will you, then, surrender yourselves unto Him?"
AS FOR THOSE who care for [no more than] the life of this world and its bounties -We shall repay them in full for all that they did in this [life], and they, shall not be deprived of their just due therein:
[yet] it is they who, in the life to come, shall have nothing but the fire -for in vain shall be all that they wrought in this [world], and worthless all that they ever did!
Can, then, [he who cares for no more than the life of this world be compared with] one who takes his stand on a clear evidence from his Sustainer, conveyed through [this] testimony from Him, as was the revelation vouchsafed to Moses aforetime-[a divine writ ordained by Him] to be a guidance and grace [unto man]? They [who understand this message-it is they alone who truly] believe in it; whereas for any of those who, leagued together [in common hostility], deny its truth - the fire shall be their appointed state [in the life to come]. And so, be not in doubt about this [revelation]: behold, it is the truth from thy Sustainer, even though most people will not believe in it.
And who could be more wicked than they who attribute their own lying inventions to God? [On the Day of Judgment, such as] these shall be arraigned before their Sustainer, and those who are called upon to bear witness [against them] shall say, "It is they who uttered lies about their Sustainer!" Oh, verily, God's rejection is the due of all evildoers
who turn others away from the path of God and try to make it appear crooked -since it is they, they who refuse to acknowledge the truth of the life to come!
Never can they elude [their final reckoning, even if they remain unscathed] on earth: never will they find anyone who could protect them from God. [In the life to come] double suffering will be imposed on them for having lost the ability to hear [the truth] and having failed to see [it].
About Surah Hud
Surah Hud (سُورَةُ هُودٍ) is chapter 11 of the Holy Quran. It is a Meccan Surah containing 123 verses.