الله تعالى هو الذي رفع السموات السبع بقدرته من غير عمد كما ترونها، ثم استوى -أي علا وارتفع- على العرش استواء يليق بجلاله وعظمته، وذلَّل الشمس والقمر لمنافع العباد، كلٌّ منهما يدور في فلكه إلى يوم القيامة. يدبِّر سبحانه أمور الدنيا والآخرة، يوضح لكم الآيات الدالة على قدرته وأنه لا إله إلا هو; لتوقنوا بالله والمعاد إليه، فتصدقوا بوعده ووعيده وتُخْلصوا العبادة له وحده.

وهو سبحانه الذي جعل الأرض متسعة ممتدة، وهيأها لمعاشكم، وجعل فيها جبالا تُثبِّتُها وأنهارًا لشربكم ومنافعكم، وجعل فيها من كل الثمرات صنفين اثنين، فكان منها الأبيض والأسود والحلو والحامض، وجعل الليل يغطي النهار بظلمته، إن في ذلك كله لَعظات لقوم يتفكرون فيها، فيتعظون.

وفي الأرض قطع يجاور بعضها بعضًا، منها ما هو طيِّب يُنبتُ ما ينفع الناس، ومنها سَبِخة مِلْحة لا تُنبت شيئًا، وفي الأرض الطيبة بساتين من أعناب، وجعل فيها زروعًا مختلفة ونخيلا مجتمعًا في منبت واحد، وغير مجتمع فيه، كل ذلك في تربة واحدة، ويشرب من ماء واحد، ولكنه يختلف في الثمار والحجم والطعم وغير ذلك، فهذا حلو وهذا حامض، وبعضها أفضل من بعض في الأكل، إن في ذلك لَعلامات لمن كان له قلب يعقل عن الله تعالى أمره ونهيه.

وإن تعجب -أيها الرسول- من عدم إيمانهم بعد هذه الأدلة فالعجب الأشدُّ من قولهم: أإذا متنا وكنا ترابا نُبعث من جديد؟ أولئك هم الجاحدون بربهم الذي أوجدهم من العدم، وأولئك تكون السلاسل من النار في أعناقهم يوم القيامة، وأولئك يدخلون النار، ولا يخرجون منها أبدًا.

ويستعجلك المكذِّبون بالعقوبة التي لم أعاجلهم بها قبل الإيمان الذي يرجى به الأمان والحسنات، وقد مضت عقوبات المكذبين مِن قبلهم، فكيف لا يعتبرون بهم؟ وإن ربك -أيها الرسول- لَذو مغفرة لذنوبِ مَن تاب مِن ذنوبه من الناس على ظلمهم، يفتح لهم باب المغفرة، ويدعوهم إليها، وهم يظلمون أنفسهم بعصيانهم ربهم، وإن ربك لشديد العقاب على مَن أصرَّ على الكفر والضلال ومعصية الله.

ويقول كفار «مكة» : هلا جاءته معجزة محسوسة كعصا موسى وناقة صالح، وليس ذلك بيدك -أيها الرسول- فما أنت إلا مبلِّغ لهم، ومخوِّف مِن بأس الله. ولكل أمة رسول يرشدهم إلى الله تعالى.

الله تعالى يعلم ما تحمل كلُّ أنثى في بطنها، أذكر هو أم أنثى؟ وشقي هو أم سعيد؟ ويعلم ما تنقصه الأرحام، فيسقط أو يولد قبل تسعة أشهر، وما يزيد حمله عليها. وكل شيء مقدَّر عند الله بمقدار من النقصان أو الزيادة لا يتجاوزه.

الله عالم بما خفي عن الأبصار، وبما هو مشاهَد، الكبير في ذاته وأسمائه وصفاته، المتعالي على جميع خلقه بذاته وقدرته وقهره.

يستوي في علمه تعالى مَن أخفى القول منكم ومَن جهر به، ويستوي عنده مَن استتر بأعماله في ظلمة الليل، ومن جهر بها في وضح النهار.

each person has guardian angels before him and behind, watching over him by God’s command. God does not change the condition of a people [for the worse] unless they change what is in themselves, but if He wills harm on a people, no one can ward it off–– apart from Him, they have no protector.

It is He who shows you the lightning, inspiring fear and hope; He builds up the clouds heavy with rain;

the thunder sounds His praises, as do the angels in awe of Him; He sends thunderbolts to strike whoever He will. Yet still they dispute about God- He has mighty plans.

The only true prayer is to Him: those they pray to besides Him give them no answer any more than water reaches the mouth of someone who simply stretches out his hands for it- it cannot do so: the prayers of the disbelievers are all in vain.

All that are in heaven and earth submit to God alone, willingly or unwillingly, as do their shadows in the mornings and in the evenings.

Say [Prophet], ‘Who is Lord of the heavens and the earth?’ Say, ‘God.’ Say, ‘Why do you take protectors other than Him, who can neither benefit nor harm even themselves?’ Say, ‘Are the blind equal to those who can see? And are the depths of darkness equal to the light?’ Have the partners they assign to God created anything like His creation so that their creation is indistinguishable from His? Say, ‘God is the Creator of all things: He is the One, the All Compelling.’

He sends water from the sky that fills riverbeds to overflowing, each according to its measure. The stream carries on its surface a growing layer of froth, like the froth that appears when people melt metals in the fire to make ornaments and tools: in this way God illustrates truth and falsehood- the froth disappears, but what is of benefit to man stays behind- this is how God makes illustrations.

There will be the best of rewards for those who respond to their Lord; those who do not respond would willingly give away the earth’s contents twice over, if they had it, in order to ransom themselves, so terrible will be their reckoning. Hell will be their home, and their bed wretched.

Can someone who knows that the revelation from your Lord is the Truth be equal to someone who is blind? Only those with understanding will take it to heart;

those who fulfil the agreements they make in God’s name and do not break their pledges;

who join together what God commands to be joined; who are in awe of their Lord and fear the harshness of the Reckoning;

who remain steadfast through their desire for the face of their Lord; who keep up the prayer; who give secretly and openly from what We have provided for them; who repel evil with good. These will have the reward of the [true] home:

they will enter perpetual Gardens, along with their righteous ancestors, spouses, and descendants; the angels will go in to them from every gate,

‘Peace be with you, because you have remained steadfast. What an excellent reward is this home of yours!’

But there will be rejection for those who break their confirmed agreements made in God’s name, who break apart what God has commanded to be joined and who spread corruption on earth: theirs is the dreadful home-

God gives abundantly to whoever He will, and sparingly to whoever He will- and though they may revel in the life of this world, it is but a fleeting comfort compared with the Life to come.

The disbelievers say, ‘Why has no miracle been sent down to him from his Lord?’ [Prophet], say, ‘God leaves whoever He will to stray, and guides to Himself those who turn towards Him,

those who have faith and whose hearts find peace in the remembrance of God- truly it is in the remembrance of God that hearts find peace-

those who believe and do righteous deeds: joy awaits these, and their final homecoming will be excellent.’

So We have sent you [Prophet] to a community- other communities passed away long before them- to recite to them what We reveal to you. Yet they disbelieve in the Lord of Mercy. Say, ‘He is my Lord: there is no god but Him. I put my trust in Him and to Him is my return.’

If there were ever to be a Quran with which mountains could be moved, the earth shattered, or the dead made to speak [it would have been this one], but everything is truly in God’s hands. Do the believers not realize that if God had so willed, He could have guided all mankind? As for the disbelievers, because of their misdeeds, disaster will not cease to afflict them or fall close to their homes until God’s promise is fulfilled: God never fails to keep His promise.

Many messengers before you [Muhammad] were mocked, but I granted respite to the disbelievers: in the end, I took them to task- how terrible My punishment was!

Is He who stands over every soul marking its action [in need of any partner]? Yet they ascribe partners to God. Say, ‘Name them,’ or, ‘Can you tell Him about something on the earth He does not know to exist, or is this just a display of words?’ But the things they devise are made alluring to the disbelievers and they are barred from the [right] path: no one can guide those God leaves to stray.

There is a punishment for them in this world, but the punishment of the Hereafter will be harder- no one will defend them against God.

Here is a picture of the Garden that those mindful of God have been promised: flowing streams and perpetual food and shade. This is the reward that awaits those who are mindful of God; the disbelievers’ reward is the Fire.

Those to whom We sent the Scripture rejoice in what has been revealed to you [Prophet]; some factions deny parts of it. Say, ‘I am commanded to worship God, and not join anything with Him in worship: to Him I call [others] and to Him I shall return.’

So We have sent down the Quran to give judgement in the Arabic language. If you were to follow their desires, after the knowledge that has come to you, you would have no one to guard you or protect you from God.

We sent messengers before you and gave them wives and offspring; no messenger was given the power to produce a miracle except with God’s permission. There was a Scripture for every age:

God erases or confirms whatever He will, and the source of Scripture is with Him.

Whether We let you [Prophet] see part of what We threaten them with, or cause you to die [before that], your duty is only to deliver the message: the Reckoning is Ours.

Do they not see how We come to [their] land and shrink its borders? God decides- no one can reverse His decision- and He is swift in reckoning.

Those before them also schemed, but the overall scheme belongs to God: He knows what each soul does. In the end, the disbelievers will find out who will have the excellent home.

They say, ‘You have not been sent.’ Say, ‘God is sufficient witness between me and you: all knowledge of the Scripture comes from Him.’