Surah Ankabut
Contents
A.L.M. [29:1]
Do people think they will be left alone as long as they say, “We believe,” without their being tried? [29:2]
We did indeed try those before them, and God does know who were truthful, and does indeed know who were false. [29:3]
Or do evildoers think they can outrun Me? Their judgment is bad! [29:4]
For whoever looks forward to the meeting with God, the appointed time of God is sure to arrive; and God is all-hearing, all-knowing. [29:5]
And those who struggle strive only for their own souls; for God is independent of all worlds. [29:6]
And for those who believe and do good works, We will pardon their evils, and We will reward them for the best of what they were doing. [29:7]
We have prescribed for man goodness to his parents; but if they strive to get you to associate with Me what you have no knowledge of, then don’t obey them. Your destination is to Me; I will tell you about what you were doing. [29:8]
And those who believe and do good works We will include among the righteous. [29:9]
But there are some people who say, “We believe in God,” yet when they’re harassed on God’s account, they construe the strife of men as the castigation of God. And if help came from your Lord, they would say, “We were actually with you!” But is God not best acquainted with what is in the hearts of beings? [29:10]
And God surely knows who believe and surely knows the hypocrites. [29:11]
And scoffers say to believers, “Follow our way, and we will bear your faults,” but they will not bear with their faults at all; for they are in fact lying. [29:12]
They will bear their own burdens, and other burdens with their own; and they will be questioned, on the day of resurrection, about what they fabricated. [29:13]
We sent Noah to his people, and he remained among them for a thousand less fifty years; but the flood took them while they were still doing wrong. [29:14]
But We delivered him and the company of the Ark, and made that a sign for all peoples; [29:15]
and Abraham: remember how he said to his people, “Serve and be conscious of God; that is best for you, if you realize. [29:16]
“You are only worshipping graven images, not God; and you manufacture falsehood. But what you worship, which is not God, cannot sustain you; so seek sustenance of God, and worship God, and be grateful to God, who is your final destiny. [29:17]
“Even if you repudiate truth, so did peoples before you. And there is no obligation on the messenger but clear communication.” [29:18]
Don’t they see how God initiates the creation, then renews it? Indeed, that is easy for God. [29:19]
Say, “Travel the earth and see how God originated the creation; and God will produce the final genesis. For God has power over all things. [29:20]
God punishes whomever God will, and God grants mercy to whomever God will; and to God you will be received. [29:21]
And you won’t cause frustration, on earth or in the heavens; and you have no protector and no savior besides God. [29:22]
Those who scoff at the signs of God and the meeting with God are they who despair of My mercy; for them there is a painful penalty. [29:23]
Now Abraham’s people had no reply but to say, “Kill him!” or “Burn him!” But God saved him from the fire. Surely there is a sign in that for people who believe. [29:24]
And he said, “You only take to images without divinity out of your regard for each other in the life of this world. But then on the day of resurrection you will deny each other and curse each other. And your abode will be the fire, and you will have no saviors.” [29:25]
But Lot believed him and said, “I am fleeing to my Lord, who is almighty, supremely wise.” [29:26]
And We bestowed Isaac and Jacob on him, and We placed prophecy and scripture among his descendants, and We gave him his reward in the world; and at the end he will certainly be one of the worthies. [29:27]
And Lot—he said to his people, “You are committing indecency unprecedented in all the world. [29:28]
“Do you actually go to men, disrupting the way of nature, you commit abomination in your association?” And his people had no answer but to say, “Produce for us the punishment of God, if you are one who is truthful.” [29:29]
He said, “O my Lord! Protect me against people who cause trouble!” [29:30]
And when Our messengers came to Abraham with glad tidings, they said, “We are to destroy the people of this town, for its people have been wrongdoers.” [29:31]
He said, “But Lot is there.” They said, “We know better who is there; we will indeed spare him and his family, except for his wife, for she is one who tarries.” [29:32]
Now when Our messengers came to Lot, he was troubled and uneasy because of them, but they said, “Do not fear, do not grieve, for we are to save you and your family, except your wife, who is a laggard. [29:33]
“We will send down upon the people of this town a punishment from the sky, because they have been immoral.” [29:34]
And We have left an eloquent sign of that for people who use their reason. [29:35]
And to the Madyan was sent their brother Shu‘aib, who said to them, “O my people, serve God, and expect the final day; and do no harm on earth, corrupt.” [29:36]
But they disowned him; so a quake seized them, and morning found them cowering prostrate in their homes. [29:37]
And so the Ad and Thamud, as is evident to you from their dwellings: yet Satan made their acts seem pleasing to them, blocking them from the path in spite of their intelligence. [29:38]
And Qarun, and Pharaoh, and Haman— Moses brought them clear proofs, but they considered themselves great on earth, though they were not the first. [29:39]
So We punished each one for his sins. Among them were those against whom We sent a storm, and among them were those whom the blast overcame, and among them were those whom We made the earth swallow, and among them were those whom We drowned. Yet God was not trying to oppress them; rather, they had wronged their own selves. [29:40]
The pattern of those who take to patrons other than God is like the spider who builds a nest: for the flimsiest of houses is surely the spider’s nest. If only they knew! [29:41]
God knows whatever else they pray to, for God is the almighty, the supremely wise. [29:42]
But while We give people these examples, no one understands them except those who know. [29:43]
God created the heavens and the earth in a suitable manner: surely in that is a sign for the believers. [29:44]
Recite what has been revealed to you from the Book, and pray regularly; for prayer restrains from that which is abominable and disavowed. And remembrance of God is even greater. And God knows what you do. [29:45]
And do not contest the people of scripture, unless with what is better, except those of them who have been unjust: say, “We believe in what was revealed to us, and what was revealed to you; for our God and your God is one, to Whom we acquiesce.” [29:46]
For thus have We revealed the Book to you, so those to whom We have given scripture believe in it; and some of these people believe in it too; and no one rejects Our signs except the ungrateful. [29:47]
You could not recite a book before, and you don’t write it yourself— in that case the prattlers would surely have been skeptical. [29:48]
No, these are signs that are clear in the hearts of those to whom knowledge has been given; no one rejects Our signs except the unjust: [29:49]
they say, “Why weren’t wonders from his Lord revealed to him?” Say, “The wonders are in God’s power alone; I am only an open warner.” [29:50]
Isn’t it enough for them that We have revealed the Book to you, which you recite to them? Surely in that is mercy and a reminder for people who believe. [29:51]
Say, “God is sufficient as a witness between me and you, knowing everything in the heavens and the earth. As for those who believe in what is false and disbelieve in God, they are the losers.” [29:52]
They urge you to hasten the penalty, but had it not been for a definite term, the penalty would surely have happened to them. But it will actually come upon them suddenly, while they are unaware. [29:53]
They urge you to hasten the penalty, even though hell surrounds the scoffers. [29:54]
The day the penalty comes upon them from over their heads and under their feet, God will say, “Taste what you have produced.” [29:55]
O servants of Mine who believe, My earth is wide indeed; so let it be Me that you serve. [29:56]
Every being will experience death; then you will be returned to Us. [29:57]
And for those who believed and did good deeds, We will prepare for them lofty dwellings in the garden, with streams running below them, wherein they will abide, a perfect reward for the workers, [29:58]
those who have been constant and who trust in their Lord. [29:59]
How many animals don’t fetch their provisions? God provides for them, and for you too, being the all-hearing, the all-knowing. [29:60]
And if you asked them who created the heavens and the earth and made the sun and moon work, they would surely say God— how then are they deceived? [29:61]
God expands the provision of anyone at will, and regulates it too; for God knows everything. [29:62]
And if you asked them who rains water from the sky, enlivening the earth thereby after it has died, they would surely say, “God.” Say, “Praise be to God.” But most of them don’t understand. [29:63]
What is this life of the world but play and sport? The home of the hereafter—that is life, if only they knew. [29:64]
Now when they ride on a boat, they pray to God, sincere in their faith in God; but once We have delivered them onto dry land, then they attribute partners to God, [29:65]
being ungrateful for what We have given them, yet enjoying themselves; but they will know. [29:66]
Do they not see that We established a secure sanctuary, while people are being carried off all around them? Or do they believe in falsehood while denying the grace of God? [29:67]
And who is more wrong than one who fabricates a lie against God, and repudiates truth when it comes to him? Is there not an abode in hell for the ingrates? [29:68]
As for those who struggle for Our sake, We will guide them in Our ways. For God is with those who do good. [29:69]