Surah An-Naml

قَالَنَكِّرُوا۟لَهَاعَرْشَهَانَنظُرْأَتَهْتَدِىٓأَمْتَكُونُمِنَٱلَّذِينَلَايَهْتَدُونَ

[And] he continued: Alter her throne so that she may not know it as hers: let us see whether she allows herself to be guided [to the truth] or remains one of those who will not be guided.”

فَلَمَّاجَآءَتْقِيلَأَهَٰكَذَاعَرْشُكِقَالَتْكَأَنَّهُۥهُوَوَأُوتِينَاٱلْعِلْمَمِنقَبْلِهَاوَكُنَّامُسْلِمِينَ

And so, as soon as she arrived, she was asked: “Is thy throne like this?” She answered: “It is as though it were the same!” [And Solomon said to his nobles: “She has arrived at the truth without any help from us,] although it is we who have been given [divine] knowledge before her, and have [long ago] surrendered ourselves unto God!

وَصَدَّهَامَاكَانَتتَّعْبُدُمِندُونِٱللَّهِإِنَّهَاكَانَتْمِنقَوْمٍۢكَٰفِرِينَ

[And she has recognized the truth] although that which she has been wont to worship instead of God had kept her away [from the right path]: for, behold, she is descended of people who deny the truth!”

قِيلَلَهَاٱدْخُلِىٱلصَّرْحَفَلَمَّارَأَتْهُحَسِبَتْهُلُجَّةًۭوَكَشَفَتْعَنسَاقَيْهَاقَالَإِنَّهُۥصَرْحٌۭمُّمَرَّدٌۭمِّنقَوَارِيرَقَالَتْرَبِّإِنِّىظَلَمْتُنَفْسِىوَأَسْلَمْتُمَعَسُلَيْمَٰنَلِلَّهِرَبِّٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ

[After a while] she was told: “Enter this court!” - but when she saw it, she thought that it was a fathomless expanse of water, and she bared her legs. Said he: “Behold, it is [but] a court smoothly paved with glass!” Cried she: “O my Sustainer! I have been sinning against myself thy worshipping aught but Thee]: but [now] I have surrendered myself, with Solomon, unto the Sustainer of all the worlds!”

وَلَقَدْأَرْسَلْنَآإِلَىٰثَمُودَأَخَاهُمْصَٰلِحًاأَنِٱعْبُدُوا۟ٱللَّهَفَإِذَاهُمْفَرِيقَانِيَخْتَصِمُونَ

AND [likewise], indeed, We sent unto [the tribe of] Thamud their brother Salih [with this message]: “Worship God alone!” and, behold, they were [split into] two factions contending with one another.

قَالَيَٰقَوْمِلِمَتَسْتَعْجِلُونَبِٱلسَّيِّئَةِقَبْلَٱلْحَسَنَةِلَوْلَاتَسْتَغْفِرُونَٱللَّهَلَعَلَّكُمْتُرْحَمُونَ

Said [Salih to the erring ones]: Why do you seek to hasten the coming upon you of evil instead of hoping for the good?” Why do you not, rather, ask God to forgive you your sins, so that you might be graced with His mercy?”

قَالُوا۟ٱطَّيَّرْنَابِكَوَبِمَنمَّعَكَقَالَطَٰٓئِرُكُمْعِندَٱللَّهِبَلْأَنتُمْقَوْمٌۭتُفْتَنُونَ

They answered: “We augur evil from thee and those that follow thee!” Said he: “Your destiny, good or evil, rests with God yea, you are people undergoing a test!”

وَكَانَفِىٱلْمَدِينَةِتِسْعَةُرَهْطٍۢيُفْسِدُونَفِىٱلْأَرْضِوَلَايُصْلِحُونَ

Now there were in the city nine men who were wont to commit deeds of depravity all over the land, and would not reform;

قَالُوا۟تَقَاسَمُوا۟بِٱللَّهِلَنُبَيِّتَنَّهُۥوَأَهْلَهُۥثُمَّلَنَقُولَنَّلِوَلِيِّهِۦمَاشَهِدْنَامَهْلِكَأَهْلِهِۦوَإِنَّالَصَٰدِقُونَ

[and] after having bound one another by an oath in God’s name, they said: “Indeed, we shall suddenly fall upon him and his household by night [and slay them all]; and then we shall boldly say to his next of kin, ‘We did not witness the destruction of his household - and, behold, we are indeed men of truth!’”

وَمَكَرُوا۟مَكْرًۭاوَمَكَرْنَامَكْرًۭاوَهُمْلَايَشْعُرُونَ

And so they devised an evil scheme; but We devised a subtle scheme (of Our own), and they perceived it not.

فَٱنظُرْكَيْفَكَانَعَٰقِبَةُمَكْرِهِمْأَنَّادَمَّرْنَٰهُمْوَقَوْمَهُمْأَجْمَعِينَ

Behold, then, what all their scheming came to in the end: We utterly destroyed them and their people, all of them;

فَتِلْكَبُيُوتُهُمْخَاوِيَةًۢبِمَاظَلَمُوٓا۟إِنَّفِىذَٰلِكَلَءَايَةًۭلِّقَوْمٍۢيَعْلَمُونَ

and [now] those dwellings of theirs are empty, [ruined] as an outcome of their evil deeds. In this, behold, there is a message indeed for peo­ple of [innate] knowledge –

وَأَنجَيْنَاٱلَّذِينَءَامَنُوا۟وَكَانُوا۟يَتَّقُونَ

seeing that We saved those who had attained to faith and were conscious of Us,

وَلُوطًاإِذْقَالَلِقَوْمِهِۦٓأَتَأْتُونَٱلْفَٰحِشَةَوَأَنتُمْتُبْصِرُونَ

AND [thus, too, did We save] Lot, when he said unto his people: “Would you commit this abomination with your eyes open (to its being against all nature)?

أَئِنَّكُمْلَتَأْتُونَٱلرِّجَالَشَهْوَةًۭمِّندُونِٱلنِّسَآءِبَلْأَنتُمْقَوْمٌۭتَجْهَلُونَ

Must you really approach men with lust instead of women? Nay, but you are people without any awareness (of right and wrong)!”

فَمَاكَانَجَوَابَقَوْمِهِۦٓإِلَّآأَنقَالُوٓا۟أَخْرِجُوٓا۟ءَالَلُوطٍۢمِّنقَرْيَتِكُمْإِنَّهُمْأُنَاسٌۭيَتَطَهَّرُونَ

But his people’s only answer was this: “Expel [Lot and] Lot’s followers from your township! Verily, they are folk who make themselves out to be pure!”

فَأَنجَيْنَٰهُوَأَهْلَهُۥٓإِلَّاٱمْرَأَتَهُۥقَدَّرْنَٰهَامِنَٱلْغَٰبِرِينَ

Thereupon We saved him and his household - all but his wife, whom We willed to be among those that stayed behind -

وَأَمْطَرْنَاعَلَيْهِممَّطَرًۭافَسَآءَمَطَرُٱلْمُنذَرِينَ

the while We rained a rain [of destruction] upon the others: and dire is such rain upon all who let themselves be warned [to no avail]

قُلِٱلْحَمْدُلِلَّهِوَسَلَٰمٌعَلَىٰعِبَادِهِٱلَّذِينَٱصْطَفَىٰٓءَآللَّهُخَيْرٌأَمَّايُشْرِكُونَ

SAY: “All praise is due to God, and peace be upon those servants of His whom He chose [to be His message-bearers]!” Is not God far better than anything to which men [falsely] ascribe a share in His divinity?

أَمَّنْخَلَقَٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِوَٱلْأَرْضَوَأَنزَلَلَكُممِّنَٱلسَّمَآءِمَآءًۭفَأَنۢبَتْنَابِهِۦحَدَآئِقَذَاتَبَهْجَةٍۢمَّاكَانَلَكُمْأَنتُنۢبِتُوا۟شَجَرَهَآأَءِلَٰهٌۭمَّعَٱللَّهِبَلْهُمْقَوْمٌۭيَعْدِلُونَ

Nay - who is it that has created the heavens and the earth, and sends down for you [life-giving] water from the skies? For it is by this means that We cause gardens of shining beauty to grow - [whereas] it is not in your power to cause [even one single of] its trees to grow! Could there be any divine power besides God? Nay, they [who think so] are people who swerve [from the path of reason]