# Sura  42 - Counsel

*Exported from [Holy-Writings.com](https://www.holy-writings.com/) on 2026-06-18 — 1 clipping.*

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> SURA XLII (42) - Counsel            Mecca (53 Verses)       (LXXXIII - 270)   
>  
>        In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
>  
>        Ha. Mim. Ain. Sin. Kaf.  Thus unto thee as unto those who preceded thee
> doth God, the Mighty, the Wise, reveal!
>  
>        All that is in the Heavens and all that is in the Earth is His: and He
> is the High, the Great!
>  
>        Ready are the Heavens to cleave asunder from above for very awe: and the
> angels celebrate the praise of their Lord, and ask forgiveness for the dwellers
> on earth: Is not God the Indulgent, the Merciful?
>  
>        But whoso take aught beside Him as lords - God watcheth them! but thou
> hast them not in thy charge.
>  
>        It is thus moreover that we have revealed to thee an Arabic Koran, that
> thou mayest warn the mother city and all around it, and that thou mayest warn
> them of that day of the Gathering, of which there is no doubt - when part shall
> be in Paradise and part in the flame.
>  
>        Had God so pleased, He had made them one people and of one creed: but He
> bringeth whom He will within His mercy; and as for the doers of evil, no
> patron, no helper shall there be for them.
>  
>        Will they take other patrons than Him?  But God is man's only Lord: He
> quickeneth the dead; and He is mighty over all things.
>  
>        And whatever the subject of your disputes, with God doth its decision
> rest.  This is God, my Lord: in Him do I put my trust, and to Him do I turn in
> penitence;
>  
>        Creator of the Heavens and of the Earth! he hath given you wives from
> among your own selves, and cattle male and female - by this means to multiply
> you: Nought is there like Him! the Hearer, the Beholder He!
>  
> 42:10  His, the keys of the Heavens and of the Earth!  He giveth with open
> hand, or sparingly, to whom He will:  He knoweth all things.
>  
>        To you hath He prescribed the faith which He commanded unto Noah, and
> which we have revealed to thee, and which we commanded unto Abraham and Moses
> and Jesus, saying, "Observe this faith, and be not divided into sects therein."
> Intolerable to those who worship idols jointly with God
>  
>        Is that faith to which thou dost call them.  Whom He pleaseth will God
> choose for it, and whosoever shall turn to Him in penitence will He guide to
> it.
>  
>        Nor were they divided into sects through mutual jealousy, till after
> that "the knowledge" had come to them: and had not a decree from thy Lord gone
> forth respiting them to a fixed time, verily, there had at once been a decision
> between them.  And they who have inherited "the Book" after them, are in
> perplexity of doubt concerning it.
>  
>        For this cause summon thou them to the faith, and go straight on as thou
> hast been bidden, and follow not their desires: and Say:  In whatsoever Books
> God hath sent down do I believe:  I am commanded to decide justly between you:
> God is your Lord and our Lord:  we have our works and you have your works:
> between us and you let there be no strife:  God will make us all one:  and to
> Him shall we return.
>  
>        And as to those who dispute about God, after pledges of obedience given
> to Him, their disputing shall be condemned by their Lord, and wrath shall be on
> them, and theirs shall be a sore torment.
>  
>        It is God who hath sent down the Book with truth, and the Balance:  but
> who shall inform thee whether haply "the Hour" be nigh?
>  
>        They who believe not in it, challenge its speedy coming: but they who
> believe are afraid because of it, and know it to be a truth.  Are not they who
> dispute of the Hour, in a vast error?
>  
>        Benign is God towards hie servants: for whom He will doth He provide:
> and He is the Strong, the Mighty.
>  
>        Whoso will choose the harvest field of the life to come, to him will we
> give increase in this his harvest field: and whoso chooseth the harvest field
> of this life, thereof will we give him: but no portion shall there be for him
> in the life to come.
>  
> 42:20  Is it that they have gods who have sanctioned for them aught in the
> matter of religion which God hath not allowed.  But had it not been for a
> decree of respite till the day of severance, judgment had ere now taken place
> among them; and assuredly the impious shall undergo a painful torment.
>  
>        On that day thou shalt see the impious alarmed at their own works, and
> the consequence thereof shall fall upon them: but they who believe and do the
> things that are right, shall dwell in the meadows of paradise: whatever they
> shall desire awaiteth them with their Lord.  This, the greatest boon.
>  
>        This is what God announceth to his servants who believe and do the
> things that are right.  Say:  For this ask I no wage of you, save the love of
> my kin.  and whoever shall have won the merit of a good deed, we will increase
> good to him therewith; for God is forgiving, grateful.
>  
>        Will they say he hath forged a lie of God?  If God pleased, He could
> then seal up thy very heart.  But God will bring untruth to nought, and will
> make good the truth by his word: for He knoweth the very secrets of the breast.
>  
>        He it is who accepteth repentance from his servants, and forgiveth their
> sins and knoweth your actions:
>  
>        And to those who believe and do the things that are right will he
> hearken, and augment his bounties to them:  but the unbelievers doth a terrible
> punishment await.
>  
>        Should God bestow abundance upon his servants, they might act wantonly
> on the earth: but He sendeth down what He will by measure; for he knoweth,
> beholdeth his servants.
>  
>        He it is who after that men have despaired of it, sendeth down the rain,
> and spreadeth abroad his mercy: He is the Protector, the Praiseworthy.
>  
>        Among his signs is the creation of the Heavens and of the Earth, and the
> creatures which he hath scattered over both: and, for their gathering together
> when he will, He is all-powerful!
>  
>        Nor happeneth to you any mishap, but it is for your own handy-work: and
> yet he forgiveth many things.
>  
> 42:30  Ye cannot weaken him on the earth: neither, beside God, patron or helper
> shall ye have.
>  
>        Among his signs also are the sea-traversing ships like mountains: if
> such be his will, He lulleth the wind, and they lie motionless on the back of
> the waves: - truly herein are signs to all the constant, the grateful; -
>  
>        Or if, for their ill deserts, He cause them to founder, still He
> forgiveth much:
>  
>        But they who gainsay our signs shall know that there will be no escape
> for them.
>  
>        All that you receive is but for enjoyment in this life present: but
> better and more enduring is a portion with God, for those who believe and put
> their trust in their Lord;
>  
>        And who avoid the heinous things of crime, and filthiness, and when they
> are angered, forgive;
>  
>        And who hearken to their Lord, and observe prayer, and whose affairs are
> guided by mutual counsel, and who give alms of that with which we have enriched
> them;
>  
>        And who, when a wrong is done them, redress themselves:
>  
>        - Yet let the recompense of evil be only a like evil - but he who
> forgiveth and is reconciled, shall be rewarded by God himself; for He loveth
> not those who act unjustly.
>  
>        And there shall be no way open against those who, after being wronged,
> avenge themselves;
>  
> 42:40  But there shall be a way open against those who unjustly wrong others,
> and act insolently on the earth in disregard of justice.  These! a grievous
> punishment doth await them.
>  
>        And whoso beareth wrongs with patience and forgiveth; - this verily is a
> bounden duty;
>  
>        But he whom God shall cause to err, shall thenceforth have no protector.
>  And thou shalt behold the perpetrators of injustice,
>  
>        Exclaiming, when they see the torment, "Is there no way to return?"
>  
>        And thou shalt see them when set before it, downcast for the shame: they
> shall look at it with stealthy glances: and the believers shall say, "Truly are
> the losers they who have lost themselves and their families on the day of
> Resurrection!  Shall not the prepetrators of injustice be in lasting torment?"
>  
>        And no other protectors shall there be to succour them than God; and no
> pathway for him whom God shall cause to err.
>  
>        Hearken then to your Lord ere the day come, which none can put back when
> God doth ordain its coming.  No place of refuge for you on that day! no denying
> your own works!
>  
>        But if they turn aside from thee, yet we have not sent thee to be their
> guardian.  'Tis thine but to preach.  When we cause man to taste our gifts of
> mercy, he rejoiceth in it; but if for their by-gone handy-work evil betide
> them, then lo! is man ungrateful.
>  
>        God's, the kingdom of the Heavens and of the Earth!  He createth what He
> will! and he giveth daughters to whom He will, and sons to whom He will:
>  
>        Or He giveth them children of both sexes, and He maketh whom He will to
> be childless; for He is Wise, Powerful!
>  
> 42:50  It is not for man that God should speak with him but by vision, or from
> behind a veil:
>  
>        Or, He sendeth a messenger to reveal, by his permission, what He will:
> for He is Exalted, Wise!
>  
>        Thus have we sent the Spirit (Gabriel) to thee with a revelation, by our
> command.  Thou knowest not, ere this, what "the Book" was, or what the faith.
> But we have ordained it for a light: by it will we guide whom we please of our
> servants.  And thou shalt surely guide into the right way,
>  
>        The way of God, whose is all that the Heaven and the Earth contain.
> Shall not all things return to God?
>
> — *Sura  42 - Counsel*