Sura  42 - Counsel
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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