28Al-QaṣaṣالقصصVerse 1 of 88

The Stories28. Al-Qaṣaṣالقصص

Al-Qaṣaṣ

Al Qaṣaṣ

The Stories

Meccan88 verses28 / 114

28

Page 385

ṭ-s-m (ṭā sīn mīm)

Ta, Seen, Meem.

— Ali Quli Qarai

tilka ʾāyātu l-kitābi l-mubīni

These are the signs of the Manifest Book.

— Ali Quli Qarai

natlū ʿalayka min nabaʾi mūsā wa-firʿawna bi-l-ḥaqqi li-qawmin yuʾminūna

We relate to you truly some of the account of Moses and Pharaoh for a people who have faith.

— Ali Quli Qarai

ʾinna firʿawna ʿalā fī l-ʾarḍi wa-jaʿala ʾahlahā shiyaʿan yastaḍʿifu ṭāʾifatan minhum yudhabbiḥu ʾabnāʾahum wa-yastaḥyī nisāʾahum ʾinnahū kāna mina l-mufsidīna

Indeed Pharaoh tyrannized over the land, reducing its people to factions, abasing one group of them, slaughtering their sons, and sparing their women. Indeed, He was one of the agents of corruption.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-nurīdu ʾan namunna ʿalā lladhīna stuḍʿifū fī l-ʾarḍi wa-najʿalahum ʾaʾimmatan wa-najʿalahumu l-wārithīna

And We desired to show favour to those who were abased in the land, and to make them imams, and to make them the heirs,

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 386

wa-numakkina lahum fī l-ʾarḍi wa-nuriya firʿawna wa-hāmāna wa-junūdahumā minhum mā kānū yaḥdharūna

and to establish them in the land, and to show Pharaoh and Haman and their hosts from them that of which they were apprehensive.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ʾawḥaynā ʾilā ʾummi mūsā ʾan ʾarḍiʿīhi fa-ʾidhā khifti ʿalayhi fa-ʾalqīhi fī l-yammi wa-lā takhāfī wa-lā taḥzanī ʾinnā rāddūhu ʾilayki wa-jāʿilūhu mina l-mursalīna

We revealed to Moses’ mother, [saying], ‘Nurse him; then, when you fear for him, cast him into the river, and do not fear or grieve, for We will restore him to you and make him one of the apostles.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-ltaqaṭahū ʾālu firʿawna li-yakūna lahum ʿaduwwan wa-ḥazanan ʾinna firʿawna wa-hāmāna wa-junūdahumā kānū khāṭiʾīna

Then Pharaoh’s kinsmen picked him up that he might be an enemy and a cause of grief to them. Indeed Pharaoh and Haman and their hosts were iniquitous.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-qālati mraʾatu firʿawna qurratu ʿaynin lī wa-laka lā taqtulūhu ʿasā ʾan yanfaʿanā ʾaw nattakhidhahū waladan wa-hum lā yashʿurūna

Pharaoh’s wife said [to him], ‘[This infant will be] a [source of] comfort to me and to you. Do not kill him. Maybe he will benefit us, or we will adopt him as a son.’ But they were not aware.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ʾaṣbaḥa fuʾādu ʾummi mūsā fārighan ʾin kādat la-tubdī bihī law-lā ʾan rabaṭnā ʿalā qalbihā li-takūna mina l-muʾminīna

The heart of Moses’ mother became desolate, and indeed she was about to divulge it had We not fortified her heart so that she might have faith [in Allah’s promise].

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-qālat li-ʾukhtihī quṣṣīhi fa-baṣurat bihī ʿan junubin wa-hum lā yashʿurūna

She said to his sister, ‘Follow him.’ So she watched him from a distance, while they were not aware.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ḥarramnā ʿalayhi l-marāḍiʿa min qablu fa-qālat hal ʾadullukum ʿalā ʾahli baytin yakfulūnahū lakum wa-hum lahū nāṣiḥūna

Since before We had forbidden him to be suckled by any nurse. So she said, ‘Shall I show you a household that will take care of him for you and they will be his well-wishers?’

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-radadnāhu ʾilā ʾummihī kay taqarra ʿaynuhā wa-lā taḥzana wa-li-taʿlama ʾanna waʿda llāhi ḥaqqun wa-lākinna ʾaktharahum lā yaʿlamūna

That is how We restored him to his mother so that she might be comforted and not grieve, and that she might know that Allah’s promise is true, but most of them do not know.

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 387

wa-lammā balagha ʾashuddahū wa-stawā ʾātaynāhu ḥukman wa-ʿilman wa-ka-dhālika najzī l-muḥsinīna

When he came of age and became fully matured, We gave him judgement and knowledge, and thus do We reward the virtuous.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-dakhala l-madīnata ʿalā ḥīni ghaflatin min ʾahlihā fa-wajada fīhā rajulayni yaqtatilāni hādhā min shīʿatihī wa-hādhā min ʿaduwwihī fa-staghāthahu lladhī min shīʿatihī ʿalā lladhī min ʿaduwwihī fa-wakazahū mūsā fa-qaḍā ʿalayhi qāla hādhā min ʿamali sh-shayṭāni ʾinnahū ʿaduwwun muḍillun mubīnun

[One day] he entered the city at a time when its people were not likely to take notice. He found there two men fighting, this one from among his followers, and that one from his enemies. The one who was from his followers sought his help against him who was from his enemies. So Moses hit him with his fist, whereupon he expired. He said, ‘This is of Satan’s doing. Indeed he is clearly a misguiding enemy.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qāla rabbi ʾinnī ẓalamtu nafsī faghfir lī fa-ghafara lahū ʾinnahū huwa l-ghafūru r-raḥīmu

He said, ‘My Lord! I have wronged myself. Forgive me!’ So He forgave him. Indeed, He is the All-forgiving, the All-merciful.

— Ali Quli Qarai

qāla rabbi bi-mā ʾanʿamta ʿalayya fa-lan ʾakūna ẓahīran li-l-mujrimīna

He said, ‘My Lord! As You have blessed me, I will never be a supporter of the guilty.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-ʾaṣbaḥa fī l-madīnati khāʾifan yataraqqabu fa-ʾidhā lladhī stanṣarahū bi-l-ʾamsi yastaṣrikhuhū qāla lahū mūsā ʾinnaka la-ghawiyyun mubīnun

He rose at dawn in the city, fearful and vigilant, when behold, the one who had sought his help the day before, shouted for his help [once again]. Moses said to him, ‘You are indeed clearly perverse!’

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-lammā ʾan ʾarāda ʾan yabṭisha bi-lladhī huwa ʿaduwwun lahumā qāla yā-mūsā ʾa-turīdu ʾan taqtulanī ka-mā qatalta nafsan bi-l-ʾamsi ʾin turīdu ʾillā ʾan takūna jabbāran fī l-ʾarḍi wa-mā turīdu ʾan takūna mina l-muṣliḥīna

But when he wanted to strike him who was an enemy of both of them, he said, ‘Moses, do you want to kill me, just like the one you killed yesterday? You only want to be a tyrant in the land, and you do not desire to be one who brings about reform.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-jāʾa rajulun min ʾaqṣā l-madīnati yasʿā qāla yā-mūsā ʾinna l-malaʾa yaʾtamirūna bika li-yaqtulūka fa-khruj ʾinnī laka mina n-nāṣiḥīna

There came a man from the city outskirts, hurrying. He said, ‘Moses! The elite are indeed conspiring to kill you. So leave. I am indeed your well-wisher.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-kharaja minhā khāʾifan yataraqqabu qāla rabbi najjinī mina l-qawmi ẓ-ẓālimīna

So he left the city, fearful and vigilant. He said, ‘My Lord! Deliver me from the wrongdoing lot.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 388

wa-lammā tawajjaha tilqāʾa madyana qāla ʿasā rabbī ʾan yahdiyanī sawāʾa s-sabīli

And when he turned his face toward Midian, he said, ‘Maybe my Lord will show me the right way.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-lammā warada māʾa madyana wajada ʿalayhi ʾummatan mina n-nāsi yasqūna wa-wajada min dūnihimu mraʾatayni tadhūdāni qāla mā khaṭbukumā qālatā lā nasqī ḥattā yuṣdira r-riʿāʾu wa-ʾabūnā shaykhun kabīrun

When he arrived at the well of Midian, he found there a throng of people watering [their flocks], and he found, besides them, two women holding back [their flock]. He said, ‘What is your business?’ They said, ‘We do not water [our flock] until the shepherds have driven out [their flocks], and our father is an aged man.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-saqā lahumā thumma tawallā ʾilā ẓ-ẓilli fa-qāla rabbi ʾinnī li-mā ʾanzalta ʾilayya min khayrin faqīrun

So he watered [their flock] for them. Then he withdrew toward the shade and said, ‘My Lord! I am indeed in need of any good You may send down to me!’

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-jāʾathu ʾiḥdāhumā tamshī ʿalā stiḥyāʾin qālat ʾinna ʾabī yadʿūka li-yajziyaka ʾajra mā saqayta lanā fa-lammā jāʾahū wa-qaṣṣa ʿalayhi l-qaṣaṣa qāla lā takhaf najawta mina l-qawmi ẓ-ẓālimīna

Then one of the two women approached him, walking bashfully. She said, ‘Indeed my father invites you to pay you the wages for watering [our flock] for us.’ So when he came to him and recounted the story to him, he said, ‘Do not be afraid. You have been delivered from the wrongdoing lot.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qālat ʾiḥdāhumā yā-ʾabati staʾjirhu ʾinna khayra mani staʾjarta l-qawiyyu l-ʾamīnu

One of the two women said, ‘Father, hire him. Indeed the best you can hire is a powerful and trustworthy man.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qāla ʾinnī ʾurīdu ʾan ʾunkiḥaka ʾiḥdā bnatayya hātayni ʿalā ʾan taʾjuranī thamāniya ḥijajin fa-ʾin ʾatmamta ʿashran fa-min ʿindika wa-mā ʾurīdu ʾan ʾashuqqa ʿalayka sa-tajidunī ʾin shāʾa llāhu mina ṣ-ṣāliḥīna

He said, ‘Indeed I desire to marry you to one of these two daughters of mine, on condition that you hire yourself to me for eight years. And if you complete ten, that will be up to you, and I do not want to be hard on you. God willing, you will find me to a righteous person.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qāla dhālika baynī wa-baynaka ʾayyamā l-ʾajalayni qaḍaytu fa-lā ʿudwāna ʿalayya wa-llāhu ʿalā mā naqūlu wakīlun

He said, ‘This will be [by consent] between you and me. Whichever of the two terms I complete, there shall be no imposition upon me, and Allah is witness over what we say.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 389

fa-lammā qaḍā mūsā l-ʾajala wa-sāra bi-ʾahlihī ʾānasa min jānibi ṭ-ṭūri nāran qāla li-ʾahlihi mkuthū ʾinnī ʾānastu nāran laʿallī ʾātīkum minhā bi-khabarin ʾaw jadhwatin mina n-nāri laʿallakum taṣṭalūna

So when Moses completed the term and set out with his family, he descried a fire on the side of the mountain. He said to his family, ‘Wait! Indeed, I descry a fire! Maybe I will bring you some news from it, or a brand of fire so that you may warm yourselves.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-lammā ʾatāhā nūdiya min shāṭiʾi l-wādi l-ʾaymani fī l-buqʿati l-mubārakati mina sh-shajarati ʾan yā-mūsā ʾinnī ʾana llāhu rabbu l-ʿālamīna

When he approached it, he was called from the right bank of the valley in that blessed site from the tree: ‘Moses! Indeed I am Allah, the Lord of all the worlds!’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ʾan ʾalqi ʿaṣāka fa-lammā raʾāhā tahtazzu ka-ʾannahā jānnun wallā mudbiran wa-lam yuʿaqqib yā-mūsā ʾaqbil wa-lā takhaf ʾinnaka mina l-ʾāminīna

And: ‘Throw down your staff!’ And when he saw it wriggling as if it were a snake, he turned his back [to flee], without looking back. ‘Moses! Come forward, and do not be afraid. Indeed you are safe.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

usluk yadaka fī jaybika takhruj bayḍāʾa min ghayri sūʾin wa-ḍmum ʾilayka janāḥaka mina r-rahbi fa-dhānika burhānāni min rabbika ʾilā firʿawna wa-malaʾihī ʾinnahum kānū qawman fāsiqīna

‘Insert your hand into your shirt. It will emerge white, without any fault, and keep your arms drawn in awe to your sides. These shall be two proofs from your Lord to Pharaoh and his elite. They are indeed a transgressing lot.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qāla rabbi ʾinnī qataltu minhum nafsan fa-ʾakhāfu ʾan yaqtulūni

He said, ‘My Lord! Indeed, I have killed one of their men, so I fear they will kill me.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ʾakhī hārūnu huwa ʾafṣaḥu minnī lisānan fa-ʾarsilhu maʿiya ridʾan yuṣaddiqunī ʾinnī ʾakhāfu ʾan yukadhdhibūni

Aaron, my brother—he is more eloquent than me in speech. So send him with me as a helper to confirm me, for I fear that they will impugn me.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qāla sa-nashuddu ʿaḍudaka bi-ʾakhīka wa-najʿalu lakumā sulṭānan fa-lā yaṣilūna ʾilaykumā bi-ʾāyātinā ʾantumā wa-mani ttabaʿakumā l-ghālibūna

He said, ‘We will strengthen your arm by means of your brother, and invest both of you with such authority that they will not touch you. With the help of Our signs, you two, and those who follow the two of you, shall be the victors.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 390

fa-lammā jāʾahum mūsā bi-ʾāyātinā bayyinātin qālū mā hādhā ʾillā siḥrun muftaran wa-mā samiʿnā bi-hādhā fī ʾābāʾinā l-ʾawwalīna

When Moses brought them Our manifest signs, they said, ‘This is nothing but concocted magic. We never heard of such a thing among our forefathers.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-qāla mūsā rabbī ʾaʿlamu bi-man jāʾa bi-l-hudā min ʿindihī wa-man takūnu lahū ʿāqibatu d-dāri ʾinnahū lā yufliḥu ẓ-ẓālimūna

Moses said, ‘My Lord knows best who brings guidance from Him, and in whose favour the outcome of that abode will be. The wrongdoers will not be felicitous.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-qāla firʿawnu yā-ʾayyuhā l-malaʾu mā ʿalimtu lakum min ʾilāhin ghayrī fa-ʾawqid lī yā-hāmānu ʿalā ṭ-ṭīni fa-jʿal lī ṣarḥan laʿallī ʾaṭṭaliʿu ʾilā ʾilāhi mūsā wa-ʾinnī la-ʾaẓunnuhū mina l-kādhibīna

Pharaoh said, ‘O [members of the] elite! I do not know of any god that you may have besides me. Haman, light for me a fire over clay, and build me a tower so that I may take a look at Moses’ god, and indeed I consider him to be a liar!’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-stakbara huwa wa-junūduhū fī l-ʾarḍi bi-ghayri l-ḥaqqi wa-ẓannū ʾannahum ʾilaynā lā yurjaʿūna

He and his hosts unduly acted arrogantly in the land, and thought they would not be brought back to Us.

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-ʾakhadhnāhu wa-junūdahū fa-nabadhnāhum fī l-yammi fa-nẓur kayfa kāna ʿāqibatu ẓ-ẓālimīna

So We seized him and his hosts, and threw them into the sea. So observe how was the fate of the wrongdoers!

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-jaʿalnāhum ʾaʾimmatan yadʿūna ʾilā n-nāri wa-yawma l-qiyāmati lā yunṣarūna

We made them leaders who invite to the Fire, and on the Day of Resurrection they will not receive any help.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ʾatbaʿnāhum fī hādhihi d-dunyā laʿnatan wa-yawma l-qiyāmati hum mina l-maqbūḥīna

We made a curse pursue them in this world, and on the Day of Resurrection they will be among the disfigured.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-la-qad ʾātaynā mūsā l-kitāba min baʿdi mā ʾahlaknā l-qurūna l-ʾūlā baṣāʾira li-n-nāsi wa-hudan wa-raḥmatan laʿallahum yatadhakkarūna

Certainly We gave Moses the Book, after We had destroyed the former generations, as [a set of] eye-openers, guidance and mercy for mankind, so that they may take admonition.

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 391

wa-mā kunta bi-jānibi l-gharbiyyi ʾidh qaḍaynā ʾilā mūsā l-ʾamra wa-mā kunta mina sh-shāhidīna

You were not on the western side when We revealed the commandments to Moses, nor were you among the witnesses.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-lākinnā ʾanshaʾnā qurūnan fa-taṭāwala ʿalayhimu l-ʿumuru wa-mā kunta thāwiyan fī ʾahli madyana tatlū ʿalayhim ʾāyātinā wa-lākinnā kunnā mursilīna

But We brought forth other generations and time took its toll on them. You did not dwell among the people of Midian reciting to them Our signs, but it is We who are the senders [of the apostles].

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-mā kunta bi-jānibi ṭ-ṭūri ʾidh nādaynā wa-lākin raḥmatan min rabbika li-tundhira qawman mā ʾatāhum min nadhīrin min qablika laʿallahum yatadhakkarūna

And you were not on the side of the Mount when We called out [to Moses], but [We have sent you as] a mercy from your Lord that you may warn a people to whom there did not come any warner before you, so that they may take admonition.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-law-lā ʾan tuṣībahum muṣībatun bi-mā qaddamat ʾaydīhim fa-yaqūlū rabbanā law-lā ʾarsalta ʾilaynā rasūlan fa-nattabiʿa ʾāyātika wa-nakūna mina l-muʾminīna

And lest—if an affliction were to befall them because of what their hands have sent ahead —they should say, ‘Our Lord! Why did You not send us an apostle so that we might have followed Your signs and been among the faithful?’

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-lammā jāʾahumu l-ḥaqqu min ʿindinā qālū law-lā ʾūtiya mithla mā ʾūtiya mūsā ʾa-wa-lam yakfurū bi-mā ʾūtiya mūsā min qablu qālū siḥrāni taẓāharā wa-qālū ʾinnā bi-kullin kāfirūna

But when there came to them the truth from Us, they said, ‘Why has he not been given the like of what Moses was given?’ Did they not disbelieve what Moses was given before, and said, ‘Two magicians abetting each other,’ and said, ‘Indeed we disbelieve both of them’?

— Ali Quli Qarai

qul fa-ʾtū bi-kitābin min ʿindi llāhi huwa ʾahdā minhumā ʾattabiʿhu ʾin kuntum ṣādiqīna

Say, ‘If you are truthful, bring some Book from Allah better in guidance than the two on them so that I may follow it.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-ʾin lam yastajībū laka fa-ʿlam ʾannamā yattabiʿūna ʾahwāʾahum wa-man ʾaḍallu mimmani ttabaʿa hawāhu bi-ghayri hudan mina llāhi ʾinna llāha lā yahdī l-qawma ẓ-ẓālimīna

Then if they do not respond to you[r] [summons], know that they only follow their desires, and who is more astray than him who follows his desires without any guidance from Allah? Indeed Allah does not guide the wrongdoing lot.

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 392

wa-la-qad waṣṣalnā lahumu l-qawla laʿallahum yatadhakkarūna

Certainly We have carried on this discourse for them so that they may take admonition.

— Ali Quli Qarai

alladhīna ʾātaynāhumu l-kitāba min qablihī hum bihī yuʾminūna

Those to whom We gave the Book before it are the ones who believe in it,

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ʾidhā yutlā ʿalayhim qālū ʾāmannā bihī ʾinnahu l-ḥaqqu min rabbinā ʾinnā kunnā min qablihī muslimīna

and when it is recited to them, they say, ‘We believe in it. It is indeed the truth from our Lord. Indeed we were Muslims [even] before it [came].’

— Ali Quli Qarai

ʾulāʾika yuʾtawna ʾajrahum marratayni bi-mā ṣabarū wa-yadraʾūna bi-l-ḥasanati s-sayyiʾata wa-mimmā razaqnāhum yunfiqūna

Those will be given their reward two times for their patience. They repel evil [conduct] with good, and spend out of what We have provided them,

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ʾidhā samiʿū l-laghwa ʾaʿraḍū ʿanhu wa-qālū lanā ʾaʿmālunā wa-lakum ʾaʿmālukum salāmun ʿalaykum lā nabtaghī l-jāhilīna

and when they hear vain talk, they avoid it and say, ‘Our deeds belong to us, and your deeds belong to you. Peace be to you. We do not court the ignorant.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

ʾinnaka lā tahdī man ʾaḥbabta wa-lākinna llāha yahdī man yashāʾu wa-huwa ʾaʿlamu bi-l-muhtadīna

You cannot guide whomever you wish, but [it is] Allah [who] guides whomever He wishes, and He knows best those who are guided.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-qālū ʾin nattabiʿi l-hudā maʿaka nutakhaṭṭaf min ʾarḍinā ʾa-wa-lam numakkin lahum ḥaraman ʾāminan yujbā ʾilayhi thamarātu kulli shayʾin rizqan min ladunnā wa-lākinna ʾaktharahum lā yaʿlamūna

They say, ‘If we follow the guidance with you, we will be forced out of our territory.’ Did We not establish a secure sanctuary for them where fruits of all kinds are brought as a provision from Us? But most of them do not know.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-kam ʾahlaknā min qaryatin baṭirat maʿīshatahā fa-tilka masākinuhum lam tuskan min baʿdihim ʾillā qalīlan wa-kunnā naḥnu l-wārithīna

How many a town We have destroyed that exulted in its lifestyle! There lie their dwellings, uninhabited after them except by a few, and We were the [sole] inheritors.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-mā kāna rabbuka muhlika l-qurā ḥattā yabʿatha fī ʾummihā rasūlan yatlū ʿalayhim ʾāyātinā wa-mā kunnā muhlikī l-qurā ʾillā wa-ʾahluhā ẓālimūna

Your Lord would not destroy the towns until He had raised an apostle in their mother city to recite to them Our signs. We would never destroy the towns except when their people were wrongdoers.

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 393

wa-mā ʾūtītum min shayʾin fa-matāʿu l-ḥayāti d-dunyā wa-zīnatuhā wa-mā ʿinda llāhi khayrun wa-ʾabqā ʾa-fa-lā taʿqilūna

Whatever things you have been given are only the wares of the life of this world and its glitter, and what is with Allah is better and more lasting. Will you not exercise your reason?

— Ali Quli Qarai

ʾa-fa-man waʿadnāhu waʿdan ḥasanan fa-huwa lāqīhi ka-man mattaʿnāhu matāʿa l-ḥayāti d-dunyā thumma huwa yawma l-qiyāmati mina l-muḥḍarīna

Is he to whom We have given a good promise, which he will receive, like him whom We have provided the wares of the life of this world, but who will be arraigned on the Day of Resurrection?

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-yawma yunādīhim fa-yaqūlu ʾayna shurakāʾiya lladhīna kuntum tazʿumūna

The day He will call out to them and ask, ‘Where are My ‘partners’ that you used to claim?’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qāla lladhīna ḥaqqa ʿalayhimu l-qawlu rabbanā hāʾulāʾi lladhīna ʾaghwaynā ʾaghwaynāhum ka-mā ghawaynā tabarraʾnā ʾilayka mā kānū ʾiyyānā yaʿbudūna

Those against whom the word had become due will say, ‘Our Lord! These are the ones whom we have perverted. We perverted them as we were perverse ourselves. We repudiate them before You: it was not us that they worshipped.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-qīla dʿū shurakāʾakum fa-daʿawhum fa-lam yastajībū lahum wa-raʾawu l-ʿadhāba law ʾannahum kānū yahtadūna

It will be said, ‘Invoke your partners!’ So they will invoke them, but they will not respond to them, and they will sight the punishment, wishing they had followed guidance.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-yawma yunādīhim fa-yaqūlu mādhā ʾajabtumu l-mursalīna

The day He will call out to them and say, ‘What response did you give to the apostles?’

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-ʿamiyat ʿalayhimu l-ʾanbāʾu yawmaʾidhin fa-hum lā yatasāʾalūna

That day all information will be withheld from them, so they will not question one another.

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-ʾammā man tāba wa-ʾāmana wa-ʿamila ṣāliḥan fa-ʿasā ʾan yakūna mina l-mufliḥīna

As for him who repents, has faith and acts righteously, maybe he will be among the felicitous.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-rabbuka yakhluqu mā yashāʾu wa-yakhtāru mā kāna lahumu l-khiyaratu subḥāna llāhi wa-taʿālā ʿammā yushrikūna

Your Lord creates whatever He wishes and chooses: they have no choice. Immaculate is Allah and exalted above [having] any partners that they ascribe [to Him].

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-rabbuka yaʿlamu mā tukinnu ṣudūruhum wa-mā yuʿlinūna

Your Lord knows whatever their breasts conceal, and whatever they disclose.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-huwa llāhu lā ʾilāha ʾillā huwa lahu l-ḥamdu fī l-ʾūlā wa-l-ʾākhirati wa-lahu l-ḥukmu wa-ʾilayhi turjaʿūna

He is Allah, there is no god except Him. All praise belongs to Him in this world and the Hereafter. All judgement belongs to Him, and to Him you will be brought back.

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 394

qul ʾa-raʾaytum ʾin jaʿala llāhu ʿalaykumu l-layla sarmadan ʾilā yawmi l-qiyāmati man ʾilāhun ghayru llāhi yaʾtīkum bi-ḍiyāʾin ʾa-fa-lā tasmaʿūna

Say, ‘Tell me, if Allah were to make the night perpetual for you until the Day of Resurrection, what god other than Allah can bring you light? Will you not listen?’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qul ʾa-raʾaytum ʾin jaʿala llāhu ʿalaykumu n-nahāra sarmadan ʾilā yawmi l-qiyāmati man ʾilāhun ghayru llāhi yaʾtīkum bi-laylin taskunūna fīhi ʾa-fa-lā tubṣirūna

Say, ‘Tell me, if Allah were to make the day perpetual for you until the Day of Resurrection, what god other than Allah can bring you night wherein you can rest? Will you not perceive?’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-min raḥmatihī jaʿala lakumu l-layla wa-n-nahāra li-taskunū fīhi wa-li-tabtaghū min faḍlihī wa-laʿallakum tashkurūna

He has made for you the night and the day out of His mercy, so that you may rest therein and that you may seek His bounty and so that you may give thanks.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-yawma yunādīhim fa-yaqūlu ʾayna shurakāʾiya lladhīna kuntum tazʿumūna

The day He will call out to them and say, ‘Where are My ‘partners’ that you used to claim?’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-nazaʿnā min kulli ʾummatin shahīdan fa-qulnā hātū burhānakum fa-ʿalimū ʾanna l-ḥaqqa li-llāhi wa-ḍalla ʿanhum mā kānū yaftarūna

We shall draw from every nation a witness and say, ‘Produce your evidence.’ Then they will know that all reality belongs to Allah and what they used to fabricate will forsake them.

— Ali Quli Qarai

ʾinna qārūna kāna min qawmi mūsā fa-baghā ʿalayhim wa-ʾātaynāhu mina l-kunūzi mā ʾinna mafātiḥahū la-tanūʾu bi-l-ʿuṣbati ʾulī l-quwwati ʾidh qāla lahū qawmuhū lā tafraḥ ʾinna llāha lā yuḥibbu l-fariḥīna

Korah indeed belonged to the people of Moses, but he bullied them. We had given him so much treasures that their chests indeed proved heavy for a band of stalwarts. When his people said to him, ‘Do not boast! Indeed Allah does not like the boasters.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-btaghi fī-mā ʾātāka llāhu d-dāra l-ʾākhirata wa-lā tansa naṣībaka mina d-dunyā wa-ʾaḥsin ka-mā ʾaḥsana llāhu ʾilayka wa-lā tabghi l-fasāda fī l-ʾarḍi ʾinna llāha lā yuḥibbu l-mufsidīna

Seek the abode of the Hereafter by means of what Allah has given you, while not forgetting your share of this world. Be good [to others] just as Allah has been good to you, and do not try to cause corruption in the land. Indeed Allah does not like the agents of corruption.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 395

qāla ʾinnamā ʾūtītuhū ʿalā ʿilmin ʿindī ʾa-wa-lam yaʿlam ʾanna llāha qad ʾahlaka min qablihī mina l-qurūni man huwa ʾashaddu minhu quwwatan wa-ʾaktharu jamʿan wa-lā yusʾalu ʿan dhunūbihimu l-mujrimūna

He said, ‘I have indeed been given [all] this because of the knowledge that I have.’ Did he not know that Allah had already destroyed before him some of the generations who were more powerful than him and greater in amassing [wealth]? The guilty will not be questioned about their sins.

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-kharaja ʿalā qawmihī fī zīnatihī qāla lladhīna yurīdūna l-ḥayāta d-dunyā yā-layta lanā mithla mā ʾūtiya qārūnu ʾinnahū la-dhū ḥaẓẓin ʿaẓīmin

So he emerged before his people in his finery. Those who desired the life of the world said, ‘We wish we had like what Korah has been given! Indeed he is greatly fortunate.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-qāla lladhīna ʾūtū l-ʿilma waylakum thawābu llāhi khayrun li-man ʾāmana wa-ʿamila ṣāliḥan wa-lā yulaqqāhā ʾillā ṣ-ṣābirūna

Those who were given knowledge said [to them], ‘Woe to you! Allah’s reward is better for someone who has faith and acts righteously, and no one will receive it except the patient.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-khasafnā bihī wa-bi-dārihi l-ʾarḍa fa-mā kāna lahū min fiʾatin yanṣurūnahū min dūni llāhi wa-mā kāna mina l-muntaṣirīna

So We caused the earth to swallow him and his house, and he had no party that might protect him from Allah, nor could he rescue himself.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ʾaṣbaḥa lladhīna tamannaw makānahū bi-l-ʾamsi yaqūlūna way-ka-ʾanna llāha yabsuṭu r-rizqa li-man yashāʾu min ʿibādihī wa-yaqdiru law-lā ʾan manna llāhu ʿalaynā la-khasafa binā way-ka-ʾannahū lā yufliḥu l-kāfirūna

By dawn those who longed to be in his place the day before were saying, ‘Don’t you see that Allah expands the provision for whomever He wishes of His servants, and tightens it? Had Allah not shown us favour, He might have made the earth swallow us too. Don’t you see that the faithless do not prosper?’

— Ali Quli Qarai

tilka d-dāru l-ʾākhiratu najʿaluhā li-lladhīna lā yurīdūna ʿuluwwan fī l-ʾarḍi wa-lā fasādan wa-l-ʿāqibatu li-l-muttaqīna

This is the abode of the Hereafter, which We shall grant to those who do not desire to domineer in the earth nor to cause corruption, and the outcome will be in favour of the Godwary.

— Ali Quli Qarai

man jāʾa bi-l-ḥasanati fa-lahū khayrun minhā wa-man jāʾa bi-s-sayyiʾati fa-lā yujzā lladhīna ʿamilū s-sayyiʾāti ʾillā mā kānū yaʿmalūna

Whoever brings virtue shall receive [a reward] better than it, but whoever brings vice—those who commit misdeeds shall not be requited except for what they used to do.

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 396

ʾinna lladhī faraḍa ʿalayka l-qurʾāna la-rādduka ʾilā maʿādin qul rabbī ʾaʿlamu man jāʾa bi-l-hudā wa-man huwa fī ḍalālin mubīnin

Indeed He who has revealed to you the Quran will surely restore you to the place of return. Say, ‘My Lord knows best him who brings guidance and him who is in manifest error.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-mā kunta tarjū ʾan yulqā ʾilayka l-kitābu ʾillā raḥmatan min rabbika fa-lā takūnanna ẓahīran li-l-kāfirīna

You did not expect that the Book would be delivered to you; but it was a mercy from your Lord. So do not be ever an advocate of the faithless.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-lā yaṣuddunnaka ʿan ʾāyāti llāhi baʿda ʾidh ʾunzilat ʾilayka wa-dʿu ʾilā rabbika wa-lā takūnanna mina l-mushrikīna

Do not ever let them bar you from Allah’s signs after they have been sent down to you. Invite to your Lord, and never be one of the polytheists.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-lā tadʿu maʿa llāhi ʾilāhan ʾākhara lā ʾilāha ʾillā huwa kullu shayʾin hālikun ʾillā wajhahū lahu l-ḥukmu wa-ʾilayhi turjaʿūna

And do not invoke another god besides Allah; there is no god except Him. Everything is to perish except His Face. All judgement belongs to Him, and to Him you will be brought back.

— Ali Quli Qarai