40GhāfirغافرVerse 1 of 85

The Forgiver40. Ghāfirغافر

Ghāfir

al-Ghāfir

The Forgiver

Meccan85 verses40 / 114

40

Page 467

ḥ-m (ḥā mīm)

Ha, Meem.

— Ali Quli Qarai

tanzīlu l-kitābi mina llāhi l-ʿazīzi l-ʿalīmi

The [gradual] sending down of the Book is from Allah, the All-mighty, the All-knowing,

— Ali Quli Qarai

ghāfiri dh-dhanbi wa-qābili t-tawbi shadīdi l-ʿiqābi dhī ṭ-ṭawli lā ʾilāha ʾillā huwa ʾilayhi l-maṣīru

forgiver of sins and acceptor of repentance, severe in retribution, [yet] all-bountiful; there is no god except Him, [and] toward Him is the destination.

— Ali Quli Qarai

mā yujādilu fī ʾāyāti llāhi ʾillā lladhīna kafarū fa-lā yaghrurka taqallubuhum fī l-bilādi

No one disputes the signs of Allah except the faithless. So do not be misled by their bustle in the towns.

— Ali Quli Qarai

kadhdhabat qablahum qawmu nūḥin wa-l-ʾaḥzābu min baʿdihim wa-hammat kullu ʾummatin bi-rasūlihim li-yaʾkhudhūhu wa-jādalū bi-l-bāṭili li-yudḥiḍū bihi l-ḥaqqa fa-ʾakhadhtuhum fa-kayfa kāna ʿiqābi

The people of Noah denied before them and the [heathen] factions [who came] after them. Every nation attempted to lay hands on their apostle, and disputed erroneously to refute the truth. Then I seized them; so how was My retribution?!

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ka-dhālika ḥaqqat kalimatu rabbika ʿalā lladhīna kafarū ʾannahum ʾaṣḥābu n-nāri

That is how the word of your Lord became due concerning the faithless, that they shall be inmates of the Fire.

— Ali Quli Qarai

alladhīna yaḥmilūna l-ʿarsha wa-man ḥawlahū yusabbiḥūna bi-ḥamdi rabbihim wa-yuʾminūna bihī wa-yastaghfirūna li-lladhīna ʾāmanū rabbanā wasiʿta kulla shayʾin raḥmatan wa-ʿilman fa-ghfir li-lladhīna tābū wa-ttabaʿū sabīlaka wa-qihim ʿadhāba l-jaḥīmi

Those who bear the Throne, and those who are around it, celebrate the praise of their Lord and have faith in Him, and they plead for forgiveness for the faithful: ‘Our Lord! You embrace all things in mercy and knowledge. So forgive those who repent and follow Your way and save them from the punishment of hell.

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 468

rabbanā wa-ʾadkhilhum jannāti ʿadnin-i llatī waʿadtahum wa-man ṣalaḥa min ʾābāʾihim wa-ʾazwājihim wa-dhurriyyātihim ʾinnaka ʾanta l-ʿazīzu l-ḥakīmu

Our Lord! Admit them into the Gardens of Eden, which You have promised them, along with whoever is righteous among their forebears, their spouses and their descendants. Indeed You are the All-mighty, the All-wise.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-qihimu s-sayyiʾāti wa-man taqi s-sayyiʾāti yawmaʾidhin fa-qad raḥimtahū wa-dhālika huwa l-fawzu l-ʿaẓīmu

Save them from the ills [of the Day of Retribution]; and whomever You save from the ills that day, You will have had mercy upon him, and that is the great triumph.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

ʾinna lladhīna kafarū yunādawna la-maqtu llāhi ʾakbaru min maqtikum ʾanfusakum ʾidh tudʿawna ʾilā l-ʾīmāni fa-takfurūna

It will be proclaimed to the faithless: ‘Surely, Allah’s outrage [towards you] is greater than your outrage towards yourselves, as you were invited to faith, but you disbelieved.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qālū rabbanā ʾamattanā thnatayni wa-ʾaḥyaytanā thnatayni fa-ʿtarafnā bi-dhunūbinā fa-hal ʾilā khurūjin min sabīlin

They will say, ‘Our Lord! Twice did You make us die, and twice did You give us life. We admit our sins. Is there any way out [from this plight]?’

— Ali Quli Qarai

dhālikum bi-ʾannahū ʾidhā duʿiya llāhu waḥdahū kafartum wa-ʾin yushrak bihī tuʾminū fa-l-ḥukmu li-llāhi l-ʿaliyyi l-kabīri

[They will be told,] ‘This [plight of yours] is because, when Allah was invoked alone, you would disbelieve, but if partners were ascribed to Him you would believe. So the judgment belongs to Allah, the All-exalted, the All-great.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

huwa lladhī yurīkum ʾāyātihī wa-yunazzilu lakum mina s-samāʾi rizqan wa-mā yatadhakkaru ʾillā man yunību

It is He who shows you His signs and sends down provision for you from the sky. Yet no one takes admonition except those who return penitently [to Allah].

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-dʿū llāha mukhliṣīna lahu d-dīna wa-law kariha l-kāfirūna

So supplicate Allah, putting exclusive faith in Him, though the faithless should be averse.

— Ali Quli Qarai

rafīʿu d-darajāti dhū l-ʿarshi yulqī r-rūḥa min ʾamrihī ʿalā man yashāʾu min ʿibādihī li-yundhira yawma t-talāqi

Raiser of ranks, Lord of the Throne, He casts the Spirit of His command upon whomever of His servants that He wishes, that he may warn [people] of the Day of Encounter.

— Ali Quli Qarai

yawma hum bārizūna lā yakhfā ʿalā llāhi minhum shayʾun li-mani l-mulku l-yawma li-llāhi l-wāḥidi l-qahhāri

The day when they will emerge [from their graves], nothing about them will be hidden from Allah. ‘To whom does the sovereignty belong today?’ ‘To Allah, the One, the All-paramount!’

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 469

al-yawma tujzā kullu nafsin bi-mā kasabat lā ẓulma l-yawma ʾinna llāha sarīʿu l-ḥisābi

‘Today every soul shall be requited for what it has earned. There will be no injustice today. Indeed Allah is swift at reckoning.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ʾandhirhum yawma l-ʾāzifati ʾidhi l-qulūbu ladā l-ḥanājiri kāẓimīna mā li-ẓ-ẓālimīna min ḥamīmin wa-lā shafīʿin yuṭāʿu

Warn them of the Approaching Day, when the hearts will be at the throats, choking with suppressed agony, [and] the wrongdoers will have no sympathizer, nor any intercessor who might be heard.

— Ali Quli Qarai

yaʿlamu khāʾinata l-ʾaʿyuni wa-mā tukhfī ṣ-ṣudūru

He knows the treachery of the eyes, and what the breasts hide.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-llāhu yaqḍī bi-l-ḥaqqi wa-lladhīna yadʿūna min dūnihī lā yaqḍūna bi-shayʾin ʾinna llāha huwa s-samīʿu l-baṣīru

Allah judges with justice, while those whom they invoke besides Him do not judge by anything. Indeed it is Allah who is the All-hearing, the All-seeing.

— Ali Quli Qarai

ʾa-wa-lam yasīrū fī l-ʾarḍi fa-yanẓurū kayfa kāna ʿāqibatu lladhīna kānū min qablihim kānū hum ʾashadda minhum quwwatan wa-ʾāthāran fī l-ʾarḍi fa-ʾakhadhahumu llāhu bi-dhunūbihim wa-mā kāna lahum mina llāhi min wāqin

Have they not travelled through the land so that they may observe how was the fate of those who were before them? They were greater than them in might and with respect to the effects [they left] in the land. But then Allah seized them for their sins, and they had no defender against Allah [’s punishment].

— Ali Quli Qarai

dhālika bi-ʾannahum kānat taʾtīhim rusuluhum bi-l-bayyināti fa-kafarū fa-ʾakhadhahumu llāhu ʾinnahū qawiyyun shadīdu l-ʿiqābi

That was because their apostles used to bring them manifest proofs, but they defied [them]. So Allah seized them. Indeed He is all-strong, severe in retribution.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-la-qad ʾarsalnā mūsā bi-ʾāyātinā wa-sulṭānin mubīnin

Certainly We sent Moses with Our signs and a manifest authority

— Ali Quli Qarai

ʾilā firʿawna wa-hāmāna wa-qārūna fa-qālū sāḥirun kadhdhābun

to Pharaoh, Haman and Korah, but they said, ‘A magician and a mendacious liar.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-lammā jāʾahum bi-l-ḥaqqi min ʿindinā qālū qtulū ʾabnāʾa lladhīna ʾāmanū maʿahū wa-staḥyū nisāʾahum wa-mā kaydu l-kāfirīna ʾillā fī ḍalālin

So when he brought them the truth from Us, they said, ‘Kill the sons of the faithful who are with him, and spare their women.’ But the stratagems of the faithless only go awry.

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 470

wa-qāla firʿawnu dharūnī ʾaqtul mūsā wa-l-yadʿu rabbahū ʾinnī ʾakhāfu ʾan yubaddila dīnakum ʾaw ʾan yuẓhira fī l-ʾarḍi l-fasāda

And Pharaoh said, ‘Let me slay Moses, and let him invoke his Lord. Indeed I fear that he will change your religion, or bring forth corruption in our land.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-qāla mūsā ʾinnī ʿudhtu bi-rabbī wa-rabbikum min kulli mutakabbirin lā yuʾminu bi-yawmi l-ḥisābi

Moses said, ‘I seek the protection of my Lord and your Lord from every arrogant one who does not believe in the Day of Reckoning.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-qāla rajulun muʾminun min ʾāli firʿawna yaktumu ʾīmānahū ʾa-taqtulūna rajulan ʾan yaqūla rabbiya llāhu wa-qad jāʾakum bi-l-bayyināti min rabbikum wa-ʾin yaku kādhiban fa-ʿalayhi kadhibuhū wa-ʾin yaku ṣādiqan yuṣibkum baʿḍu lladhī yaʿidukum ʾinna llāha lā yahdī man huwa musrifun kadhdhābun

Said a man of faith from Pharaoh’s clan, who concealed his faith, ‘Will you kill a man for saying, ‘‘My Lord is Allah,’’ while he has already brought you manifest proofs from your Lord? Should he be lying, his falsehood will be to his own detriment; but if he is truthful, there shall visit you some of what he promises you. Indeed Allah does not guide someone who is a transgressor and liar.

— Ali Quli Qarai

yā-qawmi lakumu l-mulku l-yawma ẓāhirīna fī l-ʾarḍi fa-man yanṣurunā min baʾsi llāhi ʾin jāʾanā qāla firʿawnu mā ʾurīkum ʾillā mā ʾarā wa-mā ʾahdīkum ʾillā sabīla r-rashādi

O my people! Today sovereignty belongs to you, and you are dominant in the land. But who will save us from Allah’s punishment should it overtake us?’ Pharaoh said, ‘I just point out to you what I see [to be advisable for you], and I guide you only to the way of rectitude.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-qāla lladhī ʾāmana yā-qawmi ʾinnī ʾakhāfu ʿalaykum mithla yawmi l-ʾaḥzābi

He who had faith said, ‘O my people! Indeed I fear for you [a day] like the day of the [heathen] factions;

— Ali Quli Qarai

mithla daʾbi qawmi nūḥin wa-ʿādin wa-thamūda wa-lladhīna min baʿdihim wa-mā llāhu yurīdu ẓulman li-l-ʿibādi

like the case of the people of Noah, of Ad and Thamud, and those who came after them, and Allah does not desire any wrong for [His] servants.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-yā-qawmi ʾinnī ʾakhāfu ʿalaykum yawma t-tanādi

O my people! I fear for you a day of mutual distress calls,

— Ali Quli Qarai

yawma tuwallūna mudbirīna mā lakum mina llāhi min ʿāṣimin wa-man yuḍlili llāhu fa-mā lahū min hādin

a day when you will turn back [to flee], not having anyone to protect you from Allah, and whomever Allah leads astray has no guide.

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 471

wa-la-qad jāʾakum yūsufu min qablu bi-l-bayyināti fa-mā ziltum fī shakkin mimmā jāʾakum bihī ḥattā ʾidhā halaka qultum lan yabʿatha llāhu min baʿdihī rasūlan ka-dhālika yuḍillu llāhu man huwa musrifun murtābun-i

Certainly Joseph brought you manifest proofs earlier, but you continued to remain in doubt concerning what he had brought you. When he died, you said, ‘‘Allah will never send any apostle after him.’’ That is how Allah leads astray those who are unrestrained and skeptical.

— Ali Quli Qarai

alladhīna yujādilūna fī ʾāyāti llāhi bi-ghayri sulṭānin ʾatāhum kabura maqtan ʿinda llāhi wa-ʿinda lladhīna ʾāmanū ka-dhālika yaṭbaʿu llāhu ʿalā kulli qalbi mutakabbirin jabbārin

Those who dispute the signs of Allah without any authority that may have come to them—[that is] greatly outrageous to Allah and to those who have faith. That is how Allah seals the heart of every arrogant tyrant.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-qāla firʿawnu yā-hāmānu bni lī ṣarḥan laʿallī ʾablughu l-ʾasbāba

Pharaoh said, ‘O Haman! Build me a tower so that I may reach the routes

— Ali Quli Qarai

ʾasbāba s-samāwāti fa-ʾaṭṭaliʿa ʾilā ʾilāhi mūsā wa-ʾinnī la-ʾaẓunnuhū kādhiban wa-ka-dhālika zuyyina li-firʿawna sūʾu ʿamalihī wa-ṣudda ʿani s-sabīli wa-mā kaydu firʿawna ʾillā fī tabābin

—the routes of the heavens—and take a look at the God of Moses, and indeed I consider him a liar.’ The evil of his conduct was thus presented as decorous to Pharaoh, and he was kept from the way [of Allah]. Pharaoh’s stratagems only led him into ruin.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-qāla lladhī ʾāmana yā-qawmi ttabiʿūni ʾahdikum sabīla r-rashādi

And he who had faith said, ‘O my people! Follow me; I will guide you to the way of rectitude.

— Ali Quli Qarai

yā-qawmi ʾinnamā hādhihi l-ḥayātu d-dunyā matāʿun wa-ʾinna l-ʾākhirata hiya dāru l-qarāri

O my people! This life of the world is only a [passing] enjoyment, and indeed the Hereafter is the abiding home.

— Ali Quli Qarai

man ʿamila sayyiʾatan fa-lā yujzā ʾillā mithlahā wa-man ʿamila ṣāliḥan min dhakarin ʾaw ʾunthā wa-huwa muʾminun fa-ʾulāʾika yadkhulūna l-jannata yurzaqūna fīhā bi-ghayri ḥisābin

Whoever commits a misdeed shall not be requited except with its like, but whoever acts righteously, whether male or female, should he be faithful—such shall enter paradise, and they will be provided therein without any reckoning.

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 472

wa-yā-qawmi mā lī ʾadʿūkum ʾilā n-najāti wa-tadʿūnanī ʾilā n-nāri

O my people! [Think,] what makes me invite you to deliverance, while you invite me toward the Fire?

— Ali Quli Qarai

tadʿūnanī li-ʾakfura bi-llāhi wa-ʾushrika bihī mā laysa lī bihī ʿilmun wa-ʾana ʾadʿūkum ʾilā l-ʿazīzi l-ghaffāri

You invite me to defy Allah and to ascribe to Him partners of which I have no knowledge, while I call you to the All-mighty, the All-forgiver.

— Ali Quli Qarai

lā jarama ʾannamā tadʿūnanī ʾilayhi laysa lahū daʿwatun fī d-dunyā wa-lā fī l-ʾākhirati wa-ʾanna maraddanā ʾilā llāhi wa-ʾanna l-musrifīna hum ʾaṣḥābu n-nāri

Undoubtedly, that to which you invite me has no invitation in the world nor in the Hereafter, and indeed our return will be to Allah, and indeed it is the transgressors who will be inmates of the Fire.

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-sa-tadhkurūna mā ʾaqūlu lakum wa-ʾufawwiḍu ʾamrī ʾilā llāhi ʾinna llāha baṣīrun bi-l-ʿibādi

Soon you will remember what I tell you, and I entrust my affair to Allah. Indeed Allah watches His servants.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-waqāhu llāhu sayyiʾāti mā makarū wa-ḥāqa bi-ʾāli firʿawna sūʾu l-ʿadhābi

Then Allah saved him from their evil schemes, while a terrible punishment besieged Pharaoh’s clan:

— Ali Quli Qarai

an-nāru yuʿraḍūna ʿalayhā ghuduwwan wa-ʿashiyyan wa-yawma taqūmu s-sāʿatu ʾadkhilū ʾāla firʿawna ʾashadda l-ʿadhābi

the Fire, to which they are exposed morning and evening. On the day when the Hour sets in, Pharaoh’s clan will enter the severest punishment.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ʾidh yataḥājjūna fī n-nāri fa-yaqūlu ḍ-ḍuʿafāʾu li-lladhīna stakbarū ʾinnā kunnā lakum tabaʿan fa-hal ʾantum mughnūna ʿannā naṣīban mina n-nāri

When they argue in the Fire, the oppressed will say to the oppressors, ‘We used to follow you; will you avail us against any portion of the Fire?’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qāla lladhīna stakbarū ʾinnā kullun fīhā ʾinna llāha qad ḥakama bayna l-ʿibādi

The oppressors will say, ‘We are all in it [together]; Allah has judged between [His] servants.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-qāla lladhīna fī n-nāri li-khazanati jahannama dʿū rabbakum yukhaffif ʿannā yawman mina l-ʿadhābi

Those who are in the Fire will say to the keepers of hell, ‘Invoke your Lord to lighten for us [at least] a day’s punishment.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 473

qālū ʾa-wa-lam taku taʾtīkum rusulukum bi-l-bayyināti qālū balā qālū fa-dʿū wa-mā duʿāʾu l-kāfirīna ʾillā fī ḍalālin

They will say, ‘Had not your apostles brought you manifest proofs?’ They will say, ‘Yes.’ They will say, ‘Then invoke [Him] yourselves.’ But the invocations of the faithless only go awry.

— Ali Quli Qarai

ʾinnā la-nanṣuru rusulanā wa-lladhīna ʾāmanū fī l-ḥayāti d-dunyā wa-yawma yaqūmu l-ʾashhādu

Indeed We shall help Our apostles and those who have faith in the life of the world and on the day when the witnesses rise up,

— Ali Quli Qarai

yawma lā yanfaʿu ẓ-ẓālimīna maʿdhiratuhum wa-lahumu l-laʿnatu wa-lahum sūʾu d-dāri

the day when the excuses of the wrongdoers will not benefit them, the curse will lie on them, and for them will be the ills of the [ultimate] abode.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-la-qad ʾātaynā mūsā l-hudā wa-ʾawrathnā banī ʾisrāʾīla l-kitāba

Certainly We gave guidance to Moses and We gave the Children of Israel the Book as a legacy,

— Ali Quli Qarai

hudan wa-dhikrā li-ʾulī l-ʾalbābi

as guidance and admonition for those who possess intellect.

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-ṣbir ʾinna waʿda llāhi ḥaqqun wa-staghfir li-dhanbika wa-sabbiḥ bi-ḥamdi rabbika bi-l-ʿashiyyi wa-l-ʾibkāri

So be patient! Allah’s promise is indeed true. Plead [Allah] for forgiveness of your sin, and celebrate the praise of your Lord morning and evening.

— Ali Quli Qarai

ʾinna lladhīna yujādilūna fī ʾāyāti llāhi bi-ghayri sulṭānin ʾatāhum ʾin fī ṣudūrihim ʾillā kibrun mā hum bi-bālighīhi fa-staʿidh bi-llāhi ʾinnahū huwa s-samīʿu l-baṣīru

Indeed those who dispute the signs of Allah without any authority that may have come to them—there is [an ambition for] greatness in their breasts, which they will never attain. So seek the protection of Allah; indeed, He is the All-hearing, the All-seeing.

— Ali Quli Qarai

la-khalqu s-samāwāti wa-l-ʾarḍi ʾakbaru min khalqi n-nāsi wa-lākinna ʾakthara n-nāsi lā yaʿlamūna

The creation of the heavens and the earth is surely more prodigious than the creation of mankind, but most people do not know.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-mā yastawī l-ʾaʿmā wa-l-baṣīru wa-lladhīna ʾāmanū wa-ʿamilū ṣ-ṣāliḥāti wa-lā l-musīʾu qalīlan mā tatadhakkarūna

The blind one and the seer are not equal, neither are the evildoers and those who have faith and do righteous deeds. Little is the admonition that you take!

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 474

ʾinna s-sāʿata la-ʾātiyatun lā rayba fīhā wa-lākinna ʾakthara n-nāsi lā yuʾminūna

Indeed the Hour is bound to come; there is no doubt in it. But most people do not believe.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-qāla rabbukumu dʿūnī ʾastajib lakum ʾinna lladhīna yastakbirūna ʿan ʿibādatī sa-yadkhulūna jahannama dākhirīna

Your Lord has said, ‘Call Me, and I will hear you!’ Indeed those who are disdainful of My worship will enter hell in utter humiliation.

— Ali Quli Qarai

allāhu lladhī jaʿala lakumu l-layla li-taskunū fīhi wa-n-nahāra mubṣiran ʾinna llāha la-dhū faḍlin ʿalā n-nāsi wa-lākinna ʾakthara n-nāsi lā yashkurūna

It is Allah who made the night for you, that you may rest in it, and the day to provide visibility. Indeed Allah is gracious to mankind, but most people do not give thanks.

— Ali Quli Qarai

dhālikumu llāhu rabbukum khāliqu kulli shayʾin lā ʾilāha ʾillā huwa fa-ʾannā tuʾfakūna

That is Allah, your Lord, the creator of all things, there is no god except Him. Then where do you stray?

— Ali Quli Qarai

ka-dhālika yuʾfaku lladhīna kānū bi-ʾāyāti llāhi yajḥadūna

Those who were used to impugning the signs of Allah are thus made to go astray.

— Ali Quli Qarai

allāhu lladhī jaʿala lakumu l-ʾarḍa qarāran wa-s-samāʾa bināʾan wa-ṣawwarakum fa-ʾaḥsana ṣuwarakum wa-razaqakum mina ṭ-ṭayyibāti dhālikumu llāhu rabbukum fa-tabāraka llāhu rabbu l-ʿālamīna

It is Allah who made for you the earth an abode and the sky a canopy. He formed you and perfected your forms, and provided you with all the good things. That is Allah, your Lord! Blessed is Allah, Lord of all the worlds!

— Ali Quli Qarai

huwa l-ḥayyu lā ʾilāha ʾillā huwa fa-dʿūhu mukhliṣīna lahu d-dīna l-ḥamdu li-llāhi rabbi l-ʿālamīna

He is the Living One, there is no god except Him. So supplicate Him, putting exclusive faith in Him. All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all the worlds.

— Ali Quli Qarai

qul ʾinnī nuhītu ʾan ʾaʿbuda lladhīna tadʿūna min dūni llāhi lammā jāʾaniya l-bayyinātu min rabbī wa-ʾumirtu ʾan ʾuslima li-rabbi l-ʿālamīna

Say, ‘I have been forbidden to worship those whom you invoke besides Allah, as manifest proofs have come to me from my Lord, and I have been commanded to submit to the Lord of all the worlds.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 475

huwa lladhī khalaqakum min turābin thumma min nuṭfatin thumma min ʿalaqatin thumma yukhrijukum ṭiflan thumma li-tablughū ʾashuddakum thumma li-takūnū shuyūkhan wa-minkum man yutawaffā min qablu wa-li-tablughū ʾajalan musamman wa-laʿallakum taʿqilūna

It is He who created you from dust, then from a drop of [seminal] fluid, then from a clinging mass, then He brings you forth as infants, then [He nurtures you] so that you may come of age, and then that you may become aged—though there are some of you who die earlier—and complete a specified term, and so that you may exercise your reason.

— Ali Quli Qarai

huwa lladhī yuḥyī wa-yumītu fa-ʾidhā qaḍā ʾamran fa-ʾinnamā yaqūlu lahū kun fa-yakūnu

It is He who gives life and brings death. When He decides on a matter, He just says to it, ‘Be!’ and it is.

— Ali Quli Qarai

ʾa-lam tara ʾilā lladhīna yujādilūna fī ʾāyāti llāhi ʾannā yuṣrafūna

Have you not regarded those who dispute the signs of Allah, where they are being led away [from Allah’s way]?

— Ali Quli Qarai

alladhīna kadhdhabū bi-l-kitābi wa-bi-mā ʾarsalnā bihī rusulanā fa-sawfa yaʿlamūna

—Those who deny the Book and what we have sent with Our apostles. Soon they will know

— Ali Quli Qarai

ʾidhi l-ʾaghlālu fī ʾaʿnāqihim wa-s-salāsilu yusḥabūna

when they are dragged [with] iron collars and chains around their necks

— Ali Quli Qarai

fī l-ḥamīmi thumma fī n-nāri yusjarūna

into scalding waters and then set aflame in the Fire.

— Ali Quli Qarai

thumma qīla lahum ʾayna mā kuntum tushrikūna

Then they will be told, ‘Where are they whom you used to worship as deities

— Ali Quli Qarai

min dūni llāhi qālū ḍallū ʿannā bal lam nakun nadʿū min qablu shayʾan ka-dhālika yuḍillu llāhu l-kāfirīna

besides Allah?’ They will say, ‘They have forsaken us. No, we did not invoke anything before.’ That is how Allah leads the faithless astray.

— Ali Quli Qarai

dhālikum bi-mā kuntum tafraḥūna fī l-ʾarḍi bi-ghayri l-ḥaqqi wa-bi-mā kuntum tamraḥūna

‘That [punishment] is because you used to boast unduly on the earth and because you used to strut.

— Ali Quli Qarai

udkhulū ʾabwāba jahannama khālidīna fīhā fa-biʾsa mathwā l-mutakabbirīna

Enter the gates of hell, to remain in it [forever].’ Evil is the [final] abode of the arrogant.

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-ṣbir ʾinna waʿda llāhi ḥaqqun fa-ʾimmā nuriyannaka baʿḍa lladhī naʿiduhum ʾaw natawaffayannaka fa-ʾilaynā yurjaʿūna

So be patient! Allah’s promise is indeed true. Whether We show you a part of what We promise them, or take you away [before that], [in any case] they will be brought back to Us.

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 476

wa-la-qad ʾarsalnā rusulan min qablika minhum man qaṣaṣnā ʿalayka wa-minhum man lam naqṣuṣ ʿalayka wa-mā kāna li-rasūlin ʾan yaʾtiya bi-ʾāyatin ʾillā bi-ʾidhni llāhi fa-ʾidhā jāʾa ʾamru llāhi quḍiya bi-l-ḥaqqi wa-khasira hunālika l-mubṭilūna

Certainly We have sent apostles before you. Of them are those We have recounted to you, and of them are those We have not recounted to you. An apostle may not bring any sign except by Allah’s permission. Hence, when Allah’s edict comes, judgment is made with justice, and it is thence that the falsifiers become losers.

— Ali Quli Qarai

allāhu lladhī jaʿala lakumu l-ʾanʿāma li-tarkabū minhā wa-minhā taʾkulūna

It is Allah who created the cattle for you that you may ride some of them, and some of them you eat;

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-lakum fīhā manāfiʿu wa-li-tablughū ʿalayhā ḥājatan fī ṣudūrikum wa-ʿalayhā wa-ʿalā l-fulki tuḥmalūna

and there are [numerous] uses in them for you, and that over them you may satisfy any need that is in your breasts, and you are carried on them and on ships.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-yurīkum ʾāyātihī fa-ʾayya ʾāyāti llāhi tunkirūna

He shows you His signs. So which of the signs of Allah do you deny?

— Ali Quli Qarai

ʾa-fa-lam yasīrū fī l-ʾarḍi fa-yanẓurū kayfa kāna ʿāqibatu lladhīna min qablihim kānū ʾakthara minhum wa-ʾashadda quwwatan wa-ʾāthāran fī l-ʾarḍi fa-mā ʾaghnā ʿanhum mā kānū yaksibūna

Have they not travelled over the land so that they may observe how was the fate of those who were before them? They were more numerous than them and were greater [than them] in power and with respect to the effects [they left] in the land. But what they used to earn did not avail them.

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-lammā jāʾathum rusuluhum bi-l-bayyināti fariḥū bi-mā ʿindahum mina l-ʿilmi wa-ḥāqa bihim mā kānū bihī yastahziʾūna

When their apostles brought them manifest proofs, they boasted about the knowledge they possessed, but they were besieged by what they used to deride.

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-lammā raʾaw baʾsanā qālū ʾāmannā bi-llāhi waḥdahū wa-kafarnā bi-mā kunnā bihī mushrikīna

Then, when they sighted Our punishment, they said, ‘We believe in Allah alone, and disavow what we used to take as His partners.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-lam yaku yanfaʿuhum ʾīmānuhum lammā raʾaw baʾsanā sunnata llāhi llatī qad khalat fī ʿibādihī wa-khasira hunālika l-kāfirūna

But their faith was of no benefit to them when they sighted Our punishment—Allah’s precedent, which has passed among His servants, and it is thence that the faithless will be losers.

— Ali Quli Qarai