6Al-'AnʿāmالأنعامVerse 1 of 165

The Cattle6. Al-'Anʿāmالأنعام

Al-'Anʿām

Al An‘ām

The Cattle

Meccan165 verses6 / 114

6

Page 128

al-ḥamdu li-llāhi lladhī khalaqa s-samāwāti wa-l-ʾarḍa wa-jaʿala ẓ-ẓulumāti wa-n-nūra thumma lladhīna kafarū bi-rabbihim yaʿdilūna

All praise belongs to Allah who created the heavens and the earth and made the darkness and the light. Yet the faithless equate [others] with their Lord.

— Ali Quli Qarai

huwa lladhī khalaqakum min ṭīnin thumma qaḍā ʾajalan wa-ʾajalun musamman ʿindahū thumma ʾantum tamtarūna

It is He who created you from clay, then ordained the term [of your life]—the specified term is with Him—and yet you are in doubt.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-huwa llāhu fī s-samāwāti wa-fī l-ʾarḍi yaʿlamu sirrakum wa-jahrakum wa-yaʿlamu mā taksibūna

He is Allah in the heavens and on the earth: He knows your secret and your overt [matters], and He knows what you earn.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-mā taʾtīhim min ʾāyatin min ʾāyāti rabbihim ʾillā kānū ʿanhā muʿriḍīna

There did not come to them any sign from among the signs of their Lord, but that they used to disregard it.

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-qad kadhdhabū bi-l-ḥaqqi lammā jāʾahum fa-sawfa yaʾtīhim ʾanbāʾu mā kānū bihī yastahziʾūna

They have certainly denied the truth when it came to them, but soon there will come to them the news of what they have been deriding.

— Ali Quli Qarai

ʾa-lam yaraw kam ʾahlaknā min qablihim min qarnin makkannāhum fī l-ʾarḍi mā lam numakkin lakum wa-ʾarsalnā s-samāʾa ʿalayhim midrāran wa-jaʿalnā l-ʾanhāra tajrī min taḥtihim fa-ʾahlaknāhum bi-dhunūbihim wa-ʾanshaʾnā min baʿdihim qarnan ʾākharīna

Have they not regarded how many a generation We have destroyed before them whom We had granted power in the land in respects that We did not grant you, and We sent abundant rains for them from the sky and made streams run for them? Then We destroyed them for their sins, and brought forth another generation after them.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-law nazzalnā ʿalayka kitāban fī qirṭāsin fa-lamasūhu bi-ʾaydīhim la-qāla lladhīna kafarū ʾin hādhā ʾillā siḥrun mubīnun

Had We sent down to you a Book on paper so they could touch it with their [own] hands, [still] the faithless would have said, ‘This is nothing but plain magic.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-qālū law-lā ʾunzila ʿalayhi malakun wa-law ʾanzalnā malakan la-quḍiya l-ʾamru thumma lā yunẓarūna

They say, ‘Why has not an angel been sent down to him?’ Were We to send down an angel, the matter would surely be decided, and then they would not be granted any respite.

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 129

wa-law jaʿalnāhu malakan la-jaʿalnāhu rajulan wa-la-labasnā ʿalayhim mā yalbisūna

Had We made him an angel, We would have surely made him a man, and We would have surely confounded them just as they confound [the truth now].

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-la-qadi stuhziʾa bi-rusulin min qablika fa-ḥāqa bi-lladhīna sakhirū minhum mā kānū bihī yastahziʾūna

Apostles were certainly derided before you. Then those who ridiculed them were besieged by what they used to deride.

— Ali Quli Qarai

qul sīrū fī l-ʾarḍi thumma nẓurū kayfa kāna ʿāqibatu l-mukadhdhibīna

Say, ‘Travel over the land, and then observe how was the fate of the deniers.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qul li-man mā fī s-samāwāti wa-l-ʾarḍi qul li-llāhi kataba ʿalā nafsihi r-raḥmata la-yajmaʿannakum ʾilā yawmi l-qiyāmati lā rayba fīhi lladhīna khasirū ʾanfusahum fa-hum lā yuʾminūna

Say, ‘To whom belongs whatever is in the heavens and the earth?’ Say, ‘To Allah. He has made mercy incumbent upon Himself. He will surely gather you on the Day of Resurrection, in which there is no doubt. Those who have ruined their souls will not have faith.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-lahū mā sakana fī l-layli wa-n-nahāri wa-huwa s-samīʿu l-ʿalīmu

To Him belongs whatever abides in the night and the day, and He is the All-hearing, the All-knowing.

— Ali Quli Qarai

qul ʾa-ghayra llāhi ʾattakhidhu waliyyan fāṭiri s-samāwāti wa-l-ʾarḍi wa-huwa yuṭʿimu wa-lā yuṭʿamu qul ʾinnī ʾumirtu ʾan ʾakūna ʾawwala man ʾaslama wa-lā takūnanna mina l-mushrikīna

Say, ‘Shall I take for guardian [anyone] other than Allah, the originator of the heavens and the earth, who feeds and is not fed?’ Say, ‘I have been commanded to be the first of those who submit [to Allah], and [told,] “Never be one of the polytheists.” ’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qul ʾinnī ʾakhāfu ʾin ʿaṣaytu rabbi ʿadhāba yawmin ʿaẓīmin

Say, ‘Indeed, should I disobey my Lord, I fear the punishment of a tremendous day.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

man yuṣraf ʿanhu yawmaʾidhin fa-qad raḥimahū wa-dhālika l-fawzu l-mubīnu

Whoever is spared of it on that day, He has certainly been merciful to him, and that is manifest success.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ʾin yamsaska llāhu bi-ḍurrin fa-lā kāshifa lahū ʾillā huwa wa-ʾin yamsaska bi-khayrin fa-huwa ʿalā kulli shayʾin qadīrun

Should Allah visit you with some distress there is no one to remove it except Him; and should He bring you some good, then He has power over all things.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-huwa l-qāhiru fawqa ʿibādihī wa-huwa l-ḥakīmu l-khabīru

And He is the All-dominant over His servants, and He is the All-wise, the All-aware.

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 130

qul ʾayyu shayʾin ʾakbaru shahādatan quli llāhu shahīdun baynī wa-baynakum wa-ʾūḥiya ʾilayya hādhā l-qurʾānu li-ʾundhirakum bihī wa-man balagha ʾa-ʾinnakum la-tashhadūna ʾanna maʿa llāhi ʾālihatan ʾukhrā qul lā ʾashhadu qul ʾinnamā huwa ʾilāhun wāḥidun wa-ʾinnanī barīʾun mimmā tushrikūna

Say, ‘What thing is greatest as witness?’ Say, ‘Allah! [He is] witness between me and you, and this Quran has been revealed to me that I may warn thereby you and whomever it may reach.’ ‘Do you indeed bear witness that there are other gods besides Allah?’ Say, ‘I do not bear witness [to any such thing].’ Say, ‘Indeed He is the One God, and I indeed disown what you associate [with Him].’

— Ali Quli Qarai

alladhīna ʾātaynāhumu l-kitāba yaʿrifūnahū ka-mā yaʿrifūna ʾabnāʾahumu alladhīna khasirū ʾanfusahum fa-hum lā yuʾminūna

Those whom We have given the Book recognize him just as they recognize their sons. Those who have ruined their souls will not have faith.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-man ʾaẓlamu mimmani ftarā ʿalā llāhi kadhiban ʾaw kadhdhaba bi-ʾāyātihī ʾinnahū lā yufliḥu ẓ-ẓālimūna

Who is a greater wrongdoer than him who fabricates a lie against Allah, or denies His signs? Indeed the wrongdoers will not be felicitous.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-yawma naḥshuruhum jamīʿan thumma naqūlu li-lladhīna ʾashrakū ʾayna shurakāʾukumu lladhīna kuntum tazʿumūna

On the day when We gather them all together, We shall say to those who ascribed partners [to Allah] ‘Where are your partners that you used to claim?’

— Ali Quli Qarai

thumma lam takun fitnatuhum ʾillā ʾan qālū wa-llāhi rabbinā mā kunnā mushrikīna

Then their only excuse will be to say, ‘By Allah, our Lord, we were not polytheists.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

unẓur kayfa kadhabū ʿalā ʾanfusihim wa-ḍalla ʿanhum mā kānū yaftarūna

Look, how they forswear themselves, and what they used to fabricate has forsaken them!

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-minhum man yastamiʿu ʾilayka wa-jaʿalnā ʿalā qulūbihim ʾakinnatan ʾan yafqahūhu wa-fī ʾādhānihim waqran wa-ʾin yaraw kulla ʾāyatin lā yuʾminū bihā ḥattā ʾidhā jāʾūka yujādilūnaka yaqūlu lladhīna kafarū ʾin hādhā ʾillā ʾasāṭīru l-ʾawwalīna

There are some of them who prick up their ears at you, but We have cast veils on their hearts lest they should understand it, and a deafness into their ears; and though they should see every sign, they will not believe in it. When they come to you, to dispute with you, the faithless say, ‘These are nothing but myths of the ancients.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-hum yanhawna ʿanhu wa-yanʾawna ʿanhu wa-ʾin yuhlikūna ʾillā ʾanfusahum wa-mā yashʿurūna

They dissuade [others] from [following] him, and [themselves] avoid him; yet they destroy no one except themselves, but they are not aware.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-law tarā ʾidh wuqifū ʿalā n-nāri fa-qālū yā-laytanā nuraddu wa-lā nukadhdhiba bi-ʾāyāti rabbinā wa-nakūna mina l-muʾminīna

Were you to see when they are brought to a halt by the Fire, whereupon they will say, ‘If only we were sent back [into the world]! Then we will not deny the signs of our Lord, and we will be among the faithful!’

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 131

bal badā lahum mā kānū yukhfūna min qablu wa-law ruddū la-ʿādū li-mā nuhū ʿanhu wa-ʾinnahum la-kādhibūna

Indeed, what they used to hide before has now become evident to them. But were they to be sent back they would revert to what they were forbidden, and they are indeed liars.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-qālū ʾin hiya ʾillā ḥayātunā d-dunyā wa-mā naḥnu bi-mabʿūthīna

They say, ‘There is nothing but our life of this world, and we shall not be resurrected.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-law tarā ʾidh wuqifū ʿalā rabbihim qāla ʾa-laysa hādhā bi-l-ḥaqqi qālū balā wa-rabbinā qāla fa-dhūqū l-ʿadhāba bi-mā kuntum takfurūna

Were you to see when they are brought to a halt before their Lord. He will say, ‘Is this not a fact?’ They will say, ‘Yes, by our Lord!’ He will say, ‘So taste the punishment because of what you used to deny.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qad khasira lladhīna kadhdhabū bi-liqāʾi llāhi ḥattā ʾidhā jāʾathumu s-sāʿatu baghtatan qālū yā-ḥasratanā ʿalā mā farraṭnā fīhā wa-hum yaḥmilūna ʾawzārahum ʿalā ẓuhūrihim ʾa-lā sāʾa mā yazirūna

They are certainly losers who deny the encounter with Allah. When the Hour overtakes them suddenly, they will say, ‘Alas for us, for what we neglected in it!’ And they will bear their burdens on their backs. Look! Evil is what they bear!

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-mā l-ḥayātu d-dunyā ʾillā laʿibun wa-lahwun wa-la-d-dāru l-ʾākhiratu khayrun li-lladhīna yattaqūna ʾa-fa-lā taʿqilūna

The life of the world is nothing but play and diversion, and the abode of the Hereafter is surely better for those who are Godwary. Do you not exercise your reason?

— Ali Quli Qarai

qad naʿlamu ʾinnahū la-yaḥzunuka lladhī yaqūlūna fa-ʾinnahum lā yukadhdhibūnaka wa-lākinna ẓ-ẓālimīna bi-ʾāyāti llāhi yajḥadūna

We certainly know that what they say grieves you. Yet it is not you that they deny, but it is Allah’s signs that the wrongdoers impugn.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-la-qad kudhdhibat rusulun min qablika fa-ṣabarū ʿalā mā kudhdhibū wa-ʾūdhū ḥattā ʾatāhum naṣrunā wa-lā mubaddila li-kalimāti llāhi wa-la-qad jāʾaka min nabaʾi l-mursalīna

Apostles were certainly denied before you, yet they patiently bore being denied and tormented until Our help came to them. Nothing can change the words of Allah, and there have certainly come to you some of the accounts of the apostles.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ʾin kāna kabura ʿalayka ʾiʿrāḍuhum fa-ʾini staṭaʿta ʾan tabtaghiya nafaqan fī l-ʾarḍi ʾaw sullaman fī s-samāʾi fa-taʾtiyahum bi-ʾāyatin wa-law shāʾa llāhu la-jamaʿahum ʿalā l-hudā fa-lā takūnanna mina l-jāhilīna

And should their aversion be hard on you, find, if you can, a tunnel into the ground, or a ladder into sky, that you may bring them a sign. Had Allah wished, He would have brought them together on guidance. So do not be one of the ignorant.

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 132

ʾinnamā yastajību lladhīna yasmaʿūna wa-l-mawtā yabʿathuhumu llāhu thumma ʾilayhi yurjaʿūna

Only those who listen will respond [to you]. As for the dead, Allah will resurrect them, then they will be brought back to Him.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-qālū law-lā nuzzila ʿalayhi ʾāyatun min rabbihī qul ʾinna llāha qādirun ʿalā ʾan yunazzila ʾāyatan wa-lākinna ʾaktharahum lā yaʿlamūna

They say, ‘Why has not a sign been sent down to him from his Lord?’ Say, ‘Allah is indeed able to send down a sign,’ but most of them do not know.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-mā min dābbatin fī l-ʾarḍi wa-lā ṭāʾirin yaṭīru bi-janāḥayhi ʾillā ʾumamun ʾamthālukum mā farraṭnā fī l-kitābi min shayʾin thumma ʾilā rabbihim yuḥsharūna

There is no animal on land, nor a bird that flies with its wings, but they are communities like yourselves. We have not omitted anything from the Book. Then they will be mustered toward their Lord.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-lladhīna kadhdhabū bi-ʾāyātinā ṣummun wa-bukmun fī ẓ-ẓulumāti man yashaʾi llāhu yuḍlilhu wa-man yashaʾ yajʿalhu ʿalā ṣirāṭin mustaqīmin

Those who deny Our signs are deaf and dumb, in a manifold darkness. Allah leads astray whomever He wishes, and whomever He wishes He puts him on a straight path.

— Ali Quli Qarai

qul ʾa-raʾaytakum ʾin ʾatākum ʿadhābu llāhi ʾaw ʾatatkumu s-sāʿatu ʾa-ghayra llāhi tadʿūna ʾin kuntum ṣādiqīna

Say, ‘Tell me, should Allah’s punishment overtake you, or should the Hour overtake you, will you supplicate anyone other than Allah, should you be truthful?

— Ali Quli Qarai

bal ʾiyyāhu tadʿūna fa-yakshifu mā tadʿūna ʾilayhi ʾin shāʾa wa-tansawna mā tushrikūna

No, Him you will supplicate, and He will remove that for which you supplicated Him, if He wishes, and you will forget what you ascribe [to Him] as [His] partners.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-la-qad ʾarsalnā ʾilā ʾumamin min qablika fa-ʾakhadhnāhum bi-l-baʾsāʾi wa-ḍ-ḍarrāʾi laʿallahum yataḍarraʿūna

We have certainly sent [apostles] to nations before you, then We seized them with stress and distress so that they might entreat [Us].

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-law-lā ʾidh jāʾahum baʾsunā taḍarraʿū wa-lākin qasat qulūbuhum wa-zayyana lahumu sh-shayṭānu mā kānū yaʿmalūna

Why did they not entreat when Our punishment overtook them! But their hearts had hardened, and Satan had made what they had been doing seem decorous to them.

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-lammā nasū mā dhukkirū bihī fataḥnā ʿalayhim ʾabwāba kulli shayʾin ḥattā ʾidhā fariḥū bi-mā ʾūtū ʾakhadhnāhum baghtatan fa-ʾidhā hum mublisūna

So when they forgot what they had been admonished of, We opened for them the gates of all [good] things. When they became proud of what they were given, We seized them suddenly, whereat, behold, they were despondent.

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 133

fa-quṭiʿa dābiru l-qawmi lladhīna ẓalamū wa-l-ḥamdu li-llāhi rabbi l-ʿālamīna

Thus the wrongdoing lot were rooted out, and all praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds.

— Ali Quli Qarai

qul ʾa-raʾaytum ʾin ʾakhadha llāhu samʿakum wa-ʾabṣārakum wa-khatama ʿalā qulūbikum man ʾilāhun ghayru llāhi yaʾtīkum bihi nẓur kayfa nuṣarrifu l-ʾāyāti thumma hum yaṣdifūna

Say, ‘Tell me, should Allah take away your hearing and your sight and set a seal on your hearts, which god other than Allah can bring it [back] to you?’ Look, how We paraphrase the signs variously; nevertheless they turn away.

— Ali Quli Qarai

qul ʾa-raʾaytakum ʾin ʾatākum ʿadhābu llāhi baghtatan ʾaw jahratan hal yuhlaku ʾillā l-qawmu ẓ-ẓālimūna

Say, ‘Tell me, should Allah’s punishment overtake you suddenly or visibly, will anyone be destroyed except the wrongdoing lot?’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-mā nursilu l-mursalīna ʾillā mubashshirīna wa-mundhirīna fa-man ʾāmana wa-ʾaṣlaḥa fa-lā khawfun ʿalayhim wa-lā hum yaḥzanūna

We do not send the apostles except as bearers of good news and warners. As for those who are faithful and righteous, they will have no fear, nor will they grieve.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-lladhīna kadhdhabū bi-ʾāyātinā yamassuhumu l-ʿadhābu bi-mā kānū yafsuqūna

But as for those who deny Our signs, the punishment shall befall them because of the transgressions they used to commit.

— Ali Quli Qarai

qul lā ʾaqūlu lakum ʿindī khazāʾinu llāhi wa-lā ʾaʿlamu l-ghayba wa-lā ʾaqūlu lakum ʾinnī malakun ʾin ʾattabiʿu ʾillā mā yūḥā ʾilayya qul hal yastawī l-ʾaʿmā wa-l-baṣīru ʾa-fa-lā tatafakkarūna

Say, ‘I do not say to you that I possess the treasuries of Allah, nor do I know the Unseen, nor do I say to you that I am an angel. I follow only what is revealed to me.’ Say, ‘Are the blind one and the seer equal? So do you not reflect?’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ʾandhir bihi lladhīna yakhāfūna ʾan yuḥsharū ʾilā rabbihim laysa lahum min dūnihī waliyyun wa-lā shafīʿun laʿallahum yattaqūna

And warn by its means those who fear being mustered toward their Lord, besides whom they shall have neither any guardian nor any intercessor, so that they may be Godwary.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-lā taṭrudi lladhīna yadʿūna rabbahum bi-l-ghadāti wa-l-ʿashiyyi yurīdūna wajhahū mā ʿalayka min ḥisābihim min shayʾin wa-mā min ḥisābika ʿalayhim min shayʾin fa-taṭrudahum fa-takūna mina ẓ-ẓālimīna

Do not drive away those who supplicate their Lord morning and evening desiring His face. Neither are you accountable for them in any way, nor are they accountable for you in any way, so that you may drive them away and thus become one of the wrongdoers.

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 134

wa-ka-dhālika fatannā baʿḍahum bi-baʿḍin li-yaqūlū ʾa-hāʾulāʾi manna llāhu ʿalayhim min bayninā ʾa-laysa llāhu bi-ʾaʿlama bi-sh-shākirīna

Thus do We test them by means of one another so that they should say, ‘Are these the ones whom Allah has favoured from among us?!’ Does not Allah know best the grateful?!

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ʾidhā jāʾaka lladhīna yuʾminūna bi-ʾāyātinā fa-qul salāmun ʿalaykum kataba rabbukum ʿalā nafsihi r-raḥmata ʾannahū man ʿamila minkum sūʾan bi-jahālatin thumma tāba min baʿdihī wa-ʾaṣlaḥa fa-ʾannahū ghafūrun raḥīmun

When those who have faith in Our signs come to you, say, ‘Peace to you! Your Lord has made mercy incumbent upon Himself: whoever of you commits an evil [deed] out of ignorance and then repents after that and reforms, then He is indeed all-forgiving, all-merciful.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ka-dhālika nufaṣṣilu l-ʾāyāti wa-li-tastabīna sabīlu l-mujrimīna

Thus do We elaborate the signs, so that the way of the guilty may be exposed.

— Ali Quli Qarai

qul ʾinnī nuhītu ʾan ʾaʿbuda lladhīna tadʿūna min dūni llāhi qul lā ʾattabiʿu ʾahwāʾakum qad ḍalaltu ʾidhan wa-mā ʾana mina l-muhtadīna

Say, ‘I have been forbidden to worship those whom you invoke besides Allah.’ Say, ‘I do not follow your desires, for then I will have gone astray, and I will not be among the [rightly] guided.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qul ʾinnī ʿalā bayyinatin min rabbī wa-kadhdhabtum bihī mā ʿindī mā tastaʿjilūna bihī ʾini l-ḥukmu ʾillā li-llāhi yaquṣṣu l-ḥaqqa wa-huwa khayru l-fāṣilīna

Say, ‘Indeed I stand on a manifest proof from my Lord and you have denied it. What you seek to hasten is not up to me. Judgement belongs only to Allah; He expounds the truth and He is the best of judges.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qul law ʾanna ʿindī mā tastaʿjilūna bihī la-quḍiya l-ʾamru baynī wa-baynakum wa-llāhu ʾaʿlamu bi-ẓ-ẓālimīna

Say, ‘If what you seek to hasten were with me, the matter would surely have been decided between you and me, and Allah knows best the wrongdoers.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ʿindahū mafātiḥu l-ghaybi lā yaʿlamuhā ʾillā huwa wa-yaʿlamu mā fī l-barri wa-l-baḥri wa-mā tasquṭu min waraqatin ʾillā yaʿlamuhā wa-lā ḥabbatin fī ẓulumāti l-ʾarḍi wa-lā raṭbin wa-lā yābisin ʾillā fī kitābin mubīnin

With Him are the treasures of the Unseen; no one knows them except Him. He knows whatever there is in land and sea. No leaf falls without His knowing it, nor is there a grain in the darkness of the earth, nor anything fresh or withered but it is in a manifest Book.

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 135

wa-huwa lladhī yatawaffākum bi-l-layli wa-yaʿlamu mā jaraḥtum bi-n-nahāri thumma yabʿathukum fīhi li-yuqḍā ʾajalun musamman thumma ʾilayhi marjiʿukum thumma yunabbiʾukum bi-mā kuntum taʿmalūna

It is He who takes your souls by night, and He knows what you do by day, then He reanimates you therein so that a specified term may be completed. Then to Him will be your return, whereat He will inform you concerning what you used to do.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-huwa l-qāhiru fawqa ʿibādihī wa-yursilu ʿalaykum ḥafaẓatan ḥattā ʾidhā jāʾa ʾaḥadakumu l-mawtu tawaffathu rusulunā wa-hum lā yufarriṭūna

He is the All-dominant over His servants, and He sends guards to [protect] you. When death approaches anyone of you, Our messengers take him away and they do not neglect [their duty].

— Ali Quli Qarai

thumma ruddū ʾilā llāhi mawlāhumu l-ḥaqqi ʾa-lā lahu l-ḥukmu wa-huwa ʾasraʿu l-ḥāsibīna

Then they are returned to Allah, their real master. Look! All judgement belongs to Him, and He is the swiftest of reckoners.

— Ali Quli Qarai

qul man yunajjīkum min ẓulumāti l-barri wa-l-baḥri tadʿūnahū taḍarruʿan wa-khufyatan la-ʾin ʾanjānā min hādhihī la-nakūnanna mina sh-shākirīna

Say, ‘Who delivers you from the darkness of land and sea, [when] You invoke Him suppliantly and secretly: ‘‘If He delivers us from this, we will surely be among the grateful’’?’

— Ali Quli Qarai

quli llāhu yunajjīkum minhā wa-min kulli karbin thumma ʾantum tushrikūna

Say, ‘It is Allah who delivers you from them and from every agony, [but] then you ascribe partners [to Him].’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qul huwa l-qādiru ʿalā ʾan yabʿatha ʿalaykum ʿadhāban min fawqikum ʾaw min taḥti ʾarjulikum ʾaw yalbisakum shiyaʿan wa-yudhīqa baʿḍakum baʾsa baʿḍin-i nẓur kayfa nuṣarrifu l-ʾāyāti laʿallahum yafqahūna

Say, ‘He is able to send upon you a punishment from above you or from under your feet, or confound you as [hostile] factions, and make you taste one another’s violence.’ Look, how We paraphrase the signs variously so that they may understand!

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-kadhdhaba bihī qawmuka wa-huwa l-ḥaqqu qul lastu ʿalaykum bi-wakīlin

Your people have denied it, though it is the truth. Say, ‘It is not my business to watch over you.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

li-kulli nabaʾin mustaqarrun wa-sawfa taʿlamūna

For every prophecy there is a [preordained] setting, and soon you will know.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ʾidhā raʾayta lladhīna yakhūḍūna fī ʾāyātinā fa-ʾaʿriḍ ʿanhum ḥattā yakhūḍū fī ḥadīthin ghayrihī wa-ʾimmā yunsiyannaka sh-shayṭānu fa-lā taqʿud baʿda dh-dhikrā maʿa l-qawmi ẓ-ẓālimīna

When you see those who gossip impiously about Our signs, avoid them until they engage in some other discourse; but if Satan makes you forget, then, after remembering, do not sit with the wrongdoing lot.

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 136

wa-mā ʿalā lladhīna yattaqūna min ḥisābihim min shayʾin wa-lākin dhikrā laʿallahum yattaqūna

Those who are Godwary are in no way accountable for them, but this is merely for admonition’s sake, so that they may beware.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-dhari lladhīna ttakhadhū dīnahum laʿiban wa-lahwan wa-gharrathumu l-ḥayātu d-dunyā wa-dhakkir bihī ʾan tubsala nafsun bi-mā kasabat laysa lahā min dūni llāhi waliyyun wa-lā shafīʿun wa-ʾin taʿdil kulla ʿadlin lā yuʾkhadh minhā ʾulāʾika lladhīna ʾubsilū bi-mā kasabū lahum sharābun min ḥamīmin wa-ʿadhābun ʾalīmun bi-mā kānū yakfurūna

Leave alone those who take their religion for play and diversion and whom the life of this world has deceived, and admonish with it, lest any soul should perish because of what it has earned: It shall not have any guardian besides Allah, nor any intercessor; and though it should offer every kind of ransom, it shall not be accepted from it. They are the ones who perish because of what they have earned; they shall have boiling water for drink and a painful punishment because of what they used to defy.

— Ali Quli Qarai

qul ʾa-nadʿū min dūni llāhi mā lā yanfaʿunā wa-lā yaḍurrunā wa-nuraddu ʿalā ʾaʿqābinā baʿda ʾidh hadānā llāhu ka-lladhī stahwathu sh-shayāṭīnu fī l-ʾarḍi ḥayrāna lahū ʾaṣḥābun yadʿūnahū ʾilā l-hudā ʾtinā qul ʾinna hudā llāhi huwa l-hudā wa-ʾumirnā li-nuslima li-rabbi l-ʿālamīna

Say, ‘Shall we invoke besides Allah that which can neither benefit us nor harm us, and turn back on our heels after Allah has guided us, like someone seduced by the devils and bewildered on the earth, who has companions that invite him to guidance, [saying,] ‘‘Come to us!’’?’ Say, ‘Indeed it is the guidance of Allah which is [true] guidance. And we have been commanded to submit to the Lord of all the worlds,

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ʾan ʾaqīmū ṣ-ṣalāta wa-ttaqūhu wa-huwa lladhī ʾilayhi tuḥsharūna

and that ‘‘Maintain the prayer and be wary of Him, and it is He toward whom you will be gathered.’’ ’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-huwa lladhī khalaqa s-samāwāti wa-l-ʾarḍa bi-l-ḥaqqi wa-yawma yaqūlu kun fa-yakūnu qawluhu l-ḥaqqu wa-lahu l-mulku yawma yunfakhu fī ṣ-ṣūri ʿālimu l-ghaybi wa-sh-shahādati wa-huwa l-ḥakīmu l-khabīru

It is He who created the heavens and the earth with reason, and the day He says [to something], ‘Be!’ it is. His word is the truth, and to Him belongs all sovereignty on the day when the Trumpet will be blown. Knower of the sensible and the Unseen, He is the All-wise, the All-aware.

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 137

wa-ʾidh qāla ʾibrāhīmu li-ʾabīhi ʾāzara ʾa-tattakhidhu ʾaṣnāman ʾālihatan ʾinnī ʾarāka wa-qawmaka fī ḍalālin mubīnin

When Abraham said to Azar, his father, ‘Do you take idols for gods? Indeed I see you and your people in manifest error.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ka-dhālika nurī ʾibrāhīma malakūta s-samāwāti wa-l-ʾarḍi wa-li-yakūna mina l-mūqinīna

Thus did We show Abraham the dominions of the heavens and the earth, that he might be of those who possess certitude.

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-lammā janna ʿalayhi l-laylu raʾā kawkaban qāla hādhā rabbī fa-lammā ʾafala qāla lā ʾuḥibbu l-ʾāfilīna

When night darkened over him, he saw a star and said, ‘This is my Lord!’ But when it set, he said, ‘I do not like those who set.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-lammā raʾā l-qamara bāzighan qāla hādhā rabbī fa-lammā ʾafala qāla la-ʾin lam yahdinī rabbī la-ʾakūnanna mina l-qawmi ḍ-ḍāllīna

Then, when he saw the moon rising, he said, ‘This is my Lord!’ But when it set, he said, ‘Had my Lord not guided me, I would surely have been among the astray lot.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-lammā raʾā sh-shamsa bāzighatan qāla hādhā rabbī hādhā ʾakbaru fa-lammā ʾafalat qāla yā-qawmi ʾinnī barīʾun mimmā tushrikūna

Then, when he saw the sun rising, he said, ‘This is my Lord! This is bigger!’ But when it set, he said, ‘O my people, indeed I disown what you take as [His] partners.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

ʾinnī wajjahtu wajhiya li-lladhī faṭara s-samāwāti wa-l-ʾarḍa ḥanīfan wa-mā ʾana mina l-mushrikīna

‘Indeed I have turned my face toward Him who originated the heavens and the earth, as a Hanif, and I am not one of the polytheists.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ḥājjahū qawmuhū qāla ʾa-tuḥājjūnnī fī llāhi wa-qad hadāni wa-lā ʾakhāfu mā tushrikūna bihī ʾillā ʾan yashāʾa rabbī shayʾan wasiʿa rabbī kulla shayʾin ʿilman ʾa-fa-lā tatadhakkarūna

His people argued with him. He said, ‘Do you argue with me concerning Allah, while He has guided me for certain? I do not fear what you ascribe to Him as [His] partners, excepting anything that my Lord may wish. My Lord embraces all things in [His] knowledge. Will you not then take admonition?

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-kayfa ʾakhāfu mā ʾashraktum wa-lā takhāfūna ʾannakum ʾashraktum bi-llāhi mā lam yunazzil bihī ʿalaykum sulṭānan fa-ʾayyu l-farīqayni ʾaḥaqqu bi-l-ʾamni ʾin kuntum taʿlamūna

How could I fear what you ascribe [to Him] as [His] partners, when you do not fear ascribing to Allah partners for which He has not sent down any authority to you? So [tell me,] which of the two sides has a greater right to safety, if you know?

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 138

alladhīna ʾāmanū wa-lam yalbisū ʾīmānahum bi-ẓulmin ʾulāʾika lahumu l-ʾamnu wa-hum muhtadūna

Those who have faith and do not taint their faith with wrongdoing—for such there shall be safety, and they are the [rightly] guided.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-tilka ḥujjatunā ʾātaynāhā ʾibrāhīma ʿalā qawmihī narfaʿu darajātin man nashāʾu ʾinna rabbaka ḥakīmun ʿalīmun

This was Our argument that We gave to Abraham against his people. We raise in rank whomever We wish. Indeed your Lord is all-wise, all-knowing.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-wahabnā lahū ʾisḥāqa wa-yaʿqūba kullan hadaynā wa-nuḥan hadaynā min qablu wa-min dhurriyyatihī dāwūda wa-sulaymāna wa-ʾayyūba wa-yūsufa wa-mūsā wa-hārūna wa-ka-dhālika najzī l-muḥsinīna

And We gave him Isaac and Jacob and guided each of them. And Noah We had guided before, and from his offspring, David and Solomon, Job, Joseph, Moses and Aaron—thus do We reward the virtuous—

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-zakariyyā wa-yaḥyā wa-ʿīsā wa-ʾilyāsa kullun mina ṣ-ṣāliḥīna

and Zechariah, John, Jesus and Ilyas—each of them among the righteous—

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ʾismāʿīla wa-l-yasaʿa wa-yūnusa wa-lūṭan wa-kullan faḍḍalnā ʿalā l-ʿālamīna

and Ishmael, Elisha, Jonah and Lot—each We graced over all the nations—

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-min ʾābāʾihim wa-dhurriyyātihim wa-ʾikhwānihim wa-jtabaynāhum wa-hadaynāhum ʾilā ṣirāṭin mustaqīmin

and from among their fathers, their descendants and brethren—We chose them and guided them to a straight path.

— Ali Quli Qarai

dhālika hudā llāhi yahdī bihī man yashāʾu min ʿibādihī wa-law ʾashrakū la-ḥabiṭa ʿanhum mā kānū yaʿmalūna

That is Allah’s guidance: with it, He guides whomever He wishes of His servants. But were they to ascribe any partners [to Allah], what they used to do would not avail them.

— Ali Quli Qarai

ʾulāʾika lladhīna ʾātaynāhumu l-kitāba wa-l-ḥukma wa-n-nubuwwata fa-ʾin yakfur bihā hāʾulāʾi fa-qad wakkalnā bihā qawman laysū bihā bi-kāfirīna

They are the ones whom We gave the Book, judgement and prophethood. So if these disbelieve in them, We have certainly entrusted them to a people who will never disbelieve in them.

— Ali Quli Qarai

ʾulāʾika lladhīna hadā llāhu fa-bi-hudāhumu qtadih qul lā ʾasʾalukum ʿalayhi ʾajran ʾin huwa ʾillā dhikrā li-l-ʿālamīna

They are the ones whom Allah has guided. So follow their guidance. Say, ‘I do not ask you any recompense for it. It is just an admonition for all the nations.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 139

wa-mā qadarū llāha ḥaqqa qadrihī ʾidh qālū mā ʾanzala llāhu ʿalā basharin min shayʾin qul man ʾanzala l-kitāba lladhī jāʾa bihī mūsā nūran wa-hudan li-n-nāsi tajʿalūnahū qarāṭīsa tubdūnahā wa-tukhfūna kathīran wa-ʿullimtum mā lam taʿlamū ʾantum wa-lā ʾābāʾukum quli llāhu thumma dharhum fī khawḍihim yalʿabūna

They did not regard Allah with the regard due to Him when they said, ‘Allah has not sent down anything to any human.’ Say, ‘Who had sent down the Book that was brought by Moses as a light and guidance for the people, which you make into parchments that you display, while you conceal much of it, and [by means of which] you were taught what you did not know, [neither] you nor your fathers?’ Say, ‘Allah!’ Then leave them to play around in their impious gossip.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-hādhā kitābun ʾanzalnāhu mubārakun muṣaddiqu lladhī bayna yadayhi wa-li-tundhira ʾumma l-qurā wa-man ḥawlahā wa-lladhīna yuʾminūna bi-l-ʾākhirati yuʾminūna bihī wa-hum ʿalā ṣalātihim yuḥāfiẓūna

Blessed is this Book, which We have sent down, confirming what was [revealed] before it, so that you may warn the Mother of Cities and those around it. Those who believe in the Hereafter believe in it, and they are watchful of their prayers.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-man ʾaẓlamu mimmani ftarā ʿalā llāhi kadhiban ʾaw qāla ʾūḥiya ʾilayya wa-lam yūḥa ʾilayhi shayʾun wa-man qāla sa-ʾunzilu mithla mā ʾanzala llāhu wa-law tarā ʾidhi ẓ-ẓālimūna fī ghamarāti l-mawti wa-l-malāʾikatu bāsiṭū ʾaydīhim ʾakhrijū ʾanfusakumu l-yawma tujzawna ʿadhāba l-hūni bi-mā kuntum taqūlūna ʿalā llāhi ghayra l-ḥaqqi wa-kuntum ʿan ʾāyātihī tastakbirūna

Who is a greater wrongdoer than him who fabricates a lie against Allah, or says, ‘It has been revealed to me,’ while nothing was revealed to him, and he who says, ‘I will bring the like of what Allah has sent down?’ Were you to see when the wrongdoers are in the throes of death, and the angels extend their hands [saying]: ‘Give up your souls! Today you shall be requited with a humiliating punishment because of what you used to attribute to Allah untruly, and for your being disdainful towards His signs.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-la-qad jiʾtumūnā furādā ka-mā khalaqnākum ʾawwala marratin wa-taraktum mā khawwalnākum warāʾa ẓuhūrikum wa-mā narā maʿakum shufaʿāʾakumu lladhīna zaʿamtum ʾannahum fīkum shurakāʾu la-qad taqaṭṭaʿa baynakum wa-ḍalla ʿankum mā kuntum tazʿumūna

‘Certainly you have come to Us alone, just as We created you the first time, and left behind whatever We had bestowed on you. We do not see your intercessors with you—those whom you claimed to be [Our] partners in [deciding] you[r] [fate]. Certainly all links between you have been cut, and what you used to claim has forsaken you!’

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 140

ʾinna llāha fāliqu l-ḥabbi wa-n-nawā yukhriju l-ḥayya mina l-mayyiti wa-mukhriju l-mayyiti mina l-ḥayyi dhālikumu llāhu fa-ʾannā tuʾfakūna

Indeed Allah is the splitter of the grain and the pit. He brings forth the living from the dead and He brings forth the dead from the living. That is Allah! Then where do you stray?

— Ali Quli Qarai

fāliqu l-ʾiṣbāḥi wa-jaʿala l-layla sakanan wa-sh-shamsa wa-l-qamara ḥusbānan dhālika taqdīru l-ʿazīzi l-ʿalīmi

Splitter of the dawn, He has made the night for rest, and the sun and the moon for calculation. That is the ordaining of the All-mighty, the All-knowing.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-huwa lladhī jaʿala lakumu n-nujūma li-tahtadū bihā fī ẓulumāti l-barri wa-l-baḥri qad faṣṣalnā l-ʾāyāti li-qawmin yaʿlamūna

It is He who made the stars for you, so that you may be guided by them in the darkness of land and sea. We have certainly elaborated the signs for a people who have knowledge.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-huwa lladhī ʾanshaʾakum min nafsin wāḥidatin fa-mustaqarrun wa-mustawdaʿun qad faṣṣalnā l-ʾāyāti li-qawmin yafqahūna

It is He who created you from a single soul, then there is the [enduring] abode and the place of temporary lodging. We have certainly elaborated the signs for a people who understand.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-huwa lladhī ʾanzala mina s-samāʾi māʾan fa-ʾakhrajnā bihī nabāta kulli shayʾin fa-ʾakhrajnā minhu khaḍiran nukhriju minhu ḥabban mutarākiban wa-mina n-nakhli min talʿihā qinwānun dāniyatun wa-jannātin min ʾaʿnābin wa-z-zaytūna wa-r-rummāna mushtabihan wa-ghayra mutashābihin-i nẓurū ʾilā thamarihī ʾidhā ʾathmara wa-yanʿihī ʾinna fī dhālikum la-ʾāyātin li-qawmin yuʾminūna

It is He who sends down water from the sky, and brings forth with it every kind of growing thing. Then from it We bring forth vegetation from which We produce the grain, in clusters, and from the palm-tree, from the spathes of it, low-hanging clusters [of dates], and gardens of grapes, olives and pomegranates, similar and dissimilar. Look at its fruit as it fructifies and ripens. Indeed, there are signs in that for a people who have faith.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-jaʿalū li-llāhi shurakāʾa l-jinna wa-khalaqahum wa-kharaqū lahū banīna wa-banātin bi-ghayri ʿilmin subḥānahū wa-taʿālā ʿammā yaṣifūna

They make the jinn partners of Allah, though He has created them, and carve out sons and daughters for Him, without any knowledge. Immaculate is He and exalted above what they allege [concerning Him]!

— Ali Quli Qarai

badīʿu s-samāwāti wa-l-ʾarḍi ʾannā yakūnu lahū waladun wa-lam takun lahū ṣāḥibatun wa-khalaqa kulla shayʾin wa-huwa bi-kulli shayʾin ʿalīmun

The originator of the heavens and the earth—how could He have a child when He has had no spouse? He created all things and He has knowledge of all things.

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 141

dhālikumu llāhu rabbukum lā ʾilāha ʾillā huwa khāliqu kulli shayʾin fa-ʿbudūhu wa-huwa ʿalā kulli shayʾin wakīlun

That is Allah, your Lord, there is no god except Him, the creator of all things; so worship Him. He watches over all things.

— Ali Quli Qarai

lā tudrikuhu l-ʾabṣāru wa-huwa yudriku l-ʾabṣāra wa-huwa l-laṭīfu l-khabīru

The sights do not apprehend Him, yet He apprehends the sights, and He is the All-attentive, the All-aware.

— Ali Quli Qarai

qad jāʾakum baṣāʾiru min rabbikum fa-man ʾabṣara fa-li-nafsihī wa-man ʿamiya fa-ʿalayhā wa-mā ʾana ʿalaykum bi-ḥafīẓin

[Say,] ‘Certainly insights have come to you from your Lord. So whoever sees, it is to the benefit of his own soul, and whoever remains blind, it is to its detriment, and I am not a keeper over you.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ka-dhālika nuṣarrifu l-ʾāyāti wa-li-yaqūlū darasta wa-li-nubayyinahū li-qawmin yaʿlamūna

Thus do We paraphrase the signs variously, lest they should say, ‘You have received instruction,’ and so that We may make it clear for a people who have knowledge.

— Ali Quli Qarai

ittabiʿ mā ʾūḥiya ʾilayka min rabbika lā ʾilāha ʾillā huwa wa-ʾaʿriḍ ʿani l-mushrikīna

Follow that which has been revealed to you from your Lord, there is no god except Him, and turn away from the polytheists.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-law shāʾa llāhu mā ʾashrakū wa-mā jaʿalnāka ʿalayhim ḥafīẓan wa-mā ʾanta ʿalayhim bi-wakīlin

Had Allah wished they would not have ascribed partners [to Him]. We have not made you a caretaker for them, nor is it your duty to watch over them.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-lā tasubbū lladhīna yadʿūna min dūni llāhi fa-yasubbū llāha ʿadwan bi-ghayri ʿilmin ka-dhālika zayyannā li-kulli ʾummatin ʿamalahum thumma ʾilā rabbihim marjiʿuhum fa-yunabbiʾuhum bi-mā kānū yaʿmalūna

Do not abuse those whom they invoke besides Allah, lest they should abuse Allah out of hostility, without any knowledge. That is how to every people We have made their conduct seem decorous. Then their return will be to their Lord and He will inform them concerning what they used to do.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ʾaqsamū bi-llāhi jahda ʾaymānihim la-ʾin jāʾathum ʾāyatun la-yuʾminunna bihā qul ʾinnamā l-ʾāyātu ʿinda llāhi wa-mā yushʿirukum ʾannahā ʾidhā jāʾat lā yuʾminūna

They swear by Allah with solemn oaths that were a sign to come to them they would surely believe in it. Say, ‘These signs are only from Allah,’ and what will bring home to you that they will not believe even if they came?

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-nuqallibu ʾafʾidatahum wa-ʾabṣārahum ka-mā lam yuʾminū bihī ʾawwala marratin wa-nadharuhum fī ṭughyānihim yaʿmahūna

We transform their hearts and their visions as they did not believe in it the first time, and We leave them bewildered in their rebellion.

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 142

wa-law ʾannanā nazzalnā ʾilayhimu l-malāʾikata wa-kallamahumu l-mawtā wa-ḥasharnā ʿalayhim kulla shayʾin qubulan mā kānū li-yuʾminū ʾillā ʾan yashāʾa llāhu wa-lākinna ʾaktharahum yajhalūna

Even if We had sent down angels to them, and the dead had spoken to them, and We had gathered before them all things manifestly, they would [still] not believe unless Allah wished. But most of them are ignorant.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ka-dhālika jaʿalnā li-kulli nabiyyin ʿaduwwan shayāṭīna l-ʾinsi wa-l-jinni yūḥī baʿḍuhum ʾilā baʿḍin zukhrufa l-qawli ghurūran wa-law shāʾa rabbuka mā faʿalūhu fa-dharhum wa-mā yaftarūna

That is how for every prophet We appointed as enemy the devils from among humans and jinn, who inspire each other with flashy words, deceptively. Had your Lord wished, they would not have done it. So leave them with what they fabricate,

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-li-taṣghā ʾilayhi ʾafʾidatu lladhīna lā yuʾminūna bi-l-ʾākhirati wa-li-yarḍawhu wa-li-yaqtarifū mā hum muqtarifūna

so that toward it may incline the hearts of those who do not believe in the Hereafter, and so that they may be pleased with it and commit what they commit.

— Ali Quli Qarai

ʾa-fa-ghayra llāhi ʾabtaghī ḥakaman wa-huwa lladhī ʾanzala ʾilaykumu l-kitāba mufaṣṣalan wa-lladhīna ʾātaynāhumu l-kitāba yaʿlamūna ʾannahū munazzalun min rabbika bi-l-ḥaqqi fa-lā takūnanna mina l-mumtarīna

[Say,] ‘Shall I seek a judge other than Allah, while it is He who has sent down to you the Book, well-elaborated?’ Those whom We have given the Book know that it has been sent down from your Lord with the truth; so do not be one of the skeptics.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-tammat kalimatu rabbika ṣidqan wa-ʿadlan lā mubaddila li-kalimātihī wa-huwa s-samīʿu l-ʿalīmu

The word of your Lord has been fulfilled in truth and justice. Nothing can change His words, and He is the All-hearing, the All-knowing.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ʾin tuṭiʿ ʾakthara man fī l-ʾarḍi yuḍillūka ʿan sabīli llāhi ʾin yattabiʿūna ʾillā ẓ-ẓanna wa-ʾin hum ʾillā yakhruṣūna

If you obey most of those on the earth, they will lead you astray from the way of Allah. They follow nothing but conjectures and they do nothing but surmise.

— Ali Quli Qarai

ʾinna rabbaka huwa ʾaʿlamu man yaḍillu ʿan sabīlihī wa-huwa ʾaʿlamu bi-l-muhtadīna

Indeed your Lord knows best those who stray from His way; and He knows best those who are guided.

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-kulū mimmā dhukira smu llāhi ʿalayhi ʾin kuntum bi-ʾāyātihī muʾminīna

Eat from that over which Allah’s Name has been mentioned, if you are believers in His signs.

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 143

wa-mā lakum ʾallā taʾkulū mimmā dhukira smu llāhi ʿalayhi wa-qad faṣṣala lakum mā ḥarrama ʿalaykum ʾillā mā ḍṭurirtum ʾilayhi wa-ʾinna kathīran la-yuḍillūna bi-ʾahwāʾihim bi-ghayri ʿilmin ʾinna rabbaka huwa ʾaʿlamu bi-l-muʿtadīna

Why should you not eat that over which Allah’s Name has been mentioned, while He has already elaborated for you whatever He has forbidden you, excepting what you may be compelled to [eat in an emergency]? Indeed many mislead [others] by their fancies, without any knowledge. Indeed your Lord knows best the transgressors.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-dharū ẓāhira l-ʾithmi wa-bāṭinahū ʾinna lladhīna yaksibūna l-ʾithma sa-yujzawna bi-mā kānū yaqtarifūna

Renounce outward sins and the inward ones. Indeed those who commit sins shall be requited for what they used to commit.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-lā taʾkulū mimmā lam yudhkari smu llāhi ʿalayhi wa-ʾinnahū la-fisqun wa-ʾinna sh-shayāṭīna la-yūḥūna ʾilā ʾawliyāʾihim li-yujādilūkum wa-ʾin ʾaṭaʿtumūhum ʾinnakum la-mushrikūna

Do not eat [anything] of that over which Allah’s Name has not been mentioned, and that is indeed transgression. Indeed the satans inspire their friends to dispute with you; and if you obey them, you will indeed be polytheists.

— Ali Quli Qarai

ʾa-wa-man kāna maytan fa-ʾaḥyaynāhu wa-jaʿalnā lahū nūran yamshī bihī fī n-nāsi ka-man mathaluhū fī ẓ-ẓulumāti laysa bi-khārijin minhā ka-dhālika zuyyina li-l-kāfirīna mā kānū yaʿmalūna

Is he who was lifeless, then We gave him life and provided him with a light by which he walks among the people, like one who dwells in a manifold darkness which he cannot leave? To the faithless is thus presented as decorous what they have been doing.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ka-dhālika jaʿalnā fī kulli qaryatin ʾakābira mujrimīhā li-yamkurū fīhā wa-mā yamkurūna ʾillā bi-ʾanfusihim wa-mā yashʿurūna

Thus have We installed in every town its major criminals that they may plot therein. Yet they do not plot except against their own souls, but they are not aware.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ʾidhā jāʾathum ʾāyatun qālū lan nuʾmina ḥattā nuʾtā mithla mā ʾūtiya rusulu llāhi allāhu ʾaʿlamu ḥaythu yajʿalu risālatahū sa-yuṣību lladhīna ʾajramū ṣaghārun ʿinda llāhi wa-ʿadhābun shadīdun bi-mā kānū yamkurūna

When a sign comes to them, they say, ‘We will not believe until we are given the like of what was given to Allah’s apostles.’ Allah knows best where to place His apostleship! Soon the guilty will be visited by a degradation and severe punishment from Allah because of the plots they used to devise.

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 144

fa-man yuridi llāhu ʾan yahdiyahū yashraḥ ṣadrahū li-l-ʾislāmi wa-man yurid ʾan yuḍillahū yajʿal ṣadrahū ḍayyiqan ḥarajan ka-ʾannamā yaṣṣaʿʿadu fī s-samāʾi ka-dhālika yajʿalu llāhu r-rijsa ʿalā lladhīna lā yuʾminūna

Whomever Allah desires to guide, He opens his breast to Islam, and whomever He desires to lead astray, He makes his breast narrow and straitened as if he were climbing to a height. Thus does Allah lay [spiritual] defilement on those who do not have faith.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-hādhā ṣirāṭu rabbika mustaqīman qad faṣṣalnā l-ʾāyāti li-qawmin yadhdhakkarūna

This is the straight path of your Lord. We have already elaborated the signs for a people who take admonition.

— Ali Quli Qarai

lahum dāru s-salāmi ʿinda rabbihim wa-huwa waliyyuhum bi-mā kānū yaʿmalūna

For them shall be the abode of peace near their Lord and He will be their guardian because of what they used to do.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-yawma yaḥshuruhum jamīʿan yā-maʿshara l-jinni qadi stakthartum mina l-ʾinsi wa-qāla ʾawliyāʾuhum mina l-ʾinsi rabbanā stamtaʿa baʿḍunā bi-baʿḍin wa-balaghnā ʾajalanā lladhī ʾajjalta lanā qāla n-nāru mathwākum khālidīna fīhā ʾillā mā shāʾa llāhu ʾinna rabbaka ḥakīmun ʿalīmun

On the day He will gather them all together, [He will say], ‘O company of jinn! You claimed many of the humans.’ Their friends from among the humans will say, ‘Our Lord, we used each other, and we completed our term which You had appointed for us.’ He will say, ‘The Fire is your abode, to remain in it [forever], except what Allah may wish.’ Indeed your Lord is all-wise, all-knowing.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ka-dhālika nuwallī baʿḍa ẓ-ẓālimīna baʿḍan bi-mā kānū yaksibūna

That is how We make the wrongdoers one another’s friends because of what they used to earn.

— Ali Quli Qarai

yā-maʿshara l-jinni wa-l-ʾinsi ʾa-lam yaʾtikum rusulun minkum yaquṣṣūna ʿalaykum ʾāyātī wa-yundhirūnakum liqāʾa yawmikum hādhā qālū shahidnā ʿalā ʾanfusinā wa-gharrathumu l-ḥayātu d-dunyā wa-shahidū ʿalā ʾanfusihim ʾannahum kānū kāfirīna

‘O company of jinn and humans! Did there not come to you apostles from yourselves, recounting to you My signs and warning you of the encounter of this Day?’ They will say, ‘We testify against ourselves.’ The life of this world had deceived them, and they will testify against themselves that they had been faithless.

— Ali Quli Qarai

dhālika ʾan lam yakun rabbuka muhlika l-qurā bi-ẓulmin wa-ʾahluhā ghāfilūna

This is because your Lord would never destroy the towns unjustly while their people were unaware.

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 145

wa-li-kullin darajātun mimmā ʿamilū wa-mā rabbuka bi-ghāfilin ʿammā yaʿmalūna

For everyone there are ranks in accordance with what they have done; and your Lord is not oblivious of what they do.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-rabbuka l-ghaniyyu dhū r-raḥmati ʾin yashaʾ yudhhibkum wa-yastakhlif min baʿdikum mā yashāʾu ka-mā ʾanshaʾakum min dhurriyyati qawmin ʾākharīna

Your Lord is the All-sufficient dispenser of mercy. If He wishes, He will take you away, and make whomever He wishes succeed you, just as He produced you from the descendants of another people.

— Ali Quli Qarai

ʾinna mā tūʿadūna la-ʾātin wa-mā ʾantum bi-muʿjizīna

Indeed what you are promised will surely come, and you will not be able to thwart it.

— Ali Quli Qarai

qul yā-qawmi ʿmalū ʿalā makānatikum ʾinnī ʿāmilun fa-sawfa taʿlamūna man takūnu lahū ʿāqibatu d-dāri ʾinnahū lā yufliḥu ẓ-ẓālimūna

Say, ‘O my people, act according to your ability; I too am acting. Soon you will know in whose favour the outcome of that abode will be. Indeed the wrongdoers will not be felicitous.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-jaʿalū li-llāhi mimmā dharaʾa mina l-ḥarthi wa-l-ʾanʿāmi naṣīban fa-qālū hādhā li-llāhi bi-zaʿmihim wa-hādhā li-shurakāʾinā fa-mā kāna li-shurakāʾihim fa-lā yaṣilu ʾilā llāhi wa-mā kāna li-llāhi fa-huwa yaṣilu ʾilā shurakāʾihim sāʾa mā yaḥkumūna

They dedicate a portion to Allah out of what He has created of the crops and cattle, and say, ‘This is for Allah,’ so do they maintain, ‘and this is for our partners.’ But what is for their partners does not reach Allah, and what is for Allah reaches their partners. Evil is the judgement that they make.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ka-dhālika zayyana li-kathīrin mina l-mushrikīna qatla ʾawlādihim shurakāʾuhum li-yurdūhum wa-li-yalbisū ʿalayhim dīnahum wa-law shāʾa llāhu mā faʿalūhu fa-dharhum wa-mā yaftarūna

That is how to most of the polytheists the slaying of their children is presented as decorous by those whom they ascribe as partners [to Allah], that they may ruin them and confound their religion for them. Had Allah wished, they would not have done it. So leave them with what they fabricate.

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 146

wa-qālū hādhihī ʾanʿāmun wa-ḥarthun ḥijrun lā yaṭʿamuhā ʾillā man nashāʾu bi-zaʿmihim wa-ʾanʿāmun ḥurrimat ẓuhūruhā wa-ʾanʿāmun lā yadhkurūna sma llāhi ʿalayhā ftirāʾan ʿalayhi sa-yajzīhim bi-mā kānū yaftarūna

And they say, ‘These cattle and tillage are a taboo: none may eat them except whom we please,’ so they maintain, and there are cattle whose backs are forbidden and cattle over which they do not mention Allah’s Name, fabricating a lie against Him. Soon He will requite them for what they used to fabricate.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-qālū mā fī buṭūni hādhihi l-ʾanʿāmi khāliṣatun li-dhukūrinā wa-muḥarramun ʿalā ʾazwājinā wa-ʾin yakun maytatan fa-hum fīhi shurakāʾu sa-yajzīhim waṣfahum ʾinnahū ḥakīmun ʿalīmun

And they say, ‘That which is in the bellies of these cattle is exclusively for our males and forbidden to our wives. But if it be still-born, they will all share it.’ Soon He will requite them for their allegations. Indeed, He is all-wise, all-knowing.

— Ali Quli Qarai

qad khasira lladhīna qatalū ʾawlādahum safahan bi-ghayri ʿilmin wa-ḥarramū mā razaqahumu llāhu ftirāʾan ʿalā llāhi qad ḍallū wa-mā kānū muhtadīna

They are certainly losers who slay their children foolishly without knowledge, and forbid what Allah has provided them, fabricating a lie against Allah. Certainly, they have gone astray and are not guided.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-huwa lladhī ʾanshaʾa jannātin maʿrūshātin wa-ghayra maʿrūshātin wa-n-nakhla wa-z-zarʿa mukhtalifan ʾukuluhū wa-z-zaytūna wa-r-rummāna mutashābihan wa-ghayra mutashābihin kulū min thamarihī ʾidhā ʾathmara wa-ʾātū ḥaqqahū yawma ḥaṣādihī wa-lā tusrifū ʾinnahū lā yuḥibbu l-musrifīna

It is He who produces gardens trellised and without trellises, and palm-trees and crops of diverse produce, olives and pomegranates, similar and dissimilar. Eat of its fruits when it fructifies, and give its due on the day of harvest, and do not be wasteful; indeed, He does not like the wasteful.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-mina l-ʾanʿāmi ḥamūlatan wa-farshan kulū mimmā razaqakumu llāhu wa-lā tattabiʿū khuṭuwāti sh-shayṭāni ʾinnahū lakum ʿaduwwun mubīnun

Of the cattle [some] are for burden and [some] for slaughter. Eat of what Allah has provided you and do not follow in Satan’s footsteps; he is indeed your manifest enemy.

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 147

thamāniyata ʾazwājin mina ḍ-ḍaʾni thnayni wa-mina l-maʿzi thnayni qul ʾādh-dhakarayni ḥarrama ʾami l-ʾunthayayni ʾammā shtamalat ʿalayhi ʾarḥāmu l-ʾunthayayni nabbiʾūnī bi-ʿilmin ʾin kuntum ṣādiqīna

Eight mates: two of sheep, and two of goats. Say, ‘Is it the two males that He has forbidden or the two females, or what is contained in the wombs of the two females? Inform me with knowledge, should you be truthful.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-mina l-ʾibili thnayni wa-mina l-baqari thnayni qul ʾādh-dhakarayni ḥarrama ʾami l-ʾunthayayni ʾammā shtamalat ʿalayhi ʾarḥāmu l-ʾunthayayni ʾam kuntum shuhadāʾa ʾidh waṣṣākumu llāhu bi-hādhā fa-man ʾaẓlamu mimmani ftarā ʿalā llāhi kadhiban li-yuḍilla n-nāsa bi-ghayri ʿilmin ʾinna llāha lā yahdī l-qawma ẓ-ẓālimīna

And two of camels and two of oxen. Say, ‘Is it the two males that He has forbidden or the two females, or what is contained in the wombs of the two females? Were you witnesses when Allah enjoined this upon you?’ So who is a greater wrongdoer than him who fabricates a lie against Allah to mislead the people without any knowledge? Indeed Allah does not guide the wrongdoing lot.

— Ali Quli Qarai

qul lā ʾajidu fī mā ʾūḥiya ʾilayya muḥarraman ʿalā ṭāʿimin yaṭʿamuhū ʾillā ʾan yakūna maytatan ʾaw daman masfūḥan ʾaw laḥma khinzīrin fa-ʾinnahū rijsun ʾaw fisqan ʾuhilla li-ghayri llāhi bihī fa-mani ḍṭurra ghayra bāghin wa-lā ʿādin fa-ʾinna rabbaka ghafūrun raḥīmun

Say, ‘I do not find in what has been revealed to me that anyone be forbidden to eat anything except carrion or spilt blood, or the flesh of swine—for that is indeed unclean—or an impiety offered to other than Allah.’ But should someone be compelled, without being rebellious or aggressive, indeed your Lord is all-forgiving, all-merciful.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ʿalā lladhīna hādū ḥarramnā kulla dhī ẓufurin wa-mina l-baqari wa-l-ghanami ḥarramnā ʿalayhim shuḥūmahumā ʾillā mā ḥamalat ẓuhūruhumā ʾawi l-ḥawāyā ʾaw mā khtalaṭa bi-ʿaẓmin dhālika jazaynāhum bi-baghyihim wa-ʾinnā la-ṣādiqūna

To the Jews We forbade every animal having an undivided hoof, and of oxen and sheep We forbade them their fat, except what is borne by their backs or the entrails, or what is attached to the bones. We requited them with that for their rebelliousness, and We indeed speak the truth.

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 148

fa-ʾin kadhdhabūka fa-qul rabbukum dhū raḥmatin wāsiʿatin wa-lā yuraddu baʾsuhū ʿani l-qawmi l-mujrimīna

But if they deny you, say, ‘Your Lord is dispenser of an all-embracing mercy, but His punishment will not be averted from the guilty lot.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

sa-yaqūlu lladhīna ʾashrakū law shāʾa llāhu mā ʾashraknā wa-lā ʾābāʾunā wa-lā ḥarramnā min shayʾin ka-dhālika kadhdhaba lladhīna min qablihim ḥattā dhāqū baʾsanā qul hal ʿindakum min ʿilmin fa-tukhrijūhu lanā ʾin tattabiʿūna ʾillā ẓ-ẓanna wa-ʾin ʾantum ʾillā takhruṣūna

The polytheists will say, ‘Had Allah wished we would not have ascribed any partner [to Him], nor our fathers, nor would we have forbidden anything.’ Those who were before them had denied likewise until they tasted Our punishment. Say, ‘Do you have any [revealed] knowledge that you can produce before us? You follow nothing but conjectures, and you do nothing but surmise.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qul fa-li-llāhi l-ḥujjatu l-bālighatu fa-law shāʾa la-hadākum ʾajmaʿīna

Say, ‘To Allah belongs the conclusive argument. Had He wished, He would have surely guided you all.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qul halumma shuhadāʾakumu lladhīna yashhadūna ʾanna llāha ḥarrama hādhā fa-ʾin shahidū fa-lā tashhad maʿahum wa-lā tattabiʿ ʾahwāʾa lladhīna kadhdhabū bi-ʾāyātinā wa-lladhīna lā yuʾminūna bi-l-ʾākhirati wa-hum bi-rabbihim yaʿdilūna

Say, ‘Bring your witnesses who may testify that Allah has forbidden this.’ So if they testify, do not testify with them, and do not follow the desires of those who deny Our signs, and those who do not believe in the Hereafter and equate [others] with their Lord.

— Ali Quli Qarai

qul taʿālaw ʾatlu mā ḥarrama rabbukum ʿalaykum ʾallā tushrikū bihī shayʾan wa-bi-l-wālidayni ʾiḥsānan wa-lā taqtulū ʾawlādakum min ʾimlāqin naḥnu narzuqukum wa-ʾiyyāhum wa-lā taqrabū l-fawāḥisha mā ẓahara minhā wa-mā baṭana wa-lā taqtulū n-nafsa llatī ḥarrama llāhu ʾillā bi-l-ḥaqqi dhālikum waṣṣākum bihī laʿallakum taʿqilūna

Say, ‘Come, I will recount what your Lord has forbidden you. That you shall not ascribe any partners to Him, and you shall be good to the parents, you shall not kill your children due to penury—We will provide for you and for them—you shall not approach indecencies, the outward among them and the inward ones, and you shall not kill a soul [whose life] Allah has made inviolable, except with due cause. This is what He has enjoined upon you so that you may exercise your reason.

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 149

wa-lā taqrabū māla l-yatīmi ʾillā bi-llatī hiya ʾaḥsanu ḥattā yablugha ʾashuddahū wa-ʾawfū l-kayla wa-l-mīzāna bi-l-qisṭi lā nukallifu nafsan ʾillā wusʿahā wa-ʾidhā qultum fa-ʿdilū wa-law kāna dhā qurbā wa-bi-ʿahdi llāhi ʾawfū dhālikum waṣṣākum bihī laʿallakum tadhakkarūna

Do not approach the orphan’s property, except in the best [possible] manner, until he comes of age. And observe fully the measure and the balance with justice.’ We task no soul except according to its capacity. ‘And when you speak, be fair, even if it were a relative; and fulfill Allah’s covenant. This is what He enjoins upon you so that you may take admonition.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ʾanna hādhā ṣirāṭī mustaqīman fa-ttabiʿūhu wa-lā tattabiʿū s-subula fa-tafarraqa bikum ʿan sabīlihī dhālikum waṣṣākum bihī laʿallakum tattaqūna

‘This indeed is my straight path, so follow it, and do not follow [other] ways, for they will separate you from His way. This is what He enjoins upon you so that you may be Godwary.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

thumma ʾātaynā mūsā l-kitāba tamāman ʿalā lladhī ʾaḥsana wa-tafṣīlan li-kulli shayʾin wa-hudan wa-raḥmatan laʿallahum bi-liqāʾi rabbihim yuʾminūna

Then We gave Moses the Book, completing [Our blessing] on him who is virtuous, and as an elaboration of all things, and as a guidance and mercy, so that they may believe in the encounter with their Lord.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-hādhā kitābun ʾanzalnāhu mubārakun fa-ttabiʿūhu wa-ttaqū laʿallakum turḥamūna

And this Book that We have sent down is a blessed one; so follow it, and be Godwary so that you may receive [His] mercy.

— Ali Quli Qarai

ʾan taqūlū ʾinnamā ʾunzila l-kitābu ʿalā ṭāʾifatayni min qablinā wa-ʾin kunnā ʿan dirāsatihim la-ghāfilīna

Lest you should say, ‘The Book was sent down only to two communities before us, and we were indeed unaware of their studies,’

— Ali Quli Qarai

ʾaw taqūlū law ʾannā ʾunzila ʿalaynā l-kitābu la-kunnā ʾahdā minhum fa-qad jāʾakum bayyinatun min rabbikum wa-hudan wa-raḥmatun fa-man ʾaẓlamu mimman kadhdhaba bi-ʾāyāti llāhi wa-ṣadafa ʿanhā sa-najzī lladhīna yaṣdifūna ʿan ʾāyātinā sūʾa l-ʿadhābi bi-mā kānū yaṣdifūna

or [lest] you should say, ‘If the Book had been sent down to us, surely we would have been better-guided than them.’ There has already come to you a manifest proof from your Lord and a guidance and mercy. So who is a greater wrongdoer than him who denies the signs of Allah, and turns away from them? Soon We shall requite those who turn away from Our signs with a terrible punishment because of what they used to evade.

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 150

hal yanẓurūna ʾillā ʾan taʾtiyahumu l-malāʾikatu ʾaw yaʾtiya rabbuka ʾaw yaʾtiya baʿḍu ʾāyāti rabbika yawma yaʾtī baʿḍu ʾāyāti rabbika lā yanfaʿu nafsan ʾīmānuhā lam takun ʾāmanat min qablu ʾaw kasabat fī ʾīmānihā khayran quli ntaẓirū ʾinnā muntaẓirūna

Do they not consider that the angels may come to them, or your Lord may come, or some of your Lord’s signs may come? The day when some of your Lord’s signs do come, faith shall not benefit any soul that had not believed beforehand and had not earned some goodness in its faith. Say, ‘Wait! We too are waiting!’

— Ali Quli Qarai

ʾinna lladhīna farraqū dīnahum wa-kānū shiyaʿan lasta minhum fī shayʾin ʾinnamā ʾamruhum ʾilā llāhi thumma yunabbiʾuhum bi-mā kānū yafʿalūna

Indeed those who split up their religion and became sects, you will not have anything to do with them. Their matter rests only with Allah; then He will inform them concerning what they used to do.

— Ali Quli Qarai

man jāʾa bi-l-ḥasanati fa-lahū ʿashru ʾamthālihā wa-man jāʾa bi-s-sayyiʾati fa-lā yujzā ʾillā mithlahā wa-hum lā yuẓlamūna

Whoever brings virtue shall receive [a reward] ten times its like; but whoever brings vice shall not be requited except with its like, and they will not be wronged.

— Ali Quli Qarai

qul ʾinnanī hadānī rabbī ʾilā ṣirāṭin mustaqīmin dīnan qiyaman millata ʾibrāhīma ḥanīfan wa-mā kāna mina l-mushrikīna

Say, ‘Indeed my Lord has guided me to a straight path, the upright religion, the creed of Abraham, a Hanif, and he was not one of the polytheists.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qul ʾinna ṣalātī wa-nusukī wa-maḥyāya wa-mamātī li-llāhi rabbi l-ʿālamīna

Say, ‘Indeed my prayer and my worship, my life and my death are for the sake of Allah, the Lord of all the worlds.

— Ali Quli Qarai

lā sharīka lahū wa-bi-dhālika ʾumirtu wa-ʾana ʾawwalu l-muslimīna

He has no partner, and I have been commanded [to follow] this [creed], and I am the first of those who submit [to Allah].’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qul ʾa-ghayra llāhi ʾabghī rabban wa-huwa rabbu kulli shayʾin wa-lā taksibu kullu nafsin ʾillā ʿalayhā wa-lā taziru wāziratun wizra ʾukhrā thumma ʾilā rabbikum marjiʿukum fa-yunabbiʾukum bi-mā kuntum fīhi takhtalifūna

Say, ‘Shall I seek a Lord other than Allah, while He is the Lord of all things?’ No soul does evil except against itself, and no bearer shall bear another’s burden; then to your Lord will be your return, whereat He will inform you concerning that about which you used to differ.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-huwa lladhī jaʿalakum khalāʾifa l-ʾarḍi wa-rafaʿa baʿḍakum fawqa baʿḍin darajātin li-yabluwakum fī mā ʾātākum ʾinna rabbaka sarīʿu l-ʿiqābi wa-ʾinnahū la-ghafūrun raḥīmun

It is He who has made you successors on the earth, and raised some of you in rank above others so that He may test you in respect to what He has given you. Indeed your Lord is swift in retribution, and indeed, He is all-forgiving, all-merciful.

— Ali Quli Qarai