7Al-A'rāfالأعرافVerse 1 of 206

The Heights7. Al-A'rāfالأعراف

Al-A'rāf

Al A‘rāf

The Heights

Meccan206 verses7 / 114

7

Page 151

a-l-m-ṣ (ʾalif lām mīm ṣād)

Alif, Lam, Mim, Suad.

— Ali Quli Qarai

kitābun ʾunzila ʾilayka fa-lā yakun fī ṣadrika ḥarajun minhu li-tundhira bihī wa-dhikrā li-l-muʾminīna

[This is] a Book that has been sent down to you—so let there be no disquiet in your heart on its account that you may warn thereby—and as an admonition for the faithful.

— Ali Quli Qarai

ittabiʿū mā ʾunzila ʾilaykum min rabbikum wa-lā tattabiʿū min dūnihī ʾawliyāʾa qalīlan mā tadhakkarūna

Follow what has been sent down to you from your Lord, and do not follow any masters besides Him. Little is the admonition that you take!

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-kam min qaryatin ʾahlaknāhā fa-jāʾahā baʾsunā bayātan ʾaw hum qāʾilūna

How many a town We have destroyed! Our punishment came to it at night, or while they were taking a midday nap.

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-mā kāna daʿwāhum ʾidh jāʾahum baʾsunā ʾillā ʾan qālū ʾinnā kunnā ẓālimīna

Then their cry, when Our punishment overtook them, was only that they said, ‘We have indeed been wrongdoers!’

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-la-nasʾalanna lladhīna ʾursila ʾilayhim wa-la-nasʾalanna l-mursalīna

We will surely question those to whom the apostles were sent, and We will surely question the apostles.

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-la-naquṣṣanna ʿalayhim bi-ʿilmin wa-mā kunnā ghāʾibīna

Then We will surely recount to them with knowledge, for We had not been absent.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-l-waznu yawmaʾidhin-i l-ḥaqqu fa-man thaqulat mawāzīnuhū fa-ʾulāʾika humu l-mufliḥūna

The weighing [of deeds] on that Day is a truth. As for those whose deeds weigh heavy in the scales—it is they who are the felicitous.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-man khaffat mawāzīnuhū fa-ʾulāʾika lladhīna khasirū ʾanfusahum bi-mā kānū bi-ʾāyātinā yaẓlimūna

As for those whose deeds weigh light in the scales—it is they who have ruined their souls, because they used to wrong Our signs.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-la-qad makkannākum fī l-ʾarḍi wa-jaʿalnā lakum fīhā maʿāyisha qalīlan mā tashkurūna

Certainly We have established you on the earth, and made in it [various] means of livelihood for you. Little do you thank.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-la-qad khalaqnākum thumma ṣawwarnākum thumma qulnā li-l-malāʾikati sjudū li-ʾādama fa-sajadū ʾillā ʾiblīsa lam yakun mina s-sājidīna

Certainly We created you, then We formed you, then We said to the angels, ‘Prostrate before Adam.’ So they [all] prostrated, but not Iblis: he was not among those who prostrated.

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 152

qāla mā manaʿaka ʾallā tasjuda ʾidh ʾamartuka qāla ʾana khayrun minhu khalaqtanī min nārin wa-khalaqtahū min ṭīnin

Said He, ‘What prevented you from prostrating, when I commanded you? ’‘I am better than him,’ he said. ‘You created me from fire and You created him from clay.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qāla fa-hbiṭ minhā fa-mā yakūnu laka ʾan tatakabbara fīhā fa-khruj ʾinnaka mina ṣ-ṣāghirīna

‘Get down from it!’ He said. ‘It is not for you to be arrogant therein. Begone! You are indeed among the degraded ones.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qāla ʾanẓirnī ʾilā yawmi yubʿathūna

He said, ‘Respite me till the day they will be resurrected.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qāla ʾinnaka mina l-munẓarīna

Said He, ‘You are indeed among the reprieved.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qāla fa-bi-mā ʾaghwaytanī la-ʾaqʿudanna lahum ṣirāṭaka l-mustaqīma

‘As You have consigned me to perversity,’ he said, ‘I will surely lie in wait for them on Your straight path.

— Ali Quli Qarai

thumma la-ʾātiyannahum min bayni ʾaydīhim wa-min khalfihim wa-ʿan ʾaymānihim wa-ʿan shamāʾilihim wa-lā tajidu ʾaktharahum shākirīna

Then I will come at them from their front and from their rear, and from their right and their left, and You will not find most of them to be grateful.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qāla khruj minhā madhʾūman madḥūran la-man tabiʿaka minhum la-ʾamlaʾanna jahannama minkum ʾajmaʿīna

Said He, ‘Begone hence, blameful and banished! Whoever of them follows you, I will surely fill hell with you all.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-yā-ʾādamu skun ʾanta wa-zawjuka l-jannata fa-kulā min ḥaythu shiʾtumā wa-lā taqrabā hādhihi sh-shajarata fa-takūnā mina ẓ-ẓālimīna

[Then He said to Adam,] ‘O Adam, dwell with your mate in paradise, and eat thereof whence you wish; but do not approach this tree, lest you should be among the wrongdoers.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-waswasa lahumā sh-shayṭānu li-yubdiya lahumā mā wūriya ʿanhumā min sawʾātihimā wa-qāla mā nahākumā rabbukumā ʿan hādhihi sh-shajarati ʾillā ʾan takūnā malakayni ʾaw takūnā mina l-khālidīna

Then Satan tempted them, to expose to them what was hidden from them of their nakedness, and he said, ‘Your Lord has only forbidden you from this tree lest you should become angels, or lest you become immortal.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-qāsamahumā ʾinnī lakumā la-mina n-nāṣiḥīna

And he swore to them, ‘I am indeed your well-wisher.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-dallāhumā bi-ghurūrin fa-lammā dhāqā sh-shajarata badat lahumā sawʾātuhumā wa-ṭafiqā yakhṣifāni ʿalayhimā min waraqi l-jannati wa-nādāhumā rabbuhumā ʾa-lam ʾanhakumā ʿan tilkumā sh-shajarati wa-ʾaqul lakumā ʾinna sh-shayṭāna lakumā ʿaduwwun mubīnun

Thus he brought about their fall by deception. So when they tasted of the tree, their nakedness became exposed to them, and they began to stitch over themselves with the leaves of paradise. Their Lord called out to them, ‘Did I not forbid you from that tree, and tell you, ‘‘Satan is indeed your manifest enemy?’’ ’

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 153

qālā rabbanā ẓalamnā ʾanfusanā wa-ʾin lam taghfir lanā wa-tarḥamnā la-nakūnanna mina l-khāsirīna

They said, ‘Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves! If You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us, we will surely be among the losers.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qāla hbiṭū baʿḍukum li-baʿḍin ʿaduwwun wa-lakum fī l-ʾarḍi mustaqarrun wa-matāʿun ʾilā ḥīnin

He said, ‘Get down, being enemies of one another! On the earth shall be your abode and sustenance for a time.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qāla fīhā taḥyawna wa-fīhā tamūtūna wa-minhā tukhrajūna

He said, ‘In it you will live, and in it you will die; and from it you will be raised [from the dead].’

— Ali Quli Qarai

yā-banī ʾādama qad ʾanzalnā ʿalaykum libāsan yuwārī sawʾātikum wa-rīshan wa-libāsu t-taqwā dhālika khayrun dhālika min ʾāyāti llāhi laʿallahum yadhdhakkarūna

‘O Children of Adam! We have certainly sent down to you garments to cover your nakedness, and for adornment. Yet the garment of Godwariness—that is the best.’ That is [one] of Allah’s signs, so that they may take admonition.

— Ali Quli Qarai

yā-banī ʾādama lā yaftinannakumu sh-shayṭānu ka-mā ʾakhraja ʾabawaykum mina l-jannati yanziʿu ʿanhumā libāsahumā li-yuriyahumā sawʾātihimā ʾinnahū yarākum huwa wa-qabīluhū min ḥaythu lā tarawnahum ʾinnā jaʿalnā sh-shayāṭīna ʾawliyāʾa li-lladhīna lā yuʾminūna

‘O Children of Adam! Do not let Satan tempt you, like he expelled your parents from paradise, stripping them of their garments to expose to them their nakedness. Indeed he sees you—he and his hosts—whence you do not see them. We have indeed made the devils friends of those who have no faith.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ʾidhā faʿalū fāḥishatan qālū wajadnā ʿalayhā ʾābāʾanā wa-llāhu ʾamaranā bihā qul ʾinna llāha lā yaʾmuru bi-l-faḥshāʾi ʾa-taqūlūna ʿalā llāhi mā lā taʿlamūna

When they commit an indecency, they say, ‘We found our fathers practising it, and Allah has enjoined it upon us.’ Say, ‘Indeed Allah does not enjoin indecencies. Do you attribute to Allah what you do not know?’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qul ʾamara rabbī bi-l-qisṭi wa-ʾaqīmū wujūhakum ʿinda kulli masjidin wa-dʿūhu mukhliṣīna lahu d-dīna ka-mā badaʾakum taʿūdūna

Say, ‘My Lord has enjoined justice,’ and [He has enjoined,] ‘Set your heart [on Him] at every occasion of prayer, and invoke Him, putting your exclusive faith in Him. Even as He brought you forth in the beginning, so will you return.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

farīqan hadā wa-farīqan ḥaqqa ʿalayhimu ḍ-ḍalālatu ʾinnahumu ttakhadhū sh-shayāṭīna ʾawliyāʾa min dūni llāhi wa-yaḥsabūna ʾannahum muhtadūna

A part [of mankind] He has guided and a part has deserved [to be consigned to] error, for they took devils for guardians instead of Allah, and supposed they were guided.

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 154

yā-banī ʾādama khudhū zīnatakum ʿinda kulli masjidin wa-kulū wa-shrabū wa-lā tusrifū ʾinnahū lā yuḥibbu l-musrifīna

O Children of Adam! Put on your adornment on every occasion of prayer, and eat and drink, but do not waste; indeed, He does not like the wasteful.

— Ali Quli Qarai

qul man ḥarrama zīnata llāhi llatī ʾakhraja li-ʿibādihī wa-ṭ-ṭayyibāti mina r-rizqi qul hiya li-lladhīna ʾāmanū fī l-ḥayāti d-dunyā khāliṣatan yawma l-qiyāmati ka-dhālika nufaṣṣilu l-ʾāyāti li-qawmin yaʿlamūna

Say, ‘Who has forbidden the adornment of Allah which He has brought forth for His servants, and the good things of [His] provision?’ Say, ‘These are for the faithful in the life of this world, and exclusively for them on the Day of Resurrection.’ Thus do We elaborate the signs for a people who have knowledge.

— Ali Quli Qarai

qul ʾinnamā ḥarrama rabbiya l-fawāḥisha mā ẓahara minhā wa-mā baṭana wa-l-ʾithma wa-l-baghya bi-ghayri l-ḥaqqi wa-ʾan tushrikū bi-llāhi mā lam yunazzil bihī sulṭānan wa-ʾan taqūlū ʿalā llāhi mā lā taʿlamūna

Say, ‘My Lord has only forbidden indecencies, the outward among them and the inward ones, and sin and undue aggression, and that you should ascribe to Allah partners for which He has not sent down any authority, and that you should attribute to Allah what you do not know.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-li-kulli ʾummatin ʾajalun fa-ʾidhā jāʾa ʾajaluhum lā yastaʾkhirūna sāʿatan wa-lā yastaqdimūna

There is a [preordained] time for every nation: when their time comes, they shall not defer it by a single hour nor shall they advance it.

— Ali Quli Qarai

yā-banī ʾādama ʾimmā yaʾtiyannakum rusulun minkum yaquṣṣūna ʿalaykum ʾāyātī fa-mani ttaqā wa-ʾaṣlaḥa fa-lā khawfun ʿalayhim wa-lā hum yaḥzanūna

O Children of Adam! If there come to you apostles from among yourselves, recounting to you My signs, then those who are Godwary and righteous will have no fear, nor will they grieve.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-lladhīna kadhdhabū bi-ʾāyātinā wa-stakbarū ʿanhā ʾulāʾika ʾaṣḥābu n-nāri hum fīhā khālidūna

But those who deny Our signs and are disdainful of them, they shall be the inmates of the Fire and they shall remain in it [forever].

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-man ʾaẓlamu mimmani ftarā ʿalā llāhi kadhiban ʾaw kadhdhaba bi-ʾāyātihī ʾulāʾika yanāluhum naṣībuhum mina l-kitābi ḥattā ʾidhā jāʾathum rusulunā yatawaffawnahum qālū ʾayna mā kuntum tadʿūna min dūni llāhi qālū ḍallū ʿannā wa-shahidū ʿalā ʾanfusihim ʾannahum kānū kāfirīna

So who is a greater wrongdoer than him who fabricates a lie against Allah, or denies His signs? Their share, as decreed in the Book, shall reach them. When Our messengers come to take them away, they will say, ‘Where is that which you used to invoke besides Allah?’ They will say, ‘They have forsaken us,’ and they will testify against themselves that they were faithless.

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 155

qāla dkhulū fī ʾumamin qad khalat min qablikum mina l-jinni wa-l-ʾinsi fī n-nāri kullamā dakhalat ʾummatun laʿanat ʾukhtahā ḥattā ʾidhā ddārakū fīhā jamīʿan qālat ʾukhrāhum li-ʾūlāhum rabbanā hāʾulāʾi ʾaḍallūnā fa-ʾātihim ʿadhāban ḍiʿfan mina n-nāri qāla li-kullin ḍiʿfun wa-lākin lā taʿlamūna

He will say, ‘Enter the Fire, along with the nations of jinn and humans who passed before you!’ Every time that a nation enters [hell], it will curse its sister [nation]. When they all rejoin in it, the last of them will say about the first of them, ‘Our Lord, it was they who led us astray; so give them a double punishment of the Fire.’ He will say, ‘It is double for each [of you], but you do not know.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-qālat ʾūlāhum li-ʾukhrāhum fa-mā kāna lakum ʿalaynā min faḍlin fa-dhūqū l-ʿadhāba bi-mā kuntum taksibūna

And the first of them will say to the last of them, ‘You have no merit over us! So taste the punishment because of what you used to earn.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

ʾinna lladhīna kadhdhabū bi-ʾāyātinā wa-stakbarū ʿanhā lā tufattaḥu lahum ʾabwābu s-samāʾi wa-lā yadkhulūna l-jannata ḥattā yalija l-jamalu fī sammi l-khiyāṭi wa-ka-dhālika najzī l-mujrimīna

Indeed, those who deny Our signs and are disdainful of them—the gates of the heaven will not be opened for them, nor shall they enter paradise until the camel passes through the needle’s eye, and thus do We requite the guilty.

— Ali Quli Qarai

lahum min jahannama mihādun wa-min fawqihim ghawāshin wa-ka-dhālika najzī ẓ-ẓālimīna

They shall have hell for their resting place, and over them shall be sheets [of fire], and thus do We requite the wrongdoers.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-lladhīna ʾāmanū wa-ʿamilū ṣ-ṣāliḥāti lā nukallifu nafsan ʾillā wusʿahā ʾulāʾika ʾaṣḥābu l-jannati hum fīhā khālidūna

As for those who have faith and do righteous deeds—We task no soul except according to its capacity—they shall be the inhabitants of paradise, and they shall remain in it [forever].

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-nazaʿnā mā fī ṣudūrihim min ghillin tajrī min taḥtihimu l-ʾanhāru wa-qālū l-ḥamdu li-llāhi lladhī hadānā li-hādhā wa-mā kunnā li-nahtadiya law-lā ʾan hadānā llāhu la-qad jāʾat rusulu rabbinā bi-l-ḥaqqi wa-nūdū ʾan tilkumu l-jannatu ʾūrithtumūhā bi-mā kuntum taʿmalūna

We will remove whatever rancour there is in their breasts, and streams will run for them. They will say, ‘All praise belongs to Allah, who guided us to this. We would have never been guided had not Allah guided us. Our Lord’s apostles had certainly brought the truth.’ And the call would be made to them: ‘This is paradise, which you have been given to inherit because of what you used to do!’

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 156

wa-nādā ʾaṣḥābu l-jannati ʾaṣḥāba n-nāri ʾan qad wajadnā mā waʿadanā rabbunā ḥaqqan fa-hal wajadtum mā waʿada rabbukum ḥaqqan qālū naʿam fa-ʾadhdhana muʾadhdhinun baynahum ʾan laʿnatu llāhi ʿalā ẓ-ẓālimīna

The inhabitants of paradise will call out to the inmates of the Fire, ‘We found what our Lord promised us to be true; did you find what your Lord promised you to be true?’ ‘Yes,’ they will say. Then a caller will announce in their midst, ‘May Allah’s curse be on the wrongdoers!’

— Ali Quli Qarai

alladhīna yaṣuddūna ʿan sabīli llāhi wa-yabghūnahā ʿiwajan wa-hum bi-l-ʾākhirati kāfirūna

—Those who bar [others] from the way of Allah, and seek to make it crooked, and disbelieve in the Hereafter.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-baynahumā ḥijābun wa-ʿalā l-ʾaʿrāfi rijālun yaʿrifūna kullan bi-sīmāhum wa-nādaw ʾaṣḥāba l-jannati ʾan salāmun ʿalaykum lam yadkhulūhā wa-hum yaṭmaʿūna

There will be a veil between them. And on the Elevations will be certain men who recognize each of them by their mark. They will call out to the inhabitants of paradise, ‘Peace be to you!’ (They will not have entered it, though they would be eager to do so.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ʾidhā ṣurifat ʾabṣāruhum tilqāʾa ʾaṣhābi n-nāri qālū rabbanā lā tajʿalnā maʿa l-qawmi ẓ-ẓālimīna

And when their look is turned toward the inmates of the Fire, they will say, ‘Our Lord, do not put us among the wrongdoing lot!’)

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-nādā ʾaṣḥābu l-ʾaʿrāfi rijālan yaʿrifūnahum bi-sīmāhum qālū mā ʾaghnā ʿankum jamʿukum wa-mā kuntum tastakbirūna

The occupants of the Elevations will call out to certain men whom they recognize by their marks, ‘Your rallying did not avail you, nor what you used to disdain.

— Ali Quli Qarai

ʾa-hāʾulāʾi lladhīna ʾaqsamtum lā yanāluhumu llāhu bi-raḥmatin ʾudkhulū l-jannata lā khawfun ʿalaykum wa-lā ʾantum taḥzanūna

Are these the ones concerning whom you swore that Allah will not extend them any mercy?’ ‘Enter paradise! You shall have no fear, nor shall you grieve.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-nādā ʾaṣḥābu n-nāri ʾaṣḥāba l-jannati ʾan ʾafīḍū ʿalaynā mina l-māʾi ʾaw mimmā razaqakumu llāhu qālū ʾinna llāha ḥarramahumā ʿalā l-kāfirīna

The inmates of the Fire will call out to the inhabitants of paradise, ‘Pour on us some water, or something of what Allah has provided you.’ They will say, ‘Allah has indeed forbidden these two to the faithless!’

— Ali Quli Qarai

alladhīna ttakhadhū dīnahum lahwan wa-laʿiban wa-gharrathumu l-ḥayātu d-dunyā fa-l-yawma nansāhum ka-mā nasū liqāʾa yawmihim hādhā wa-mā kānū bi-ʾāyātinā yajḥadūna

Those who took their religion for diversion and play and whom the life of the world had deceived. So today, We will forget them as they forgot the encounter of this day of theirs, and as they used to impugn Our signs.

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 157

wa-la-qad jiʾnāhum bi-kitābin faṣṣalnāhu ʿalā ʿilmin hudan wa-raḥmatan li-qawmin yuʾminūna

Certainly We have brought them a Book, which We have elaborated with knowledge, as a guidance and mercy for a people who have faith.

— Ali Quli Qarai

hal yanẓurūna ʾillā taʾwīlahū yawma yaʾtī taʾwīluhū yaqūlu lladhīna nasūhu min qablu qad jāʾat rusulu rabbinā bi-l-ḥaqqi fa-hal lanā min shufaʿāʾa fa-yashfaʿū lanā ʾaw nuraddu fa-naʿmala ghayra lladhī kunnā naʿmalu qad khasirū ʾanfusahum wa-ḍalla ʿanhum mā kānū yaftarūna

Do they not consider [the consequences of] its fulfillment? The day when its fulfillment comes, those who had forgotten it before will say, ‘Our Lord’s apostles had certainly brought the truth. If only we had some intercessors to intercede for us, or we would be returned, so that we may do differently from what we did!’ They have certainly ruined their souls, and what they used to fabricate has forsaken them.

— Ali Quli Qarai

ʾinna rabbakumu llāhu lladhī khalaqa s-samāwāti wa-l-ʾarḍa fī sittati ʾayyāmin thumma stawā ʿalā l-ʿarshi yughshī l-layla n-nahāra yaṭlubuhū ḥathīthan wa-sh-shamsa wa-l-qamara wa-n-nujūma musakhkharātin bi-ʾamrihī ʾa-lā lahu l-khalqu wa-l-ʾamru tabāraka llāhu rabbu l-ʿālamīna

Indeed your Lord is Allah, who created the heavens and the earth in six days, and then settled on the Throne. He draws the night’s cover over the day, which pursues it swiftly, and [He created] the sun, the moon, and the stars, [all of them] disposed by His command. Look! All creation and command belong to Him. Blessed is Allah, the Lord of all the worlds.

— Ali Quli Qarai

udʿū rabbakum taḍarruʿan wa-khufyatan ʾinnahū lā yuḥibbu l-muʿtadīna

Supplicate your Lord, beseechingly and secretly. Indeed, He does not like the transgressors.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-lā tufsidū fī l-ʾarḍi baʿda ʾiṣlāḥihā wa-dʿūhu khawfan wa-ṭamaʿan ʾinna raḥmata llāhi qarībun mina l-muḥsinīna

And do not cause corruption on the earth after its restoration, and supplicate Him with fear and hope: indeed Allah’s mercy is close to the virtuous.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-huwa lladhī yursilu r-riyāḥa bushran bayna yaday raḥmatihī ḥattā ʾidhā ʾaqallat saḥāban thiqālan suqnāhu li-baladin mayyitin fa-ʾanzalnā bihi l-māʾa fa-ʾakhrajnā bihī min kulli th-thamarāti ka-dhālika nukhriju l-mawtā laʿallakum tadhakkarūna

It is He who sends forth the winds as harbingers of His mercy. When they bear [rain-] laden clouds, We drive them toward a dead land and send down water on it, and with it We bring forth all kinds of crops. Thus shall We raise the dead; maybe you will take admonition.

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 158

wa-l-baladu ṭ-ṭayyibu yakhruju nabātuhū bi-ʾidhni rabbihī wa-lladhī khabutha lā yakhruju ʾillā nakidan ka-dhālika nuṣarrifu l-ʾāyāti li-qawmin yashkurūna

The good land—its vegetation comes out by the permission of its Lord, and as for that which is bad, it does not come out except sparsely. Thus do We paraphrase the signs variously for a people who give thanks.

— Ali Quli Qarai

la-qad ʾarsalnā nūḥan ʾilā qawmihī fa-qāla yā-qawmi ʿbudū llāha mā lakum min ʾilāhin ghayruhū ʾinnī ʾakhāfu ʿalaykum ʿadhāba yawmin ʿaẓīmin

Certainly We sent Noah to his people. He said, ‘O my people, worship Allah! You have no other god besides Him. Indeed I fear for you the punishment of a tremendous day.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qāla l-malaʾu min qawmihī ʾinnā la-narāka fī ḍalālin mubīnin

The elite of his people said, ‘Indeed we see you in manifest error.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qāla yā-qawmi laysa bī ḍalālatun wa-lākinnī rasūlun min rabbi l-ʿālamīna

He said, ‘O my people, I am not in error. Rather, I am an apostle from the Lord of all the worlds.

— Ali Quli Qarai

ʾuballighukum risālāti rabbī wa-ʾanṣaḥu lakum wa-ʾaʿlamu mina llāhi mā lā taʿlamūna

I communicate to you the messages of my Lord, and I am your well-wisher, and I know from Allah what you do not know.

— Ali Quli Qarai

ʾa-wa-ʿajibtum ʾan jāʾakum dhikrun min rabbikum ʿalā rajulin minkum li-yundhirakum wa-li-tattaqū wa-laʿallakum turḥamūna

Do you consider it odd that a reminder from your Lord should come to you through a man from among yourselves, to warn you so that you may be Godwary and so that you may receive His mercy?’

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-kadhdhabūhu fa-ʾanjaynāhu wa-lladhīna maʿahū fī l-fulki wa-ʾaghraqnā lladhīna kadhdhabū bi-ʾāyātinā ʾinnahum kānū qawman ʿamīna

But they denied him. So We delivered him and those who were with him in the ark, and We drowned those who denied Our signs. Indeed, they were a blind lot.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ʾilā ʿādin ʾakhāhum hūdan qāla yā-qawmi ʿbudū llāha mā lakum min ʾilāhin ghayruhū ʾa-fa-lā tattaqūna

And to [the people of] ‘Ad [We sent] Hud, their brother. He said, ‘O my people, worship Allah! You have no other god besides Him. Will you not then be wary [of Him]?’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qāla l-malaʾu lladhīna kafarū min qawmihī ʾinnā la-narāka fī safāhatin wa-ʾinnā la-naẓunnuka mina l-kādhibīna

The elite of his people who were faithless said, ‘Indeed we see you to be in folly, and indeed we consider you to be a liar.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qāla yā-qawmi laysa bī safāhatun wa-lākinnī rasūlun min rabbi l-ʿālamīna

He said, ‘O my people, I am not in folly. Rather, I am an apostle from the Lord of all the worlds.

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 159

ʾuballighukum risālāti rabbī wa-ʾana lakum nāṣiḥun ʾamīnun

I communicate to you the messages of my Lord and I am a trustworthy well-wisher for you.

— Ali Quli Qarai

ʾa-wa-ʿajibtum ʾan jāʾakum dhikrun min rabbikum ʿalā rajulin minkum li-yundhirakum wa-dhkurū ʾidh jaʿalakum khulafāʾa min baʿdi qawmi nūḥin wa-zādakum fī l-khalqi basṭatan fa-dhkurū ʾālāʾa llāhi laʿallakum tufliḥūna

Do you consider it odd that there should come to you a reminder from your Lord through a man from among yourselves, so that he may warn you? Remember when He made you successors after the people of Noah, and increased you vastly in creation. So remember Allah’s bounties so that you may be felicitous.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qālū ʾa-jiʾtanā li-naʿbuda llāha waḥdahū wa-nadhara mā kāna yaʿbudu ʾābāʾunā fa-ʾtinā bi-mā taʿidunā ʾin kunta mina ṣ-ṣādiqīna

They said, ‘Have you come to [tell] us that we should worship Allah alone and abandon what our fathers have been worshiping? Then bring us what you threaten us with, should you be truthful.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qāla qad waqaʿa ʿalaykum min rabbikum rijsun wa-ghaḍabun ʾa-tujādilūnanī fī ʾasmāʾin sammaytumūhā ʾantum wa-ʾābāʾukum mā nazzala llāhu bihā min sulṭānin fa-ntaẓirū ʾinnī maʿakum mina l-muntaẓirīna

He said, ‘Punishment and wrath from your Lord has become due against you. Do you dispute with me regarding names, which you have named—you and your fathers—for which Allah has not sent down any authority? So wait! I too am waiting along with you.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-ʾanjaynāhu wa-lladhīna maʿahū bi-raḥmatin minnā wa-qaṭaʿnā dābira lladhīna kadhdhabū bi-ʾāyātinā wa-mā kānū muʾminīna

Then We delivered him and those who were with him by a mercy from Us, and We rooted out those who denied Our signs and were not faithful.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ʾilā thamūda ʾakhāhum ṣāliḥan qāla yā-qawmi ʿbudū llāha mā lakum min ʾilāhin ghayruhū qad jāʾatkum bayyinatun min rabbikum hādhihī nāqatu llāhi lakum ʾāyatan fa-dharūhā taʾkul fī ʾarḍi llāhi wa-lā tamassūhā bi-sūʾin fa-yaʾkhudhakum ʿadhābun ʾalīmun

And to [the people of] Thamud [We sent] Salih, their brother. He said, ‘O my people, worship Allah! You have no other god besides Him. There has certainly come to you a manifest proof from your Lord. This she-camel of Allah is a sign for you. Let her alone to graze [freely] in Allah’s land, and do not cause her any harm, for then you shall be seized by a painful punishment.

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 160

wa-dhkurū ʾidh jaʿalakum khulafāʾa min baʿdi ʿādin wa-bawwaʾakum fī l-ʾarḍi tattakhidhūna min suhūlihā quṣūran wa-tanḥitūna l-jibāla buyūtan fa-dhkurū ʾālāʾa llāhi wa-lā taʿthaw fī l-ʾarḍi mufsidīna

Remember when He made you successors after [the people of] ‘Ad, and settled you in the land: you build palaces in its plains, and hew houses out of the mountains. So remember Allah’s bounties, and do not act wickedly on the earth, causing corruption.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qāla l-malaʾu lladhīna stakbarū min qawmihī li-lladhīna stuḍʿifū li-man ʾāmana minhum ʾa-taʿlamūna ʾanna ṣāliḥan mursalun min rabbihī qālū ʾinnā bi-mā ʾursila bihī muʾminūna

The elite of his people who were arrogant said to those who were oppressed—to those among them who had faith—‘Do you know that Salih has been sent by his Lord?’ They said, ‘We indeed believe in what he has been sent with.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qāla lladhīna stakbarū ʾinnā bi-lladhī ʾāmantum bihī kāfirūna

Those who were arrogant said, ‘We indeed disbelieve in what you have believed.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-ʿaqarū n-nāqata wa-ʿataw ʿan ʾamri rabbihim wa-qālū yā-ṣāliḥu ʾtinā bi-mā taʿidunā ʾin kunta mina l-mursalīna

So they hamstrung the She-camel and defied the command of their Lord, and they said, ‘O Salih, bring us what you threaten us with, if you are one of the apostles.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-ʾakhadhathumu r-rajfatu fa-ʾaṣbaḥū fī dārihim jāthimīna

Thereupon the earthquake seized them, and they lay lifeless prostrate in their homes.

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-tawallā ʿanhum wa-qāla yā-qawmi la-qad ʾablaghtukum risālata rabbī wa-naṣaḥtu lakum wa-lākin lā tuḥibbūna n-nāṣiḥīna

So he abandoned them [to their fate], and said, ‘O my people! Certainly I communicated to you the message of my Lord, and I was your well-wisher, but you did not like well-wishers.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-lūṭan ʾidh qāla li-qawmihī ʾa-taʾtūna l-fāḥishata mā sabaqakum bihā min ʾaḥadin mina l-ʿālamīna

And Lot, when he said to his people, ‘What! Do you commit an outrage none in the world ever committed before you?!

— Ali Quli Qarai

ʾinnakum la-taʾtūna r-rijāla shahwatan min dūni n-nisāʾi bal ʾantum qawmun musrifūna

Indeed you come to men with desire instead of women! Indeed, you are a profligate lot.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 161

wa-mā kāna jawāba qawmihī ʾillā ʾan qālū ʾakhrijūhum min qaryatikum ʾinnahum ʾunāsun yataṭahharūna

But the only answer of his people was that they said, ‘Expel them from your town! They are indeed a puritanical lot.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-ʾanjaynāhu wa-ʾahlahū ʾillā mraʾatahū kānat mina l-ghābirīna

Thereupon We delivered him and his family, except his wife; she was one of those who remained behind.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ʾamṭarnā ʿalayhim maṭaran fa-nẓur kayfa kāna ʿāqibatu l-mujrimīna

Then We poured down upon them a rain [of stones]. So observe how was the fate of the guilty!

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ʾilā madyana ʾakhāhum shuʿayban qāla yā-qawmi ʿbudū llāha mā lakum min ʾilāhin ghayruhū qad jāʾatkum bayyinatun min rabbikum fa-ʾawfū l-kayla wa-l-mīzāna wa-lā tabkhasū n-nāsa ʾashyāʾahum wa-lā tufsidū fī l-ʾarḍi baʿda ʾiṣlāḥihā dhālikum khayrun lakum ʾin kuntum muʾminīna

And to [the people of] Midian [We sent] Shu‘ayb, their brother. He said, ‘O my people, worship Allah! You have no other god besides Him. There has certainly come to you a manifest proof from your Lord. Observe fully the measure and the balance, and do not cheat the people of their goods, and do not cause corruption on the earth after its restoration. That is better for you, if you are faithful.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-lā taqʿudū bi-kulli ṣirāṭin tūʿidūna wa-taṣuddūna ʿan sabīli llāhi man ʾāmana bihī wa-tabghūnahā ʿiwajan wa-dhkurū ʾidh kuntum qalīlan fa-kaththarakum wa-nẓurū kayfa kāna ʿāqibatu l-mufsidīna

And do not lie in wait on every road to threaten and bar those who have faith in Him from the way of Allah, seeking to make it crooked. Remember when you were few, and He multiplied you, and observe how was the fate of the agents of corruption.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ʾin kāna ṭāʾifatun minkum ʾāmanū bi-lladhī ʾursiltu bihī wa-ṭāʾifatun lam yuʾminū fa-ṣbirū ḥattā yaḥkuma llāhu baynanā wa-huwa khayru l-ḥākimīna

If a group of you have believed in what I have been sent with, and a group have not believed, be patient until Allah judges between us, and He is the best of judges.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 162

qāla l-malaʾu lladhīna stakbarū min qawmihī la-nukhrijannaka yā-shuʿaybu wa-lladhīna ʾāmanū maʿaka min qaryatinā ʾaw la-taʿūdunna fī millatinā qāla ʾa-wa-law kunnā kārihīna

The elite of his people who were arrogant said, ‘O Shu'ayb, we will surely expel you and the faithful who are with you from our town, or else you shall revert to our creed.’ He said, ‘What! Even if we should be unwilling?!

— Ali Quli Qarai

qadi ftaraynā ʿalā llāhi kadhiban ʾin ʿudnā fī millatikum baʿda ʾidh najjānā llāhu minhā wa-mā yakūnu lanā ʾan naʿūda fīhā ʾillā ʾan yashāʾa llāhu rabbunā wasiʿa rabbunā kulla shayʾin ʿilman ʿalā llāhi tawakkalnā rabbanā ftaḥ baynanā wa-bayna qawminā bi-l-ḥaqqi wa-ʾanta khayru l-fātiḥīna

We would be fabricating a lie against Allah should we revert to your creed after Allah had delivered us from it. It does not behoove us to return to it, unless Allah, our Lord, should wish so. Our Lord embraces all things in [His] knowledge. In Allah we have put our trust.’ ‘Our Lord! Judge justly between us and our people, and You are the best of judges!’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-qāla l-malaʾu lladhīna kafarū min qawmihī la-ʾini ttabaʿtum shuʿayban ʾinnakum ʾidhan la-khāsirūna

The elite of his people who were faithless said, ‘If you follow Shu'ayb, you will indeed be losers.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-ʾakhadhathumu r-rajfatu fa-ʾaṣbaḥū fī dārihim jāthimīna

So the earthquake seized them, and they lay lifeless prostrate in their homes.

— Ali Quli Qarai

alladhīna kadhdhabū shuʿayban ka-ʾan lam yaghnaw fīhā lladhīna kadhdhabū shuʿayban kānū humu l-khāsirīna

Those who impugned Shu'ayb became as if they had never lived there. Those who impugned Shu‘ayb were themselves the losers.

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-tawallā ʿanhum wa-qāla yā-qawmi la-qad ʾablaghtukum risālāti rabbī wa-naṣaḥtu lakum fa-kayfa ʾāsā ʿalā qawmin kāfirīna

So he abandoned them [to their fate] and said, ‘O my people! Certainly, I communicated to you the messages of my Lord, and I was your well-wisher. So how should I grieve for a faithless lot?’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-mā ʾarsalnā fī qaryatin min nabiyyin ʾillā ʾakhadhnā ʾahlahā bi-l-baʾsāʾi wa-ḍ-ḍarrāʾi laʿallahum yaḍḍarraʿūna

We did not send a prophet to any town without visiting its people with stress and distress so that they might entreat [for Allah’s forgiveness].

— Ali Quli Qarai

thumma baddalnā makāna s-sayyiʾati l-ḥasanata ḥattā ʿafaw wa-qālū qad massa ʾābāʾanā ḍ-ḍarrāʾu wa-s-sarrāʾu fa-ʾakhadhnāhum baghtatan wa-hum lā yashʿurūna

Then We changed the ill [conditions] to good until they multiplied [in numbers] and said, ‘Adversity and ease befell our fathers [too].’ Then We seized them suddenly while they were unaware.

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 163

wa-law ʾanna ʾahla l-qurā ʾāmanū wa-ttaqaw la-fataḥnā ʿalayhim barakātin mina s-samāʾi wa-l-ʾarḍi wa-lākin kadhdhabū fa-ʾakhadhnāhum bi-mā kānū yaksibūna

If the people of the towns had been faithful and Godwary, We would have opened to them blessings from the heaven and the earth. But they denied; so We seized them because of what they used to earn.

— Ali Quli Qarai

ʾa-fa-ʾamina ʾahlu l-qurā ʾan yaʾtiyahum baʾsunā bayātan wa-hum nāʾimūna

Do the people of the towns feel secure from Our punishment overtaking them at night while they are asleep?

— Ali Quli Qarai

ʾawa ʾamina ʾahlu l-qurā ʾan yaʾtiyahum baʾsunā ḍuḥan wa-huma

Do the people of the towns feel secure from Our punishment overtaking them at midday while they are playing around?

— Ali Quli Qarai

ʾa-fa-ʾaminū makra llāhi fa-lā yaʾmanu makra llāhi ʾillā l-qawmu l-khāsirūna

Do they feel secure from Allah’s devising? No one feels secure from Allah’s devising except the people who are losers.

— Ali Quli Qarai

ʾa-wa-lam yahdi li-lladhīna yarithūna l-ʾarḍa min baʿdi ʾahlihā ʾan law nashāʾu ʾaṣabnāhum bi-dhunūbihim wa-naṭbaʿu ʿalā qulūbihim fa-hum lā yasmaʿūna

Does it not dawn upon those who inherited the earth after its [former] inhabitants that if We wish We will punish them for their sins, and set a seal on their hearts so they would not hear?

— Ali Quli Qarai

tilka l-qurā naquṣṣu ʿalayka min ʾanbāʾihā wa-la-qad jāʾathum rusuluhum bi-l-bayyināti fa-mā kānū li-yuʾminū bi-mā kadhdhabū min qablu ka-dhālika yaṭbaʿu llāhu ʿalā qulūbi l-kāfirīna

These are the towns some of whose accounts We recount to you. Their apostles certainly brought them manifest proofs, but they were not the ones to believe in what they had denied earlier. Thus does Allah put a seal on the hearts of the faithless.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-mā wajadnā li-ʾaktharihim min ʿahdin wa-ʾin wajadnā ʾaktharahum la-fāsiqīna

We did not find in most of them any [loyalty to] covenants. Indeed, We found most of them to be transgressors.

— Ali Quli Qarai

thumma baʿathnā min baʿdihim mūsā bi-ʾāyātinā ʾilā firʿawna wa-malaʾihī fa-ẓalamū bihā fa-nẓur kayfa kāna ʿāqibatu l-mufsidīna

Then after them We sent Moses with Our signs to Pharaoh and his elite, but they wronged them. So observe how was the fate of the agents of corruption!

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-qāla mūsā yā-firʿawnu ʾinnī rasūlun min rabbi l-ʿālamīna

And Moses said, ‘O Pharaoh, I am indeed an apostle from the Lord of all the worlds.

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 164

ḥaqīqun ʿalā ʾan lā ʾaqūla ʿalā llāhi ʾillā l-ḥaqqa qad jiʾtukum bi-bayyinatin min rabbikum fa-ʾarsil maʿiya banī ʾisrāʾīla

It behooves me to say nothing about Allah except the truth. I certainly bring you a manifest proof from your Lord. So let the Children of Israel go with me.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qāla ʾin kunta jiʾta bi-ʾāyatin fa-ʾti bihā ʾin kunta mina ṣ-ṣādiqīna

He said, ‘If you have brought a sign, produce it, should you be truthful.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-ʾalqā ʿaṣāhu fa-ʾidhā hiya thuʿbānun mubīnun

Thereat he threw down his staff, and behold, it became a manifest python.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-nazaʿa yadahū fa-ʾidhā hiya bayḍāʾu li-n-nāẓirīna

Then he drew out his hand, and behold, it was white to the onlookers.

— Ali Quli Qarai

qāla l-malaʾu min qawmi firʿawna ʾinna hādhā la-sāḥirun ʿalīmun

The elite of Pharaoh’s people said, ‘This is indeed an expert magician;

— Ali Quli Qarai

yurīdu ʾan yukhrijakum min ʾarḍikum fa-mādhā taʾmurūna

he seeks to expel you from your land.’ ‘So what do you advise?’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qālū ʾarjih wa-ʾakhāhu wa-ʾarsil fī l-madāʾini ḥāshirīna

They said, ‘Put him and his brother off for a while, and send heralds to the cities,

— Ali Quli Qarai

yaʾtūka bi-kulli sāḥirin ʿalīmin

to bring you every expert magician.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-jāʾa s-saḥaratu firʿawna qālū ʾinna lanā la-ʾajran ʾin kunnā naḥnu l-ghālibīna

And the magicians came to Pharaoh. They said, ‘We shall indeed have a reward if we were to be the victors?’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qāla naʿam wa-ʾinnakum la-mina l-muqarrabīna

He said, ‘Of course! And indeed you shall be among those near [to me].’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qālū yā-mūsā ʾimmā ʾan tulqiya wa-ʾimmā ʾan nakūna naḥnu l-mulqīna

They said, ‘O Moses, will you throw [first], or shall we throw?’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qāla ʾalqū fa-lammā ʾalqaw saḥarū ʾaʿyuna n-nāsi wa-starhabūhum wa-jāʾū bi-siḥrin ʿaẓīmin

He said, ‘Throw [yours].’ So when they threw, they bewitched the people’s eyes and overawed them, producing a tremendous magic.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ʾawḥaynā ʾilā mūsā ʾan ʾalqi ʿaṣāka fa-ʾidhā hiya talqafu mā yaʾfikūna

And We signalled to Moses: ‘Throw down your staff.’ And behold, it was swallowing what they had faked.

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-waqaʿa l-ḥaqqu wa-baṭala mā kānū yaʿmalūna

So the truth came out, and what they had wrought was reduced to naught.

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-ghulibū hunālika wa-nqalabū ṣāghirīna

Thereat they were vanquished, and they retreated, humiliated.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ʾulqiya s-saḥaratu sājidīna

And the magicians fell down in prostration.

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 165

qālū ʾāmannā bi-rabbi l-ʿālamīna

They said, ‘We have believed in the Lord of all the worlds,

— Ali Quli Qarai

rabbi mūsā wa-hārūna

the Lord of Moses and Aaron.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qāla firʿawnu ʾāmantum bihī qabla ʾan ʾādhana lakum ʾinna hādhā la-makrun makartumūhu fī l-madīnati li-tukhrijū minhā ʾahlahā fa-sawfa taʿlamūna

Pharaoh said, ‘Do you profess faith in Him before I may permit you? It is indeed a plot you have devised in the city to expel its people from it. Soon you will know [the consequences]!

— Ali Quli Qarai

la-ʾuqaṭṭiʿanna ʾaydiyakum wa-ʾarjulakum min khilāfin thumma la-ʾuṣallibannakum ʾajmaʿīna

Surely I will cut off your hands and feet on opposite sides, and then I will surely crucify all of you.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qālū ʾinnā ʾilā rabbinā munqalibūna

They said, ‘Indeed we shall return to our Lord.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-mā tanqimu minnā ʾillā ʾan ʾāmannā bi-ʾāyāti rabbinā lammā jāʾatnā rabbanā ʾafrigh ʿalaynā ṣabran wa-tawaffanā muslimīna

You are vindictive toward us only because we have believed in the signs of our Lord, when they came to us.’ ‘Our Lord! Pour patience upon us, and grant us to die as Muslims.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-qāla l-malaʾu min qawmi firʿawna ʾa-tadharu mūsā wa-qawmahū li-yufsidū fī l-ʾarḍi wa-yadharaka wa-ʾālihataka qāla sa-nuqattilu ʾabnāʾahum wa-nastaḥyī nisāʾahum wa-ʾinnā fawqahum qāhirūna

The elite of Pharaoh’s people said, ‘Will you leave Moses and his people to cause corruption in the land, and to abandon you and your gods?’ He said, ‘We will kill their sons and spare their women, and indeed we are dominant over them.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qāla mūsā li-qawmihi staʿīnū bi-llāhi wa-ṣbirū ʾinna l-ʾarḍa li-llāhi yūrithuhā man yashāʾu min ʿibādihī wa-l-ʿāqibatu li-l-muttaqīna

Moses said to his people, ‘Turn to Allah for help and be patient. The earth indeed belongs to Allah, and He gives its inheritance to whomever He wishes of His servants, and the outcome will be in favour of the Godwary.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qālū ʾūdhīnā min qabli ʾan taʾtiyanā wa-min baʿdi mā jiʾtanā qāla ʿasā rabbukum ʾan yuhlika ʿaduwwakum wa-yastakhlifakum fī l-ʾarḍi fa-yanẓura kayfa taʿmalūna

They said, ‘We were tormented before you came to us and [also] after you came to us.’ He said, ‘Maybe your Lord will destroy your enemy and make you successors in the land, and then He will see how you act.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-la-qad ʾakhadhnā ʾāla firʿawna bi-s-sinīna wa-naqṣin mina th-thamarāti laʿallahum yadhdhakkarūna

Certainly We afflicted Pharaoh’s clan with droughts and loss of produce, so that they may take admonition.

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 166

fa-ʾidhā jāʾathumu l-ḥasanatu qālū lanā hādhihī wa-ʾin tuṣibhum sayyiʾatun yaṭṭayyarū bi-mūsā wa-man maʿahū ʾa-lā ʾinnamā ṭāʾiruhum ʿinda llāhi wa-lākinna ʾaktharahum lā yaʿlamūna

But whenever any good came to them, they would say, ‘This is our due.’ And if any ill visited them, they took it for ill omens attending Moses and those who were with him. (Look! Indeed the cause of their ill omens is from Allah, but most of them do not know.)

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-qālū mahmā taʾtinā bihī min ʾāyatin li-tasḥaranā bihā fa-mā naḥnu laka bi-muʾminīna

And they said, ‘Whatever sign you may bring us to bewitch us, we are not going to believe you.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-ʾarsalnā ʿalayhimu ṭ-ṭūfāna wa-l-jarāda wa-l-qummala wa-ḍ-ḍafādiʿa wa-d-dama ʾāyātin mufaṣṣalātin fa-stakbarū wa-kānū qawman mujrimīna

So We sent against them a flood and locusts, lice, frogs and blood, as distinct signs. But they acted arrogantly, and they were a guilty lot.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-lammā waqaʿa ʿalayhimu r-rijzu qālū yā-mūsā dʿu lanā rabbaka bi-mā ʿahida ʿindaka la-ʾin kashafta ʿannā r-rijza la-nuʾminanna laka wa-la-nursilanna maʿaka banī ʾisrāʾīla

Whenever a plague fell upon them, they would say, ‘O Moses, invoke your Lord for us by the covenant He has made with you. If you remove the plague from us, we will certainly believe in you and let the Children of Israel go along with you.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-lammā kashafnā ʿanhumu r-rijza ʾilā ʾajalin hum bālighūhu ʾidhā hum yankuthūna

But when We had removed the plague from them until a term that they should have completed, behold, they broke their promise.

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-ntaqamnā minhum fa-ʾaghraqnāhum fī l-yammi bi-ʾannahum kadhdhabū bi-ʾāyātinā wa-kānū ʿanhā ghāfilīna

So We took vengeance on them and drowned them in the sea, for they denied Our signs and were oblivious to them.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ʾawrathnā l-qawma lladhīna kānū yustaḍʿafūna mashāriqa l-ʾarḍi wa-maghāribahā llatī bāraknā fīhā wa-tammat kalimatu rabbika l-ḥusnā ʿalā banī ʾisrāʾīla bi-mā ṣabarū wa-dammarnā mā kāna yaṣnaʿu firʿawnu wa-qawmuhū wa-mā kānū yaʿrishūna

We made the people who were abased the heirs to the east and west of the land which We had blessed, and your Lord’s best word [of promise] was fulfilled for the Children of Israel because of their patience, and We destroyed what Pharaoh and his people had built and what they used to erect.

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 167

wa-jāwaznā bi-banī ʾisrāʾīla l-baḥra fa-ʾataw ʿalā qawmin yaʿkufūna ʿalā ʾaṣnāmin lahum qālū yā-mūsā jʿal lanā ʾilāhan ka-mā lahum ʾālihatun qāla ʾinnakum qawmun tajhalūna

We carried the Children of Israel across the sea, whereat they came upon a people cleaving to certain idols that they had. They said, ‘O Moses, make for us a god like the gods that they have.’ He said, ‘You are indeed an ignorant lot.

— Ali Quli Qarai

ʾinna hāʾulāʾi mutabbarun mā hum fīhi wa-bāṭilun mā kānū yaʿmalūna

What they are engaged in is indeed bound to perish, and what they have been doing shall come to naught.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qāla ʾa-ghayra llāhi ʾabghīkum ʾilāhan wa-huwa faḍḍalakum ʿalā l-ʿālamīna

He said, ‘Shall I find you a god other than Allah, while He has graced you over all the nations?’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ʾidh ʾanjaynākum min ʾāli firʿawna yasūmūnakum sūʾa l-ʿadhābi yuqattilūna ʾabnāʾakum wa-yastaḥyūna nisāʾakum wa-fī dhālikum balāʾun min rabbikum ʿaẓīmun

And when We delivered you from Pharaoh’s clan who inflicted on you a terrible torment, slaughtering your sons and sparing your women, and there was a great test in that from your Lord.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-wāʿadnā mūsā thalāthīna laylatan wa-ʾatmamnāhā bi-ʿashrin fa-tamma mīqātu rabbihī ʾarbaʿīna laylatan wa-qāla mūsā li-ʾakhīhi hārūna khlufnī fī qawmī wa-ʾaṣliḥ wa-lā tattabiʿ sabīla l-mufsidīna

We made an appointment with Moses for thirty nights, and completed them with ten [more]; thus the tryst of his Lord was completed in forty nights. And Moses said to Aaron, his brother, ‘Be my successor among my people, and set things right and do not follow the way of the agents of corruption.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-lammā jāʾa mūsā li-mīqātinā wa-kallamahū rabbuhū qāla rabbi ʾarinī ʾanẓur ʾilayka qāla lan tarānī wa-lākini nẓur ʾilā l-jabali fa-ʾini staqarra makānahū fa-sawfa tarānī fa-lammā tajallā rabbuhū li-l-jabali jaʿalahū dakkan wa-kharra mūsā ṣaʿiqan fa-lammā ʾafāqa qāla subḥānaka tubtu ʾilayka wa-ʾana ʾawwalu l-muʾminīna

When Moses arrived at Our tryst and his Lord spoke to him, he said, ‘My Lord, show [Yourself] to me, that I may look at You!’ He said, ‘You shall not see Me. But look at the mountain: if it abides in its place, then you will see Me.’ So when his Lord disclosed Himself to the mountain, He levelled it, and Moses fell down swooning. When he recovered, he said, ‘Immaculate are You! I turn to You in penitence, and I am the first of the faithful.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 168

qāla yā-mūsā ʾinnī ṣṭafaytuka ʿalā n-nāsi bi-risālātī wa-bi-kalāmī fa-khudh mā ʾātaytuka wa-kun mina sh-shākirīna

He said, ‘O Moses, I have chosen you over the people with My messages and My speech. So take what I give you, and be among the grateful.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-katabnā lahū fī l-ʾalwāḥi min kulli shayʾin mawʿiẓatan wa-tafṣīlan li-kulli shayʾin fa-khudhhā bi-quwwatin wa-ʾmur qawmaka yaʾkhudhū bi-ʾaḥsanihā sa-ʾurīkum dāra l-fāsiqīna

We wrote for him in the tablets advice concerning all things and an elaboration of all things, [and We said], ‘Hold on to them with power, and bid your people to hold on to the best of [what is in] them. Soon I shall show you the abode of the transgressors.

— Ali Quli Qarai

sa-ʾaṣrifu ʿan ʾāyātiya lladhīna yatakabbarūna fī l-ʾarḍi bi-ghayri l-ḥaqqi wa-ʾin yaraw kulla ʾāyatin lā yuʾminū bihā wa-ʾin yaraw sabīla r-rushdi lā yattakhidhūhu sabīlan wa-ʾin yaraw sabīla l-ghayyi yattakhidhūhu sabīlan dhālika bi-ʾannahum kadhdhabū bi-ʾāyātinā wa-kānū ʿanhā ghāfilīna

Soon I shall turn away from My signs those who are unduly arrogant in the earth: [even] though they should see every sign, they will not believe in it, and if they see the way of rectitude they will not take it as [their] way, and if they see the way of error they will take it as [their] way. That is because they deny Our signs and are oblivious to them.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-lladhīna kadhdhabū bi-ʾāyātinā wa-liqāʾi l-ʾākhirati ḥabiṭat ʾaʿmāluhum hal yujzawna ʾillā mā kānū yaʿmalūna

Those who deny Our signs and the encounter of the Hereafter, their works have failed. Shall they not be requited for what they used to do?

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ttakhadha qawmu mūsā min baʿdihī min ḥuliyyihim ʿijlan jasadan lahū khuwārun ʾa-lam yaraw ʾannahū lā yukallimuhum wa-lā yahdīhim sabīlan-i ittakhadhūhu wa-kānū ẓālimīna

The people of Moses took up in his absence a calf [cast] from their ornaments—a body that gave out a lowing sound. Did they not regard that it did not speak to them, nor did it guide them to any way? They took it up [for worship] and they were wrongdoers.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-lammā suqiṭa fī ʾaydīhim wa-raʾaw ʾannahum qad ḍallū qālū la-ʾin lam yarḥamnā rabbunā wa-yaghfir lanā la-nakūnanna mina l-khāsirīna

But when they became remorseful and realised they had gone astray, they said, ‘Should our Lord have no mercy on us, and forgive us, we will be surely among the losers.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 169

wa-lammā rajaʿa mūsā ʾilā qawmihī ghaḍbāna ʾasifan qāla biʾsamā khalaftumūnī min baʿdī ʾa-ʿajiltum ʾamra rabbikum wa-ʾalqā l-ʾalwāḥa wa-ʾakhadha bi-raʾsi ʾakhīhi yajurruhū ʾilayhi qāla bna ʾumma ʾinna l-qawma staḍʿafūnī wa-kādū yaqtulūnanī fa-lā tushmit biya l-ʾaʿdāʾa wa-lā tajʿalnī maʿa l-qawmi ẓ-ẓālimīna

When Moses returned to his people, angry and indignant, he said, ‘Evil has been your conduct in my absence! Would you hasten on the edict of your Lord?’ He threw down the tablets and seized his brother by the head, pulling him towards himself. He said, ‘Son of my mother, indeed this people thought me to be weak, and they were about to kill me. So do not let the enemies gloat over me, and do not take me with the wrongdoing lot.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qāla rabbi ghfir lī wa-li-ʾakhī wa-ʾadkhilnā fī raḥmatika wa-ʾanta ʾarḥamu r-rāḥimīna

He said, ‘My Lord, forgive me and my brother, and admit us into Your mercy, for You are the most merciful of the merciful.

— Ali Quli Qarai

ʾinna lladhīna ttakhadhū l-ʿijla sa-yanāluhum ghaḍabun min rabbihim wa-dhillatun fī l-ḥayāti d-dunyā wa-ka-dhālika najzī l-muftarīna

Indeed those who took up the calf [for worship] shall be overtaken by their Lord’s wrath and abasement in the life of the world.’ Thus do We requite the fabricators [of lies].

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-lladhīna ʿamilū s-sayyiʾāti thumma tābū min baʿdihā wa-ʾāmanū ʾinna rabbaka min baʿdihā la-ghafūrun raḥīmun

Yet [to] those who commit misdeeds but repent after that, and believe—indeed, after that, your Lord shall surely be all-forgiving, all-merciful.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-lammā sakata ʿan mūsā l-ghaḍabu ʾakhadha l-ʾalwāḥa wa-fī nuskhatihā hudan wa-raḥmatun li-lladhīna hum li-rabbihim yarhabūna

When Moses’ indignation abated, he picked up the tablets whose inscriptions contained guidance and mercy for those who are in awe of their Lord.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-khtāra mūsā qawmahū sabʿīna rajulan li-mīqātinā fa-lammā ʾakhadhathumu r-rajfatu qāla rabbi law shiʾta ʾahlaktahum min qablu wa-ʾiyyāya ʾa-tuhlikunā bi-mā faʿala s-sufahāʾu minnā ʾin hiya ʾillā fitnatuka tuḍillu bihā man tashāʾu wa-tahdī man tashāʾu ʾanta waliyyunā fa-ghfir lanā wa-rḥamnā wa-ʾanta khayru l-ghāfirīna

Moses chose seventy men from his people for Our tryst, and when the earthquake seized them, he said, ‘My Lord, had You wished, You would have destroyed them and me before. Will You destroy us because of what the fools amongst us have done? It is only Your test, by which You lead astray whomever You wish and guide whomever You wish. You are our master, so forgive us and have mercy on us, for You are the best of those who forgive.

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 170

wa-ktub lanā fī hādhihi d-dunyā ḥasanatan wa-fī l-ʾākhirati ʾinnā hudnā ʾilayka qāla ʿadhābī ʾuṣību bihī man ʾashāʾu wa-raḥmatī wasiʿat kulla shayʾin fa-sa-ʾaktubuhā li-lladhīna yattaqūna wa-yuʾtūna z-zakāta wa-lladhīna hum bi-ʾāyātinā yuʾminūna

And appoint goodness for us in this world and the Hereafter, for indeed we have come back to You.’ Said He, ‘I visit My punishment on whomever I wish, but My mercy embraces all things. Soon I shall appoint it for those who are Godwary and give the zakat and those who believe in Our signs

— Ali Quli Qarai

alladhīna yattabiʿūna r-rasūla n-nabiyya l-ʾummiyya lladhī yajidūnahū maktūban ʿindahum fī t-tawrāti wa-l-ʾinjīli yaʾmuruhum bi-l-maʿrūfi wa-yanhāhum ʿani l-munkari wa-yuḥillu lahumu ṭ-ṭayyibāti wa-yuḥarrimu ʿalayhimu l-khabāʾitha wa-yaḍaʿu ʿanhum ʾiṣrahum wa-l-ʾaghlāla llatī kānat ʿalayhim fa-lladhīna ʾāmanū bihī wa-ʿazzarūhu wa-naṣarūhu wa-ttabaʿū n-nūra lladhī ʾunzila maʿahū ʾulāʾika humu l-mufliḥūna

—those who follow the Apostle, the untaught prophet, whose mention they find written with them in the Torah and the Evangel, who bids them to do what is right and forbids them from what is wrong, makes lawful to them all the good things and forbids them from all vicious things, and relieves them of their burdens and the shackles that were upon them—those who believe in him, honour him, and help him and follow the light that has been sent down with him, they are the felicitous.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

qul yā-ʾayyuhā n-nāsu ʾinnī rasūlu llāhi ʾilaykum jamīʿan-i lladhī lahū mulku s-samāwāti wa-l-ʾarḍi lā ʾilāha ʾillā huwa yuḥyī wa-yumītu fa-ʾāminū bi-llāhi wa-rasūlihi n-nabiyyi l-ʾummiyyi lladhī yuʾminu bi-llāhi wa-kalimātihī wa-ttabiʿūhu laʿallakum tahtadūna

Say, ‘O mankind! I am the Apostle of Allah to you all, [of Him] to whom belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth. There is no god except Him. He gives life and brings death.’ So have faith in Allah and His Apostle, the untaught prophet, who has faith in Allah and His words, and follow him so that you may be guided.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-min qawmi mūsā ʾummatun yahdūna bi-l-ḥaqqi wa-bihī yaʿdilūna

Among the people of Moses is a nation who guide [the people] by the truth and do justice thereby.

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 171

wa-qaṭṭaʿnāhumu thnatay ʿashrata ʾasbāṭan ʾumaman wa-ʾawḥaynā ʾilā mūsā ʾidhi stasqāhu qawmuhū ʾani ḍrib bi-ʿaṣāka l-ḥajara fa-nbajasat minhu thnatā ʿashrata ʿaynan qad ʿalima kullu ʾunāsin mashrabahum wa-ẓallalnā ʿalayhimu l-ghamāma wa-ʾanzalnā ʿalayhimu l-manna wa-s-salwā kulū min ṭayyibāti mā razaqnākum wa-mā ẓalamūnā wa-lākin kānū ʾanfusahum yaẓlimūna

We split them up into twelve tribal communities, and We revealed to Moses, when his people asked him for water, [saying], ‘Strike the rock with your staff,’ whereat twelve fountains gushed forth from it. Every tribe came to know its drinking-place. And We shaded them with clouds, and We sent down to them manna and quails: ‘Eat of the good things We have provided you.’ And they did not wrong Us, but they used to wrong [only] themselves.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ʾidh qīla lahumu skunū hādhihi l-qaryata wa-kulū minhā ḥaythu shiʾtum wa-qūlū ḥiṭṭatun wa-dkhulū l-bāba sujjadan naghfir lakum khaṭīʾātikum sa-nazīdu l-muḥsinīna

And when they were told, ‘Settle in this town and eat thereof whence you wish; and say, ‘‘Relieve [us of the burden of our sins],’’ and enter prostrating at the gate, that We may forgive your iniquities, and soon We shall enhance the virtuous.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-baddala lladhīna ẓalamū minhum qawlan ghayra lladhī qīla lahum fa-ʾarsalnā ʿalayhim rijzan mina s-samāʾi bi-mā kānū yaẓlimūna

But the wrongdoers changed the saying with other than what they had been told. So We sent against them a plague from the sky because of the wrongs they used to commit.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-sʾalhum ʿani l-qaryati llatī kānat ḥāḍirata l-baḥri ʾidh yaʿdūna fī s-sabti ʾidh taʾtīhim ḥītānuhum yawma sabtihim shurraʿan wa-yawma lā yasbitūna lā taʾtīhim ka-dhālika nablūhum bi-mā kānū yafsuqūna

Ask them about the town that was situated on the seaside, when they violated the Sabbath, when their fish would come to them on the Sabbath day, visibly on the shore, but on days when they were not keeping Sabbath they would not come to them. Thus did We test them because of the transgressions they used to commit.

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 172

wa-ʾidh qālat ʾummatun minhum li-ma taʿiẓūna qawman-i llāhu muhlikuhum ʾaw muʿadhdhibuhum ʿadhāban shadīdan qālū maʿdhiratan ʾilā rabbikum wa-laʿallahum yattaqūna

When a group of them said, ‘Why do you advise a people whom Allah will destroy, or punish with a severe punishment?’ They said, ‘As an excuse before your Lord, and [with the hope] that they may be Godwary.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-lammā nasū mā dhukkirū bihī ʾanjaynā lladhīna yanhawna ʿani s-sūʾi wa-ʾakhadhnā lladhīna ẓalamū bi-ʿadhābin baʾīsin bi-mā kānū yafsuqūna

So when they forgot what they had been reminded of, We delivered those who forbade evil [conduct] and seized the wrongdoers with a terrible punishment because of the transgressions they used to commit.

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-lammā ʿataw ʿan mā nuhū ʿanhu qulnā lahum kūnū qiradatan khāsiʾīna

When they defied [the command pertaining to] what they were forbidden from, We said to them, ‘Be you spurned apes.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ʾidh taʾadhdhana rabbuka la-yabʿathanna ʿalayhim ʾilā yawmi l-qiyāmati man yasūmuhum sūʾa l-ʿadhābi ʾinna rabbaka la-sarīʿu l-ʿiqābi wa-ʾinnahū la-ghafūrun raḥīmun

And when your Lord proclaimed that He would surely send against them, until the Day of Resurrection, those who would inflict on them a terrible punishment. Indeed your Lord is swift in retribution, and indeed, He is all-forgiving, all-merciful.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-qaṭṭaʿnāhum fī l-ʾarḍi ʾumaman minhumu ṣ-ṣāliḥūna wa-minhum dūna dhālika wa-balawnāhum bi-l-ḥasanāti wa-s-sayyiʾāti laʿallahum yarjiʿūna

We dispersed them into communities around the earth: some of them were righteous, and some of them otherwise, and We tested them with good and bad [times] so that they may come back.

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-khalafa min baʿdihim khalfun warithū l-kitāba yaʾkhudhūna ʿaraḍa hādhā l-ʾadnā wa-yaqūlūna sa-yughfaru lanā wa-ʾin yaʾtihim ʿaraḍun mithluhū yaʾkhudhūhu ʾa-lam yuʾkhadh ʿalayhim mīthāqu l-kitābi ʾan lā yaqūlū ʿalā llāhi ʾillā l-ḥaqqa wa-darasū mā fīhi wa-d-dāru l-ʾākhiratu khayrun li-lladhīna yattaqūna ʾa-fa-lā taʿqilūna

Then they were succeeded by an evil posterity, which inherited the Book: they grab the transitory gains of this lower world, and say, ‘It will be forgiven us.’ And if similar transitory gains were to come their way, they would grab them too. Was not the covenant of the Book taken with them that they shall not attribute anything to Allah except the truth? They have studied what is in it, and [know that] the abode of the Hereafter is better for those who are Godwary. Do you not exercise your reason?

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-lladhīna yumassikūna bi-l-kitābi wa-ʾaqāmū ṣ-ṣalāta ʾinnā lā nuḍīʿu ʾajra l-muṣliḥīna

As for those who hold fast to the Book and maintain the prayer—indeed, We do not waste the reward of those who bring about reform.

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 173

wa-ʾidh nataqnā l-jabala fawqahum ka-ʾannahū ẓullatun wa-ẓannū ʾannahū wāqiʿun bihim khudhū mā ʾātaynākum bi-quwwatin wa-dhkurū mā fīhi laʿallakum tattaqūna

When We plucked the mountain [and held it] above them as if it were a canopy (and they thought it was about to fall on them): ‘Hold on with power to what We have given you and remember that which is in it, so that you may be Godwary.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ʾidh ʾakhadha rabbuka min banī ʾādama min ẓuhūrihim dhurriyyatahum wa-ʾashhadahum ʿalā ʾanfusihim ʾa-lastu bi-rabbikum qālū balā shahidnā ʾan taqūlū yawma l-qiyāmati ʾinnā kunnā ʿan hādhā ghāfilīna

When your Lord took from the Children of Adam, from their loins, their descendants and made them bear witness over themselves, [He said to them,] ‘Am I not your Lord?’ They said, ‘Yes indeed! We bear witness.’ [This,] lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection, ‘Indeed we were unaware of this,’

— Ali Quli Qarai

ʾaw taqūlū ʾinnamā ʾashraka ʾābāʾunā min qablu wa-kunnā dhurriyyatan min baʿdihim ʾa-fa-tuhlikunā bi-mā faʿala l-mubṭilūna

or lest you should say, ‘Our fathers ascribed partners [to Allah] before [us] and we were descendants after them. Will You then destroy us because of what the falsifiers have done?’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ka-dhālika nufaṣṣilu l-ʾāyāti wa-laʿallahum yarjiʿūna

Thus do We elaborate the signs, so that they may come back.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-tlu ʿalayhim nabaʾa lladhī ʾātaynāhu ʾāyātinā fa-nsalakha minhā fa-ʾatbaʿahu sh-shayṭānu fa-kāna mina l-ghāwīna

Relate to them an account of him to whom We gave Our signs, but he cast them off. Thereupon Satan pursued him, and he became one of the perverse.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-law shiʾnā la-rafaʿnāhu bihā wa-lākinnahū ʾakhlada ʾilā l-ʾarḍi wa-ttabaʿa hawāhu fa-mathaluhū ka-mathali l-kalbi ʾin taḥmil ʿalayhi yalhath ʾaw tatrukhu yalhath dhālika mathalu l-qawmi lladhīna kadhdhabū bi-ʾāyātinā fa-qṣuṣi l-qaṣaṣa laʿallahum yatafakkarūna

Had We wished, We would have surely raised him by their means, but he clung to the earth and followed his [base] desires. So his parable is that of a dog: if you make for it, it lolls out its tongue, and if you let it alone, it lolls out its tongue. Such is the parable of the people who deny Our signs. So recount these narratives, so that they may reflect.

— Ali Quli Qarai

sāʾa mathalan-i l-qawmu lladhīna kadhdhabū bi-ʾāyātinā wa-ʾanfusahum kānū yaẓlimūna

Evil is the parable of the people who deny Our signs and wrong themselves.

— Ali Quli Qarai

man yahdi llāhu fa-huwa l-muhtadī wa-man yuḍlil fa-ʾulāʾika humu l-khāsirūna

Whomever Allah guides is rightly guided, and whomever He leads astray—it is they who are the losers.

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 174

wa-la-qad dharaʾnā li-jahannama kathīran mina l-jinni wa-l-ʾinsi lahum qulūbun lā yafqahūna bihā wa-lahum ʾaʿyunun lā yubṣirūna bihā wa-lahum ʾādhānun lā yasmaʿūna bihā ʾulāʾika ka-l-ʾanʿāmi bal hum ʾaḍallu ʾulāʾika humu l-ghāfilūna

Certainly We have winnowed out for hell many of the jinn and humans: they have hearts with which they do not understand, they have eyes with which they do not see, they have ears with which they do not hear. They are like cattle; indeed, they are more astray. It is they who are the heedless.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-li-llāhi l-ʾasmāʾu l-ḥusnā fa-dʿūhu bihā wa-dharū lladhīna yulḥidūna fī ʾasmāʾihī sa-yujzawna mā kānū yaʿmalūna

To Allah belong the Best Names, so supplicate Him by them, and abandon those who commit sacrilege in His names. Soon they shall be requited for what they used to do.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-mimman khalaqnā ʾummatun yahdūna bi-l-ḥaqqi wa-bihī yaʿdilūna

Among those We have created are a nation who guide by the truth and do justice thereby.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-lladhīna kadhdhabū bi-ʾāyātinā sa-nastadrijuhum min haythu lā yaʿlamūna

As for those who deny Our signs, We will draw them imperceptibly [into ruin], whence they do not know.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ʾumlī lahum ʾinna kaydī matīnun

And I will grant them respite, for My devising is indeed sure.

— Ali Quli Qarai

ʾa-wa-lam yatafakkarū mā bi-ṣāḥibihim min jinnatin ʾin huwa ʾillā nadhīrun mubīnun

Have they not reflected that there is no madness in their companion, [and that] he is just a manifest warner?

— Ali Quli Qarai

ʾa-wa-lam yanẓurū fī malakūti s-samāwāti wa-l-ʾarḍi wa-mā khalaqa llāhu min shayʾin wa-ʾan ʿasā ʾan yakūna qadi qtaraba ʾajaluhum fa-bi-ʾayyi ḥadīthin baʿdahū yuʾminūna

Have they not contemplated the dominions of the heavens and the earth, and whatever things Allah has created, and that maybe their time has already drawn near? So what discourse will they believe after this?!

— Ali Quli Qarai

man yuḍlili llāhu fa-lā hādiya lahū wa-yadharuhum fī ṭughyānihim yaʿmahūna

Whomever Allah leads astray has no guide, and He leaves them bewildered in their rebellion.

— Ali Quli Qarai

yasʾalūnaka ʿani s-sāʿati ʾayyāna mursāhā qul ʾinnamā ʿilmuhā ʿinda rabbī lā yujallīhā li-waqtihā ʾillā huwa thaqulat fī s-samāwāti wa-l-ʾarḍi lā taʾtīkum ʾillā baghtatan yasʾalūnaka ka-ʾannaka ḥafiyyun ʿanhā qul ʾinnamā ʿilmuhā ʿinda llāhi wa-lākinna ʾakthara n-nāsi lā yaʿlamūna

They question you concerning the Hour, when will it set in? Say, ‘Its knowledge is only with my Lord: none except Him shall manifest it at its time. It will weigh heavy on the heavens and the earth. It will not overtake you but suddenly.’ They ask you as if you were in the know of it. Say, ‘Its knowledge is only with Allah, but most people do not know.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 175

qul lā ʾamliku li-nafsī nafʿan wa-lā ḍarran ʾillā mā shāʾa llāhu wa-law kuntu ʾaʿlamu l-ghayba la-stakthartu mina l-khayri wa-mā massaniya s-sūʾu ʾin ʾana ʾillā nadhīrun wa-bashīrun li-qawmin yuʾminūna

Say, ‘I have no control over any benefit for myself, nor [over] any harm except what Allah may wish. Had I known the Unseen, I would have acquired much good, and no ill would have befallen me. I am only a warner and bearer of good news to a people who have faith.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

huwa lladhī khalaqakum min nafsin wāḥidatin wa-jaʿala minhā zawjahā li-yaskuna ʾilayhā fa-lammā taghashshāhā ḥamalat ḥamlan khafīfan fa-marrat bihī fa-lammā ʾathqalat daʿawā llāha rabbahumā la-ʾin ʾātaytanā ṣāliḥan la-nakūnanna mina sh-shākirīna

It is He who created you from a single soul, and made from it its mate, that he might find comfort with her. So when he had covered her, she bore a light burden and passed [some time] with it. When she had grown heavy, they both invoked Allah, their Lord: ‘If You give us a healthy [child], we will be surely grateful.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

fa-lammā ʾātāhumā ṣāliḥan jaʿalā lahū shurakāʾa fī-mā ʾātāhumā fa-taʿālā llāhu ʿammā yushrikūna

Then when He gave them a healthy [child], they ascribed partners to Him in what He had given them. Exalted is Allah above [having] any partners that they ascribe [to Him]!

— Ali Quli Qarai

ʾa-yushrikūna mā lā yakhluqu shayʾan wa-hum yukhlaqūna

Do they ascribe [to Him] partners that create nothing and have been created themselves,

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-lā yastaṭīʿūna lahum naṣran wa-lā ʾanfusahum yanṣurūna

and can neither help them, nor help themselves?

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ʾin tadʿūhum ʾilā l-hudā lā yattabiʿūkum sawāʾun ʿalaykum ʾa-daʿawtumūhum ʾam ʾantum ṣāmitūna

If you call them to guidance, they will not follow you: it is the same to you whether you call them or whether you are silent.

— Ali Quli Qarai

ʾinna lladhīna tadʿūna min dūni llāhi ʿibādun ʾamthālukum fa-dʿūhum fa-l-yastajībū lakum ʾin kuntum ṣādiqīna

Indeed those whom you invoke besides Allah are creatures like you. So invoke them: they should answer you, if you are truthful.

— Ali Quli Qarai

ʾa-lahum ʾarjulun yamshūna bihā ʾam lahum ʾaydin yabṭishūna bihā ʾam lahum ʾaʿyunun yubṣirūna bihā ʾam lahum ʾādhānun yasmaʿūna bihā quli dʿū shurakāʾakum thumma kīdūni fa-lā tunẓirūni

Do they have any feet to walk with? Do they have any hands to grasp with? Do they have any eyes to see with? Do they have any ears to hear with? Say, ‘Invoke your partners [that you ascribe to Allah] and try out your stratagems against me without granting me any respite.

— Ali Quli Qarai

Page 176

ʾinna waliyyiya llāhu lladhī nazzala l-kitāba wa-huwa yatawallā ṣ-ṣāliḥīna

My guardian is indeed Allah who sent down the Book, and He takes care of the righteous.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-lladhīna tadʿūna min dūnihī lā yastaṭīʿūna naṣrakum wa-lā ʾanfusahum yanṣurūna

Those whom you invoke besides Him can neither help you, nor help themselves.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ʾin tadʿūhum ʾilā l-hudā lā yasmaʿū wa-tarāhum yanẓurūna ʾilayka wa-hum lā yubṣirūna

If you call them to guidance, they will not hear. You see them facing you, but they do not see.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

khudhi l-ʿafwa wa-ʾmur bi-l-ʿurfi wa-ʾaʿriḍ ʿani l-jāhilīna

Adopt [a policy of] excusing [the faults of people], bid what is right, and turn away from the ignorant.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ʾimmā yanzaghannaka mina sh-shayṭāni nazghun fa-staʿidh bi-llāhi ʾinnahū samīʿun ʿalīmun

Should a temptation from Satan disturb you, invoke the protection of Allah; indeed He is all-hearing, all-knowing.

— Ali Quli Qarai

ʾinna lladhīna ttaqaw ʾidhā massahum ṭāʾifun mina sh-shayṭāni tadhakkarū fa-ʾidhā hum mubṣirūna

When those who are Godwary are touched by a visitation of Satan, they remember [Allah] and, behold, they perceive.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ʾikhwānuhum yamuddūnahum fī l-ghayyi thumma lā yuqṣirūna

But their brethren, they draw them into error, and then they do not spare [any harm].

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ʾidhā lam taʾtihim bi-ʾāyatin qālū law-lā jtabaytahā qul ʾinnamā ʾattabiʿu mā yūḥā ʾilayya min rabbī hādhā baṣāʾiru min rabbikum wa-hudan wa-raḥmatun li-qawmin yuʾminūna

When you do not bring them a sign, they say, ‘Why do you not improvise one?’ Say, ‘I only follow what is revealed to me from my Lord; these are insights from your Lord, and a guidance and mercy for a people who have faith.’

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-ʾidhā quriʾa l-qurʾānu fa-stamiʿū lahū wa-ʾanṣitū laʿallakum turḥamūna

When the Quran is recited, listen to it and be silent, maybe you will receive [Allah’s] mercy.

— Ali Quli Qarai

wa-dhkur rabbaka fī nafsika taḍarruʿan wa-khīfatan wa-dūna l-jahri mina l-qawli bi-l-ghuduwwi wa-l-ʾāṣāli wa-lā takun mina l-ghāfilīna

And remember your Lord within your heart beseechingly and reverentially, without being loud, morning, and evening, and do not be among the heedless.

— Ali Quli Qarai

ʾinna lladhīna ʿinda rabbika lā yastakbirūna ʿan ʿibādatihī wa-yusabbiḥūnahū wa-lahū yasjudūna

Indeed those who are [stationed] near your Lord do not disdain to worship Him. They glorify Him and prostrate to Him.

— Ali Quli Qarai