Surah 23 the believers

and shaped the substance into flesh, and bones.

 And, We covered the bones with flesh;

then We created from him another creation.

So blessed is God, the best of all Creators.

Then, if truth be told, after that you are to perish one day.

Then, without a doubt, you will be resurrected on Resurrection Day.

And, We created Seven Stratum Heavens, and never

have We been unconcious of Our creations.

And We have descended down rain from the skies in a calculated amount,

and absorbed it into the earth below.

And, without a doubt, We are able to withhold it.

And, We created for you therein palm tree gardens and grapevines

that have for you abundant fruits from which to eat.

And, We created a sacred olive tree from Mount Sinai

that produces oil and fruit for you to eat from.

And, also, livestock is for you another example.

And, We provide you milk from their bellies,

and from them for you are many benefits, and from them you may eat.

And, upon them and the ships at sea you carry your loads.

And, We surely sent Noah to his people and he said,

“Oh my people, worship God; you have no god other than Him.

Then, will you not be fearful of Him?”

But, the well known of the DisBelieving people said,

“He is nothing but a man like yourselves who wants to assert himself over you.

And, if God willed to send a Messenger, He would have descended angels.

We have not heard anything of this man from our ancestors.

He is nothing but a man overcome by madness,

so wait for a time regarding him.”

Noah said, “My Lord God, make me strong because they have rejected me.”

So We inspired him, “Build a great ark under Our Watch and Inspiration.

And, when you are commanded to, put on the ark a pair from every creature,

as well as your family, except those for whom God’s Decree will ensue.

And, do not ask repentance from God for those who have sinned,

for, without a doubt, they will be among those drowned in the Great Flood.

And, when you have embarked on the ark, you and those with you,

then say, “Praise be to God who has rescued us from the sinful people.”

And say, “My Lord God, allow me to set down in a blessed landing site,

and You are the Best to assist us.”

And, without a doubt, in that are Signs.

And undeniably, We are continually testing our Believers.

Then, We created a generation of other people after them.

And, We sent a Messenger to them from among themselves,

saying, “Worship God; you have no other god besides Him.

So, will you not be conscious and give praise to Him?”

And, the well known people who DisBelieved in God,

and rejected the meeting in the Hereafter, while We gave

them comfort in this earthly life, said,

“This is nothing but a man like yourselves.

He eats from what you eat, and drinks from what you drink.

And, if you should follow a man like yourselves, then

in reality, you would then be defeated.

Does he assure you that when you perish and become nothing but

bones and dust that you will be resurrected once more?

How distant; how far from the truth is that what you are promised.

There is nothing but the worldly life – we live and we die,

but we will not be resurrected.  He is nothing but a man

who has invented lies about God, and we do not believe what he says.”

He replied, “Lord God, please strengthen me for they have rejected me.”

God said, “After a while, they will certainly have regret.”

So, then in fact, a great blast came from the sky and destroyed them

for their DisBelief, and they were reduced to nothing but stubble.

So, ruin came to the DisBelieving sinful people.

Then, We created generations of people after them.

No country will end before its specified time,

nor will it continue on past its time.

Then, We sent Our Messengers in sequence.

And, every time We sent a Messenger to a country, they rejected him.

So, We made them go after one another,

and We made them lessons to mankind.

So Lost are a people who do not Believe in God.

Then, We descended to Moses, and his brother, Aaron,

with Our Signs and Clear Evidence to

Pharaoh and his kingdom, but they were stubborn in matters of Faith,

and were an overconfident people.

They said, “Should we listen to two men like ourselves,

while their people are for us nothing but slaves?”

So, they rejected them and were of those Lost.

And, We also gave Moses the Scripture so perhaps they would be Guided.

And, We made Mary and her son, Jesus, a Sign, and protected them

on high level ground and provided flowing water for them.

And, God said, “O Messengers, eat from the good foods I have provided to you,

work righteously.  Indeed, I am Knowing of all that you do.

And, without a doubt, this, your Faith, is the one True Faith.

And, I am your Lord God, so Believe in Me.”

But, the people divided their Faith into sects,

each rejoicing in what it believes in.

So, leave them for a time in their turmoil.

Do they believe that what We provide to them of money and children

and that We hasten to provide them hurriedly of God's Bounty alone?

In reality, they do not understand the Truth.

Rather, those who are fearful and apprehensive of their

 Sovereign Lord God’s wrath,

and those who Believe in God’s Signs,

and those who do not associate others with God,

and those who give in charity what they can

while their hearts are fearful that their offerings are not pleasing to Allah,

because they will one day be returning to their Lord God –

it is those people who hasten to do righteous good deeds,

and they outperform others therein.

And, We do not give to any soul a burden past its ability to bear.

And, vested in Us is a Clear Record of deeds which speaks the truth about a man;

and they will not be judged unjustly.

But, their hearts are veiled with uncertainty over this, and

they have done many bad deeds, in addition to their DisBelief,

until when their powerful ones are overcome with punishment,

suddenly they are crying to God for assistance.

Do not suddenly cry out to Him today. For, indeed, you will not be aided.

God’s verses had already been recited to you and you

turned back on your heels in DisBelief,

with great arrogance regarding the Truth,

talking by night and speaking evil things against it.

Have they not reflected over God’s Holy Word,

or has there come to them suddenly Faith

which had not come to their ancestors?

Or, did they not recognize their assigned Messenger of God,

so they did not acknowledge him at the time?

Or, do they say, “He is mad inside.”

Instead, he has brought them God’s Truth.

But, most of them are adverse to the Truth.

 And, if the Truth had deferred to their preference,

the Heavens and the earth, and whatever is in them,

would be ruined.

However, We descended to them the Noble Message,

but they turned away in DisBelief.

Or, do you, O Muhammad, ask some payment in return?

The reward of your Sovereign Lord God is the Best.

And, He is the Greatest of all Providers.

And, without a doubt, you welcome them to the Right Path.

But, undeniably, those who do not Believe in God or the Hereafter

turn away from the Right Path.

And, even if We bless them with Our Mercy, and remove all of their suffering,

they would still carry on with their transgressions,

wandering in confusion, Unseeing to the Truth.

And, God warned them with affliction, but they did not

submit to their Sovereign Lord God, nor did they humbly pray to Him,

until the time when We unlocked before them a release of immense punishment,

and suddenly they will be in despair therein.

And, it is God who created for your ability to Hear the Truth,

See God’s Light, and feel with your hearts; but, little are you thankful to Him.

And, it is He who created you throughout the earth,

and to Him you will all be gathered one day.

And, it is God who blesses us with life, as well as created death,

and He alternates the night with the day. So, will you not understand?

Instead, they said what the former civilizations said.

They said, “When we persish and are nothing but bones and dust,

are we really to be resurrected one day?

Our forefathers and us have been promised this before;

this is nothing but tales of the former civilizations.”

Say to them, O Muhammad, “Don’t you Know to whom

belongs all the Heavens and the earth?”

They will reply, “To God.”

Say, “Then, won’t you remember Him in prayers?”

Say, “Who is the Sovereign Lord of the Seven Stratum Heavens

and Lord of the Supreme Throne of Authority?”

They reply, “To God.”

Say to them, “So will you not fear Him?”

Say, “In whose Kingdom is the realm of all things, great and small?

He is the Greatest of All Protectors, and none can avail against Him.

Don’t you Know that?”

They say, “To God.” Say to them, “So, why then are you deluded from the Truth?”

Instead, We have brought them the Truth,

and more accurately, they are the ones telling lies.

God takes no children of His own,

nor is there any other God or Creator besides Him.

Otherwise, each deity would take what it created,

and some would have striven to defeat the others.

Exalted is God, Allah, much greater than what they describe.

He Knows all that is Unseen, and what is Seen.

So Exalted is He, far more exceptional than what they associate with Him.

Say, “My Lord, if You could but demonstrate to me what they are promised.

 Lord, please do not send me to the place of those who have sinned!”

And, without a doubt, We are able to demonstrate what We have promised them.

Repel by the best means possible their evil.

We are most Knowledgeable about what they talk about.

And say, “I seek refuge with you, my Sovereign Lord God,

from the evil demons' provocations.

And, I seek refuge in You, my Lord God, or they may be close to me.”

Such is the lot of those who DisBelieve in God until, when death overcomes them,

he replies, “Lord, please send me back so that I may make Right

those things I left behind me. No!

His words are skin deep, and behind them is a blockade

until Resurrection Day when they are resurrected from their graves.

So, when the Horn on Judgment Day is blown for all,

there will no friendship nor kinship between them,

nor will they inquire about one another on that Day.

And, those people whose scales are weighed heavy with righteous good deeds,

they will achieve Gardens of Paradise.

However, those whose scales are light with righteous good deeds in life –

they are the ones who will lose their souls in Hellfire,

to abide therein eternally.

The Fiery Blaze of Hell will burn their faces,

and therein they will have their smiles pulled straight.

And, it will be said to them, “Weren’t My Verses recited to you in life,

and yet you denied them?”

They will reply, “Lord, our evilness overcame us,

and we were a people who were lead astray from the Right Path.

Lord, take us from here, and if we return to doing evil, then

without a doubt we are doing wrong.”

He will reply, “Remain apes despised therein and do not address Me.”

However, there were a group of Believers who said, “Our Sovereign Lord God,

we have Believed in You, please forgive us, and bless us with Your Mercy.

You are the Most Merciful of the Merciful.”

But, you made fun of them to the point

that they made you to forget the remembrance of God.

And, you used to laugh at them.

But, unquestionably, I will reward them this Day

 for their strong and enduring Faith – they are the attainers of Paradise.”

And, the angels will say, “How many years did you spend on earth?”

They will reply, “Maybe a day, or part of a day, please ask those who counted?”

He will reply, “You remained nothing but for a small time relatively,

if only you Knew.

Did you believe that We created you for no purpose,

or that you would not be returned to us in the End?”

So exalted is God, the Sovereign Supreme, the Truth;

there is no god but Him, Lord of the Throne of Noble Authority.

And, those who call upon others besides God

for which he has no clear proof of authority -

his explanation is only to the Sovereign Lord God for doing so.

And, without a doubt, the DisBelievers will not succeed in achieving Paradise.

And say, “My Lord God please forgive us, and bless us with Your Mercy,

for You are the Most Merciful of the Merciful.”