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[1] HALLOWED be He in whose hand all dominion rests, since He has the power to will anything:
[2] He who has created death as well as life, so that He might put you to a test [and thus show] which of you is best in conduct, and [make you realize that] He alone is almighty, truly forgiving.
[3] [Hallowed be] He who has created seven heavens in full harmony with one another: no fault will thou see in the creation of the Most Gracious. And turn thy vision [upon it] once more: canst thou see any flaw?
[4] Yea, turn thy vision [upon it] again and yet again: [and every time] thy vision will fall back upon thee, dazzled and truly defeated….
[5] And, indeed, We have adorned the skies nearest to the earth with lights, and have made them the object of futile guesses for the evil ones [from among men]: and for them have We readied suffering through a blazing flame –
[6] for, suffering in hell awaits all who are [thus] bent on blaspheming against their Sustainer: and how vile a journey's end!
[7] When they are cast into that [hell], they will hear its breath indrawing as it boils up,
[8] well-nigh bursting with fury; [and] every time a host [of such sinners] is flung into it, its keepers will ask them, "Has no warner ever come to you?"
[9] They will reply: "Yea, a warner did indeed come unto us, but we gave him the lie and said, 'Never has God sent down anything [by way of revelation]! You [self-styled warners] are but lost in a great delusion!"'
[10] And they will add: "Had we but listened [to those warnings], or [at least] used our own reason, we would not [now] be among those who are destined for the blazing flame!"
[11] Thus will they come to realize their sins: but [by that time,] remote will have become all good from those who are destined for the blazing flame.
[12] [As against this,] behold, for those who stand in awe of God although He is beyond the reach of their perception, there is forgiveness in store and a great reward.
[13] AND [know, O men, that] whether you keep your beliefs secret or state them openly, He has full knowledge indeed of all that is in [your] hearts.
[14] How could it be that He who has created [all] should not know [all]? Yea, He alone is unfathomable [in His wisdom], aware!
[15] He it is who has made the earth easy to live upon: go about, then, in all its regions, and partake the sustenance which He provides: but [always bear in mind that] unto Him you shall be resurrected.
[16] Can you ever feel secure that He who is in heaven will not cause the earth to swallow you up when, lo and behold, it begins to quake?
[17] Or can you ever feel secure that He who is in heaven will not let loose against you a deadly stormwind, whereupon you would come to know how [true] My warning was?
[18] And, indeed, [many of] those who lived aforetime did give the lie [to My warnings]: and how awesome was My rejection [of them]!
[19] Have they, then, never beheld the birds above them, spreading their wings and drawing them in? None but the Most Gracious upholds them: for, verily, He keeps all things in His sight.
[20] [And] is there any, besides the Most Gracious, that could be a shield for you, and could succour you [against danger]? They who deny this truth are but lost in self- delusion!
[21] Or is there any that could provide you with sustenance if He should withhold His provision [from you]? Nay, but they [who are bent on denying the truth] stubbornly persist in their disdain [of God's messages] and in their headlong flight [from Him]!
[22] But then, is he that goes along with his face close to the ground better guided than he that walks upright on a straight way?
[23] SAY: "[God is] He who has brought you [all] into being, and has endowed you with hearing, and sight, and hearts: [yet] how seldom are you grateful!"
[24] Say: "It is He who has multiplied you on earth; and it is unto Him that you shall be gathered [on resurrection]."
[25] But they [only] ask, "When is this promise to be fulfilled? [Answer this, O you who believe in it,] if you are men of truth!"
[26] Say thou, [O Prophet:] "Knowledge thereof rests with God alone; and I am only a plain warner."
[27] Yet in the end, when they shall see that [fulfilment] close at hand, the faces of those who were bent on denying the truth will be stricken with grief; and they will be told, "This it is that you were [so derisively] calling for!"
[28] SAY [O Prophet]: "What do you think? Whether God destroys me and those who follow me, or graces us with His mercy - is there anyone that could protect [you] deniers of the truth from grievous suffering [in the life to come]?"
[29] Say: "He is the Most Gracious: we have attained to faith in Him, and in Him have we placed our trust; and in time you will come to know which of us was lost in manifest error."
[30] Say [unto those who deny the truth]: "What do you think? If of a sudden all your water were to vanish underground, who [but God] could provide you with water from [new] unsullied springs?"