25al-FurqānThe Differentiatorسُورَةُ الفرقان

Exalted and elevated is He who gave in increments this Differentiator [Qur’an] to His subject so that it serves as a warner to all [sensible] environments —

[Allah is] the One to whom belongs the ownership of the heavens and the earth, [the One] who has not espoused an offspring and who has no [divine] partner in His dominion: for it is He who proportionately created everything according to His calculation.

And yet, they [the mushriks] accepted divinities/authorities as an alternative to Him, [divinities/authorities] that cannot create anything the while they are created and that cannot offer their own selves any detriment or benefit and that cannot initiate [all the factors associated with the onset of] death, and [that cannot initiate all the factors associated with bringing about] life and [ultimately the onset of] resurrection.

Furthermore, those who are in denial [of Allah’s power and authority] say, “This [Qur’an] is nothing but a fabrication concocted by him [Muhammad] who was assisted by some other high society”: these [mushriks] have produced a tall tale and a trumped-up story.

And they add, “[This Qur’an amounts to a book of] ancient myths that he [Muhammad] solicited [from that other high society] so that it could be dictated to him [incrementally] at the break of day and in late afternoon.”

Say [O Muhammad], “The One who hosted it [this Qur’an] is the One who knows what is undisclosed in the heavens and on earth. Verily, He was and is continuously forgiving, continually merciful.”

And they [the mushriks] go on, “What kind of messenger is this [one] who consumes food and meanders through the marketplaces [just like the rest of us]; if only there was an angel coming down to him to stand alongside him as a warner!?

“Or [it would be more convincing had he] a treasure of wealth sent to him or a [flourishing] garden from which to dine!?” And thus the justice violators say, “You [people] are [being tempted to] follow a delusional man.”

Reflect [O Muhammad] on how they [the mushriks] promulgate [such] comparisons [about you] for which they go off course and are not able to find a way out [of their folly].

Elevated and exalted is He who, if He decides, would give you [O Muhammad] more and better than that [which they uttered] — gardens under which rivers flow — and [beyond that] He will give you [palatial] mansions.

Rather, it is they [the mushriks] who refute the [fact of the] Final Hour; and We have prepared a flaming fire for anyone who refutes the Final Hour:

When it is at a distance and within view they [the mushriks] will hear its indignant growl and its gasping puff,

And when they are hurled into a tight place therein in shackles they will cry out asking for an annihilation [to end their misery and suffering].

[But an answer will come to them], “Do not just ask for [just] one annihilation; ask for many annihilations.”

Say, “Is this [wretched hellhole] better or the paradise of eternity, which has been promised to those who have been on their lookout [concerning My power and authority] — as their recompense and destiny,

“Wherein they will have whatever they want in perpetuity?” This [recompense] has always been your Sustainer’s promise about which they will bear responsibility [and consequences].

And it will be a Day when He brings them all together along with what [and whom] they idolized to the exclusion of Allah, saying, “Did you [human idols/gods] mislead these subjects of Mine or were they the ones who went off course [of their own accord]?”

They will reply, “Exclusively exalted are You! It did not behoove us to select paramount personages to your exclusion; rather You put forward for them and their forebears a worldly time of pleasure until they [of their own choice] stopped thinking about You and became a barren and bleak [bunch of] people.”

[And at that point, Allah will answer back], “They [those imitation world deities] are disproving you [the mushriks] in what you are saying; and now you cannot dismiss yourselves nor can you help yourselves. And whoever from among you has done injustice We will have him experience a massive punishment!”

And, even before you [O Prophet], We have not commissioned any emissary [to communicate Our messages] except that they, indeed, consumed food and walked about in the marketplaces [of their societies as mortal beings like yourself]: for [in this way] We render some of you to become a test and trial for others to see whether you will be patient [during the worldly time of testing] — and your Sustainer has always been very perceptive [of you].1

And those who do not anticipate meeting up with Us say, “If only angels were sent to us from on high or if only we could see our Sustainer [we would have been committed to Allah]!” They demonstrate a psychological arrogance as they immeasurably trespass all perimeters of propriety.

[But] on the Day when they shall [actually] see the malā’ikah there will be no good news for [such] criminals who will exclaim, “But this cannot be! What is interdicting us [from salvation]?”

And [they would be asking this, for] We would have approached whatever deed they carried out [when they were back in the world] and turned it into powder blowing in the wind!

[Whereas] the [prospective] occupants of Paradise on that [same] Day will have a better place to settle in and a worthier place to slumber.

And [this will be] the Day when the sky will split open with clouds [bursting forth] bearing the malā’ikah in-the-offing and descending —

A Day when [this scenario will cause all to recognize that] true sovereignty belongs to the Mercy-Giver: thus it will be a Day of serious severity for the kāfirs,

A Day when the justice violator will bite his hands [such that physical pain will override psychological pain], saying, “Oh how I wish I had taken the pathway alongside the Messenger,

“O what shall I do as now it is too late? Oh how I wish I had never befriended so-and-so [who misled me during my days in the world]!

“He most certainly deluded me away from the consciousness [of Allah’s power and authority] after information of that had come to me” — for Satan is ever a disappointment [and betrayal to the human being].”

And [on that Day] the Messenger shall say, “O my Sustainer! My people have eschewed this Qur’an!”

It is in this [social behavioral] manner that We have rendered unto every prophet enemies who come from [the ranks of] criminals; therefore, it should suffice you that your Sustainer is to guide [you] and support [you].

And so, these [criminal] deniers [of Allah’s power and authority] were the ones who said, “If only the Qur’an was revealed to him [Muhammad] in one lump sum!” It is [through] such [social challenge] that We stabilize [calm down] your passion [vehemence] — and [thus did] We sequence it [the Qur’an] and give it its magnitude —

[Because] they [the mushriks] will never present you with an analogy except that We present you [in response to them] with truth and justice and a better interpretation [of issues and events].

Those are the ones who will be gathered together [on the Day of Accountability], hoisted on their faces into Hell — it is they who are worst off in their position and farthest away from any path [leading to Us].

Of a certainty, We gave Mūsā the scripture [Torah] and We made his brother Hārūn his responsible attendant [the one to share the load of the divine message with Mūsā].

Thereupon We said, “Go both of you to the nation that contradicted Our illustrations [of power and authority]”; after which We downright demolished it [that nation].

And [recall] the people of Nūḥ: when they contradicted [the message of] the messengers, We caused them to drown and made them into a demonstration [of Our power and authority] — for We have arranged a gruesome suffering for justice violators.

And [similarly, do not forget] ‘Ād and Thamūd and the people of al-Rass and many other interspersed generations [throughout the course of time that We took to task]:

And in each one of these cases [of civilizational ruin] We advanced moral tales [to them]; and each one of them [due to their negative response to Us], We thrashed and crushed.

And they [the Makkan mushriks] must surely have come upon [in their travels] that urban area that was barraged with obnoxious downpours [of rainwater]: have they [the Makkan mushriks] not seen and considered it [and what happened to it]? But [the problem with them is that] they were never hopeful of a resurrection.

And whenever they [the mushriks] set their sights on you, they make fun of you, [saying], “Is this the one whom Allah has sent as a messenger?

“He [Muhammad] was about to mislead us away from our deities had we not insisted on [worshiping and honoring] them!” But [inevitably], they [the mushriks] will, when they see the suffering [in store for them], come to realize who, in fact, is extra-deviant.

Have you not considered [in real-life terms] he who idolizes his [earthly] desires? Do you think you can be held responsible for him?

Or do you reckon that most of them [the mushriks] are listening [to this message] and reasoning [through it]? [To the contrary] they are just like herds of cattle [driven and not driving]; worse yet, they are more abnormal [in their life direction].

Have you not considered your Sustainer and how He extends the dimness [darkness at both ends of the day], when had He so willed, He could indeed have made it stagnant [and unchanging]? But then, We made the Sun a clue for it [how the dimness extends and contracts, that is, night into day and vice versa];

Then We gently withdraw it [the dimness] into Us [as per Our calibrated laws of “nature”].

And it is He who has fashioned the night for you as a garb and [He devised] sleep to be a break [from effort and labor], and He composed daytime to be a reinvigoration [upon rising].

And it is He who propels the current of air as [a harbinger of] good news within the workings of His grace; and [similarly] We bring down from the skies water that is pure [natural and uncontaminated],

So that We may thereby revitalize a lifeless town [settlement] and provide drinking water to what We have created, cattle and many populations of people.

And all of this We have noted [and specified recurrently] among them so that they are conscious [of Our power and mercy]; but most people refuse [Our advances], insisting on kufr.

And had We willed it, We could have sent to every urban expansion [a civil society that has made the transition from its agrarian or nomadic past] a warner [and so, such as did not receive a messenger will not be immediately taken to task as those who did],

Thus, do not defer to the kāfirs, and pursue and sustain a marathon jihad against them [concerning this affair].

And it is He who adjoined the two large bodies of water — one with fresh and hydrating water and the other salty and astringent — even though between them He has crafted a barrier and a defiant disconnection.

And it is He who created biological beings out of [this very] water and then completed them with blood relationship and common ancestry — for your Sustainer was and is very mighty.

And they [the mushriks] kowtow to things [and beings] inferior to Allah that neither help nor harm them: a kāfir by nature is disrespectful of his Sustainer.

Yet [despite how people behave] We have not sent you [O Muhammad] except as one who breaks good news [to the adherents of Allah] and breaks bad news [to the opponents of Allah].

Say [O Muhammad], “I am not asking you [the kāfirs] for any incentive, except he who wants [to gain an incentive] will do so by finding his way to his Sustainer.”

Therefore, place your trust [and confidence] in the Ever-Living who does not die and exalt and praise Him profusely: sufficient enough is that no one is aware of His subjects’ sins as He,

Who created the heavens and the earth and everything therein in six eons, and is established on His seat of power: the Mercy-Giver, [therefore] ask none but him for experiential knowledge.

And whenever they [the kāfirs] are told to prostrate themselves to the Mercy-Giver, they ask, “And who is [this] Mercy-Giver? Are we to prostrate to whomever you command us to?” And so, this [delivery of divine information to them only] exacerbated their aversion.2

Extensively extolled is He who has constructed great constellations in the skies, placing among them a [radiant celestial] lamp and a glowing moon.

And it is He who made night and day trail one another: [this He brings to the attention of] the one who resolves to be of a heightened conscience and resolves to express [sincere] appreciation.

And the subjects of the Mercy-Giver are those who walk soothingly on earth and who, if they are [offensively] spoken to by ignorant [and rude] people, reply by expressing [compliments of] peace;

And who end their day for their Sustainer in [a condition of] prostration and action;

And who beseech, “O our Sustainer! Spare us the suffering of Hell — for its suffering is a liability:

“Indeed, it is a terrible place to land in and a terrible place to dwell in”;

And who, when they make a contribution, do so without overspending and without underspending, [understanding that there is] a happy medium between [such extremes];

And who do not call on any other deity/authority besides Allah, and do not take any life deemed sacrosanct by Allah except in accordance with truth and justice, and do not commit adultery — for [be warned that] whoever does such [abominable] things will [not only] encounter [definite, afterlife] requital,

[But] suffering for such a person will be multiplied on the Day of Resurrection where he will dwell forever in ignominy,

Except for the one [or they] who makes amends and asks for forgiveness and does what is right and upright: those are the ones whose [aberrational] wickedness Allah will replace with goodness, for Allah has always been oft-forgiving and especially merciful,

And whoever asks for forgiveness and does what is right and upright, then for sure he is [on his way] to Allah’s reprieve;

And who are not witnesses [and accomplices] to perjury, and were they to brush up against people who are senseless [and silly], they pass by with dignity [and integrity];

And who, when they are reminded of the illustrations of Allah’s power and authority, they do not recklessly collapse as if they were deaf and blind;

And who ask earnestly, “O our Sustainer! Grant us out of our spouses and our progeny the delight of our eye and cause us to become leaders for those conscious [of your power and authority].”

They are the ones who will be awarded the highest station in paradise due to their patient perseverence [in the erstwhile world], and will be received therein with [pleasant] greetings and peace,

Therein to reside forever: and what a splendid place to settle and dwell in!

Say [O Muhammad to the kāfirs], “My Sustainer would have no concern for you had it not been for your du‘ā’. But, indeed, you have contradicted [and contravened] Him, therefore what is due is due [the suffering that you were warned of has come due].”