RITERION (al-Furqan)

In the name of Allah,
the Gracious, the Merciful

1. Blessed is He who sent down the Criterion
   upon His servant, to be a warning to humanity.
2. He to whom belongs the kingdom of the
   heavens and the earth, who took to Himself
   no son, who never had a partner in His kingship; who created everything and determined
   its measure.
3. And yet, instead of Him, they produce for
   themselves gods that create nothing, but are
   themselves created; that have no power to
   harm or benefit themselves; and no power
   over life, death, or resurrection.
4. Those who disbelieve say, “This is nothing
   but a lie that he made up, and others have
   helped him at it.” They have committed an
   injustice and a perjury.
5. And they say, “Tales of the ancients; he
   wrote them down; they are dictated to him
   morning and evening.”
6. Say, “It was revealed by He who knows the
   Secret in the heavens and the earth. He is always Forgiving and Merciful.”
7. And they say, “What sort of messenger is
   this, who eats food, and walks in the marketplaces? If only an angel was sent down with
   him, to be alongside him a warner.”
8. Or, “If only a treasure was dropped on
   him.” Or, “If only he had a garden from
   which he eats.” The evildoers also say, “You
   are following but a man under spell.”
9. Look how they invent examples for you.
   They have gone astray, and cannot find a
   way.
10. Blessed is He who, if He wills, can provide
    you with better than that—gardens beneath
    which rivers flow—and He will give you palaces.
11. In fact, they have denied the Hour, and We
    have prepared for those who deny the Hour a
    Blaze.
12. When it sees them from a distant place,
    they will hear it raging and roaring.
13. And when they are thrown into it, into a
    tight place, shackled, they will plead there for
    death.
14. “Do not plead for one death today, but
    plead for a great many deaths.”
15. Say, “Is this better, or the Garden of Eternity promised to the righteous? It is for them
    a reward and a destination.
16. They will have therein whatever they desire, forever. That is upon your Lord a binding promise.
17. On the Day when He gathers them, and
    what they worshiped besides Allah, He will say, “Was it you who misled these servants of Mine, or was it they who lost the way?”
18. They will say, “Glory be to You. It was not
    for us to take any lords besides You. But you
    gave them enjoyments, and their ancestors,
    until they forgot the Message, and became ruined people.”
19. They have denied you because of what you
    say; so you can neither avert, nor help. Whoever among you commits injustice, We will
    make him taste a grievous punishment.
20. We never sent any messengers before you,
    but they ate food and walked in the marketplaces. And We made some of you tempters
    for one another—will you be patient? Your
    Lord is always Observing.
21. Those who do not expect to meet Us say,
    “If only the angels were sent down to us, or
    we could see our Lord.” They have grown arrogant within themselves, and have become
    excessively defiant.
22. On the Day when they see the angels—
    there will be no good news for sinners on that
    Day; and they will say, “A protective refuge.”
23. We will proceed to the works they did, and
    will turn them into scattered dust.
24. The companions of Paradise on that Day
    will be better lodged, and more fairly accommodated.
25. The Day when the sky is cleft with clouds,
    and the angels are sent down in streams.
26. On that Day, true sovereignty will belong
    to the Merciful, and it will be a difficult Day
    for the disbelievers.
27. On that Day, the wrongdoer will bite his
    hands, and say, “If only I had followed the
    way with the Messenger.
28. Oh, woe to me; I wish I never took so-and-so for a friend.
29. He led me away from the Message after it
    had come to me; for Satan has always been a
    betrayer of man.”
30. And the Messenger will say, “My Lord, my
    people have abandoned this Quran.”
31. Likewise, to every prophet We assign enemies from among the wicked. But your Lord
    suffices as a Guide and Savior.
32. Those who disbelieve say, “Why was the
    Quran not revealed to him at once?” Thus in
    order to strengthen your heart thereby, and
    We revealed it in stages.
33. Whatever argument they come to you
    with, We provide you with the truth, and a
    better exposition.
34. Those who are herded into Hell on their
    faces—those are in a worse position, and further astray from the way.
35. We gave Moses the Scripture, and appointed his brother Aaron as his assistant.
36. We said, “Go to the people who rejected
    Our signs,” and We destroyed them completely.
37. And the people of Noah: when they rejected the messengers, We drowned them,
    and made them a lesson for mankind. We
    have prepared for the wrongdoers a painful
    retribution.
38. And Aad, and Thamood, and the inhabitants of Arras, and many generations in between.
39. To each We presented the parables; and
    each We devastated utterly.
40. And they came upon the city that was
    drenched by the terrible rain. Did they not
    see it? But they do not expect resurrection.
41. And when they see you, they take you for
    nothing but mockery: “Is this the one Allah
    sent as a messenger?”
42. “He nearly led us away from our gods, had
    we not patiently adhered to them.” But they
    will know, when they witness the torment,
    who is further away from the way.
43. Have you seen him who chose his desire as
    his god? Would you be an agent for him?
44. Or do you assume that most of them hear
    or understand? They are just like cattle, but
    even more errant in their way.
45. Do you not see how your Lord extends the
    shadow? Had He willed, He could have made
    it still. And We made the sun a pointer to it.
46. Then We withdraw it towards Us gradually.
47. And it is He who made the night a covering
    for you, and sleep for rest; and He made the
    day a revival.
48. And it is He who sends the winds, bringing
    advance news of His mercy; and We send
    down from the sky pure water.
49. To revive dead lands thereby, and to provide drink for the multitude of animals and
    humans We created.
50. We have circulated it among them, that
    they may reflect, but most people persist in
    thanklessness.
51. Had We willed, We could have sent to
    every town a warner.
52. So do not obey the disbelievers, but strive
    against them with it, a mighty struggle.
53. And it is He who merged the two seas; this
    one fresh and sweet, and that one salty and
    bitter; and He placed between them a barrier,
    and an impassable boundary.
54. And it is He who, from fluid, created the
    human being. Then He made relationships
    through marriage and mating. Your Lord is
    Omnipotent.
55. And yet, instead of Allah, they serve what
    neither profits them nor harms them. The
    disbeliever has always turned his back on his
    Lord.
56. We sent you only as a herald of good news
    and a warner.
57. Say, “I ask of you no payment for this—
    only that whoever wills may take a path to his
    Lord.”
58. And put your trust in the Living, the One
    who never dies; and celebrate His praise. He
    suffices as the All-Informed Knower of the
    faults of His creatures.
59. He who created the heavens and the earth
    and everything between them in six days, then settled on the Throne. The Most Merciful. Ask about Him a well-informed.
60. And when it is said to them, “Bow down to
    the Merciful,” they say, “And what is the
    Merciful? Are we to bow down to whatever
    you command us?” And it increases their
    aversion.
61. Blessed is He who placed constellations in
    the sky, and placed in it a lamp, and an illuminating moon.
62. And it is He who made the night and the
    day alternate—for whoever desires to reflect,
    or desires to show gratitude.
63. The servants of the Merciful are those who
    walk the earth in humility, and when the ignorant address them, they say, “Peace.”
64. And those who pass the night prostrating
    themselves to their Lord and standing up.
65. And those who say, ‘‘Our Lord, avert from
    us the suffering of Hell, for its suffering is
    continuous.
66. It is indeed a miserable residence and destination.”
67. And those who, when they spend, are neither wasteful nor stingy, but choose a middle
    course between that.
68. And those who do not implore besides Allah any other god, and do not kill the soul
    which Allah has made sacred—except in the
    pursuit of justice—and do not commit adultery. Whoever does that will face penalties.
69. The punishment will be doubled for him
    on the Day of Resurrection, and he will dwell
    therein in humiliation forever.
70. Except for those who repent, and believe,
    and do good deeds. These—Allah will replace
    their bad deeds with good deeds. Allah is ever
    Forgiving and Merciful.
71. Whoever repents and acts righteously—
    has inclined towards Allah with repentance.
72. And those who do not bear false witness;
    and when they come across indecencies, they
    pass by with dignity.
73. And those who, when reminded of the revelations of their Lord, do not fall before them
    deaf and blind.
74. And those who say, “Our Lord, grant us delight in our spouses and our children, and
    make us a good example for the righteous.”
75. Those will be awarded the Chamber for
    their patience, and will be greeted therein
    with greetings and peace.
76. Abiding therein forever—it is an excellent
    residence and destination.
77. Say, “What are you to my Lord without
    your prayers? You have denied the truth, and
    the inevitable will happen.”