In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.

1. All praise belongs to Allah, Who sent down the Book to His servant, and placed no crookedness in it.

2. A perfect guide, to warn of a severe punishment from Him, and to give good news to the believers who do righteous deeds — that they will have a beautiful reward.

3. Remaining in it forever.

4. And to warn those who say, "Allah has taken a son."

5. They have no knowledge of this, nor did their forefathers. What a terrible claim comes from their mouths! They speak nothing but lies.

6. Perhaps you would grieve yourself to death, sorrowing after them, if they do not believe in this message.

7. Surely, We have made everything on earth an adornment for it, to test them, and see who among them does the best deeds.

8. And certainly, We will turn all that is upon it into barren dust.

9. Or did you think that the companions of the cave and the inscription were among Our most wondrous signs?

10. When the youths took refuge in the cave, they said, "Our Lord, grant us mercy from Yourself, and facilitate for us, from our affair, right guidance."

11. So We sealed their ears in the cave for many years.

12. Then We awakened them, to make clear which of the two groups could best calculate how long they had remained.

13. We relate to you their story in truth: they were young men who believed in their Lord, and We increased them in guidance.

14. And We strengthened their hearts, when they stood up, and declared, "Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth. We will never call upon any god besides Him; if we did, we would surely be speaking a terrible falsehood."

15. "These people of ours have taken gods besides Him. Why do they not bring clear proof for them? Who could be more unjust than one who invents lies against Allah?"

16. "Now that you have withdrawn from them, and from what they worship besides Allah, seek refuge in the cave. Your Lord will extend His mercy to you, and provide ease for you in your situation."

17. You would have seen the sun, when it rose, moving away from their cave to the right, and when it set, bypassing them on the left, while they lay in an open space within it. This was among Allah's signs. Whomever Allah guides, is truly guided, and whomever He leaves astray, you will never find for him a protecting guide.

18. You would have thought them awake, though they were asleep. We turned them over to the right, and to the left, while their dog stretched out its paws at the entrance. Had you come upon them, you would have fled from them, filled with fear.

19. And so We awakened them, that they might question one another. One of them asked, "How long have you stayed here?" They replied, "We have stayed a day, or part of a day." They said, "Your Lord knows best how long you have stayed. Send one of you with these silver coins of yours into the city, and let him find the purest food, and bring you some provision from it. But let him be cautious, and let no one become aware of you."

20. "If they discover you, they will stone you, or force you back into their religion, and then you will never succeed."

21. Thus We caused them to be discovered, so that people might know that Allah's promise is true, and that there is no doubt about the Hour. When they disputed among themselves about their affair, some said, "Build a structure over them; their Lord knows best about them." Those who prevailed in the matter said, "We will surely build a place of worship over them."

22. They will say, "They were three, their dog being the fourth," and others will say, "Five, their dog being the sixth," guessing blindly. And others will say, "Seven, their dog being the eighth." Say, "My Lord knows best their number; only a few know the truth." So do not argue about them except with clear evidence, nor ask any of them about them.

23. And never say about anything, "I will do this tomorrow,"

24. Without adding, "If Allah wills." And remember your Lord when you forget, and say, "Perhaps my Lord will guide me to something closer to right guidance than this."

25. They remained in their cave for three hundred years, and increased by nine.

26. Say, "Allah knows best how long they remained. To Him belongs the unseen of the heavens and the earth. How clearly He sees, and how perfectly He hears! They have no protector besides Him, and He shares His authority with no one."

27. Recite what has been revealed to you from your Lord's Book. No one can alter His words, nor will you find any refuge besides Him.

28. Keep yourself patiently with those who call upon their Lord morning and evening, seeking His pleasure. Do not let your eyes turn away from them, longing for the adornments of this worldly life. And do not obey the one whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance, who follows his own desires, and whose affairs are ever reckless.

29. Say, "The truth is from your Lord. Whoever wishes, let him believe, and whoever wishes, let him disbelieve." Certainly, We have prepared for the wrongdoers a Fire whose walls will surround them completely. If they cry out for relief, they will be relieved with water like molten metal, scorching their faces — what a terrible drink, and what a miserable resting place!

30. As for those who believe and do righteous deeds, We will never let the reward of those who do good go to waste.

31. For them are Gardens of Eternity, beneath which rivers flow. There they will be adorned with bracelets of gold, and dressed in garments of fine green silk and rich brocade, reclining comfortably upon couches. What an excellent reward, and what a wonderful resting place!

32. Give them the example of two men: to one of them We gave two gardens of grapevines, surrounded by date palms, with fields of crops planted between them.

33. Each garden yielded abundant fruit, never falling short, and We caused a river to flow between them.

34. He had abundant wealth, so he said to his companion while conversing with him, "I have more wealth than you, and my people are stronger."

35. He entered his garden, wronging himself, and said, "I do not think this will ever perish.

36. Nor do I believe the Hour will ever come. Even if I am returned to my Lord, I will surely find something even better than this."

37. His companion replied, while conversing with him, "Do you deny the One Who created you from dust, then from a drop of fluid, then shaped you into a man?

38. But as for me, He is Allah, my Lord, and I associate no one with my Lord.

39. If only, when you entered your garden, you had said, 'Whatever Allah wills; there is no power except with Allah.' Although you see me as less than you in wealth and children.

40. Perhaps my Lord will grant me something better than your garden, and send upon it a calamity from the sky, leaving it barren and slippery.

41. Or cause its water to sink deep underground, so you will never be able to reach it again."

42. And so his fruits were utterly destroyed, and he began turning his hands over all he had spent on it, while it had collapsed upon its trellises, saying, "If only I had never associated anyone with my Lord!"

43. He had no supporters to help him against Allah, nor could he help himself.

44. There, authority belongs only to Allah, the True. He gives the best reward, and the best outcome.

45. Give them the example of this worldly life: it is like rain We send down from the sky; the vegetation of the earth mingles with it, but soon it becomes dry stubble, scattered by the winds. Allah has power over all things.

46. Wealth and children are the adornments of this worldly life, but lasting good deeds are far better with your Lord in reward, and far better in hope.

47. On the Day when We set the mountains in motion, and you see the earth laid bare, We will gather them all together, leaving none behind.

48. They will be presented before your Lord in rows, "You have come to Us just as We first created you; yet you claimed We would never set an appointed time for you."

49. The Record will be placed, then you will see the guilty terrified by what it contains. They will cry out, "Woe to us! What kind of record is this? It leaves out nothing, small or great, but has counted it all!" They will find everything they did present before them. Your Lord wrongs no one.

50. When We said to the angels, "Bow down before Adam," they all bowed except Iblis. He was one of the jinn, and he rebelled against his Lord's command. Will you then take him and his offspring as protectors instead of Me, though they are your enemies? What a miserable exchange for the wrongdoers!

51. I did not call them to witness the creation of the heavens and the earth, nor even their own creation, nor would I ever take those who lead others astray as helpers.

52. On the Day He will say, "Call upon those you claimed as My partners." They will call them, but they will not respond, and We will place between them a barrier.

53. The guilty will see the Fire, and realize they are about to fall into it, finding no escape from it.

54. We have certainly presented every kind of example in this Quran for people, yet the human being is, above all else, prone to argument.

55. Nothing prevents people from believing and seeking their Lord's forgiveness, when guidance comes to them, except that they await the fate of earlier peoples, or the punishment to confront them face-to-face.

56. We send messengers only as bearers of good news, and as warners. Yet those who disbelieve argue falsely, seeking to undermine the truth, and they mock My revelations and the warnings given to them.

57. Who could be more unjust than someone reminded of his Lord's revelations, yet turns away from them, forgetting what his own hands have done? We have placed coverings over their hearts, preventing them from understanding it, and deafness in their ears. Even if you call them to guidance, they will never be guided.

58. Yet your Lord is Most Forgiving, full of mercy. If He were to hold them accountable immediately for what they have earned, He would hasten their punishment. But they have an appointed time, beyond which they will find no refuge.

59. Those towns — We destroyed them when they persisted in wrongdoing, and We set a fixed time for their destruction.

60. Remember when Moses said to his servant, "I will not stop traveling until I reach the place where the two seas meet, even if it takes me years."

61. But when they reached the junction between them, they forgot their fish, and it slipped away into the sea.

62. After they had traveled further, Moses said to his servant, "Bring us our meal; this journey has truly exhausted us."

63. He replied, "Did you see what happened when we rested by the rock? I forgot about the fish — only Satan made me forget to mention it — and it amazingly made its way into the sea."

64. Moses said, "That is exactly what we were looking for!" So they retraced their steps carefully.

65. There they found one of Our servants, whom We had given mercy from Us, and taught knowledge from Us.

66. Moses said to him, "May I follow you, so that you might teach me some of the sound judgment you were taught?"

67. He replied, "You will never be able to have patience with me.

68. How can you be patient with what you have no knowledge of?"

69. Moses said, "Allah willing, you will find me patient, and I will not disobey any of your instructions."

70. He said, "Then if you follow me, do not ask me about anything, until I myself explain it to you."

71. So they set out together, until they boarded a boat, and he made a hole in it. Moses exclaimed, "Did you make a hole in it, to drown its passengers? You have done something terrible!"

72. He replied, "Did I not tell you that you would never be able to have patience with me?"

73. Moses said, "Do not hold me accountable for what I forgot, and do not make things difficult for me."

74. So they continued on, until they met a young boy, and he killed him. Moses cried out, "Have you killed an innocent soul who has taken no life? You have done something truly horrible!"

75. He replied, "Did I not tell you that you would never be able to have patience with me?"

76. Moses said, "If I ask you about anything after this, then do not keep me in your company. You have received enough excuses from me."

77. So they traveled on, until they reached the people of a town. They asked its people for food, but they refused to offer them hospitality. There they found a wall about to collapse, and he repaired it. Moses said, "If you had wished, you could have asked for payment for this."

78. He replied, "This is where you and I part ways. Now I will explain to you the meaning of those things you could not bear patiently.

79. As for the boat, it belonged to poor people who worked at sea. I wanted to damage it, because there was a king behind them who seized every boat by force.

80. As for the boy, his parents were believers, and we feared he would burden them with rebellion and disbelief.

81. So We wished that their Lord would substitute for them someone better — one purer and more compassionate.

82. And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the town, and beneath it was a treasure that belonged to them. Their father had been a righteous man, so your Lord intended that they reach maturity, and extract their treasure — as a mercy from your Lord. I did not do it of my own accord. This is the explanation of what you could not bear patiently."

83. They ask you about Dhul-Qarnayn. Say, "I will recount to you something of his story."

84. We established him firmly on earth, and We gave him means to everything.

85. So he pursued a certain path.

86. Until, when he reached the setting of the sun, he found it setting into a hot spring, and he found a people nearby. We said, "Dhul-Qarnayn, you may either punish them, or treat them kindly."

87. He replied, "Whoever does wrong, we will surely punish him; then he will return to his Lord, Who will punish him with a terrible torment.

88. But whoever believes and does good deeds will have the finest reward, and We will speak to him gently concerning our command."

89. Then he pursued another path.

90. Until, when he reached the rising of the sun, he found it rising upon a people for whom We had provided no shelter from it.

91. Thus it was, We had encompassed all that he had in knowledge.

92. Then he pursued yet another path.

93. Until, when he reached a place between two barriers, he found a people who could hardly understand speech.

94. They said, "Dhul-Qarnayn, Gog and Magog are spreading corruption throughout the land. Shall we pay you tribute, so that you build a barrier between us and them?"

95. He replied, "What my Lord has given me is far better. But assist me with strength, and I will build a barrier between you and them.

96. Bring me blocks of iron." Then, when he had filled the gap between the two mountainsides, he said, "Blow!" When he had made it glow like fire, he said, "Bring me molten copper to pour over it."

97. Thus, Gog and Magog could neither climb over it, nor tunnel through it.

98. He said, "This is a mercy from my Lord. But when my Lord's promise comes, He will level it to dust. And my Lord's promise is always true."

99. On that Day, We will let them surge against each other like waves. The Trumpet will be blown, and We will gather them all together.

100. On that Day, We will display Hell plainly before the disbelievers.

101. Those whose eyes were veiled from My remembrance, and were unable to hear.

102. Do those who disbelieve think they can take My servants as protectors instead of Me? Certainly, We have prepared Hellfire as a hospitality for those who deny the truth.

103. Say, "Shall We inform you who will lose the most through their deeds?

104. They are those whose efforts in this worldly life have gone astray, while they think they are doing good work."

105. They are the ones who reject the signs of their Lord and deny meeting Him. Their deeds will come to nothing, and on the Day of Resurrection, We will give them no weight at all.

106. That is their recompense — Hell — because they disbelieved and treated My signs and My messengers with mockery.

107. Surely, those who believe and do righteous deeds will have the Gardens of Paradise as their dwelling place.

108. They will remain there forever, never wishing to leave.

109. Say, "If the ocean were ink for the words of my Lord, the ocean would run dry before the words of my Lord were exhausted — even if We brought another ocean like it for support."

110. Say, "I am only a human being like you. It has been revealed to me that your God is One God. Whoever hopes to meet his Lord, let him work righteousness, and never associate anyone with the worship of his Lord."