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

1. Praise be to Allah, Who has sent down upon His servant the Book, and has not placed therein any crookedness.

2. Upright, to warn of severe punishment from Him, and to give glad tidings to the believers who do righteous deeds, that for them is an excellent reward.

3. Remaining in it forever.

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

5. They have no knowledge of it, nor had their forefathers. Grave is the word that comes forth from their mouths; they speak nothing but a lie.

6. Then perhaps you would grieve yourself to death over their footsteps, if they do not believe in this message, out of sorrow.

7. Truly, We have made what is on earth an adornment for it, that We may test them as to which of them is best in deed.

8. And indeed, We will make what is upon it a barren ground.

9. Or have you thought that the companions of the cave and the inscription were among Our signs a wonder?

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

11. So We cast a veil over their ears in the cave for a number of years.

12. Then We awakened them, that We might make evident which of the two parties was most precise in calculating the duration they had remained.

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

14. And We strengthened their hearts when they stood and said, "Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth; we will never invoke any god besides Him. Certainly, we would then have spoken an enormity.

15. These, our people, have taken gods besides Him. Why do they not bring forth a clear authority concerning them? Who, then, is more unjust than one who invents a lie against Allah?"

16. And when you have withdrawn from them, and from what they worship other than Allah, then seek refuge in the cave; your Lord will spread out for you of His mercy, and He will prepare for you ease in your affair.

17. And you would see the sun, when it rose, inclining away from their cave toward the right, and when it set, passing them by toward the left, while they were within an open space thereof. That is among the signs of Allah. Whomever Allah guides, he is rightly guided; and whomever He leaves astray, you will never find for him a protecting guide.

18. And you would think them awake, while they were asleep; and We turned them to the right and to the left, with their dog stretching out its forelegs at the entrance. Had you looked upon them, you would have turned away from them in flight and been filled with terror of them.

19. And thus We awakened them, that they might question one another. A speaker among them said, "How long have you remained?" They said, "We have remained a day or part of a day." They said, "Your Lord knows best how long you have remained. So send one of you with this silver coin of yours to the city, and let him see which is the purest food, and bring you provision from it; and let him be cautious, and let no one become aware of you.

20. Indeed, if they discover you, they will stone you or return you to their religion; and then you will never succeed."

21. And thus We caused them to be discovered, that they might know that the promise of Allah is true and that the Hour — there is no doubt concerning it. When they disputed among themselves about their affair, they said, "Construct over them a structure; their Lord knows best about them." Those who prevailed in their matter said, "We will surely build over them a place of worship."

22. They will say, "Three, their fourth being their dog," and they say, "Five, their sixth being their dog," guessing at the unseen; and they say, "Seven, and their eighth being their dog." Say, "My Lord knows best their number; none knows them except a few." So do not argue about them except with an obvious argument, and do not inquire about them from anyone among them.

23. And never say of anything, "I will do that tomorrow."

24. Except, "If Allah wills." And remember your Lord when you forget, and say, "Perhaps my Lord will guide me to something closer than this in right conduct."

25. And 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 clearly He hears! They have no protector besides Him, and He shares His judgment with no one."

27. And recite what has been revealed to you from the Book of your Lord; none can alter His words, and you will never find besides Him any refuge.

28. And patiently keep yourself with those who call upon their Lord morning and evening, seeking His Face; and let not your eyes pass beyond them, desiring the adornment of the worldly life; and do not obey one whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance, who follows his desire, and whose affair is ever neglectful.

29. And say, "The truth is from your Lord; so whoever wills, let him believe, and whoever wills, let him disbelieve." Surely, We have prepared for the wrongdoers a Fire whose walls will surround them; and if they call for relief, they will be relieved with water like molten metal, which scalds the faces — wretched is the drink, and evil is the resting place.

30. Surely, those who believe and do righteous deeds — We will not let go to waste the reward of one who does good deeds.

31. Those will have Gardens of Eden beneath which rivers flow; they will be adorned therein with bracelets of gold and will wear green garments of fine silk and brocade, reclining therein upon couches — excellent is the reward, and beautiful is the resting place.

32. And present to them the example of two men: We granted to one of them two gardens of grapevines, and surrounded them with palm trees, and placed between them fields of crops.

33. Each of the two gardens brought forth its produce, and did not fail in it at all; and We caused a river to gush forth within them.

34. And he had abundant fruit; so he said to his companion while conversing with him, "I am greater than you in wealth and mightier in numbers."

35. And he entered his garden while wronging himself; he said, "I do not think that this will ever perish.

36. And I do not think the Hour will ever come; and even if I am returned to my Lord, I will surely find better than this as a return."

37. His companion said to him while conversing with him, "Have you disbelieved in the One Who created you from dust, then from a drop, then fashioned you into a man?

38. But as for me, He is Allah, my Lord, and I associate none with my Lord.

39. And why, when you entered your garden, did you not say, 'What Allah wills; there is no power except with Allah'? Even if you see me less than you in wealth and children.

40. Then perhaps my Lord will grant me better than your garden, and will send upon it a calamity from the sky, so it becomes a barren, slippery ground.

41. Or its water becomes sunken into the earth, so you would never be able to seek it."

42. And his fruits were encompassed, so he began wringing his hands about over what he had spent upon it, while it lay collapsed upon its trellises, and he said, "Oh, would that I had not associated anyone with my Lord!"

43. And there was for him no company to aid him other than Allah, nor could he defend himself.

44. There, authority belongs to Allah, the Truth; He is best in reward and best in outcome.

45. And present to them the example of the life of this world: like water which We send down from the sky, and the vegetation of the earth mingles with it; then it becomes dry stubble, scattered by the winds. And Allah is powerful over all things.

46. Wealth and children are adornments of the life of this world; but the enduring righteous deeds are better with your Lord for reward, and better for hope.

47. And the Day We will set the mountains in motion, and you will see the earth laid bare; and We will gather them, leaving none of them behind.

48. And they will be presented before your Lord in rows: "Certainly, you have come to Us just as We created you the first time; yet you claimed that We would never appoint for you a meeting."

49. And the Book will be placed, and you will see the criminals fearful of what is in it; and they will say, "Woe to us! What is this Book that leaves out neither small nor great, except that it has enumerated it?" And they will find what they did present; and your Lord wrongs no one.

50. And when We said to the angels, "Prostrate to Adam," so they prostrated, except Iblis; he was of the jinn, and he rebelled against the command of his Lord. Will you then take him and his offspring as allies instead of Me, while they are enemies to you? Miserable is the substitute for the wrongdoers.

51. I did not make them witness the creation of the heavens and the earth, nor their own creation; nor would I take the misguiders as helpers.

52. And the Day He will say, "Call My partners whom you claimed"; so they will call them, but they will not respond to them; and We will place between them a gulf of destruction.

53. And the criminals will see the Fire, and will realize that they are bound to fall into it; and they will find no escape from it.

54. And certainly, We have diversified in this Quran every kind of example for humankind; yet the human being is, above all else, prone to dispute.

55. And nothing prevented the people from believing when guidance came to them, and from seeking forgiveness from their Lord, except that the precedent of the former peoples should come upon them, or that the punishment should come upon them face to face.

56. And We do not send the messengers except as bearers of glad tidings and as warners; yet those who disbelieve argue with falsehood to refute thereby the truth, and they take My verses and what they are warned of in mockery.

57. And who is more unjust than one who is reminded of the verses of his Lord, yet turns away from them and forgets what his hands have sent forth? Truly, We have placed coverings over their hearts, lest they understand it, and deafness in their ears; and if you call them to guidance, they will never then be guided.

58. And your Lord is the Forgiving, Possessor of mercy. If He were to seize them for what they have earned, He would hasten the punishment for them; rather, for them is an appointed time from which they will find no refuge.

59. And those towns — We destroyed them when they did wrong, and We appointed for their destruction a fixed time.

60. And when Moses said to his servant, "I will not cease until I reach the junction of the two seas, or continue for a long period."

61. But when they reached the junction between them, they forgot their fish, and it took its way into the sea, tunneling away.

62. Then when they had passed beyond, he said to his servant, "Bring us our meal; certainly we have encountered fatigue from this journey of ours."

63. He said, "Did you see when we took refuge at the rock? Truly, I forgot the fish — and none but Satan caused me to forget mentioning it — and it took its way into the sea, astonishingly."

64. He said, "That is what we were seeking." So they returned, retracing their footsteps.

65. Then they found a servant from among Our servants, whom We had granted mercy from Us, and whom We had taught knowledge from Our own.

66. Moses said to him, "May I follow you, so that you teach me from what you have been taught of right guidance?"

67. He said, "Truly, you will not be able to have patience with me.

68. And how can you have patience with that of which you have no encompassing knowledge?"

69. He said, "You will find me, if Allah wills, patient; and I will not disobey you in any command."

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

71. So they set out, until when they embarked upon the ship, he made a hole in it. Moses said, "Have you made a hole in it to drown its people? Certainly, you have done a grievous thing."

72. He said, "Did I not say that you would not be able to have patience with me?"

73. He said, "Do not hold me accountable for what I forgot, and do not burden me with difficulty in my affair."

74. So they set out, until when they met a boy, he killed him. Moses said, "Have you killed a pure soul without it having killed another? Certainly, you have done a deplorable thing."

75. He said, "Did I not say to you that you would not be able to have patience with me?"

76. He said, "If I ask you about anything after this, then do not keep me as a companion; certainly, you have received sufficient excuse from me."

77. So they set out, until when they came to the people of a town, they asked its people for food, but they refused to offer them hospitality. Then they found therein a wall about to collapse, so he restored it. Moses said, "If you had wished, you could have taken payment for it."

78. He said, "This is the parting between me and you. I will inform you of the interpretation of that with which you could not have patience.

79. As for the ship, it belonged to poor people working on the sea, so I intended to damage it, for there was behind them a king who seized every ship by force.

80. And as for the boy, his parents were believers, and we feared that he would burden them by transgression and disbelief.

81. So we intended that their Lord should give them in exchange one better than him in purity and closer in affection.

82. And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the city, and beneath it was a treasure belonging to them; and their father had been righteous. So your Lord intended that they should reach maturity and extract their treasure — as a mercy from your Lord. And I did not do it of my own accord. That is the interpretation of that with which you could not have patience."

83. And they ask you about Dhul-Qarnayn. Say, "I will recite to you a remembrance of him."

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

85. So he pursued a means.

86. Until, when he reached the setting of the sun, he found it setting in a dark spring, and he found near it a people. We said, "O Dhul-Qarnayn, either you punish, or else deal with them kindly."

87. He said, "As for one who does wrong, we will punish him; then he will be returned to his Lord, and He will punish him with a terrible punishment.

88. But as for one who believes and does righteousness, for him is the best reward, and We shall speak to him gently regarding Our command."

89. Then he pursued a means.

90. Until, when he reached the rising of the sun, he found it rising upon a people for whom We had not made any covering against it.

91. Thus it was; and We had encompassed in knowledge whatever he had.

92. Then he pursued a means.

93. Until, when he reached between the two mountains, he found beside them a people who could scarcely understand speech.

94. They said, "O Dhul-Qarnayn, indeed Gog and Magog are corruptors on earth; so shall we assign for you a payment, that you might make between us and them a barrier?"

95. He said, "That in which my Lord has established me is better; but assist me with strength — I will make between you and them a dam.

96. Bring me sheets of iron." Until, when he had leveled between the two cliffs, he said, "Blow." Until, when he had made it fire, he said, "Bring me molten copper to pour over it."

97. They were unable to scale it, nor were they able to pierce it.

98. He said, "This is a mercy from my Lord; but when the promise of my Lord comes, He will make it level — and the promise of my Lord is true."

99. And We shall leave them that Day surging over one another; and the Trumpet will be blown, and We shall gather them all together.

100. And We shall present Hellfire on that Day in full view before the disbelievers.

101. Those whose eyes had been covered from My remembrance, and they were unable to hear.

102. Do those who disbelieve think that they can take My servants as protectors apart from Me? Truly, We have prepared Hell as a lodging for the disbelievers.

103. Say, "Shall We inform you of those who are greatest losers in respect to their deeds?

104. Those whose efforts have gone astray in the life of this world, while they think that they are doing good works."

105. They are those who disbelieve in the verses of their Lord and in meeting Him; thus their deeds have become worthless, and We shall assign no weight to them on the Day of Resurrection.

106. That is their recompense — Hell — for their disbelief and for taking My verses and My messengers in mockery.

107. Truly, those who believe and perform righteous deeds — for them are Gardens of Paradise as a lodging.

108. Abiding therein forever; they will not desire any transfer from it.

109. Say, "If the sea were ink for the words of my Lord, the sea would surely be exhausted before the words of my Lord were exhausted, even if We brought the like of it as replenishment."

110. Say, "I am only a human being like you; it is revealed to me that your God is one God. So whoever hopes for the meeting with his Lord, let him perform righteous deeds, and associate no one in the worship of his Lord."