Surah Al-'Ankabut English Translation & Transliteration

¹Alif Lam Mim.

²Do these people now suppose that they will be left alone merely for saying "We have believed," without being tested by any hardship or difficulty?

³Indeed, We tested those before them too with various hardships; and so Allah will bring to light who is truthful/sincere in saying "We have believed," and who is a liar.

⁴Or do those who persist in doing evil think they can get away from Us? What a wretched judgment they make!

⁵Whoever hopes to meet Allah, let him know that the term Allah has appointed, the day of meeting, will surely come. For He is the One who hears all and knows all.

⁶Whoever strives and toils in Allah's way does so only for his own good, for Allah has no need of anyone among all peoples.

⁷As for those who believe and do the good deeds that faith requires, We will certainly cover over their evil deeds and reward them according to the best of what they did.

⁸We have advised the human being to treat his mother and father well. But if they press you to associate with Me something of which you have no knowledge, then never obey them! Do not forget that your return is to Me. And on that day I will inform you one by one of everything you have done.

⁹Those who believe and do the good deeds that faith requires, We will certainly admit among the good and virtuous.

¹⁰And among people there are some who say, "We believe and trust in Allah," but then, when they suffer some harm in Allah's way, they regard it as though it were a punishment from Allah. Yet when victory comes to you from your Lord, they say, "We were certainly with you all along." Does Allah not know best what lies within all peoples?

¹¹Without doubt, Allah knows those who truly believe, and also the two-faced hypocrites who pretend to believe when they do not.

¹²The disbelievers who cover up the truths say to the believers: "Follow our way, and let your sins be on our heads." Yet they will not bear even the smallest of the believers' sins; they are downright liars.

¹³They will certainly bear their own sins, and along with them the sins of those they led astray; and on the Day of Resurrection they will be questioned about everything they invented in the name of religion.

¹⁴We had sent Noah to his people as a messenger. Noah stayed among them a thousand years less fifty. In the end the Flood seized them while they were wronging themselves and bringing ruin upon themselves.

¹⁵And We saved Noah and all who were in the ship, and made this a lesson for humankind.

¹⁶And Abraham had said to his people: —Know Allah as He should be known, serve Him, and guard yourselves against defying Him! That is far better for you, if only you knew.

¹⁷—You serve only those you place between yourselves and Allah and make into idols, and you ascribe baseless qualities to them. But know well that those you place between yourselves and Allah and serve cannot give you any provision/even a morsel. So seek all your provision with Allah, serve Him alone, and be grateful for the blessings He gives, for in the end you will be returned to Him.

¹⁸—If you accuse me of lying, remember that the communities before you also accused their messengers of lying. A messenger's duty is nothing but to convey the divine message clearly.

¹⁹Do they not see how Allah began the first creation, and how He then continues to create it again and again? Surely that is easy for Allah.

²⁰Say: Travel through the earth and investigate how Allah began the first creation. Then in the same way Allah will create the next life anew, by a new creation. Without doubt, Allah sets a measure for all things.

²¹For He punishes those who deserve it and shows mercy to those who deserve it. And in every case you will be returned to Him.

²²You cannot escape from Allah's hand either on the earth or in the heavens. Know well that you have no protector or helper besides Allah.

²³As for the disbelievers who refuse to believe in Allah's verses and take no account of the reality of coming before Him to give account, it is they who have given up hope of My mercy. And for them there is a very painful punishment.

²⁴The only answer of Abraham's people was to say: —Kill him or burn him in the fire! But Allah saved him from the fire. Surely in this there are many lessons for a people who would believe.

²⁵Abraham said to them: —Your taking as idols those you place between yourselves and Allah is only because they serve as a bond between you in the life of this world. But later, on the Day of Resurrection, you will disown one another and curse one another, and your destination will be Hell. And you will have no helpers at all.

²⁶Lot was the first to believe in him. Abraham said: —I am emigrating to where my Lord has commanded me. For He is all-mighty, and He decides rightly concerning me.

²⁷And We granted Abraham Isaac and Jacob, and gave prophethood and the Book to his descendants. Thus We rewarded him while he was in the world, and in the Hereafter he will be among the righteous servants.

²⁸We had also charged Lot as a messenger, and he said to his people: —It is certain that you are committing a vile act that no one among the nations has ever committed before.

²⁹—How is it that you have relations with men, block the way of lawful relations, and commit every kind of indecency when you gather together? His people's only answer to Lot was to say: —If you are telling the truth, then go on, bring Allah's punishment upon us!

³⁰Lot said: —My Lord! Help me against this corrupt and deviant people.

³¹When Our messengers came to Abraham with the good news of a child, they said: —Know that we are charged with destroying the people of this town, for the people living there have become utterly insolent and are steeped in immorality.

³²Abraham said: —But Lot is there. They said: —We know very well who is there. We will save him and his family, except his wife. She will stay behind and be among those destroyed.

³³When Our messengers came to Lot, he was distressed, fearing that his people would do some evil to the messengers who had come, and in his helplessness he did not know what to do. The messengers said to him: —Do not be afraid, and do not worry about us! We will save you and your family, except your wife; she will stay behind and be among those destroyed.

³⁴We will rain stones from the sky upon the people of this town because of the immorality they commit.

³⁵And there We have left signs that are clear evidence for a people who can use their reason.

³⁶To the city of Midian We sent their kinsman Shu'ayb as a messenger. He said to them: —O my people, serve Allah alone, so that you may look forward with hope to the Day of the Hereafter, and do not spread corruption in this land by acting insolently!

³⁷But they denied him; thereupon a terrible quake/earthquake suddenly seized them, and they were left fallen on their knees in their homes.

³⁸We also destroyed the peoples of Ad and Thamud. The ruins of their homes show you this clearly. Satan had made their evil deeds seem attractive to them and so led them astray. Yet they had the ability to see the truth.

³⁹Korah (Qarun), Pharaoh, and Haman met a similar fate. Moses had come to them with clear proofs of the truth. But they grew arrogant and kept on spreading corruption in the land; yet they could not escape Our punishment.

⁴⁰In the end We punished each of them for their sins. Upon some of them We sent a whirlwind hurling stones; some were wiped out by a cry; some We caused the earth to swallow; and some We drowned. Allah was not wronging any of them; rather, they were wronging themselves and bringing ruin upon themselves.

⁴¹The case of those who take certain protectors/authorities to place between themselves and Allah and to seek refuge in is like that of the female spider who builds herself a home; and the frailest of homes is the spider's home. If only they could grasp this truth!

⁴²Without doubt, Allah knows very well what they implore in prayer, placing it between themselves and Allah. For it is Allah who is most exalted, and it is He whose every judgment is right.

⁴³Thus We give people such examples, but none grasp them except those who truly have knowledge.

⁴⁴Know well that Allah created the heavens and the earth for a true purpose. Surely in this there is a lesson for the believers to take.

⁴⁵Recite and convey this Book/the Quran that is revealed to you! And perform the prayer as it should be performed! For prayer keeps one from indecency and evil. And the remembrance/Book of Allah is surely the greatest. Do not forget that Allah knows everything you do.

⁴⁶Contend with the People of the Book in the finest way, except for those who behave aggressively toward you, and say to them: —We believe in what has been sent down to us and in what has been sent down to you. Our God and your God is one. We are people who have become Muslims.

⁴⁷We have sent down this Book to you as a message that encompasses the other books too. That is why those to whom We gave the Book before believe in it. And among those around you there are also some who will believe in it. In truth, those who knowingly refuse to believe in Our verses are the disbelievers.

⁴⁸Yet you had not read any book before, nor were you in a position to write this yourself. Had that been so, those who wanted falsehood to prevail would have cast people into doubt.

⁴⁹In truth, this Quran is a message that has taken root in the hearts of those who have been given the ability to distinguish divine speech from human words; for none but those whose consciousness has been turned upside down knowingly persist in error in the face of Our verses and do wrong.

⁵⁰And they even go so far as to say: "Should not miracles have been sent down to you from your Lord?" Say: —Sending down miracles lies with Allah alone; and I am nothing but a clear warner.

⁵¹Is it not enough of a miracle for them that We have sent down to you this Book/the Quran, which is recited to them? Surely in it there is indescribable mercy and divine admonition for a people who would believe.

⁵²Say: —Allah suffices as witness between me and you. For He knows everything in the heavens and on the earth. As for those who believe in baseless things and do not believe in Allah, it is they who are the utter losers.

⁵³They ask you to hasten the punishment. Had it not been for an appointed term, the punishment would certainly have come to them at once. But the punishment will come upon them suddenly, at a moment when they are unaware.

⁵⁴Yes, they ask you to hasten the punishment. Yet Hell will surround these disbelievers on every side.

⁵⁵On the day the punishment envelops them from head to foot, Allah will say to them: —Taste the penalty for the sins you committed!

⁵⁶—O My servants who believe and trust! My earth is vast. So serve Me, and Me alone.

⁵⁷For every soul will taste death. In the end you will be returned to Us to give account.

⁵⁸As for those who believe and do good deeds as befits their faith, We will settle them in lofty mansions in gardens beneath which rivers flow, where they will remain. How excellent is the reward of those who strive and toil!

⁵⁹They are the ones who were patient in hardships and relied and trusted in their Lord alone.

⁶⁰How many living creatures there are that cannot carry their own provision on their backs! It is Allah who provides for them and for you. For it is He who hears the needs of His creatures and knows their every state.

⁶¹If you were to ask them: —Who created the heavens and the earth and placed the sun and the moon at your service? they would certainly say: —Allah. Say: —Then how is it that you are being so deceived?

⁶²It is a fact that Allah gives provision in due measure to those of His servants who deserve it and make the necessary effort for it. For Allah knows everything about His servants.

⁶³And if you were to ask them: —Who sends down water from the sky and gives life with it to the dead earth? they would certainly say: "Allah." Say: —All praise belongs to Allah (Alhamdulillah). Yet most of them still do not use their reason.

⁶⁴This worldly life is in any case nothing but play and diversion. True life is the abode of the Hereafter. If only they had known this in time...

⁶⁵But when they board a ship and think they are going to drown, they implore Allah alone with all sincerity, purifying their faith of every kind of shirk. Yet when Allah saves them and brings them safely to land, they begin associating partners with Him again.

⁶⁶So let them go on being ungrateful for the blessings We have given them and living a life of pleasure. In any case, they will soon learn the truth.

⁶⁷Do they not see that, while the people around them live in fear of being exposed to every kind of attack, We have given them a safe and inviolable sanctuary? Are they still going to go on believing in baseless things and being ungrateful for Allah's blessings?

⁶⁸Who is a greater disbeliever than one who attributes to Allah the lies he himself has invented, or who clings to lies in the face of the truth/the Quran when it has come right to his door? Is there not a place in Hell for these disbelievers?

⁶⁹As for those who strive and toil for Our cause, We will open to them the paths of success. Surely Allah is with those who are sincere in their cause.