Surah Az-Zumar English Translation & Transliteration

¹This Book has been sent down from Allah, who has power over all things and whose every judgment is right.

²We have sent down this Book, the Quran, to you for a right/true purpose. So serve Allah, devoting your religious life to Him alone!

³Know well that pure and unadulterated religion belongs to Allah. Those who take protectors/authorities other than Him say: —We serve them for no other reason than that they may bring us closer to Allah. Allah will pass judgment between them on the matters in which they dispute. For Allah does not admit to His path any lying, ungrateful disbeliever.

⁴Had Allah wished to take a child for Himself, He would have done so by choosing whomever He willed from among what He created. Far be it! He is free of this. For He is Allah, the One, the sole possessor of authority.

⁵For He created the heavens and the earth for a definite purpose. It is He who wraps the night over the day and the day over the night. And it is He who has placed at your service the sun and the moon, each swimming along in its own orbit. Know well that He is absolutely supreme and exalted, and forgives abundantly and continually.

⁶He created you from a single essence. Then from that same essence He brought forth its mate, and He has bestowed on you eight head of livestock, in pairs of four kinds. He creates you in your mothers' wombs, developing you stage by stage within three layers of darkness. Such is Allah, your Lord/Owner. Absolute sovereignty is His, for there is no god but Him. How, then, are you turned away from the truth, the Quran?

⁷If you are ungrateful, know that Allah has no need of you. But He is not pleased with ingratitude in His servants. If you are grateful, Allah is pleased with you. For no sinner bears the sin of another. In the end, the place you will all reach is your Lord's presence. Then He will inform you, one by one, of what you have done. For He knows even the secrets in the hearts.

⁸When hardship befalls the ungrateful human being, he prays to his Lord, turning to Him. Then, when his Lord removes his hardship out of His grace, he forgets that he had implored Him before, sets up partners as equals to Allah, and moreover leads others astray from Allah's path. Say: —Enjoy yourself a little longer in your disbelief; have no doubt that you will end up in Hell!

⁹Or is such a person equal to one who spends the nights in worship, now prostrating, now standing, who is anxious about the Hereafter and hopes for his Lord's mercy? Are those who have this awareness and those who do not equal? Yet only those of sound reason can reflect on this.

¹⁰Say: O My servants who believe and trust! Guard yourselves against defying your Lord! For those who do good and act beautifully in this world there is a good future. Allah's earth is vast. Do not forget that those who are patient in hardship and distress will be given their reward without measure or reckoning.

¹¹Say: —I have been commanded to serve Allah alone, devoting my religious life to Him alone.

¹²And I have been commanded to be the foremost of the Muslims.

¹³Say: —If I disobey my Lord, I fear being struck by the punishment of that dreadful day.

¹⁴Say: —That is why I serve Allah, devoting my religious life to Him alone!

¹⁵So serve, in this state of yours, whatever you like besides Allah! Say: —The true losers are those who will bring loss upon themselves and their families on the Day of Resurrection. That is the plain and manifest loss!

¹⁶Such people will be punished with layers upon layers of fire above them and below them. With such a punishment Allah puts fear into His servants. So, O My servants, guard yourselves against defying Me!

¹⁷Good news to those who keep away from serving the forces of evil and turn to Allah alone! So give good news to these servants of Mine,

¹⁸who listen to every kind of word and then follow the best of it. These are the ones who follow the right path shown by Allah. And these are the people of true and sound reason.

¹⁹Now, can such a person be equal to one against whom the sentence of punishment has been confirmed? Can you, then, save one who has fallen into the midst of Hell?

²⁰But for those who guard themselves against defying their Lord there are mansions of Paradise built one above another, beneath which rivers flow. This is Allah's promise. And Allah never breaks His promise.

²¹Do you not see that Allah sends down water from the sky and channels it into springs beneath the ground, and then with it brings forth crops and plants of many colors? Then they wither, and you see them turn yellow. In the end Allah turns them into worthless debris. In this there is surely a lesson for those of sound reason.

²²Now, can one who stands upon a light from his Lord, the Quran, and has thus opened his heart to Allah's religion, Islam, be equal to one whose heart is hardened against Allah's reminder, the Quran? Woe to those whose hearts have hardened, for they are in clear misguidance.

²³Allah has sent down the finest of discourses as a Book/the Quran, consistent within itself, its parts resembling one another, set out in a system of pairs. The skins of those who hold their Lord in deep reverence shiver at its verses, and then, as they remember Allah's infinite mercy, their hearts and skins grow calm and find peace. This is Allah's guidance/guide, by which whoever wishes reaches the right path through this discourse. And for anyone whose misguidance Allah has confirmed, there is no one to show him the right path.

²⁴Is one who shields his face from the evil punishment on the Day of Resurrection like the wrongdoers who persist in error, who are told: "Taste the punishment of what you have earned!"?

²⁵Those before them also denied, and the punishment came upon them from where they never imagined and did not expect.

²⁶So Allah made them taste disgrace in the life of this world, and their punishment in the Hereafter will surely be far greater. If only they knew this truth.

²⁷Indeed, We have set forth for people in this Quran every kind of example, so that they may reflect and take admonition.

²⁸Moreover, We have sent it down as a Book recited and conveyed in Arabic, containing no contradictory or tortuous expressions, so that they may guard themselves against defying Allah.

²⁹Allah now gives you as an example a man bound to many partners who cannot get on with one another, and a man who has submitted to Allah alone. Are these two alike in condition? Praise be to Allah—no! But most of them do not know this truth.

³⁰You will die, and they too will die.

³¹Then on the Day of Resurrection you will dispute your case before your Lord.

³²Can anyone be more of a disbeliever than one who lies about Allah and clings to lies in the face of the Quran when it comes to him? Is there no place in Hell for these disbelievers?

³³As for those who affirm this Quran and the one who brought it, they are the ones who guard themselves against defying Allah.

³⁴They will have with their Lord whatever they wish. This is the reward of those who do good.

³⁵That is, Allah will cover and forgive the worst of their deeds and reward them according to the best of what they did.

³⁶Is Allah not sufficient for His servant? Yet they try to frighten you with others besides Allah. And for anyone whose misguidance Allah confirms, there is no one to guide him to the right path.

³⁷But whoever follows Allah's guide, there is no power that can lead him astray. Is not Allah the One whose power cannot be resisted, and who gives those who deserve it the punishment due?

³⁸If you ask them: —Who created the heavens and the earth? —they will answer without hesitation: "Allah." Say: —Then tell me: if Allah wished to bring some hardship upon me, could those you place between yourselves and Allah and implore in prayer remove that hardship? Or if Allah wished to bestow a favor/kindness on me, could they hold it back? Say: —Allah is sufficient for me. Let those who wish to rely and trust in someone bind themselves to and trust in Allah alone.

³⁹Say: —Do what befits you, and I will do what befits me. You will soon come to know

⁴⁰upon whom a degrading punishment will descend in this world, and a lasting punishment in the Hereafter.

⁴¹There is no doubt that We have sent down this Book to you to show people what is right and true. From now on, whoever takes this Quran as his guide does so for his own good. And whoever strays from its path does so only to his own detriment. For you are not their guardian/advocate.

⁴²Allah takes each person at the moment of death, taking away his consciousness, and also takes those who have not yet died, in their sleep. He holds back the consciousness of those for whom death has been decreed, and releases the others until their death comes. In this there are many lessons for a people who can reflect deeply.

⁴³Or do they place others between themselves and Allah and take them as intercessors? Say: —What, even though they possess nothing and understand nothing?

⁴⁴Say: —Know well that intercession belongs wholly and solely to Allah, for the sovereignty of the heavens and the earth is His. In the end you will all be returned to Him to give account.

⁴⁵Whenever Allah alone is mentioned, the hearts of those who do not believe in the Hereafter throb with loathing and aversion. But when others besides Allah are named, they at once rejoice.

⁴⁶Say: O Allah, matchless Creator of the heavens and the earth, Knower of all that is hidden and all that is open, You alone will judge between Your servants on the matters in which they differ!

⁴⁷Those who loathe it when Allah alone is mentioned—if they possessed all the treasures of the earth, and as much again, they would offer it as ransom on the Day of Resurrection to escape that terrible punishment. For things they never took into account will be brought before them by Allah.

⁴⁸The evils they earned while in the world will be laid before their eyes, and the punishment they once made light of will close in on them from every side.

⁴⁹Whenever hardship befalls the human being, he at once prays to Us. Then, when We bestow on him a blessing from Us, he says: "This has been given to me because of my own knowledge and ability." But it is a test. Yet most of them do not know this truth.

⁵⁰Those before them said exactly the same. But the wealth and riches they earned were of no use to them.

⁵¹In the end the penalty for the sins they had committed came upon them. Likewise, the penalty for the evils committed by the wrongdoers among these people who persist in error will come upon them, and they will never escape Our punishment.

⁵²Do they not know that Allah expands provision for whoever wishes for it and works for it, and gives it in measure? In this there are many lessons for a people who believe.

⁵³Say: O My servants who have squandered and harmed yourselves by doing evil, never lose hope of Allah's mercy. For Allah forgives all sins. For He is matchless in forgiveness and an infinite source of mercy.

⁵⁴Now, before the punishment of death comes and finds you, turn to your Lord and submit to Him wholeheartedly; otherwise you will receive help from no one.

⁵⁵Yes, before this punishment comes upon you suddenly, when you are quite unaware, follow the Quran, the best of what has been sent down to you from your Lord,

⁵⁶so that in the end you will not be forced to say: —Alas! Woe is me for my failings toward Allah, and for having been one of those who mocked the truths!

⁵⁷Or: "If only Allah had guided me to the right path, even by force, so that I too would have been among those who guard themselves against defying Him!"

⁵⁸Or, when you see the punishment: "If only I were given one more chance to return to the world, so that I too might be among those who do good and beautiful deeds!"

⁵⁹—No, quite the contrary: My verses came to you long ago, but you clung to lies in the face of them, acted arrogantly, and were one of the disbelievers.

⁶⁰On the Day of Resurrection you will see the faces of those who lied about Allah turned black. Is there no place in Hell for the boastful and arrogant?

⁶¹Allah will save those who guard themselves against sins by virtue of their success. No punishment will touch them at all, nor will they grieve.

⁶²Allah is the Creator of all things; He is Trustee over all things and the sole authority.

⁶³The control of the heavens and the earth belongs to Him. As for those who do not believe in Allah's verses, it is they who will lose everything.

⁶⁴Say: O you ignorant people, do you command me to serve someone other than Allah?

⁶⁵Yet it was revealed to you and to those before you: —If you associate partners with Allah, know well that all your deeds will come to nothing and you will certainly be among the losers.

⁶⁶So serve Allah alone, and always be among those who give Him thanks!

⁶⁷They have not truly recognized and grasped Allah's power and greatness. Yet on the Day of Resurrection the whole earth will be in the hand of His power, and the entire universe will be rolled up like a scroll by the hand of His power. Allah is free of and far above the partners they associate with Him.

⁶⁸On that day the Trumpet (Sur) will have been blown, and everyone on the earth and in the heavens, except those Allah wills, will have fallen dead. Then, when the Trumpet is blown a second time, behold, they are all standing, awaiting judgment.

⁶⁹On that day the earth will be lit up by the light of your Lord, and everyone's record of deeds will be placed before them. The prophets and the witnesses will be brought forward, everyone will be judged with justice, and no one will be wronged.

⁷⁰For everyone will be paid in full for all they did. For Allah knows very well what they do.

⁷¹On that day the disbelievers who cover up the truths will be driven to Hell in groups. When at last they arrive there, the gates of Hell will be opened, and its keepers will ask them: —Did there not come to you messengers from among you, reciting and conveying to you your Lord's verses and warning you that you would meet this dreadful day? They will say: —Yes, they did. But by then the sentence of punishment will long since have been confirmed for these disbelievers.

⁷²They will be told: —Come, enter the gates of Hell, to remain there! What a wretched place it is for those who strut in insolence!

⁷³And those who guarded themselves against defying their Lord will be led to Paradise in groups. When at last they reach Paradise, whose gates are already open, its keepers will say to them: —Peace be upon you (Salamun alaykum), how fortunate you are! Come now, enter Paradise, to remain forever!

⁷⁴They will reply: —All praise belongs to Allah, who has fulfilled His promise to us and granted us this Paradise, where we may settle wherever we wish! How excellent is the reward of those who toil and strive!

⁷⁵On that day you will see the angels surrounding the Throne, proclaiming with praise the infinite glory of their Lord. And on that day judgment will be passed among people with justice, and the angels' cry will resound: —All praise belongs to Allah, the Lord/Owner of the worlds!