Surah Al-Hadid: Thematic English Translation (Mustafa Çevik)

All that is in the heavens and on the earth are proofs of Allah’s boundless knowledge, power, and majesty, and all of them carry out the tasks in keeping with the reason for their creation, bound to the order and laws Allah has established (they glorify Him).

The right to establish order over His creation, lay down rulings, and govern belongs to Allah alone, and Allah alone is the One whose every ruling is absolutely perfect.

Allah is the one true Owner of what is in the heavens and on the earth; it is He who gives life to His creatures and keeps them alive, and He who takes their life and causes them to die. Allah alone has power to do what He wills.

Allah is the First, the Last, and the Manifest. He is the One whose existence is plainly understood through His creation and can be known by reason, but whose essence cannot be perceived by the senses (the Hidden), and who cannot be described. He knows the essence of everything.

Allah created the heavens and the earth in six days (stages), established their order, laid down the laws by which they work, and established His sovereignty over them.

Allah knows what goes into the earth and what comes out of it, what comes down from the sky and what goes up into it; all that happens comes about by His knowledge and leave. Wherever you are, He sees you and is aware of what you do.

The dominion and the governing of the heavens and the earth belong to Allah. In the end every matter will return to Him, and everyone will give account to Him.

Allah lengthens the night by shortening the day, and lengthens the day by shortening the night, and He knows what is in people’s hearts, their thoughts and their intentions.

Believe and trust wholeheartedly in Allah and His messenger, and spend, of the wealth Allah has entrusted to you and placed in your management as His deputies, in the cause of living and keeping alive the order of life that is Allah’s call. Know well that Allah will give great rewards to those of you who believe wholeheartedly and spend for the sake of His good pleasure.

What is wrong with you? When the Prophet is calling you to believe in Allah and trust in Him, and you are people who have affirmed that Allah is your Lord, why do you keep away from your responsibilities?

Your Lord has sent, through His servant and messenger Muhammad, a Book of life containing clear verses, to bring you out of the darkness of the orders of shirk and disbelief set up by people who follow Satan into the light. For Allah is most merciful and compassionate toward His servants.

Why do you not spend for the sake of His call, when you know that Allah is the one true Owner of the heavens, the earth, and what is between them, and when He has made known to you that in the end you will be called to account for how you used what He entrusted to you?

Those of you who spent selflessly and strove (jihad) in the hard and difficult days of this struggle are certainly not equal to those who spend in the days of ease after victory; the former are superior to the latter. Allah will reward with the finest of rewards those who strove with their wealth and their lives in hard and difficult times. Allah is aware of all that you do.

Whoever lends Allah a goodly loan by spending in His way from the blessings He has bestowed will see it repaid many times over.

On the Day of Reckoning you will see such believing men and women advancing, toward their right, along a path lit by the light they earned through what they did in the world. On that Day it will be said to them, “Good news to you! Paradise, through which rivers flow and where you will remain forever, awaits you; this is the true victory and gain.”

On that Day the hypocrite men and women will say to these believers, “Come toward us a little, so that we too may benefit from your light.” Then they will be told: “If you look back at the life you have left behind, you will see that you have no light you could bring here.” Thereupon a wall with a gate will be set up between the believers and the hypocrites. On the side of this wall facing the believers will be Paradise, the work of compassion and mercy, and on the side facing the hypocrites, Hell, the home of punishment.

On that Day the hypocrites will call out to the believers, “Were we not with you, at your side, in the world?” And the believers will answer them: “Yes, outwardly you were; but in truth you were two-faced, believers when with the believers and polytheists when with the polytheists, and you kept wishing calamity on the believers. You always looked with doubt on the order and morality that is Allah’s call, and on the Day of Reckoning, and you amused yourselves with vain fancies. And Satan deceived you by making you rely on Allah’s boundless pardon and mercy; living your worldly lives like this, you have come to this day as people who have ruined themselves.”

On this day when accounts are settled, nothing will be accepted, either from the hypocrites or from those who associate partners with Allah and deny the truth, as ransom to be saved from the punishment of Hell, and their pleas of remorse will be of no use either. So their final stop will be the punishment of the fire of Hell they deserve; what an evil destination it is!

Has the time not yet come for the hearts of those who believe to tremble with reverence when Allah’s verses are recited to them? Let them not be like those who were given the Book before, and whose hearts hardened when a long time had passed. Many of them were defiantly disobedient (fasiq).

Allah gives life to the earth after it has dried up. Surely He makes the verses plain to you so that you may use your reason.

Surely the men and women who give charity, and so lend Allah a goodly loan, will be repaid many times over, and for them there is a noble reward.

Those who believe wholeheartedly in Allah and His prophets are the ones who are true in heart and word, and who bear witness for Allah’s sake. They have their reward and their light. But those who deny and call Our verses lies will be condemned to the fire of Hell.

Know well that Allah did not create the life of this world so that it should be play and amusement, so that you might adorn yourselves and vie with one another in showing off your wealth and property, and boast of the abundance of your riches and children.

Life in this world is like the plants that grow from the soil with the falling of the rain and delight the farmer, then after a while dry up, turn yellow, and mingle with the soil.

For those who disregard and turn away from the call made in Allah’s name through the Quran there is a severe punishment in the Hereafter. And for those who turn to the call and fulfill what the reason for their creation requires there are Allah’s rewards. Allah is most merciful and forgiving toward the believers. The life of this world is nothing but deceptive enjoyment.

So strive heart and soul to live and keep alive a life that will be acceptable to Allah, and vie with one another to attain Gardens as wide as the heavens and the earth. Allah will graciously grant His Paradise to those who strive in this cause. He is the Possessor of great grace and bounty.

Both what happens in the universe and what befalls people come about by Our leave, bound to the laws We have ordained beforehand for the universe and for people and set down in record.

Without doubt Allah knows the absolute truth of everything, and everything He wills is very easy for Him.

So do not grieve over what you lose, nor grow conceited and unruly over what He grants! Do not forget that all of this comes about as required by the laws Allah has set to test you.

Allah does not love the unruly, conceited, and ungrateful who believe they have gained by their own efforts the blessings He bestowed as a means of testing. Such people, besides being arrogant, are both stingy about spending in Allah’s way the blessings bestowed on them and urge others to stinginess in this.

Whoever shrinks from spending in His way the blessings Allah has bestowed, let him not forget that Allah has no need of anything or of anyone’s help. It is you who are in need of Him.

Indeed, We sent Our prophets with clear proofs. So that people might uphold justice and act justly in Allah’s name, We sent down with them the Book and, within it, the balance (the measure). We also sent down iron, in which there is great strength and benefits for people. This is so that Allah may bring to light those who believe in Him though they do not see Him, take the prophets as guides, and use the blessings He has bestowed for good. Surely Allah is strong and mighty.

Indeed, We sent Noah and Abraham as prophets. We gave prophethood and the Book to their descendants too. Some of their descendants chose the right path, but many of them became defiantly disobedient (fasiq).

Then, after them, We sent Our other messengers, and Jesus son of Mary, to whom We gave the Gospel. We placed compassion and mercy in the hearts of those who followed him faithfully. As for the monasticism they invented, We did not prescribe it for them. They invented it themselves to win Allah’s good pleasure. But they did not observe even that as it should be observed. To those of them who believed We gave their reward. But many of them strayed from the right path.

O you who believe! Be aware of your responsibilities toward Allah and believe in His Prophet, so that Allah may give you a double share of His mercy, grant you a light to illuminate your way, and forgive you. Allah is most forgiving, most merciful.

Let the People of the Book know that Allah will give His message and His Book to whom He wills, and that no one has any authority in this matter. Allah gives the office of prophethood, which is within His authority, to whom He wills. He is the Possessor of boundless grace.