Surah At-Taghabun: Thematic English Translation (Mustafa Çevik)

Everything in the heavens and on the earth moves within the bounds of the order Allah has established for it and the laws of that order. Allah alone holds sovereignty over all of them. With His knowledge and power He is able to do whatever He wills. And Allah alone is worthy of thanks and praise.

O people! Though He created you and endowed you with so many blessings, some of you, being ungrateful to Allah, take other gods alongside Him and choose to associate partners with Him. And some of you, taking Allah alone as Lord and God, choose to live the Islamic life that is His call and become believers.

Allah sees and knows the choice every person makes.

Allah created the heavens, the earth, and all that is between them, giving them their forms and determining their tasks, so that they might live in submission to the perfect order He has established. And He gave the human being the finest form and invited him to live by the order of life that best suits his innate nature. After death He will raise him, gather him in His presence, and call him to account for his attitude toward His call.

Everything that happens in the heavens and on the earth, hidden or open, is within Allah’s knowledge and comes about by His leave. He alone knows what is in hearts.

Have you heard nothing of what befell those in the past who denied the truth? By this attitude of theirs they paid in this world the penalty for their rebellion against Allah by being destroyed, and in the Hereafter too a very severe punishment awaits them.

Though the prophets made known to them the reasons for their creation and invited them, with clear knowledge and proofs, to live the life that accords with it, they rejected the call made in Allah’s name, saying, “Is a mortal like us going to show us the right order of life?” So Allah struck them with the punishment they deserved and destroyed them. Allah has no need of anyone’s faith; on the contrary, everyone and everything is in need of Allah.

Those who stubbornly persist in covering up Allah’s call do not believe that they will be raised again after death and give account to Allah. Say to them: “By my Lord, everyone will certainly be raised, and what they did will be shown to them one by one. That, without doubt, is very easy for Allah.”

So, O people, take heed: believe in the order of life to which His messenger invites through the Quran in Allah’s name, and turn to living it. Allah is aware of all that you do.

On the Day of Reckoning Allah will raise all people and gather them together; on that Day the winners and the losers will be revealed. Whoever believed in Allah alone and did his utmost to live in keeping with His call, Allah will cover and forgive his sins and settle such people in His Gardens through which rivers flow, the home of blessings, where they will remain forever.

Those who called Allah’s call a lie will be cast into Hell, where they will remain forever, and condemned to the punishment of the Fire; what an evil place to arrive at!

No calamity befalls a person except by Allah’s leave. Calamities come about through the causes Allah has set and within the laws He has laid down. To those devoted to Him wholeheartedly Allah grants the strength and patience to endure calamities, and graciously guides them and gives them remedies to escape them.

Allah alone knows the one absolute truth of everything. So turn to Allah’s call and obey Him and His messenger. If you turn away and distance yourselves from His call, do not forget that the messenger’s task is only to convey Allah’s verses to you.

There is no god but Allah who can solve your problems at the root and bring you out of darkness into light. So trust and rely on Allah alone, and take no other god alongside Him.

O you who believe! Some of your spouses and children may show you hostility by keeping you from taking Allah alone as God and from turning to His call. Be very careful with them; yet invite them to what is right in a tolerant and forgiving manner. Allah loves those who act so. Allah is most merciful and forgiving toward those who turn back from their wrong.

Never let it slip from your minds that your wealth and your children too are each a means of testing; do not fall for their allure and turn away from the reason for your creation. With Allah there are rewards for the believers far finer and more precious than these. So do not allow anyone to prevent you from living an Islamic life; spend in His way from the blessings Allah has given you; protect and cleanse your selves from greed and stinginess, and obey Allah. Know well that those who do so will attain happiness.

If you are generous and spend in the cause of living and keeping alive the order of life that is Allah’s call, it is as if you have given Allah a loan. And Allah returns it to you as a reward multiplied many times over and forgives your sins. Allah is thus most merciful and compassionate toward those who give Him thanks. Allah knows best what passes through your minds, and what you do openly and in secret.