Surah Yunus English Translation & Transliteration

¹Alif Lam Ra. These are the verses of the Book whose every ruling is right.

²Is it so strange to people that We revealed to a man from among them, "Warn people, and give those who believe the good news that with their Lord there is great honor and lofty rank for them!", that the disbelievers who cover up the truth say: "This is plain sorcery"?

³Surely your Lord is Allah, who created the heavens and the earth in six stages, then brought the universe under His absolute sovereignty and governs all affairs. No one can intercede without His permission. This is Allah, your Lord. So serve Him. Will you not take admonition?

⁴To Him alone is the return of you all. This is Allah's promise, which will surely be fulfilled. For it is He who originates creation and will raise it again in the Hereafter, so as to reward with justice those who believe and do the good deeds their faith requires. As for those who cover up the truth, because of their disbelief they will have a boiling drink and a painful punishment.

⁵It is He who made the sun a source of light and the moon a radiance (reflecting that light), and determined orbits and stations for the moon so that you may know the number of years and the reckoning (of the seasons and months). Allah did not do all this in vain, but for a true purpose. Thus Allah explains the verses for a people who know the truth.

⁶In the alternation of night and day, and in all that Allah has created in the heavens and the earth, there are many signs/indications for a people who are aware of their responsibility.

⁷As for those who do not take meeting Us into account, who are content with the fleeting life of this world and satisfied with it, and who are heedless of/indifferent to Our verses,

⁸their abode, as the recompense for what they have earned, is the Fire.

⁹But as for those who believe and do the right things befitting their faith, their Lord will bring them, because of their faith, to His gardens full of blessings, beneath which rivers flow.

¹⁰Their prayer there will be: "O Allah, how magnificent You are!" Their greeting there will be "Peace (salam)," an expression of happiness; and their final cry will be: "Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds."

¹¹Had Allah been as quick to give people the punishment they deserve as they are quick to obtain worldly blessings, they would have been finished already. So We leave those who do not take meeting Us into account to flounder in their excesses.

¹²Whenever hardship touches the human being, he begins to implore Us, whether lying on his side, sitting, or standing. But when We remove his hardship, he passes on as if he had never implored Us about the hardship that befell him. This is how what they do is made to look good to those who squander their opportunities.

¹³Indeed, We destroyed many lands before you because of their wrongdoing and injustice. Their messengers had come to them with clear evidence of the truth, but they would not believe. This is how We punish a people steeped in guilt.

¹⁴Then, after these peoples, We gave you the means of life in these lands and put you in charge, to see how you would act.

¹⁵When Our verses, clear evidence of the truth, are recited to them, those who do not take meeting Us into account say: "Bring us a Quran other than this, or change it." Say: —I have no authority to change it as I please, for I must follow only the Quran that is revealed to me. If I disobey my Lord, I fear the punishment of that terrible day.

¹⁶Say: —Had Allah willed, I would not have recited these verses to you, nor would He have made them known to you. Just think: I lived a whole lifetime among you before this. Do you never use your reason?

¹⁷Who does greater wrong/is a greater slanderer than one who attributes his own invented lies to Allah, or clings to lies in the face of Our verses? It is a fact that these sinful slanderers will never prosper.

¹⁸They serve those they place between themselves and Allah, who can neither benefit nor harm them, saying: "These are our intercessors with Allah." Say: —Are you informing Allah of something in the heavens or on the earth that He does not know? Allah is free of and far above the partners they associate with Him.

¹⁹In the beginning people were a single ummah, but then they fell into dispute and strayed into differing views. Had it not been for a law previously laid down by your Lord, judgment would already have been passed between them on the matters in which they differed.

²⁰They say: "Should he not have been given a miracle from his Lord?" Say: —Knowledge of the unseen belongs to Allah. So go on waiting for a miracle; I too am among those who wait with you.

²¹Whenever We let people taste mercy after hardship has touched them, they at once begin to plot schemes and traps against Our verses. Say: —Allah is the swiftest in undoing every scheme and trap. Our messengers are surely recording the plans they devise.

²²It is He who enables you to travel on land and sail at sea. Imagine you are on a ship, and the ship is gliding pleasantly along on a fair breeze, and the passengers are delighted and cheerful. Then a violent storm arises, mountainous waves surround the ship on every side, and the moment the passengers realize they are hemmed in on all sides and about to drown, they implore Allah with heartfelt pleading, devoting their faith wholly to Him: —If You save us from this, we swear we will be among the grateful!

²³But when Allah saves them, they at once begin to act insolently and run riot on the earth, with no regard for anyone's rights. O people, the insolence and excess you commit for the pleasure and gain of the fleeting life of this world will rebound on yourselves. In the end your return will be to Us, and We will inform you of what you did, one by one.

²⁴The life of this world is just like this: it is like the rain We send down from the sky. With it grows vegetation that people and animals eat, and the earth is adorned and decked out in all its beauty. And just when the owners of the gardens think they have full possession of the crops and are building their dreams, a disaster We send comes by night or by day, and We turn everything into worthless debris, as though nothing had been there the day before. Thus We explain the verses for a people who reflect deeply.

²⁵But Allah calls to the abode of lasting happiness and peace, for He guides whoever wishes to the straight path.

²⁶For those who do good there is the best reward and even more. On the Day of Reckoning not the slightest shame or darkness will cover their faces. These are the people of Paradise, and they will abide there.

²⁷As for those who do evil, their penalty will be in proportion to the evil they did. On the Day of Reckoning humiliation and shame will cover them from every side, and no one will save them from Allah's punishment. Their faces will turn black with fear and terror, as if covered by the pitch darkness of night. These are the people of the Fire, and they will abide there.

²⁸On that day We will gather them all together. Then We will say to those who ascribed divinity to others: —To your places, you and those you associated with Allah by ascribing divinity to them! And We will separate them from one another. Those to whom divinity was ascribed will say: —In truth, it was not us you were serving.

²⁹—Allah is sufficient as a witness between us and you. We were not even aware that you were serving us.

³⁰There and then everyone will take stock of what they did in the world, and they will be brought before Allah, their true Master/Protector, and the false masters they invented will forsake them.

³¹Say: —Who provides for you by sending down rain from the sky and bringing forth all kinds of produce from the earth? Who has absolute control over your senses of hearing and sight? Who brings forth the living from the dead and the dead from the living? Who maintains the order and balance of the universe? They will at once say: "Allah." Then say: —Will you not fulfill your responsibility?

³²That is Allah, your true Lord. What remains after straying from the truth but misguidance? How, then, can you turn your backs?

³³Thus the word of Allah's punishment came true against those who strayed from the path by not believing.

³⁴Say: —Is there any among those you associate with Allah by ascribing divinity to them who originates creation and then constantly repeats it? Say: —It is Allah who originates creation in a matchless way and then repeats it. How can you be so deceived?

³⁵Say: —Is there any among those you ascribe divine qualities to who leads to the truth? Say: —It is Allah who leads to the truth. Is the One who leads to the truth more worthy to be followed, or the one who cannot find the right way unless he is shown it? What is the matter with you? How can you judge like this?

³⁶Most of them follow not the truth, the Quran, but only conjecture (knowledge not based on scripture). In reality, conjecture is of no avail at all in establishing the truth. Allah surely knows what they are doing.

³⁷This Quran is not a book invented by others and attributed to Allah. Rather, it is a book from the Lord of the worlds, beyond any doubt, confirming the divine messages that came before it and explaining in detail the rulings in them.

³⁸Or do they say that he invented this Quran? Say: —If you are sincere in your claim, call on everyone you can besides Allah for help and produce a single surah like the surahs of the Quran!

³⁹No, in fact they cling to lies in the face of the Quran because they cannot grasp the truths in it, and because certain events foretold to them have not yet come to pass. Many communities before them denied in just the same way. See, then, what the end of those deniers was!

⁴⁰Among them are some who will believe in this Quran and some who will not, but your Lord knows very well those who spread corruption.

⁴¹If they accuse you of lying, say: —My deeds are mine and your deeds are yours. You are not responsible for what I do, and I am not responsible for what you do.

⁴²Some of them supposedly listen to you. But if they do not use their reason, can you make such deaf people hear?

⁴³And some of them supposedly look at you. If they have lost the ability to see the truth, can you guide such blind people?

⁴⁴Surely Allah never does people any injustice or wrong, but people wrong and harm themselves.

⁴⁵On the day He gathers them all together, it will seem to them as if they had stayed only an hour of a day, just long enough to get acquainted with one another. Those who did not take meeting Allah into account and did not follow the right path will certainly have lost.

⁴⁶Whether We show you some of the punishment We promise them while you are still in this world, or take your life before punishing them—in any case their return in the end is to Us. And Allah is, in any case, witness to all they do.

⁴⁷For every ummah there is a messenger who conveys the divine message. When their messenger comes to them, judgment is passed between them with justice, and they are never wronged or treated unjustly.

⁴⁸And they even go so far as to ask: "If you are telling the truth, when will this promise be fulfilled?"

⁴⁹Say: —I have no power to bring about any harm or benefit even for myself, except as Allah wills. For every ummah has an appointed term. When their term/deadline comes, it is neither brought forward by a single hour nor put off by a single hour.

⁵⁰Say: —Have you ever considered what you would do if Allah's punishment came upon you suddenly, by night or by day? Why, then, do these guilty ones want that punishment hastened?

⁵¹Will you believe only when the punishment comes upon you? Then you will be told: "Have you come to your senses only now? Yet you kept urging that this punishment come quickly."

⁵²Then those who wronged themselves will be told: —Taste the lasting punishment! Did you expect any recompense other than what you earned?

⁵³And they even go so far as to ask you: "Is this punishment you speak of true?" Say: —Yes, I swear by my Lord, it is the very truth. And you will never escape it.

⁵⁴(On that day) everyone who wronged and harmed himself would offer everything on the earth as a ransom to escape Hell, if it were his. And indeed, when they see the punishment, they will be unable even to voice their remorse. For judgment will be passed between them with justice, and no one will be wronged.

⁵⁵Know well that everything in the heavens and on the earth belongs to Allah. And know well that Allah's promise of punishment will surely be fulfilled. But most of them do not know this truth.

⁵⁶For it is He who gives life, and it is He who causes death and raises to life again. And you will be brought before Allah to give account.

⁵⁷—O people! There has come to you from your Lord the Quran: an admonition, a healing for the sicknesses in hearts, and a guide to the right path and a mercy for the believers.

⁵⁸Say: —Let them rejoice not in other things but in this Quran, Allah's grace and mercy, for it is better than anything you could acquire.

⁵⁹Say: —Do you not see how, as it suits you, you make some of the food Allah has provided for you lawful and some forbidden? Say: Has Allah permitted you this, or are you slandering Allah by making things up?

⁶⁰What do those who attribute their invented lies to Allah think of the Day of Resurrection? Allah is abundant in grace/generosity toward people, but most of them do not give these blessings their due and are not grateful.

⁶¹Whatever situation you are in, and whatever subject from the Quran you bring to the fore, We are surely witness to the deeds you do for Allah's sake. For nothing in the earth or in the heavens, even the weight of an atom, is hidden from your Lord. Whether smaller than that or larger, all of it is recorded in a clear book.

⁶²—Know well that those who take Allah as their protector will have no fear, nor will they grieve.

⁶³They are those who believe and trust in Allah and fulfill their responsibility.

⁶⁴For them there is good news both in the life of this world and in the Hereafter. For there will be no change in Allah's words. This is the magnificent triumph.

⁶⁵Do not let their hurtful words grieve you, for honor and power belong entirely to Allah. For He hears everything and knows everything.

⁶⁶Know well that whoever is in the heavens and on the earth belongs to Allah. Those who associate partners with Him by praying to those they place between themselves and Allah follow nothing but conjecture, and they act only on herd instinct.

⁶⁷It is Allah who made the night dark so that you may rest, and the day bright so that you may work and attend to your affairs. Surely there are many proofs/signs in this for a people who listen to the truth.

⁶⁸They said: "Allah has taken a child." Far be it! He, Allah, is the most exalted of all; He has no need of any such thing, for everything in the heavens and on the earth belongs to Him. You have no proof whatsoever to support this. Even so, do you speak about Allah without knowledge?

⁶⁹Say: —Those who attribute their invented lies to Allah will never succeed.

⁷⁰It is only a brief enjoyment in this world; then their return will again be to Us. And because they covered up the truth, We will make them taste a severe punishment.

⁷¹Relate to them the story of Noah! Recall when he said to his people: —O my people! If my presence among you as a messenger and my reminding you of Allah's verses are hard for you to bear, know that I put my trust and reliance in Allah alone. Come, then, join forces with those you associate with Allah and make your decision. Then carry out your plan openly, put your decision into effect at once, and give me no respite.

⁷²Know well that if you turn away—well, I asked you for no wage for this message anyway. It is for Allah alone to determine my wage. And I have been commanded to be one of the Muslims.

⁷³Even so, they accused him of lying. So We saved him and those with him in the ship and settled them in those lands. And We drowned those who clung to lies in the face of Our verses. See, then, what the end of those who rejected Allah's verses despite being warned was!

⁷⁴After him We sent messengers to their peoples from among themselves. The messengers came to them with clear evidence of the truth, but they persisted in not believing in the truths they had denied before. This is how, by overstepping the limits, they closed their hearts to the warnings.

⁷⁵Then, after them, We sent Moses and Aaron with Our clear proofs to Pharaoh and his ruling elite. But they acted arrogantly. They were a people steeped in sin.

⁷⁶When the proofs of the truth, the miracles, came to them from Us, they said: —This is plain sorcery!

⁷⁷Moses said: —Is this what you always say about the truth when it comes to you? Is this sorcery? Sorcerers never succeed.

⁷⁸They said: —Have you come to turn us away from the religion we saw and learned from our forefathers, and to seize power in this land together with your brother and gain the upper hand over us? We will never believe in either of you.

⁷⁹Meanwhile Pharaoh ordered: —Find all the skilled sorcerers and bring them to me!

⁸⁰When the sorcerers came, Moses said to them: —Throw whatever you will throw/show whatever skill you have!

⁸¹When they had displayed their skill, Moses said: —What you have done is mere sorcery. Allah will surely show that it is not real. For Allah does not let the works of deceivers succeed.

⁸²And Allah will establish the truth by His words, however much the sinners may dislike it.

⁸³For fear of torture by Pharaoh and his inner circle, none of Moses' people except a very small group declared their belief in Moses. For Pharaoh was a true tyrant in the land and one who overstepped the limits.

⁸⁴Moses said: —O my people, if you believe in Allah and have become Muslims, then rely and trust in Him alone.

⁸⁵They said: We have relied and trusted in Allah alone. Our Lord! Do not test us through the persecution of this wrongdoing people!

⁸⁶And by Your mercy save us from these disbelievers, they said.

⁸⁷Thereupon We revealed to Moses and his brother: —Build houses in the city for your people, make these houses centers of worship and right direction, and perform your prayers. And give these believers the good news of Allah's help.

⁸⁸Moses said: —Our Lord, You have given Pharaoh and his eminent elite a splendid life and immense wealth. Our Lord, they are using these means You have given them to lead people astray from Your path. Our Lord, destroy their wealth and bring distress and constriction upon their hearts, for they will not believe until they see the painful punishment.

⁸⁹Allah said: —The prayer of both of you has been accepted; but you too must stand firm on the path of truth and be upright. Never follow the way of those who do not know.

⁹⁰Then We brought the Children of Israel across to the far side of the sea. Pharaoh and his soldiers pursued them insolently and with hostility. At last, when Pharaoh realized he was about to drown, he pleaded: —I too have come to believe that there is no god but the One in whom the Children of Israel believe. Now I am one of the Muslims.

⁹¹—Now? Yet before this you kept rebelling and were one of those who spread corruption!

⁹²Yes, now We will preserve your lifeless body, so that it may be a lesson for those who come after you. Surely most people take an indifferent attitude toward Our signs that serve as lessons.

⁹³Indeed, We settled the Children of Israel in good and secure places and provided them with clean and good food. They did not differ among themselves until the divine message came to them. Surely your Lord will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection concerning the matters in which they differed.

⁹⁴If you have any doubt about the truth of these messages We have sent down to you, ask those who read the books sent to those before you. The truth itself, the Quran, has indeed come to you from your Lord. So never be among those who doubt!

⁹⁵And never be among those who cling to lies in the face of Allah's verses, or you will be among the utter losers!

⁹⁶The truth is that those who deserve your Lord's word/sentence of punishment are those who do not believe.

⁹⁷For even if every kind of evidence of the truth came to them, they would not believe until they see the painful punishment.

⁹⁸If only there had been! Sadly, apart from the people of Jonah, there was no community among the peoples of the towns that believed (before Our punishment came) and benefited from its faith. But the people of Jonah believed (before the punishment came upon them), so We lifted from them the punishment of disgrace in this world and let them enjoy the blessings of this world for a while longer.

⁹⁹Had your Lord willed, all who are on the earth would have believed. That being so, will you force people until they believe?

¹⁰⁰Had it not been for Allah's permission (His granting reason and will), no one could believe. For He leaves those who do not use their reason in impurity.

¹⁰¹Say: "Look with an eye to taking a lesson at what is in the heavens and on the earth!" But signs and warnings are of no use to a people who will not believe.

¹⁰²Are they waiting for anything other than the disasters that befell those before them? —Say: —Wait, then; I too am waiting with you!

¹⁰³Then We have always saved Our messengers and those who believe. Such is Our law. For it is incumbent on Us to save the believers.

¹⁰⁴Say: —O people! If you are in doubt about my religion, know well that I will never serve those you place between yourselves and Allah and serve; rather, I serve Allah, who will take your lives and call you to account. For I have been commanded to be one of the believers,

¹⁰⁵and to turn with my whole being to the upright religion, purified of every kind of association of partners with Allah, and never to be among those who associate partners with Him!

¹⁰⁶And do not implore in prayer those you place between yourself and Allah, who can neither benefit nor harm you! If you do so, you will certainly be among the wrongdoers who associate partners with Allah!

¹⁰⁷If Allah touches you with hardship, none can remove it but He. And if He wills good for you, there is no one who can hold back Allah's grace. For He grants His blessing to whoever deserves it among His servants. For He is matchless in forgiveness and an infinite source of mercy.

¹⁰⁸Say: —O people! The Quran, the source of truth, has come to you from your Lord. Whoever takes the right path through this Quran does so only for his own good, and whoever turns away from it and strays does so only to his own detriment. For I am not your guardian.

¹⁰⁹Follow the Quran that is revealed to you, and be patient until Allah gives His judgment! For He is the best of judges.