The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics)

11. HUD
A Meccan sura named after the prophet Hud whose story is given in verses 50–60.
It begins by announcing that the Prophet is sent both to warn and to give good
news, and the body of the sura focuses on the warning aspect: God watches over
everything and is aware of all that people do (verses 5–6, 111–12, 123). The
many stories of past prophets, which serve to warn the disbelievers, also
strengthen the heart of the Prophet (verse 120).
In the name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy
1 Alif Lam Ra
[This is] a Scripture whose verses are perfected, then set out clearly,
from One who is all wise, all aware. 2 [Say, Prophet], ‘Worship no one
but God. I am sent to you from Him to warn and to give good news.
3 Ask your Lord for forgiveness, then turn back to Him. He will
grant you wholesome enjoyment until an appointed time, and give
His grace to everyone who has merit. But if you turn away, I fear you
will have torment on a terrible Day: 4 it is to God that you will all
return, and He has power over everything.’
5 See how they [the disbelievers] wrap themselves up, to hide their
feelings from Him. But even when they cover themselves with their
clothes, He knows what they conceal and what they reveal: He knows
well the innermost secrets of the heart. 6 There is not a creature that
moves on earth whose provision is not His concern. He knows where
it lives and its [final] resting place: it is all [there] in a clear record.
7 It is He who created the heavens and the earth in six Days a ––His
rule b extends over the waters c too––so as to test which of you does
best.
Yet [Prophet], if you say to them, ‘You will be resurrected after
death,’ the disbelievers are sure to answer, ‘This is clearly nothing
but sorcery.’ 8 If We defer their punishment for a determined time,
a See also 22: 47; 32: 4; 41: 9ff.
b ‘Rule’ is one of the meanings of the Arabic word arsh, normally translated as
‘throne’ (al-Mujam al-Wasit).
c Cf. 21: 30.