Surah Al Hadid

Quran Chapter 57

In the name of God, the Gracious, the Merciful.

1Everything in the heavens and the earth praises God, the Almighty, the All-Wise.

2His reign extends over the heavens and the earth. He gives life and causes death, and He has power over everything.

3He is the First and the Last, the Outward and the Inward, and He knows everything.

4It is He who created the heavens and the earth in six periods and then established Himself on the Throne. He knows what penetrates the earth and what emerges from it, what descends from the sky, and what ascends into it. He is with you wherever you may be, and God sees everything you do.

5To Him belongs the sovereignty of the heavens and the earth. And to God, all matters are returned.

6He merges night into day, day into night; He is fully aware of the innermost secrets of the hearts.

7Believe in God and His Messenger, and spend from what He made you successors in. Those among you who believe and donate will have a great reward.

8Why wouldn’t you believe in God, when the Messenger invites you to have faith in your Lord? He has already taken a covenant from you—if you are believers.

9It is He who reveals clear verses to His servant, leading you from darkness into light. God is Most Gentle and Most Merciful towards you.

10What holds you back from contributing to God’s cause, when the entirety of the heavens and the Earth is His inheritance? None of you equals those who donated and fought before the conquest. Their rank is superior to those who gave and fought afterward. Nevertheless, God promises goodness to all. God is fully aware of your actions.

11Who will give to God a generous loan, so He may multiply it for him manifold and grant him a noble reward?

12On that Day, you will see the believing men and women, their light shining before them and on their right: “Today, rejoice in Gardens through which rivers flow, where you will reside eternally. That is the great success.”

13On that Day, the hypocritical men and women will call out to the believers, “Wait for us, let us absorb some of your light.” However, they will be told, “Go back behind you and seek light.” Then a wall with a door will be erected between them. Inside it will be mercy, and on the outside of it will be suffering.

14They will call out to them, “Were we not with you?” They will reply, “Yes, but you led yourselves into temptation. You hesitated, doubted, and your desires deluded you, until God’s decree came to pass. And the Deceiver deceived you about God.”

15“Today, no ransom will be accepted from you or from those who disbelieved. Your dwelling is the Fire—it is most suited for you; a terrible destination.”

16Isn’t it time yet for the believers’ hearts to become humble to God’s remembrance and the revealed truth? They shouldn’t be like those who were given the Scripture before, whose hearts hardened over time, and many of them are sinners.

17Know that God revives the earth after its death. We’ve clearly explained Our revelations to you, so you may understand.

18The charitable men and women who lend to God a good loan: it will be multiplied for them, and they will have a generous reward.

19Those who believe in God and His messengers—they are the truthful and the witnesses before their Lord. They will have their reward and their light. But those who disbelieve and deny Our signs—they are the inhabitants of the Blaze.

20Know that the life of this world is but play, diversion, glitter, boasting among you, and competition in increase of wealth and children—like rain whose resulting crop delights the unbelievers; then it withers, and you see it turning yellow; then it becomes scattered debris. There is severe punishment, forgiveness from God, and approval in the Hereafter. The life of this world is nothing more than the enjoyment of delusion.

21Race toward forgiveness from your Lord, and a Paradise as vast as the heavens and the earth, prepared for those who believe in God and His messengers. This is God’s bounty, which He gives to whom He wills. God is the possessor of immense bounty.

22Every calamity that strikes the earth or yourselves was recorded before We brought it into existence. This is easy for God.

23So that you may not despair over what eludes you, nor rejoice over what He has given you. God doesn’t love the boastful or the arrogant.

24Those who are reluctant to give and advise others to be the same; and whoever turns away—God is the Self-Sufficient, the Praiseworthy.

25We sent Our messengers with clear signs, and We sent down with them the Scripture and the Balance, so that people may uphold justice. We also sent down iron, in which is a great strength and benefits for humankind, so that God may distinguish those who support Him and His messengers, although unseen. God is Powerful and Mighty.

26We sent Noah and Abraham, and We established prophethood and Scripture among their descendants. Some of them were guided, yet many are sinners.

27Then, following their footsteps, We sent Our messengers, and We sent Jesus, the son of Mary, and We gave him the Gospel. We instilled compassion and mercy into the hearts of his followers. They invented monasticism, which We had not prescribed for them—only seeking God’s approval, but they didn’t observe it with due observance. Therefore, We gave those among them who believed their reward, but many of them are sinners.

28O you who believe, be conscious of God, and believe in His Messenger; He will give you a double share of His mercy, and He will make for you a light by which you walk, and forgive you. God is Forgiving and Merciful.

29The People of the Scripture should know that they have no monopoly whatsoever over God’s mercy and grace, and that all grace and mercy are in God’s hands. He grants them to whom He wills. God is the possessor of vast bounty.