THE FORGIVER (40) (al-ghafir)
Number of Verses: 85
Ha. Mim (40:1).
This Book is a revelation from God, the Majestic and All-knowing (40:2)
who forgives sins, who accepts repentance, whose punishment is severe, and whose bounty is universal. He is the only Lord and to Him all things proceed (40:3).
No one disputes the revelations of the Lord except the disbelievers. Let not their activities in the land deceive you (40:4).
The people of Noah who lived before and the Confederate tribes who lived after them rejected Our revelations. Every nation schemed against its Messengers to seize them and disputed against them to defeat the truth. But torment struck them and how terrible was their retribution! (40:5).
The word of your Lord that the disbelievers will be the dwellers of hell fire has already been decreed (40:6).
The bearers of the Throne glorify their Lord with His praise. They believe in Him and ask Him to forgive the believers. They say, "Our Lord, Your mercy and knowledge encompass all things. Forgive those who turn to You in repentance and follow Your path. Lord, save them from the torment of hell (40:7).
Lord, admit them and their fathers, spouses, and offspring who have reformed themselves to the gardens of Eden which You have promised them. You are Majestic and All-wise (40:8).
Lord, keep them away from evil deeds. Whomever You have saved from evil on the Day of Judgment has certainly been granted Your mercy and this is the greatest triumph (40:9).
The disbelievers will be told, "God's hatred towards you is much greater than your hatred of your own selves. You were called to the faith but you disbelieved" (40:10).
They say, "Lord, You have caused us to die twice and You have brought us back to life twice. We have confessed our sins, so is there any way out of this (hell)?" (40:11).
They will be answered, "Your suffering is only because you disbelieved when One God was mentioned. When other things were considered equal to Him, you believed in them. Judgment belongs to God, the Most High, the Most Great (40:12).
It is He who has shown you the evidence of His existence and has sent you sustenance from the sky, yet only those who turn to God in repentance take heed (40:13).
Worship God and be devoted to His religion even though the disbelievers dislike this (40:14).
God is the promoter of His servants and the owner of the Throne. He sends His spirit by His command to whichever of His servants He wants to warn them of the Day of Judgment (40:15).
Nothing will remain hidden from God concerning them on the day when they appear before God (from their graves) (It will be asked), "To whom does the kingdom belong on this Day?" (It will be answered), "The kingdom belongs to the Almighty One God" (40:16).
Every soul will be recompensed for its deeds on this Day. There will be no injustice. Certainly God's reckoning is swift (40:17).
(Muhammad), warn them of the approaching day when because of hardship and frustration their hearts will almost reach up to their throats. The unjust will have no friends nor any intercessor who will be heard (40:18).
God knows the disloyalty of the eyes and what the hearts conceal (40:19). God judges with Truth but those whom they worship besides God can have no Judgment. God is certainly All-hearing and All-aware (40:20).
Have they not travelled through the land to see the terrible end of those who lived before them. They had been mightier than them in power and in leaving their traces on earth. God punished them for their sins. They had no one to save them from God's torment (40:21).
Messengers had come to them with illustrious miracles but they disbelieved and thus God struck them with His torment. He is Mighty and Severe in His retribution (40:22).
We sent Moses with Our miracles and clear authority (40:23).
to the Pharaoh, Haman, and Korah, who said, "He is only a lying magician." (40:24).
When We sent him to them for a genuine purpose, they said, "Kill the sons of those who have believed in him but keep their women alive." The plots of the unbelievers can only result in failure (40:25).
The Pharaoh said, "Let me kill Moses and let him call for help from his Lord. I am afraid that he will change your religion or spread evil through the land." (40:26).
Moses said, "I seek protection from your and my Lord against every arrogant person who has no faith in the Day of Judgment." (40:27).
A believing person from the people of the Pharaoh who concealed his faith said, "Would you kill a man just because he says God is my Lord? He has brought you illustrious miracles from your Lord. If he speaks lies, it will only harm him, but if he speaks the Truth, some of his warnings may affect you. God does not guide a transgressing liar (40:28).
My people, today you have the kingdom and the power on earth but who will help us against the wrath of God if it will befall us?"
The Pharaoh said, "I show you only what I think is proper and guide you only to the right direction" (40:29).
The believing man said, "I am afraid that you will face a (terrible) day like that of the groups: (40:30) people of Noah, Ad, Thamud, and those after them. God did not want injustice for His servants (40:31).
My people, I am afraid for you on (the Day of Judgment), when people will cry for help (40:32).
On that day you will run away, but no one will be able to protect you from (God's Judgment).
No one can guide one whom God has caused to go astray (40:33).
Joseph came to you before with illustrious evidence but you still have doubts about what he brought. When he passed away, you said, "God will never send any Messenger after him." Thus does God causes to go astray the skeptical transgressing people, (40:34) those who dispute the revelations of God without having received clear authority. This act greatly angers God and the believers. Thus does God seal the hearts of every arrogant oppressor." (40:35).
Pharaoh said, "Haman, build a tower of baked bricks for me so that I shall have access (40:36).
to the heavens and be able to climb up to the Lord of Moses. I think that Moses is lying." Thus, Pharaoh's evil deeds seemed attractive to him and prevented him from the right path. The Pharaoh's plots only led him to his own destructor (40:37).
The believing man said, "My people, follow me and I shall show you the right guidance (40:38).
My people, this worldly life is only the means (to an end), but the life hereafter will be the everlasting abode (40:39).
Whoever commits evil deeds will be recompensed to the same degree. The righteously striving believer, male or female, will enter Paradise wherein they will receive their sustenance without any account being kept (40:40).
My people, "How strange is it that I invite you to salvation when you invite me to the fire (40:41).
You call me to disbelieve in God and to believe other things equal to Him about which I have no knowledge. I call you to the Majestic and All-forgiving One (40:42).
The idols to which you invite me certainly have no claim to be deities in this world or in the life to come. Our return is to God and the transgressors will be the dwellers of hell fire (40:43).
You will soon recall what I have told you. I entrust God with my affairs. God is Well Aware of His servants." (40:44).
God protected him against their evil plans and the people of the Pharaoh were struck by the most horrible torment (40:45).
They will be exposed to the fire in the mornings and the evenings and on the Day of Judgment, they will be told, "People of the Pharaoh, suffer the most severe torment." (40:46).
During a dispute in the fire, the suppressed ones will say to those who had dominated them, "We were your followers. Can you now relieve us of our suffering in the fire?" (40:47).
The ones who had dominated them will say, "All of us are now in hell. God has already issued His Judgment of His servants (and no one can change this)." (40:48).
The dwellers of hell fire will ask its keepers, "Pray to your Lord to relieve us from the torment at least for one day" (40:49).
The keepers will ask them, "Did your Messengers not come to you with illustrious evidence (of the Truth)? They will reply, "Yes, they did." The keepers will then say, "You may pray but the prayer of the disbelievers will not be answered" (40:50).
We shall help Our Messengers and the believers, in this life and on the day when witness will come forward (40:51).
The excuses of the unjust will be of no benefit to them on that day. They will be condemned to live in a most terrible abode (40:52).
To Moses We had given guidance and to the children of Israel We had given the Book (40:53) as their inheritance and as a guide and a reminder to the people of understanding (40:54).
(Muhammad), exercise patience. The promise of God is true. Seek forgiveness for your sins and glorify your Lord with His praise in the evenings and in the early mornings (40:55).
Those who dispute the revelations of God without having received any authority do so because of their arrogance, but their arrogance cannot bring them any success. Seek protection from God for He is All-hearing and All-aware (40:56).
The creation of the heavens and the earth is certainly greater than the creation of mankind, but most people do not know (40:57).
Just as the blind and the seeing are not equal, so are the righteously striving believers and the sinners are not equal. How little to this you pay attention (40:58).
The Hour of Doom will inevitably come, but most people do not have faith (40:59).
Your Lord has said, "Pray to Me for I shall answer you prayers. Those who are too proud to worship Me will soon go to hell in disgrace" (40:60).
It is God Who has made the night for you to rest and the day for you to see. God is Benevolent to the human being, but most people do not give Him due thanks (40:61).
It is God, your Lord, Who has created all things. He is the only Lord. Why then do you turn away from His worship to the worshipping of idols? (40:62).
Thus are indeed those who have rejected the revelations of God (40:63).
It is God who has created the earth as a place for you to live and the sky as a dome above you. He has shaped you in the best form and has provided you with pure sustenance. This is God, your Lord. Blessed is God, the Lord of the Universe (40:64).
He is the Everlasting and the only Lord. So worship Him and be devoted to His religion. It is only God, the Lord of the Universe who deserves all praise (40:65).
(Muhammad), say, "I have been forbidden to worship whatever you worship besides God after receiving clear evidence from my Lord. I have been commanded to submit myself to the will of the Lord of the Universe" (40:66).
It is He Who created you from clay, turning it into a living germ, then into a clot of blood, and then brings you forth as a child. He then made you grow into manhood and become old. He causes some of you to live for the appointed time and some of you to die before so that perhaps you may have understanding (40:67).
It is He Who gives life and causes things to die. When He decides to do something, He only says, "Exist," and it comes into existence (40:68).
Have you not seen how those who dispute the revelations of God, turn away from Truth to falsehood? (40:69).
Those who rejected the Book and the message which was given to Our Messenger will soon know (the consequences of their evil deeds) (40:70).
when fetters will be placed around their necks and chains will drag them (40:71) into boiling water and then they will be burned in the fire (40:72).
Then they will be asked, "Where are the idols which you worshipped besides God?" (40:73).
They will reply, "They have abandoned us. In fact, we had worshipped nothing" Thus does God cause the disbelievers to go astray (40:74). They will be told, "This (torment) is the result of your unreasonable happiness on the earth and of your propagation of falsehood (40:75).
Enter the gates of hell to live therein forever. How terrible is the dwelling of the arrogant ones (40:76).
(Muhammad), exercise patience. The promise of God is true. Whether We let you witness the suffering with which they were threatened or because of your death (you do not see them suffering,), We shall still punish them when they return to Us (on the Day of Judgment) (40:77).
We have told you the stories of some of Our Messengers whom We had sent before you and We have not told you the stories of some others. A Messenger is not supposed to show a miracle without the permission of God. When God's decree of punishment comes to pass, He will judge truthfully and the supporters of the falsehood will perish when God's decree of punishemnt comes to pass (40:78).
It is God Who has created cattle for you to ride and to consume as food (40:79). You may also obtain other benefits from them. You may ride them to seek whatever you need or be carried by them as ships carry you by sea (40:80).
God shows you the evidence (of His existence).
How can you then deny such evidence? (40:81).
Have they not travelled through the land to see the terrible end of those who lived before them? They were far mightier in both number and power and in what they had established. Their (worldly) gains were of no benefit to them (40:82).
They were far too content with their own knowledge (to pay attention to the Messengers) when Our Messengers came to them with illustrious evidence. They were encompassed by the torment for mocking Our guidance (40:83).
They said, "We believe in One God and disbelieve in whatever we had considered equal to Him," when they experienced Our wrath.(40:84).
Their faith proved to be of no benefit to them when they became subject to Our torment. Such was God's prevailing tradition among His servants in the past. Thus were the unbelievers destroyed (40:85).