Az-Zukhruf — Ornaments of gold

Ḥâ-Mĩm.

By the clear Book!

Certainly, We have made it a Quran in Arabic so perhaps you will understand.

And indeed, it is—in the Master Record with Us—highly esteemed, rich in wisdom.

Should We then turn the ˹Quranic˺ Reminder away from you ˹simply˺ because you have been a transgressing people?

˹Imagine˺ how many prophets We sent to those ˹destroyed˺ before!

But no prophet ever came to them without being mocked.

So We destroyed those who were far mightier than these ˹Meccans˺. The examples of ˹their˺ predecessors have ˹already˺ been related.

If you ask them ˹O Prophet˺ who created the heavens and the earth, they will certainly say, “The Almighty, All-Knowing did.”

˹He is the One˺ Who has laid out the earth for you, and set in it pathways for you so that you may find your way.

And ˹He is the One˺ Who sends down rain from the sky in perfect measure, with which We give life to a lifeless land. And so will you be brought forth ˹from the grave˺.

And ˹He is the One˺ Who created all ˹things in˺ pairs, and made for you ships and animals to ride

so that you may sit firmly on their backs, and remember your Lord’s blessings once you are settled on them, saying, “Glory be to the One Who has subjected these for us, for we could have never done so ˹on our own˺.

And surely to our Lord we will ˹all˺ return.”

Still the pagans have made some of His creation out to be a part of Him. Indeed, humankind is clearly ungrateful.

Has He taken ˹angels as His˺ daughters from what He created, and favoured you ˹O pagans˺ with sons?

Whenever one of them is given the good news of what they attribute to the Most Compassionate, his face grows gloomy, as he suppresses his rage.

˹Do they attribute to Him˺ those who are brought up in fineries and are not commanding in disputes?

Still they have labelled the angels, who are servants of the Most Compassionate, as female. Did they witness their creation? Their statement will be recorded, and they will be questioned!

And they argue, “Had the Most Compassionate willed, we would have never worshipped them.” They have no knowledge ˹in support˺ of this ˹claim˺. They do nothing but lie.