AL ‘ANKABUT (The Spider)
In the Name of God,1 the Gracious, the Merciful 2
1 Alif Lam Mim.3
2 Do men think that they will be left alone upon saying, “We believe,” and that they will not be tested?
3 We tested those before them, and God will certainly know those who are true from those who are false.
4 Do those who practise evil think that they will get the better of us? Evil is their judgment!
5 For those whose hopes are in the meeting with God; for the term appointed by God is surely coming: and he hears and knows all things.
6 And if any strive, they do so for their own souls: for God is free of all needs from all creation.
7 Those who believe and work righteous deeds, from them shall we blot out all evil in them, and we shall reward them according to the best of their deeds.
8 We have enjoined on man kindness to parents: but if they strive to force you to join with me in worship anything of which you have no knowledge, obey them not. You have all to return to me, and I will tell you the truth of all that you did.
9 And those who believe and work righteous deeds, them shall we admit to the company of the righteous.
10 Then there are among men such as say, We believe in God; but when they suffer affliction in the cause of God, they treat men’s oppression as if it were the wrath of God! And if help comes from your Lord, they are sure to say, We have always been with you! Does not God know best all that is in the hearts of all creation?
11 And God most certainly knows those who believe, and as certainly those who are hypocrites.
12 And the unbelievers say to those who believe: Follow our path, and we will bear the consequences of your sins. Never in the least will they bear their sins: in fact they are liars!
13 They will bear their own burdens, and other burdens along with their own, and on the day of judgment they will be called to account for their falsehoods.
14 We sent Nuh to his people, and he lived among them 950 years: but the deluge overwhelmed them while they persisted in sin.
15 But we saved him and companions of the Ark, and we made the Ark a sign for all peoples!
16 And remember Ibrahim: Behold, he said to his peoples, Serve God and fear him: that will be best for you if you understand!
17 For you worship idols besides God, and you invent falsehood. The things that you worship besides God have no power to give you sustenance. Then seek sustenance from God. Serve him and be grateful to him. To him will be your return.
18 And if you reject the message, so did generations before you: and the duty of the messenger is only to preach publicly.
19 Do they not see how God originates creation, then repeats it: truly that is easy for God.
20 Say: Travel through the earth and see how God did originate creation; so will God produce a later creation: For God has power over all things.
21 He punishes whom he pleases, and he grants mercy to whom he pleases, and towards him are you turned.
22 Not on earth nor in heaven will you be able to frustrate his plan, nor have you, besides God, any protector or helper.
23 Those who reject the signs of God and the meeting with him, it is they who shall despair of my mercy: it is they who will suffer a most grievous penalty.
24 So nothing was the answer of Ibrahim’s people except that they said: Slay him or burn him. But God saved him from the fire. Truly in this are signs for people who believe.
25 And he said: For you, you have taken idols besides God, out of mutual love and regard between yourselves in this life; but on the day of judgment you shall disown each other and curse each other: and your abode will be the fire, and you shall have none to help.
26 But Lut had faith in him. He said: I will leave home for the sake of my Lord: for he is exalted in might, and wise.
27 And we gave Ishaq and Yaqub to Ibrahim, and ordained among his descendants prophethood and Al-Kitab, and we granted him his reward in this life; and he was in the hereafter of the righteous.
28 And remember Lut: behold, he said to his people: you commit lewdness, such as no people in creation committed before you.
29 Do you indeed approach men, and cut off the highway? And practise wickedness in your councils? But his people gave no answer but this. They said: Bring down the wrath of God if you tell the truth.
30 He said: O my Lord! Help you me against people who do mischief!
31 When our messengers came to Ibrahim with the good news, they said: “We are indeed going to destroy the people of this township: for truly they are addicted to crime.”
32 He said: But there. They said: Well do we know who is there: we will certainly save him and his following, except his wife: she is of those who lag behind!
33 And when our messengers came to Lut, he was grieved on their account, and felt himself powerless to protect them: but they said “Fear not, nor grieve: we are here to save you and your following, except your wife: she is of those who lag behind.
34 “For we are going to bring down on the people of this township a punishment from heaven, because they have been wickedly rebellious.”
35 And we have left of it an evident sign, for any people who care to understand.
36 To the Madyani people we sent their brother Shuaib. Then he said: O my people! Serve God, and fear the Last Day: nor commit evil on the earth, with intent to do mischief.
37 But they rejected him: then the mighty blast seized them, and they lay prostrate in their homes by the morning.
38 Remember also the Aad and the Thamud people: Clearly will appear to you from the traces of their buildings their fate: Iblis made their deeds alluring to them, and kept them back from the path, though they were gifted with intelligence and skill.
39 Remember also Qarun, Firaun, and Haman: there came to them Musa with clear signs, but they behaved with insolence on the earth; yet they could not overreach us.
40 Each one of them we seized for his crime: of them, against some we sent a violent tornado; some were caught by a blast; some we caused the earth to swallow up; and some we drowned: it was not God who injured them. They injured their own souls.
41 The parable of those who take protectors other than God is that of the spider, who builds a house; but truly the flimsiest of houses is the spider’s house; if they but knew.
42 Truly God knows whatever they call upon besides him: and he is exalted, wise.
43 And such are the parables we set forth for mankind, but only those understand them who have knowledge.
44 God created the heavens and the earth in truth.
45 Recite what is sent of Al-Kitab by inspiration to you, and establish regular prayer: for prayer restrains from shameful and unjust deeds; and remembrance of God is the greatest without doubt. And God knows what you do.
46 And dispute not with the people of Al-Kitab, except with better means, unless it be with those of them who inflict wrong: but say, “We believe in the revelation which has come down to us and in that which came down to you; our God and your God is one; and it is to him we submit.”
47 And thus it is that we have sent down Al-Kitab to you. So the people of Al-Kitab believe in it, as also do some of these people: and none but unbelievers reject our signs.
48 And you were not to recite a book before this, nor are you to transcribe it with your right hand: in that case, indeed, would the talkers of vanities have doubted.
49 No, here are signs self evident in the hearts of those endowed with knowledge: and none but the unjust reject our signs.
50 Yet they say: Why are not signs sent down to him from his Lord? Say: The signs are indeed with God: and I am indeed a clear warner.
51 And is it not enough for them that we have sent down to you Al-Kitab which is rehearsed to them? Truly, in it is mercy and a reminder to those who believe.
52 Say: Enough is God for witness between me and you: he knows what is in the heavens and on earth. And it is those who believe in vanities and reject God, that will perish.
53 They ask you to hasten on the punishment: had it not been for a term appointed, the punishment would certainly reach them, of a sudden, while they perceive not!
54 They ask you to hasten on the punishment: but surely hell will encompass the rejecters of faith!
55 On the day that the punishment shall cover them from above them and from below them, and a voice shall say: Taste of your deeds!
56 My servants who believe! Truly, spacious is my earth. Therefore serve me.
57 Every soul shall have a taste of death in the end to us shall you be brought back.
58 But those who believe and work deeds of righteousness, to them shall we give a home in heaven — lofty mansions beneath which flow rivers — to dwell in it forever; an excellent reward for those who do good!
59 Those who persevere in patience, and put their trust in their Lord.
60 How many are the creatures that carry not their own sustenance? It is God who feeds both them and you: for he hears and knows all things.
61 If indeed you ask them who has created the heavens and the earth and subjected the sun and the moon to his law, they will certainly reply, God. How are they then deluded away from the truth?
62 God enlarges the sustenance to whichever of his servants he pleases; and he grants by measure: for God has full knowledge of all things.
63 And if needed you ask them who it is that sends down rain from the sky, and gives life therewith to the earth after its death. They will certainly reply, God! Say, Praise be to God! But most of them understand not.
64 What is the life of this world but amusement and play? But truly the home in the hereafter, that is life indeed, if they but knew.
65 Now, if they embark on a boat, they call on God, making their devotion sincerely to him; but when he has delivered them safely to dry land, behold, they give a share!
66 Disdaining ungratefully our gifts, and giving themselves up to pleasure! But soon will they know.
67 Do they not then see that we have made a sanctuary secure, and that men are being snatched away from all around them? Then, do they believe in that which is vain, and reject the grace of God?
68 And who does more wrong than he who invents a lie against God or rejects the truth when it reaches him? Is there not a home in hell for those who reject faith?
69 And those who strive in our cause, we will certainly guide them to our path for truly God is with those who do right.
- God, in Arabic allah, referring to the one true God, as opposed to an idol or “god.” It is the Arabic equivalent of elohim and eloah (Hebrew), alaha (Syriac), and theos (Greek), all of which accurately translate into English as “God.” This translation choice is consistent with respected English Quran translations including those of A. Yusuf Ali (original edition), S.H. Nasr (Study Quran), T.B. Irving, and T. Itani (Clear Quran). ↩︎
- the Gracious, the Merciful, the highlighting of God’s grace and mercy predates the Quran, coming down from the many hundreds of references in the Taurat, Zabur, and Injil. A few samples follow:
Taurat, Exodus 34:6 — …YAHWEH, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth.
Zabur 145:8 — YAHWEH is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great loving kindness.
Taurat, Joel 2:13 — Tear your heart, and not your garments, and turn to YAHWEH your God; for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and relents from sending calamity.
Taurat, Yunus 4:2 — …I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and you relent of doing harm.”
Injil, 1 Timothy 1:2 — …Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and AL-MASIH ‘ISA our Lord.
Injil, Hebrews 4:16 — Let us therefore draw near with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace for help in time of need. ↩︎ - 29:1 meaning unknown. ↩︎