SURA XIX (19) - MARY (Mecca - 98 Verses) (LVIII - 117)

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

Kaf. Ha. Ya. Ain. Sad. A recital of thy Lord's mercy to his servant
Zachariah;

When he called upon his Lord with secret calling,

And said, "O Lord, verily my bones are weakened, and the hoar hairs
glisten on my head,

And never, Lord, have I prayed to thee with ill success.

But now I have fears for my kindred after me; and my wife is barren:

Give me, then, a successor as thy special gift, who shall be my heir and
an heir of the family of Jacob: and make him, Lord, well pleasing to thee."

- "O Zachariah! verily we announce to thee a son, - his name John:

That name We have given to none before him."

He said: "O my Lord! how when my wife is barren shall I have a son, and
when I have now reached old age, failing in my powers?"

19:10 He said: So shall it be. Thy Lord hath said, Easy is this to me, for
I created thee aforetime when thou wast nothing."

He said, "Vouchsafe me, O my Lord! a sign." He said: "Thy sign shall
be that for three nights, though sound in health, thou speakest not to man."

And he came forth from the sanctuary to his people, and made signs to
them to sign praises morn and even.

We said: "O John! receive the Book with purpose of heart:" - and We
bestowed on him wisdom while yet a child;

And mercifulness from Ourself, and purity; and pious was he, and duteous
to his parents; and not proud, rebellious.

And peace was on him on the day he was born, and the day of his death,
and shall be on the day when he shall be raised to life!

And make mention in the Book, of Mary, when she went apart from her
family, eastward,

And took a veil to shroud herself from them: and we sent our spirit to
her, and he took before her the form of a perfect man.

She said: "I fly for refuge from thee to the God of Merch! If thou
fearest Him, begone from lme."

He said: "I am only a messenger of thy Lord, that I may bestow on thee
a holy son."

19:20 She said: "How shall I have a son, when man hath never touched me? and
I am not unchaste."

He said: "So shall it be. Thy Lord hath said: 'Easy is this with me:'
and we will make him a sign to mankind, and mercy from us. For it is a thing
decreed."

And she conceived him, and retired with him to a far-off place.

And the throes came upon her by the trunk of a palm. She said: "Oh,
would that I had died ere this, and been a thing forgotten, forgotten quite!"

And one cried to her from below her: "Grieve not thou, thy Lord hath
provided a streamlet at thy feet: -

And shake the trunk of the palm-tree toward thee: it will drop fresh
ripe dates upon thee.

Eat then and drink, and be of cheerful eye: and shouldst thou see a
man,

Say, - Verily, I have vowed abstinence to the God of mercy. - To no one
will I speak this day."

Then came she with the babe to her people, bearing him. They said, "O
Mary! now hast thou done a strange thing!

O sister of Aaron! Thy father was not a man of wickedness, nor unchaste
thy mother."

19:30 And she made a sign to them, pointing towards the babe. They said,
"How shall we speak with him who is in the cradle, an infant?"

It said, "Verily, I am the servant of God; He hath given me the Book,
and He hath made me a prophet;

And he hath made me blessed wherever I may be, and hath enjoined me
prayer and almsgiving so long as I shall live;

And to be duteous to her that bare me: and he hath not made me proud,
depraved.

And the peace of God was on me the day I was born, and will be the day I
shall die, and the day I shall be raised to life."

This is Jesus, the son of Mary; this is a statement of the truth
concerning which they doubt.

It beseemeth not God to beget a son. Glory be to Him! when he decreeth
a thing. He only saith to it, Be, and it Is.

And verily, God is my Lord and your Lord; adore Him then. This is the
right way.

But the Sects have fallen to variance among themselves about Jesus: but
woe, because of the assembly of a great day, to those who believe not!

Make them hear, make them behold the day when they shall come before us!
But the offenders this day are in a manifest error.

19:40 Warn them of the day of sighing when the decree shall be accomplished,
while they are sunk in heedlessness and while they believe not.

Verily, we will inherit the earth and all who are upon it. To us shall
they be brought back.

Make mention also in the Book of Abraham; for he was a man of truth, a
Prophet.

When he said to his Father, "O my Father! why dost thou worship that
which neither seeth nor heareth, nor profiteth thee aught?

O my Father! verily now hath knowledge come to me which hath not come to
thee. Follow me therefore - I will guide thee into an even path.

O my Father! worship not Satan, for Satan is a rebel against the God of
Mercy.

O my Father! indeed I fear lest a chastisement from the God of Mercy
light upon thee, and thou become Satan's vassal."

He said, "Castest thou off my Gods, O Abraham? if thou forbear not, I
will surely stone thee. Begone from me for a length of time."

He said, "Peace be on thee! I will pray my Lord for thy forgiveness,
for he is gracious to me:

But I will separate myself from you, and the gods ye call on beside Go,
and on my Lord will I call. Haply, my prayers to my Lord will not be with ill
success."

19:50 And when he had separated himself from them and that which they
worshipped beside God, we bestowed on him Isaac and Jacob, and each of them we
made a prophet:

And we bestowed gifts of them in our mercy, and gave them the lofty
tongue of truth."

And commemorate Moses in "the Book;" for he was a man of purity:
moreover he was an Apostle, a Prophet:

From the right side of the mountain we called to him, and caused him to
draw nigh to us for secret converse:

And we bestowed on him in our mercy his brother Aaron, a Prophet.

And commemorate Ismael in "the Book;" for he was true to his promise,
and was an Apostle, a Prophet;

And he enjoined prayer and almsgiving on his people, and was well
pleasing to his Lord.

And commemorate Edris in "the Book;" for he was a man of truth, a
Prophet:

And we uplifted him to a place on high.

These are they among the prophets of the posterity of Adam, and among
those whom we bare with Noah, and among the posterity of Abraham and Israel,
and among those whom we have guided and chosen, to whom God hath shewed favour.
When the signs of the God of Mercy were rehearsed to them, they bowed them down
worshipping and weeping.

19:60 But others have come in their place after them: they have made an end
of prayer, and have gone after their own lusts; and in the end they shall meet
with evil: -

Save those who turn and believe and do that which is right, these shall
enter the Garden, and in nought shall they be wronged:

The Garden of Eden, which the God of Mercy hath promised to his servant,
though yet unseen: for his promise shall come to pass:

No vain discourse shall they hear therein, but only "Peace;" and their
food shall be given them at morn and even:

This is the Paradise which we will make the heritage of those our
servants who fear us.

We come not down from heaven but by thy Lord's command. His, whatever
is before us and whatever is behind us, and whatever is between the two! And
thy Lord is not forgetful, -

Lord of the Heavens and of the Earth, and of all that is between them!
Worship Him, then, and abide thou steadfast in his worship. Knoweth thou any
other of the same name?

Man saith: "What! after I am dead, shall I in the end be brought forth
alive?"

Doth not man bear in mind that we made him at first, when he was nought?

And I swear by thy Lord, we will surely gather together them and the
Satans: then will we set them on their knees round Hell:

19:70 Then will we take forth from each band those of them who have been
stoutest in rebellion against the God of Mercy:

Then shall we know right well to whom its burning is most due:

No one is there of you who shall not go down unto it - This is a settled
decree with thy Lord -

Then will we deliver those who had the fear of God, and the wicked will
we leave in it on their knees.

And when our clear signs are rehearsed to them, the infidels say to
those who believe: "Which of the two parties is in the best plight? and
which is the most goodly company?"

But how many generations have we brought to ruin before them, who
surpassed them in riches and in splendour!

Say: As to those who are in error, the God of Mercy will lengthen out
to them a length of days

Until they see that with which they are threatened, whether it be some
present chastisement, or whether it be "the Hour," and they shall then know
which is in the worse state, and which the more weak in forces:

But God will increase the guidance of the already guided.

And good works which abide, are in thy Lord's sight better in respect of
guerdon, and better in the issue than all worldly good.

19:80 Hast thou marked him who believeth not in our signs, and saith, "I
shall surely have riches and children bestowed upon me?"

Hath he mounted up into the secrets of God? hath he made a compact with
the God of Mercy?

No! we will certainly write down what he saith, and will lengthen the
length of his chastisement:

And We will inherit what he spake of, and he shall come before us all
alone.

They have taken other gods beside God to be their help.

But it shall not be. Those gods will disavow their worship and will
become their enemies.

Seest thou not that we send the Satans against the Infidels to urge them
into sin?

Wherefore be not thou in haste with them; for a small number of days do
we number to them.

One day we will gather the God-fearing before the God of Mercy with
honours due:

But the sinners will we drive unto Hell, like flocks driven to the
watering.

19:90 None shall have power to intercede, save he who hath received
permission at the hands of the God of Mercy.

They say: "The God of Mercy hath gotten offspring." Now have ye done a
monstrous thing!

Almost might the very Heavens be rent thereat, and the Earth cleave
asunder, and the mountains fall down in fragments,

That they ascribe a son to the God of Mercy, when it beseemeth not the
God of Mercy to beget a son!

Verily there is none in the Heavens and in the Earth but shall approach
the God of Mercy as a servant. He hath taken note of them, and numbered them
with exact numbering:

And each of them shall come to Him, on the day of Resurrection, singly:

But love with the God of Mercy vouchsafe to those who believe and do the
things that be right.

Verily we have made this Koran easy and in thine own tongue, that thou
mayest announce glad tidings by it to the God-fearing, and that thou mayest
warn the contentious by it.

How many generations have we destroyed before them! Canst thou search
out one of them? or canst thou hear a whisper from them?