The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics)

55. THE LORD OF MERCY
A Medinan sura that highlights God’s wonders in this world, describes the end
of the world, and paints an evocative picture of the delights of Paradise. Hell is
briefly contrasted (verses 43–4) with the joys that await the righteous. The
sura is characterized by the refrain ‘Which, then, of your Lord’s blessings do
you both deny?’ which runs throughout. The sura divides mankind and jinn
into three classes: the disbelievers (verses 41–5), the best of believers (verses
46–61), and the ordinary believers (verses 62–77).
In the name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy
1 It is the Lord of Mercy 2 who taught the Quran. a 3 He created man
4 and taught him to communicate. b 5 The sun and the moon follow their
calculated courses; 6 the plants and the trees submit c to His designs;
7 He has raised up the sky. He has set the balance 8 so that you may not
exceed in the balance: 9 weigh with justice and do not fall short in
the balance. 10 He set down the Earth for His creatures, 11 with its fruits,
its palm trees with sheathed clusters, 12 its husked grain, its fragrant
plants. 13 Which, then, of your Lord’s blessings do you both d deny?
14 He created mankind out of dried clay, like pottery, 15 the jinn out
of smokeless fire. 16 Which, then, of your Lord’s blessings do you
both deny?
17 He is Lord of the two risings and Lord of the two settings. e
18 Which, then, of your Lord’s blessings do you both deny?
19 He released the two bodies of [fresh and salt] water. They meet,
20 yet there is a barrier between them they do not cross. 21 Which,
then, of your Lord’s blessings do you both deny?
22 Pearls come forth from them: large ones, and small, brilliant
ones. f 23 Which, then, of your Lord’s blessings do you both deny?
a One interpretation is that quran here means ‘to read’, cf. 96: 1.
b Bayan (communication) involves both expressing oneself and understanding what
has been expressed by others, including the Quran, which is called bayan and mubin.
c Sajada means ‘to submit’ and consequently also ‘to bow down’ or ‘to prostrate
oneself ’.
d Mankind and jinn.
e This refers to the rising and setting of the sun and the moon, or, alternatively, their
furthest points of sunrise and sunset in summer and winter.
f See Abdel Haleem, Understanding the Quran, 170–1.