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The first words of the "Sūra (chapter) of the Clot" are the first which were revealed to Muhammad. The section
which follows the "Sūra of the Clot" here is the opening portion of the second and longest chapter of the Qur’ān, the "Sūra of the Cow." It thus forms a sort of introduction to the Book as a whole.
Recite: And thy Lord is the Most Generous,
who taught by the Pen.
taught Man that he knew not.
No indeed; surely Man waxes insolent,
for he thinks himself self-sufficient.
Surely unto thy Lord is the Returning.
What thinkest thou? He who forbids
a servant when he prays--
What thinkest thou? If he were upon guidance
or bade to godfearing--
What thinkest thou? If he cries lies, and turns away--
Did he not know that God sees?
No indeed; surely, if he gives not over,
We shall seize him by the forelock,
a lying, sinful forelock.
So let him call on his concourse!
We shall call on the guards of Hell.
No indeed; do thou not obey him,
and bow thyself, and draw nigh. (96:1-19)
Alif Lam Mim
As for the unbelievers, alike it is to them
whether thou hast warned them or hast not warned them,
they do not believe.
God has set a seal on their hearts and on their hearing,
and on their eyes is a covering,
and there awaits them a mighty chastisement.
And some men there are who say,
"We believe in God and the Last Day";
but they are not believers.
They would trick God and the believers,
and only themselves they deceive,
and they are not aware.
In their hearts is a sickness,
and God has increased their sickness,
and there awaits them a painful chastisement
for that they have cried lies.
When it is said to them, "Do not corruption in the land,"
they say, "We are only ones that put things right."
Truly, they are the workers of corruption
but they are not aware.
When it is said to them, "Believe as the people believe,"
they say, "Shall we believe, as fools believe?"
Truly, they are the foolish ones,
but they do not know.
When they meet those who believe, they say, "We believe";
but when they go privily to their Satans, they say,
"We are with you; we were only mocking."
God shall mock them, and shall lead them on
blindly wandering in their insolence.
Those are they that have bought error
at the price of guidance,
and their commerce has not profited them,
and they are not right-guided.
Give thou good tidings to those who believe
and do deeds of righteousness, that for them
await gardens underneath which rivers flow;
whensoever they are provided with fruits therefrom
they shall say, "This is that wherewithal
we were provided before"; that they shall be
Blessed be He in whose hand is the Kingdom--
He is powerful over everything--
who created death and life, that He might try you
which of you is fairest in works; and He is
the All-mighty, the All-forgiving-
who created seven heavens one upon another.
Thou seest not in the creation
of the All-merciful any imperfection.
Return thy gaze; seest thou any fissure?
Then return thy gaze again, and again, and thy gaze comes
back to thee dazzled, aweary.
And we adorned the lower heaven with lamps, and made them
things to stone Satans; and We have prepared for them
the chastisement of the Blaze.
And for those who disbelieve in their Lord
there awaits the chastisement of Gehenna--
an evil homecoming! (67:1-7)
The story of the Garden of Eden is similar to that contained in Genesis; however, the doctrine of Original Sin is not accepted in Islam. Adam's fall is not seen as a sin, but an error in judgment, and has not tainted the human race with its consequences. From the Creation, man has made a contract to serve God.
Alif Lam Mim Sad
We have established you in the earth
and there appointed for you livelihood;
little thanks you show.
We created you, then We shaped you,
then We said to the angels: "Bow yourselves
to Adam"; so they bowed themselves,
save Iblis--he was not of those
that bowed themselves.
Said He, "What prevented thee to
bow thyself, when I commanded thee?"
Said he, "I am better than he; Thou
createdst me of fire, and him Thou
createdst of clay."
Said He, "Get thee down out of it;
it is not for thee to wax proud here,
so go thou forth; surely thou art
among the humbled."
Said he, "Respite me till the day
they shall be raised."
Said He, "Thou art among the ones
that are respited."
Said he, "Now, for Thy perverting me,
"O Adam, inherit, thou and thy wife,
the Garden, and eat of where you will,
but come not nigh this tree, lest you be
of the evildoers."
Then Satan whispered to them, to reveal
to them that which was hidden from them
of their shameful parts. He said, "Your Lord
has only prohibited you from this tree
lest you become angels, or lest you
become immortals."
And he swore to them, "Truly, I am for you
a sincere adviser."
So he led them on by delusion; and when
they tasted the tree, their shameful parts
revealed to them, so they took to stitching
upon themselves leaves of the Garden.
And their Lord called to them, "Did not I
prohibit you from this tree, and say
to you, 'Verily Satan is for you
a manifest foe'?"
They said, "Lord, we must have wronged ourselves,
and if Thou dost not forgive us, and
have mercy upon us, we shall surely be
among the lost."
Said He, "Get you down, each of you
an enemy to each. In the earth a sojourn
shall be yours, and enjoyment
for a time."
And when thy Lord took from the Children of Adam,
from their loins, their seed, and made them testify
touching themselves, "Am I not your Lord?"
They said, "Yes, we testify--lest you should say
on the Day of Resurrection, 'As for us, we
were heedless of this,'
or lest you say, 'Our fathers were idolaters
aforetime, and we were seed after them.
What, wilt Thou then destroy us for the deeds
of vain-doers?'"
So We distinguish the signs; and haply
they will return.
And recite to them the tidings of him to whom
We gave Our signs, but he cast them off,
and Satan followed after him, and he became
one of the perverts.
And had We willed, We would have raised him up
thereby; but he inclined towards the earth
and followed his lust. So the likeness of him
is as the likeness of a dog; if thou attackest it
it lolls its tongue out, or if thou leavest it
it lolls its tongue out. That is that people's likeness
who cried lies to Our signs. So relate the story;
haply they will reflect.
An evil likeness is the likeness of
the people who cried lies to Our signs, and
themselves were wronging.
Whomsoever God guides,
he is rightly guided;
and whom He leads astray--
they are the losers.
We have created for Gehenna
many jinn and men;
The Qur’ān repeatedly reminds man that he is surrounded with the evidences of Divine handiwork; it expresses astonishment that he can nevertheless be so blind as not to remember the Creator.
And God knows what you keep secret
and what you publish.
And those they call upon, apart from God,
created nothing, and themselves are created,
dead, not alive, and not aware when
they shall be raised.
Your God is One God.
And they who believe not in the world to come,
their hearts deny, and they have waxed proud.
Without a doubt God
knows what they keep secret
and what they publish;
He loves not those that wax proud. (16:1-22)