Ali Quli Qarai, The Qur’ān with a Phrase-by-Phrase English Translation (2005)
Say, ‘He is my Lord;
there is no god except Him;
in Him I have put my trust,
and to Him will be my return.’
31 If only it were a Qur’ān 1
whereby the mountains could be moved,
or the earth could be toured,2
or the dead could be spoken to.…3
Rather all dispensation belongs to Allah.
Have not the faithful yet realised
that had Allah wished
He would have guided mankind all together?
The faithless will continue to be visited
by catastrophes because of their doings
— or they 4 will land near their habitations —
until Allah’s promise comes to pass.
Indeed Allah does not break His promise.
32 Apostles were certainly derided before you.
But then I gave respite to those who were faithless,
then I seized them;
so how was My retribution?
33 Is He who sustains every soul 5
in spite of what it earns [comparable to the idols]?
And yet they ascribe partners to Allah!
Say, ‘Name them!’
1 Or ‘Even if it were a Qur’ān.’
2 Or ‘the ground could be split,’ i.e., for making springs and wells.
3 Ellipsis. The phrase omitted is ‘all unbelievers would have embraced the faith.’ Or ‘still they would not have embraced the faith.’ Cf. 6:111.
4 That is, the disasters.
5 Or ‘Is He who maintains every soul in spite of what it earns.’ Or ‘Is He who is vigilant over every soul as to what it earns.’ See 9:25, where bimā is used in the sense of ‘in spite of.’
