Ali Quli Qarai, The Qur’ān with a Phrase-by-Phrase English Translation (2005)
And the faithless — they are the wrongdoers.
255 Allah — there is no god except Him —
is the Living One, the All-sustainer.
Neither drowsiness befalls Him nor sleep.
To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens
and whatever is on the earth.
Who is it that may intercede with Him
except with His permission?
He knows that which is before them
and that which is behind them,
and they do not comprehend
anything of His knowledge
except what He wishes.
His seat embraces the heavens and the earth,
and He is not wearied by their preservation,
and He is the All-exalted, the All-supreme.
256 There is no compulsion in religion:
rectitude has become distinct from error.
So one who disavows the Rebels 1
and has faith in Allah
has held fast to the firmest handle
for which there is no breaking;
and Allah is all-hearing, all-knowing.
257 Allah is the Guardian of the faithful:
He brings them out of darkness into light.
As for the faithless, their patrons are the Rebels,
who drive them out of light into darkness.
