O my people, fill up the measure and the balance justly, and do not diminish the goods of the people, and do not mischief in the land, working corruption.
God's remainder is better for you, if you are believers. And I am not a guardian over you.
They said, 'Shuaib, does thy prayer command thee that we should leave that our fathers served, or to do as we will with our goods? Thou art the clement one, the right-minded.'
He said, 'O my people, what think you? If I stand upon a clear sign from my Lord, and He has provided me with fair provision from Him -- and I desire not to come behind you, betaking me to that I forbid you; I desire only to set things right, so far as I am able. My succour is only with God; in Him I have put my trust, and to Him I turn, penitent.
O my people, let not the breach with me move you, so that there smite you the like of what smote the people of Noah, or the people of Hood, or the people of Salih; and the people of Lot are not far away from you.
And ask forgiveness of your Lord, then repent to Him; surely my Lord is All-compassionate, All-loving.'
They said, 'Shuaib, we do not understand much of what thou sayest. Truly we see thee weak among us; but for thy tribe we would have stoned thee; for thou art not strong against us.
He said, 'O my people, is my tribe stronger against you than God? And Him -- have you taken Him as something to be thrust behind you? My Lord encompasses the things you do.
O my people, act according to your station; I am acting; and certainly you will know to whom will come the chastisement degrading him, and who is a liar. And be upon the watch; I shall be with you, watching.'
And when Our command came, We delivered Shuaib and those who believed with him by a mercy from Us, and the evildoers were seized by the Cry, and morning found them in their habitations fallen prostrate as if they had never dwelt there: 'So away with Midian, even as Thamood was done away!'
And We sent Moses with Our signs, and a manifest authority, to Pharaoh and his Council; but they followed Pharaoh's command, and Pharaoh's command was not right-minded.
He shall go before his people on the Day of Resurrection, and will have led them down to the Fire-evil the watering-place to be led down to!
And there was sent following after them in this world a curse, and upon the Day of Resurrection -- evil the offering to be offered!
That is of the tidings of the cities We relate to thee; some of them are standing and some stubble.
And We wronged them not, but they wronged themselves; their gods availed them not that they called upon, apart from God, anything, when the command of thy Lord came; and they increased them not, save in destruction.
Such is the seizing of thy Lord, when He seizes the cities that are evildoing; surely His seizing is painful, terrible.
Surely in that is a sign for him who fears the chastisement in the world to come; that is a day mankind are to be gathered to, a day to witness, and We shall not postpone it, save to a term reckoned; the day it comes, no soul shall speak save by His leave; some of them shall be wretched and some happy.
As for the wretched, they shall be in the Fire, wherein there shall be for them moaning and sighing, therein dwelling forever, so long as the heavens and earth abide, save as thy Lord will; surely thy Lord accomplishes what He desires.
And as for the happy, they shall be in Paradise, therein dwelling forever, so long as the heavens and earth abide, save as thy Lord will -- for a gift unbroken.
So be thou not in doubt concerning what these men serve; they serve only as their fathers served before; and We shall surely pay them in full their portion undiminished.
And We gave Moses the Book; and there was difference regarding it, and but for a word that preceded from thy Lord, it had been decided between them; and they are in doubt of it disquieting.
Surely each one of them -- thy Lord will pay them in full for their works; He is aware of the things they do.
So go thou straight, as thou hast been commanded, and whoso repents with thee; and be you not insolent; surely He sees the things you do.
And lean not on the evildoers, so that the Fire touches you -- you have no protectors apart from God -- and then you will not be helped.
And perform the prayer at the two ends of the day and nigh of the night; surely the good deeds will drive away the evil deeds. That is a remembrance unto the mindful.
And be thou patient; God will not leave to waste the wage of the good-doers.
Or if there had been, of the generations before you, men of a remainder forbidding corruption in the earth -- except a few of those whom We delivered of them; but the evildoers followed the ease they were given to exult in and became sinners.
Yet thy Lord would never destroy the cities unjustly, while as yet their people were putting things right.
Had thy Lord willed, He would have made mankind one nation; but they continue in their differences excepting those on whom thy Lord has mercy. To that end He created them, and perfectly is fulfilled the word of thy Lord: 'I shall assuredly fill Gehenna with jinn and men all together.'
And all that We relate to thee of the tidings of the Messengers is that whereby We strengthen thy heart; in these there has come to thee the truth and an admonition, and a reminder to the believers.
And say to the unbelievers: 'Act you according to your station; we are acting.
And watch and wait; we are also watching and waiting.'
To God belongs the Unseen in the heavens and the earth. To Him the whole matter shall be returned; so serve Him, and put thy trust in Him. Thy Lord is not heedless of the things you do.
Alif Lam Ra. Those are the signs of the Manifest Book.
We have sent it down as an Arabic Koran; haply you will understand.
We will relate to thee the fairest of stories in that We have revealed to thee this Koran, though before it thou wast one of the heedless.
When Joseph said to his father, 'Father, I saw eleven stars, and the sun and the moon; I saw them bowing down before me.'
He said, 'O my son, relate not thy vision to thy brothers, lest they devise against thee some guile. Surely Satan is to man a manifest enemy.
So will thy Lord choose thee, and teach thee the interpretation of tales, and perfect His blessing upon thee and upon the House of Jacob, as He perfected it formerly on thy fathers Abraham and Isaac; surely thy Lord is All-knowing, All-wise.'
(In Joseph and his brethren were signs for those who ask questions.) When they said, 'Surely Joseph and his brother are dearer to our father than we, though we are a band. Surely our father is in manifest error.
Kill you Joseph, or cast him forth into some land, that your father's face may be free for you, and thereafter you may be a righteous people.'
One of them said, 'No, kill not Joseph, but cast him into the bottom of the pit and some traveller will pick him out, if you do aught.'
They said, 'Father, what ails thee, that thou trustest us not with Joseph? Surely we are his sincere well-wishers.
Send him forth with us tomorrow, to frolic and play; surely we shall be watching over him.'
He said, 'It grieves me that you should go with him, and I fear the wolf may eat him, while you are heedless of him.'
They said, 'If the wolf eats him, and we a band, then are we losers!'
So when they went with him, and agreed to put him in the bottom of the well, and We revealed to him, 'Thou shalt tell them of this their doing when they are unaware.'
And they came to their father in the evening, and they were weeping.
They said, 'Father, we went running races, and left Joseph behind with our things; so the wolf ate him. But thou wouldst never believe us, though we spoke truly.'
And they brought his shirt with false blood on it. He said, 'No; but your spirits tempted you to do somewhat. But come, sweet patience! And God's succour is ever there to seek against that you describe.'
Then came travellers, and they sent one of them, a water-drawer, who let down his bucket. 'Good news!' he said. 'Here is a young man.' So they hid him as merchandise; but God knew what they were doing.
Then they sold him for a paltry price, a handful of counted dirhams; for they set small store by him.
He that bought him, being of Egypt, said to his wife, 'Give him goodly lodging, and it may be that he will profit us, or we may take him for our own son.' So We established Joseph in the land, and that We might teach him the interpretation of tales. God prevails in His purpose, but most men know not.
And when he was fully grown, We gave him judgment and knowledge. Even so We recompense the good-doers.
Now the woman in whose house he was solicited him, and closed the doors on them. 'Come,' she said, 'take me!' 'God be my refuge,' he said. 'Surely my lord has given me a goodly lodging. Surely the evildoers do not prosper.
For she desired him; and he would have taken her, but that he saw the proof of his Lord. So was it, that We might turn away from him evil and abomination; he was one of Our devoted servants.
They raced to the door; and she tore his shirt from behind. They encountered her master by the door. She said, 'What is the recompense of him who purposes evil against thy folk, but that he should be imprisoned, or a painful chastisement?'
Said he, 'It was she that solicited me'; and a witness of her folk bore witness, 'If his shirt has been torn from before then she has spoken truly, and he is one of the liars; but if it be that his shirt has been torn from behind, then she has lied, and he is one of the truthful.'
When he saw his shirt was torn from behind he said, 'This is of your women's guile; surely your guile is great.
Joseph, turn away from this; and thou, woman, ask forgiveness of thy crime; surely thou art one of the sinners.'
Certain women that were in the city said, 'The Governor's wife has been soliciting her page; he smote her heart with love; we see her in manifest error.
When she heard their sly whispers, she sent to them, and made ready for them a repast, then she gave to each one of them a knife. 'Come forth, attend to them,' she said. And when they saw him, they so admired him that they cut their hands, saying, 'God save us! This is no mortal; he is no other but a noble angel.'
'So now you see, she said. 'This is he you blamed me for. Yes, I solicited him, but he abstained. Yet if he will not do what I command him, he shall be imprisoned, and be one of the humbled.'
He said, 'My Lord, prison is dearer to me than that they call me to; yet if Thou turnest not from me their guile, then I shall yearn towards them, and so become one of the ignorant.'
So his Lord answered him, and He turned away from him their guile; surely He is the All-hearing, the All-knowing.
Then it seemed good to them, after they had seen the signs, that they should imprison him for a while.
And there entered the prison with him two youths. Said one of them, 'I dreamed that I was pressing grapes. Said the other, 'I dreamed that I was carrying on my head bread, that birds were eating of. Tell us its interpretation; we see that thou art of the good-doers.'
He said, 'No food shall come to you for your sustenance, but ere it comes to you I shall tell you its interpretation. That I shall tell you is of what God has taught me. I have forsaken the creed of a people who believe not in God and who moreover are unbelievers in the world to come.
And I have followed the creed of my fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Not ours is it to associate aught with God. That is of God's bounty to us, and to men; but most men are not thankful.
Say, which is better, my fellow-prisoners -- many gods at variance, or God the One, the Omnipotent?
That which you serve, apart from Him, is nothing but names yourselves have named, you and your fathers; God has sent down no authority touching them. Judgment belongs only to God; He has commanded that you shall not serve any but Him. That is the right religion; but most men know not.
Fellow-prisoners, as for one of you, he shall pour wine for his lord; as for the other, he shall be crucified, and birds will eat of his head. The matter is decided whereon you enquire.'
Then he said to the one he deemed should be saved of the two, 'Mention me in thy lord's presence.' But Satan caused him to forget to mention him to his master, so that he continued in the prison for certain years.
And the king said, 'I saw in a dream seven fat kine, and seven lean ones devouring them; likewise seven green ears of corn, and seven withered. My counsellors, pronounce to me upon my dream, if you are expounders of dreams.'
'A hotchpotch of nightmares!' they said. 'We know nothing of the interpretation of nightmares.'
Then said the one who had been delivered, remembering after a time, 'I will myself tell you its interpretation; so send me forth.'
'Joseph, thou true man, pronounce to us regarding seven fat kine, that seven lean ones were devouring, seven green ears of corn, and seven withered; haply I shall return to the men, haply they will know.'
He said, 'You shall sow seven years after your wont; what you have harvested leave in the ear, excepting a little whereof you eat.
Then thereafter there shall come upon you seven hard years, that shall devour what you have laid up for them, all but a little you keep in store.
Then thereafter there shall come a year wherein the people will be succoured and press in season.
The king said, 'Bring him to me!' And when the messenger came to him, he said, 'Return unto thy lord, and ask of him, "What of the women who cut their hands?" Surely my Lord has knowledge of their guile.'
'What was your business, women,' he said, 'when you solicited Joseph?' 'God save us!' they said. 'We know no evil against him.' The Governor's wife said, 'Now the truth is at last discovered; I solicited him; he is a truthful man.
'That, so that he may know I betrayed him not secretly, and that God guides not the guile of the treacherous.
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