Sura 21: The Prophets (Al-Anbya’)
Number of verses in sura: 112
Order of revelation: 73
[21:0] In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
[21:1] Fast approaching is the reckoning for the people, but they are oblivious, averse.
Opposition to the New Evidence
[21:2] When a proof comes to them from their Lord, that is new, they listen to it heedlessly.
[21:3] Their minds are heedless. And the transgressors confer secretly: “Is he not just a human being like you? Would you accept the magic that is presented to you?”*
*21:3 Although the Bible (Malachi 3:1) and the Quran (3:81) prophesy the advent of God’s Messenger of the Covenant, when he did appear, supported by `one of the greatest miracles’ (74:30-35), he was met with heedlessness and opposition. The divine assertion that every `new’ proof is opposed has been proven by the Arabs’ opposition to the Quran’s miracle. (App. 1 & 2).
[21:4] He said, “My Lord knows every thought in the heaven and the earth. He is the Hearer, the Omniscient.”
[21:5] They even said, “Hallucinations,” “He made it up,” and, “He is a poet. Let him show us a miracle like those of the previous messengers.”
[21:6] We never annihilated a believing community in the past. Are these people believers?
[21:7] We did not send before you except men whom we inspired. Ask those who know the scripture, if you do not know.
[21:8] We did not give them bodies that did not eat, nor were they immortal.
[21:9] We fulfilled our promise to them; we saved them together with whomever we willed, and annihilated the transgressors.
[21:10] We have sent down to you a scripture containing your message. Do you not understand?
[21:11] Many a community we terminated because of their transgression, and we substituted other people in their place.
[21:12] When our requital came to pass, they started to run.
[21:13] Do not run, and come back to your luxuries and your mansions, for you must be held accountable.
[21:14] They said, “Woe to us. We were really wicked.”
[21:15] This continued to be their proclamation, until we completely wiped them out.
[21:16] We did not create the heavens and the earth, and everything between them just for amusement.
[21:17] If we needed amusement, we could have initiated it without any of this, if that is what we wanted to do.
[21:18] Instead, it is our plan to support the truth against falsehood, in order to defeat it. Woe to you for the utterances you utter.
[21:19] To Him belongs everyone in the heavens and the earth, and those at Him are never too arrogant to worship Him, nor do they ever waver.
[21:20] They glorify night and day, without ever tiring.
One God
[21:21] Have they found gods on earth who can create?
[21:22] If there were in them (the heavens and the earth) other gods beside GOD, there would have been chaos. Glory be to GOD; the Lord with absolute authority. He is high above their claims.
Never Question God’s Wisdom
[21:23] He is never to be asked about anything He does, while all others are questioned.
[21:24] Have they found other gods beside Him? Say, “Show me your proof. This is the message to my generation, consummating all previous messages.” Indeed, most of them do not recognize the truth; this is why they are so hostile.
One God/One Message/One Religion
[21:25] We did not send any messenger before you except with the inspiration: “There is no god except Me; you shall worship Me alone.”
[21:26] Yet, they said, “The Most Gracious has begotten a son!” Glory be to Him. All (messengers) are (His) honored servants.
[21:27] They never speak on their own, and they strictly follow His commands.
The Myth of Intercession
[21:28] He knows their future and their past. They do not intercede, except for those already accepted by Him, and they are worried about their own necks.*
*21:28 The myth of intercession is Satan’s most effective bait (see Appendix 8).
[21:29] If any of them claims to be a god beside Him, we requite him with Hell; we thus requite the wicked.
The Big Bang Theory Confirmed*
[21:30] Do the unbelievers not realize that the heaven and the earth used to be one solid mass that we exploded into existence? And from water we made all living things. Would they believe?
*21:30 The Big Bang Theory is now supported by the Creator’s infallible mathematical code (Appendix 1). Thus, it is no longer a theory; it is a law, a proven fact.
[21:31] And we placed on earth stabilizers, lest it tumbles with them, and we placed straight roads therein, that they may be guided.
[21:32] And we rendered the sky a guarded ceiling. Yet, they are totally oblivious to all the portents therein.
[21:33] And He is the One who created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon; each floating in its own orbit.
[21:34] We never decreed immortality for anyone before you; should you die, are they immortal?
[21:35] Every person will taste death, after we put you to the test through adversity and prosperity, then to us you ultimately return.
All Messengers Ridiculed
[21:36] When those who disbelieve see you, they ridicule you: “Is this the one who challenges your gods?” Meanwhile, they remain totally heedless of the message from the Most Gracious.
[21:37] The human being is impatient by nature. I will inevitably show you My signs; do not be in such a hurry.
[21:38] They challenge: “Where is that (retribution), if you are truthful?”
[21:39] If only those who disbelieve could envision themselves when they try to ward off the fire – off their faces and their backs! No one will help them then.
[21:40] Indeed, it will come to them suddenly, and they will be utterly stunned. They can neither avoid it, nor can they receive any respite.
[21:41] Messengers before you have been ridiculed, and, consequently, those who ridiculed them incurred the retribution for their ridiculing.
Priorities Confused
[21:42] Say, “Who can protect you from the Most Gracious during the night or during the day?” Indeed, they are totally oblivious to the message of their Lord.
[21:43] Do they have gods who can protect them from us? They cannot even help themselves. Nor can they accompany one another when they are summoned to face us.
[21:44] We have provided for these people and their ancestors, up until an old age. Do they not see that every day on earth brings them closer to the end? Can they reverse this process?
[21:45] Say, “I am warning you in accordance with divine inspiration.” However, the deaf cannot hear the call, when they are warned.*
[21:46] When a sample of your Lord’s retribution afflicts them, they readily say, “We were indeed wicked.”
[21:47] We will establish the scales of justice on the Day of Resurrection. No soul will suffer the least injustice. Even the equivalent of a mustard seed will be accounted for. We are the most efficient reckoners.
Prophets Moses and Aaron
[21:48] We gave Moses and Aaron the Statute Book, a beacon, and a reminder for the righteous.
[21:49] The ones who reverence their Lord, even when alone in their privacy, and they worry about the Hour.
[21:50] This too is a blessed reminder that we sent down. Are you denying it?
Abraham
[21:51] Before that, we granted Abraham his guidance and understanding, for we were fully aware of him.*
*21:51 Was Abraham so smart as to discover God, or, did God grant him the intelligence because He knew that he deserved to be saved? As it turns out, this whole world was created to redeem those among us who deserve redemption. When the angels suggested that all the rebels, humans and jinns, must be banished out of God’s kingdom, He said, `I know what you do not know’ (2:30). At the same time, this world proves Satan’s incompetence as a god (App. 7).
[21:52] He said to his father and his people, “What are these statues to which you are devoting yourselves?”
[21:53] They said, “We found our parents worshiping them.”
[21:54] He said, “Indeed, you and your parents have gone totally astray.”
[21:55] They said, “Are you telling us the truth, or are you playing?”
[21:56] He said, “Your only Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth, who created them. This is the testimony to which I bear witness.
[21:57] “I swear by GOD, I have a plan to deal with your statues, as soon as you leave.”
[21:58] He broke them into pieces, except for a big one, that they may refer to it.
[21:59] They said, “Whoever did this to our gods is really a transgressor.”
[21:60] They said, “We heard a youth threaten them; he is called Abraham.”
[21:61] They said, “Bring him before the eyes of all the people, that they may bear witness.”
[21:62] They said, “Did you do this to our gods, O Abraham?”
Abraham Proves His Point
[21:63] He said, “It is that big one who did it. Go ask them, if they can speak.”
[21:64] They were taken aback, and said to themselves, “Indeed, you are the ones who have been transgressing.”
[21:65] Yet, they reverted to their old ideas: “You know full well that these cannot speak.”
[21:66] He said, “Do you then worship beside GOD what possesses no power to benefit you or harm you?
[21:67] “You have incurred shame by worshiping idols beside GOD. Do you not understand?”
Profound Miracle
[21:68] They said, “Burn him and support your gods, if this is what you decide to do.”
[21:69] We said, “O fire, be cool and safe for Abraham.”*
*21:69 “Cool,” without “and safe” would have caused Abraham to freeze.
[21:70] Thus, they schemed against him, but we made them the losers.
[21:71] We saved him, and we saved Lot, to the land that we blessed for all the people.
[21:72] And we granted him Isaac and Jacob as a gift, and we made them both righteous.
Abraham: Delivered All
Religious Duties of Submission (Islam)
[21:73] We made them imams who guided in accordance with our commandments, and we taught them how to work righteousness, and how to observe the Contact Prayers (Salat) and the obligatory charity (Zakat).* To us, they were devoted worshipers.
*21:73 When the Quran was revealed, all religious duties were already established through Abraham (2:128, 16:123, 22:78).
Lot
[21:74] As for Lot, we granted him wisdom and knowledge, and we saved him from the community that practiced abominations; they were wicked and evil people.
[21:75] We admitted him into our mercy, for he was righteous.
Noah
[21:76] And, before that, Noah called and we responded to him. We saved him and his family from the great disaster.
[21:77] We supported him against the people who rejected our revelations. They were evil people, so we drowned them all.
David and Solomon
[21:78] And David and Solomon, when they once ruled with regard to someone’s crop that was destroyed by another’s sheep, we witnessed their judgment.
[21:79] We granted Solomon the correct understanding, though we endowed both of them with wisdom and knowledge. We committed the mountains to serve David in glorifying (God), as well as the birds. This is what we did.
[21:80] And we taught him the skill of making shields to protect you in war. Are you then thankful?
[21:81] For Solomon, we committed the wind gusting and blowing at his disposal. He could direct it as he wished, to whatever land he chose, and we blessed such land for him. We are fully aware of all things.
[21:82] And of the devils there were those who would dive for him (to harvest the sea), or do whatever else he commanded them to do. We committed them in his service.
Job
[21:83] And Job implored his Lord: “Adversity has befallen me, and, of all the merciful ones, You are the Most Merciful.”
[21:84] We responded to him, relieved his adversity, and restored his family for him, even twice as much. That was a mercy from us, and a reminder for the worshipers.
[21:85] Also, Ismail, Idris, Zal-Kifl; all were steadfast, patient.
[21:86] We admitted them into our mercy, for they were righteous.
Jonah
[21:87] And Zan-Noon (Jonah, “the one with an `N’ in his name”), abandoned his mission in protest, thinking that we could not control him. He ended up imploring from the darkness (of the big fish’s belly): “There is no god other than You. Be You glorified. I have committed a gross sin.”
[21:88] We responded to him, and saved him from the crisis; we thus save the believers.
Zachariah and John
[21:89] And Zachariah implored his Lord: “My Lord, do not keep me without an heir, though You are the best inheritor.”
[21:90] We* responded to him and granted him John; we fixed his wife for him. That is because they used to hasten to work righteousness, and implored us in situations of joy, as well as fear. To us, they were reverent.
*21:90 The use of the plural tense throughout the Quran indicates participation of the angels. It is clear from 3:39 and from the Bible that the angels dealt with Zachariah extensively, as they gave him the good news about John. See Appendix 10.
Mary and Jesus
[21:91] As for the one who maintained her virginity, we blew into her from our spirit, and thus, we made her and her son a portent for the whole world.
One God/One Religion
[21:92] Your congregation is but one congregation, and I alone am your Lord; you shall worship Me alone.
[21:93] However, they divided themselves into disputing religions. All of them will come back to us (for judgment).
[21:94] As for those who work righteousness, while believing, their work will not go to waste; we are recording it.
[21:95] It is forbidden for any community we had annihilated to return.
The End of the World*
[21:96] Not until Gog and Magog reappear,* will they then return – they will come from every direction.
*21:96 By the year 2270 AD, thanks to God’s mathematical miracle in the Quran (Appendix 1), America will be the heart of Islam, and billions around the globe will have believed in the Quran (9:33, 41:53, 48:28, 61:9). Gog and Magog (allegorical names of villainous communities), will be the only bastions of heathenism, and they will attack the submitters. That is when the world will end (15:87, 18:94, Appendix 25). Gog and Magog are mentioned in 18:94 & 21:96, 17 verses before the end of each sura; this may indicate the time of their appearance.
[21:97] That is when the inevitable prophecy will come to pass, and the disbelievers will stare in horror: “Woe to us; we have been oblivious. Indeed, we have been wicked.”
The Hereafter
[21:98] You and the idols you worship besides GOD will be fuel for Hell; this is your inevitable destiny.
[21:99] If those were gods, they would not have ended up in Hell. All its inhabitants abide in it forever.
[21:100] They will sigh and groan therein, and they will have no access to any news.
[21:101] As for those who deserved our magnificent rewards, they will be protected from it.
The Righteous
[21:102] They will not hear its hissing. They will enjoy an abode where they can get everything they desire, forever.
[21:103] The great horror will not worry them, and the angels will receive them joyfully: “This is your day, that has been promised to you.”
The Day of Resurrection
[21:104] On that day, we will fold the heaven, like the folding of a book. Just as we initiated the first creation, we will repeat it. This is our promise; we will certainly carry it out.
[21:105] We have decreed in the Psalms, as well as in other scriptures, that the earth shall be inherited by My righteous worshipers.
[21:106] This is a proclamation for people who are worshipers.
[21:107] We have sent you out of mercy from us towards the whole world.
[21:108] Proclaim, “I have been given divine inspiration that your god is one god. Will you then submit?”
[21:109] If they turn away, then say, “I have warned you sufficiently, and I have no idea how soon or late (the retribution) will come to you.
[21:110] “He is fully aware of your public utterances, and He is fully aware of everything you conceal.
[21:111] “For all that I know, this world is a test for you, and a temporary enjoyment.”
[21:112] Say, “My Lord, Your judgment is the absolute justice. Our Lord is the Most Gracious; only His help is sought in the face of your claims.”