Allah it is Who raised up the heavens without visible supports, then mounted the Throne, and compelled the sun and the moon to be of service, each runneth unto an appointed term; He ordereth the course; He detaileth the revelations, that haply ye may be certain of the meeting with your Lord.
And He it is Who spread out the earth and placed therein firm hills and flowing streams, and of all fruits He placed therein two spouses (male and female). He covereth the night with the day. Lo! herein verily are portents for people who take thought.
And in the Earth are neighbouring tracts, vineyards and ploughed lands, and date-palms, like and unlike, which are watered with one water. And we have made some of them to excel others in fruit. Lo! herein verily are portents for people who have sense.
And if thou wonderest, then wondrous is their saying: When we are dust, are we then forsooth (to be raised) in a new creation? Such are they who disbelieve in their Lord; such have carcans on their necks; such are rightful owners of the Fire, they will abide therein.
And they bid thee hasten on the evil rather than the good, when exemplary punishments have indeed occurred before them. But lo! thy Lord is rich in pardon for mankind despite their wrong, and lo! thy Lord is strong in punishment.
Lahu muʿaqqibātun min bayni yadayhi wamin khalfihi yaḥfaẓūnahu min amri Allāhi inna Allāha lā yughayyiru mā biqawmin ḥattā yughayyirū mā biʾanfusihim waʾidhā arāda Allāhu biqawmin sūʾan falā maradda lahu wamā lahum min dūnihi min wal-
For him are angels ranged before him and behind him, who guard him by Allah's command. Lo! Allah changeth not the condition of a folk until they (first) change that which is in their hearts; and if Allah willeth misfortune for a folk there is none that can repel it, nor have they a defender beside Him.
Wayusabbiḥu ar-raʿdu biḥamdihi wal-malāʾikatu min khīfatihi wayursilu aṣ-ṣawāʿiqa fayuṣību bihā man yashāʾu wahum yujādilūna fī Allāhi wahuwa shadīdu al-miḥāl
The thunder hymneth His praise and (so do) the angels for awe of Him. He launcheth the thunderbolts and smiteth with them whom He will while they dispute (in doubt) concerning Allah, and He is mighty in wrath.
Unto Him is the real prayer. Those unto whom they pray beside Allah respond to them not at all, save as (is the response to) one who stretcheth forth his hands toward water (asking) that it may come unto his mouth, and it will never reach it. The prayer of disbelievers goeth (far) astray.
And unto Allah falleth prostrate whosoever is in the heavens and the earth, willingly or unwillingly, as do their shadows in the morning and the evening hours.
Qul man rabbu as-samāwāti wal-arḍi quli Allāhu qul afāttakhadhtum min dūnihi aliyāʾa lā yamlikūna liʾanfusihim nafʿan walā ḍarran qul hal yastawī al-aʿmā wal-baṣīru am hal tastawī aẓ-ẓulumātu wan-nūru am jaʿalū lillāhi shurakāʾa khalaqū kakhalqihi fatashābaha al-khalqu ʿalayhim quli Allāhu khāliqu kulli shayʾin wahuwa al-wāḥidu al-qahhār
Say (O Muhammad): Who is Lord of the heavens and the earth? Say: Allah. Say: Take ye then (others) beside Him for protectors, which, even for themselves, have neither benefit nor hurt? Say: Is the blind man equal to the seer, or is darkness equal to light? Or assign they unto Allah partners who created the like of His creation so that the creation (which they made and His creation) seemed alike to them? Say: Allah is the Creator of all things, and He is the One, the Almighty.
He sendeth down water from the sky, so that valleys flow according to their measure, and the flood beareth (on its surface) swelling foam - from that which they smelt in the fire in order to make ornaments and tools riseth a foam like unto it - thus Allah coineth (the similitude of) the true and the false. Then, as for the foam, it passeth away as scum upon the banks, while, as for that which is of use to mankind, it remaineth in the earth. Thus Allah coineth the similitudes.
For those who answered Allah's call is bliss; and for those who answered not His call, if they had all that is in the earth, and therewith the like thereof, they would proffer it as ransom. Such will have a woeful reckoning, and their habitation will be hell, a dire abode.
Such as persevere in seeking their Lord's Countenance and are regular in prayer and spend of that which We bestow upon them secretly and openly, and overcome evil with good. Theirs will be the sequel of the (heavenly) Home,
Jannātu ʿadnin yadkhulūnahā waman ṣalaḥa min ābāʾihim waʾazwājihim wadhurriyyātihim wal-malāʾikatu yadkhulūna ʿalayhim min kulli bāb
Gardens of Eden which they enter, along with all who do right of their fathers and their helpmeets and their seed. The angels enter unto them from every gate,
And those who break the covenant of Allah after ratifying it, and sever that which Allah hath commanded should be joined, and make mischief in the earth: theirs is the curse and theirs the ill abode.
Allah enlargeth livelihood for whom He will, and straiteneth (it for whom He will); and they rejoice in the life of the world, whereas the life of the world is but brief comfort as compared with the Hereafter.
Wayaqūlu alladhīna kafarū lawlā unzila ʿalayhi āyatun min rabbihi qul inna Allāha yuḍillu man yashāʾu wayahdī ilayhi man anāb
Those who disbelieve say: If only a portent were sent down upon him from his Lord! Say: Lo! Allah sendeth whom He will astray, and guideth unto Himself all who turn (unto Him),
Kadhālika arsalnāka fī ummatin qad khalat min qablihā umamun litatluwa ʿalayhimu alladhī awḥaynā ilayka wahum yakfurūna bir-raḥmāni qul huwa rabbī lā ilāha illā huwa ʿalayhi tawakkaltu waʾilayhi matāb
Thus We send thee (O Muhammad) unto a nation, before whom other nations have passed away, that thou mayst recite unto them that which We have inspired in thee, while they are disbelievers in the Beneficent. Say: He is my Lord; there is no Allah save Him. In Him do I put my trust and unto Him is my recourse.
Walaw anna qurʾānan suyyirat bihi al-jibālu aw quṭṭiʿat bihi al-arḍu aw kullima bihi al-mawtā bal lillāhi al-amru jamīʿan afalam yayʾasi alladhīna āmanū an law yashāʾu Allāhu lahadā an-nāsa jamīʿan walā yazālu alladhīna kafarū tuṣībuhum bimā ṣanaʿū qāriʿatun aw taḥullu qarīban min dārihim ḥattā yaʾtiya waʿdu Allāhi inna Allāha lā yukhlifu al-mīʿād
Had it been possible for a Lecture to cause the mountains to move, or the earth to be torn asunder, or the dead to speak, (this Qur'an would have done so). Nay, but Allah's is the whole command. Do not those who believe know that, had Allah willed, He could have guided all mankind? As for those who disbelieve, disaster ceaseth not to strike them because of what they do, or it dwelleth near their home until the threat of Allah come to pass. Lo! Allah faileth not to keep the tryst.
And verily messengers (of Allah) were mocked before thee, but long I bore with those who disbelieved. At length I seized them, and how (awful) was My punishment!
Afaman huwa qāʾimun ʿalā kulli nafsin bimā kasabat wajaʿalū lillāhi shurakāʾa qul sammūhum am tunabbiʾūnahu bimā lā yaʿlamu fī al-arḍi am biẓāhirin mina al-qawli bal zuyyina lilladhīna kafarū makruhum waṣuddū ʿani as-sabīli waman yuḍlili Allāhu famā lahu min hād
Is He Who is aware of the deserts of every soul (as he who is aware of nothing)? Yet they ascribe unto Allah partners. Say: Name them. Is it that ye would inform Him of something which He knoweth not in the earth? Or is it but a way of speaking? Nay but their contrivance is made seeming fair for those who disbelieve and they are kept from the right road. He whom Allah sendeth astray, for him there is no guide.
A similitude of the Garden which is promised unto those who keep their duty (to Allah): Underneath it rivers flow; its food is everlasting, and its shade; this is the reward of those who keep their duty, while the reward of disbelievers is the Fire.
Those unto whom We gave the Scripture rejoice in that which is revealed unto thee. And of the clans there are who deny some of it. Say: I am commanded only that I serve Allah and ascribe unto Him no partner. Unto Him I cry, and unto Him is my return.
Wakadhālika anzalnāhu ḥukman ʿarabiyyan walaʾini ittabaʿta ahwāʾahum baʿda mā jāʾaka mina al-ʿilmi mā laka mina Allāhi min waliyyin walā wāq
Thus have We revealed it, a decisive utterance in Arabic; and if thou shouldst follow their desires after that which hath come unto thee of knowledge, then truly wouldst thou have from Allah no protecting friend nor defender.
And verily We sent messengers (to mankind) before thee, and We appointed for them wives and offspring, and it was not (given) to any messenger that he should bring a portent save by Allah's leave. For everything there is a time prescribed.
Whether We let thee see something of that which We have promised them, or make thee die (before its happening), thine is but conveyance (of the message). Ours the reckoning.
See they not how we aim to the land, reducing it of its outlying parts? (When) Allah doometh there is none that can postpone His doom, and He is swift at reckoning.
Waqad makara alladhīna min qablihim falillāhi al-makru jamīʿan yaʿlamu mā taksibu kullu nafsin wasayaʿlamu al-kuffāru liman ʿuqbā ad-dār
Those who were before them plotted; but all plotting is Allah's. He knoweth that which each soul earneth. The disbelievers will come to know for whom will be the sequel of the (heavenly) Home.
They who disbelieve say: Thou art no messenger (of Allah). Say: Allah, and whosoever hath knowledge of the Scripture, is sufficient witness between me and you.
Transliteration: made by Anoor from the Tanzil text, each word as it is said on its own - in recitation the words run together.
Translation: Marmaduke Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930), in the public domain.
Plain English: written by Anoor from Tafsir al-Jalalayn (al-Mahalli and al-Suyuti), one of the most widely read classical commentaries.
It is a simple explanation, not a scholarly commentary - for a ruling or a deeper reading, ask a scholar. Something wrong? Tell us.