Surah of the Almighty (Surat al-Qadir)

This is the Surah of the Almighty, which we have pre-ordained in the realm of eternal life. We have revealed it to our Servants so that it might be as a shining lamp unto them.

He is the Eternal Truth, the Glorious, the Most Glorious. Praise be unto him, who foreordained for each thing its portion in mighty, preserved Tablets. He created all things in such a manner that, were they to purify themselves from the dust of imaginings and selfish passions, they would ascend to the farthest stations and would speak forth the words uttered by the Holy Spirit from the Lote-Tree beyond which there is no passing: There is no God but him and that the possessor of the two Words among these two Names is the everlasting Name of Names in the realm of immortality. The mercy of these days has thus encompassed all humankind, but the people remain unaware.

God has shed his illumination on all creatures in this Tablet by virtue of His Name, the Almighty, in order that they might beseech him for strength to overcome all that was created between the earth and the heavens, lest anyone be deprived of the sovereignty of His power. This is what has been revealed at this time, by the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting. Sun of my name, the Almighty: Rise from the East upon all beings with the wonders of the power of your Lord, so that all things may witness in themselves the Might of God, the Omnipotent, the All-Glorious. Whoever is deprived of the effulgence of this Name will never succeed in establishing the power of his Lord, the August, the Ordainer. Even should he confess his inability, this confession would fall short of the reality, for how could he ever truly know what he had lost? Praised may he be, then, above what they know.^[1]

Therefore, O people, make your hearts mirrors for this Sun, that they may reflect its lights and radiance. Thus commands you your Lord, if you only knew it. God will render anyone who reflects the effulgence of this Name powerful over all things, to the extent that if he were to instruct all things to turn upside down, they would do so. If he should wish to conquer all beings by the power of his will, he would be enabled to accomplish it by the might of his Lord. This is, verily, a grace for all to see. The gales of power are wafted upon all possessors of might from this Tablet, and they blow where they will by an order from him, were you only able to reason. The metaphor for this Name in this Tablet is a spring of water that feeds various rivers. In a like manner, from this Name flow the waters of Might into the streams of all being. All take therefrom according to their preordained portion.

O Name, we have brought you into being by our command and have exalted your mention in the kingdom of names. We adorned you with the cloak of immortality, so that you might give thanks to your Lord and be among the grateful. Beware lest anything beguile you, nor should you be veiled from the mention of your Lord's name. Do not be among those who, when they find themselves high and exalted, grow heedless of the mention of their Lord, and then grow prideful toward God, who created them by the operation of his will. Thus did they act.

You, who are named with this Name, and who are its manifestations: Listen to the voice of your Lord, the All-Merciful, in this paradise, and pay no attention to all that was ordained in the worlds of being. Do not be among those who fail to comprehend, and beware lest mere names entice you away from the mention of your Creator. When the Sun of your Lord's mention dawns upon you, fall prostrate upon your faces, bowing before God, the Almighty, the Guardian, the Self-Subsisting. Beware, and let nothing stand in the way of your obedience to God. Do not be like the one whose cause we exalted among the servants, and whose name we made renowned throughout the land, and who, when he beheld his glory and loftiness, grew haughty toward the One who created and fashioned him. He reached the point where he demonstrated opposition to me before my face and separated himself from God. He was among those who, when the sun of beauty shone upon them from the horizon of grandeur, became proud and arrogant.

My Name, we have made you the manifestation of this Name, so that you might cast all contingent beings behind you, and smash the idols of imaginings in all things, leading everyone to the shade of your Lord, the Glorious, the Beloved. Thus may you ensure the victory of your Lord in every affair insofar as you are able, so that the standards of victory might be planted upon lofty and holy summits.

Say: People of the Bayan! If you will not aid this Youth to become triumphant, God Himself will render him victorious, just as he succored him in truth with invisible hosts when he was imprisoned. He sent down what would preserve him from His enemies. In truth, there is no God but him, and to him belong the worlds of creation and command. All is with him upon a Preserved Tablet.

My Name: Be steadfast in the Cause. Then remind the people of that with which the Spirit inspired you. If you find one who accepts it, advance toward him, and should anyone shun it, fearlessly turn away from him. Put your trust in God, your Lord, and he will protect you from those who disbelieved and sought many gods. Such were those who, when the verses of the All-Merciful were recited to them, were dallying within themselves. Sanctify your soul from all those who keep you from the path of God, Possessor of everything that is in the heavens and upon the earth. This is, in truth, better for you than all that was concealed in the kingdom of creation and command. But most of the people do not comprehend.

Await the Day whereon God will come with dominion from the Cause, surrounded by angels of the Spirit. Then you will find that the people are fallen upon the ground and a great commotion has overtaken the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth. All of the names will be inverted and they shall fall prostrate to the earth of limitation, save for the one who is detached for the sake of God and who enters into the shade of his Lord, the Exalted, the Most High, the All-Glorious, the All-Praised. Thus have we inspired you with the wonders of your Lord's revelation, so that you might attain certitude and be among the assured. Glory be upon you and upon anyone seeks in the shade of his Lord a place that is praiseworthy. Praise be to God, the Mighty, the Powerful, the All-High, the Beloved.

(1) Ganj-i Shayigan, p. 52, gives ‘what they oppose’ (yu`ridun). This does not seem to me to make any sense.