BEHOLD, as for those who are bent on denying the truth* - it is all one to them whether thou warnest them or dost not warn them: they will not believe.
And when they are told, "Do not spread corruption on earth," they answer, "We are but improving things!"
Oh, verily, it is they, they who are spreading corruption but they perceive it not?*
And when they are told, "Believe as other people believe," they answer, "Shall we believe as the weak-minded believe?" Oh, verily, it is they, they who are weak-minded -but they know it not!
And when they meet those who have attained to faith, they assert, "We believe [as you believe]"; but when they find themselves alone with their- evil impulses,* they say, "Verily, we are with you; we were only mocking!"
The lightning well-nigh takes away their sight; whenever it gives them light, they advance therein, and whenever darkness falls around them, they stand still. And if God so willed, He could indeed take away their hearing and their sight:* for, verily, God has the power to will anything.
Behold, God does not disdain to propound a parable of a gnat, or of something [even] less than that.* Now, as for those who have attained to faith, they know that it is the truth from their Sustainer - whereas those who are bent on denying the truth say, "What could God mean by this parable?" In this way does He cause many a one to go astray, just as He guides many a one aright: but none does He cause thereby to go astray save the iniquitous,
AND LO!* Thy Sustainer said unto the angels: "Behold, I am about to establish upon earth one who shall inherit it."* They said: "Wilt Thou place on it such as will spread corruption thereon and shed blood -whereas it is we who extol Thy limitless glory, and praise Thee, and hallow Thy name?" [God] answered: "Verily, I know that which you do not know."
They replied: "Limitless art Thou in Thy glory! No knowledge have we save that which Thou hast imparted unto us. Verily, Thou alone art all-knowing, truly wise."
Said He: "O Adam, convey unto them the names of these [things]." And as soon as [Adam] had conveyed unto them their names, [God] said: "Did I not say unto you, `Verily, I alone know the hidden reality of the heavens and the earth, and know all that you bring into the open and all. that you would conceal'?"
Thereupon Adam received words [of guidance] from his Sustainer, and He accepted his repentance: for, verily, He alone is the-Acceptor of Repentance, the Dispenser of Grace.
And seek aid in steadfast patience and prayer: and this, indeed, is a hard thing for all but the humble in spirit,
and when Moses said unto his people: "O my people! Verily, you have sinned against yourselves by worshipping the calf; turn, then. in repentance to your Maker and mortify yourselves;* this will be the best for you in your Maker's sight". And thereupon He accepted your repentance: for, behold, He alone is the Acceptor of Repentance, the Dispenser of Grace.
And [remember] when you said: "O Moses, indeed we cannot endure but one kind of food; pray, then, to thy Sustainer that He bring forth for us aught of what grows from the earth - of its herbs, its cucumbers, its garlic, its lentils, its onions." Said [Moses]: "Would you take a lesser thing in exchange for what is [so much] better?* Go back in shame to Egypt , and then you can have what you are asking for!"* And so, ignominy and humiliation overshadowed them, and they earned the burden of God's condemnation: all this, because they persisted in denying the truth of God's messages and in slaying the prophets against all right: all this, because they rebelled [against God], and persisted in transgressing the bounds of what is right.*
VERILY, those who have attained to faith [in this divine writ], as well as those who follow the Jewish faith, and the Christians, and the Sabians* -all who believe in God and the Last Day and do righteous deeds-shall have their reward with their Sustainer; and no fear need they have, and neither shall they grieve.*
AND LO! Moses said unto his people: "Behold, God bids you to sacrifice a cow."* They said: "Dost thou mock at us?" He answered: "I seek refuge with God against being so ignorant!"*
Said they: "Pray on our behalf unto thy Sustainer that He make clear to us what she is to be like." [Moses] replied: "Behold, He says it is to be a cow neither old nor immature, but of art age in-between. Do, then, what you have been bidden!"
Said they: "Pray on our behalf unto thy Sustainer that He make clear to us what her colour should be. "[Mopes] answered: "Behold; He says it is to be a yellow cow, bright of hue, pleasing to the beholder."
Said' they: "Pray on our behalf unto thy Sustainer that He make clear to us what she is to be like, for to us all cows resemble one another; and then, if God so wills, we shall truly be guided aright!"
[Moses] answered: "Behold, He says it is to be a cow not broken-in to plough the earth or to water the crops, free of fault, without markings of any other colour."Said they: "At last thou hast brought out the truth!"-and thereupon they sacrificed her, although they had almost left it undone.*
And yet, after all this, your hearts hardened and became like rocks, or even harder: for, behold, there are rocks from which streams gush forth; and, behold, there are some from which, when they are cleft, water issues; and, behold, there are some that fall down for awe of God* And God is not unmindful of what you do!
SAY [O Prophet]: "Whosoever is an enemy of Gabriel" -who,, verily, by God's leave, has brought down upon thy heart this [divine writ] which confirms the truth of whatever there still remains [of earlier revelations], and is a guidance and a glad tiding for the believers-:
"whosover is an enemy of God and His angels and His message-bearers, including Gabriel and Michael, [should know that,] verily, God is the enemy of all who deny the truth."*
and follow [instead] that which the evil ones used to practice during Solomon's reign - for it was not Solomon who denied the truth, but those evil ones denied it by teaching people sorcery* -; and [they follow] that which has come down through the two angels in Babylon, Hurut and Marut-although these two never taught it to anyone without first declaring, "We are but a temptation to evil: do not, then, deny [God's] truth!"* And they learn from these two how to create discord between a man and his wife; but whereas they can harm none thereby save by God's leave, they acquire a knowledge that only harms themselves and does not benefit them - although they know; indeed, that he who acquires this [knowledge] shall have no share in the good of the life to come.* For, vile indeed is that [art] for which they have sold their own selves -had they but known it!
Out of their selfish envy, many among the followers of earlier revelation would like to bring you back to denying the truth after you have attained to faith - [even] after the truth has become clear unto them. None the less, forgive and forbear, until God shall make manifest His will: behold, God has the power to will anything.
And be constant in prayer, and render the purifying dues; for, whatever good deed you send ahead for your own selves, you shall find it with God: behold, God sees all that you do.
And God's is the east and the west: and wherever you turn, there is God's countenance. Behold, God is infinite, all-knowing.
The Originator is He of the heavens and the earth: and when He wills a thing to be, He but says unto it, "Be" -and it is.
Verily, We have sent thee [O Prophet] with the truth, as a bearer of glad tidings and a warner: and thou shalt not be held accountable for those who are destined for the blazing fire.
For, never will the Jews be pleased with thee. nor yet the Christians, unless thou follow their own creeds. Say: "Behold, God's guidance is the only true guidance." And, indeed, if thou shouldst follow their errant views after all the knowledge that has come unto thee. thou wouldst have none to protect thee from God, and none to bring thee succour.
And [remember this:] when his Sustainer tried Abraham by [His] commandments and the latter fulfilled them,* He said: "Behold, I shall make thee a leader of men. "Abraham asked: "And [wilt Thou make leaders] of my offspring as well? "[God] answered: "My covenant does not embrace the evildoers."*
And when Abraham and Ishmael were raising the foundations of the Temple , [they prayed:] "O our Sustainer! Accept Thou this from us: for, verily, Thou alone art all-hearing, all-knowing!
"O our Sustainer! Make us surrender ourselves unto Thee, and make out of our offspring* a community that shall surrender itself unto Thee, and show us our ways of worship, and accept our repentance: for, verily, Thou alone art the Acceptor of Repentance, the Dispenser of Grace!
"O our Sustainer! Raise up from the midst of our off spring* an apostle from among themselves, who shall convey unto them Thy messages, and impart unto them revelation as well as wisdom, and cause them to grow in purity: for, verily, Thou alone art almighty, truly wise!"
And who, unless he be weak of mind, would want to abandon Abraham's creed, seeing that We have indeed raised him high in this world, and that, verily, in the life to come he shall be among the righteous?
And this very thing did Abraham bequeath unto his children, and [so did] Jacob: "O my children! Behold, God has granted you the purest faith; so do not allow death to overtake you ere you have surrendered yourselves unto Him."
And if [others] come to believe in the way you believe, they will indeed find themselves on the right path; and if they turn away, it is but they who will be deeply in the wrong, and God will protect thee from them: for He alone is all-hearing, all-knowing.
"Do you claim that Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and their descendants were `Jews' or `Christians'?"* Say: "Do you know more than God does? And who could be more wicked than he who suppresses a testimony given to him by God?* Yet God is not unmindful of what you do.
And thus have We willed you to be a community of the middle way,* so that [with your lives] you might bear witness to the truth before all mankind, and that the Apostle might bear witness to it before you.* And it is only to the end that We might make a clear distinction between those who follow the Apostle and those who turn about on their heels that We have appointed [for this community] the direction of prayer which thou [O Prophet] hast formerly observed: for this was indeed a hard test for all but those whom God has guided aright.* But God will surely not lose sight of your faith-for, behold, God is most compassionate towards man, a dispenser of grace.
We have seen thee [O Prophet] often turn thy face towards heaven [for guidance]: and now We shall indeed make thee turn in prayer in a direction which will fulfil thy desire. Turn, then, thy face towards the Inviolable House of Worship; and wherever you all may be, turn your faces towards it [in prayer]. And, verily, those who have been vouchsafed revelation aforetime know well that this [commandment] comes in truth from their Sustainer; and God is not unaware of what they do.
And yet, even if thou wert to place all evidence* before those who have been vouchsafed earlier revelation, they would not follow thy direction of prayer; and neither mayest thou follow their direction of prayer, nor even do they follow one another's direction. And if thou shouldst follow their errant views after all the knowledge that has come unto thee thou wouldst surely be among the evildoers.
They unto whom We have vouchsafed revelation aforetime know it as they know their own children: but, behold, some of them knowingly suppress the truth -
for, every community faces a direction of its own, of which He is the focal point.* Vie, therefore, with one another in doing good works. Wherever you may be, God will gather you all unto Himself: for, verily, God has the power to will anything.
Thus, from wherever thou mayest come forth, turn thy face [in prayer] towards the Inviolable House of Worship-for,. behold, this [commandment] comes in truth from thy Sustainer; and God is not unaware of what you do.
O YOU who have attained to faith! Seek aid in steadfast patience and prayer: for, behold, God is with those who are patient in adversity.
who, when calamity befalls them, say, "Verily, unto God do we belong and, verily, unto Him we shall return."
[Hence,] behold, As-Safa and Al-Marwah are among the symbols set up by God;* and thus, no wrong does he who, having come to the Temple on pilgrimage or on a pious visit, strides to and fro between these two:* for, if one does more good than he is bound to do-behold, God is responsive to gratitude, all-knowing.*
BEHOLD, as for those who suppress aught of the evidence of the truth and of the guidance which We have bestowed from on high, after We have made it clear unto mankind through the divine writ - these it is whom God will reject, and whom all who can judge will reject.*
Behold, as for those who are bent on denying the truth and die as deniers of the truth -their due is rejection by God, and by the angels,, and by all [righteous] men.
Verily, in the creation of the heavens and of the earth, and the succession of night and day: and in the ships that speed through the sea with what is useful to man: and in the waters which God sends down from the sky, giving life thereby to the earth after it had, been lifeless, and causing all manner of living creatures to multiply thereon: and in the change of the winds, and the clouds that run their appointed courses between sky and earth: [in all this] there are messages indeed for people who use their reason.*
O MANKIND! Partake of what is lawful and good on earth, and follow not Satan's footsteps: for, verily, he is your open foe,
and bids you only to do evil, and to commit deeds of abomination, and to attribute unto God something of which you have no knowledge.*
He has forbidden to you only carrion, and blood, and the flesh of swine, and that over which any name other than God's has been invoked;* but if one is driven by necessity - neither coveting it nor exceeding his immediate need -no sin shall be upon him: for, behold, God is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace.
VERILY, as for those who suppress aught of the revelation* which God has bestowed from on high, and barter it away for a trifling gain - they but fill their bellies with fire. And God will not speak unto them on the Day of Resurrection, nor will He cleanse them [of their sins]; and grievous suffering awaits them.
Thus it is: since it is God who bestows* the divine writ from on high, setting forth the truth, all those who set their own views against the divine writ* are, verily, most deeply in the wrong.
And if anyone alters such a provision._ after having come to know it, the sin of acting thus shall fall only upon those who have altered it.* Verily, God is all-hearing, all-knowing.
If, however, one has reason to fear that the testator has committed a mistake or a [deliberate] wrong, and thereupon brings about a settlement between the heirs,* he will incur no sin [thereby]. Verily, God is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace.
AND IF My servants ask thee about Me - behold, I am near; I respond to the call of him who calls, whenever he calls unto Me: let them, then, respond unto Me, and believe in Me, so that they might follow the right way.
AND FIGHT in God's cause against those who wage war against you, but do not commit aggression-for, verily, God does not love aggressors.*
But if they desist-behold, God is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace.
And spend [freely] in God's cause, and let not your own hands throw you into destruction;* and persevere in doing good: behold, God loves the doers of good.
The pilgrimage shall take place in the months appointed for it.* And whoever undertakes the pilgrimage in those [months] shall, while on pilgrimage, abstain from lewd speech, from all wicked conduct, and from quarrelling; and whatever good you may do, God is aware of it. And make provision for yourselves - but, verily, the best of all provisions is God-consciousness: remain, then, conscious of Me, O you who are endowed with insight!
and surge onward together with the multitude of all the other people who surge onward,* and ask God to forgive you your sins: for, verily, God is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace.
O you who have attained to faith! Surrender yourselves wholly unto God,* and follow not Satan's footsteps, for, verily, he is your open foe.
Ask the children of Israel how many a clear message We have given them! And if one alters God's blessed message* after it has reached him - verily, God is severe in retribution!
[But] do you think that you could enter para-dise without having suffered like those [believers] who passed away before you?* Misfortune and hardship befell them, and so shaken were they that the apostle, and the believers with him, would exclaim, "When will God's succour come?"* Oh, verily, God's succour is [always] near!
THEY WILL ASK thee as to what they should spend on others. Say: "Whatever of your wealth you spend shall [first] be for your parents, and for the near of kin, and the orphans, and the needy, and the wayfarer; and whatever good you do, verily, God has full knowledge thereof."
Verily, they who have attained to faith, and they who have forsaken the domain of evil* and are striving hard in God's cause - these it is who may look forward to God's grace: for God is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace.
on this world and on the life to come. And they will ask thee about [how to deal with] orphans. Say: "To improve their condition is best." And if you share their life, [remember that] they are your brethren:* for God distinguishes between him who spoils things and him who improves. And had God so willed, He would indeed have imposed on you hardships which you would not have been able to bear:* [but,] behold, God is almighty, wise!
AND THEY will ask thee about [woman's] monthly courses. Say: "It is a vulnerable condition. Keep, therefore, aloof from women during their monthly courses, and do not draw near unto them until they are cleansed; and when they are cleansed, go in unto them as God has bidden you to do."* Verily, God loves those who turn unto Him in repentance* and He loves those who keep themselves pure.
Those who take an oath that they will not approach their wives shall have four months of grace; and if they go back [on their oath]* -behold, God is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace.
But if they are resolved on divorce -behold, God is all-hearing, all-knowing.
And if you divorce them before having touched them, but after having settled a dower upon them, then [give them] half of what you have settled - unless it be that they forgo their claim or he in whose hand is the marriage-tie* forgoes his claim [to half of the dower]: and to forgo what is due to you is more in accord with God-consciousness. And forget not [that you are to act with] grace towards one another: verily, God sees all that you do.
ART THOU NOT aware of those who forsook their homelands in their thousands for fear of death-whereupon God said unto them, "Die," and later brought them back to life ?* Behold, God is indeed limitless in His bounty unto man -but most people are ungrateful.
And their prophet said unto those elders:* "Behold, now God has raised up Saul to be your king." They said: "How can he have dominion over us when we have a better claim to dominion than he, and he has not [even] been endowed with abundant wealth?" [The prophet] replied: "Behold, God has exalted him above you, and endowed him abundantly with knowledge and bodily perfection. And God bestows His dominion* upon whom He wills: for God is infinite, all-knowing."
And their prophet said unto them: "Behold, it shall be a sign of his [rightful] dominion that you will be granted a heart* endowed by your Sustainer with inner peace and with all that is enduring in the angel-borne heritage left behind by the House of Moses and the House of Aaron.* Herein, behold, there shall indeed be a sign for you if you are [truly] believers."
And when Saul set out with his forces, he said: "Behold, God will now try you by a river: he who shall drink of it will not belong to me, whereas he who shall refrain from tasting it - he, indeed, will belong to me; but forgiven shall be he* who shall scoop up but a single handful." However, save for a few of them, they all drank [their fill] of it. And as soon as he and those who had kept faith with him had crossed the river, the others said: "No strength have we today [to stand up] against Goliath and his forces!" [Yet] those who knew with certainty that they were destined to meet God, replied: "How often has a small host overcome a great host by God's leave! For God is with those who are patient in adversity."
THESE are God's messages: We convey them unto thee, [O Prophet,] setting forth the truth-for, verily, thou art among those who have been entrusted with a message.
ART THOU NOT aware of that [king] who argued with Abraham about his Sustainer, (simply] because God had granted him kingship? Lo! Abraham said: "My Sustainer is He who grants life and deals death." [The king] replied: "I [too] grant life and deal death!" Said Abraham: "Verily, God causes the sun to rise in the east; cause it, then, to rise in the west!" Thereupon he who was bent on denying the truth remained dumbfounded: for God does not guide people who [deliberately] do wrong.*
For, whatever you may spend on others, or whatever you may vow [to spend], verily, God knows it; and those who do wrong [by withholding charity] shall have none to succour them.
[And give] unto [such of] the needy who, being wholly wrapped up in God's cause, are unable to go about the earth [in search of livelihood].* He who is unaware [of their condition] might think that they are wealthy, because they abstain [from begging]; [but] thou canst recognize them by their special mark: they do not beg of men with importunity. And whatever good you may spend [on them], verily, God knows it all.
THOSE who gorge themselves on usury* behave but as he might behave whom Satan has confounded with his touch; for they say, "Buying and selling is but a kind of* usury" - the while God has made buying and selling lawful and usury unlawful. Hence, whoever becomes aware of his Sustainer's admonition,* and thereupon desists [from usury], may keep his past gains, and it will be for God to judge him; but as for those who return to it -they are destined for the fire, therein to abide!
Verily, those who have attained to faith and do good works, and are constant in prayer, and dispense charity - they shall have their reward with their Sustainer, and no fear need they have, and neither shall they grieve.
O YOU who have attained to faith! Whenever you give or take credit* for a stated term, set it down in writing. And let a scribe write it down equitably between you; and no scribe shall refuse to write as God has taught him:* thus shall he write. And let him who contracts the debt dictate; and let him be conscious of God, his Sustainer, and not weaken anything of his undertaking.* And if he who contracts the debt is weak of mind or body, or, is not able to dictate himself,* then let him who watches over his interests dictate equitably. And call upon two of your men to act as witnesses; and if two men are not available, then a man and two women from among such as are acceptable to you as witnesses, so that if one of them should make a mistake, the other could remind her.* And the witnesses must not refuse [to give evidence] whenever they are called upon. And be not loath to write down every contractual provision,* be it small or great, together with the time at which it falls due; this is more equitable in the sight of God, more reliable as evidence, and more likely to prevent you from having doubts [later]. If, however, [the transaction] concerns ready merchandise which you transfer directly unto one another, you will incur no sin if you do not write it down. And have witnesses whenever you trade with one another, but neither scribe nor witness must suffer harm;* for if you do [them harm], behold, it will be sinful conduct on your part. And remain conscious of God, since it is God who teaches you [herewith] - and God has full knowledge of everything.
And if you are on a journey and cannot find a scribe, pledges [may be taken] in hand: but if you trust one another, then let him who is trusted fulfil his trust, and let him be conscious of God, his Sustainer. And do not conceal what you have witnessed* - for, verily, he who conceals it is sinful at heart; and God has full knowledge of all that you do.
aforetime, as a guidance unto mankind, and it is He who has bestowed [upon man] the standard by which to discern the true from the false.* Behold, as for those who are bent on denying God's messages - grievous suffering awaits them: for God is almighty, an avenger of evil.
Verily, nothing on earth or in the heavens is hidden from God.
"O our Sustainer! Let not our hearts swerve from the truth after Thou hast guided us; and bestow upon us the gift of Thy grace: verily, Thou art the [true] Giver of Gifts.
"O our Sustainer! Verily, Thou wilt gather mankind together to witness the Day about [the coming of] which there is no doubt: verily, God never fails to fulfil His promise."
BEHOLD, as for those who are bent on denying the truth - neither their worldly possessions nor their offspring will in the least avail them against God; and it is they, they who shall be the fuel of the fire!
You have already had a sign in the two hosts that met in battle, one host fighting in God's cause and the other denying Him; with their own eyes [the former] saw the others as twice their own number: but God strengthens with His succour whom He wills. In this, behold, there is indeed a lesson for all who have eyes to see.*
those who say, "O our Sustainer! Behold, we believe [in Thee]; forgive us, then, our sins, and keep us safe from suffering through the fire" - :
Behold, the only [true] religion in the sight of God is [man's] self-surrender unto Him; and those who were vouchsafed revelation aforetime* took, out of mutual jealousy, to divergent views [on this point] only after knowledge [thereof] had come unto them.* But as for him who denies the truth of God's messages - behold, God is swift in reckoning!
Thus, [O Prophet,] if they argue with thee, say, "I have surrendered my whole being unto God, and [so have] all who follow me!" - and ask those who have been vouchsafed revelation aforetime, as well as all unlettered people,* "Have you [too] surrendered yourselves unto Him?" And if they surrender themselves unto Him, they are on the right path; but if they turn away - behold, thy duty is no more than to deliver the message: for God sees all that is in [the hearts of] His creatures.
Verily, as for those who deny the truth of God's messages, and slay the prophets against all right, and slay people who enjoin equity* - announce unto them a grievous chastisement.
SAY: "O God, Lord of all dominion! Thou grantest dominion unto whom Thou willest, and takest away dominion from whom Thou willest; and Thou exaltest whom Thou willest, and abasest whom Thou willest. In Thy hand is all good. Verily, Thou hast the power to will anything.
Say: Pay heed unto God and the Apostle." And if they turn away - verely, God does not love those who deny the truth.
BEHOLD, God raised Adam, and Noah, and the House of Abraham, and the House of `Imran above all mankind,
when a woman of [the House of] `Imran prayed: "O my Sustainer! Behold, unto Thee do I vow [the child] that is in, my womb, to be devoted to Thy service. Accept it, then, from me: verily, Thou alone art all-hearing, all-knowing!"
But when she had given birth to the child,* she said: "O my Sustainer! Behold, I have given birth to a female" - the while God had been fully aware of what she would give birth to, and [fully aware] that no male child [she might have hoped for] could ever have been like this female* - "and I have named her Mary. And, verily, I seek Thy protection for her and her offspring against Satan, the accursed."
And thereupon her Sustainer accepted the girl-child with goodly acceptance, and caused her to grow up in goodly growth, and placed her in the care of Zachariah.* Whenever Zachariah visited her in the sanctuary, he found her provided with food. He would ask: "O Mary, whence came this unto thee?" She would answer: "It is from God; behold, God grants sustenance unto whom He wills, beyond all reckoning."*
In that self-same place, Zachariah prayed unto his Sustainer, saying: "O my Sustainer! Bestow upon me [too], out of Thy grace, the gift of goodly offspring; for Thou, indeed, hearest all prayer."
AND LO! The angels said: "O Mary! Behold, God has elected thee and made thee pure, and raised thee above all the women of the world.
Lo! The angels said: "O Mary! Behold, God sends thee the glad tiding, through a word from Him, [of a son] who shall become known as the Christ* Jesus, son of Mary, of great honour in this world and in the life to come, and [shall be] of those who are drawn near unto God.
Said she: "O my Sustainer! How can I have a son when no man has ever touched me?" [The angel] answered: "Thus it is: God creates what He wills* when He wills a thing to be, He but says unto it, 'Be' - and it is.
and [will make him] an apostle unto the children of Israel ."* "I HAVE COME unto you with a message from your Sustainer. I shall create for you out of clay, as it were, the shape of [your] destiny, and then breathe into it, so that it might become [your] destiny by God's leave;* and I shall heal the blind and the leper, and bring the dead back to life by God's leave;* and I shall let you know what you may eat and what you should store up in your houses.* Behold, in all this there is indeed a message for you, if you are [truly] believers.
"Verily, God is my Sustainer as well as your Sustainer; so worship Him [alone]: this is a straight way."
Lo! God said: "O Jesus! Verily, I shall cause thee to die, and shall exalt thee unto Me, and cleanse thee of [the presence of] those who are bent on denying the truth; and I shall place those who follow thee [far] above those who are bent on denying the truth, unto the Day of Resurrection. In the end, unto Me you all must return, and I shall judge between you with regard to all on which you were wont to differ.*
Verily, in the sight of God, the nature of Jesus is as the nature of Adam, whom He created out of dust and then said unto him, "Be" - and he is.*
Behold, this is indeed the truth of the matter, and there is no deity whatever save God; and, verily, God - He alone - is almighty, truly wise.
And if they turn away [from this truth] - behold, God has full knowledge of the spreaders of corruption.
Behold, the people who have the best claim to Abraham are surely those who follow him - as does this Prophet and all who believe [in him] - and God is near unto the believers.
but do not [really] believe anyone who does not follow your own faith." Say: "Behold, all [true] guidance is God's guidance, consisting in one's being granted [revelation] such as you have been granted."* Or would they contend against you before your Sustainer? Say: "Behold, all bounty is in the hand of God; He grants it unto whom He wills:* for God is infinite, all-knowing,
Nay, but [God is aware of] those who keep their bond with Him,* and are conscious of Him: and, verily, God loves those who are conscious of Him.
Behold, those who barter away their bond with God and their own pledges for a trifling gain - they shall not partake in the blessings of the life to come; and God will neither speak unto them nor look upon them on the Day of Resurrection, nor will He cleanse them of their sins; and grievous suffering awaits them.
And, behold, there are indeed some among them who distort the Bible with their tongues, so as to make you think that [what they say] is from the Bible, the while it is not from the Bible; and who say, "This is from God," the while it is not from God: and thus do they tell a lie about God, being well aware [that it is a lie].*
But excepted shall be they that afterwards repent and put themselves to rights: for, behold, God is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace.
Verily, as for those who are bent on denying the truth after having attained to faith, and then grow [ever more stubborn] in their refusal to acknowledge the truth, their repentance [of other sins] shall not be accepted:* for it is they who have truly gone astray.
Verily, as for those who are bent on denying the truth and die as deniers of the truth - not all the gold on earth could ever be their ransom.* It is they for whom grievous suffering is in store; and they shall have none to succour them.
[But as for you, O believers,] never shall you attain to true piety unless you spend on others out of what you cherish yourselves; and whatever you spend - verily, God has full knowledge thereof.*
Behold, the first Temple ever set up for mankind was indeed the one at Bakkah:* rich in blessing, and a [source of] guidance unto all the worlds,
full of clear messages.* [It is] the place whereon Abraham once stood; and whoever enters it finds inner peace.* Hence, pilgrimage unto the Temple is a duty owed to God by all people who are able to undertake it. And as for those who deny the truth - verily, God does not stand in need of anything in all the worlds.
[But,] behold, as for those who are bent on denying the truth - neither their worldly possessions nor their children will in the least avail them against God: and it is they who are destined for the fire, therein to abide.
Lo! It is you who [are prepared to] love them, but they will not love you, although you believe in all of the revelation.* And when they meet you, they assert, "We believe [as you believe]"; but when they find themselves alone, they gnaw their fingers in rage against you. Say: "Perish in your rage! Behold, God has full knowledge of what is in the hearts [of men]!"
If good fortune comes to you, it grieves them; and if evil befalls you, they rejoice in it. But if you are patient in adversity and conscious of God, their guile cannot harm you at all: for, verily, God encompasses [with His might] all that they do.
[And] it is in no wise for thee [O Prophet] to decide whether He shall accept their repentance or chastise them - for, behold, they are but wrongdoers,
Then, after this woe, He sent down upon you a sense of security, an inner calm which enfolded some of you,* whereas the others, who cared mainly for themselves, entertained wrong thoughts about God - thoughts of pagan ignorance - saying, "Did we, then, have any power of decision [in this matter]?"* Say: "Verily, all power of decision does rest with God"* - [but as for them,] they are trying to conceal within themselves that [weakness of faith] which they would not reveal unto thee, [O Prophet, by] saying, "If we had any power of decision, we would not have left so many dead behind."* Say [unto them]: "Even if you had remained in your homes, those [of you] whose death had been ordained would indeed have gone forth to the places where they were destined to lie down." And [all this befell you] so that God might put to a test all that you harbour in your bosoms, and render your innermost hearts* pure of all dross: for God is aware of what is in the hearts [of men].
Behold, as for those of you who turned away [from their duty] on the day when the two hosts met in battle - Satan caused them to stumble only by means of something that they [themselves] had done.* But now God has effaced this sin of theirs: verily, God is much-forgiving, forbearing.
And it was by God's grace that thou [O Prophet] didst deal gently with thy followers:* for if thou hadst been harsh and hard of heart, they would indeed have broken away from thee. Pardon them, then, and pray that they be forgiven. And take counsel with them in all matters of public concern; then, when thou hast decided upon a course of action, place thy trust in God: for, verily, God loves those who place their trust in Him.*
AND DO YOU, now that a calamity has befallen you after you had inflicted twice as much [on your foes],* ask yourselves, "How has this come about?" Say: "It has come from your own selves."* Verily, God has the power to will anything:
those who have been warned by other people,* "Behold, a host has gathered against you; so beware of them!" - whereupon this only increased their faith, so that they answered, "God is enough for us; and how excellent a guardian is He!"
It is but Satan who instils [into you] fear of his allies:* so fear them not, but fear Me, if you are [truly] believers!
And be not grieved by those who vie with one another in denying the truth: verily, they can in no wise harm God. It is God's will that they shall have no share* in the [blessings of the] life to come; and tremendous suffering awaits them.
Verily, they who have bought a denial of the truth at the price of faith can in no wise harm God, whereas grievous suffering awaits them.
And they should not think - they who are bent on denying the truth - that Our giving them rein is good for them: We give them rein only to let them grow in sinfulness; and shameful suffering awaits them.*
God has indeed heard the saying of those who said, "Behold, God is poor while we are rich!"* We shall record what they have said, as well as their slaying of prophets against all right,* and We shall say [unto them on Judgment Day]: "Taste suffering through fire
As for those who maintain, "Behold, God has bidden us not to believe in any apostle unless he comes unto us with burnt offerings"* - say [unto them, O Prophet]: "Even before me there came unto you apostles with all evidence of the truth, and with that whereof you speak: why, then, did you slay them, if what you say is true?"*
Every human being is bound to taste death: but only on the Day of Resurrection will you be requited in full [for whatever you have done] - whereupon he that shall be drawn away from the fire and brought into paradise will indeed have gained a triumph: for the life of this world is nothing but an enjoyment of self-delusion.
You shall most certainly be tried in your possessions and in your persons; and indeed you shall hear many hurtful things from those to whom revelation was granted before your time, as well as from those who have come to ascribe divinity to other beings beside God. But if you remain patient in adversity and conscious of Him - this, behold, is something to set one's heart upon.
Verily, in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the succession of night and day, there are indeed messages for all who are endowed with insight,
"O our Sustainer! Whomsoever Thou shalt commit to the fire, him, verily, wilt Thou have brought to disgrace [in this world];* and such evildoers will have none to succour them.
"O our Sustainer! Behold, we heard a voice* call [us] unto faith, `Believe in your Sustainer!' - and so we came to believe. O our Sustainer! Forgive us, then, our sins, and efface our bad deeds; and let us die the death of the truly virtuous!
"And, O our Sustainer, grant us that which Thou hast promised us through Thy apostles, and disgrace us not on Resurrection Day! Verily, Thou never failest to fulfil Thy promise!"
And, behold, among the followers of earlier revelation there are indeed such as [truly] believe in God, and in that which has been bestowed from on high upon you as well as in that which has been bestowed upon them. Standing in awe of God, they do not barter away God's messages for a trifling gain. They shall have their reward with their Sustainer - for, behold, God is swift in reckoning!
O MANKIND! Be conscious of your Sustainer, who has created you out of one living entity, and out of it created its mate, and out of the two spread abroad a multitude of men and women.* And remain conscious of God, in whose name you demand [your rights] from one another, and of these ties of kinship. Verily, God is ever watchful over you!
Hence, render unto the orphans their possessions, and do not substitute bad things [of your own] for the good things [that belong to them], and do not consume their possessions together with your own:* this, verily, is a great crime.
Behold, those who sinfully devour the possessions of orphans but fill their bellies with fire: for [in the life to come] they will have to endure a blazing flame!
CONCERNING [the inheritance of] your children, God enjoins [this] upon you:* The male shall have the equal of two females' share; but if there are more than two females, they shall have two-thirds of what [their parents] leave behind; and if there is only one daughter, she shall have one-half thereof. And as for the parents [of the deceased], each of them shall have one-sixth of what he leaves behind, in the event of his having [left] a child; but if he has left no child and his parents are his [only] heirs, then his mother shall have one-third; and if he has brothers and sisters, then his mother shall have one-sixth after [the deduction of] any bequest he may have made, or any debt [he may have incurred]. As for your parents and your children - you know not which of them is more deserving of benefit from you: [therefore this] ordinance from God. Verily, God is all-knowing, wise.
And punish [thus] both of the guilty parties;* but if they both repent and mend their ways, leave them alone: for, behold, God is an acceptor of repentance, a dispenser of grace.*
Verily, God's acceptance of repentance relates only to those who do evil out of ignorance and then repent before their time runs out:* and it is they unto whom God will turn again in His mercy - for God is all-knowing, wise;
whereas repentance shall not be accepted from those who do evil deeds until their dying hour and then say,* "Behold, I now repent"; nor from those who die as deniers of the truth: it is these for whom We have readied grievous suffering.
AND DO NOT marry women whom your fathers have previously married - although what is past is past:* this, verily, is a shameful deed, and a hateful thing, and an evil way.
Forbidden to you are your mothers, and your daughters, and your sisters, and your aunts paternal and maternal, and a brother's daughters, and a sister's daughters; and your milk-mothers, and your milk-sisters; and the mothers of your wives; and your step-daughters - who are your foster children - born of your wives with whom you have consummated your marriage; but if you have not consummated your marriage, you will incur no sin [by marrying their daughters]; and [forbidden to you are] the spouses of the sons who have sprung from your loins; and [you are forbidden] to have two sisters [as your wives] at one and the same time - but what is past is past:* for, behold, God is indeed much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace.
And [forbidden to you are] all married women other than those whom you rightfully possess [through wedlock]:* this is God's ordinance, binding upon you. But lawful to you are all [women] beyond these, for you to seek out, offering them of your possessions,* taking them in honest wedlock, and not in fornication. And unto those with whom you desire to enjoy marriage, you shall give the dowers due to them; but you will incur no sin if, after [having agreed upon] this lawful due, you freely agree with one another upon anything [else]:* behold, God is indeed all-knowing, wise.
O YOU who have attained to faith! Do not devour one another's possessions wrongfully - not even by way of trade based on mutual agreement* - and do not destroy one another: for, behold, God is indeed a dispenser of grace unto you!
Hence, do not covet the bounties which God has bestowed more abundantly on some of you than on others. Men shall have a benefit from what they earn, and women shall have a benefit from what they earn. Ask, therefore, God [to give you] out of His bounty: behold, God has indeed full knowledge of everything.
And unto everyone have We appointed heirs to what he may leave behind: parents, and near kinsfolk, and those to whom you have pledged your troth* give them, therefore, their share. Behold, God is indeed a witness unto everything.
MEN SHALL take full care of women with the bounties which God has bestowed more abundantly on the former than on the latter,* and with what they may spend out of their possessions. And the righteous women are the truly devout ones, who guard the intimacy which God has [ordained to be] guarded.* And as for those women whose ill-will* you have reason to fear, admonish them [first]; then leave them alone in bed; then beat them;* and if thereupon they pay you heed, do not seek to harm them. Behold, God is indeed most high, great!
And if you have reason to fear that a breach might occur between a [married] couple, appoint an arbiter from among his people and an arbiter from among her people; if they both want to set things aright, God may bring about their reconciliation. Behold, God is indeed all-knowing, aware.
AND WORSHIP God [alone], and do not ascribe divinity, in any way, to aught beside Him.* And do good unto your parents, and near of kin, and unto orphans, and the needy, and the neighbour from among your own people, and the neighbour who is a stranger,* and the friend by your side, and the wayfarer, and those whom you rightfully possess.* Verily, God does not love any of those who, full of self-conceit, act in a boastful manner;
Verily, God does not wrong [anyone] by as much as an atom's weight; and if there be a good deed, He will multiply it, and will bestow out of His grace* a mighty reward.
O YOU who have attained to faith! Do not attempt to pray while you are in a state of drunkenness,* [but wait] until you know what you are saying; nor yet [while you are] in a state requiring total ablution,* until you have bathed - except if you are travelling [and are unable to do so]. But if you are ill, or are travelling, or have just satisfied a want of nature,* or have cohabited with a woman, and can find no water - then take resort to pure dust, passing [therewith] lightly over your face and your hands.* Behold, God is indeed an absolver of sins, much-forgiving.
VERILY, God does not forgive the ascribing of divinity to aught beside Him, although He forgives any lesser sin* unto whomever He wills: for he who ascribes divinity to aught beside God has indeed contrived an awesome sin.*
for, verily, those who are bent on denying the truth of Our messages We shall, in time, cause to endure fire: [and] every time their skins are burnt off, We shall replace them with new skins, so that they may taste suffering [in full]* Verily, God is almighty, wise.
BEHOLD, God bids you to deliver all that you have been entrusted with unto those who are entitled thereto, and whenever you judge between people, to judge with justice.* Verily, most excellent is what God exhorts you to do: verily, God is all-hearing, all-seeing!
And, behold, there are indeed among you such as would lag behind, and then, if calamity befalls you, say, "God has bestowed His favour upon me in that I did not accompany them."
Those who have attained to faith fight in the cause of God, whereas those who are bent on denying the truth fight in the cause of the powers of evil. Fight, then, against those friends of Satan: verily, Satan's guile is weak indeed!*
But when you are greeted with a greeting [of peace], answer with an even better greeting, or [at least] with the like thereof.* Verily, God keeps count indeed of all things.
[Hence,] O you who have attained to faith, when you go forth [to war] in God's cause, use your discernment, and do not - out of a desire for the fleeting gains of this worldly life - say unto anyone who offers you the greeting of peace, "Thou art not a believer"* for with God there are gains abundant. You, too, were once in the same condition* - but God has been gracious unto you. Use, therefore, your discernment: verily, God is always aware of what you do.
Behold, those whom the angels gather in death while they are still sinning against themselves, [the angels] will ask, "What was wrong with you?''* They will answer: "We were too weak on earth." [The angels] will say: "Was, then, God's earth not wide enough for you to forsake the domain of evil?"* For such, then, the goal is hell - and how evil a journey's end!
AND WHEN you go forth [to war] on earth, you will incur no sin by shortening your prayers* if you have reason to fear that those who are bent on denying the truth might suddenly fall upon you:* for, verily, those who deny the truth are your open foes.
Thus, when thou art among the believers* and about to lead them in prayer, let [only] part of them stand up with thee, retaining their arms. Then, after they have finished their prayer, let them provide you cover* while another group, who have not yet prayed, shall come forward and pray with thee, being fully prepared against danger and retaining their arms: (for) those who are bent on denying the truth would love to see you oblivious of your arms and your equipment, so that they might fall upon you in a surprise attack.* But it shall not be wrong for you to lay down your arms [while you pray] if you are troubled by rain* or if you are ill; but [always] be fully prepared against danger. Verily, God has readied shameful suffering for all who deny the truth!
And when you have finished your prayer, remember God - standing and sitting and lying down; and when you are once again secure, observe your prayers [fully]. Verily, for all believers prayer is indeed a sacred duty linked to particular times [of day].
And be not faint of heart when you seek out the [enemy] host. If you happen to suffer pain, behold, they suffer pain even as you suffer it: but you are hoping [to receive] from God what they cannot hope for. And God is indeed all-knowing, wise.
BEHOLD, We have bestowed upon thee from on high this divine writ, setting forth the truth, so that thou may judge between people in accordance with what God has taught thee.* Hence, do not contend with those who are false to their trust,
but pray God to forgive [them]:* behold, God is indeed much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace.
Yet do not argue in behalf of those who are false to their own selves:* verily, God does not love those who betray their trust and persist in sinful ways.
for he who commits a sin, commits it only to his own hurt;* and God is indeed all-knowing, wise.
AND THEY will ask thee to enlighten them about the laws concerning women.* Say: "God [Himself] enlightens you about the laws concerning them"- for [His will is shown] in what is being conveyed unto you through this divine writ about orphan women [in your charge], to whom - because you yourselves may be desirous of marrying them - you do not give that which has been ordained for them;* and about helpless children; and about your duty to treat orphans with equity. And whatever good you may do - behold, God has indeed full knowledge thereof.
And if a woman has reason to fear ill-treatment from her husband, or that he might turn away from her, it shall not be wrong for the two to set things peacefully to rights between themselves: for peace is best, and selfishness is ever-present in human souls. But if you do good and are conscious of Him - behold, God is indeed aware of all that you do.
And it will not be within your power to treat your wives with equal fairness, however much you may desire it;* and so, do not allow yourselves to incline towards one to the exclusion of the other, leaving her in a state, as it were, of having and not having a husband.* But if you put things to rights and are conscious of Him - behold, God is indeed much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace.
and unto God belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth. AND, INDEED, We have enjoined upon those who were granted revelation before your time, as well as upon yourselves, to remain conscious of God. And if you deny Him - behold, unto God belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth, and God is indeed self-sufficient, ever to be praised.
O YOU who have attained to faith! Be ever steadfast in upholding equity, bearing witness to the truth for the sake of God, even though it be against your own selves or your parents and kinsfolk. Whether the person concerned be rich or poor, God's claim takes precedence over [the claims of] either of them.* Do not, then, follow your own desires, lest you swerve from justice: for if you distort [the truth], behold, God is indeed aware of all that you do!
Behold, as for those who come to believe, and then deny the truth, and again come to believe, and again deny the truth, and thereafter grow stubborn in their denial of the truth* - God will not forgive them, nor will He guide them in any way.
As for those who take the deniers of the truth for their allies in preference to the believers - do they hope to be honoured by them when, behold, all honour belongs to God [alone]?*
And, indeed, He has enjoined upon you in this divine writ that whenever you hear people deny the truth of God's messages and mock at them, you shall avoid their company until they begin to talk of other things* - or else, verily, you will become like them. Behold, together with those who deny the truth God will gather in hell the hypocrites,
Behold, the hypocrites seek to deceive God - the while it is He who causes them to be deceived [by themselves]** And when they rise to pray, they rise reluctantly, only to be seen and praised by men, remembering God but seldom,
Verily, the hypocrites shall be in the lowest depth of the fire, and thou wilt find none who could succour them.
whether you do good openly or in secret, or pardon others for evil [done unto you]: for, behold, God is indeed an absolver of sins, infinite in His power.
VERILY, those who deny God and His apostles by endeavouring to make a distinction between [belief in] God and [belief in] His apostles, and who say, "We believe in the one but we deny the other,"* and want to pursue a path in-between -
and their boast, "Behold, we have slain the Christ Jesus, son of Mary, [who claimed to be] an apostle of God!" However, they did not slay him, and neither did they crucify him, but it only seemed to them [as if it had been] so;* and, verily, those who hold conflicting views thereon are indeed confused, having no [real] knowledge thereof, and following mere conjecture. For, of a certainty, they did not slay him:
BEHOLD, We have inspired thee [O Prophet] just as We inspired Noah and all the prophets after him - as We inspired Abraham, and Ishmael, and Isaac, and Jacob, and their descendants, including Jesus and Job, and Jonah, and Aaron, and Solomon; and as We vouchsafed unto David a book of divine wisdom;*
Behold, those who are bent on denying the truth and on turning others away from the path of God have indeed gone far astray.
Behold, those who are bent on denying the truth and on evildoing - God will indeed not forgive them, nor will He guide them onto any road
O mankind! The Apostle has now come unto you with the truth from your Sustainer: believe, then, for your own good! And if you deny the truth - behold, unto God belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth, and God is indeed all-knowing, wise!
O FOLLOWERS of the Gospel! Do not overstep the bounds [of truth] in your religious beliefs,* and do not say of God anything but the truth. The Christ Jesus, son of Mary, was but God's Apostle - [the fulfilment of] His promise which He had conveyed unto Mary - and a soul created by Him.* Believe, then, in God and His apostles, and do not say, "[God is] a trinity". Desist [from this assertion] for your own good. God is but One God; utterly remote is He, in His glory, from having a son: unto Him belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth; and none is as worthy of trust as God.
O YOU who have attained to faith! Be true to your covenants!* Lawful to you is the [flesh of every] beast that feeds on plants, save what is mentioned to you [hereinafter* ]: but you are not allowed to hunt while you are in the state of pilgrimage. Behold, God ordains in accordance with His will.*
O you who have attained to faith! Offend not against the symbols set up by God, nor against the sacred month [of pilgrimage], nor against the garlanded offerings,* nor against those who flock to the Inviolable Temple, seeking favour with their Sustainer and His goodly acceptance; and [only] after your pilgrimage is over* are you free to hunt. And never let your hatred of people who would bar you from the Inviolable House of Worship lead you into the sin of aggression:* but rather help one another in furthering virtue and God-consciousness, and do not help one another in furthering evil and enmity; and remain conscious of God: for, behold, God is severe in retribution!
FORBIDDEN to you is carrion, and blood, and the flesh of swine, and that over which any name other than God's has been invoked,* and the animal that has been strangled, or beaten to death, or killed by a fall, or gored to death, or savaged by a beast of prey, save that which you [yourselves] may have slaughtered while it was still alive; and [forbidden to you is] all that has been slaughtered on idolatrous altars.* And [you are forbidden] to seek to learn through divination what the future may hold in store for you:* this is sinful conduct. Today, those who , are bent on denying the truth have lost all hope of [your ever forsaking] your religion: do not, then, hold them in awe, but stand in awe of Me! Today have I perfected your religious law for you, and have bestowed upon you the full measure of My blessings, and willed that self-surrender unto Me shall be your religion.* As for him, however, who is driven [to what is forbidden] by dire necessity* and not by an inclination to sinning -behold, God is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace.
They will ask thee as to what is lawful to them. Say: "Lawful to you are all the good things of life."* And as for those hunting animals* which you train by imparting to them something of the knowledge that God has imparted to yourselves-eat of what they seize for you, but mention God's name over it. and remain conscious of God: verily, God is swift in reckoning.
And [always] remember the blessings which God has bestowed upon you, and the solemn pledge by which He bound you to Himself* when you said, "We have heard, and we pay heed." Hence, remain conscious of God: verily, God has full knowledge of what is in the hearts [of men].
O YOU who have attained to faith! Be ever steadfast in your devotion to God, bearing witness to the truth in all equity; and never let hatred of any-one* lead you into the sin of deviating from justice. Be just: this is closest to being God-conscious. And remain conscious of God: verily, God is aware of all that you do.
AND, INDEED, God accepted a [similar] solemn pledge* from the children of Israel when We caused twelve of their leaders to be sent [to Canaan as spies].* And God said: "Behold, I shall be with you! If you are constant in prayer, and spend in charity, and believe in My apostles and aid them, and offer up unto God a goodly loan,* I will surely efface your bad deeds and bring you into gardens through which running waters flow. But he from among you who, after this, denies the truth, will indeed have strayed from the right path!"
Then, for having broken their solemn pledge,* We rejected them and caused their hearts to harden-[so that now] they distort the meaning of the [re-vealed] words, taking them out of their context;* and they have forgotten much of what they had been told to bear in mind; and from all but a few of them thou wilt always experience treachery. But pardon them, and forbear: verily, God loves the doers of good.
And [likewise,] from those who say, "Behold, we are Christians."* We have accepted a solemn pledge: and they, too, have forgotten much of what they had been told to bear in mind - wherefore We have given rise among them to enmity and hatred, [to last] until Resurrection Day:* and in time God will cause them to understand what they have contrived.
Indeed, the truth deny they who say, "Behold, God is the Christ, son of Mary." Say: "And who could have prevailed with God in any way had it been His will to destroy the Christ, son of Mary, and his mother, and everyone who is on earth-all of them? For, God's is the dominion over the heavens and the earth and all that is between them; He creates what He wills: and God has the power to will anything!"
They answered: "O Moses! Behold, ferocious people -dwell in that land,* and we will surely not enter it unless they depart therefrom; but if they depart therefrom, then, behold, we will enter it."
[Whereupon] two men from among those who feared [God, and] whom God had blessed, said: "Enter upon them through the gate'* -for as soon as you enter it, behold, you shall be victorious! And in God you must place your trust if you are [truly] believers!"
[But] they said: "O Moses! Behold, never shall we enter that [land] so long as those others are in it. Go forth, then, thou and thy Sustainer, and fight, both of you! We, behold, shall remain here!"
Prayed [Moses]: "O my Sustainer! Of none am I master but of myself and my brother [Aaron]: draw Thou, then, a dividing-line between us and these iniquitous folk!"
Answered He: "Then, verily, this [land] shall be forbidden to them for forty years, while they wander on earth, bewildered, to and fro; and sorrow thou not over these iniquitous folk."
AND CONVEY unto them, setting forth the truth, the story of the two sons of Adam* -how each offered a sacrifice, and it was accepted from one of them whereas it was not accepted from the other. [And Cain] said: "I will surely slay thee!" [Abel] replied: "Behold, God accepts only from those who are conscious of Him.
Even if thou lay thy hand on me to slay me, I shall not lay my hand on thee to slay thee: behold, I fear God, the Sustainer of all the worlds.
I am willing, indeed, for thee to bear [the burden of] all the sins ever done by me as well as of the sin done by thee:* [but] then thou wouldst be destined for the fire, since that is the requital of evildoers!"
Because of this did We ordain unto the children of Israel that if anyone slays a human being-unless it be [in punishment] for murder or for spreading corruption on earth-it shall be as though he had slain all mankind; whereas, if anyone saves a life, it shall be as though he had saved the lives of all mankind.* And, indeed, there came unto them* Our apostles with all evidence of the truth: yet, behold, notwithstanding all this, many of them go on committing all manner of excesses on earth.*
It is but a just recompense for those who make war on God and His apostle,* and endeavour to spread corruption on earth, that they are being slain in great' numbers, or crucified in great numbers, or have, in l' result of their perverseness, their hands and feet cut off in great numbers,* or are being [entirely] banished from [the face of] the earth: such is their ignominy in this world .* But in the life to come [yet more] awesome suffering awaits them-
Verily, if those who are bent on denying the truth had all that is on earth, and twice as much,* to offer as ransom from suffering on the Day of Resurrection, it would not be accepted from them: for grievous suffering awaits them.
But as for him who repents after having thus done wrong, and makes amends,* behold, God will accept his repentance: verily, God is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace.
those who eagerly listen to any falsehood, greedily swallowing all that is evil!* Hence, if they come to thee [for judgment],* thou mayest either judge between them or leave them alone: for, if thou leave them alone, they cannot harm thee in any way. But if thou dost judge, judge between them with equity :* verily, God knows those who act equitably.
Verily, it is We who bestowed from on high the Torah, wherein there was guidance and light. On `its strength did the prophets, who had surrendered themselves unto God, deliver judgment unto those who followed the Jewish faith;* and so did the [early] men of God and the rabbis, inasmuch as some of God's writ had been entrusted to their care;* and they [all] bore witness to its truth. Therefore, [O children of Israel,] hold not men in awe, but stand in awe of Me; and do not barter away My messages for a trifling gain:* for they who do not judge in accordance with what God has bestowed from on high are, indeed, deniers of the truth!
Hence, judge between the followers of earlier revelation* in accordance with what God has bestowed from on high, and do not follow their errant views; and beware of them, lest they tempt thee away from aught that God has bestowed from on high upon thee. And if they turn away [from His commandments], then know that it is but God's will [thus] to afflict them for some of their sins:* for, behold, a great many people are iniquitous indeed.
O YOU who have attained to faith! Do not take the Jews and the Christians for your allies: they are but allies of one another* and whoever of you allies himself with them becomes, verily, one of them; behold, God does not guide such evildoers.*
while those who have attained to faith will say [to one another], "Are these the selfsame people who swore by God with their most solemn oaths that they were indeed with you? In vain are all their works, for now they are lost!"
Behold, your only helper shall be God, and His Apostle, and those who have attained to faith - those that are constant in prayer, and render the purifying dues, and bow down [before God]:
for, all who ally themselves with God and His Apostle and those who have attained to faith - behold, it is they, the partisans of God, who shall be victorious!
O APOSTLE! Announce all that has been bestowed from on high upon thee by thy Sustainer: for unless thou doest it fully, thou wilt not have delivered His message [at all]. And God will protect thee from [unbelieving] men: behold, God does not guide people who refuse to acknowledge the truth.
for, verily, those who have attained to faith [in this divine writ], as well as those who follow the Jewish faith, and the Sabians,* and the Christians - all who believe in God and the Last Day and do righteous deeds - no fear need they have, and neither shall they grieve.
Indeed, the truth deny they who say, "Behold, God is the Christ, son of Mary" - seeing that the Christ [himself] said, "O children of Israel! Worship God [alone], who is my Sustainer as well as your Sustainer."* Behold, whoever ascribes divinity to any being beside God, unto him will God deny paradise, and his goal shall be the fire: and such evildoers will have none to succour them!
Indeed, the truth deny they who say, "Behold, God is the third of a trinity" - seeing that there is no deity whatever save the One God. And unless they desist from this their assertion, grievous suffering is bound to befall such of them as are bent on denying the truth.
Thou wilt surely find that, of all people, the most hostile to those who believe [in this divine writ] are the Jews as well as those who are bent on ascribing divinity to aught beside God; and thou wilt surely find that, of all people,* they who say, "Behold, we are Christians," come closest to feeling affection for those who believe [in this divine writ]: this is so because there are priests and monks among them, and because these are not given to arrogance.*
O YOU who have attained to faith! Do not deprive yourselves of the good things of life which God has made lawful to you,* but do not transgress the bounds of what is right: verily, God does not love those who transgress the bounds of what is right.
O YOU who have attained to faith! Intoxicants, and games of chance, and idolatrous practices, and the divining of the future are but a loathsome evil of Satan's doing:'* shun it, then, so that you might attain to a happy state!
By means of intoxicants and games of chance Satan seeks only to sow enmity and hatred among you, and to turn you away from the remembrance of God and from prayer. Will you not, then, desist?'*
O YOU who have attained to faith! Let there be witnesses to what you do when death approaches you and you are about to make bequests:* two persons of probity from among your own people, or -if the pangs of death come upon you while you are travelling far from home* -two other persons from [among people] other than your own. Take hold of the two after having prayed; and if you have any doubt in your mind, let each of them swear by God, "We shall not sell this [our word] for any price, even though it were [for the sake of] a near kinsman; and neither shall we conceal aught of what we have witnessed before God* -or else, may we indeed be counted among the sinful."
But if afterwards it should come to light that the two [witnesses] have become guilty of [this very] sin, then two others - from among those whom the two former have deprived of their right* - shall take their place and shall swear by God, "Our testimony is indeed truer than the testimony of these two, and we have not transgressed the bounds of what is right - or else, may we indeed be counted among the evildoers!"
ON THE DAY when God shall assemble all the apostles and shall ask, "What response did you receive?" -they will answer, "We have no knowledge; verily, it is Thou alone who fully knowest all the things that are beyond the reach of a created being's perception."*
God answered: "Verily, I [always] do send it down unto you:* and so, if any of you should henceforth deny [this] truth, on him, behold, will I inflict suffering the like of which I have never [yet] inflicted upon anyone in the world!"
AND LO! God said:* O Jesus, son of Mary! Didst thou say unto men, `Worship me and my mother as deities beside God'?" [Jesus] answered: "Limitless art Thou in Thy glory! It would not have been possible for me to say what I had no right to [say]! Had I said this, Thou wouldst indeed have known it! Thou knowest all that is within myself, whereas I know not what is in Thy Self. Verily, it is Thou alone who fully knowest all the things that are beyond the reach of a created being's perception.
If thou cause them to suffer - verily, they are Thy servants; and if Thou forgive them - verily, Thou alone art almighty, truly wise!"
Say: "Am I to take for my master anyone but God, the Originator of the heavens and the earth, when it is He who gives nourishment and Himself needs none?"* Say: "I am bidden to be foremost among those who surrender themselves unto God, and not to be* among those who ascribe divinity to aught beside Him."
Say: "Behold, I would dread, were I [thus] to rebel against my Sustainer, the suffering [which would befall me] on that awesome Day [of Judgment]."
Say: "What could most weightily bear witness to the truth?" Say: "God is witness between me and you; and this Qur'an has been revealed unto me so that on the strength thereof I might warn you and all whom it may reach." Could you in truth bear witness that there are other deities side by side with God? Say: "I bear no [such] witness!" Say: "He is the One God; and, behold, far be it from me to ascribe divinity, as, you do, to aught beside Him!"*
And who could be more wicked than he who attributes his own lying inventions to God or gives the lie to His messages? Verily, such evildoers will never attain to a happy state:
But nay -[they will say this only because] the truth which they used to conceal [from themselves] in the past will have become obvious to them; and if they were brought back [to life], they would return to the very thing which was forbidden to them: for behold, they are indeed liars!*
Well do We know that what such people say* grieves thee indeed: yet, behold, it is not thee to whom they give the lie, but God's messages do these evildoers deny.
Only they who listen [with their hearts] can respond to a call; and as for the dead [of heart], God [alone] can raise them from the dead, whereupon unto Him they shall return.*
And they say, "Why has no miraculous sign been bestowed on him* from on high by his Sustainer?" Say: "Behold, God has the power to bestow any sign from on high." Yet most human beings are unaware of this*
Say [O Prophet]: "I do not say unto you, 'God's treasures are with me,'; nor [do I say], 'I know the things that are beyond the reach of human perception'; nor do I say unto you, 'Behold, I am an angel': I but follow what is revealed to me."* Say: "Can the blind and the seeing be deemed equal?* Will you not, then, take thought?"
SAY [to the deniers of the truth]: "Behold, I have been forbidden to worship those [beings] whom you invoke instead of God." Say: "I do not follow your errant views -or else I should have gone astray, and should not be among those who have found the right path."
Say: "Behold, I take my stand on a clear evidence from my Sustainer-and [so] it is to Him that you are giving the lie! Not in my power is that which [in your ignorance] you so hastily demand:* judgment rests with none but God. He shall declare the truth, since it is He who is the best judge between truth and falsehood."
SAY: "Shall we invoke, instead of God, something that can neither benefit us nor harm us, and [thus] turn around on our heels after God has guided us aright? -like one whom the satans have enticed into blundering after earthly lusts, the while his companions, trying to guide him, call out unto him [from afar] ,* `Come thou to us!"' Say: "Verily, God's guidance is the only guidance: and so we have been bidden to surrender ourselves unto the Sustainer of all the worlds,
AND, LO, [thus] spoke Abraham unto his father Azar:* "Takest thou idols for gods? Verily, I see that thou and thy people have obviously gone astray!"
Then, when he beheld the sun rising, he said, "This is my Sustainer! This one is the greatest [of all]!" - but when it [too] went down, he exclaimed: "O my people! Behold, far be it from me to ascribe divinity, as you do, to aught beside God!
Behold, unto Him who brought into being the heavens and the earth have I turned my face, having turned away from all that is false; and I am not of those who ascribe divinity to aught beside Him."
And this was Our argument* which We vouchsafed unto Abraham against his people: [for] We do raise by degrees whom We will.* Verily, thy Sustainer is wise, all-knowing.
VERILY, God is the One who cleaves the grain and the fruit-kernel asunder, bringing forth the living out of that which is dead, and He is the One who brings forth the dead out of that which is alive. This, then, is God: and yet, how perverted are your minds!*
And He it is who has caused waters to come down from the sky; and by this means have We brought forth all living growth, and out of this have We brought forth verdure.* Out of this do We bring forth close-growing grain; and out of the spathe of the palm tree, dates in thick clusters; and gardens of vines, and the olive tree, and the pomegranate: [all] so alike, and yet so different!* Behold their fruit when it comes to fruition and ripens! Verily, in all this there are messages indeed for people who will believe!
Now they swear by God with their most solemn oaths that if a miracle were shown to them, they would indeed believe in this [divine writ]. Say: "Miracles are in the power of God alone."* And for all you know, even if one should be shown to them, they would not believe
Verily, thy Sustainer knows best as to who strays from His path, and best knows He as to who are the right-guided.
And why should you not eat of that over which God's name has been pronounced, seeing that He has so clearly spelled out to you what He has forbidden you [to eat] unless you are compelled [to do so]? But, behold, [it is precisely in such matters that] many people lead others astray by their own errant views, without [having any real] knowledge. Verily, thy Sustainer is fully aware of those who transgress the bounds of what is right.
But abstain from sinning,* be it open or secret-for, behold, those who commit sins shall be requited for all that they have earned.
Hence, eat not of that over which God's name has not been pronounced: for this would be sinful conduct indeed. And, verily, the evil impulses [within men's hearts] whisper unto those who have made them their own* that they should involve you in argument [as to what is and what is not a sin]; and if you pay heed unto them, lo! you will become [like] those who ascribe divinity to other beings or forces beside God.*
AND ON THE DAY when He shall gather them [all] together, [He will say:] "O you who have lived in close communion with [evil] invisible beings! A great many [other] human beings have you ensnared!* And those of the humans who were close to them* will say: "O our Sustainer! We did enjoy one another's fellowship [in life]; but (now that] we have reached the end of our term-the term which Thou hast laid down for us - (we see the error of our ways]!" [But] He will say: "The fire shall be your abode, therein to abide-unless God wills it otherwise."* Verily, thy Sustainer is wise, all-knowing.
Verily, that [reckoning] which you are promised is bound to come, and you cannot elude it!
Say: "O my [unbelieving] people! Do yet all that may be within your power, [while] I, behold, shall labour [in God's way]; and in time you will come to know to whom the future belongs.* Verily, never will evildoers attain to a happy state!"
And they say, "All that is in the wombs of such-and-such cattle is reserved for our males and forbidden to our women; but if it be stillborn, then both may have their share thereof." [God] will requite them for all that they [falsely] attribute [to Him]: behold, He is wise, all-knowing.
For it is He who has brought into being gardens-[both] the cultivated ones and those growing wild* -and the date-palm, and fields bearing multiform produce, and the olive tree, and the pomegranate: [all] resembling one another and yet so different!* Eat of their fruit when it comes to fruition, and give [unto the poor] their due on harvest day. And do not waste [God's bounties]: verily, He does not love the wasteful!
And of the cattle reared for work and for the sake of their flesh, eat whatever God has provided for you as sustenance, and follow not Satan's foot-steps:* behold, he is your open foe!
And [likewise they declare as unlawful] either of the two sexes of camels and of bovine cattle.* Ask [them]: "Is it the two males that He has forbidden, or the two females, or that which the wombs of the two females may contain? Is it, perchance, that you [yourselves] were witnesses when God enjoined [all] this upon you?" And who could be more wicked than he who, without any [real] knowledge, attributes his own lying inventions to God, and thus leads people astray'?* Behold, God does not grace [such] evildoing folk with His guidance.
Say [O Prophet]: "In all that has been revealed unto me, I do not find anything forbidden to eat, if one wants to eat thereof,* unless it be carrion, or blood poured forth, or the flesh of swine-for that, behold, is loathsome-or a sinful offering* over which any name other than God's has been invoked. But if one is driven by necessity - neither coveting it nor exceeding his immediate need -then [know that], behold, thy Sustainer is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace."*
And [only] unto those who followed the Jewish faith did We forbid all beasts that have claws;* and We forbade unto them the fat of both oxen and sheep, excepting that which is in their backs or entrails or that which is within the bone:* thus did We requite them for their evildoing-for, behold, We are true to Our word!"*
It has been given to you] lest you say, "Only unto two groups of people, [both of them] before our time, has a divine writ been bestowed from on high* and we were indeed unaware of their teachings";
Do they, perchance, wait for the angels to appear unto them, or for thy Sustainer [Himself] to appear, or for some of thy Sustainer's [final] portents to appear?* [But] on the Day when thy Sustainer's [final] portents do appear, believing will be of no avail to any human being who did not believe before, or who, while believing, did no good works.* Say: "Wait, [then, for the Last Day, O unbelievers:] behold, we [believers] are waiting, too!"
VERILY, as for those who have broken the unity of their faith and have become sects - thou hast nothing to do with them.* Behold, their case rests with God: and in time He will make them understand what they were doing.
SAY: "Behold, my Sustainer has guided me onto a straight way through an ever-true faith-the way of Abraham, who turned away from all that is false, and wa,. not of those who ascribe divinity to aught beside Him."
Say: "Behold, my prayer, and (all] my acts of worship, and my living and my dying are for God [alone], the Sustainer of all the worlds,
For, He it is who has made you inherit the earth,* and has raised some of you by degrees above others, so that He might try you by means of what He has bestowed upon you.* Verily, thy Sustainer is swift in retribution: yet, behold, He is indeed much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace.
And when Our punishment came upon them, they had nothing to say for themselves, and could only cry,* "Verily, we were wrongdoers!"
[God] said: "Down with thee, then, from this [state] -for it is not meet for thee to show arrogance here! Go forth, then: verily, among the humiliated shalt thou be!"
[And God] replied: "Verily, thou shalt be among those who are granted a respite."
And he swore unto them, "Verily, I am of those who wish you well indeed!"
-and thus he led them on with deluding thoughts. But as soon as the two had tasted [the fruit] of the tree, they became conscious of their nakedness; and they began to cover themselves with pieced-together leaves from the garden. And their Sustainer called unto them: "Did I not forbid that tree unto you and tell you, `Verily, Satan is your open foe'?"
O children of Adam! Do not allow Satan to seduce you in the same way as he caused your ancestors to be driven out of the garden: he deprived them of their garment [of God-consciousness] in order to make them aware of their nakedness. Verily, he and his tribe are lying in wait for you where you cannot perceive them!* Verily, We have placed [all manner of] satanic forces near unto those who do not [truly] believe;*
and [so,] whenever they commit a shameful deed, they are wont to say, "We found our forefathers doing it," and, "God has enjoined it upon us." Say: "Behold, never does God enjoin deeds of abomination. Would you attribute unto God something of which you have no knowledge?"
some [of you] He will have graced with His guidance, whereas, for some a straying from the right path will have become unavoidable:* for, behold, they will have taken [their own] evil impulses for their masters in preference to God, thinking all the while that they have found the right path!"
O CHILDREN of Adam! Beautify yourselves* for every act of worship, and eat and drink [freely], but do not waste: verily, He does not love the wasteful!
Say: "Verily, my Sustainer has forbidden only shameful deeds, be they open or secret, and [every kind of] sinning, and unjustified envy, and the ascribing of divinity to aught beside Him - since He has never bestowed any warrant therefor from on high and the attributing unto God of aught of which you have no knowledge."
VERILY, unto those who give the lie to Our messages and scorn them in their pride, the gates of heaven shall not be opened;* and they shall not enter paradise any more than a twisted rope can pass through a needle's eye:* for thus do We requite such as are lost in sin.
And the inmates of the fire will call out unto the inmates of paradise: "Pour some water upon us, or some of the sustenance [of paradise] which God has provided for you!" [The inmates of paradise] will reply: "Verily, God has denied both to those who have denied the truth -
VERILY, your Sustainer is God, who has created the heavens and the earth in six aeons, and is established on the throne of His almightiness.* He covers the day with the night in swift pursuit, with the sun and the moon and the stars subservient to His command: oh, verily, His is all creation and all command. Hallowed is God, the Sustainer of all the worlds!
Call unto your Sustainer humbly, and in the secrecy of your hearts. Verily, He loves not those who transgress the bounds of what is right:
hence, do not spread corruption on earth after it has been so well ordered. And call unto Him with fear and longing: verily, God's grace is ever near unto the doers of good!
INDEED, We sent forth Noah unto his people,* and he said: "O my people! Worship God alone: you have no deity other than Him. Verily, I fear lest suffering befall you on an awesome Day!"*
The great ones among his people replied: "Verily, we see that thou art obviously lost in error!"
And yet they gave him the lie! And so We saved him and those who stood by him, in the ark, the while We caused those who had given the lie to Our messages to drown: verily, they were blind folk!*
Said the great ones among his people, who refused to acknowledge the truth: "Verily, we see that thou art weak-minded; and, verily, we think that thou art a liar!"*
Said [Hud]: "You are already beset by loath some evils* and by your Sustainer's condemnation! Do you argue with me about the [empty] names which you have invented* - you and your forefathers - for which God has bestowed no warrant from on high? Wait, then, [for what will happen:] verily, I shall wait with you!"*
The great ones among his people, who gloried in their arrogance towards all who were deemed weak, said unto the believers among them: "Do you [really] know that salih has been sent by his Sustainer?" They answered: "Verily, we believe in the message which he bears."*
[But] the arrogant ones said: "Behold, what you have come to believe in we refuse to regard as true!"
Verily, with lust you approach men instead of women: nay, but you are people given to excesses!"
But his people's only answer was this:* "Expel them from your land! Verily, they are folk who make themselves out to be pure!"*
But the great ones among his people, who were bent on denying the truth, said [to his followers]: "Indeed, if you follow Shu'ayb, you will, verily, be the losers!"
And Moses said: "O Pharaoh! Verily, I am an apostle from the Sustainer of all the worlds,
The great ones among Pharaoh's people said: "Verily, this is indeed a sorcerer of great knowledge,
And the sorcerers came unto Pharaoh [and] said: "Verily, we ought to have a great reward* if it is we who prevail."
Answered [Pharaoh]: "Yes; and, verily, you shall be among those who are near unto me."
Said Pharaoh: "Have you come to believe in him* ere I have given you permission? Behold, this is indeed a plot which you have cunningly devised in this [my] city in order to drive out its people hence! But in time you shall come to know, [my revenge]:
They answered: "Verily, unto our Sustainer do we turn-
And the great ones among Pharaoh's people said: "Wilt thou allow Moses and his people to spread corruption on earth, and to [cause thy people to] forsake thee and thy gods?" [Pharaoh] replied: "We shall slay their sons in great numbers and shall spare [only] their women: for, verily, we hold sway over them!"
[And] Moses said unto his people: "Turn unto God for aid, and have patience in adversity. Verily, all the earth belongs to God: He gives it as a heritage - to such as He wills of His servants; and the future belongs to the God-conscious!"
But whenever good fortune alighted upon them, they would say, "This is [but] our due"; and whenever affliction befell them, they would blame their evil fortune on Moses and those who followed him.* Oh, verily, their [evil] fortune had been decreed by God-but most of them knew it not.
AND WE BROUGHT the children of Israel across the sea; and thereupon they came upon people who were devoted to the worship of some idols of theirs.* Said [the children of Israel ]: "O Moses, set up for us a god even as they have gods!" He replied: "Verily, you are people without any awareness [of right and wrong]!
As for these here -verily, their way of life is bound to lead to destruction; and worthless is all that they have ever done!"
Said [God]: "O Moses! Behold, I have raised thee above all people by virtue of the messages which I have entrusted to thee,* and by virtue of My speaking [unto thee]: hold fast, therefore, unto what I have vouchsafed thee, and be among the grateful!"
And when Moses returned to his people, full of wrath and sorrow, he exclaimed: "Vile is the course which you have followed in my absence! Have you forsaken* your Sustainer's commandment?" And he threw down the tablets [of the Law], and seized his brother's head, dragging him towards himself. Cried Aaron: "O my mother's son! Behold, the people brought me low* and almost slew me: so let not mine enemies rejoice at my affliction, and count me not among the evildoing folk!"
[And to Aaron he said:] "Verily, as for those who have taken to worshipping the [golden] - calf - their Sustainer's condemnation will overtake them, and ignominy [will be their lot] in the -life of this world!" For thus do We requite all who invent [such] falsehood.*
But as for those who do bad deeds and afterwards repent and [truly] believe-verily, after such repentance* thy Sustainer is indeed much forgiving, a dispenser of grace!
And ordain Thou for us what is good in this world as well as in the life to come: behold, unto Thee have we turned in repentance!" [God] answered: "With My chastisement do I afflict whom I will - but My grace overspreads everything:* and so I shall confer it on those who are conscious of Me and spend in charity, and who believe in Our messages-
Say [O Muhammad]: "O mankind! Verily, I am an apostle of God to all of you,* [sent by Him] unto whom the dominion over the heavens and the earth belongs! There is no deity save Him; He [alone] grants life and deals death!" Believe, then, in God and His Apostle-the unlettered Prophet who believes in God and His words-and follow him, so that you might find guidance!
And lo! Thy Sustainer made it known that most certainly He would rouse against them, unto Resurrection Day, people who would afflict them with cruel suffering: verily, thy Sustainer is swift in retribution - yet, verily, He is [also] much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace.
For [We shall requite] all those who hold fast to the divine writ and are constant in prayer: verily, We shall not fail to requite those who enjoin the doing of what is right!
AND WHENEVER thy Sustainer brings forth their offspring from the loins of the children of Adam, He [thus] calls upon them to bear witness about themselves: "Am I not your Sustainer?" - to which they answer: "Yea, indeed, we do bear witness thereto!"* [Of this We remind you,] lest you say on the Day of Resurrection, "Verily, we were unaware of this";
or lest you say, "Verily, it was but our forefathers who, in times gone by, began to ascribe divinity to other beings beside God; and we were but their late offspring: wilt Thou, then, destroy us for the doings of those inventors of falsehoods?"
for, behold, though I may give them rein for a while. My subtle scheme is exceedingly firm!
THEY WILL ASK thee [O Prophet] about the Last Hour: "When will it come to pass?" Say: "Verily, knowledge thereof rests with my Sustainer alone. None but He will reveal it in its time. Heavily will it weigh on the heavens and the earth; [and] it will not fall upon you otherwise than of a sudden." They will ask thee - as if thou couldst gain insight into this [mystery] by dint of persistent inquiry!* Say: "Knowledge thereof rests with my Sustainer alone; but [of this] most people are unaware."
Verily, all those whom you invoke beside God are but created beings* like yourselves: invoke them, then, and let them answer your prayer - if what you claim is true!
Verily, my protector is God, who has bestowed this divine writ from on high: for it is He who protects the righteous,
And if it should happen that a prompting from Satan stirs thee up [to blind anger],* seek refuge with God: behold, He is all-hearing, all-knowing.
Verily, they who are conscious of God bethink themselves [of Him] whenever any dark suggestion from Satan touches them* - whereupon, lo! they begin to see [things] clearly,
And yet, when thou [O Prophet] dost not produce any miracle for them, some [people] say, "Why dost thou not seek to obtain it [from God]?* Say: "I only follow whatever is being revealed to me by my Sustainer: this [revelation] is a means of insight from your Sustainer, and a guidance and grace unto people who will believe.
Behold, those who are near unto thy Sustainer* are never too proud to worship Him; and they extol His limitless glory, and prostrate themselves before Him [alone].
Believers are only they whose hearts tremble with awe whenever God is mentioned, and whose faith is strengthened whenever His messages are conveyed unto them,* and who in their Sustainer place their trust -
EVEN AS thy Sustainer brought thee forth from thy home [to fight] in the cause of the truth, although some of the believers were averse to it,
And God ordained this only as a glad tiding, and that your hearts should thereby be set at rest-since no succour can come from any save God: verily, God is almighty, wise!*
This, because they have cut themselves off from* God and His Apostle: and as for him who cuts himself off from God and His Apostle - verily, God is severe in retribution.
And yet, [O believers,] it was not you who slew the enemy,* but it was God who slew them; and it was not thou who cast [terror into them, O Prophet], when thou didst cast it, but it was God who cast it:* and [He did all this] in order that He might test the believers by a goodly test of His Own or daining.* Verily, God is all-hearing, all-knowing!
Verily, the vilest of all creatures* in the sight of God are those deaf, those dumb ones who do not use their reason.
Behold, those who are bent on denying the truth are spending their riches in order to turn others away from the path of God; and they will go on spending them until they become [a source of] intense regret for them; and then they will be overcome! And those who [until their death] have denied the truth shall be gathered unto hell,
And fight against them until there is no more oppression and all worship is devoted to God alone.* And if they desist-behold, God sees all that they do;*
[Remember that day] when you were at the near end of the valley [of Badr], and they were at its farthest end, while the caravan was below you.* And if you had known that a battle was to take place, you would indeed have refused to accept the challenge:* but [the battle was brought about none the less,] so that God might accomplish a thing [which He willed] to be done,* [and] that he who would perish might perish in clear evidence of the truth, and that he who would remain alive might live in clear evidence of the truth.* And, behold, God is indeed all-hearing, all-knowing.
Lo! God showed them to thee in a dream as few:* for, had He shown them to you as many, you would surely have lost heart, and would surely have disagreed with one another about what to do.* But God saved [you from this]: verily, He has full knowledge of what is the hearts [of men].
And pay heed unto God and His Apostle, and do not [allow yourselves to] be at variance with one another, lest you lose heart and your moral strength desert you.* And be patient in adversity: for, verily, God is with those who are patient in adversity.
And, lo, Satan made all their doings seem goodly to them, and said, "No one can overcome you this day, for, behold, I shall be your protector !"* but as soon as the two hosts came within sight of one another, he turned on his heels and said, "Behold, I am not responsible for you: behold, I see something that you do not see: behold, I fear God-for God is severe in retribution !"*
At the same time, the hypocrites and those in whose hearts was disease were saying, "Their faith has deluded these [believers] !"* But he who places his trust in God [knows that], verily, God is almighty, wise.
[To them shall happen.] the like of what happened to Pharaoh's people and those who lived before them: they denied the truth of God's messagesand so God took them to task for their sins. Verily, God is powerful, severe in retribution!
Verily, the vilest creatures in the sight of God are those who are bent on denying the truth and therefore do not believe.*
or, if thou hast reason to fear treachery* from people [with whom thou hast made a covenant], cast it back at them in an equitable manner:* for, verily, God does not love the treacherous!
And let them not think - those who are bent on denying the truth -that they shall escapee* [God]: behold, they can never frustrate [His purpose].
But if they incline to peace, incline thou to it as well, and place thy trust in God: verily, He alone is all-hearing, all-knowing!
And should they seek but to deceive thee [by their show of peace] - behold, God is enough for thee!* He it is who has strengthened thee with His succour, and by giving thee believing followers*
whose hearts He has brought together: [for,] if thou hadst expended all that is on earth, thou couldst not have brought their hearts together [by thyself]: but God did bring them together. Verily, He is almighty, wise.
Enjoy, then, all that is lawful and good among the things which you have gained in war, and remain conscious of God: verily, God is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace.
BEHOLD, as for those who have attained to faith, and who have forsaken the domain of evil* and are striving hard, with their possessions and their lives, in God's cause, as well as those who shelter and succour [them]* - these are [truly] the friends and protectors of one another. But as for those who have come to believe without having migrated [to your country]* - you are in no wise responsible for their protection until such a time as they migrate [to you]. Yet, if they ask you for succour against religious persecution,* it is your duty to give [them] this succour-except against a people between whom and yourselves there is a covenant:* for God sees all that you do.
And as for those who henceforth come to believe,* and who forsake the domain of evil and strive hard [in God's cause] together with you - these [too] shall belong to you;* and they who are [thus] closely related have the highest claim on one another in [accordance with] God's decree.* Verily, God has full knowledge of everything.
But excepted shall be* -from among those who ascribe divinity to aught beside God - [people] with whom you [O believers] have made a covenant and who thereafter have in no wise failed to fulfil their obligations towards you, and neither have aided anyone against you: observe, then, your covenant with them until the end of the term agreed with them.* Verily, God loves those who are conscious of Him.
And so, when the sacred months are over* , slay those who ascribe divinity to aught beside God wherever you may come upon them,* and take them captive, and besiege them, and lie in wait for them at every conceivable place* ! Yet if they repent, and take to prayer, and render the purifying dues, let them go their way: for, behold, God is much forgiving, a dispenser of grace.*
HOW COULD they who ascribe divinity to aught beside God be granted a covenant by God and His Apostle,* unless it be those [of them] with whom you [O believers] have made a covenant in the vicinity of the Inviolable House of Worship?* [As for the latter,] so long as they remain true to you, be true to them: for, verily, God loves those who are conscious of Him.
God's messages have they bartered away for a trifling gain, and have thus turned away from His path: evil, behold, is all that they are wont to do,
But if they break their solemn pledges after having concluded a covenant,* and revile your religion, then fight against these archetypes of faithlessness* who, behold, have no [regard for their own] pledges, so that they might desist [from aggression].
Only he should visit or tend God's houses of worship who believes in God and the Last Day, and is constant in prayer, and spends in charity, and stands in awe of none but God: for [only such as] these may hope to be among the right-guided!*
therein to abide beyond the count of time. Verily, with God is a mighty reward!
O YOU who have attained to faith! Those who ascribe divinity to aught beside God are nothing but impure:* and so they shall not approach the Inviolable House of Worship from this year onwards* And should you fear poverty, then [know that] in time God will enrich you out of His bounty, if He so wills:* for, verily, God is all-knowing, wise!
O you who have attained to faith! Behold, many of the rabbis and monks do indeed wrongfully devour men's possessions and turn [others] away from the path of God. But as for all who lay up treasures of gold and silver and do not spend them for the sake of Gods* - give them the tiding of grievous suffering [in the life to come]:
BEHOLD, the number of months, in the sight of God, is twelve months, [laid down] in God's decree on the day when He created the heavens and the earth; [and] out of these, four are sacred:* this is the ever-true law [of God]. Do not, then, sin against* yourselves with regard to these [months]. And fight against those who ascribe divinity to aught beside God, all together-just as they fight against you, [O believers,] all together* -and know that God is with those who are conscious of Him.
The intercalation [of months] is but one more instance of [their] refusal to acknowledge the truth-* [a means] by which those who are bent on denying the truth are led astray. They declare this [intercalation] to be permissible in one year and forbidden in [another] year,* in order to conform [outwardly] to the number of months which God has hallowed: and thus they make allowable what God has forbidden.* Goodly seems unto them the evil of their own doings, since God does not grace with His guidance people who refuse to acknowledge the truth.
If you do not succour the Apostle,* then [know that God will do so -just as] God succoured him at the time when those who were bent on denying the truth drove him away, [and he was but] one of two:* when these two were [hiding] in the cave, [and] the Apostle said to his companion, "Grieve not: verily, God is with us."* And thereupon God bestowed upon him from on high His (gift of] inner peace,* and brought utterly low the cause of those who were bent on denying the truth, whereas the cause of God remained supreme:* for God is almighty, wise.
Had there been [a prospect of] immediate gain, and an easy journey, they would certainly have followed thee, [O Prophet:] but the distance was too great for them* . And yet, [after your return, O believers,] they will swear by God, "Had we been able to do so, we would certainly have set out with you!" - [and by thus falsely swearing] they will be destroying their own selves: for God knows indeed that they are lying!
only those ask thee for exemption who do not [truly] believe in God and the Last Day and whose hearts have become a prey to doubt, so that in their doubting they waver between one thing and another.
And among them there was [many a one] who said,"* Grant me permission [to remain at home], and do not put me to too hard a test!" Oh, verily, [by making such a request] they had [already failed in their test and] succumbed to a temptation to evil:* and, behold, hell will indeed encompass all who refuse to acknowledge the truth!
Say: "Are you, perchance, hopefully waiting for something [bad] to happen to us-[the while nothing can happen to us] save one of the two best things?* But as far as you are concerned, we are hopefully waiting for God to inflict chastisement upon you, [either] from Himself* or by our hands! Wait, then, hopefully; behold, we shall hopefully wait with you!"
Say: "You may spend [anything], willingly-or unwillingly, [pretending that you do it for the sake of God:] it shall never be accepted from you* -for, verily, you are people bent on iniquity!"
Let not, then, their worldly goods or [the happiness which they may derive from] their children excite thy admiration: God but wants to chastise them by these means in this worldly life, and [to cause] their souls to depart while they are [still] denying the truth.*
And they swear by God that they do indeed belong to you -the while they do not belong to you, but are [only] people ridden by fear:
And yet, [it would be but for their own good] if they were to content themselves with what God has given them and [caused] His Apostle [to give them],* and would say, "God is enough for us! God will give us [whatever He wills] out of His bounty, and [will cause] His Apostle [to give us, too]: verily, unto God alone do we turn with hope!"
The offerings given for the sake of God* are [meant] only for the poor and the needy, and those who are in charge thereof,* and those whose hearts are to be won over, and for the freeing of human beings from bondage, and [for] those who are over burdened with debts, and [for every struggle] in God's cause, and [for] the wayfarer: [this is] an ordinance from God - and God is all-knowing, wise.*
[Some of] the hypocrites dread lest a [new] surah be revealed [in evidence] against them, making them understand what is [really] in their hearts.* Say: "Go on mocking! Behold, God will bring to light the very thing that you are dreading!"*
Yet, indeed, if thou wert to question them. they would surely answer, "We were only indulging in idle talk, and were playing [with words].* Say: "Were you, then. mocking at God and His messages and His Apostle?
The hypocrites, both men and women. are all of a kind: they enjoin the doing of what is wrong and forbid the doing of what is right* and withhold their hands [from doing good]. They are oblivious of God, and so He is oblivious of them. Verily, the hypocrites-it is they, they who are truly iniquitously*
AND [as for] the believers, both men and women they are close unto one another:* they [all] enjoin the doing of what is right and forbid the doing of what is wrong, and are constant in prayer, and render the purifying dues, and pay heed unto God and His Apostle. It is they upon whom God will bestow His grace: verily, God is almighty, wise!
Hence, [O Prophet,] if God brings thee again face to face with some of them,"* and then they ask thy leave to go forth [to war with thee], say: "Never shall you go forth with me. nor shall you fight an enemy together with me! Behold, you were well-pleased to stay at home on that first occasion: stay at home, then, with, those who [are obliged to] remain behind!"*
And never shalt thou pray over any of them that has died, and never shalt thou stand by his grave:* for, behold, they were bent on denying God and His Apostle, and they died in this their iniquity.*
And let not their worldly goods and [the happiness which they may derive from] their children excite thy admiration: God but wants to chastise them by these means in [the life of] this world, and [to cause] their souls to depart while they are [still] denying the truth.*
Only they may rightly be reproached who asked thee for exemption even though they were fully able [to go to war].* They were well-pleased to remain with those who were left behind -wherefore God has sealed their hearts, so that they do not know [what they are doing].
When you will have returned to them, (O believers,] they will swear to you by God, [repeating their excuses,] with a view to your letting them be.* Let them be, then: behold, they are loathsome, and hell is their goal in recompense for what they were wont to do.
They will swear to you with a view to making you pleased with them: but [even] should you be pleased with them, verily, God shall never be pleased with iniquitous folk.
However, among the bedouin there are [also] such as believe in God and the Last Day, and regard all that they spend (in God's cause] as a means of drawing them nearer to God and of [their being remembered in] the. Apostle's prayers. Oh, verily, it shall [indeed] be a means of [God's] nearness to them, [for] God will admit them unto His grace: verily, God is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace!
And [there are] others* - [people who] have become conscious of their sinning after having done righteous deeds side by side with evil ones;* [and] it may well be that God will accept their repentance: for, verily, God is much-forgiving, a dispenser' of grace.
[Hence, O Prophet,] accept that [part] of their possessions which is offered for the sake of God,* so that thou mayest cleanse them thereby and cause them to grow in purity, and pray for them: behold, thy prayer will be [a source of] comfort to them-for God is all-hearing, all-knowing.
AND [there are hypocrites] who have established a [separate] house of worship in order to create mischief, and to promote apostasy and disunity among the believers, and to provide an outpost for all who from the outset have been warring against God and His Apostle.* And they will surely swear [to you, O believers], "We had but the best of intentions!" -the while God [Himself] bears witness that they are lying.*
BEHOLD, God has bought of the believers their lives and their possessions, promising them paradise in return, ,[and so] they fight in God's cause, and slay, and are slain: a promise which in truth He has willed upon Himself in [the words of] the Torah, and the Gospel, and the Qur'an. And who could be more faithful to his covenant than God? Rejoice, then, in the bargain which you have made with Him: for this, this is the triumph supreme!
And Abraham's prayer that his father be forgiven was but due to a promise which he had given the latter [in his lifetime];* but when it was made clear unto him that he had been God's enemy, [Abraham] disavowed him - [although;] behold, Abraham was most tender-hearted. most clement.
And God would never-after having invited them to His guidance -condemn people for going astray* ere He has made [entirely] clear unto them of what they should beware. Verily, God has full knowledge of everything.*
Verily, God's alone is the dominion over the heavens and the earth; He [alone] grants life and deals death; and there is none besides God who could protect you or bring you succour.
INDEED, God has turned in His mercy unto the Prophet, as well as unto those who have forsaken the domain of evil and those who have sheltered and succoured the Faiths* - [all] those who followed him in the hour of distress, when the hearts of some of the other believers had well-nigh swerved from faith.* And once again:* He has turned unto them in His mercy - for, behold, He is compassionate towards them, a dispenser of grace.
And [He turned in His mercy, too,] towards the three [groups of believers] who had fallen prey to corruption,* until in the end-after the earth, despite all its vastness, had become [too] narrow for them and their souls had become [utterly] constricted they came to know with certainty that there is no refuge from God other than [a return] unto Him; and thereupon He turned again unto them in His mercy, so that they might repent: for, verily, God alone is an acceptor of repentance, a dispenser of grace.*
It does not behove the people of the [Prophet's] City and the bedouin [who live] around them to hold back from following God's Apostle, or to care for their own selves more than for him* -for, whenever they suffer from thirst or weariness or hunger in God's cause, and whenever they take any step which confounds* those who deny the truth, and whenever there comes to them from the enemy whatever may be destined for them* -[whenever anything thereof comes to pass,,] a good deed is recorded in their favour.* Verily, God does not fail to requite the doers of good!
Do people deem it strange that We should have inspired a man from their own midst [with this Our message]:* "Warn all mankind, and give unto those who have attained to faith the glad tiding that in their Sustainer's sight they surpass all others in that they are completely sincere-?* [Only] they who deny the truth say, "Behold. he is clearly but a spellbinder!"*
VERILY, your Sustainer is God, who has created the heavens and the earth in six aeons, and is established on the throne of His almightiness,* governing all that exists. There is none that could intercede with Him unless He grants leave therefor.* Thus is God, your Sustainer: worship, therefore, Him [alone]: will you not, then, keep this in mind?
Unto Him you all must return: this is, in truth, God's promise-for, behold, He creates [man] in the first instance, and then brings him forth anew* to the end that He may reward with equity all who attain to faith and do righteous deeds; whereas for those who are bent on denying the truth there is in store a draught of burning despair and grievous suffering because of their persistent refusal to acknowledge the truth.*
for, verily, in the alternating of night and day, and in all that God has created in the heavens and on earth there are messages indeed for people who are conscious of Him!
Verily, as for those who do not believe that they are destined to meet Us,* but content themselves with the life of this world and do not look beyond it,* and are heedless of Our messages -
[But,] verily, as for those who have attained to faith and do righteous deeds - their Sustainer guides them aright by means of their faith. [In the life to come,] running waters will flow at their feet* in gardens of bliss;
AND [thus it is:] whenever Our messages are conveyed unto them in all their clarity, those who do not believe that they are destined to meet Us [are wont to] say, "Bring us a discourse other than this, or alter this one."* Say [O Prophet]: "It is not conceivable that I should alter it of my own volition; I only follow what is revealed to me. Behold, I would dread, were I [thus] to rebel against my Sustainer, the suffering [which would befall me] on that ,awesome Day [of Judgment]!"
And who could be more wicked than they who attribute their own lying inventions to God or give the lie to His messages? Verily, those who are lost in sin will never attain to a happy state* -
NOW THEY [who deny the truth] are wont to ask, "Why has no miraculous sign ever been bestowed upon him from on high by his Sustainer?"* Say, then: "God's alone is the knowledge of that which. is beyond the reach of human perception.* Wait, then, [until His will becomes manifest:] verily, I shall wait with you!"
And [thus it is:] whenever We let [such] people* taste [some of Our] grace after hardship has visited them-lo! they forthwith turn to devising false arguments against Our messages.* Say: "God is swifter [than you] in His deep devising!" Behold, Our [heavenly] messengers are recording all that you may devise!
Yet as soon as He has saved them from this [danger], lo! they behave outrageously on earth, offending against all right !* O men! All your outrageous deeds are bound to fall back upon your own selves!* [You care only for] the enjoyment of life in this world: [but remember that] in the end unto Us you must return, whereupon We shall make you truly understand all that you were doing [in life].
The parable of the life of this world is but that of rain which We send down from the sky, and which is absorbed by the plants of the earth* whereof men and animals draw nourishment, until -when the earth has assumed its artful adornment and has been embellished, and they who dwell on it believe that they have gained mastery over it* -there comes down upon it Our judgment, by night or by day, and We cause it to become [like] a field mown down, as if there had been no yesterday.* Thus clearly do We spell out these messages unto people who think!
For, most of them follow nothing but conjecture: [and,] behold, conjecture can never be a substitute for truth.* Verily, God has full knowledge of all that they do.
Verily, God does not do the least wrong unto men, but it is men who wrong themselves.
And some people* ask thee, "Is all this true?" Say: "Yea, by my Sustainer! It is most certainly true, and you cannot elude [the final reckoning]!"
Oh, verily, unto God belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth! Oh, verily, God's promise always comes true-but most of them know it not!
But what do they think-they who attribute their own lying inventions to God-[what do they think will happen to them]. on the Day of Resurrection? Behold, God is indeed limitless in His bounty unto men -but most of them are ungrateful.
Oh, verily, they who are close to God* - no fear need they have, and neither shall they grieve:
And be not grieved by the sayings of those [who deny the truth]. Behold, all might and glory* belong to God alone: He alone is all-hearing, all-knowing.
OH, VERILY, unto God belongs whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on earth: hence, what is it that they follow-those who invoke, beside God. beings to whom they ascribe a share in His divinity?* They follow but the conjectures [of others], and themselves do nothing but guess -
[whereas] it is He who has made the night for you, so that you might have rest therein, and the day, to make [you] see* in this, behold, there are messages indeed for people who [are willing to] listen.
Say: "Verily, they who attribute their own lying inventions to God will never attain to a happy state!"
And so, when the truth came to them from Us, they said, "Behold, this is clearly nothing but sorcery!"*
And when they threw down [their staffs and cast a spell upon the people's eyes* ], Moses said unto them: "What you have contrived is [but] sorcery which, verily, God will bring to nought! Verily, God does not further the works of spreaders of corruption -
But none save a few of his people declared their faith in Moses,* [while others held back] for fear of Pharaoh and their great ones, lest they persecute them:* for, verily, Pharaoh was mighty on earth and was, verily, of those who are given to excesses.
And Moses prayed: "O our Sustainer! Verily, splendour and riches hast Thou vouchsafed, in the life of this world, unto Pharaoh and his great ones-with the result, O our Sustainer, that they are leading [others] astray from Thy path!* O our Sustainer! Wipe out their riches, and harden their hearts, so that they may not attain to faith ere they see the grievous suffering [that awaits them]!"
[Nay,] but today We shall save only thy body,* so that thou mayest be a [warning] sign unto those who will come after thee: for, behold, a good many people are heedless of Our messages!"
And [thereafter], indeed, We assigned unto the children of Israel a most goodly abode,* and provided for them sustenance out of the good things of life. And it was not until knowledge [of God's revelation] was vouchsafed to them that they began to hold divergent views: [but,] verily, thy Sustainer will judge between them on Resurrection Day regarding all on which they were wont to differ.*
Verily, they against whom thy Sustainer's word [of judgment] has come true* will not attain to faith -
Can such, then, expect anything else [to befall them] but the like of the days of [calamity which befell] those [deniers of the truth] who passed away before them? Say: "Wait, then, [for what will happen) verily, I shall wait with you!"
Thus, do not invoke, side by side with God, anything that can neither benefit thee nor harm thee: for, behold, if thou do it, thou wilt surely be among the evildoers!
SAY [O Prophet]: "O mankind! The truth from your Sustainer has now come unto you. Whoever, therefore, chooses to follow the right path, follows it but for his own good; and whoever chooses to go astray, goes but astray to his own hurt. And I am not responsible for your conduct."
so that you may worship none but God. [Say, O Prophet:] "Behold, I come unto you from Him [as] a warner and a bearer of glad tidings:*
Ask your Sustainer to forgive you your sins, and then turn towards Him in repentance - [whereupon] He will grant you a goodly enjoyment of life [in this world] until a term set [by Him is fulfilled];* and [in the life to come] He will bestow upon everyone possessed of merit [a full reward for] his merit.* But if you turn away, then, verily, I dread for you the suffering [which is bound to befall you] on that awesome Day*
Oh, verily, they [who are bent on denying the truth of this divine writ] are enshrouding their hearts in order to hide from Him.* Oh, verily, [even] when they cover themselves with their garments [in order not to see or hear],* He knows all that they keep secret as well as all that they bring into the open - for, behold, He has full knowledge of what is in the hearts [of men].
And He it is who has created the heavens and the earth in six aeons; and [ever since He has willed to create life,] the throne of His almightiness has rested upon water.* [God reminds you of your dependence on Him] in order to test you [and thus to make manifest] which of you is best in conduct. For thus it is: if* thou sayest [unto men], "Behold, you shall be raised again after death!" - they who are bent on denying the truth are sure to answer, "This is clearly nothing but an enchanting delusion"*
And thus it is: if We let man taste some of Our grace,* and then take it away from him -behold, he abandons all hope,* forgetting all gratitude [for Our past favours].
And thus it is: if We let him taste ease and plenty* after hardship has visited him, he is sure to say, "Gone is all affliction from me!"-for, behold, he is given to vain exultation, and glories only in himself.*
IS IT, then, conceivable [O Prophet] that thou couldst omit any part of what is being revealed unto thee [because the deniers of the truth dislike it,-and] because thy heart is distressed at their saying,* "Why has not a treasure been bestowed upon him from on high?" -or, "[Why has not] an angel come [visibly:: with him ?"* [They fail to understand that] thou art only a warner, whereas God has everything in His care ;*
Can, then, [he who cares for no more than the life of this world be compared with* ] one who takes his stand on a clear evidence from his Sustainer, conveyed through [this] testimony from Him,* as was the revelation vouchsafed to Moses aforetime-[a divine writ ordained by Him] to be a guidance and grace [unto man]? They [who understand this message-it is they alone who truly] believe in it;* whereas for any of those who, leagued together [in common hostility],* deny its truth - the fire shall be their appointed state [in the life to come]. And so,* be not in doubt about this [revelation]: behold, it is the truth from thy Sustainer, even though* most people will not believe in it.
Behold, [only] those who attain to faith and do righteous deeds and humble themselves before their Sustainer - [only] they are destined for paradise, and there shall they abide.
AND INDEED, [it was with the same message that] We sent forth Noah unto his people :* "Behold, I come unto you with the plain warning
that you may worship none but God-for, verily, I fear lest suffering befall you on a grievous Day!"*
"And, O my people, no benefit do I ask of you for this [message]: my reward rests with none but God. And I shall not repulse [any of] those who have attained to faith.* Verily, they [know that they] are destined to meet their Sustainer, whereas in you I see people without any awareness [of right and wrong]!
"And I do not say unto you, `God's treasures are with me'; nor [do I say], `I know the reality which is beyond the reach of human perception'; nor do I say, 'Behold, I am an angel';* nor do I say of those whom your eyes hold in contempt,* `Never will God grant them any good'- for God is fully aware of what is in their hearts.* [Were I to speak thus,] verily, I would indeed be among the evildoers."
He answered: "Only God can bring it upon you, if He so wills, and you shall not elude it:
but build, under Our eyes* and according to Our inspiration, the ark [that shall .save thee and those who follow thee];* and do not appeal to Me in behalf of those who are bent on evildoing for, behold, they are destined to be drowned!"
And [so Noah] set himself to building the ark; and every time the great ones of his people passed by him, they scoffed at him. [Thereupon] he said: "If you are scoffing at us-behold, we are scoffing at you [and your ignorance], just as you are scoffing at us.*
So he said [unto his followers]: "Embark in this [ship]! In the name of God be its run and its riding at anchor! Behold, my. Sustainer is indeed much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace!"
And Noah called out to his Sustainer, and said: "O my Sustainer! Verily, my son was of my family;* and, verily, Thy promise always comes true, and Thou art the most just of all judges!"
[God] answered: "O Noah, behold, he was not of thy family, for, verily, he was unrighteous in his conduct.* And thou shalt not ask of Me anything whereof thou canst not have any knowledge:* thus, behold, do I admonish thee lest thou become one of those who are unaware [of what is right]."*
Said [Noah]: "O my Sustainer! Verily, I seek refuge with Thee from [ever again] asking of Thee anything whereof I cannot have any knowledge! For unless Thou grant me forgiveness and bestow Thy mercy upon me, I shall be among the lost!"
THESE ACCOUNTS of something that was beyond the reach of thy perception We [now] reveal unto thee, [O Muhammad: for] neither thou nor thy people knew them [fully] ere this.* Be, then, [like Noah,] patient in adversity - for, behold, the future belongs to the God-conscious!
We can say no more than that one of our gods may have smitten thee with something evil!"* Answered [Hud]: "Behold, I call God to witness - and you, too, be [my] witnesses - that, verily, it is not in me to ascribe divinity, as you do,* to aught
Behold, I have placed my trust in God, [who is] my Sustainer as well as your Sustainer: for there is no living creature which He does not hold by its forelock.* Verily, straight is my Sustainer's way!*
"But if you choose to turn away, then [know that] I have delivered to you the message with which I was sent unto you, and [that] my Sustainer may cause another people to take your place,* whereas you will in no wise harm Him. Verily, my Sustainer watches over all things!"
And they were pursued in this world by [God's] rejection, and [shall finally be overtaken by it] on the Day of Resurrection.* Oh, verily, [the tribe of] `Ad denied their Sustainer! Oh, away with the `Ad, the people of Hud!
AND UNTO [the tribe of] Thamud [We sent] their brother Salih.* He said: "O my people! Worship God [alone]: you have no deity other than Him. He brought you into being out of the earth,* and made you thrive thereon.* Ask Him, therefore, to forgive you your sins, and then turn towards Him in repentance-for, verily, my Sustainer is ever-near, responding [to the call of whoever calls unto Him]!"*
They answered: "O Salih! Great hopes did we place in thee ere this!* Wouldst thou forbid us to worship what our forefathers were wont to worship? Because [of this], behold, we are in grave doubt, amounting to suspicion, about [the meaning of] thy call to us!"*
And so, when Our judgment came to pass, by Our grace We saved Salih and those who shared his faith; and [We saved them, too,] from the ignominy of [Our rejection on] that Day [of Resurrection]. Verily, thy Sustainer alone is powerful, almighty!
as though they had never lived there. Oh, verily, [the tribe of] Thamud denied their Sustainer! Oh, away with the Thamud!
But when he saw that their hands did not reach out towards it, he deemed their conduct strange and became apprehensive of them.* [But] they said: "Fear not! Behold, we are sent to the people of Lot.*
Said she: "Oh, woe is me!* Shall I bear a child, now that I am an old woman and this husband of mine is an old man? Verily, that would be a strange thing indeed!"
Answered [the messengers]: "Dost thou deem it strange that God should decree what He wills?* The grace of God and His blessings be upon you, O people of this house! Verily, ever to be praised, sublime is He!"
for, behold, Abraham was most clement, most tender-hearted, intent upon turning to God again and again.
[But God's messengers replied:] "O Abraham! Desist from this [pleading]! Behold, thy Sustainer's judgment has already gone forth: and, verily, there shall fall upon them a chastisement which none can avert!"
They answered: "Thou hast always known that we have no use whatever for thy daughters;* and, verily, well dost thou know what we want!"
[Whereupon the angels] said: "O Lot! Behold, we are messengers from thy Sustainer! Never shall [thy enemies] attain to thee! Depart, then, with thy household while it is yet night, and let none of you look back;* [and take with thee all thy family] with the exception of thy wife: for, behold, that which is to befall these [people of Sodom] shall befall her [as well].* Verily, their appointed time is the morning [and] is not the morning nigh?"
AND UNTO [the people of] Madyan [We sent] their brother Shu'ayb.* He said: "O my people! Worship God [alone]: you have no deity other than Him; and do not give short measure and weight [in any of your dealings with men].* Behold, I see you [now] in a happy state; but, verily, I dread lest suffering befall you on a Day that will encompass [you with doom]!
Said they: "O Shu'ayb! Does thy [habit of] praying compel thee to demand of us* that we give up all that our forefathers were wont to worship, or that we refrain from doing whatever we please with our possessions ?* Behold, [thou wouldst have us believe that] thou art indeed the only clement, the only right-minded man!"
Hence, ask your Sustainer to forgive you your sins, and then turn towards Him in repentance - for, verily, my Sustainer is a dispenser of grace, a fount of love!"
[But his people] said: "O Shu'ayb! We cannot grasp the purport of much of what thou sayest;* on the other hand, behold, we do see clearly how- weak thou art in our midst:"* and were it not for thy family, we would have most certainly stoned thee to death, considering that thou hast no power over us!"
Said he: "O my people! Do you hold my family in greater esteem than God? -for, Him you regard as something that may be cast behind you and be forgotten!* Verily, my Sustainer encompasses [with His might] all that you do!
Hence, O my people, do [to me] anything that may be within your power, [while] I, behold, shall labour [in God's way]; in time you will come to know which [of us] shall be visited by suffering that will cover him with ignominy, and which [of us] is a liar. Watch, then, [for what is coming:] behold, I shall watch with you!"
And such is thy Sustainer's punishing grasp whenever He takes to task any community that is given to evildoing: verily, His punishing grasp is grievous, severe!
Herein, behold, lies a message indeed for all who fear the suffering [which may befall them] in the life to come, (and are conscious of the coming of] that Day on which all mankind shall be gathered together-that Day [of Judgment] which shall be witnessed [by all that ever lived],
therein to abide as long as the heavens and the earth endure-unless thy Sustainer wills it otherwise:* for, verily, thy Sustainer is a sovereign doer of whatever He wills.
AND SO, [O Prophet,] be not in doubt about anything that those [misguided people] worship:* they but [thoughtlessly] worship as their forefathers worshipped aforetime; and, behold, We shall most certainly give them their full due [for whatever good or evil they have earned], without diminishing aught thereof.*
And, indeed, [similar was the case when] We vouchsafed the divine writ unto Moses, and some of his people set their own views against it;* and had it not been for a decree that had already gone forth from thy Sustainer, judgment would indeed have been passed on them [then and there]:* for, behold, they were in grave doubt, amounting to suspicion, about him [who called them unto God].*
And, verily, unto each and all will thy Sustainer give their full due for whatever [good or evil] they may have done: behold, He is aware of all that they do!
Pursue, then, the right course, as thou hast been bidden [by God], together with all who, with thee, have turned unto Him; and let none of you behave in an overweening manner:* for, verily, He sees all that you do.
And be constant in praying at the beginning and the end* of the day, as well as during the early watches of the night:* for, verily, good deeds drive away evil deeds: this is a reminder to all who bear [God] in mind.
And be patient in adversity: for, verily,. God does not fail to requite the doers of good!
And say unto those who will not believe: "Do anything that may be within your power, [while] we, behold, shall labour [in God's way];
and wait [for what is coming]: behold, we too are waiting!"
behold, We have bestowed it from on high as a discourse in the Arabic tongue, so that you might encompass it with your reason.*
LO!* Thus spoke Joseph unto his father: "O my father! Behold, I saw [in a dream] eleven stars, as well as the sun and the moon: I saw them prostrate themselves before me!"
[Jacob] replied: "O my dear son!* Do not relate thy dream to thy brothers lest [out of envy] they devise an evil scheme against thee; verily, Satan is man's open foe!*
For, [as thou hast been shown in thy dream,] even thus will thy Sustainer elect thee, and will impart unto thee some understanding of the inner meaning of happenings,* and will bestow the full measure of His blessings upon thee and upon the House of Jacob -even as, aforetime, He bestowed it in full measure upon thy forefathers Abraham and Isaac. Verily, thy Sustainer is all-knowing, wise!"
NOW [Joseph's brothers] spoke [thus to one another:] "Truly, Joseph and his brother [Benjamin] are dearer to our father than we, even though we are so many.* Behold, our father is surely suffering from an aberration!"*
[On this they agreed; and thereupon] they spoke [thus to their father]: "O our father! Wherefore wilt thou not trust us with Joseph, seeing that we are indeed his well-wishers?
Let him go out with us tomorrow, that he may enjoy himself and play: and, verily, we shall guard him well!"
[Jacob] answered: "Behold, it grieves me indeed [to think] that you might take him with you, for I dread lest the wolf devour him at a moment when you are heedless of him!"
Said they: "Surely, if the wolf were to devour him notwithstanding that we are so many-then, behold, we ought ourselves to perish!"
[and] said: "O our father! Behold, we went off racing with one another, and left Joseph behind with our things; and thereupon the wolf devoured him! But [we know that] thou wouldst not believe us even though we speak the truth" -
And [it so happened that] she in whose house he was living [conceived a passion for him and] sought to make him yield himself unto her; and she bolted the doors and said, "Come thou unto me!" [But Joseph] answered: "May God preserve me! Behold, goodly has my master made my stay [in this house]! Verily, to no good end come they that do [such] wrong!"
And, indeed, she desired him, and he desired her; [and he would have succumbed] had he not seen [in this temptation] an evidence of his Sustainer's truth:* thus [We willed it to be] in order that We might avert from him all evil and all deeds of abomination -for, behold, he was truly one of Our servants.*
And when (her husband] saw that his tunic was torn from behind, he said: "Behold, this is [an instance] of your guile, O womankind! Verily, awesome is your guile!
[But,] Joseph, let this pass!* And thou, [O wife,] ask forgiveness for thy sin-for, verily, thou hast been greatly at fault!"
NOW the women of the city spoke [thus to one another]: "The wife of this nobleman is trying to induce her slave-boy to yield himself unto her! Her love for him has pierced her heart; verily, we see that she is undoubtedly suffering from an aberration!*
And his Sustainer responded to his prayer, and freed him from the threat of their guile:* verily, He alone is all-hearing, all-knowing.
NOW two young men happened to go to prison at the same time as Joseph.* One of them said: "Behold, I saw myself [in a dream] pressing wine." And the other said: "Behold, I saw myself [in a dream] carrying bread on my head, and birds were eating thereof." [And both entreated Joseph:] "Let us know the real meaning of this! Verily, we see that thou art one of those who know well [how to interpret dreams].*
[Joseph] answered: "Ere there comes unto you the meal which you are [daily] fed, I shall have informed you of the real meaning of your dreams,* [so that you might know what is to come] before it comes unto you: for this is [part] of the knowledge which my Sustainer has imparted to me. "Behold, I have left behind me the ways of people who do not believe in God,* and who persistently refuse to acknowledge the truth of the life to come;
AND [one day] the King said:* Behold, I saw [in a dream] seven fat cows being devoured by seven emaciated ones, and seven green ears [of wheat] next to [seven] others that were withered. O you nobles! Enlighten me about [the meaning of] my dream, if you are able to interpret dreams!"
And [as soon as Joseph's interpretation. was conveyed to him,] the King said: "Bring him before me!" But when the [King's] messenger came unto him, [Joseph] said: "Go back to thy lord and ask him [first to find out the truth] about those women who cut their hands-for, behold, [until now it is] my Sustainer [alone who] has full knowledge of their guile!"
[Thereupon the King sent for those women; and when they came,] he asked: "What was it that you hoped to achieve when you sought to make Joseph yield himself unto you?"* The women answered: "God save us! We did not perceive the least evil [intention] on his part!" [And] the wife of Joseph's former master* exclaimed: "Now has the truth come to light! It was I who sought to make him yield himself unto me - whereas he, behold, was indeed speaking the truth!"
And yet, I am not trying to absolve myself: for, verily, man's inner self does incite [him] to evil,* and saved are only they upon whom my Sustainer bestows His grace.* Behold, my Sustainer is much forgiving, a dispenser of grace!"
And the King said: "Bring him unto me, so that I may attach him to my own person." And when he had spoken with him, [the King] said: "Behold, [from] this day thou shalt be of high standing with us, invested with all trust!"
[Joseph] replied: "Place in my charge the store-houses of the land; behold, I shall be a good and knowing keeper.*
They answered: "We shall try to persuade his father to part with him, and, verily, we shall do [our utmost]!"
And so, when they returned to their father, [Joseph's brothers] said: "O our father! All grain* is [to be] withheld from us [in the future unless we bring Benjamin with us]: send, therefore, our brother with us, so that we may obtain our measure (of grain]; and, verily, we shall guard him well!"
But although* they entered [Joseph's city] in the way their father had bidden them, this proved of no avail whatever to them against [the plan of] God* [His request] had served only to satisfy Jacob's heartfelt desire [to protect them]:* for, behold, thanks to what We had imparted unto him, he was indeed endowed with the knowledge [that God's will must always prevail* ]; but most people know it not.
AND WHEN [the sons of Jacob] presented themselves before Joseph, he drew his brother [Benjamin] unto himself, saying [to him in secret]: "Behold, I am thy brother! So grieve thou not over their past doings!"*
And [later,] when he had provided them with their provisions, he placed the [King's] drinking-cup in his brother's camel-pack. And [as they were leaving the city,] a herald* called out: "O you people of the caravan! Verily, you are thieves!*
They said: "O thou great one! Behold, he has a father, a very old man: detain, therefore, one of us in his stead. Verily, we see that thou art a doer of good!"
He answered: "May God preserve us from [the sin of] detaining any other than him with whom we have found our property-for then, behold, we would indeed be evildoers!"
[And as for you others,] return to your father and say: `O our father! Behold, thy son has stolen-but we [can] bear witness to no more than what has become known to us;* and [although we gave you our pledge,] we could not guard against something that [lay hidden in the future and, hence,] was beyond the reach of our perception.*
And ask thou in the town in which we were [at the time], and of the people of the caravan with whom we travelled hither, and [thou wilt find that] we, are indeed telling the truth!"'
[AND WHEN they returned to their father and told him what had happened,] he exclaimed: "Nay, but it is your [own] minds that have made [so terrible] a happening seem a matter of little account to you! But [as for myself,] patience in adversity is most goodly; God may well bring them all [back] unto me:* verily, He alone is all-knowing, truly wise!"
He answered: "It is only to God that I complain of my deep grief and my sorrow: for I know, from God, something that you do not know.*
[Hence,] O my sons, go forth and try to obtain some tidings of Joseph and his brother; and do not lose hope of God's life-giving mercy:* verily, none but people who deny the truth can ever lose hope of God's life-giving mercy.
[AND THE SONS of Jacob went back to Egypt and to Joseph;] and when they presented themselves before him, they said: "O thou great one! Hardship has visited us and our folk, and so we have brought but scanty merchandise;* but give us a full measure [of grain], and be charitable to us: behold, God rewards those who give in charity!"
They exclaimed: "Why - is it indeed thou who art Joseph?" He answered: "I am Joseph, and this is my brother. God has indeed been gracious unto us. Verily, if one is* conscious of Him and patient in adversity behold, God does not fail to requite the doers of good!"
AND AS SOON as the caravan [with which Jacob's sons were travelling] was on its way,* their father said [to the people around him]: "Behold, were it not that you might consider me a dotard, [I would say that] I truly feel the breath of Joseph [in the air]!"
They answered: "By God! Thou art indeed still lost in thy old aberration!"
But when the bearer of good tidings came [with Joseph's tunic], he laid it over his face; and he regained his sight, [and] exclaimed: "Did I not tell you, `Verily, I know, from God, something that you do not know'?"*
[His sons] answered: "O our father! Ask God to forgive us our sins, for, verily, we were sinners."
He said: "I shall ask my Sustainer to forgive you: He alone is truly forgiving, a true dispenser of grace!"
And he raised his parents to the highest place of honour;* and they [all] fell down before Him, prostrating themselves in adoration.* Thereupon [Joseph] said: "O my father! This is the real meaning of my dream of long ago, which my Sustainer has made come true.* And He was indeed good to me when He freed me from the prison, and [when] He brought you [all unto me] from the desert after Satan had sown discord between me and my brothers. Verily, my Sustainer is unfathomable in [the way He brings about] whatever He wills:* verily, He alone is all-knowing, truly wise!
And it is He who has spread the earth wide and placed on it firm mountains and running waters, and created thereon two sexes of every [kind of] plant;* [and it is He who] causes the night to cover the day. Verily, in all this there are messages indeed for people who think!
And there are on earth [many] tracts of land close by one another [and yet widely differing from one another* ]; and [there are on it] vinyards, and fields of grain, and date-palms growing in clusters from one root or standing alone,* [all] watered with the same water: and yet, some of them have We favoured above others by way of the food [which they provide for man and beast].* Verily, in all this there are messages indeed for people who use their reason!
BUT IF thou art amazed [at the marvels of God's creation], amazing, too, is their saying, "What! After we have become dust, shall we indeed be [restored to life] in a new act .of creation?"* It is they who [thus show that they] are bent on denying their Sustainer;* and it is they who carry the shackles [of their own making] around their necks;* and it is they who are destined for the fire, therein to abide.
And [since, O Prophet, they are bent on denying the truth,] they challenge thee to hasten the coming upon them of evil instead of [hoping for] good* although [they ought to know that] the exemplary punishments [which they now deride] have indeed come to pass before their time. Now, behold, thy Sustainer is full of forgiveness unto men despite all their evildoing:* but, behold, thy Sustainer is [also] truly severe in retribution!
However, they who are bent on denying the truth [refuse to believe and] say, "Why has no miraculous sign ever been bestowed on him from on high by his Sustainer?"* [But] thou art only a warmer; and [in God] all people have a guide.*
[thinking that] he has hosts of helpers-both such as can be perceived by him and such as are hidden from him* -that could preserve him from whatever God may have willed.* Verily, God does not change men's condition unless they change their inner selves;* and when God wills people to suffer evil [in consequence of their . own evil deeds], there is none who could avert it: for they have none who could protect them from Him.
CAN, THEN, he who knows that whatever has been bestowed from on high upon thee by thy Sustainer is the truth be deemed equal to one who is blind? Only they who are endowed with insight keep this in mind:
NOW THOSE who are bent on denying the truth [of the Prophet's message] say, "Why has no miraculous sign ever been bestowed upon him from on high by his Sustainer?"* Say: "Behold, God lets go astray him who wills [to go astray],* just as He guides unto Himself all who turn unto Him-
Yet even if [they should listen to] a [divine] discourse by which mountains could be moved, or the earth cleft asunder, or the dead made to speak - [they who are bent on denying the truth would still refuse to believe in it]!* Nay, but God alone has the power to decide what shall be.* Have, then, they who have attained to faith not yet come to know that, had God so willed; He would indeed have guided all mankind aright?* But as for those who are bent on denying the truth-in result of their [evil] deeds, sudden calamities will always befall them or will alight close to their homes;* [and this will continue] until God's promise [of resurrection] is fulfilled: verily, God never fails to fulfil His promise!
Hence, they unto whom We have vouchsafed this revelation* rejoice at all that has been bestowed upon thee [O Prophet] from on high;* but among the followers of other creeds there are such as deny the validity of some of it.* Say [unto them, O Prophet]: "I have only been bidden to worship God, and not to ascribe divine. powers to aught beside Him :* unto Him do I call [all mankind], and He is my goal!"
BUT WHETHER We let thee see [in thy lifetime, O Prophet, the fulfilment of] some of what We have promised them,* or whether We cause thee to die [before its fulfilment] - thy duty is no more than to deliver the message; and the reckoning is Ours.
And [thus], indeed, have We sent forth Moses with Our messages [and this Our command]: "Lead thy people out of the depths of darkness into the light, and remind them of the Days of God!"* Verily, in this [reminder] there are messages indeed for all who are wholly patient in adversity and deeply grateful [to God].
And [remember the time] when your Sustainer made [this promise] known: 'If you are grateful [to Me], I shall most certainly give you more and more;* but if you are ungrateful, verily, My chastisement will be severe indeed!"'
And Moses added: "If you should [ever] deny the truth-you and whoever else lives on earth, all of you-[know that,] verily, God is indeed self-sufficient, ever to be praised!"
HAVE THE STORIES of those [deniers of the truth] who lived before you never yet come within your ken - [the stories of] the people of Noah, and of [the tribes of] `Ad and Thamud, and of those who came after them? None knows them [now] save God.* There came unto them their apostles with all evidence of the truth -but they covered their mouths with their hands* and answered: "Behold, we refuse to regard as true the message with which you [claim to] have been entrusted; and, behold, we are .in grave doubt, amounting to suspicion, about [the meaning of] your call to us!"*
And all [mankind] will appear before God [on the Day of Judgment]; and then the weak* will say unto those who had gloried in their arrogance: "Behold, We were but your followers: can you, then, relieve us of something of God's chastisement?" [And the others] will answer: "If God would but show us the way [to salvation], we would indeed guide you [towards it].* It is [now] all one, as far as we are concerned, whether we grieve impatiently or endure [our lot] with patience: there is no escape for us!"
And when everything will have been decided, Satan will say: "Behold, God promised you something that was bound to come true!* I, too, held out [all manner of] promises to you -but I deceived you. Yet I had no power at all over you: I but called you-and you responded unto me. Hence, blame not me, but blame yourselves.* It is not for me to respond to your cries, nor for you to respond to mine:* for, behold, I have [always] refused to admit that there was any truth in your erstwhile belief that I had a share in God's divinity."* Verily, for all evildoers* there is grievous suffering in store.
For, they claimed that there are powers that could rival God,* and so they strayed from His path. Say: "Enjoy yourselves [in this world], but, verily, the fire will be your journey's end!"
And [always] does He give you something out of what you may be asking of Him;* and should you try to count God's blessings, you could never compute them. [And yet,] behold, man is indeed most persistent in wrongdoing, stubbornly ingrate!
for, verily, O my Sustainer, these [false objects of worship] have led many people astray! "Hence, [only] he who follows me [in this my faith]~ is truly of me;* and as for him who disobeys me - Thou art, verily, much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace!
"O our Sustainer! Behold, I have settled some of my offspring in a valley in which there is no arable land,* close to Thy sanctified Temple, so that, O our Sustainer, they might devote themselves to prayer: cause Thou, therefore, people's hearts to incline towards them* and grant them fruitful sustenance, so that they might have cause to be grateful.
"O our Sustainer! Thou truly knowest all that we may hide [in our hearts] as well as all that we bring into the open:' for nothing whatever, be it on earth or in heaven, remains hidden from God.
"All praise is due to God, who has bestowed upon me, in my old age, Ishmael and Isaac! Behold, my Sustainer hears indeed all prayer:
AND DO NOT think that God is unaware of what the evildoers are doing: He but grants them respite until the Day when their eyes will stare in horror,*
HENCE, do not think that God will fail to fulfil the promise which He gave to His apostles:* verily, God is almighty, an avenger of evil!
[And all shall be judged on that Day,] so that God may requite every human being for all that he has earned [in life]: verily, God is swift in reckoning!
And yet, they [who deny the truth] say: "O thou unto whom this reminder has [allegedly] been bestowed from on high: verily, thou art mad!
Behold, it is We Ourselves who have bestowed from on high, step by step, this reminder?* and, behold, it is We who shall truly guard it [from all corruption].*
they would surely have said, "It is only our eyes that are spellbound! Nay, we have been bewitched!,*
for, behold, it is We-We alone -who grant life and deal death, and it is We alone who shall remain after all else will have passed away !*
and, behold, it is thy Sustainer who will gather them all together [on Judgment Day]: verily, He is wise, all-knowing!
And lo! Thy Sustainer said unto the angels: "Behold, I am about to create mortal man out of sounding clay, out of dark slime transmuted;
Said He: "Go forth, then, from this [angelic state]: for, behold, thou art [henceforth] accursed,
and [My] rejection shall be thy due* until the Day of Judgment!"
Answered He: "Verily, so be it: thou shalt be among those who are granted respite
verily, thou shalt have no power over My creatures- unless it be such as are [already] lost in grievous error and follow thee [of their own will]:*
and for all such, behold, hell is the promised goal.
VERILY, those who are conscious of God [shall find themselves in the hereafter] amidst gardens and springs,
[how,] when they presented themselves before him and bade him peace, he answered: "Behold, we are afraid of you!"*
Said they: "Fear not! Behold, we bring thee the glad tiding of [the birth of] a son who will be endowed with deep knowledge."*
They answered: "We are sent to people lost in sin* [who are to be destroyed],
barring Lot's household, all of whom, behold, we shall save -
excepting only his wife, [of whom God says,] `We have ordained [that], behold, she should be among those who stay behind!'*
he said: "Behold, you are people unknown [here] !"*
and we are bringing thee the certainty [of its fulfilment] :* for, behold, we are speaking the truth indeed.
Exclaimed [Lot]: "Behold, these are my guests: so put me not to shame,
[But the angels spoke thus:] "As thou livest, [O Lot, they will not listen to thee:]* behold, in their delirium [of lust] they are but blindly stumbling to and fro!"
Verily, in all this there are messages indeed for those who can read the signs:*
for, behold, those [towns] stood by a road that still exists.*
Verily, herein lies a message indeed for all who believe [in God].
and so We inflicted Our retribution on them. And, behold, both these [sinful communities] lived by a highway, [to this day] plain to see*
AND [remember:] We have not created the heavens and the earth and all that is between them without [an inner] truth;* but, behold, the Hour [when this will become clear to all] is indeed yet to come. Hence, forgive [men's failings] with fair forbearance:
verily, thy Sustainer is the all-knowing Creator of all things!*
and say: "Behold, I am indeed the plain warner [promised by God] !*
verily, We shall suffice thee against all who [now] deride [this message - all]
And they carry your loads to [many] a place which [otherwise] you would be unable to reach without great hardship to yourselves. Verily, your Sustainer is most compassionate, a dispenser of grace!
[and] by virtue thereof He causes crops to grow for you, and olive trees, and date palms, and grapes, and all [other] kinds of fruit: in this, behold, there is a message indeed for people who think!
And He has made the night and the day and the sun and the moon subservient [to His laws, so that they be of use] to you;* and all the stars are subservient to His command: in this, behold, there are messages indeed for people who use their reason!
And all the [beauty of] many hues-which He has created for you on earth: in this, behold, there is a message for people who (are willing to] take it to heart!
For, should you try to count God's blessings, you could never compute them! Behold, God is indeed much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace;
Truly, God knows all that they keep secret as well as all that they bring into the open -[and,] behold, He does not love those who are given to arrogance,
And then, on Resurrection Day, He will cover them [all] with ignominy,* and will say: "Where, now, are those beings to whom you ascribed a share in My divinity,* [and] for whose sake you cut yourselves off [from My guidance]?"* [Whereupon] those who [in their lifetime] were endowed with knowledge* will say: "Verily, ignominy and misery [have fallen] this day upon those who have been denying the truth-
those whom the angels have gathered in death while they were still sinning against themselves!" Then will they [who are thus arraigned] proffer their submission, [saying:] "We did not [mean to] do any evil!* [But they will be answered:] "Yea, verily, God has full knowledge of all that you were doing!*
[As for those who are bent on denying the truth-] though thou be ever so eager to show them the right way, [know that,] verily, God does not bestow His guidance upon any whom He judges to have gone astray;* and such shall have none to succour them [on Resurrection Day].
Whenever We will anything to be, We but say unto it Our word "Be" -and it is.
or take them to task through slow decay?* And yet, behold, your Sustainer is most compassionate, a dispenser of grace!*
And God has said: "Do not take to worshipping two [or more] deities.* He is the One and Only God: hence, of Me, of Me alone stand in awe !"*
AND GOD sends down water from the skies, giving life thereby to the earth after it had been lifeless:* in this, behold, there is a message indeed for people who [are willing to] listen.
And, behold, in the cattle [too] there is indeed a lesson for you: We give you to drink of that [fluid] which is [secreted from] within their bellies between that which is to be eliminated [from the animal's body] and [its] life-blood: milk pure and pleasant to those who drink it.*
And [We grant you nourishment] from the fruit of date-palms and vines: from it you derive intoxicants as well as wholesome sustenance -in this, behold, there is a message indeed for people who use their reason !*
and then eat of all manner of fruit, and follow humbly the paths ordained for thee by thy Sustainer."* [And lo!] there issues from within these [bees] a fluid of many hues, wherein there is health for man. In all this, behold, there is a message indeed for people who think!
AND GOD has created you, and in time will cause you to die; and many a one of you is reduced in old age to a most abject state, ceasing to know anything of what he once knew so well.* Verily, God is all-knowing, infinite in His power!
Hence, do not coin any similitudes for Gods* Verily, God knows [all], whereas you have no [real] knowledge.
And* , God's [alone] is the knowledge of the hidden reality of the heavens and the earth.* And so, the advent of the Last Hour will but manifest itself [in a single moment,] like the twinkling of an eye, or closer still:* for, behold, God has the power to will anything.
Have, then, they [who deny the truth] never considered the birds, enabled [by God] to fly in mid-air,* with none but God holding them aloft? In this, behold, there are messages indeed for people who will believe!
BUT IF they turn away [from thee, O Prophet, remember that] thy only duty is a clear delivery of the message [entrusted to thee].
And when they who were wont to ascribe divinity to beings other than God behold [on Judgment Day] those beings to whom they were wont to ascribe a share in His divinity,* they will exclaim: "O our Sustainer! These are the beings to whom we ascribed a share in Thy divinity, and whom we were wont to invoke instead of Thee !"* -whereupon [those beings] will fling at them the retort: "Behold, you have indeed been lying [to yourselves]!"*
BEHOLD, God enjoins justice, and the doing of good, and generosity towards [one's] fellow-men;* and He forbids all that is shameful and all that runs counter to reason,* as well as envy; [and] He exhorts you [repeatedly] so that you might bear [all this] in mind.
And be true to your bond with God whenever you bind yourselves by a pledge,* and do not break [your] oaths after having [freely] confirmed them* and having called upon God to be witness to your good faith:* behold, God knows all that you do.
Hence, be not like her who breaks and completely untwists the yarn which she [herself] has spun and made strong-[be not like this by] using your oaths as a means of deceiving one another,* simply because some of you may be more powerful than others."* By all this, God but puts you to a test-and [He does it] so that on Resurrection Day He might make clear unto you all that on which you were wont to differ.*
Hence, do not barter away your bond with God for a trifling gain! Verily, that which is with God is by far the best for you, if you but knew it:
Behold, he has no power over those who have attained to faith and in their Sustainer place their tray trust:
he has power only over those who are willing to follow him,* and who [thus] ascribe to him a share in God's divinity.*
And now that We replace one message by another* -since God is fully aware of what He bestows from on high, step by step* - they [who deny the truth] are wont to say, "Thou but inventest it!" Nay, but most of them do not understand it!*
And, indeed, full well do We know that they say, "It is but a human being that imparts [all] this to him!* -[notwithstanding that] the tongue of him to whom they so maliciously point is wholly outlandish,* whereas this is Arabic speech, clear [in itself] and clearly showing the truth [of its source].*
Verily, as for those who will not believe in God's messages, God does not guide them aright; and grievous suffering will be their lot [in the life to come].
It is but they who will not believe in God's messages that invent this falsehood;* and it is they, they who are lying!
And yet, behold, thy Sustainer [grants His forgiveness] unto those who forsake the domain of evil after having succumbed to its temptation,* and who thenceforth strive hard [in God's cause] and are patient in adversity: behold, after such [repentance] thy Sustainer is indeed much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace!
He has forbidden to you only carrion, and blood, and the flesh of swine, and that over which any name other than God's has been invoked; but if one is driven [to it] by necessity - neither coveting it nor exceeding his immediate need -verily, God is much forgiving, a dispenser of grace.*
Hence, do not utter falsehoods by letting your tongues determine [at your own discretion], "This is lawful and that is forbidden", thus attributing your own lying inventions to God:* for, behold, they who attribute their own lying inventions to God will never attain to a happy state!
And once again:* Behold, thy Sustainer [shows mercy] to those who do evil out of ignorance and afterwards repent and live righteously: behold, after such [repentance] thy Sustainer is indeed much forgiving, a dispenser of grace.
VERILY, Abraham was a man who combined within himself all virtues,* devoutly obeying God's will, turning away from all that is false,* and not being of those who ascribe divinity to aught beside God:
And so We vouchsafed him good in this world; and, verily, in the life to come [too] he shall find himself among the righteous.
[and know that the observance of] the Sabbath was ordained only for those who came to hold divergent views about him;* but, verily, God will judge between them on Resurrection Day with regard to all on which they were wont to differ.*
CALL THOU (all mankind] unto thy Sustainer's path with wisdom and goodly exhortation, and argue with them in the most kindly manner-* for, behold, thy Sustainer knows best as to who strays from His path, and best knows He as to who are the right-guided.
for, verily, God is with those who are conscious of Him and are doers of good withal!
LIMITLESS in His glory is He who transported His servant by night from the Inviolable House of Worship [at Mecca] to the Remote House of Worship [,at Jerusalem] - the environs of which We had blessed* -so that We might show him some of Our symbols: for, verily, He alone is all-hearing, all-seeing.*
O you descendants of those whom We caused to be borne (in the ark] with Noah! Behold, he was a most grateful servant (of Ours]!"
VERILY, this Qur'an shows the way to all that is most upright,* and gives the believers who do good deeds the glad tiding that theirs will be a great reward;
Whoever chooses to follow the right path, follows it but for his own good; and whoever goes astray. goes but astray to his own hurt; and no bearer of burdens shall be made to bear another" burden.* Moreover. We would never chastise [any community for the wrong they may do[ ere We have sent an apostle [to them].*
Your Sustainer is fully aware of what is in your hearts. If you are righteous, [He will forgive you your errors]:* for, behold, He is much-forgiving to those who turn unto Him again and again.
Behold, the squanderers are, indeed, of the ilk of the satans - inasmuch as Satan has indeed proved most ungrateful to his Sustainer.*
Behold, thy Sustainer grants abundant sustenance, or gives it in scant measure, unto whomever He wills: verily, fully aware is He of [the needs of] His creatures, and sees them all.
Hence, do not kill your children for fear of poverty :* it is We who shall provide sustenance for them as well as for you. Verily, killing them is a great sin.
And do not commit adultery* -for, behold, it is an abomination and an evil way.
And do not take any human being's life -[the life] which God has willed to be, sacred-otherwise than in [the pursuit of] justice.* Hence, if anyone has been slain wrongfully, We have empowered the defender of his rights [to exact a just retribution] ;* but even so, let him not exceed the bounds of equity in [retributive] killing.* [And as for him who has been slain wrongfully -] behold, he is indeed succoured [by God] !*
And do not touch the substance of an orphan, save to improve it, before he comes of age.* And be true to every promise - for, verily, [on Judgment Day] you will be called to account for every promise which you have made !*
And never concern thyself with anything of which thou hast no knowledge:* verily, [thy] hearing and sight and heart - all of them - will be called to account for it [on Judgment Day]!
And walk not on earth with haughty self-conceit: for, verily, thou canst never rend the earth asunder, nor canst thou ever grow as tall as the mountains!
HAS, THEN, your Sustainer distinguished you by [giving you] sons, and taken unto Himself daughters in the guise of angels?* Verily, you are uttering a dreadful saying!
The seven heavens* extol His limitless glory, and the earth, and all that they contain; and there is not a single thing but extols His limitless glory and praise: but you [O men] fail to grasp the manner of their glorifying Him!* Verily, He is forbearing, much-forgiving!
And [thus, too,] they say, "After we will have become bones and dust, shall we, forsooth, be raised from the dead in a new act of creation?"
AND TELL My servants that they should speak in the most kindly manner [unto those who do not share their beliefs]:* verily, Satan is always ready to stir up discord between men* - for, verily, Satan is man's open foe!
Those [saintly beings] whom they invoke are themselves striving to obtain their Sustainer's favour - [even] those among them who are closest [to Him]* - hoping for His grace and dreading His chastisement: for, verily, thy Sustainer's chastisement is something to beware of!
And lo! We said unto thee, [O Prophet:] "Behold, thy Sustainer encompasses all mankind [within His knowledge and might]: and so We have ordained that the vision which We have shown thee* -as also the tree [of hell,] cursed in this Qur'an - shall be but a trial for men .* Now [by Our mentioning hell] We convey a warning to them: but [if they are bent on denying the truth,] this [warning] only increases their gross, overweening arrogance."
[God] answered: "Go [the way thou hast chosen]! But as for such of them as shall follow thee - behold, hell will be the recompense of you (all], a recompense most ample!
"(And yet,] behold, thou shalt have no power over [such of] My servants [as place their trust in Me]:* for none is as worthy of trust as thy Sustainer."
YOUR SUSTAINER is He who causes ships to move onward for you through the sea, so that you might go about in quest of some of His bounty: verily, a dispenser of grace is He unto you.
BE CONSTANT in [thy] prayer from the time when the sun has passed its zenith till the darkness of night, and [be ever mindful of its] recitation at dawn:* for, behold, the recitation [of prayer] at dawn is indeed witnessed [by all that is holy].*
And say: "The truth has now come [to light], and falsehood has withered away: for, behold, all falsehood is bound to wither away!"
[Thou art spared] only by thy Sustainer's grace: behold, His favour towards thee is great indeed!
Say: "None can bear witness between me and you as God does: verily, fully aware is He of His creatures, and He sees all [that is in their hearts]."
Such will be their requital for having rejected Our messages and having said, "After we will have become bones and dust, shall we, forsooth, be raised from the dead in a new act of creation?"*
AND, INDEED, We gave unto Moses nine clear messages.* Ask, then, the children of Israel* [to tell thee what happened] when he came unto them, [and appealed to Pharaoh,* ] and Pharaoh said unto him, "Verily, O Moses, I think that thou art full of sorcery!"*
Answered [Moses]: "Thou knowest well that none but the Sustainer of the heavens and the earth has bestowed these [miraculous signs] from on high, as a means of insight [for thee];* and, verily, O Pharaoh, [since thou hast chosen to reject them;] I think that thou art utterly lost!"
Say: "Believe in it or do not believe." Behold, those who are already* endowed with [innate] knowledge fall down upon their faces in prostration as soon as this [divine writ] is conveyed unto them,
Behold, We have willed that all beauty on earth be a means by which We put men to a test,* [showing] which of them are best in conduct;
and, verily, [in time] We shall reduce all that is on it to barren dust!
[And now] We shall truly relate to thee their story:* Behold, they were young men who had attained to faith in their Sustainer: and [so] We deepened their consciousness of the right way*
for, behold, if they should come to know of you, they might stone you to death or force you back to their faith-in which case you would never attain to any good!"*
AND NEVER say about anything, "Behold, I shall do this tomorrow,"
And say: "The truth [has now come] from your Sustainer: let, then, him who wills, believe in it, and let him who wills, reject it." Verily, for all who sin against themselves [by rejecting Our truth]* We have readied a fire whose billowing folds will encompass them from all sides;* and if they beg for water, they will be given water [hot] like molten lead, which will scald their faces: how dreadful a drink, and how evil a place to rest!
[But,] behold, as for those who attain to faith and do righteous deeds-verily, We do not fail to requite any who persevere in doing good:
And who could be more wicked than he to whom his Sustainer's messages are conveyed and who thereupon turns away from them, forgetting all [the evil] that his hands may have wrought?* Behold, over their hearts have We laid veils which prevent them from grasping the truth, and into their ears, deafness; and though thou call them onto the right path,* they will never allow themselves to be guided.
Said [the servant]: "Wouldst thou believe it?* When we betook ourselves to that rock for a rest, behold, I forgot about the fish-and none but Satan made me thus forget it* - and it took its way into the sea! How strange!"
[The other] answered: "Behold, thou wilt never be able to have patience with me
He replied: "Did I not tell thee that thou wilt never be able to have patience with me?"
He replied: "Did I not tell thee that thou wilt never be able to have patience with me?"
Behold, We established him securely on earth, and endowed him with [the knowledge of] the right means to achieve anything* [that he might set out to achieve];
They said: "O thou Two-Horned One! Behold, Gog and Magog"* are spoiling this land. May we, then, pay unto thee a tribute on the understanding that thou wilt erect a barrier between us and them?"
Do they who are bent on denying the truth think, perchance, that they could take [any of] My creatures for protectors against Me?* Verily, We have readied hell to welcome all who [thus] deny the truth!*
[But,] verily, as for those who attain to faith and do righteous deeds - the gardens of paradise will be there to welcome them;
Say [O Prophet]: "I am but a mortal man like all of you. It has been revealed unto me that your God is the One and Only God. Hence, whoever looks forward [with hope and awe] to meeting his Sustainer [on Judgment Day], let him do righteous deeds, and let him not ascribe unto anyone or anything a share in the worship due to his Sustainer!"
he prayed: "O my Sustainer! Feeble have become my bones, and my head glistens with grey hair. But never yet, O my Lord, has my prayer unto Thee remained unanswered.*
"Now, behold, I am afraid of [what] my kinsfolk [will do] after I am gone,* for my wife has always been barren. Bestow, then, upon me, out of Thy grace, the gift of a successor
[Thereupon the angels called out unto him:* "O Zachariah! We bring thee the glad tiding of [the birth of] a son whose name shall be John. [And God says,] `Never have We given this name to anyone before him."*
She exclaimed: "Verily, 'I seek refuge from thee with the Most Gracious! [Approach me not] if thou art conscious of Him!"
[The angel] answered: "I' am but a messenger of thy Sustainer, [who says,] `I shall bestow upon thee the gift of a son endowed with purity.'"
Eat, then, and drink, and let thine eye be gladdened! And if thou shouldst see any human being, convey this unto him:* `Behold, abstinence from speech have I vowed unto the Most Gracious; hence, I may not speak today to any mortal.*
[But] he said:* "Behold, I am a servant of God. He has vouchsafed unto me revelation and made me a prophet,*
It is not conceivable that God should have taken unto Himself a son: limitless is He in His glory!* When He wills a thing to be, He but says unto it "Be" -and it is!
And [thus it was that Jesus always said]: "Verily, God is my Sustainer as well as your Sustainer; so worship [none but] Him: this (alone] is a straight way."*
Behold, We alone shall remain after the earth and all who live on it have passed away,* and (when] unto Us all will have been brought back.
AND CALL to mind, through this divine writ, Abraham.* Behold, he was a man of truth, [already] a prophet
"O my father! Behold, there has indeed come to me [a ray] of knowledge such as has never yet come unto thee:* follow me, then; I shall guide thee onto a perfect way.
"O my father! Do not worship Satan-for, verily, Satan is a rebel against the Most Gracious!*
O my father! I dread lest a chastisement from the Most Gracious befall thee, and then thou wilt become [aware of having been] close unto Satan!"*
[Abraham] replied: "Peace be upon thee! I shall ask my Sustainer to forgive thee: for, behold, He has always been kind unto me.
AND CALL to mind, through this divine writ, Moses. Behold, he was a chosen one, and was an apostle [of God], a prophet.*
AND CALL to mind, through this divine writ, Ishmael.* Behold, he was always true to his promise, and was an apostle [of God], a prophet,
AND CALL to mind, through this divine writ, Idris.* Behold, he was a man of truth, a prophet,
[theirs will be the] gardens of perpetual bliss which the Most Gracious has promised unto His servants, in a realm which is beyond the reach of human perception:* [and,] verily, His promise is ever sure of fulfilment!
Hence, be not in haste [to call down God's punishment] upon them: for We but number the number of their days.*
VERILY, those who attain to faith and do righteous deeds will the Most Gracious endow with love:*
and only to this end have We made this [divine writ] easy to understand, in thine own tongue, [O Prophet,]* so that thou might convey thereby a glad tiding to the God-conscious, and warn thereby those who are given to [futile] contention:
And if thou say anything aloud, [He hears it] since, behold, He knows [even] the secret [thoughts of man] as well as all that is yet more hidden [within him].*
Lo! he saw a fire [in the desert];* and so he said to his family: "Wait here! Behold, I perceive a fire [far away]: perhaps I can bring you a brand there from, or find at the fire some guidance."
Verily, I am thy Sustainer! Take off, then, thy sandals! Behold, thou art in the twice hallowed valley,*
"Verily, I - I alone - am God; there is no deity save Me. Hence, worship Me alone, and be constant in prayer, so as to remember Me!*
"Behold, [although] I have willed to keep it* hidden, the Last Hour is bound to come, so that every human being may be recompensed in accordance with what he strove for [in life].*
"[And now] go thou unto Pharaoh: for, verily, he has transgressed all bounds of equity.*
Verily, Thou seest all that is within us!"
go forth, both of you, unto Pharaoh: for, verily, he has transgressed all bounds of equity!
The two [brothers] said: "O our Sustainer! Verily, we fear lest he act hastily with regard to us,* or lest he [continue to] transgress all bounds of equity."
Answered He: "Fear not! Verily, I shall be with you two, hearing and seeing [all].
Go, then; you two unto him and say, `Behold, we are apostles sent by thy Sustainer: let, then, the children of Israel go with us, and cause them not to suffer [any longer].* We have now come unto thee with a message from thy Sustainer; and [know that His] peace shall be [only] on those who follow [His] guidance:
for, behold, it has been revealed to us that [in the life to come] suffering shall befall all who give the lie to the truth and turn away [from it]!"'
Eat, [then, of this produce of the soil,] and pasture your cattle [thereon]. In all this, behold, there are messages indeed for those who are endowed with reason:
[But] We said: "Fear not! Verily, it is thou who shalt prevail!
And [now] throw that [staff] which is in thy right hand -it shall swallow up all that they have wrought: [for] they have wrought only a sorcerer's artifice, and the sorcerer can never come to any good, whatever he may aim at!"*
Said [Pharaoh]: "Have you come to believe in him* ere I have given you permission? Verily, he must be your master who has taught you magic! But I shall most certainly cut off your hands and feet in great numbers, because of [your] perverseness, and I shall most certainly crucify you in great numbers on trunks of palm-trees:* and [I shall do this] so that you might come to know for certain as to which of us [two]* can inflict a more severe chastisement, and [which] is the more abiding!"
They answered: "Never shall we prefer thee to all the evidence of the truth that has come unto us, nor to Him who has brought us into being! Decree, then, whatever thou art going to decree: thou canst decree only [something that pertains to] this worldly life!*
As for us, behold, we have come to believe in our Sustainer, [hoping] that He may forgive us our faults and all that magic unto which thou hast forced us:* for God is the best [to look forward to], and the One who is truly abiding."*
VERILY, as for him who shall appear before his Sustainer [on Judgment Day] lost in sin - his [portion], behold, shall be hell: he will neither die therein nor live;*
Yet withal, behold, I forgive all sins unto any who repents and attains to faith and does righteous deeds, and thereafter keeps to the right path.
Said He: "Then [know that], verily, in thy absence We have put thy people to a test, and the Samaritan has led them astray."*
And, indeed, even before [the return of Moses] had Aaron said unto them: "O .my people! You are but being tempted to evil by this [idol] -for, behold, your [only] Sustainer is the Most Gracious! Follow me, then, and obey my bidding!"*
Answered [Aaron]: "O my mother's son! Seize me not by my beard, nor by my head!* Behold, I was afraid lest [on thy return] thou say, 'Thou hast caused a split among the children of Israel, and hast paid no heed to my bidding!"*
Said [Moses]; "Begone, then! And, behold, it shall be thy lot to say throughout [thy] life, `Touch me not!* But, verily, [in the life to come] thou shalt be faced with a destiny from which there will be no escape!* And [now] look at this deity of thine to whose worship thou hast become so devoted: we shall most certainly burn it, and then scatter [whatever remains of] it far and wide over the sea!
Your only deity is God - He save whom there is no deity, [and whho] embraces all things within His knowledge!"
All who shall turn away from it will, verily, bear a [heavy] burden on the Day of Resurrection:
and thereupon We said: "O Adam! Verily, this is a foe unto thee and thy wife: so let him not drive the two of you out of this garden and render thee unhappy.*
Behold, it is provided for thee that thou shalt not hunger here or feel naked,*
But as for him who shall turn away from remembering Me - his shall be a life of narrow scope* and on the Day of Resurrection We shall raise him up blind."
CAN, THEN, they [who reject the truth] learn no lesson by recalling how many a generation We have destroyed before their time?* - [people] in whose dwelling-places they [themselves now] walk about? In this, behold, there are messages indeed for those who are endowed with reason!
And they could only cry:* Oh, woe unto us! Verily, we were wrongdoers!"
And if any of them were to say, Behold, I am deity beside Him" - that one We should requite with hell: thus do We requite all [such] evildoers.
SAY [unto all men]: 1 but warn you on the strength of divine revelation!" But the deaf [of heart] will not hearken to this call, however often they are warned.*
And yet, if but a breath of thy Sustainer's chastisement touches them, they are sure to cry, Oh, woe unto us! Verily, we were evildoers!"
[When they saw what had happened,] they said: Who has done this to our gods? Verily, one of the worst wrongdoers is he!''
And so they turned upon one another,* saying, Behold, it is you who are doing wrong."*
AND UNTO Lot, too, We vouchsafed sound judgment and knowledge [of right and wrong], and saved him from that community which was given to deeds of abomination.* [We destroyed those people - forr,] verily, they were people lost in evil, depraved
whereas him We admitted unto Our grace: for, behold, he was among the righteous.
and [how] We succoured him against the people who had given the lie to Our messages: verily, they were people lost in evil - and [so] We caused them all to drown.
and so We admitted them unto Our grace: behold, they were among the righteous!
AND [remember] him of the great fish* when he went off in wrath, thinking that We had no power over him!* But then heeded out in the deep darkness [of his distress]: There is no deity save Thee! Limitless art Thou in Thy glory! Verily, I have done wrong!"*
And so We responded unto him, and bestowed upon him the gift of John, having made his wife fit to bear him a child:* [and,] verily, these [three] would vie with one another in doing good works, and would call unto Us in yearning and awe; and they were always humble before Us.
VERILY, [O you who believe in Me,] this community of yours is one single community, since I am the Sustainer of you all: worship, then, Me [alone]!*
And yet, whoever does [the least] of righteous deeds and is a believer withal, his endeavour shall not be disowned: for, behold, We shall record it in his favour.*
[Then they will be told:] Verily, you and all that you [were wont to] worship instead of God are but the fuel of hell: that is what you are destined for.*
[But,] behold, as for those for whom [the decree of] ultimate good has already gone forth from Us* these will be kept far away from that [hell]:
On that Day We shall roll up the skies as written scrolls are rolled up; [and] as We brought into being the first creation, so We shall bring it forth anew* a promise which We have willed upon Ourselves: for, behold, We are able to do [all things]!
herein, behold, there is a message for people who [truly] worship God.
Say: It has but been revealed unto me* that your God is the One and Only God: will you, then, surrender yourselves unto Him?"
Verily, He knows all that is said openly, just as He [alone] knows all that you would conceal.
O men! Be conscious of your Sustainer: for, verily the violent convulsion of the Last Hour will be an awesome thing!
O MEN! If you are in doubt as to the [truth of] resurrection, [remember that,] verily, We have created [every one of] you out of dust, then out of a drop of sperm, then out of a germ-cell, then out of an embryonic lump complete [in itself] and yet incomplete* so that We might make [your origin] clear unto you. And whatever We will [to be born] We cause to rest in the [mothers'] wombs for a term set [by Us], and then We bring you forth as infants and [allow you to live] so that [some of] you might attain to maturity: for among you are such as are caused to die [in childhood], just as many a one of you is reduced in old age to a most abject state, ceasing to know anything of what he once knew so well.* And [if, O man, thou art still in doubt as to resurrection, consider this:] thou canst see the earth dry and lifeless - and [suddenly,] when We send down waters upon it, it stirs and swells and puts forth every kind of lovely plant!
VERILY, God will admit those who have attained to faith and have done righteous deeds into gardens through which running waters flow: for, behold, God does whatever He wills.
Verily, as for those who have attained to faith [in this divine writ], and those who follow the Jewish faith, and the Sabians,* and the Christians, and the Magians,* [on the one hand,] and those who are bent on ascribing divinity to aught but God, [on the other,]* verily, God will decide between them on Resurrection Day: for, behold, God is witness unto everything.
ART THOU NOT aware that before God prostrate themselves all [things and beings] that are in the heavens and all that are on earth* the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and the mountains, and the trees, and the beasts? And many human beings [submit to God consciously],* whereas many [others, having defied Him,] will inevitably have to suffer [in the life to come];* and he whom God shall scorn [on Resurrection Day] will have none who could bestow honour on him: for, verily, God does what He wills.
[As against this,] behold, God will admit those who attain to faith and do righteous deeds into gardens through which running waters flow, wherein they will be adorned with bracelets of gold and pearls, and where silk will be their raiment:*
BEHOLD, as for those who are bent on denying the truth and bar [others] from the path of God* and from the Inviolable House of Worship which We have set up for all people alike - [both] those who dwell there and those who come from abroad - and all who seek to profane it* by [deliberate] evildoing: [all] such shall We cause to taste grievous suffering in the life to come.]*
This is [to be borne in mind]. And anyone who honours the symbols set up by God* [shall know that] verily, these [symbols derive their value] from the God-consciousness in the [believers'] hearts.
Verily, God will ward off [all evil] from those who attain to faith; [and,] verily, God does not love anyone who betrays his trust and is bereft of gratitude.*
PERMISSION [to fight] is given to those against whom war is being wrongfully waged* and, verily, God has indeed the power to succour them - :
those who have been driven from their homelands against all right for no other reason than their saying. Our Sustainer is God!" For, if God had not enabled people to defend themselves against one another,* all] monasteries and churches and synagogues and mosques - in [all of] which Gods name is abundantly extolled - would surely have been destroyed [ere now].* And God will most certainly succour him who succours His cause: for, verily, God is most powerful, almighty,
Have they, then, never journeyed about the earth, letting their hearts gain wisdom, and causing their ears to hear?* Yet, verily, it is not their eyes that have become blind - but blind have become the hearts that are in their breasts!
And [so, O Muhammad,] they challenge thee to hasten the coming upon them of [God's] chastisement:* but God never fails to fulfill His promise - and, behold, in thy Sustainer's sight a day is like a thousand years of your reckoning.*
SAY [O Muhammad]: O men! I am but a plain warner [sent by God] unto you!"
[And He allows doubts to arise] so that He might cause whatever aspersion Satan may cast [against His prophets] to become a trial for all in whose hearts is disease* and all whose hearts are hardened: for, verily, all who are [thus] sinning [against themselves]* are most deeply in the wrong.
And [God renders Satan's aspersions null and void] so that they who are endowed with [innate] knowledge might know that this [divine writ] is the truth from thy Sustainer, and that they aught believe in it, and that their hearts might humbly submit unto Him. For, behold, God does guide onto a straight way those who have attained to faith
AND AS FOR those who forsake the domain of evil* (and strive) in God's cause, and then are slain or die - God will most certainly provide for them a goodly sustenance [in the life to come] for, verily, God - He alone - is the best of providers;
[and] He will most certainly cause them to enter upon a state (of being) that shall please them well:* for, verily, God is all-knowing, most forbearing.
Thus shall it be. And as for him who responds to aggression only to the extent of the attack levelled against him,* and is thereupon [again] treacherously attacked - God will most certainly succour him: for, behold, God is indeed an absolver of sins, much-forgiving.*
Art thou not aware that it's God who sends down water from the skies, whereupon the earth becomes green? Verily, God is unfathomable [in His wisdom], all-aware.*
Unto Him belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth; and, verily, God - He alone - is self-sufficient, the One to whom all praise is due.
Art thou not aware that it is God who has made subservient to you all that is on earth,* and the ships that sail through the sea at His behest - and [that it is He who] holds the celestial bodies* [in their orbits], so that they may not fall upon the earth otherwise than by His leave?* Verily, God is most compassionate towards men, a dispenser of grace
seeing that it is He who gave you life, and then will cause you to die, and then will bring you back to life: [but,] verily, bereft of all gratitude is man!
UNTO every community have We appointed [different] ways of worship,* which they ought to observe. Hence, [O believer,] do not let those [who follow ways other than thine] draw thee into disputes on this score,* but summon [them all] unto thy Sustainer: for, behold, thou art indeed on the right way.
Dost thou not know that God knows all that occurs in heaven as well as on earth? All this, behold, is in [God's] record: verily, [to know] all this is easy for God.
O MEN! A parable is set forth [herewith]; hearken, then, to it! Behold, those beings whom you invoke instead of God cannot create [as much as] a fly, even were they to join all their forces to that end! And if a fly robs them of anything, they cannot [even] rescue it from him! Weak indeed is the seeker, and [weak] the sought!
No true understanding of God have they [who err in this way]: for, verily, God is most powerful, almighty!
[In His almightiness,] God chooses message-bearers from among the angels as well as from among men. But, behold, God [alone] is all-hearing, all-seeing:*
[not giving way to their desires] with any but their spouses - that is, those whom they rightfully possess [through wedlock]:* for then, behold, they are free of all blame,
And then, behold! after all this, you are destined to die;
and then, behold! you shall be raised from the dead on Resurrection Day.
And We send down water from the skies in accordance with a measure [set by Us], and then We cause it to lodge in the earth: but, behold, We are most certainly able to withdraw this [blessing]!
And, behold, in the cattle [too] there is indeed a lesson for you: We give you to drink of that [milk] which is within their bellies; and you derive many [other] uses from them: for, you eat of their flesh,*
Thereupon We inspired him thus: Build, under Our eyes* and according to Our inspiration, the ark [that shall save thee and those who follow thee].* And when Our judgment comes to pass, and waters gush forth in torrents over the face of the earth, place on board of this [ark] one pair of each [kind of animal] of either sex, as well as thy family - excepting those on whom sentence has already been passed; and do not appeal to Me [any more] in behalf of those who are bent on evildoing - for, behold, they are destined to be drowned!
In this [story], behold, there are messages indeed [for those who think]: for, verily, We always put [man] to a test.
and, indeed, if you pay heed to a mortal like yourselves, you will surely be the losers!
O YOU APOSTLES! Partake of the good things of life,* and do righteous deeds: verily, I have full knowledge of all that you do.
And, verily, this community of yours is one single community, since I am the Sustainer of you all: remain, then, conscious of Me!*
Verily, [only] they who stand in reverent awe of their Sustainer,
[But they will be told:] Cry not in supplication today: for, behold, you shall not he succoured by Us!
And, verily, thou callest them onto a straight way
but, behold, those who will not believe in the life to come are bound to deviate from that way.
they say: What! After we have died and become mere dust and bones, shall we, forsooth, be raised from the dead?
Nay, We have conveyed unto them the truth: and yet, behold, they are intent on lying [to themselves]!*
[Pray thus] for, behold, We are most certainly able to let thee witness [the fulfillment, even in this world, of] whatever We promise them!
so that I might act righteously in whatever I have failed [aforetime]!''* Nay, it is indeed but a [meaningless] word that he utters: for behind those [who leave the world] there is a barrier [of death] until the Day when all will be raised from the dead!
O our Sustainer! Cause us to come out of this [suffering] - and then, if ever We revert [to sinning], may we truly be [deemed] evildoers!"
Behold, there were among My servants such as would pray, 'O our Sustainer! We have come to believe [in Thee]; forgive, then, our sins and bestow Thy mercy on us: for Thou art the truest bestower of mercy!'*
[But,] behold, today I have rewarded them for their patience in adversity: verily, it is they, they who have achieved a triumph!"
Hence, he who invokes, side by side with God, any other deity [- a deity] for whose existence he has no evidence - shall but find his reckoning with his Sustainer: [and,] verily, such deniers of the truth will never attain to a happy state!
excepting [from this interdict] only those who afterwards repent and made amends:* for, behold, God is much forgiving, a dispenser of grace.
And as for those who accuse their own wives [of adultery], but have no witnesses except themselves, let each of these [accusers] call God four times to witness that he is indeed telling the truth,*
But [as for the wife, all] chastisement shall be averted from her by her calling God four times to witness that he is indeed telling a lie,
Verily, numerous among you are those who would falsely accuse others of unchastity:* [but, O you who are thus wronged,] deem it not a bad thing for you: nay, it is good for you!* [As for the slanderers,] unto every one of them [will be accounted] all that he has earned by [thus] sinning; and awesome suffering awaits any of them who takes it upon himself to enhance this [sin]!*
Verily, as for those who like [to hear] foul slander spread against [any of] those who have attained to faith* grievous suffering awaits them in this world* and in the life to come: for God knows [the full truth], whereas you know [it] not.*
O You who have attained to faith! Follow not Satan's footsteps: for he who follows Satan's footsteps [will find that], behold, he enjoins but deeds of abomination and all that runs counter to reason.* And were it not for God's favour upon you and His grace, not one of you would ever have remained pure. For [thus it is:] God who causes whomever He wills to grow in purity: for God is all-hearing, all-knowing.
[But,] verily, those who [falsely, and without repentance,]* accuse chaste women who may have been unthinkingly careless but have remained true to their faith,* shall be rejected [from God's grace] in this world as well as in the life to come: and awesome suffering awaits them
Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and to be mindful of their chastity:* this will be most conducive to their purity [and,] verily, God is aware of all that they do.
And as for those who are unable to marry,* let them live in continence until God grants them sufficiency out of His bounty, And if any of those whom you rightfully possess* desire [to obtain] a deed of freedom, write it out for them if you are aware of any good in them:* and give them [their share of the wealth of God which He has given you.* And do not, in order to gain* some of the fleeting pleasures of this worldly life, coerce your [slave] maidens into whoredom if they happen to be desirous of marriage;* and if anyone should coerce them, then, verily, after they have been compelled [to submit in their helplessness], God will be much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace!
It is God who causes night and day to alternate: in this [too], behold, there is surely a lesson for all who have eyes to see!
And it is God who has created all animals out of water;* and [He has willed that] among them are such as crawl on their bellies, and such as walk on two legs, and such as walk on four. God creates what He will: for, verily, God has the power to will anything.
The only response of believers, whenever they are summoned unto God and His Apostle in order that [the divine writ] might judge between them, can be no other than,* We have heard, and we pay heed!"- and it is they, they who shall attain to a happy state:
Now [as for those half-hearted ones,] they do swear by God with their most solemn oaths that if thou [O Apostle] shouldst ever bid them to do so, they would most certainly go forth [and sacrifice themselves].* Say: Swear not! Reasonable compliance [with God's message is all that is required of you].* Verily, God is aware of all that you do!"
Say: Pay heed unto God, and pay heed unto the Apostle." And if you turn away [from the Apostle, know that] he will have to answer only for whatever he has been charged with, and you, for what you have been charged with; but if you pay heed unto him, you will be on the right way. Withal, the Apostle is not bound to do more than clearly deliver the message [entrusted to him].
[TRUE BELIEVERS are only they who have attained to faith in God and His Apostle, and who, whenever they are [engaged] with him upon a matter of concern to the whole community* do not depart [from whatever has been decided upon] unless they have sought [and obtained] his leave.* Verily, those who [do not abstain from the agreed upon action unless they] ask leave of thee - it is [only] they who [truly] believe in God and His Apostle! Hence, when they ask leave of thee for some [valid] reason of their own, grant thou this leave to whomsoever of them thou choose [to grant it],* and ask God to forgive them: for, behold, God is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace!*
Oh, verily, unto God belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth: well does He know where you stand and at what you aim!* And one Day, all [who have ever lived] will be brought back unto Him, and then He will make them [truly] understand all that they were doing [in life]: for, God has full knowledge of everything.
Say [O Muhammad]: He who knows all the mysteries of the heavens and the earth has bestowed from on high this [Qur'an upon me]! Verily, He is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace!"
AND [even] before thee, [O Muhammad,] We never sent as Our message-bearers any but [mortal men] who indeed ate food [like other human beings] and went about in the market places: for [it is thus that] We cause you [human beings] to be a means of testing one another.* Are you* able to endure [this test] with patience? For [remember, O man,] thy Sustainer is truly all-seeing!
AND [on that Day] the Apostle will say:* O my Sustainer! Behold, [some of] my people have come to regard this Qur'an as something [that ought to be] discarded!"*
and who pray: O our Sustainer, avert from us the suffering of hell - for, verily, the suffering caused by it is bound to be a torment dire:
verily, how evil an abode and a station!" -;
and seeing that he who repents and [thenceforth] does what is right has truly turned unto God by [this very act of] repentance.
In this, behold, there is a message [unto men], even though most of them will not believe [in it].
But, verily, thy Sustainer - He alone - is almighty, a dispenser of grace!*
He answered: O my Sustainer! Behold, I fear that they will give me the lie,
Said He: Not so, indeed! Go forth, then, both of you, with Our messages: verify, We shall be with you, listening [to your call]!
And go, both of you, unto Pharaoh and say, 'Behold, we bear a message from the Sustainer of all the worlds:
[Pharaoh] exclaimed: Behold, [this] your 'apostle' who [claims that he] has been sent unto you is mad indeed!
Said [pharaoh] unto the great ones around him: Verily, this is indeed a sorcerer of great knowledge
Now when the sorcerers came, they said unto Pharaoh: Verily, we ought to have a great reward if it is we who prevail.*
Answered he: Yea - and, verily, in that case you shall be among those who are near unto me.
Thereupon they threw their [magic ropes and their staffs, and said: By Pharaoh's might, behold, it is we indeed who have prevailed!"*
Said [Pharaoh]: Have you come to believe in him* ere I have given you permission? Verily, he must be your master who has taught you magic!* But in time you shall come to know [my revenge]: most certainly shall I cut off your hands and your feet in great numbers, because of [your] perverseness, and shall most certainly crucify you in great numbers, all together!"*
They answered: No harm [canst thou do to us]: verily, unto our Sustainer do we turn!
Behold, we [but] ardently desire that our Sustainer forgive us our faults in return for our having been foremost among the believers!"
AND [there came a time when]* We inspired Moses thus: Go forth with My servants by night: for, behold, you will he pursued!"
[bidding them to call out his troops and to proclaim:] Behold, these [children of Israel] are but a contemptible band;*
but they are indeed filled with hatred of us
seeing that we are, verily, a nation united, fully prepared against danger *
and as soon as the two hosts came in sight of one another, the followers of Moses exclaimed: Behold, we shall certainly be overtaken [and defeated]!"
He replied: Nay indeed! My Sustainer is with me, [and] He will guide me!"
In this [story] behold, there is a message [unto all men], even though most of them will not believe [in it].
And yet, verily, thy Sustainer - He alone - is almighty, a dispenser of grace!*
Now [as for me, I know that,] verily, these [false deities] are my enemies, [and that none is my helper] save the Sustainer of all the worlds,
And forgive my father - for, verily, he is among those who have gone astray *
In all this, behold, there is a message [unto men], even though most of them will not believe [in it].
But, verily, thy Sustainer - He alone - is almighty, a dispenser of grace!*
Behold, I am an apostle [sent by Him] to you, [and therefore] worthy of your trust:
[Whereupon] he prayed: O my Sustainer! Behold, my people have given me the lie:
In this [story], behold, there is a message [unto men], even though most of them will not believe [in it].*
But, verily, thy Sustainer - He alone - is almighty, a dispenser of grace
Behold, I am an apostle [sent by Him] to you, [and therefore] worthy of your trust:
for, verily, I fear lest suffering befall you on an awesome day!"
And so they gave him the lie: and thereupon We destroyed them. In this [story], behold, there is a message [unto men], even though most of them will not believe [in it].*
But, verily, thy Sustainer - He alone - is almighty, a dispenser of grace!
Behold, I am an apostle [sent by Him] to you, [and therefore] worthy of your trust:
Said they: Thou art but one of the bewitched!
for the suffering [predicted by Salih,] befell them [then and there]. In this [story], behold, there is a message [unto men], even though most of them will not believe [in it].*
But, verily, thy Sustainer - He alone is almighty, a dispenser of grace!
Behold, I am an apostle [sent by Him] to you, [and therefore] worthy of your trust:
[Lot] exclaimed: Behold, I am one of those who utterly abhor your doings!"
In this [story], behold, there is a message [unto men], even though most of them will not believe [in it].
But, verily, thy Sustainer - He alone - is almighty, a dispenser of grace!
Behold, I am an apostle [sent by Him] to you, [and therefore] worthy of your trust:
Said they: Thou art but one of the bewitched,
But they gave him the lie. And thereupon suffering overtook them on a day dark with shadows:* and, verily, it was the suffering of an awesome day!
In this [story], behold, there is a message [unto men], even though most of them will not believe [in it].
But, verily, thy Sustainer - He alone - is almighty, a dispenser of grace!*
Now, behold, this [divine writ] has indeed been bestowed from on high by the Sustainer of all the worlds:*
And, verily, [the essence of] this [revelation] is indeed found in the ancient books of divine wisdom [as well].*
verily, [even] from hearing it are they utterly debarred!
but if they disobey thee, say, I am free of responsibility for aught that you may do!"
for, verily, He alone is all-hearing, all-knowing!
As for those who will not believe in the life to come - behold, goodly have We made their own doings appear unto them, and so they stumble blindly to and fro*
But [as for thee, O believer,] verily, thou hast received this Qur'an out of the grace of One who is wise, all-knowing.*
Lo! [While lost in the desert,] Moses said to his family:* Behold, I perceive a fire [far away]; I may bring you from there some tiding [as to which way we arc to pursue], or bring you [at least] a burning brand so that you might warm yourselves."
[And God spoke thus:] O Moses! Verily I alone am God, the Almighty, the Wise!"
[And then He said:] Now throw down thy staff!"* But when he saw it move rapidly, as if it were a serpent, he drew back [in terror], and did not [dare to] return.* [And God spoke to him again:] O Moses! Fear not - for, behold, no fear need the message-bearers have in My Presence,
and neither* need anyone who has done wrong and then has replaced the wrong with good:* for, verily, I am much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace!
Now place thy hand into thy bosom: it will come forth [shining] white, without blemish!"* [And thou shalt go] with nine [of My] messages unto Pharaoh and his people* for, verily, they are people depraved!"
And [in this insight] Solomon was [truly] David's heir; and he would say: O you people! We have been taught the speech of birds, and have been given [in abundance] of all [good] things: this, behold, is indeed a manifest favour [from God]!"
Behold, I found there a woman ruling over them; and she has been given [abundance] of all [good] things, and hers is a mighty throne,
[When the Queen had read Solomon's letter,] she said: O you nobles! A truly distinguished letter has been conveyed unto me.
Behold, it is from Solomon, and it says, 'In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Dispenser of Grace:
Said she: Verily, whenever kings enter a country they corrupt it,* and turn the noblest of its people into the most abject. And this is the way they [always] behave?*
Hence, behold, I am going to send a gift to those [people], and await whatever [answer] the envoys bring back."
Said a bold one of the invisible beings [subject to Solomon]: I shall bring it to thee ere thou rise from thy council-seat - for, behold, I am powerful enough to do it, [and] worthy of trust!"
Answered he who was illumined by revelation:* [Nay,] as for me - I shall bring it to thee ere the twinkling of thy eye ceases!"* And when he saw it truly before him, he exclaimed:* This is [an outcome] of my Sustainer's bounty, to test me as to whether I am grateful or ungrateful!* However, he who is grateful [to God] is but grateful for his own good; and he who is ungrateful [should know that], verily, my Sustainer is self-sufficient, most generous in giving!"
[And she has recognized the truth] although that which she has been wont to worship instead of God had kept her away [from the right path]:* for, behold, she is descended of people who deny the truth!"*
[After a while] she was told: Enter this court!" - but when she saw it, she thought that it was a fathomless expanse of water, and she bared her legs.* Said he: Behold, it is [but] a court smoothly paved with glass!"* Cried she: O my Sustainer! I have been sinning against myself thy worshipping aught but Thee]: but [now] I have surrendered myself, with Solomon, unto the Sustainer of all the worlds!"
[and] after having bound one another by an oath in God's name,* they said: Indeed, we shall suddenly fall upon him and his household by night [and slay them all]; and then we shall boldly say to his next of kin, 'We did not witness the destruction of his household - and, behold, we are indeed men of truth!' "
and [now] those dwellings of theirs are empty, [ruined] as an outcome of their evil deeds. In this, behold, there is a message indeed for people of [innate] knowledge
Must you really approach men with lust instead of women? Nay, but you are people without any awareness (of right and wrong)!"
But his people's only answer was this: Expel [Lot and] Lot's followers from your township! Verily, they are folk who make themselves out to be pure!"*
And so, they who are bent on denying the truth are saying: What! After we have become dust - we and our forefathers - shall we [all], forsooth, be brought forth [from the dead]?
Now, verily, thy Sustainer is indeed limitless in His bounty unto men - but most of them are bereft of gratitude.
But, verily, thy Sustainer knows all that their hearts conceal as well as all that they bring into the open:
BEHOLD, this Qur'an explains* to the children of Israel most [of that] whereon they hold divergent views;*
and, verily, it is a guidance and a grace unto all who believe [in it].
Verily, [O believer,] thy Sustainer will judge between them in His wisdom - for He alone is almighty, all-knowing.
Hence, place thy trust in God [alone] - for, behold, that in which thou believest is truth self-evident.*
[But,] verily, thou canst not make the dead hear: and [so, too,] thou canst not make the deaf [of heart] hear this call when they turn their backs [on thee] and go away,
for, were they not aware that it is We who had made the night for them, so that they might rest therein, and the day, to make [them] see?* In this, behold, there are messages indeed for people who will believe!
And thou wilt see the mountains, which [now] thou deemest so firm, pass away as clouds pass away: a work of God, who has ordered all things to perfection!* Verily, He is fully aware of all that you do!
[SAY, O Muhammad:] I have been bidden to worship the Sustainer of this City * Him who has made it sacred, and unto whom all things belong: and I have been bidden to be of those who surrender themselves to Him,
and to convey this Qur'an [to the world]." Whoever, therefore, chooses to follow the right path, follows it but for his own good; and if any wills to go astray, say [unto him]: I am only a warner.
Behold, Pharaoh exalted himself in the land and divided its people into castes.* One group of them he deemed utterly low; he would slaughter their sons and spare (only) their women:* for, behold, he was one of those who spread corruption [on earth].
And so, [when he was born,] We inspired [thus] the mother of Moses: Suckle him [for a time], and then, when thou hast cause to fear for him, cast him into the river,* and have no fear and do not grieve - for We shall restore him to thee, and shall make him one of Our message-bearers!"
And [some of] Pharaoh's household* found [and spared] him: for [We had willed] that he becomes an enemy unto them and [a source of] grief, seeing that Pharaoh and Haman and their hosts were sinners indeed!
And [one day] he entered the city at a time when [most of] its people were [resting in their houses,] unaware of what was going on [in the streets];* and there he encountered two men fighting with one another - one of his own people,* and the other of his enemies. And the one who belonged to his own people cried out to him for help against him who was of his enemies - whereupon Moses struck him down with his fist, and [thus] brought about his end. [But then] he said [to himself]: This is of Satan's doing! Verily, he is an open foe, leading [man] astray!"*
[And] he prayed: O my Sustainer! Verily, I have sinned against myself! Grant me, then, Thy forgiveness!" And He forgave him - for, verily, He alone is truly forgiving, a dispenser of grace.
And next morning he found himself in the city, looking fearfully about him, when lo! the one who had sought his help the day before [once again] cried out to him [for help* whereupon] Moses said unto him: Behold, thou art indeed, most clearly, deeply in the wrong!*
And [then and there] a man came running from the farthermost end of the city, and said: O Moses! Behold, the great ones [of the kingdom] are deliberating upon thy case with a view to killing thee! Begone, then: verily, I am of those who wish thee well!"
So he watered [their flock] for them: and when he withdrew into the shade and prayed: O my Sustainer! Verily, in dire need am I of any good which Thou mayest bestow upon me!"
[Shortly] afterwards, one of the two [maidens] approached him, walking shyly, and said: Behold, my father invites thee, so that he might duly reward thee for thy having watered [our flock] for us." And as soon as [Moses] came unto him and told him the story [of his life], he said: Have no fear! Thou art now safe from those evildoing folk!"
Said one of the two [daughters]: O my father! Hire him: for, behold, the best [man] that thou couldst hire is one who is [as] strong and worthy of trust [as he]!"
[After some time, the father] said: Behold, I am willing to let thee wed one of these two daughters of mine on the understanding that thou wilt remain eight years in my service; and if thou shouldst complete ten [years], that would be [an act of grace] from thee, for I do not want to impose any hardship on thee: [on the contrary,] thou wilt find me, if God so wills, righteous in all my dealings."*
And when Moses had fulfilled his term and was wandering with his family [in the desert], he perceived a fire on the slope of Mount Sinai;* [and so] he said to his family: Wait here. Behold, I perceive a fire [far away]; perhaps I may bring you from there some tiding,* or [at least] a burning brand from the fire, so that you might warm yourselves.
But when he came close to it, a call was sounded from the right-side bank of the valley, out of the tree [burning] on blessed ground:* O Moses! Verily, I am God, the Sustainer of all the worlds!"
And [then He said]: Throw down thy staff!" But as soon as [Moses] saw it move rapidly, as if it were a snake, he drew back [in terror], and did not [dare to] return.* [And God spoke to him again:] O Moses! Draw near, and have no fear - for, behold, thou art of those who are secure [in this world and in the next]!*
[And now] put thy hand into thy bosom: it will come forth [shining] white, without blemish.* And [henceforth] hold thine arm close to thyself, free of all fear.* These, then, shall be the two signs [of thy bearing a message] from thy Sustainer* unto Pharaoh and his great ones - for, behold, they are people depraved!"
Said [Moses] O my Sustainer! I have slain one of them, and so I fear that they will slay me.*
And my brother Aaron - he is far better in speech than I am.* Send him, therefore, as a helper, so that he might [more eloquently] bear witness to my speaking the truth: for I fear indeed that they will give me the lie."
And Moses replied: My Sustainer knows best as to who comes with guidance from Him, and to whom the future belongs!* Verily, never will evildoers attain to a happy state!"
Whereupon Pharaoh said: O you nobles! I did not know that you could have any deity other than myself* Well, then, O Haman, kindle me a fire for [baking bricks of] clay, and then build me a lofty tower, that haply I may have a look at the god of Moses* although, behold, I am convinced that he is of those who [always] tell lies!"
And yet, now that the truth has come unto them from Us, they say, Why has he not been vouchsafed the like of what Moses was vouchsafed?"* But did they not also, before this, deny the truth of what Moses was vouchsafed? [For] they do say, Two examples of delusion, [seemingly] supporting each other!"* And they add, Behold, we refuse to accept either of them as true!"
And since they cannot respond to this thy challenge,* know that they are following only their own likes and dislikes: and who could be more astray than he who follows [but] his own likes and dislikes without any guidance from God? Verily, God does not grace with His guidance people who are given to evildoing!
and whenever it is [clearly] conveyed unto them, they [are bound to] profess, We have come to believe in it, for, behold, it is the truth from our Sustainer - and, verily, even before this have we surrendered ourselves unto Him!"
VERILY, thou canst not guide aright everyone whom thou lovest: but it is God who guides him that wills [to be guided];* and He is fully aware of all who would let themselves be guided.*
[NOW,] BEHOLD, Qarun was one of the people of Moses;* but he arrogantly exalted himself above them - simply because We had granted him such riches that his treasure-chests alone would surely have been too heavy a burden for a troop of ten men or even more.* When [they perceived his arrogance,] his people said unto him: Exult not [in thy wealth], for, verily, God does not love those who exult [in things vain]!
Seek instead, by means of what God has granted thee, [the good of] the life to come,* without forgetting, withal, thine own [rightful] share in this world;* and do good [unto others] as God has done good unto thee; and seek not to spread corruption on earth: for, verily, God does not love the spreaders of corruption!"
Answered he: This [wealth] has been given to me only by virtue of the knowledge that is in me!"* Did he not know that God had destroyed [the arrogant of] many a generation that preceded him - people who were greater than he in power, and richer in what they had amassed? But such as are lost in sin may not be asked about, their sins.*
And so he went forth before his people in all his pomp; [and] those who cared only for the life of this world would say, Oh, if we but had the like of what Qarun has been given! Verily, with tremendous good fortune is he endowed!"
VERILY, [O believer,] He who has laid down this Qur'an in plain terms, making it binding on thee,* will assuredly bring thee back [from death] to a life renewed.* Say [unto those who reject the truth]: My Sustainer knows best, as to who is right-guided* and who is obviously lost in error!"
Whoever looks forward [with hope and awe] to meeting God [on Resurrection Day, let him be ready for it]: for, behold, the end set by God [for everyone's life] is bound to come - and He alone is all-hearing, all-knowing!
Hence, whoever strives hard [in God's cause] does so only for his own good: for, verily, God does not stand in need of anything in all the worlds!
Now there is among men many a one who says [of himself and of others like him], We do believe in God" - but whenever he is made to suffer in God's cause, he thinks that persecution at the hands of man is as [much to be feared, or even more than,] God's chastisement;* whereas, if succour from thy Sustainer comes [to those who truly believe]* he is sure to say. Behold, we have always been with you!" Is not God fully aware of what is in the hearts of all creatures?
And [He is aware, too, that] they who are bent on denying the truth speak [thus, as it were,] to those who have attained to faith: Follow our way [of life], and we shall indeed take your sins upon ourselves!"* But never could they take upon themselves* aught of the sins of those [whom they would thus mislead]: behold, they are liars indeed!
You worship only [lifeless] idols instead of God, and [thus] you give visible shape to a lie!* Behold, those [things and beings] that you worship instead of God have it not in their power to provide sustenance for you: seek, then, all [your] sustenance from God, and worship Him [alone] and be grateful to Him: [for] unto Him you shall be brought back!
Are then they [who deny the truth] not aware of how God creates [life] in the first instance, and then brings it forth anew? This, verily, is easy for God!*
Say: Go all over the earth and behold how [wondrously] He has created [man] in the first instance: and thus, too, will God bring into being your second life for, verily, God has the power to will anything!*
Now [as for Abraham,] his people's only answer was,* Slay him, or burn him!" but God saved him from the fire.* Behold, in this [story] there are messages indeed for people who will believe!
And [Abraham] said: You have chosen to worship idols instead of God for no other reason than to have a bond of love* in the life of this world, between yourselves [and your forebears]:* but then, on Resurrection Day, you shall disown one another and curse one another - for the goal of you all will be the fire, and you will have none to succour you.
Thereupon [his brother's son] Lot came to believe in him and said: Verily, I [too] shall forsake the domain of evil [and turn] to my Sustainer: for, verily, He alone is almighty, truly wise!"*
And [as for Abraham,] We bestowed upon him Isaac and [Isaac's son] Jacob,* and caused prophethood and revelation to continue among his offspring. And We vouchsafed him his reward in this world;* and, verily, in the life to come [too] he shall find himself among the righteous.
And Lot, [too, was inspired by Us] when he said unto his people: Verily, you commit abominations such as none in all the world has ever committed before you!
Must you indeed approach men [with lust], and thus cut across the way [of nature]?* and must you commit these shameful deeds in your open] assemblies?" But his people's only answer was, Bring down upon us God's chastisement, if thou art a man of truth!"
And so, when Our [heavenly] messengers came to Abraham with the glad tiding [of the birth of Isaac],* they [also] said, Behold, we are about to destroy the people of that land, for its people are truly evildoers!"*
[And when Abraham] exclaimed, But Lot lives there!" - they answered: We know fully well who is there; most certainly we shall save him and his household - all but his wife: she will indeed be among those that stay behind."*
And when Our messengers came unto Lot, he was sorely grieved on their account, seeing that it was beyond his power to shield them;* but they said: Fear not, and grieve not! Behold, we shall save thee and thy household - all but thy wife: she will indeed be among those that stay behind.
Verily, we shall bring down upon the people of this land a horror from heaven in requital of all their iniquitous doings!"
The parable of those who take [beings or forces] other than God for their protectors is that of the spider which makes for itself a house: for, behold, the frailest of all houses is the spiders house. Could they but understand this!
Verily, God knows whatever it is that men invoke instead of Him* for He alone is almighty, truly wise.
[[and hence are certain that] God has created the heavens and the earth in accordance with [an inner] truth:* for, behold, in this [very creation] there is a message indeed for all who believe [in Him].
CONVEY [unto others] whatever of this divine writ has been revealed unto thee,* and be constant in prayer: for, behold, prayer restrains [man] from loathsome deeds and from all that runs counter to reason;* and remembrance of God is indeed the greatest [good]. And God knows all that you do.
And yet they say, Why have no miraculous signs ever been bestowed upon him from on high by his Sustainer?" Say: Miracles are in the power of God alone;* and as for me - I am but a plain warner."
Why - is it not enough for them that We have bestowed this divine writ on thee from on high, to be conveyed [by thee] to them?* For, verily, in it is [manifested Our] grace, and a reminder to people who will believe.
They challenge thee to hasten the coming upon them of [God's] chastisement: but, verily, hell is bound to encompass all who deny the truth
O YOU servants of Mine who have attained to faith! Behold, wide is Mine earth: worship Me, then, Me alone!*
God grants abundant sustenance, or gives it in scant measure, to whichever He wills of His creatures: for, behold, God has full knowledge of everything.*
for, [if they did, they would know that] the life of this world is nothing but a passing delight and a play - whereas, behold, the life in the hereafter is indeed the only [true] life: if they but knew this!
But as for those who strive hard in Our cause -We shall most certainly guide them onto paths that lead unto Us:* for, behold, God is indeed with the doers of good.
Have they never learned to think for themselves?* God has not created the heavens and the earth and all that is between them without [an inner] truth and a term set [by Him]:* and yet, behold, there are many people who stubbornly deny the truth that they are destined to meet their Sustainer!
And among His wonders is this: He creates for you mates out of your own kind.* so that you might incline towards them, and He engenders love and tenderness between you: in this, behold, there are messages indeed for people who think!
And among his wonders is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the diversity of your tongues and colours: for in this, behold, there are messages indeed for all who are possessed of [innate] knowledge!
And among His wonders is your sleep, at night or in daytime, as well as your [ability to go about in] quest of some of His bounties: in this, behold, there are messages indeed for people who [are willing to] listen!
And among His wonders is this: He displays before you the lightning, giving rise to [both] fear and hope,* and sends down water from the skies, giving life thereby to the earth after it had been lifeless: in this, behold, there are messages indeed for people who use their reason!
Are they, then, not aware that it is God who grants abundant sustenance, or gives it in scant measure, unto whomever He wills? In this, behold, there are messages indeed for people who will believe!
so that He might reward, out of His bounty, those who have attained to faith and done righteous deeds. Verily, He does not love those who refuse to acknowledge the truth
Behold, then, [O man,] these signs of God's grace - how He gives life to the earth after it had been lifeless! Verily, this Selfsame [God] is indeed the One that can bring the dead back to life: for He has the power to will anything!
And, verily, thou canst not make the dead hear: and [so, too,] thou canst not make the deaf [of heart] hear this call when they turn their backs [on thee] and go away,
Remain, then, patient in adversity: verily, Gods promise [of resurrection] is true indeed - so let not those who are devoid of all inner certainty disquiet thy mind!
[As against this,] verily, those who attain to faith and do righteous deeds shall have gardens of bliss,
and, indeed, we granted this wisdom unto Luqman:* Be grateful unto God - for he who is grateful [unto Him] is but grateful for the good of his own self; whereas he who chooses to be ungrateful [ought to know that], verily, God is self-sufficient, ever to be praised!"
And, lo, Luqman spoke thus unto his son, admonishing him: O my dear son!* Do not ascribe divine powers to aught beside God: for, behold, such [a false] ascribing of divinity is indeed an awesome wrong!
O my dear son," [continued Luqman,] verily, if there be but the weight of a mustard-seed, and though it be [hidden] in a rock, or in the skies, or in the earth, God will bring it to light: for, behold, God is unfathomable [in His wisdom], all-aware*
O my dear son! Be constant in prayer, and enjoin the doing of what is right and forbid the doing of what is wrong, and bear in patience whatever [ill] may befall thee: this, behold, is something to set one's heart upon!
And turn not thy cheek away from people in [false] pride, and walk not haughtily on earth: for, behold, God does not love anyone who, out of self- conceit, acts in a boastful manner.
Hence, be modest in thy bearing, and lower thy voice: for, behold, the ugliest of all voices is the [loud] voice of asses
"
But as for him who is bent on denying the truth - let not his denial grieve thee: unto Us they must return, and then We shall make them [truly] understand all that they were doing [in life]: for, verily, God has full knowledge of what is in the hearts [of men].
Unto God belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth. Verily, God alone is self-sufficient, the One to whom all praise is due!
And if all the trees on earth were pens, and the sea [were] ink, with seven [morel seas yet* added to it, the words of God would not be exhausted: for, verily, God is almighty, wise.*
[For Him,] the creation of you all and the resurrection of you all is but like [the creation and resurrection of] a single soul:* for, verily, God is all-hearing, all-seeing.
Art thou not aware how the ships speed through the sea by God's favour, so that He might show you some of His wonders? Herein, behold, there are messages indeed for all who are wholly patient in adversity and deeply grateful [to God].
O MEN! Be conscious of your Sustainer, and stand in awe of the Day on which no parent will be of any avail to his child, nor a child will in the least avail his parent! Verily, God's promise [of resurrection] is true indeed: let not, then, the life of this world deludes you, and let not [your own] deceptive thoughts about God delude you!*
Verily, with God alone rests the knowledge of when the Last Hour will come: and He [it is who] sends down rain; and He [alone] knows what is in the wombs:* whereas no one knows what he will reap tomorrow, and no one knows in what land he will die, Verily. God [alone] is all-knowing, all-aware.
For, [many are] they [who] say, What! After we have been [dead and] lost in the earth, shall we indeed be [restored to life] in a new act of creation?" Nay, but [by saying this] they deny the truth that they are destined to meet their Sustainer!*
If thou couldst but see [how it will be on Judgment Day], when those who are lost in sin will hang their heads before their Sustainer, [saying:] O our Sustainer! [Now] we have seen, and we have heard! Return us, then, [to our earthly life] that we may do good deeds: for [now], behold, we are certain [of the truth]!"
[And He will say unto the sinners:] Taste, then, [the recompense] for your having been oblivious of the coming of this your Day [of Judgment] - for, verily, We are [now] oblivious of you: taste, then, [this] abiding suffering for all [the evil] that you were wont to do!"
ONLY THEY [truly] believe in Our messages who, whenever they are conveyed to them, fall down, prostrating themselves in adoration, and extol their Sustainer's limitless glory and praise; and who are never filled with false pride;
And who could be more wicked than he to whom his Sustainer's messages are conveyed and who thereupon turns away from them? Verily, We shall inflict Our retribution on those who are [thus] lost in sin!
VERILY, it is God alone who will decide between men* on Resurrection Day with regard to all on which they were wont to differ.*
[But] can, then, they [who deny the truth] learn no lesson by recalling how many a generation We have destroyed before their time?* [people] in whose dwelling-places they [themselves now] walk about? In this, behold, there are messages indeed: will they not, then, listen?
and then leave them alone, and wait [for the truth to unfold as] they, behold, are waiting.
PROPHET! Remain conscious of God, and defer not to the deniers of the truth and the hypocrites: for God is truly all-knowing, wise.
And follow [but] that which comes unto thee through revelation from thy Sustainer:* for God is truly aware of all that you do, [O men].
and when some of them said, O you people of Yathrib! You cannot withstand [the enemy] here:* hence, go back [to your homes]!" Whereupon a party from among them asked leave of the Prophet, saying, Behold, our houses are exposed [to attack]!" The while they were not [really] exposed: they wanted nothing but to flee.
[Such trials are imposed upon man] so that God may reward the truthful for having been true to their word, and cause the hypocrites to suffer - if that be His will - or [if they repent,] accept their repentance:* for, verily, God is indeed much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace!
but if you desire God and His Apostle, and [thus the good of] the life in the hereafter, then [know that], verily, for the doers of good among you God has readied a mighty reward!"*
And abide quietly in your homes, and do not flaunt your charms as they used to flaunt them in the old days of pagan ignorance;* and be constant in prayer, and render the purifying dues, and pay heed unto God and His Apostle: for God only wants to remove from you all that might be loathsome, O you members of the [Prophet's] household, and to purify you to utmost purity.
And bear in mind all that is recited in your homes of God's messages and [His] wisdom: for God is unfathomable [in His wisdom], all-aware.*
VERILY, for all men and women who have surrendered themselves unto God, and all believing men and believing women, and all truly devout men and truly devout women, and all men and women who are true to their word, and all men and women who are patient in adversity, and all men and women who humble themselves [before God], and all men and women who give in charity, and all self-denying men and self-denying women,* and all men and women who are mindful of their chastity,* and all men and women who remember God unceasingly: for [all of] them has God readied forgiveness of sins and a mighty reward.
[And as for thee,] O Prophet - behold, We have sent thee as a witness [to the truth], and as a herald of glad tidings and a warner,
O PROPHET! Behold, We have made lawful to thee thy wives unto whom thou hast paid their dowers,* as well as those whom thy right hand has come to possess from among the captives of war whom God has bestowed upon thee.* And [We have made lawful to thee] the daughters of thy paternal uncles and aunts, and the daughters of thy maternal uncles and aunts, who have migrated with thee [to Yathrib];* and any believing woman who offers herself freely to the Prophet and whom the Prophet might be willing to wed:* [this latter being but] a privilege for thee, and not for other believers - [seeing that] We have already made known what We have enjoined upon them with regard to their wives and those whom their right hands may possess.* [And] in order that thou be not burdened with [undue] anxiety - for God is indeed much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace
O YOU who have attained to faith! Do not enter the Prophet's dwellings unless you are given leave; [and when invited] to a meal, do not come [so early as] to wait for it to be readied: but whenever you are invited, enter [at the proper time]; and when you have partaken of the meal, disperse without lingering for the sake of mere talk: that, behold, might give offence to the Prophet, and yet he might feel shy of [asking] you [to leave]: but God is not shy of [teaching you] what is right.* And [as for the Prophet's wives,] whenever you ask them for anything that you need, ask them from behind a screen:* this will but deepen the purity of your hearts and theirs. Moreover, it does not behove you to give offence to God's Apostle - just as it would not behove you ever to marry his widows after he has passed away:* that, verily, would be an enormity in the sight of God.
Whether you do anything openly or in secret, [remember that,] verily, God has full knowledge of everything.
[However,] it is no sin for them* [to appear freely] before their fathers, or their sons, or their brothers, or their brothers' sons, or their sisters' sons, or their womenfolk, or such [male slaves] as their right hands may possess. But [always, O wives of the Prophet,]* remain conscious of God - for, behold, God is witness unto everything.
Verily, God and His angels bless the Prophet: [hence,] O you who have attained to faith, bless him and give yourselves up [to his guidance] in utter self-surrender!
Verily, as for those who [knowingly] affront God and His Apostle - God will reject* them in this world and in the life to come; and shameful suffering will He ready for them.
PEOPLE will ask thee about the Last Hour. Say: Knowledge thereof rests with God alone; yet for all thou knowest, the Last Hour may well be near!"*
Verily, God has rejected the deniers of the truth, and has readied for them a blazing fire,
And they will say: O our Sustainer! Behold, we paid heed unto our leaders and our great men, and it is they who have led us astray from the right path!
Verily, We did offer the trust [of reason and volition] to the heavens, and the earth, and the mountains:* but they refused to bear it because they were afraid of it. Yet man took it up -* for, verily, he has always been prone to be most wicked, most foolish.
As against this, they who are bent on denying the truth say [unto all who are of like mind]: Shall we point out to you a man who will tell you that [after your death,] when you will have been scattered in countless fragments, you shall - lo and behold! - be [restored to life] in a new act of creation?
Are they, then, not aware of how little of the sky and the earth lies open before them, and how much is hidden from them?* [or that,] if We so willed, We could cause the earth to swallow them,* or cause fragments of the sky to fall down upon them?* In all this, behold, there is a message indeed for every servant [of God] who is wont to turn unto Him [in repentance].*
[and inspired him thus:] Do good deeds lavishly, without stint, and give deep thought to their steady flow."* And [thus should you all, O believers,] do righteous deeds: for, verily, I see all that you do!
But now they would say, Long has our Sustainer made the distance between our journey- stages!" - for they had sinned against themselves.* And in the end We caused them to become [one of those] tales [of things long past], and scattered them in countless fragments.* Herein, behold, there are messages indeed for all who are wholly patient in adversity and deeply grateful [to God].
Say: Who is it that provides for you sustenance out of the heavens and the earth?"* Say: It is God. And, behold, either we [who believe in Him] or you [who deny His oneness] are on the right path, or have clearly gone astray!"
For [thus it is:] whenever We sent a warner to any community, those of its people who had lost themselves entirely in the pursuit of pleasures would declare,* Behold, we deny that there is any truth in [what you claim to be] your message!"
Say: Behold, my Sustainer grants abundant sustenance, or gives it in scant measure, unto whomever He wills: but most men do not understand [God's ways]."*
Say: Behold, my Sustainer grants abundant sustenance, or gives it in scant measure, unto whomever He wills of His servants;* and whatever it be that you spend on others, He [always] replaces it: for He is the best of providers."*
Say: I counsel you one thing only: Be [ever conscious of] standing before God, whether you are in the company of others or alone;* and then bethink yourselves [that] there is no madness in [this prophet,] your fellow-man:* he is only a warner to you of suffering severe to come."
Say: Verily, my Sustainer hurls the truth [against all that is false]* He who fully knows all the things that are beyond the reach of a created being's perception!"
Say: Were I to go astray, I would but go astray [due to my own self, and] to the hurt of myself;* but if I am on the right path, it is but by virtue of what my Sustainer reveals unto me: for, verily, He is all-hearing, ever-near!"
And so, a barrier will be set between them and all that they had [ever] desired,* as will be done to such of their kind as lived before their time: for, behold, they [too] were lost in doubt amounting to suspicion.*
ALL PRAISE is due to God, Originator of the heavens and the earth, who causes the angels to be (His) message-bearers, endowed with wings, two, or three, or four.* [Unceasingly] He adds to His creation whatever He wills: for, verily, God has the power to will anything.*
O men! Verily, God's promise [of resurrection] is true indeed: let not, then, the life of this world delude you, and let not [your own] deceptive thoughts about God delude you!*
Behold, Satan is a foe unto you: so treat him as a foe. He but calls on his followers to the end that they might find themselves among such as are destined for the blazing flame
Is, then, he to whom the evil of his own doings is [so] alluring that [in the end] he regards it as good [anything but a follower of Satan]? For, verily, God lets go astray him that wills [to go astray], just as He guides him that wills [to be guided].* Hence, [O believer,] do not waste thyself in sorrowing over them: verily, God has full knowledge of all that they do!
And [remember:] God creates [every one of] you out of dust,* then out of a drop of sperm; and then He fashions you into either of the two sexes.* And no female conceives or gives birth unless it be with His knowledge; and none that is long-lived has his days lengthened - and neither is aught lessened of his days - unless it be thus laid down in [God's] decree: for, behold, all this is easy for God.
AND NO BEARER of burdens shall be made to bear another's burden;* and if one weighed down by his load calls upon [another] to help him carry it, nothing thereof may be carried [by that other], even if it be one's near of kin.* Hence, thou canst [truly] warn only those who stand in awe of their Sustainer although He is beyond the reach of their perception,* and are constant in prayer, and [know that] whoever grows in purity, attains to purity but for the good of his own self, and [that] with God is all journeys' end.
and neither are equal the living and the dead [of heart]. Behold, [O Muhammad,] God can make hear whomever He wills, whereas thou canst not make hear such as are [dead of heart like the dead] in their graves:
Verily, We have sent thee with the truth, as a bearer of glad tidings and a warner: for there never was any community but a warner has [lived and] passed away in its midst.*
and (as) there are in men, and in crawling beasts, and in cattle, too, many hues?* Of all His servants, only such as are endowed with [innate] knowledge stand [truly] in awe of God:* [for they alone comprehend that,] verily, God is almighty, much-forgiving.
(It is) they who [truly] follow God's revelation, and are constant in prayer, and spend on others, secretly and openly, out of what We provide for them as sustenance - it is they who may look forward to a bargain that can never fail,
since He will grant them their just rewards, and give them yet more out of His bounty: for, verily, He is much-forgiving, ever-responsive to gratitude.
And [know that] all of the divine writ with which We have inspired thee is the very truth, confirming the truth of whatever there still remains of earlier revelations* for, behold, of [the needs of] His servants God is fully aware, all-seeing.
and they will say: All praise is due to God, who has caused all sorrow to leave us: for, verily, our Sustainer is indeed much-forgiving, ever-responsive to gratitude
Verily, God knows the hidden reality of the heavens and the earth: [and,] behold, He has full knowledge of what is in the hearts [of men].
Verily, it is God [alone] who upholds the celestial bodies* and the earth, lest they deviate [from their orbits] - for if they should ever deviate, there is none that could uphold them after He will have ceased to do so.* [But,] verily, He is ever-forbearing, much-forgiving!*
Have they never journeyed about the earth and beheld what happened in the end to those [deniers of the truth] who lived before their time and were [so much] greater than they in power? And [do they not see that the will of] God can never be foiled by anything whatever in the heavens or on earth, since, verily, He is all-knowing, infinite in His power?
Now if God were to take men [at once] to task for whatever [wrong] they commit [on earth], He would not leave a single living creature upon its surface. However, He grants them respite for a term set [by Him]:* but when their term comes to an end - then, verily, [they come to know that] God sees all that is in [the hearts of] His servants.
verily, thou art indeed one of God's message-bearers,*
Behold, around their necks We have put shackles,* reaching up to their chins, so that their heads are forced up;*
Thou canst [truly] warn only him who is willing to take the reminder to heart,* and who stands in awe of the Most Gracious although He is beyond the reach of human perception: unto such, then, give the glad tiding of [God's] forgiveness and of a most excellent reward!
Verily, We shall indeed bring the dead back to life; and We shall record whatever [deeds] they have sent ahead, and the traces [of good and evil] which they have left behind: for of all things do We take account in a record clear.
Lo! We sent unto them two [apostles], and. they gave the lie to both; and so We strengthened [the two] with a third; and thereupon they said: Behold, we have been sent unto you [by God]!"*
Said [the apostles]: Our Sustainer knows that we have indeed been sent unto you;
Said [the others]: Truly, we augur evil from you!* Indeed, if you desist not, we will surely stone you, and grievous suffering is bound to befall you at our hands!"
and so, behold, I would have indeed, most obviously, lost myself in error!
Verily, [O my people,] in the Sustainer of you all have I come to believe: listen, then, to me!"
Behold, those who are destined for paradise shall today have joy in whatever they do:
Did I not enjoin on you, O you children of Adam, that you should not worship Satan since, verily, he is your open foe*
However, be not grieved by the sayings of those [who deny the truth]: verily, We know all that they keep secret as well as all that they bring into the open.
His Being alone* is such that when He wills a thing to be, He but says unto it, Be" and it is.
Verily, most surely, your God is One
Behold, We have adorned the skies nearest to the earth with the beauty of stars,
AND NOW ask those [who deny the truth] to enlighten thee: Were they more difficult to create than all those [untold marvels] that We have created? - for, behold, them have We created out of [mere] clay commingled with water!*
Why - after we have died and become mere dust and bones, shall we, forsooth, be raised from the dead?
for that [resurrection which they deride] will be [upon them of a sudden, as if it were] but a single accusing cry - and then, lo! they will begin to see [the truth]
and halt them [there]!" [And then,] behold, they shall be asked,
Some [of them] will say: Behold, you were wont to approach us [deceptively] from the right!"*
But now our Sustainer's word has come true against us [as well]: verily, we are bound to taste [the fruit of our sins].
So then, [if it be true that] we have caused you to err grievously - behold, we ourselves had been lost in grievous error!"*
And, verily, on that Day they all will share in their common suffering.
Verily, thus shall We deal with all who were lost in sin:
for, behold, whenever they were told, There is no deity save God," they would glory in their arrogance
and would say, Shall we, then, give up our deities at the bidding of a mad poet?"*
Behold, you will indeed taste grievous suffering [in the life to come],
One of them speaks thus: Behold, I had [on earth] a close companion
who was wont to ask [me], 'Why - art thou really one of those who believe it to be true
[that] after we have died and become mere dust and bones we shall, forsooth, be brought to judgment?"'
Verily, this - this indeed - is the triumph supreme!"
Verily, We have caused it to be a trial for evildoers:*
for, behold, it is a tree that grows in the very heart of the blazing fire [of hell],
and they [who are lost in evil] are indeed bound to eat thereof, and to fill their bellies therewith.
And, behold, above all this they will be confounded with burning despair!*
And once again:* Verily, the blazing fire is their ultimate goal
for, behold, they found their forebears on a wrong way,
Verily, thus do We reward the doers of good
for he was truly one of our believing servants:
AND, BEHOLD, of his persuasion was Abraham, too,
and said, Verily, I am sick [at heart]!"*
And [Abraham] said: Verily, I shall [leave this land and] go wherever my Sustainer will guide me!"*
And [one day,] when [the child] had become old enough to share in his [father's] endeavours,* the latter said: O my dear son! I have seen in a dream that I should sacrifice thee: consider, then, what would be thy view!" [Ishmael] answered: O my father! Do as thou art bidden: thou wilt find me, if God so wills, among those who are patient in adversity!"
thou hast already fulfilled [the purpose of] that dream- vision!"* Thus, verily, do We reward the doers of good:
for, behold, all this was indeed a trial, clear in itself.*
for he was truly one of our believing servants.
Thus do We reward the doers of good
for those two were truly among Our believing servants.
AND, BEHOLD, Elijah [too] was indeed one of Our message-bearers*
But they gave him the lie: and therefore they will most surely be arraigned [on Judgment Day],
Verily, thus do We reward the doers of good
for he was truly one of Our believing servants!
AND, BEHOLD, Lot was indeed one of Our message-bearers;
and, verily, [to this day] you pass by the remnants of their dwellings at morning-time
AND, BEHOLD, Jonah was indeed one of Our message-bearers
Oh, verily, it is out of their own [inclination to] falsehood that some people* assert,
God has begotten [a son]"; and, verily, they are lying [too, when they say],
And some people* have invented a kinship between Him and all manner of invisible forces* although [even] these invisible forces know well that, verily, they [who thus blaspheme against God] shall indeed be arraigned [before Him on Judgment Day: for]*
for, verily, neither you [blasphemers] nor the objects of your worship
and, verily, we too are ranged [before Him in worship];
and, verily, we too extol His limitless glory!"
that, verily, they - they indeed - would be succoured,
and that, verily, Our hosts - they indeed - would [in the end] be victorious!
Does he claim that all the deities are [but] one God? Verily, a most strange thing is this!"*
And their leaders launch forth [thus]: Go ahead, and hold steadfastly onto your deities: this, behold, is the only thing to do!*
[But] bear thou with patience whatever they may say, and remember Our servant David, him who was endowed with [so much] inner strength! He, verily, would always turn unto Us:
[and for this,] behold, We caused* the mountains to join him in extolling Our limitless glory at eventide and at sunrise,
Behold, this is my brother: he has ninety-nine ewes, whereas I have [only] one ewe - and yet he said, 'Make her over to me,' and forcibly prevailed against me in this [our] dispute."
Said [David]: He has certainly wronged thee by demanding that thy ewe be added to his ewes! Thus, behold, do many kinsmen wrong one another* [all] save those who believe [in God] and do righteous deeds: but how few are they!" And [suddenly] David understood that We had tried him:* and so he asked his Sustainer to forgive him his sin, and fell down in prostration, and turned unto Him in repentance.
And thereupon We forgave him that [sin]: and, verily, nearness to Us awaits him [in the life to come], and the most beauteous of all goals!
[And We said:] O David! Behold, We have made thee a [prophet and, thus, Our] vicegerent on earth: judge, then, between men with justice, and do not follow vain desire, lest it lead thee astray from the path of God: verily, for those who go astray from the path of God there is suffering severe in store for having forgotten the Day of Reckoning!"
AND UNTO DAVID We granted Solomon [as a son - and] how excellent a servant [of Ours he grew up to be]! Behold, he would always turn unto Us -*
he would say, Verily, I have come to love the love of all that is good because I bear my Sustainer in mind!"* [repeating these words as the steeds raced away,] until they were hidden by the veil [of distance - whereupon he would command],*
he prayed: O my Sustainer! Forgive me my sins, and bestow upon me the gift of a kingdom which may not suit anyone after me:* verily, Thou alone art a giver of gifts!"
And, verily, nearness to Us awaits him [in the life to come], and the most beauteous of all goals!
[And finally We told him:] Now take in thy hand a small bunch of grass, and strike therewith, and thou wilt not break thine oath!"* for, verily, We found him full of patience in adversity: how excellent a servant [of Ours], who, behold, would always turn unto Us!
for, verily, We purified them by means of a thought most pure: the remembrance of the life to come.*
And, behold, in Our sight they were indeed among the elect, the truly good!
LET [all] this be a reminder [to those who believe in God] - for, verily, the most beauteous of all goals awaits the God-conscious:
this, verily, shall be Our provision [for you], with no end to it!
All this [for the righteous]: but, verily, the most evil of all goals awaits those who are wont to transgress the bounds of what is right:
[And they will say to one another: Do you see] this crowd of people who rushed headlong [into sin] with you?* No welcome to them! Verily, they [too] shall have to endure the fire!"*
Such, behold, will in truth be the [confusion and] mutual wrangling of the people of the fire!
SAY [O Muhammad]: I am only a warner; and there is no deity whatever save God, the One, who holds absolute sway over all that exists,
[For,] lo,* thy Sustainer said unto the angels: Behold, I am about to create a human being out of clay;*
Said He: Go forth, then, from this [angelic state] - for, behold, thou art henceforth accursed,
and My rejection shall be thy due until the Day of Judgment!"
Answered He: Verily, so [be it:] thou shalt be among those who are granted respite
for, behold, it is We who have bestowed this revelation upon thee from on high, setting forth the truth: so worship Him, sincere in thy faith in Him alone!
Is it not to God alone that all sincere faith is due? And yet, they who take for their protectors aught beside Him [are wont to say], We worship them for no other reason than that they bring us nearer to God."* Behold, God will judge between them [on Resurrection Day] with regard to all wherein they differ [from the truth]:* for, verily, God does not grace with His guidance anyone who is bent on lying [to himself and is] stubbornly ingrate!*
If you are ingrate* behold, God has no need of you; none the less, He does not approve of ingratitude in His servants: whereas, if you show gratitude, He approves it in you. And no bearer of burdens shall be made to bear another's burden.* In time, unto your Sustainer you all must return, and then He will make you [truly] understand all that you were doing [in life]: for, verily, He has full knowledge of what is in the hearts [of men].
NOW [thus it is:] when affliction befalls man, he is likely to cry out to his Sustainer, turning unto Him [for help];* but as soon as He has bestowed upon him a boon by His grace, he forgets Him whom he invoked before, and claims that there are other powers that could rival God* - and thus leads [others] astray from His path. Say [unto him who sins in this way]: Enjoy thyself for a while in this thy denial of the truth; [yet,] verily, thou art of those who are destined for the fire!
Or [dost thou deem thyself equal to] one who devoutly worships [God] throughout the night, prostrating himself or standing [in prayer], ever- mindful of the life to come, and hoping for his Sustainer's grace?"* Say: Can they who know and they who do not know be deemed equal?" [But] only they who are endowed with insight keep this in mind!
Say: [Thus speaks God:]* 'O you servants of Mine who have attained to faith! Be conscious of your Sustainer! Ultimate good awaits those who persevere in doing good in this world. And [remember:] wide is God's earth,* [and,] verily, they who are patient in adversity will be given their reward in full, beyond all reckoning!' "
Say [O Muhammad]: Behold, I am bidden to worship God, sincere in my faith in Him alone;
Say: Behold, I would dread, were I to rebel against my Sustainer, the suffering [which would befall me] on that awesome Day [of Judgment]."
and [it is up to you, O sinners, to] worship whatever you please instead of Him!" Say: Behold, the [true] losers will be they who shall have lost their own selves and their kith and kin on Resurrection Day: for is not this, this, the [most] obvious loss?*
ART THOU NOT aware that it is God who sends down water from the skies, and then causes it to travel through the earth in the shape of springs? And then He brings forth thereby herbage of various hues; and then it withers, and thou canst see it turn yellow; and in the end He causes it to crumble to dust.* Verily, in [all] this there is indeed a reminder to those who are endowed with insight!
Yet, verily, thou art bound to die, [O Muhammad,] and, verily, they, too, are bound to die:
and then, behold, on the Day of Resurrection you all shall place your dispute before your Sustainer.
Say: O my [truth-denying] people! Do yet all that may be within your power, [whereas] I, behold, shall labour [in God's way]: in time you will come to know
BEHOLD, from on high have We bestowed upon thee this divine writ, setting forth the truth for [the benefit of all] mankind. And whoever chooses to be guided [thereby], does so for his own good, and whoever chooses to go astray, goes but astray to his own hurt; and thou hast not the power to determine their fate.*
It is God [alone that has this power - He] who causes all human beings to die at the time of their [bodily] death, and [causes to be as dead], during their sleep, those that have not yet died:* thus, He withholds [from life] those upon whom He has decreed death, and lets the others go free for a term set [by Him]. In [all] this, behold, there are messages indeed for people who think!
NOW [thus it is:] when affliction befalls man, he cries out unto Us for help; but when We bestow upon him a boon by Our grace, he says [to himself], I have been given [all] this by virtue of [my own] wisdom!"* Nay, this [bestowal of grace] is a trial: but most of them understand it not!
Are they, then, not aware that it is God who grants abundant sustenance, or gives it in scant measure, unto whomever He wills? In this, behold, there are messages indeed for people who will believe!
SAY: [Thus speaks God:]* 'O you servants of Mine who have transgressed against your own selves! Despair not of God's mercy: behold, God forgives all sins - for, verily, He alone is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace!' "*
And, O our Sustainer, bring them into the gardens of perpetual bliss* which Thou hast promised them, together with the righteous from among their forebears, and their spouses, and their offspring - for, verily, Thou alone art almighty, truly wise
[But,] behold, as for those who are bent on denying the truth - [on that same Day] a voice will call out unto them:* Indeed, greater than your [present] loathing of yourselves* was God's loathing of you [at the time] when you were called unto faith but went on denying the truth!"*
On that Day will every human being be requited for what he has earned: no wrong [will be done] on that Day: verily, swift in reckoning is God!
And God will judge in accordance with truth and justice, whereas those [beings] whom they invoke beside Him* cannot judge at all: for, verily, God alone is all-hearing, all-seeing.
this, because their apostles had come to them with all evidence of the truth, and yet they rejected it: and so God took them to task - for, verily, He is powerful, severe in retribution!
And Pharaoh said: Leave it to me to slay Moses - and let him invoke his [alleged] sustainer!* Behold, I fear lest he cause you to change your religion, or lest he cause corruption to prevail in the land!"
But Moses said: With [Him who is] my Sustainer as well as your Sustainer have I indeed found refuge from everyone who, immersed in false pride, will not believe in [the coming of] the Day of Reckoning!"
At that, a believing man of Pharaoh's family, who [until then] had concealed his faith, exclaimed:* Would you slay a man because he says, 'God is my Sustainer' - seeing, withal, that he has brought you all evidence of this truth from your Sustainer? Now if he be a liar, his lie will fall back on him; but if he is a man of truth, something [of the punishment] whereof he warns you is bound to befall you: for, verily, God would not grace with His guidance one who has wasted his own self by lying [about Him].*
Thereupon exclaimed he who had attained to faith: O my people! Verily, I fear for you the like of what one day befell those others who were leagued together [against God's truth]
And, O my people, I fear for you [the coming of] that Day of [Judgment - the Day when you will be] calling unto one another [in distress]
the means of approach to the heavens - and that [thus] I may have a look at the god of Moses:* for, behold, I am indeed certain that he is a liar!" And thus, goodly seemed unto Pharaoh the evil of his own doings, and so he was barred from the path [of truth]: and Pharaoh's guile did not lead to aught but ruin.
O my people! This worldly life is but a brief enjoyment, whereas, behold, the life to come is the home abiding.
and at that time you will [have cause to] remember what I am telling you [now]. But [as for me,] I commit myself unto God: for, verily, God sees all that is in [the hearts of] His servants."
AND LO! They [who in life were wont to deny the truth] will contend with one another in the fire [of the hereafter]; and then the weak will say unto those who had gloried in their arrogance, Behold, we were but your followers: can you, then, relieve us of some [of our] share of this fire?"*
[to which] they who had [once] been arrogant will reply, Behold, we are all in it [together]! Verily, God has judged between His creatures!"
BEHOLD, We shall indeed succour Our apostles and those who have attained to faith, [both] in this world's life and on the Day when all the witnesses shall stand up*
hence, remain thou patient in adversity - for, verily, God's promise always comes true - and ask forgiveness for thy sins, and extol thy Sustainer's glory and praise by night and by day.*
Behold, as for those who call God's messages in question without having any evidence therefore* in their hearts is nothing but overweening self-conceit, which they will never be able to satisfy:* seek thou, then, refuge with God - for, verily, He alone is all-hearing, all-seeing!
Verily, the Last Hour is sure to come: of this there is no doubt; yet most men will not believe it.*
But your Sustainer says: Call unto Me, [and] I shall respond to you!* Verily, they who are too proud to worship Me will enter hell, abased!"
IT IS GOD who has made the night for you, so that you might rest therein, and the day, to make [you] see.* Behold, God is indeed limitless in His bounty unto man - but most men are ungrateful.
Say: Since all evidence of the truth has come to me from my Sustainer, I am forbidden to worship [any of] those beings whom you invoke instead of God; and I am bidden to surrender myself to the Sustainer of all the worlds."
It is He who grants life and deals death; and when He wills a thing to be, He but says unto it, Be" - and it is.
HENCE, remain thou patient in adversity - for, verily, God's promise always comes true. And whether We show thee [in this world] something of what We hold in store for those [deniers of the truth], or whether We cause thee to die [ere that retribution takes place - know that, in the end], it is unto Us that they will be brought back.*
and so they say, [as it were:] Our hearts are veiled from whatever thou callest us to, [O Muhammad,] and in our ears is deafness, and between us and thee is a barrier.* Do, then, [whatever thou wilt, whereas,] behold, we shall do [as we have always done]!"
Say thou, [O Prophet:] I am but a mortal like you.* It has been revealed to me that your God is the One God: go, then, straight towards Him and seek His forgiveness!" And woe unto those who ascribe divinity to aught beside Him,
[But,] verily, they who have attained to faith and do good works shall have a reward unending!
SAY: Would you indeed deny Him who has created the earth in two aeons?* And do you claim that there is any power that could rival Him, the Sustainer of all the worlds?"*
Lo! There came unto them [God's] apostles, speaking of what lay open before them and what was [still] beyond their ken,* [and calling unto them,] Worship none but God!" They answered: If our Sustainer had willed [us to believe in what you say], He would have sent down angels [as His message-bearers].* As it is, behold, we deny that there is any truth in what you [claim to] have been sent with!"
for [when they became oblivious of Us,] We assigned to them [their own evil impulses as their] other selves,* and these made appear goodly to them whatever lay open before them and whatever was beyond their ken.* And so, the sentence [of doom] will have fallen due upon them together with the [other sinful] communities of invisible beings* and humans that passed away before their time: verily, they [all] will indeed be lost!
[But,] behold, as for those who say, Our Sustainer is God," and then steadfastly pursue the right way - upon them do angels often descend, [saying:] Fear not and grieve not, but receive the glad tiding of that paradise which has been promised to you!
And who could be better of speech than he who calls [his fellow-men] unto God, and does what is just and right, and says, Verily, I am of those who have surrendered themselves to God"?
Hence, if it should happen that a prompting from Satan stirs thee up [to blind anger], seek refuge with God: behold, He alone is all-hearing, all-knowing!*
For among His signs is this: thou seest the earth lying desolate - and lo! when We send down water upon it, it stirs and swells [with life]! Verily, He who brings it to life can surely give life to the dead [of heart as well]: for, behold, He has the power to will anything.*
VERILY, they who distort the meaning of Our messages are not hidden from Us: hence, which [of the two] will be in a better state - he that is [destined to be] cast into the fire, or he that shall come secure [before Us] on Resurrection Day? Do what you will: verily, He sees all that you do.
Verily, they who are bent on denying the truth of this reminder as soon as it comes to them - [they are the losers]: for, behold, it is a sublime divine writ:
[And as for thee, O Prophet,] nothing is being said to thee but what was said to all [of God's] apostles before thy time.* Behold, thy Sustainer is indeed full of forgiveness - but He has also the power to requite most grievously!
Thus, too, have We vouchsafed revelation unto Moses aforetime, and thereupon disputes arose about it.* And [then, as now,] had it not been for a decree that had already gone forth from thy Sustainer, all would indeed have been decided between them [from the outset].* As it is, behold, they [who will not believe in this divine writ] are in grave doubt, amounting to suspicion, about what it portends.*
Yet whenever We let him taste some of Our grace after hardship has visited him, he is sure to say, This is but my due!" - and, I do not think that the Last Hour will ever come:* but if [it should come, and] I should indeed be brought back unto my Sustainer, then, behold, the ultimate good awaits me with Him!* But [on the Day of Judgment] We shall most certainly give those who were bent on denying the truth* full understanding of all that they ever did, and shall most certainly give them [thereby] a taste of suffering severe.*
Oh, verily, they are in doubt as to whether they will meet their Sustainer [on Judgment Day]! Oh, verily, He encompasses everything!
The uppermost heavens are well-nigh rent asunder [for awe of Him]; and the angels extol their Sustainer's limitless glory and praise, and ask forgiveness for all who are on earth.* Oh, verily, God alone is truly-forgiving, a dispenser of grace!
His are the keys of the heavens and the earth: He grants abundant sustenance, or gives it in scant measure, unto whomever He wills: for, behold, He has full knowledge of everything.*
And [as for the followers of earlier revelation,] they broke up their unity, out of mutual jealousy, only after they had come to know [the truth].* And had it not been for a decree that had already gone forth from thy Sustainer, [postponing all decision] until a term set [by Him], all would indeed have been decided between them [from the outset].* As it is, behold, they who have inherited their divine writ from those who preceded them* are [now] in grave doubt, amounting to suspicion, about what it portends.*
Those who do not believe in it [mockingly] ask for its speedy advent* whereas those who have attained to faith stand in awe of it, and know it to be the truth. Oh, verily, they who call the Last Hour in question have indeed gone far astray!
Is it that they [who care for no more than this world] believe in forces supposed to have a share in God's divinity,* which enjoin upon them as a moral law something that God has never allowed?* Now were it not for [God's] decree on the final judgment,* all would indeed have been decided between them [in this world]:* but, verily, grievous suffering awaits the evildoers [in the life to come].
that [bounty] whereof God gives the glad tiding to such of His servants as attain to faith and do righteous deeds. Say [O Prophet]: "No reward do I ask of you for this [message] other than [that you should] love your fellow-men."* For, if anyone gains [the merit of] a good deed, We shall grant him through it an increase of good: and, verily, God is much-forgiving, ever responsive to gratitude.
DO THEY, perchance, say, "[Muhammad] has attributed his own lying inventions to God"? But then, had God so willed, He could have sealed thy heart [forever]: for God blots out all falsehood, and by His words proves the truth to be true.* Verily, He has full knowledge of what is in the hearts [of men];
For, if God were to grant [in this world] abundant sustenance to [all of] His servants, they would behave on earth with wanton insolence:* but as it is, He bestows [His grace] from on high in due measure, as He wills: for, verily, He is fully aware of [the needs of] His creatures, and sees them all.
if He so wills, He stills the wind, and then they lie motionless on the sea's surface - [and] herein, behold, there are messages indeed for all who are wholly patient in adversity and deeply grateful [to God];
But [remember that an attempt at] requiting evil may, too, become an evil:* hence, whoever pardons [his foe] and makes peace, his reward rests with God - for, verily, He does not love evildoers.*
blame attaches but to those who oppress [other] people and behave outrageously on earth, offending against all right: for them there is grievous suffering in store!
But withal, if one is patient in adversity and forgives - this, behold, is indeed something to set one's heart upon!*
And thou wilt see them exposed to that [doom], humbling themselves in abasement, looking [around] with a furtive glance - the while those who had attained to faith will say, "Verily, lost on [this] Day of Resurrection are they who have squandered their own and their followers' selves!"* Oh, verily, the evildoers will fall into long-lasting suffering,
BUT IF they turn away [from thee, O Prophet, know that] We have not sent thee to be their keeper: thou art not bound to do more than deliver the message [entrusted to thee]. And, behold, [such as turn away from Our messages are but impelled by the weakness and inconstancy of human nature: thus,]* when We give man a taste of Our grace, he is prone to exult in it;* but if misfortune befalls [any of] them in result of what their own hands have sent forth, then, behold, man shows how bereft he is of all gratitude!*
or He gives both male and female [to whomever He wills], and causes to be barren whomever He wills: for, verily, He is all-knowing, infinite in His power.*
And it is not given to mortal man that God should speak unto him otherwise than through sudden inspiration,* or [by a voice, as it were,] from behind a veil, or by sending an apostle to reveal, by His leave, whatever He wills [to reveal]:* for, verily, He is exalted, wise.
And thus, too,* [O Muhammad,] have We revealed unto thee a life-giving message,* [coming] at Our behest. [Ere this message came unto thee,] thou didst not know what revelation is, nor what faith [implies]:* but [now] We have caused this [message] to be a light, whereby We guide whom We will of Our servants: and, verily, [on the strength thereof] thou, too, shalt guide [men] onto the straight way -
behold, We have caused it to be a discourse in the Arabic tongue, so that you might encompass it with your reason.*
And, verily, [originating as it does] in the source, with Us, of all revelation,* it is indeed sublime, full of wisdom.
Hence, verily, it is unto Him that we must always turn."
AND YET,* they attribute to Him offspring from among some of the beings created by Him!* Verily, most obviously bereft of all gratitude is man!
Nay, but they say, Behold, We found our forefathers agreed on what to believe - and, verily, it is in their footsteps that we find our guidance!"
And thus it is: whenever We sent, before thy time, a warner to any community, those of its people who had lost themselves entirely in the pursuit of pleasures* would always say, Behold, we found our forefathers agreed on what to believe - and, verily, it is but in their footsteps that we follow!"*
[Whereupon each prophet] would say,* Why, even though I bring you guidance better than that which you found your forefathers believing in?" - [to which] the others would reply, Behold, we deny that there is any truth in [what you claim to be] your messages!"
AND WHEN Abraham spoke to his father and his people, [he had this very truth in mind:]* Verily, far be it from me to worship what you worship!
None [do I worship] but Him who has brought me into being: and, behold, it is He who will guide me!"
but now that the truth has come to them, they say, All this is mere spellbinding eloquence" - and, behold, we deny that there is any truth in it!"*
whereupon, behold, these [evil impulses] bar all such from the path [of truth], making them think that they are guided aright!
But whether We do [or do not] take thee away [ere thy message prevails] - verily, We shall inflict Our retribution on them;
and whether We show thee [or do not show thee in this world] the fulfillment of what We have promised them - verily, We have full power over them!
So hold fast to all that has been revealed to thee: for, behold, thou art on a straight way;
and, verily, this [revelation] shall indeed become [a source of] eminence for thee and thy people:* but in time you all will be called to account [for what you have done with it].*
THUS, INDEED,* have We sent Moses with Our messages unto Pharaoh and his great ones; and he said: Behold, I am an apostle of the Sustainer of all the worlds!"
And [every time] they exclaimed: O thou sorcerer! Pray for us to thy Sustainer on the strength of the covenant [of prophethood] which He has made with thee: for, verily, we shall now follow the right way!"
Thus he incited his people to levity, and they obeyed him: for, behold, they were people depraved!
AND, BEHOLD, this [divine writ] is indeed a means to know [that] the Last Hour [is bound to come];* hence, have no doubt whatever about it, but follow Me: this [alone] is a straight way.
And let not Satan bars you [from it] - for, verily, he is your open foe!
Verily, God is my Sustainer as well as your Sustainer; so worship [none but] Him: this [alone] is a straight way!"
[But,] behold, they who are lost in sin shall abide in the suffering of hell:*
And they will cry: O thou [angel] who rulest [over hell]! Let thy Sustainer put an end to us!" - whereupon] he will reply: Verily, you must live on [in this state]
Why - can they [who deny the truth ever] determine what [the truth] should be?*
[But God has full knowledge of the true believer]* and of his [despairing] cry: O my Sustainer! Verily, these are people who will not believe!"
Behold, from on high have We bestowed it on a blessed night:* for, verily, We have always been warning [man].*
at a behest from Ourselves: for, verily, We have always been sending [Our messages of guidance]
in pursuance of thy Sustainer's grace [unto man]. Verily, He alone is all-hearing, all-knowing,
O our Sustainer, relieve us of suffering, for, verily, we [now] believe [in Thee]!"
[Still,] behold, We shall postpone this suffering for a little while,* although you are bound to revert [to your evil ways: but]
on the Day when We shall seize [all sinners] with a most mighty onslaught, We shall, verily, inflict Our retribution [on you as well]!
Give in unto me, O God's bondmen!* Verily, I am an apostle [sent] unto you, worthy of trust!
And exalt not yourselves against God: for, verily, I come unto you with a manifest authority [from Him];
and, behold, it is with my Sustainer - and your Sustainer - that I seek refuge against all your endeavours to revile me.*
And [God said]: Go thou forth with My servants by night, for you will surely be pursued;
and leave the sea becalmed* [between thee and Pharaoh's men]: for, verily, they are a host destined to be drowned!"
[inflicted on them] by Pharaoh, seeing that he was truly outstanding among those who waste their own selves;*
[Now,] behold, these [people] say indeed:*
Are they, then, better than the people of Tubba and those before them, whom We destroyed because they were truly lost in [the same] sin?*
VERILY, the Day of Distinction [between the true and the false] is the term appointed for all of them:*
save those upon whom God will have bestowed His grace and mercy: for, verily, He alone is almighty, a dispenser of grace.
Verily, [in the life to come] the tree of deadly fruit*
Taste it - thou who [on earth] hast considered thyself so mighty, so noble!*
This is the very thing which you [deniers of the truth] were wont to call in question!"*
[As against this -] verily, the God-conscious will find themselves in a state secure,
THUS, THEN, [O Prophet,] have We made this [divine writ] easy to understand, in thine own [human] tongue, so that men might take it to heart.*
So wait thou [for what the future will bring]: behold, they, too, are waiting.*
Behold, in the heavens as well as on earth there are indeed messages for all who [are willing to] believe.*
And He has made subservient to you, [as a gift] from Himself, all that is in the heavens and on earth:* in this, behold, there are messages indeed for people who think!
And We gave them clear indications of the purpose [of faith];* and it was only after all this knowledge had been vouchsafed to them that they began, out of mutual jealousy, to hold divergent views:* [but,] verily, thy Sustainer will judge between them on Resurrection Day regarding all whereon they were wont to differ.*
Behold, they could never be of any avail to thee if thou wert to defy the will of God* for, verily, such evildoers are but friends and protectors of one another, whereas God is the Protector of all who are conscious of Him.
This Our record speaks of you in all truth: for, verily, We have caused to be recorded all that you ever did!"
for when it was said, 'Behold, God's promise always comes true, and there can be no doubt about [the coming of] the Last Hour' - you would answer, 'We do not know what that Last Hour may be: we think it is no more than an empty guess, and [so] we are by no means convinced!'"
Say: Have you given thought [to how you will fare] if this be truly [a revelation] from God and yet you deny its truth? - even though a witness from among the children of Israel has already borne witness to [the advent of] one like himself,* and has believed [in him], the while you glory in your arrogance [and reject his message]? Verily, God does not grace [such] evildoing folk with His guidance!"
for, behold, all who say, Our Sustainer is God", and thereafter stand firm [in their faith] - no fear need they have, and neither shall they grieve:
NOW [among the best of the deeds which] We have enjoined upon man is goodness towards his parents.* In pain did his mother bear him, and in pain did she give him birth; and her bearing him and his utter dependence on her took thirty months.* and so, when he attains to full maturity and reaches forty years,* he [that is righteous] prays: O my Sustainer! Inspire me so that I may forever be grateful for those blessings of Thine with which Thou hast graced me and my parents, and that I may do what is right [in a manner] that will meet with Thy goodly acceptance; and grant me righteousness in my offspring [as well]. Verily, unto Thee have I turned in repentance:* for, verily, I am of those who have surrendered themselves unto Thee!"
But [there is many a one] who says to his parents [whenever they try to imbue him with faith in God]: Fie upon both of you! Do you promise me that I shall be brought forth [from the dead], although [so many] generations have passed away before me?"* And [while] they both pray for God's help [and say], Alas for thee! For, behold, God's promise always comes true!" - he but answers, All this is nothing but fables of ancient times!"
It is [such as] these upon whom the sentence [of doom] will fall due, together with the [other sinful] communities of invisible beings* and humans that have passed away before their time. Verily, they will be lost:
AND REMEMBER that brother of [the tribe of] Ad,* how - seeing that [other] warnings had already come and gone within his own knowledge as well as in times beyond his ken -* he warned his people [who lived] among those sand-dunes: Worship none but God! Verily, I fear lest suffering befall you on an awesome day!"
Said he: Knowledge [of when it is to befall you] rests with God alone: I but convey unto you the message with which I have been entrusted; but I see that you are people ignorant [of right and wrong]!"
They said: O our people! Behold, we have been listening to a revelation bestowed from on high after [that of] Moses, confirming the truth of whatever there still remains [of the Torah]:* it guides towards the truth, and onto a straight way.
ARE, THEN, they [who deny the life to come] not aware that God, who has created the heavens and the earth and never been wearied by their creation,* has [also] the power to bring the dead back to life? Yea, verily, He has the power to will anything!
Verily, God will admit all who attain to faith and do righteous deeds into gardens through which running waters flow, whereas they who are bent on denying the truth shall have - even though they may enjoy their life [in this world] and eat as cattle eat - the fire [of the hereafter] for their abode.
VERILY, those who turn their backs [on this message] after guidance has been vouchsafed to them, [do it because] Satan has embellished their fancies and filled them with false hopes:
Verily, they who are bent on denying the truth and on barring [others] from the path of God, and [who thus] cut themselves off from the Apostle* after guidance has been vouchsafed to them, can in no wise harm God; but He will cause all their deeds to come to nought.
Verily, as for those who are bent on denying the truth and on barring [others] from the path of God, and then die as deniers of the truth - indeed, God will not grant them forgiveness!
The life of this world is but a play and a passing delight: but if you believe [in God] and are conscious of Him, He will grant you your deserts. And withal, He does not demand of you [to sacrifice in His cause all of] your possessions:*
Behold, [O believers,] it is you who are called upon to spend freely in God's cause: but [even] among you are such as turn out to be niggardly! And yet, he who acts niggardly [in God's cause] is but niggardly towards his own self: for God is indeed self-sufficient, whereas you stand in need [of Him]; and if you turn away [from Him], He will cause other people to take your place, and they will not be the likes of you!
VERILY, [O Muhammad,] We have laid open before thee a manifest victory,*
VERILY, [O Muhammad,] We have sent thee as a witness [to the truth], and as a herald of glad tidings and a warner
Behold, all who pledge their allegiance to thee pledge their allegiance to God: the hand of God is over their hands.* Hence, he who breaks his oath, breaks it only to his own hurt; whereas he who remains true to what he has pledged unto God, on him will He bestow a reward supreme.
Now as for those who will not believe in God and His Apostle - verily, We have readied a blazing flame for all [such] deniers of the truth!
O YOU who have attained to faith! Do not put yourselves forward* in the presence of [what] God and His Apostle [may have ordained], but remain conscious of God: for, verily, God is all-hearing, all-knowing!
Behold, they who lower their voices in the presence of God's Apostle - it is they whose hearts God has tested [and opened] to consciousness of Himself; [and] theirs shall be forgiveness and a reward supreme.
Verily, [O Prophet,] as for those who call thee from without thy private apartments - most of them do not use their reason:*
Hence, if two groups of believers fall to fighting,* make peace between them; but then, if one of the two [groups] goes on acting wrongfully towards the other, fight against the one that acts wrongfully until it reverts to God's commandment;* and if they revert, make peace between them with justice, and deal equitably [with them]: for verily, God loves those who act equitably!
All believers are but brethren.* Hence, [whenever they are at odds,] make peace between your two brethren, and remain conscious of God, so that you might be graced with His mercy.
O you who have attained to faith! Avoid most guesswork [about one another]* for, behold, some of [such] guesswork is [in itself] a sin; and do not spy upon one another, and neither allow yourselves to speak ill of one another behind your backs. Would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? Nay, you would loathe it! And be conscious of God. Verily, God is an acceptor of repentance, a dispenser of grace!
O men! Behold, We have created you all out of a male and a female,* and have made you into nations and tribes, so that you might come to know one another.* Verily, the noblest of you in the sight of God is the one who is most deeply conscious of Him. Behold, God is all-knowing, all-aware.
THE BEDOUIN say, We have attained to faith." Say [unto them, O Muhammad]: You have not [yet] attained to faith; you should [rather] say, 'We have [outwardly] surrendered' - for [true] faith has not yet entered your hearts.* But if you [truly] pay heed unto God and His Apostle, He will not let the least of your deeds go to waste:* for, behold, God is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace."
[Know that true] believers are only those who have attained to faith in God and His Apostle and have left all doubt behind,* and who strive hard in God's cause with their possessions and their lives: it is they, they who are true to their word!
Verily, God knows the hidden reality of the heavens and the earth; and God sees all that you do.
In this, behold, there is indeed a reminder for everyone whose heart is wide-awake* -that is, [everyone who] lends ear with a conscious mind -*
Verily, it is We who grant life and deal death; and with Us will be all journeys' end
Verily, that which you are promised is true indeed,*
and, verily, judgment is bound to come!
Verily, [O men,] you are deeply at variance as to what to believe:*
[But,] behold, the God-conscious will find themselves amid gardens and springs,
enjoying all that their Sustainer will have granted them [because], verily, they were doers of good in the past:*
for, by the Sustainer of heaven and earth, this [life after death] is the very truth - as true as that you are endowed with speech!*
They answered: Thus has thy Sustainer decreed; and, verily, He alone is truly wise, all- knowing!"
They answered: Behold, we have been sent unto a people lost in sin,*
And [thus, too, We destroyed] Noah's people aforetime: for they were iniquitous folk.
AND IT IS We who have built the universe* with [Our creative] power; and, verily, it is We who are steadily expanding it.*
And so, [O Muhammad, say unto them:] Flee unto God [from all that is false and evil]! Verily, I am a plain warner to you from Him!
And do not ascribe divinity to aught side by side with God:* verily, I am a plain warner to you from Him!"
yet go on reminding [all who would listen]: for, verily, such a reminder will profit the believers.
for, verily, God Himself is the Provider of all sustenance, the Lord of all might, the Eternal!
And, verily, they who are bent on doing evil shall have their share [of evil] like unto the share of their fellows [of old]:* so let them not ask Me to hasten [their doom]!
VERILY, [O man,] the suffering decreed by thy Sustainer [for the sinners] will indeed come to pass:
Endure it [now]! But [whether you] bear yourselves with patience or without patience, it will be the same to you: you are but being requited for what you were wont to do."*
[But,] verily, the God-conscious will find themselves [on that Day] in gardens and in bliss,
They will say: Behold, aforetime - when we were [still living] in the midst of our kith and kin - we were full of fear [at the thought of God's displeasure]:*
Verily, we did invoke Him [alone] ere this: [and now He has shown us]* that He alone is truly benign, a true dispenser of grace!"
Say thou: Wait, [then,] hopefully; behold, I, too, shall hopefully wait with you!"*
But, verily, for those who are bent on doing evil, there is suffering in store [even] closer at hand than that [supreme suffering in the hereafter]: but most of them are not aware of it.*
And so, await in patience thy Sustainer's judgment, for thou art well within Our sight.* And extol thy Sustainer's limitless glory and praise whenever thou risest up,
Behold, it is [only] such as do not [really] believe in the life to come that regard the angels as female beings;*
and [since] they have no knowledge whatever thereof,* they follow nothing but surmise: yet, behold, never can surmise take the place of truth.
which, to them, is the only thing worth knowing.* Behold, thy Sustainer is fully aware as to who has strayed from His path, and fully aware is He as to who follows His guidance.
As for those who avoid the [truly] grave sins and shameful deeds - even though they may sometimes stumble* behold, thy Sustainer is abounding in forgiveness. He is fully aware of you* when He brings you into being out of dust,* and when you are still hidden in your mothers' wombs: do not, then, consider yourselves pure - [for] He knows best as to who is conscious of Him.*
as well as the people of Noah before them - [since,] verily, they all had been most willful in their evildoing and most overweening
Behold, We let loose upon them a raging storm wind on a day of bitter misfortune:
and they said: Are we to follow one single mortal, one from among ourselves?* In that case, behold, we would certainly sink into error and folly!
Behold, [O Salih] We are letting loose this she-camel as a test for them;* and thou but watch them, and contain thyself in patience.
Behold, We let loose upon them one single blast [of Our punishment],* and they became like the dried-up, crumbling twigs of a sheepfold.
[and so,] behold, We let loose upon them a deadly tempest;* and only Lot 's kinsfolk did We save at the break of dawn,
for, behold, those who are lost in sin [will at that time come to know that it is they who] were sunk in error and folly!*
BEHOLD, everything have We created in due measure and proportion;
[Hence, too,] behold, the God-conscious will find themselves in [a paradise of] gardens and running waters,
for, behold, We shall have brought them into being in a life renewed,
For, behold, in times gone by they were wont to abandon themselves wholly to the pursuit of pleasures,*
and would say, What! After we have died and become mere dust and bones, shall we, forsooth, be raised from the dead? -
Say: Verily, those of olden times and those of later times
and then, verily, O you who have gone astray and called the truth a lie,
and, behold, this is indeed a most solemn affirmation, if you but knew it!
Behold, it is a truly noble discourse,
Verily, this is indeed the truth of truths!*
It is He who bestows from on high clear messages unto [this] His servant, to lead you out of the deep darkness into the light: for, behold, God is most compassionate towards you, a dispenser of grace.
Verily, as for the men and women who accept the truth as true* and who [thus] offer up unto God a goodly loan, they will be amply repaid,* and shall have a noble reward [in the life to come].
NO CALAMITY can ever befall the earth, and neither your own selves,* unless it be [laid down] in Our decree before We bring it into being: verily, all this* is easy for God.
those who are niggardly [with God's bounty] and bid others to be niggardly!* And he who turns his back [on this truth* ought to know that], verily, God alone is self-sufficient, the One to whom all praise is due!
Indeed, [even aforetime] did We send forth Our apostles with all evidence of [this] truth; and through them* We bestowed revelation from on high, and [thus gave you] a balance [wherewith to weigh right and wrong], so that men might behave with equity; and We bestowed [upon you] from on high [the ability to make use of] iron, in which there is awesome power as well as [a source of] benefits for man:* and [all this was given to you] so that God might mark out those who would stand up for him and His Apostle,* even though He [Himself] is beyond the reach of human perception.* Verily, God is powerful, almighty!
GOD has indeed heard the words of her who pleads with thee concerning her husband, and complains Unto God.* And God does hear what you both have to say:* verily, God is all-hearing, all-seeing.
As for those of you who [henceforth] separate themselves from their wives by saying, Thou art as unlawful to me as my mother",* [let them bear in mind that] they can never be [as] their mothers: none are their mothers save those who gave them birth: and so, behold, they but utter a saying that runs counter to reason,* and is [therefore] false. But, behold, God is indeed an absolver of sins, much-forgiving:
Verily, those who contend against God and His Apostle shall be brought low even as those [evildoers] who lived before them were brought low after We had bestowed [on them] clear messages from on high.* And [so,] for those who deny the truth there will be shameful suffering in store
ART THOU NOT aware that God knows all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth? Never can there be a secret confabulation between three persons without His being the fourth of them, nor between five without His being the sixth of them; and neither between less than that, or more, without His being with them wherever they may he. But in the end, on Resurrection Day, He will make them truly understand what they did: for, verily, God has full knowledge of everything.
[All other kinds of] secret confabulations are but of Satan's doing, so that he might cause grief to those who have attained to faith; yet he cannot harm them in the least, unless it be by God's leave:* in God, then, let the believers place their trust!
O YOU who have attained to faith! Whenever you [intend to] consult the Apostle, offer up something in charity on the occasion of your consultation:* this will be for your own good, and more conducive to your [inner] purity. Yet if you are unable to do so,* [know that,] verily, God is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace.
God has readied for them suffering severe [in the life to come]. Behold, evil indeed is what they are wont to do:
On the Day when God will raise them all from the dead, they will swear before Him as they [now] swear before you, thinking that they are on firm ground [in their assumptions].* Oh, verily, it is they, they who are the [greatest] liars!*
Satan has gained mastery over them, and has caused them to remain oblivious of the remembrance of God. Such as these are Satan's partisans: oh, verily, it is they, the partisans of Satan, who will truly be the losers!
Verily, those who contend against God and His Apostle - it is they who [on Judgment Day] shall find themselves among the most abject.
[For] God has thus ordained: I shall most certainly prevail, I and My apostles!" Verily, God is powerful, almighty!
Thou canst not find people who [truly] believe in God and the Last Day and [at the same time] love anyone who contends against God and His Apostle - even though they be their fathers, or their sons, or their brothers, or [others of] their kindred.* [As for the true believers,] it is they in whose hearts He has inscribed faith, and whom He has strengthened with inspiration from Himself,* and whom [in time] He will admit into gardens through which running waters flow, therein to abide. Well-pleased is God with them, and well-pleased are they with Him. They are God's partisans: oh, verily, it is they, the partisans of God, who shall attain to a happy state!
this, because they cut themselves off from God and His Apostle:* and as for him who cuts himself off from God and His Apostle - verily, God is severe in retribution!
Whatever [spoils taken] from the people of those villages God has turned over to His Apostle - [all of it] belongs to God and the Apostle,* and the near of kin [of deceased believers], and the orphans, and the needy, and the wayfarer,* so that it may not be [a benefit] going round and round among such of you as may [already] be rich. Hence, accept [willingly] whatever the Apostle* gives you [thereof], and refrain from [demanding] anything that he withholds from you; and remain conscious of God: for, verily, God is severe in retribution.*
And so, they who come after them pray:* O our Sustainer! Forgive us our sins, as well as those of our brethren who preceded us in faith, and let not our hearts entertain any unworthy thoughts or feelings against [any of] those who have attained to faith. O our Sustainer! Verily, Thou art compassionate, a dispenser of grace!"
ART THOU NOT aware of how those who would always dissemble [their real feelings]* speak to their truth-denying brethren from among the followers of earlier revelation:* If you are driven away, we shall most certainly go forth with you, and shall never pay heed to anyone against you; and if war is waged against you, we shall most certainly come to your succour." But God bears witness that they are most flagrantly lying:
the like of [what happens] when Satan says unto man, Deny the truth!" - but as soon as [man] has denied the truth, [Satan] says, Behold, I am not responsible for thee: behold, I fear God, the Sustainer of all the worlds!"*
O YOU who have attained to faith! Remain conscious of God; and let every human being look to what he sends ahead for the morrow! And [once again]: Remain conscious of God, for God is fully aware of all that you do;
Indeed, you have had a good example in Abraham and those who followed him, when they said unto their [idolatrous] people: "Verily, we are quit of you and of all that you worship instead of God: we deny the truth of whatever you believe; and between us and you there has arisen enmity and hatred, to last until such a time* as you come to believe in the One God!" The only exception was* Abraham's saying to his father "I shall indeed pray for [God's] forgiveness for thee,* although I have it not in my power to obtain anything from God in thy behalf." [And Abraham and his followers prayed:] "O our Sustainer! In Thee have we placed our trust, and unto Thee do we turn: for unto Thee is all journeys' end.
O our Sustainer! Make us not a plaything* for those who are bent on denying the truth! And forgive us our sins, O our sustainer: for Thou alone art, almighty, truly wise!"
In them, indeed, you have a good example for everyone who looks forward [with hope and awe* ] to God and the Last Day. And if any turns away, [let him know that] God is truly self-sufficient, the One to whom all praise is due."
As for such [of the unbelievers] as do not fight against you on account of [your] faith, and neither drive you forth from your homelands, God does not forbid you to show them kindness and to behave towards them with full equity:* for, verily, God loves those who act equitably.
God only forbids you to turn in friendship towards such as fight against you because of [your] faith, and drive you forth from your homelands, or aid [others] in driving you forth: and as for those [from among you] who turn towards them in friendship; it is they, they who are truly wrongdoers!
O Prophet! Whenever believing women come unto thee to pledge their allegiance to thee,* [pledging] that [henceforth] they would not ascribe divinity, in any way, to aught but God, and would not steal,* and would not commit adultery, and would not kill their children,* and would not indulge in slander, falsely devising it out of nothingness:* and would not disobey thee in anything [that thou declarest to be] right - then accept their pledge of allegiance, and pray to God to forgive them their [past] sins: for, behold, God is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace.
Verily, God loves [only] those who fight in His cause in [solid] ranks,* as though they were a building firm and compact.
And [this happened, too,] when Jesus, the son of Mary, said: "O children of Israel! Behold, I am an apostle of God unto you, [sent] to confirm the truth of whatever there still remains* of the Torah, and to give [you] the glad tiding of an apostle who shall come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad."* But when he [whose coming Jesus had foretold] came unto them* with all evidence of the truth, they said: "This [alleged message of his] is [nothing but] spellbinding eloquence!"*
Say: "Behold, the death from which you are fleeing* is bound to overtake you - and then you will be brought back unto Him who knows all that is beyond the reach of a created being's perception as well as all that can be witnessed by a creature's senses or mind,* whereupon He will make you truly understand all that you were doing [in life].
WHEN THE HYPOCRITES come unto thee, they say, "We bear witness that thou art indeed God's Apostle!" But God knows that thou art truly His Apostle; and He bears witness that the hypocrites are indeed false [in their declaration of faith].
They have made their oaths a cover [for their falseness], and thus they turn others away from the Path of God.* Evil indeed is all that they are wont to do:
As for them it is all the same whether thou dost pray that they be forgiven or dost not pray for them: God will nor forgive them - for, behold, God does not bestow His guidance upon such iniquitous folk.*
Pay heed, then, unto God, and pay heed unto the Apostle; and if you turn away, [know that] Our Apostle's only duty is a clear delivery of this message:
O YOU who have attained to faith! Behold, some of your spouses* and your children are enemies unto you: so beware of them!* But if you pardon [their faults] and forbear, and forgive-then, behold, God will be much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace.
Your worldly goods and your children are but a trial and a temptation,* whereas with God there is a tremendous reward.
and provides for him in a manner beyond all expectation;* and for everyone who places his trust in God He [alone] is enough. Verily, God always attains to His purpose: [and] indeed, unto everything has God appointed its [term and] measure.
[Say, O Prophet:* ] "Would that you two turn unto God in repentance, for the hearts of both of you have swerved [from what is right]!* And if you uphold each other against him [who is God's message-bearer, know that] God Himself is his Protector, and [that,] therefore,* Gabriel, and all the righteous among the believers and all the [other] angels will come to his aid."
[Hence,] O you who are bent on denying the truth, make no [empty] excuses today:* [in the life to come] you shall be but recompensed for what you were doing [in this world].
O you who have attained to faith! Turn unto God in sincere repentance:* it may well be .that your Sustainer will efface from you your bad deeds, and will admit you into gardens through which running waters flow, on a Day on which God will not shame the Prophet and those who share his faith:* their light will spread rapidly before them, and on their right;* [and] they will pray: "O our Sustainer! Cause this our light to shine for us forever,* and forgive us our sins: for, verily, Thou hast the power to will anything!"
[As against this,] behold, for those who stand in awe of God although He is beyond the reach of their perception,* there is forgiveness in store and a great reward.
AND [know, O men, that] whether you keep your beliefs* secret or state them openly, He has full knowledge indeed of all that is in [your] hearts.*
Have they, then, never beheld the birds above them, spreading their wings and drawing them in? None but the Most Gracious upholds them: for, verily, He keeps all things in His sight.
Say thou, [O Prophet:] "Knowledge thereof rests with God alone; and I am only a plain warner."
And, verily, thine shall be a reward neverending
for, behold, thou keepest indeed to a sublime way of life;*
Verily, thy Sustainer alone is fully aware as to who has strayed from His path, Just as He alone is fully aware of those who have found the right way.
[As for such sinners,] behold, We [but] try them* as We tried the owners of a certain garden who vowed that they would surely harvest its fruit on the morrow,
But as soon as they beheld [the garden and could not recognize] it, they exclaimed, "Surely we have lost our way!"
They answered: "Limitless in His glory is our Sustainer! Verily, we were doing wrong!"
[In the end] they said: "Oh, woe unto us! Verily, we did behave outrageously!
[But] it may be that our Sustainer will grant us something better instead:* for, verily, unto our Sustainer do we turn with hope!"
For, behold, it is the God-conscious [alone] whom gardens of bliss await with their Sustainer:
and in which you find all that you may wish to find?*
Or have you received a solemn promise, binding on Us till Resurrection Day, that yours will assuredly be whatever you judge [to be your rightful due]?
for, behold, though I may give them rein for a while, My subtle scheme is exceedingly firm!*
Hence, [be patient,] even though they who are bent on denying the truth would all but kill thee with their eyes whenever they hear this reminder, and [though] they say, "[As for Mubammad,] behold, most surely he is a madman!"
[And] behold: when the waters [of Noah's flood] burst beyond all limits, it was We who caused you* to be borne [to safety] in that floating ark,
Behold, I did know that [one day] I would have to face my account!*
for, behold, he did not believe in God, the Tremendous,
Behold, this [Qur'an] is indeed the [inspired] word of a noble apostle,
And, verily, this [Qur'an] is a reminder to all the God-conscious!*
And, behold, well do We know that among you are such as will give the lie to it:
yet, behold, this [rejection] will indeed become a source of bitter regret for all who deny the truth [of God's revelation]
for, verily, it is truth absolute!
behold, men* look upon that [reckoning] as something far away
But nay! Verily, all [that awaits him] is a raging flame,
VERILY, man is born with a restless disposition.*
for, behold, of their Sustainer's chastisement none may ever feel [wholly] secure;*
[not giving way to their desires] with any but their spouses - that is, those whom they rightfully possess [through wedlock] - :* for then, behold, they are free of all blame,
Never! For, behold, We have created them out of something that they know [only too well]!*
But nay! I call to witness [Our being] the Sustainer of all the points of sunrise and sunset:* verily, well able are We
BEHOLD. We sent Noah unto his people. [saying:] "Warn thy people ere grievous suffering befall them!
[And Noah] said: "O my people! I am but a plain warner to you, [sent to tell you]
so that He may forgive you some of your sins, and grant you respite until a term known [to Him alone]:* but, behold, when the term appointed by God does come, it can never be put back - if you but knew it!"
[And after a time, Noah] said: "O my Sustainer! Verily, I have been calling unto my people night and day
And behold, whenever I called unto them with a view to Thy granting them forgiveness, they put their fingers into their ears, and wrapped themselves up in their garments [of sin];* and grew obstinate, and became [yet more] arrogant in their false pride.
"And behold I called unto them openly;
and, behold I preached to them in public; and I spoke to them secretly, in private;
and I said: "'Ask your Sustainer to forgive you your sins - for, verily, He is all-forgiving!
[And] Noah continued: "O my Sustainer! Behold, they have opposed me [throughout], for they follow people whose wealth and children lead them increasingly into ruin,*
for, behold, If Thou dost leave them, they will [always try to] lead astray those who worship Thee, and will give birth to nothing but wickedness and stubborn ingratitude.*
SAY: "It has been revealed to me that some of the unseen beings gave ear [to this divine writ],* and thereupon said [unto their fellow-beings]: "'Verily, we have heard a wondrous discourse,
Say: "I invoke my Sustainer alone, for I do not ascribe divinity to anyone beside Him."
Say: "Verily, it is not in my power to cause you harm or to endow you with consciousness of what is right."
Say: "Verily, no one could ever protect me from God, nor could I ever find a place to hide from Him
if I should fail to convey* [to the world whatever illumination comes to me] from God and His messages." Now as for him who rebels against God and His Apostle - verily, the fire of hell awaits him, therein to abide beyond the count of time.*
unless it be to an apostle whom He has been pleased to elect [there for]:* and then He sends forth [the forces of heaven] to watch over him in whatever lies open before him and in what is beyond his ken*
Behold, We shall bestow upon thee a weighty message
[and,] verily, the hours of night the mind most strongly and speak with the clearest voice,*
whereas by day a long chain of doings is thy portion.
for, behold, heavy fetters [await them] with Us, and a blazing fire,
BEHOLD, [O men,] We have sent unto you an apostle who shall bear witness to the truth before you, even as We sent an apostle unto Pharaoh:*
This, verily, is a reminder: let him who wills, then set out on a way to his Sustainer!
BEHOLD, [O Prophet,] thy Sustainer knows that thou keepest awake [in prayer] nearly two-thirds of the night, or one-half of it, or a third of it, together with some of those who follow thee.* And God who determines the measure of night and day, is aware that you would never grudge it:* and therefore He turns towards you in His grace. Recite, then, as much of the Qur'an as you may do with ease. He knows that in time there will be among you sick people, and others who will go about the land in search of God's bounty, and others who will fight in God's cause.* Recite, then, [only] as much of it as you may do with ease, and be constant in prayer, and spend in charity,* and [thus] lend unto God a goodly loan: for whatever good deed you may offer up in your own behalf, you shall truly find it with God - yea, better, and richer in reward. And [always] seek God's forgiveness: behold, God is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace!
Nay, verily, it is against Our messages that he knowingly, stubbornly sets himself*
Behold, [when Our messages are conveyed to one who is bent on denying the truth,] he reflects and meditates [as to how to disprove them]
Verily, that [hell-fire) is Indeed one of the great [forewarnings]
Nay, verily, this is an admonition
for, behold, it is for Us to gather it [in thy heart,] and to cause it to be read [as it ought to be read].*
and then, behold, it will be for Us to make its meaning clear.*
Verily, it is We who have created man out of a drop of sperm intermingled,* so that We might try him [in his later life]: and therefore We made him a being endowed with hearing and sight.
Verily, We have shown him the way:* [and it rests with him to prove himself] either grateful or ungrateful.
[Now,] behold, for those who deny the truth* We have readied chains and shackles, and a blazing flame*
[whereas,] behold, the truly virtuous shall drink from a cup flavoured with the calyx of sweet-smelling flowers:*
[saying, in their hearts,] "We feed you for the sake of God alone: we desire no recompense from you, nor thanks:
behold, we stand in awe of our Sustainer's judgment* on a distressful, fateful Day!"
[And they will be told:] "Verily, all this is your reward since Your endeavour [in life] has met [God's] goodly acceptance!"
VERILY, [O believer,] it is We who have bestowed from on high this Qur'an upon thee, step by step* - truly a bestowal from on high!
Behold, they [who are unmindful of God] love this fleeting life, and leave behind them [all thought of] a grief-laden Day.
VERILY, all this is an admonition: whoever, then, so wills, may unto his Sustainer find a way.
But you cannot will it unless God wills [to show you that way]:* for, behold, God is indeed all-seeing, wise.
BEHOLD, all that you are told to expect* will surely come to pass.
which behold!- will throw up sparks like [burning] logs,
[AS AGAINST this,] behold, the God-conscious shall dwell amidst [cooling] shades and springs,
Thus, behold, do We reward the doers of good;
EAT [your fill] and enjoy your life for a little while, O you who are lost in sin!*
VERILY, the Day of Distinction [between the true and the false]* has indeed its appointed time:
[On that Day,] verily, hell will lie in wait [for those who deny the truth]
Behold, they were not expecting to be called to account,
[But,] verily for the God-conscious there is supreme fulfilment in store:*
Verily, We have warned you of suffering near at hand - [suffering] on the Day when man shall [clearly] see what his hands have sent ahead, and when he who has denied the truth shall say, "Oh, would that I were mere dust... !"*
[And yet,] some say, "What! Are we indeed to be restored to our former state
[But,] then, that [Last Hour] will be [upon them of a sudden, as if it were] but a single accusing cry -
"Go unto Pharaoh - for, verily, he has transgressed all bounds of what is right -
In this, behold, there is a lesson indeed for all who stand in awe [of God].
that blazing fire will truly be the goal!
paradise will truly be the goal!
Thou art but [sent] to warn those who stand in awe of it.
NAY, VERILY, these [messages] are but a reminder:*
behold, this [divine writ] is indeed the [inspired] word of a noble apostle,*
And yet, verily, there are ever-watchful forces over you,
Behold, [in the life to come] the truly virtuous: will indeed be in bliss,
whereas, behold, the wicked will indeed be in a blazing fire
NAY, VERILY, the record of the wicked is indeed [set down] in a mode inescapable!*
Nay, verily, from [the grace of] their Sustainer shall they on that Day be debarred;
and then, behold, they shall enter the blazing fire
NAY, VERILY - the record of the truly virtuous is [set down] in a mode most lofty!*
Behold, [in the life to come] the truly virtuous will indeed be in bliss:
BEHOLD, those who have abandoned themselves to sin are wont to laugh at such as have attained to faith*
and whenever they see those [who believe,] they say, "Behold, these [people] have indeed gone astray!"
[then,] O man - thou [that] hast, verily, been toiling towards thy Sustainer in painful toil* - then shalt thou meet Him!
Behold, [in his earthly life] he lived joyfully among people of his own kind*
for, behold, he never thought that he would have to return [to God].
Yea indeed! His Sustainer did see all that was in him!
Verily, as for those who persecute believing men and believing women, and thereafter do not repent, hell's suffering awaits them: yea, suffering through fire awaits them!*
[But,] verily, they who attain to faith and do righteous deeds shall [in the life to come] have gardens through which running waters flow - that triumph most great!*
VERILY, thy Sustainer's grip is exceedingly strong!
Behold, it is He who creates [man] in the first instance, and He [it is who] will bring him forth anew.
Now, verily, He [who thus creates man in the first instance] is well able to bring him back [to life]
BEHOLD, this [divine writ] is indeed a word that between truth and falsehood,*
Behold, they [who refuse to accept it] devise many a false argument* [to disprove its truth];
save what God may will [thee to forget]* - for, verily, He [alone] knows all that is open to [man's] perception as well as all that is hidden [from it]*
Verily, [all] this has indeed been [said] in the earlier revelations
And so, [O Prophet,] exhort them; thy task is only to exhort:
for behold, unto Us will be their return,
and verily, It is for Us to call them to account.
for, verily, thy Sustainer is ever on the watch!
Verily, [O men,] you aim at most divergent ends!*
BEHOLD, it is indeed for Us to grace [you] with guidance;
and, behold, Ours is [the dominion over] the life to come as well as [over] this earlier part [of your life]:*
And, behold, with every hardship comes ease:
verily, with every hardship comes ease!
Nay, verily, man becomes grossly overweening
for, behold, unto thy Sustainer all must return.*
BEHOLD, from on high have We bestowed this [divine writ] on Night of Destiny.*
Verily, those who [despite all evidence] are bent on denying the truth* - [be they] from among the followers of earlier revelation or from among those who ascribe divinity to aught beside God - will find themselves in the fire of hell, therein to abide: they are the worst of all creatures.
[And,] verily, those who have attained to faith, and do righteous deeds - it is they, they who are the best of all creatures.
VERILY, towards his Sustainer man is most ungrateful*
and to this, behold, he [himself] bears witness indeed:
for, verily, to the love of wealth is he most ardently devoted.
that on that Day their Sustainer [will show that He] has always been fully aware of them?
Verily, man is bound to lose himself
verily, it will close in upon them
BEHOLD, We have bestowed upon thee good in abundance:*
Verily, he that hates thee has indeed been cut off [from all that is good]!*
extol thy Sustainer's limitless glory, and praise Him, and seek His forgiveness: for, behold, He is ever an acceptor of repentance.*
