[O wives of the Prophet!] Were he to divorce [any of] you, God might well give him in your stead spouses better than you - women who surrender themselves unto God, who truly believe, devoutly obey His will, turn [unto Him] in repentance [whenever they have sinned] worship [Him alone] and go on and on [seeking His goodly acceptance]* - be they women previously married or virgins.*

And [as for] that favour of which thou so tauntingly remindest me - [was it not] due to thy having enslaved the children of Israel?"*

Never did the Christ feel too proud to be God's servant, nor do the angels who are near unto Him. And those who feel too proud to serve Him and glory in their arrogance [should know that on Judgment Day] He will gather them all unto Himself:

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].

and none can bear witness between us and you as God does: we were, for certain, unaware of your worshipping [us].*

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!"

the Sustainer of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them! Worship, then, Him alone, and remain steadfast in His worship! Dost thou know any whose name is worthy to be mentioned side by side with His?"

But nay! [On Judgment Day] these [very objects of adoration] will disavow the worship that was paid to them, and will turn against those [who had worshipped them]!

for, unto Him belong all [beings] that are in the heavens and on earth; and those that are with Him* are never too proud to worship Him and never grow weary [thereof]:

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!"

such as, when all mankind is gathered [for judgment], will be enemies unto those [who worshipped them], and will utterly reject their worship?*

[Say: "Our life takes its] hue from God! And who could give a better hue [to life] than God, if we but truly worship Him?"

[It is a triumph of] those who turn [unto God] in repentance [whenever they have sinned], and who worship and praise [Him], and go on and on [seeking His goodly acceptance],* and bow down [before Him] and prostrate themselves in adoration, and enjoin the doing of what is right and forbid the doing of what is wrong, and keep to the bounds set by God. And give thou [O Prophet] the glad tiding [of God's promise] to all believers.

They answered: ''We found our forefathers worshipping them."

and made them leaders who would guide [others] in accordance with Our behest: for We inspired them [with a will] to do good works, and to be constant in prayer, and to dispense charity: and Us [alone] did they worship.

whereupon We responded unto him and removed all the affliction from which he suffered; and We gave him new offspring,* doubling their number as an act of grace from Us, and as a reminder unto all who worship Us.

herein, behold, there is a message for people who [truly] worship God.

And so they said: “Shall we believe [them] two mortals like ourselves - although their people are our slaves?"

Say [O Prophet]: “If the Most Gracious [truly] had a son, I would be the first to worship him!"

and neither do you worship that which I worship!*

"And I will not worship ~hat which you have [ever] worshipped,

and neither will you [ever] worship that which I worship.*

Thee alone do we worship; and unto Thee alone do we turn for aid.

O MANKIND! Worship your Sustainer, who has created you and those who lived before you, so that you might remain conscious of Him

AND LO! We accepted this solemn pledge from [you,] ' the children of Israel:* "You shall worship none but God; and you shall do good unto your parents and kinsfolk, and the orphans, and the poor; and you shall speak unto all people in a kindly way; and you shall be constant in prayer; and you shall spend in charity.* "And yet, save for a few of you, you turned away: for you are obstinate folk!*

Nay, but you [yourselves, O children of Israel ,] bear witness* that when death was approaching Jacob, he said unto his sons: "Whom will you worship after I am gone?" They answered: "We will worship thy God, the God of thy forefathers Abraham and Ishmael* and Isaac, the One God; and unto Him w;1l we surrender ourselves."

O you who have attained to faith! Partake of the good things which We have provided for you as sustenance, and render thanks unto God, if it is [truly] Him that you worship.

"Verily, God is my Sustainer as well as your Sustainer; so worship Him [alone]: this is a straight way."

Say: "O followers of earlier revelation! Come unto that tenet which we and you hold in common:* that we shall worship none but God, and that we shall not ascribe divinity to aught beside Him, and that we shall not take human beings for our lords beside God."* And if they turn away, then say: "Bear witness that it is we who have surrendered ourselves unto Him."

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;

Say: "Shall I tell you who, in the sight of God, deserves a yet worse retribution than these? They whom God has rejected and whom He has condemned, and whom He has turned into apes and swine because they worshipped the powers of evil:* these are yet worse in station, and farther astray from the right path [than the mockers]."*

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!

Say: "Would you worship, beside God, aught that has no power either to harm or to benefit you-when God alone is all-hearing, all-knowing?"

Nothing did I tell them beyond what Thou didst bid me [to say]: `Worship God, [who is] my Sustainer as well as your Sustainer.' And I bore witness to what they did as long as I dwelt in their midst; but since Thou hast caused me to die, Thou alone hast been their keeper:* for Thou art witness unto everything.

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."

Such is God, your Sustainer: there is no deity save Him, the Creator of everything: worship, then, Him alone -for it is He who has everything in His care.

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!"*

AND UNTO [the tribe of] `Ad [We sent] their brother Hud.* He said: "O my people! Worship God alone: you have no deity other than Him. Will you not, then, be conscious of Him?"

They answered: "Hast thou come to us [with the demand] that we worship God alone, and give up all that our forefathers were wont to worship? Bring about, then, that [punishment] with which thou hast threatened us, if thou art a man of truth!"

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. Clear evidence of the truth has now come unto you from your Sustainer. "This she-camel belonging to God shall be a token for you: so leave her alone to pasture on God's earth, and do her no harm, lest grievous chastisement befall you.*

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. Clear evidence of the truth has now come unto you from your Sustainer. Give, therefore, full measure and weight [in all your dealings], and do not deprive people of what is rightfully theirs;* and do not spread corruption on earth after it has be, en so well ordered: [all] this is for your own good, 'if you would but believe.

They have taken their rabbis and their monks-as well as the Christ, son of Mary-for their lords beside God,* although they had been bidden to worship none but the One God, save whom there is no deity: the One who is utterly remote, in His limitless glory, from anything to which they may ascribe a share in His divinity!

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?

and [neither will] they [who] worship, side by side with God, things or beings that can neither harm nor benefit them, saying [to themselves], "These are our intercessors with God!"* Say: "Do you [think that you could] inform God of anything in the heavens or on earth that He does not know?* Limitless is He in His glory, and sublimely exalted above anything to which men may ascribe a share in His divinity!"

For, one Day We shall gather them all together, and then We shall say unto those who [in their lifetime] ascribed divinity to aught but God, "Stand where you are, you and those [beings and powers] to whom you were wont to ascribe a share in God's divinity!* -for by then We shall have [visibly] separated them from one another .* And the beings to whom they had ascribed a share in God's divinity will say [to those who had worshipped them], "It was not us that you were wont to worship;*

SAY [O Prophet]: "O mankind! If you are in doubt as to what my faith is, then [know that] I do not worship those beings whom you worship beside God,* but [that] I worship God alone, who shall cause you [all] to die:* for I have been bidden to be among those who believe [in Him alone]."

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:*

that you may worship none but God-for, verily, I fear lest suffering befall you on a grievous Day!"*

AND UNTO [the tribe of] `Ad [We sent] their brother Hud.* He said: "O my people! Worship God [alone]: you have no deity other than Him. [As it is,] you are but inventors of falsehood!*

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 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!"

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 God alone comprehends the hidden reality of the heavens and the earth:* for, all that exists goes back to Him [as its source]. Worship Him, then, and place thy trust in Him alone: for thy Sustainer is not unaware of what you do.

"All that you worship instead of God is nothing but [empty] names which you have invented* - you and your forefathers- [and] for which God has bestowed no warrant from on high. Judgment [as to what is right and what is wrong] rests with God alone-[and] He has ordained that you should worship nought but Him: this is the [one] ever-true faith; but most people know it not*

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!"

Said the apostles sent unto them:* "Can there be any doubt about [the existence and oneness of] God, the Originator of the heavens and the earth? It is He who calls unto you, so that He may forgive you [whatever is past] of your sins and grant you respite until a term [set by Him is fulfilled]."* [But] they replied: "You are nothing but mortal men like ourselves! You want to turn us away from what our forefathers were wont to worship: well, then, bring us a clear proof [of your being God's message-bearers]!"

AND [remember the time] when Abraham spoke [thus]:* "O my Sustainer! Make this land secure,* and preserve me and my children from ever worshipping idols* -

and worship thy Sustainer till death comes to thee.*

Now they who ascribe divinity to aught beside God say, "Had God so willed, we would not have worshipped aught but Him - neither we nor our forefathers; nor would we have declared aught as forbidden without a commandment from Him."* Even thus did speak those [sinners] who lived before their time; but, then, are the apostles bound to do more than clearly deliver the message [entrusted to them] ?*

And indeed, within every community* have We raised up an apostle [entrusted with this message]: "Worship God, and shun the powers of evil!"* And among those [past generations] were people whom God graced with His guidance,* just as there was among them [many a one] who inevitably fell prey to grievous error:* go, then, about the earth and behold what happened in the end to those who gave the lie to the truth!

and will they [continue to] worship, instead of God, something that has it not within its power to provide for them any sustenance whatever from the heavens or the earth,* and can do nothing at all?

AND SO, partake of all the lawful, good things which God has provided for you as sustenance, and render thanks unto God for His blessings, if it is [truly] Him that you worship.*

for thy Sustainer has ordained that you shall worship none but Him. And do good unto [thy] parents.* Should one of them, or both, attain to old age in thy care, never say "Ugh"* to them or scold them, but [always] speak unto them with reverent speech,

Hence, now that you have withdrawn from them and from all that they worship instead of God, take refuge in that cave: God will spread His grace over you, and will endow you - whatever your [outward] condition - with all that your souls may need!*

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."*

when he spoke [thus] unto his father: "O my father! Why dost thou worship something that neither hears nor sees and can be of no avail whatever to thee?

"O my father! Do not worship Satan-for, verily, Satan is a rebel against the Most Gracious!*

And after he had withdrawn from them and from all that they were worshipping instead of God, We bestowed upon him Isaac and Jacob, and made each of them a prophet;

the Sustainer of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them! Worship, then, Him alone, and remain steadfast in His worship! Dost thou know any whose name is worthy to be mentioned side by side with His?"

"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!*

and [this despite the fact that even] before thy time We never sent any apostle without having revealed to him that there is no deity save Me, - [and that,] therefore, you shall worship Me [alone]!

Said [Abraham]: “Do you then worship, instead of God, something that cannot benefit you in any way, nor harm you?

Fie upon you and upon all that you worship instead of God! Will you not, then, use your reason?"

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]!*

[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.*

And there is, too, among men many a one who worships God on the border-line [of faith]:* thus, if good befalls him, he is satisfied with Him; but if a trial assails him, he turns away utterly,* losing [thereby both] this world and the life to come: [and] this, indeed, is a loss beyond compare!*

And yet* they [who claim to believe in Him often] worship [other beings or forces] beside God - something for which He has never bestoweed any warrant from on high,* and [of the reality] whereof they cannot have any knowledge:* and such evildoers shall have none to succour them [on Judgment Day].

O YOU who have attained to faith! Bow down and prostrate yourselves, and worship your Sustainer [alone], and do good, so that you might attain to a happy state!

AND, INDEED, We sent forth Noah unto his people and he said:* “O my people! Worship God alone]: you have no deity other than Him. Will you not, then, become conscious of Him?"

and [every time] We sent unto them an apostle from among themselves, [he told them:] “Worship God [alone]: you have no deity other than Him. Will you not, then, become conscious of Him?"*

God has promised those of you who have attained to faith and do righteous deeds that, of a certainty, He will cause them to accede to power on earth,* even as He caused [some of] those who lived before them to accede to it; and that, of a certainty, He will firmly establish for them the religion which He has been pleased to bestow on them;* and that, of a certainty, He will cause their erstwhile state of fear to be replaced by a sense of security* [seeing that] they worship Me [alone], not ascribing divine powers to aught beside Me.* But all who, after [having understood] this, choose to deny the truth - it is they, they who are truly iniquitous!

BUT [as for people who are oblivious of thy Sus­tainer's oneness -]* one Day He will gather them together with all that they [now] worship instead of God, and will ask [those to whom divinity was falsely ascribed]:* “Was it you who led these My creatures astray, or did they by themselves stray from the right path?"

And yet, some people* worship, instead of God, things that can neither benefit them nor harm them: thus, he who denies the truth does indeed turn his back on his Sustainer!

[how it was] when he asked his father and his people, “What is it that you worship?"

They answered: We worship idols, and we remain ever devoted to them."

Said [Abraham]: “Have you, then, ever con­sidered what it is that you have been worshipping

and they will be asked: “Where now is all that you were wont to worship

[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!"*

AND [likewise], indeed, We sent unto [the tribe of] Thamud their brother Salih [with this message]: “Worship God alone!"* and, behold, they were [split into] two factions contending with one another.

[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,

[whereupon] they against whom the word [of truth] shall thus stand revealed* will exclaim: O our Sustainer! Those whom we caused to err so grievously, we but caused to err as we our­selves had been erring.* We [now] disavow them before Thee: it was not us that they worshipped!"*

And Abraham, [too, was inspired by Us] when he said unto his people: “Worship God, and be conscious of Him: this is the best for you, if you but knew it!

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!

AND UNTO [the people of] Madyan [We sent] their brother Shu'ayb* who thereupon said: “O my peo­ple! Worship God [alone], and look forward to the Last Day, and do not act wickedly on earth by spreading corruption!"

O YOU servants of Mine who have attained to faith! Behold, wide is Mine earth: worship Me, then, Me alone!*

And [as for those who now deny the truth,] one Day He will gather them all together, and will ask the angels, “Was it you that they were wont to worship?"*

They will answer: “Limitless art Thou in Thy glory! Thou [alone] art close unto us, not they!* Nay, [when they thought that they were worshipping us,] they were but [blindly] worshipping forces concealed from their senses; most of them believed in them."*

For [thus it is:] whenever Our messages are conveyed unto them in all their clarity, they [who are bent on denying the truth] say [to one another], “This [Muhammad] is nothing but a man who wants to turn you away from what your forefathers were wont to worship!" And they say, “This [Qur'an] is nothing but a falsehood invented [by man]!" And [finally,] they who are bent on denying the truth speak thus of the truth when it comes to them: “This is clearly nothing but spellbinding eloquence!"*

“[As for me,] why should I not worship Him who has brought me into being, and to whom you all will be brought back?

Did I not enjoin on you, O you children of Adam, that you should not worship Satan – since, verily, he is your open foe*

and that you should worship Me [alone]? This would have been a straight way!

[And God will thus command:] “Assemble all those who were bent on evildoing, together with others of their ilk* and [with] all that they were wont to worship

and [thus] spoke to his father and his people: “What is it that you worship?

He answered: “Do you worship something that you [yourselves] have carved,

for, verily, neither you [blasphemers] nor the objects of your worship

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!*

Say [O Muhammad]: “Behold, I am bidden to worship God, sincere in my faith in Him alone;

Say: “God alone do I worship, sincere in my faith in Him alone -

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?*

seeing that for those who shun the powers of evil lest they [be tempted to] worship them,* and turn unto God instead, there is the glad tiding [of happiness in the life to come].* Give, then, this glad tiding to [those of] My ser­vants

Say: “Is it, then, something other than God that you bid me to worship, O you who are unaware [of right and wrong]?"

Nay, but thou shalt worship God [alone], and be among those who are grateful [to Him]!

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."

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!"

Now among His signs are the night and the day, as well as the sun and the moon: [hence,] adore not the sun or the moon, but prostrate yourselves in adoration before God, who has created them - if it is Him whom you [really] worship.*

Yet they say, “Had [not] the Most Gracious so willed, we would never have worshipped them!" [But] they cannot have any knowledge of [His having willed] such a thing: they do nothing but guess.*

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!

Yet [above all else,] ask any of Our apostles whom We sent forth before thy time* whether We have ever allowed that deities other than the Most Gracious be worshipped!

“Verily, God is my Sustainer as well as your Sustainer; so worship [none but] Him: this [alone] is a straight way!"

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!"

And [tell them that] I have not created the invisible beings* and men to any end other than that they may [know and] worship Me.*

[Nay,] but prostrate yourselves before God, and worship [Him alone]!

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.

that you should worship God [alone] and be conscious of Him. "Now do pay heed unto me,

And withal, they were not enjoined aught but that they should worship God, sincere in their faith in Him alone, turning away from all that is false;* and that they should be constant in prayer; and that they should spend in charity:* for this is a moral law endowed with ever-true soundness and clarity.*

Let them, therefore, worship the Sustainer of this Temple;*

"I do not worship that which you worship,

and neither do you worship that which I worship!*

"And I will not worship ~hat which you have [ever] worshipped,

and neither will you [ever] worship that which I worship.*

And if you doubt any part of what We have, bestowed from on high, step by step, upon Our servant [Muhammad],* then produce a surah of similar merit, and call upon any other than God to bear witness for you* -if what you say is true!

Vile is that [false pride] for which they have sold their own selves by denying the truth of what God has bestowed from on high, out of envy that God should bestow aught of His favour upon whomsoever He wills of His servants:* and thus have they earned the burden of God's condemnation, over and over. And for those who deny the truth there is shameful suffering in store.

O YOU who have attained to faith! Just retribution is ordained for you in cases of killing: the free for the free, and the slave for the slave, and the woman for the woman.* And if something [of his guilt] is remitted to a guilty person by his brother,* this [remission] shall be adhered to with fairness, and restitution to his fellow-man shall be made in a goodly manner.* This is an alleviation from your Sustainer, and an act of His grace. And for him who, none the less,* wilfully transgresses the bounds of what is right, there is grievous suffering in store:

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.

But there is [also] a kind of man who would willingly sell his own self in order to please God:* and God is most compassionate towards His servants.

AND DO NOT marry women who ascribe divinity to aught beside God ere they attain to [true] belief: for any believing bondwoman [of God]* is certainly better than a woman who ascribes divinity to aught beside God, even though she please you greatly. And do not give your women in marriage to men who ascribe divinity to aught beside God ere they attain to [true] belief: for- any believing bondman [of God] is certainly better than a man who ascribes divinity to aught beside God, even though he please you greatly. [Such as] these invite unto the fire, whereas God invites unto paradise, and unto [the achievement of] forgiveness by His leave; and He makes clear His messages unto mankind, so that they might bear them in mind.

Say: "Shall I tell you of better things than those [earthly joys]? For the God-conscious there are, with their Sustainer, gardens through which running waters flow, therein to abide, and spouses pure, and God's goodly acceptance." And God sees all that is in [the hearts of] His servants -

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.

On the Day when every human being will find himself faced with all the good that he has done, and with all the evil that he has done, [many a one] will wish that there were a long span of time between himself and that [Day]. Hence, God warns you to beware of Him; but God is most compassionate towards His creatures.

It is not conceivable that a human being unto whom God had granted revelation, and sound judgment, and prophethood, should thereafter have said unto people,* "Worship me beside God"; but rather [did he exhort them], "Become men of God* by spreading the knowledge of the divine writ, and by your own deep study [thereof]."

in return for what your own hands have wrought - for never does God do the least wrong to His creatures!"

whom God has rejected for having said, "Verily, of Thy servants I shall most certainly take my due share,

Never did the Christ feel too proud to be God's servant, nor do the angels who are near unto Him. And those who feel too proud to serve Him and glory in their arrogance [should know that on Judgment Day] He will gather them all unto Himself:

If thou cause them to suffer - verily, they are Thy servants; and if Thou forgive them - verily, Thou alone art almighty, truly wise!"

for He alone holds sway over His creatures, and He alone is truly wise, all-aware.

And He alone holds sway over His servants. And He sends forth heavenly forces to watch over you* until, when death approaches any of you, Our messengers cause him to die: and they do not overlook [anyone].

Such is God's guidance: He guides therewith whomever He wills of His servants. And had they ascribed divinity to aught beside Him-in vain, indeed, would have been all [the good] that they ever did:

Say: "Who is there to forbid the beauty which God has brought forth for His creatures, and the good things from among the means of sustenance?" Say: "They are [lawful] in the life of this world unto all who have attained to faith - to be theirs alone on Resurrection Day."* Thus clearly do We spell out these messages unto people of [innate] knowledge!

[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!"

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!

AND KNOW that whatever booty you acquire [in war], one-fifth thereof belongs to God and the Apostle, and the near of kin, and the orphans, and the needy, and the wayfarer.* [This you must observe] if you believe in God and in what We bestowed from on high upon Our servant on the day when the true was distinguished from the false - the day when the two hosts met in battle. And God has the power to will anything.*

in return for what your own hands have wrought - for, never does God do the least wrong to His creatures!"

Do they not know that it is God alone who can accept the repentance of His servants* and is the [true] recipient of whatever is offered for His sake - and that God alone is an acceptor of repentance, a dispenser of grace?

And [know that] if God should touch thee with misfortune, there is none who could remove it save Him; and if He intends good for thee, there is none who could turn away His bounty: He causes it to alight upon whomsoever He wills of His servants. And He alone is truly forgiving, truly a dispenser of grace.

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.*

Their apostles answered them: "True, we are nothing but mortal men like yourselves: but God bestows His favour upon whomever He wills of His servants. Withal, it is not within our power to bring you a proof [of our mission], unless it be by God's leave-and [so] it is in God that all believers must place their trust.*

[And] tell [those of] My servants who have attained to faith that they should be constant in prayer and spend [in Our way], secretly and openly, out of what We provide for them as sustenance,* ere there come a Day when there will be no bargaining, and no mutual befriending.*