And, too, when We bestow Our blessings upon man, he tends to turn aside and keep aloof [from remembering Us]; but as soon as evil fortune touches him, he is full of wordy prayers!*

But you will incur no sin if you give a hint of [an intended] marriage-offer to [any of] these women, or if you conceive such an intention without making it obvious: [for] God knows that you intend to ask them in marriage.* Do not, however, plight your troth with them in secret, but speak only in a decent manner; and do not proceed with tying the marriage-knot ere the ordained [term of waiting] has come to its end. And know that God knows what is in your minds, and therefore remain conscious of Him; and know, too, that God is much-forgiving, forbearing.

AND DO NOT allow your oaths in the name of God to become an obstacle to virtue and God-consciousness and the promotion of peace between men:* for God is all-hearing, all-knowing.

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 if it distress thee that those who deny the truth* turn their backs on thee - why, then, if thou art able to go down deep into the earth or to ascend a ladder unto heaven* in order to bring them a [yet more convincing] message, [do so;] but [remember that] had God so willed, He would indeed have gathered them all unto [His] guidance. Do not, therefore, allow thyself to ignore [God's ways].*

And so, when they beheld it* in the shape of a dense cloud approaching their valleys, they exclaimed, “This is but a heavy cloud which will bring us [wel­come] rain!" [But Hud said:] “Nay, but it is the very thing which you [so contemptuously] sought to hasten - a wind bearing grievous suffering,

And vie with one another to attain to your Sustainer's forgiveness and to a paradise as vast as the heavens and the earth, which has been readied for the God-conscious

And on that Day We shall place hell, for all to see, before those who denied the truth-

[Hence,] vie with one another in seeking to attain to your Sustainer's forgiveness,* and [thus] to a paradise as vast as the heavens and the earth, which has been readied for those who have attained to faith in God and His Apostle:* such is the bounty of God which He grants unto whomever He wills - for God is limitless in His great bounty.

[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.

And they have been succeeded by [new] generations who - [in spite of] having inherited the divine writ-clutch but at the fleeting good of this lower world and say, "We shall be forgiven,* the while they are ready, if another such fleeting good should come their way, to clutch at it [and sin again]. Have they not been solemnly pledged through the divine writ not to attribute unto God aught but what is true,* and [have they not] read again and again all that is therein? Since the life in the hereafter is the better [of the two] for all who are conscious of God -will you not, then, use your reason?

IT DOES NOT behove a prophet to keep captives unless he has battled strenuously on earth.* You may desire the fleeting gains of this world-but God desires [for you the good of] the life to come: and 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!

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!

And He imparted unto Adam the names of all things;* then He brought them within the ken of the angels and said: "Declare unto Me the names of these [things], if what you say is true."*

And who could be more wicked than they who attribute their own lying inventions to God?* [On the Day of Judgment, such as] these shall be arraigned before their Sustainer, and those who are called upon to bear witness [against them]* shall say, "It is they who uttered lies about their Sustainer!"* Oh, verily, God's rejection is the due of all evildoers*

And they will be lined up before thy Sustainer, [and He will say:* ] "Now, indeed, you have come unto Us [in a lonely state], even as We created you in the first instances* - although you were wont to assert that We would never 'appoint for you a meeting [with Us]!"

And on that Day We shall place hell, for all to see, before those who denied the truth-

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.

[and even] when, towards the close of day, nobly-bred, swift-footed steeds were brought before him,

the fire [of the hereafter - that fire] which they had been made to contemplate [in vain], morning and evening:* for on the Day when the Last Hour dawns [God will say], “Make Phar­aoh's folk enter upon suffering most severe!"

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,

And on the Day when those who were bent on denying the truth will be brought within sight of the fire, [they will be told:] “You have exhausted your [share of] good things in your worldly life, having enjoyed them [without any thought of the hereafter]: and so today you shall be requited with the suffering of humiliation for having gloried on earth in your arrogance,* offending against all that is right, and for all your iniquitous doings!"

And so, on the Day when those who were bent on denying the truth will be brought within sight of the fire [and will be asked], “Is not this the truth?" - they will answer, “Yea, by Our Sustainer!" [And] He will say: “Taste, then, this suffering as an outcome of your denial of the truth!"

On that Day you shall be brought to judgment: not [even] the most hidden of your deeds will remain hidden.

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!*

Art thou not aware of those who have been granted their share of revelation [aforetime]? They have been called upon to let God's writ be their law* - and yet some of them turn away [from it] in their obstinacy,

Yet whenever any of their Sustainer's messages comes unto them, they [who are bent on denying the truth] turn their backs upon it:*

For, if God had seen any good in them, He would certainly have made them hear: but [as it is,] even if He had made them hear, they would surely have turned away in their obstinacy.

But as soon as He has given them [aught] out of His bounty. they cling to it niggardly, and turn away in their obstinacy [from all that they have vowed]:

But [then] -how many a sign is there in the heavens and on earth which they pass by [unthinkingly], and on which they turn their backs!

for We did vouchsafe them Our messages, but they obstinately turned their backs upon them-

CLOSER DRAWS unto men their reckoning: and yet they remain stubbornly heedless [of its approach].*

and yet,* they choose to worship [imaginary] deities instead of Him! Say [O Prophet]: “Produce an evidence for what you are claiming:* this is a reminder [unceasingly voiced] by those who are with me, just as it was a reminder [voiced] by those who came before me."* But nay, most of them do not know the truth, and so they stubbornly turn away [from it]*

and [that] We have set up the sky as a canopy well-secured?* And yet, they stubbornly turn away from [all] the signs of this [creation],

Say: “Who could protect you, by night or by day, from the Most Gracious?"* And yet, from a remembrance of their Sustainer do they stubbornly turn away!

and who turn away from all that is frivolous,

But if the truth* were in accord with their own likes and dislikes, the heavens and the earth would surely have fallen into ruin, and all that lives in them [would long ago have perished]!* Nay, [in this divine writ] We have conveyed unto them all that they ought to bear in mind:* and from this their reminder they [heedlessly] turn away!

And [so it is that] whenever they are summoned unto God and His Apostle in order that [the divine writ] might judge between them,* lo! some of them turn away;

[But We have not willed it:] and so, whenever there comes unto them any fresh reminder from the Most Gracious, they [who are blind of heart] always - turn their backs upon it:

and no message of their Sustainer s messages ever reaches them without their turning away from it.*

[how can] you turn away from it?"

We have not created the heavens and the earth and all that is between them otherwise than in accord­ance with [an inner] truth, and for a term set [by Us]:* and yet, they who are bent on denying the truth turn aside from the warning which has been conveyed unto them.*

WHAT, THEN, is amiss with them* that they turn away from all admonition

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.*

As for them - God knows all that is in their hearts; so leave them alone, and admonish them, and speak unto them about themselves in a gravely search­ing manner:

And they say, "We do pay heed unto thee''* - but when they leave thy presence, some of them devise, in the dark of night, [beliefs] other than thou art voicing;* and all the while God records what they thus devise in the dark of night. Leave them, then, alone, and place thy trust in God: for none is as worthy of trust as God.

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!

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.

NOW, whenever thou meet such as indulge in [blasphemous] talk about Our messages, turn thy back upon them until they begin to talk of other things* and if Satan should ever cause thee to forget [thyself], remain not, after recollection, in the company of such evildoing folk,

follow thou what has been revealed unto thee by thy Sustainer - save whom there is no deity - and turn thy back upon all who ascribe divinity to aught beside Him.

MAKE due allowance for man's nature,* and enjoin the doing of what is right; and leave alone all those who choose to remain ignorant.*

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.

[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!"

[But,] Joseph, let this pass!* And thou, [O wife,] ask forgiveness for thy sin-for, verily, thou hast been greatly at fault!"

Hence, proclaim openly all that thou hast been bidden [to say], and leave alone all those who ascribe divinity to aught beside God:

And if thou [must] turn aside from those [that are in want, because thou thyself art] seeking to obtain thy Sustainer's grace and hoping for it,* at least speak unto them with gentle speech.

And whenever danger befalls you at sea, all those (powers] that you are wont to invoke forsake you, [and nothing remains for you] save Him: but as soon as He has brought you safe ashore, you turn aside [and forget Him]-for, indeed, bereft of all gratitude is man!

for [it often happens that] when We bestow Our blessings upon man, he turns away and arrogantly keeps aloof [from any thought of Us]; and when evil fortune touches him, he abandons all hope.*

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.

All who shall turn away from it will, verily, bear a [heavy] burden on the Day of Resurrection:

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."

and, whenever they heard frivolous talk,* having turned away from it and said: “Unto us shall be accounted Our deeds, and unto you, your deeds. Peace be upon you - [but] we do not seek out such as are ignorant [of the meaning of right and wrong]."

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!

and then leave them alone, and wait [for the truth to unfold as] they, behold, are waiting.

But they turned away [from Us], and so We let loose upon them a flood that overwhelmed the dams,* and changed their two [expanses of luxuriant] gardens into a couple of gardens yielding bitter fruit, and tamarisks, and some few [wild] lote-trees:

to be a herald of glad tidings as well as a warning. And yet, [whenever this divine writ is offered to men,] most of them turn away, so that they cannot hear [its message];*

BUT IF they turn away, say:* “I warn you of [the coming of] a thunderbolt of punishment* like the thunderbolt [that fell upon the tribes] of Ad and Thamud!"*

And, too, when We bestow Our blessings upon man, he tends to turn aside and keep aloof [from remembering Us]; but as soon as evil fortune touches him, he is full of wordy prayers!*

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!*

Avoid thou, therefore, those who turn away from all remembrance of Us and care for no more than the life of this world,

But if they [who reject all thought of the Last Hour] were to see a sign [of its approach], they would turn aside and say, “An ever-recurring delusion!" –

And lo!* [It so happened that] the Prophet told something in confidence to one of his wives; and when she thereupon divulged it, and God made this known to him, he acquainted [others] with some of it and passed over some of it.* And as soon as he let her know it, she asked, "Who has told thee this?"* - [to which] he replied, "The All-Knowing, the All-Aware has told me."

so as to test them by this means: for he who shall turn away from the remembrance of his Sustainer, him will He cause to undergo suffering most grievous.*