therein will they abide, [and] never will they desire any change therefrom.

But excepted shall be the truly helpless - be they men or women or children - who cannot bring forth any strength and have not been shown the right way:*

O you who have attained to faith! Respond to the call of God and the Apostle whenever he calls you unto that which will give you life; and know that God intervenes between man and [the desires of] his heart,* and that unto Him you shall be gathered.

[But the son] answered: "I shall betake myself to a mountain that will protect me from the waters." Said [Noah]: "Today there is no protection [for anyone] from God's judgment, save [for] those who have earned [His] mercy!" And a wave rose up between them, and [the son] was among those who were drowned.

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.*

SAY:* "Call upon those [beings] whom you imagine [to be endowed with divine powers] beside Him* and [you will find that] they have it not in their power to remove any affliction from you, or to shift it [elsewhere]. "*

[such has been Our] way with all of Our apostles whom We sent before thy time;* and no change wilt thou find in Our ways.

their arro­gant behaviour on earth, and their devising of evil [arguments against God's messages].* Yet [in the end,] such evil scheming will engulf none but its authors: and can they expect anything but [to be made to go] the way of those [sinners] of olden times?* Thus [it is]: no change wilt thou ever find in God's way; yea, no deviation wilt thou ever find in God's way!

Their parable is that of people who kindle a fire: but as soon as it has illumined all around them, God takes away their light and leaves them in utter darkness, wherein they cannot see:

And the [divorced] mothers may nurse their children for two whole years, if they wish to complete the period of nursing; and it is incumbent upon him who has begotten the child to provide in a fair manner for their sustenance and clothing. No human being shall be burdened with more than he is well able to bear: neither shall a mother be made to suffer because of her child, nor, because of his child, he who has begotten it. And the same duty rests upon the [father's] heir. And if both [parents] decide, by mutual consent and counsel, upon separation [of mother and child],* they will incur no sin [thereby]; and if you decide to entrust your children to foster-mothers, you will incur no sin provided you ensure, in a fair manner, the safety of the child which you are handing over.* But remain conscious of God, and know that God sees all that you do.

AND IF any of you die and leave wives behind, they bequeath thereby to their widows [the right to] one year's maintenance without their being obliged to leave [the dead husband's home].* If, however, they leave [of their own accord], there shall be no sin in whatever they may do with themselves in a lawful manner.* And God is almighty, wise.

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 this, too, is a divine writ which We have bestowed from on high - blessed, confirming the truth of whatever there still remains [of earlier revelations]* -and [this] in order that thou mayest warn the foremost of all cities and all who dwell around it.* And those who believe in the life to come do believe in this [warning]; and it is they who are ever-mindful of their prayers.

But among the bedouin who dwell around you there are hypocrites; and among the people of the [Prophet's] City* [too] there are such as have grown insolent in [their] hypocrisy. Thou dost not [always] know them, [O Muhammad - but] We know them. We shall cause them to suffer doubly [in this world];* and then they will be given over to awesome suffering [in the life to come].

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!

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.*

And so, by thy Sustainer, [on Judgment Day] We shall most certainly bring them forth together with the satanic forces [which impelled them in life]* and then We shall most certainly gather them, on their knees, around hell;

Said [Pharaoh] unto those around him: “Did you hear [what he said]?"*

Said [pharaoh] unto the great ones around him: “Verily, this is indeed a sorcerer of great knowledge

But when he came close to it, a call was sounded: “Blessed are all who are within [reach of] this fire, and all who are near it!* And limitless in His glory is God, the Sustainer of all the worlds!"

Are they, then, not aware that We have set up a sanctuary secure [for those who believe in Us], the while all around them men are being carried away [by fear and despair]?* Will they, then, [continue to] believe in things false and vain, and thus deny God's blessings.

And thou wilt see the angels surrounding the throne of [God's] almightiness, extolling their Sus­tainer's glory and praise.* And judgment will have been passed in justice on all [who had lived and died], and the word will be spoken:* “All praise is due to God, the Sustainer of all the worlds!"

THEY WHO BEAR [within themselves the knowl­edge of] the throne of [God's] almightiness, as well as all who are near it,* extol their Sustainer's limitless glory and praise, and have faith in Him, and ask forgiveness for all [others] who have attained to faith: “O our Sustainer! Thou embracest all things within [Thy] grace and knowledge: forgive, then, their sins unto those who repent and follow Thy path, and preserve them from suffering through the blazing fire!

[Thou art but entrusted with Our message:] and so We have revealed unto thee a discourse in the Arabic tongue* in order that thou mayest warn the foremost of all cities and all who dwell around it* to wit, warn [them] of the Day of the Gathering, [the coming of] which is beyond all doubt: [the Day when] some shall find themselves in paradise, and some in the blazing flame.

Thus have We destroyed many a [sinful] community living round about you;* and yet, [before destroying them,] We had given many facets to [Our warning] messages, so that they might turn back [from their evil ways].